Dinner Party with Leonard

Joe stopped by our friend Leonard's house in Fremont on the way back into town (Joe's been gone for a few days for work) and brought him over for dinner last night. I was looking forward to having a "dinner party". Being that Leonard is Catholic and it is Lenten season, I had to think outside the box for dinner. I cooked up some Parmesan Encrusted Talapia with couscous, hush puppies and salad on the side. Leonard brought a delightful Australian Chardonnay - which was EXACTLY what I needed. :-) Thanks!! yeah - you try getting a 2&1/2 year old to hold still for a photo...ha!

I also very much appreciated the conversation. I had been having a rough couple of days, so after keeping some emotions bottled up, I sort of broke down in a moment of weakness. It didn't help that McKenzie was being a pill all afternoon and Macy has been a bit more "needy" as of late. It felt good to talk with Leonard. He's been a good friend to Joe and I and is a great listener, I also appreciate his kind words and insight. Plus, sometimes you've gotta just let the "waterworks" flow. It is sort of refreshing actually!

Macy sticking her tongue out at daddy. :-) That's not very nice...

McKenzie wanted to show off some of her ice skating skills. It was Leonard's idea for her to put that fancy ribbon on her head. Good call! oh & this shirt was a gift for Macy from a TV rep I work with. Ch. 8 in Des Moines, IA - KCCI. It doesn't quite fit Macy yet, but McKenzie wanted to try it on for size :-) it says "future 8 watcher".

The family dog always has to be included in the fun.
Toby was especially in need of some attention yesterday morning during Macy's Early Intervention therapy. Renae was sitting on the floor with her binders and paper work, Toby would not leave her alone and insisted on sitting right on top of her stuff. Thanks goodness she like dogs, cuz, she better just get used to our white fluffy family member :-)
Doesn't this big (or should I say regular sized) blanket make Macy look teeeny! :-)
Speaking of Macy being Teeny, I thought I'd share her current stats.
According to the Down Syndrome Growth Chart she is in the 10th percentile for length, in the 20th percentile for weight and 30th percentile for head circumference. Not sure how significant these "percentiles" are in general, but thought I'd share none-the-less.
We are pretty excited about Gayle flying in tonight. She will be coming into town especially for Macy's baptism tomorrow. She is so great! Also, Jerry & Lynette called and asked to take McKenzie off our hands today so that we can get ready for the big baptismal celebration. That was very very thoughtful of them. I've got some cookin' and cleanin' to do.
I better get off this blog and get to work!
bye bye for now...can't wait to share some of our angels baptism pics with you tomorrow :-)

Just Because

YAY - the "Harnisch House" is spotless!!
Lisa came over and super cleaned...thanks, you did a FABULOUS job!! :-) You rock!
My dad came over to snuggle with Macy and actually kicked me out of the house, he insisted I leave for a couple of hours. So that's just what I did, I went to Kohls for some retail therapy. (gotta love Kohls) and Walgreens :-) haha...thanks Dad.
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I was bored this morning and snapped a few pics of Macy.

I think we'll call these her "just because photos" :-)

My intent was to post 1 or 2...but it was too difficult to choose, so I just posted them all. sorry!

And...she's done.

Happy 2 months Macy!

Macy is 8 weeks old today!
She is almost 8 pounds, just a few more ounces to go...
To celebrate we got out of the house (no not for a doc appt) but for MOMMY & ME! Macy slept in her carrier the whole time and I enjoyed wonderful conversations with the other mommies :-) Big Sister McKenzie had a great time running around and playing with her friends. On the way home she told me she "played basketball game ball with her buddies" and that she "had good day" (those aren't typos, that's what she said). It did the trick, because we came home, ate a quick lunch and she marched herself right up to her big girl bed...sucking her fingers and twirling her hair all the way up the stairs. As you know, those are her trademark "I'm tired" gestures :-)
Yesterday we had the whole "Lee Clan" over for a Turkey dinner. It felt like Thanksgiving! Having 20 people over from 11am-6pm for a large dinner with all the fixins would normally be overwhelming and stressful. However, yesterday, it was NOT at ALL. I did nothing to prepare for the day and had no cleanup afterwards as my mom and sisters did all the cooking and cleaning of dishes. It was wonderfully relaxing and VERY nice to have them all over after a long week of trying to just take it easy and keep the little ones healthy. Below are some photos from the day :-)

Allie, McKenzie and Anna getting into trouble...they KNOW they're not supposed to play with the hand sanitizer! BUSTED! hand it over...

