IC Dr. appts update

After dinner tonight (Friday is leftover night or pizza night), we took the entire family for a walk. The entire family meaning out 2 hounds, Patch and Trixy, included. DadD took T and Patch and I took RyRy (along with her oxygen in a backpack and her apnea monitor tucked in the stroller) and Trixy. We had 2 well behaved kids and 2 well behaved dogs. T loved it. He was squealing the entire time.

Yesterday, I took RyRy to Iowa City to meet with Dr. Julie and she also had an eye exam to check her ROP.

Dr. Julie and NP Diane looked at RyRy for over an hour and a half. They are very happy with her progress thus far. She is right on par with a newborn baby. Her weight, surprisingly enough, is in the 17 percentile for her gestational age. They are happy with that! As for right now, she will continue to be on a half liter of oxygen until our next visit. We are to continue feeding her every 2 hours. Dr. Julie was more concerned that feeding every 2 hours means that I am up every hour and half or so. She could tell that I'm tired, living off caffeine, and in need of a long, long nap. She seemed to be more concerned about my pale color and sleepy eyes than RyRy at all. If it helps RyRy I have no problem doing it. Kris has been helping too! Remember, he's SUPER DAD! He really is!
They want RyRy to gain an ounce a day. So far she is averaging about half an ounce a day.

Cognitively and developmentally, RyRy is on par with a newborn. NP Diane rung a bell on each side of RyRy face. Though she didn't turn her head toward the sound, she did raise her eyebrows (or where eyebrows are suppose to be) and got big eyed. She also held up a couple of toys and had RyRy try to follow them. She followed both and had no problems there. Then she shined a flashlight and tried to have RyRy follow that. All she did for this test, was stare straight ahead. It didn't seem to bother her at all. I am not sure exactly what that means but I'm sure they'll repeat that little test.

This is wonderful because it means that RyRy can see and hear! I was pretty sure she could see, I wasn't sure what or how much, and sometimes, I thought that she could hear us, again I wasn't sure what or how much. However, since we've brought RyRy home, she has interacted with T talking and looking at her. She stares at him and watches closely when he's right up in her face! These tests just clarified what I thought and hoped.

Her ROP exam went very well also. I am not sure if it improving but we don't have to go back for 2 months. Something has to be working, right?
Off the track a little....RyRy's eyes needed to be dilated for her eye exam. The location of the eye specialty clinic in UIHC is not in an area with drywalled walls and maybe a window or two...NO, this has the entire wall and ceiling of windows. It was so bright in the place, it made my eyes hurt and they weren't even dilated!
Poor RyRy hates...I mean absolutely HATES....getting the drops. She makes it 10 times worse because she squeezes her eyes shut very very tight! It's never really that bad. It would just help her in the long run. You and I know that but she doesn't.

We have to see Dr. Julie and NP Diane in the first week of June. We also have to go down on the 29th of June for a repeat ROP eye exam. RyRy also has to go see Dr. Connolly on Monday for a checkup. Dawn, the home nurse, is coming on Wednesday and Friday next week. I have a doctor appt on Wednesday as well.

My life has literally turned into doctors appts, home nurse appts, genetics appts, eye exams, oxygen drop offs...the list goes on and on! I also talk to Iowa City in some department every single business day! I have started to carry a small calendar with me that I write all of the appointments down. It's a full time job in itself.

And get this...my dad called me on Wednesday on his lunch break. When I asked him what he was doing, he said "I am about to go back to work...you should try it sometime..." What the? I honestly think that he thinks I sit around all day on my butt and not do anything. RyRy is a full time job (remember feeding every 2 hours) plus throw T (remember a crazy, no stop 16 month old who gets into and climbs on EVERYTHING!) into the mix and trying to keep everything straight with appts, bills, groceries, housework, bath times, diapers, bottles (have to mix the formula a special way), oxygen levels, apnea spell logging...I am working...very very hard. I am not a sit at home, all day on my behind kind of person. I LOVE GOING TO WORK! I do believe that I am a better mom because I go to work. But right now, RyRy needs me. Not to mention, no babysitter in a 100 mile radius would even think of taking her right now. Not with apnea spells and oxygen. It's way too much work. And I don't feel comfortable at all leaving her with someone else. Not yet. I haven't even left her alone with Kris. Not that I don't trust her with him, there just hasn't been an opportunity.

My dad is also upset that we are keeping our pets. Nothing I ever do is good enough for this man. He thinks I'm slob and idiot and (his words, not mine and pardon the language)a fuck up. I know I'll never live up to his standards and I accept that. And yet his opinion of me and my kids and what I do, matters...a lot. He's my dad. He's suppose to be my "daddy" and I'm suppose to be his "daddy's girl" (I'm his only daughter, I thought that was my privilege). I just want him to be proud of me, at least once, but he's not. Maybe someday.

T and RyRy's daddy is proud of them and I'm proud of them. I'm proud that I'm their mommy and that they're my son and daughter. Being a mommy is the best job privilege in the world.