Macy wanting to be a part of the "big girls" club.

silly, silly girls :-)

Their FAVORITE cousin Danielle taking good care of them :-) Watching Curious George. While the little ones were entertaining themselves we were able to get a good game of Shanghai Rummy in. LOVE that game! I was definitely the big loser! Better luck to me next time. :-( Cousin Erika getting in some quality cuddle time with Macy :-)WOW, way to go Macy, hold that head up high! My baby girl is soo strong!

Erika looks on as Grandpa Lee changes Macy's diaper...
Believe it or not, Grandpa was all-over the diaper changing yesterday. He jumped at the chance to get more practice in. As you can see, Macy is still a little nervous at being this "newbie's" practice dummy. She can smell a "diaper virgin" from a mile away! It might come as no surprise to most of you, but my dad has probably NEVER changed a diaper. Yes, he raised us four girls and has 10 grandchildren, but apparently he has never been in a position where he had let alone wanted to change a diaper.

This is a picture from the other day. This is probably his "first" time changing a babies diaper. Macy is thinking "are you seriously going to just stand back and watch this disaster unfold? Do something!" haha. It actually went rather well. good job Grandpa :-)

Kodak moment in-deed :-) Macy is such a lucky girl...after my 12 weeks of maternity leave are up, I will be returning to work at SKAR Advertising. I just love it there so much, I love what I do, I love my co-workers and really enjoy the clients and media partners I get to work with each and every day. It will be bitter sweet, but I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of being a working mamma. The fact that SKAR is so awesome and is allowing me the opportunity to come back part-time is going to make the transition a little easier. I will now have a permanent schedule of Tue, Wed & Thur 8:30am-5:00pm. Thank you SKAR for being such a family friendly employer! Another thing making my return to work a little easier is the fact that Grandpa Lee has volunteered to watch over our little Miss Macy for a few months. We are not ready to enroll her into daycare just yet, we want her little immune system to get a little stronger. Plus, we want to get through this nasty flu season and try not to expose her to more germies than need be. So, the nanny search has been called off. Grandpa Lee to the rescue!!! :-) Sure, he has a little bit of diaper and bottle training to undergo, but all-in-all, he is going to be awesome. He loves and cares for all of his grand-babies so much. He is patient, calm and very nurturing. What better qualities can one ask for? McKenzie will, however, continue to go to Joy's daycare. She loves it there so much, she has wonderful friends and Joy provides a wonderfully structured, preschool type environment...every 2 year old needs a fair amount of stimulation as to not drive their families nutso. Not to mention Joy's daycare is loving and safe! I'd say we've got a good thing going :-)

These photos below are from a couple weeks ago when Grandpa Lee brought his BFF Bryan over to meet baby Macy. Can you say "Grandpa daycare"? :-)
wrestling with the big valentines bear! nice hair McKenzie :-)
McKenzie checking on Macy to make sure everything is OKAY. afterall someones gotta watch over these two.
AAAWWWW LOVE IT :-)
I have a feeling Bryan may be assisting dad some of the days he is watching over Macy! And yes, you too Toby.

Our little Over-acheiver!

Yay, Macy passed with flying colors!! So far (knock on wood) Macy is getting straight A's on the major exams)... :-)
The upper GI/swallow test showed that everything is normal as far as her swallowing goes. No Aspirating in the lungs while she feeds. There were also no signs of reflux, which is fabulous!!
Brenda, The Speech Pathologist who Dr. Keller seeked out to help with the procedure, also just happens to be our neighbor down the street. I have met her kids, but had not had a chance to really meet her yet...That was a funny coincidence...SMALL WORLD!! She was so nice, and so professional, she really helped put both Macy & I at ease. Thanks Brenda!! I look forward to seeing you more in the spring, once we are all able to come out from hibernation.

Another funny thing I wanted to share...as we walked into Bergan Mercy Hospital we were quickly reminded, by the sight of all the ashy forheads, that it was Ash Wednesday. As I was standing at the desk of the diagnostic center, Macy was starving and started crying, when all of a sudden, seemingly out nowhere, came this adorably sweet nun. She bent down and spoke softly to Macy, immediately calming her. Awe! How sweet that was. :) And, oh yeah, while I understand it is customary for many to fast in observance of Ash Wednesday, it is NOT okay for infants to participate in the ritual. However, Macy did partake in the "fasting" festivities, not for religious purposes, however, doctors orders. She could not eat for 3 hours leading up to the procedure. Yikes! As most mommy & daddy's know, when a kids gotta eat...a kids gotta eat!
It could have gotten UGLY!

We had another long day full of appointments yesterday. Again, everything checked out fine for both Macy and me! The nurses at my OB/GYN office were just loving on Macy. They were sooo sweet :-) They held and passed her around the entire time I was there, which was actually very helpful as she had just received some vaccinations prior to this visit. She was kind of fussy and just wanted to be held anyway. This allowed me to have a good, much needed conversation with my Doctor. Thanks guys!!! :-)
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Macy is back home where McKenzie is, as she keeps saying, "going to make baby Macy all better" :-)
see video below:

Apparently the "art of dance" has immense healing powers! It is so sweet how attentive Kenzie is to Macy's needs. she gets so concerned when the music turns off on her little swing. She is very quick to rectify the situation.

Tonight I am VERY much looking forward to my friend Jen coming over. She does my hair and has a studio at Boss Studios. Being that Macy is still recovering from pneumonia, and it is not the best idea for me to take her out and about more than we have to, Jen has GRACIOUSLY agreed to bring her salon to my house tonight. My hair is in MAJOR need of attention :-) uugggh....Cut & color.
THANKS JEN, I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Yay, We're home...again!

I hope and am sure all of you had a nice Valentines Day, but please do not take offense when I say, "OURS was better than yours"!
What a Valentines Day treat from Dr. Sprague...hearing those 6 words "you can take your baby home" was the best gift ever!! She was released from the hospital around 3pm. That gave me enough time to swing by cousin Anna's 3 year B-Day party (where Kenzie was at) which started at 4pm. Perfect! While I was at the party, Daddy & Macy came home to get settled in! What a man!

Macy is well today and McKenzie is just thrilled to have her baby sister home sleeping in her own bed. Kenzie has been so cute all morning just watching, talking & singing gently to her. McKenzie tells me that Macy's favorite song is "twinkle twinkle little star". aww, how sweet!!

Macy is back up to her old tricks...pulling big sisters hair!!

Who me? Yes you! Don't try to deny it, we've a picture of you doing it!
You are not so innocent after-all little girl! :-)

Macy is on an antibiotic (augmentin ES) to treat her pneumonia - she gives a really funny "crinkle face" when I give it to her, still not sure if she likes it yet - it's an acquired taste. We have a follow up appointment this Thursday with Dr. Keller, just to ensure that all is "still" well...after that I have my (1 week late) postpartum check with my OB/GYN doc. ooops - totally spaced that! I suppose it would have been nice if perhaps they could have called and reminded me?? oh well...my bad!
We will also be setting up an out-patient procedure for little Miss Macy. She needs to have an Upper GI and video surveillance study done this week. This swallow test will tell us whether or not fluid is getting into her lungs while she is feeding/nursing, which could cause her to aspirate. This could be a contributing factor as to why she developed pneumonia. If this is the case, we would need to take extra measures to thicken the breast milk when she eats. I would need to pump, add rice cereal to the milk and then feed Macy using a bottle. aw bummer. I am certainly hoping this is not the case, as this would just be more work for me. But, of course, we will do whatever it takes to keep her healthy and especially out of the hospital! It may also be possible, that she has reflux or she may have simply caught a little cold of which she was not able to fight it off, so it turned into pneumonia. I'm crossing my fingers for the latter.

In the mean time, she's got her puppy dog Toby keeping an eye out for her :-)

I "double-dog" dare you to try and tell me this is not the cutest thing ever!

Poor McKenzie is getting SOOO sick of this yucky, cold wintery weather...she has been asking me all morning... "Can we go outside, and we play basketball? ok. And get mine Wagon? And Toby get in mine wagon?! ok. We go for big walk? Oh and we can go park?! That be fun huh, mom, huh?" heart-breaking, just heart-breaking. I just respond by saying "soon enough my dear...soon enough" :-(

Day 2 @ Bergan & DS SuperMoms

Thank you all for your thoughts & prayers for Macy while she is here at Bergan. We are confident the good Lord hears them ALL!! She is very much on the "up & up" and in recovery mode.





We had a pretty good, but long night last night, poor Macy just couldn't quite get comfy, cozy. I think she just wanted to be held and rocked by her mommy. Plus, she was starving...she played catch up due to the fact that had not been eating well the last couple of days...Fair enough. :-)

This morning I joined a bunch of VERY nice ladies for coffee at Panera. A group of moms who call themselves "Down Syndrome Super Moms". It was sooo nice chatting with them all, sharing my "Macy" experience thus far and learning their stories. It was so refreshing to know that we are not in this alone and that there are many other young families right here in this Omaha area going through the (somewhat) same journey as we are. I loved hearing about them and all of their precious angels!!! :-). I was debating as to whether or not I should go today, with Macy being in the hospital and all. But I am soo glad I went. Afterall, I was already in the nighborhood, it was just down the street from Bergan Mercy Hospital.
It was exactly what I needed.
A reason to:
A) get out of the hospital room for a bit.
B) have a reason to get freshened up.
C) meet some very nice gals with whom I now share a "common thread" and gain a positive perspective on our new, wondrous life journey. I also think that this "coffee" came at just the right time, as this current situation/hospital stay is really our first challenge that is actually Down Syndrome related. This DS life is sort of, in a way, kind of starting to really sink in and become a REALITY.
I very much look forward to seeing these gals again soonand forming a special bond with them. Feel free to check out my friend Casie's blog...she posted a fee pictures from this morning's "moms coffee". http://theschlueters.blogspot.com/2010/02/moms-coffee.html
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Back to Macy...
Upon returning from lunch, Joe and I learned that they had decided to turn her oxygen off. Now comes the test. Let's see if she can maintain high enough O2 levels without machine intervention, so that she can have a chance at being discharged tomorrow. Let's go girl, you can do it!! :-). It's 9:00pm right now...so far so good!

Macy had all four Grandma & Grandpa's come visit her this afternoon, along with Aunt Keri & Cousin Erika.





Pastor Mark from church also stopped in to visit. How VERY nice that was!! He had some kind words and shared some scripture that related very well to Macy. He also led us in a very touching prayer! Thank you Pastor Mark, your visit meant a lot!! We've learned that Macy has been added to a prayer chain at church, how great. The power of prayer is amazing!
The most special visitors of course were cousin Anna & Big Sister McKenzie!!! :).





Boy did those princesses bring some much needed sunshine to the room. :). It was the cutest thing, McKenzie was holding Macy and Anna lightly touched her hand. McKenzie said to Anna sternly "don't touch her Anna, don't touch her... You only look at her". Haha. So funny! Do you think she hears that a lot from her mommy & daddy. LOL


In case the above video is not working, here's the YouTube link Check out this video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWS7-vAA61c&feature=youtube_gdata

Ah! Spongebath!! :-)











Plans for the night-watching the Olympics (Speed Racing is on at the moment - Go Anton Ohno Go!!)
Uncle Ja is coming up for a visit here in a bit. :-)


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Location:Bergan Mercy Hospital

Still here...Little Miss Macy update from room 311

Macy is doing well, she's a tough cookie and is very much hanging in there!
Her oxygen levels dipped this afternoon, so they put her on oxygen.

I do not have my "actual" camera, so these iPhone pics will have to suffice...





Due to this, her stay here at Bergan will certainly be prolonged, she will not be able to leave any sooner than Sunday. May go into early next week, I hope not, but of course, we are in no rush to check out, whatever is best for Macy is BEST. btw - What is up with Macy wanting to spend major holidays in the hospital?? :(

They've hooked her up to an IV with antibiotics & fluids pumping through her teeny veins.





Blood draws, oh the MISERABLE blood draws! Macy is not shy or suttle about expressing her feelings towards blood draws. Leaves nothing to the imagination. She just screams! Absolutely the worst sound in the whole world! :-(. After the lab techs wrestled with her for several minutes, finally getting what they needed from her uncooperative veins, I peeled a sad & trembling Macy up from her bed & hugged her so tight. She was staring into my eyes with such a sad, puppy-dog expression on her face. Oh the heartbreak...I couldn't help but cry myself. :-(. So innocent and helpless she is...

We just recieved some of blood work results from earlier, they tested for several things. Negative for flu, nadda for RSV, her general blood count came back fine and at this time shows no sign of infection. Very good!






Another positive - Macy has her appetite back, she has been feeding very well tonight, I am relieved by that!

On a lighter note, the pediatric floor is quite delightful, very colorful with lots of natural light! Our room is huge, at least a lot larger than her previous hospital stay in the Children's Hospital NICU. We've got the corner suite :) There are no visitor restrictions, even kids can come up. We look forward to our folks visiting tomorrow and hopefully bringing McKenzie up too. :-) A sweet innocent hug and smile from our bubbly 2 year old is just what the doctor ordered! She sure knows how to brighten up a room and take all unnecessary worries away...at least for a little while!
Time to turn in...there is a very nice & comfy bed for us to sleep in right here in the room...ni-night Macy, Love you!!


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