Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Selah’s Doing Great!

I just wanted to report that Selah is doing great!  We got home from the hospital Sunday afternoon, September 4, and we’re all loving being home again with everyone together! 
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Thank God for big sissies!  I was SO grateful that Mattie stayed at the hospital with me Saturday night.  I felt like I wouldn’t have survived another sleepless night; I was so exhausted.
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Selah holding her “big girl” cup.  We were ELATED when she drank from it so that she could go HOME.
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Doesn’t look like Selah’s bottle boycott at the hospital really caused much damage, huh?
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Selah fell asleep holding a wrapped syringe in her hand while waiting for Daddy to come pick us up and take us home Sunday afternoon.
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Safe in Daddy’s arms, heading out of the hospital.

Selah, the little stinker who would NOT drink from her bottle (or sippy cup) at the hospital, got into her car seat at the front entrance of the hospital and eagerly DRANK HER BOTTLE!!!  Seriously.  Right.In.Front.Of.The.Hospital.  Nanny-nanny-boo-boo, doctors and nurses, you’re not the boss of me! Smile with tongue out
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Selah drinking her bottle in her car seat, right in front of the hospital.

What a joy it was to be greeted by the kiddos upon our arrival.  Selah was kicking and squealing, so excited to be HOME!
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This little cowgirl (Ella) and cowboy (Kiefer) were the first to greet us.  Yes, this is really what they were wearing, and, yes, Kiefer is wearing chaps with undies.  It’s the new cowboy style!

I had been a little concerned about Kiefer, our 3-year-old, and what he would think when he saw Selah for the first time after her surgery. It’s pretty much impossible to explain to a 3-year-old why a baby must have skull reconstruction, much less what to expect! I had been concerned that Kiefer would blame me for “hurting” Selah since I’m the one who stayed at the hospital with her. (I was afraid Kiefer might think that I just took Selah away, hurt her for a week, then came back, never realizing she was in a hospital, or even what a hospital is.)

I laughed harder than I have in a long time when Kiefer saw Selah for the first time after surgery and exclaimed, “He’s a little boy now!”

Oh my, that was just priceless. Since then, Kiefer has proclaimed several times that Selah is now a little boy, but it doesn’t bother him a bit. I guess he’s OK with having a little brother. Rolling on the floor laughing

Selah has slept so much better at home, but she’s not sleeping like her old self just yet.  She’s supposed to lie flat on her back with her head on a soft “donut” pillow, but she’s really struggling with that.  Selah has never slept on her back due to the shape of her skull.  The back of her head was always way too oblong and pointy to be able to sleep on her back.  Since Selah can crawl, sit up, etc., she’s not having any part of staying on her back.  But when she’s on her stomach, I think it must hurt her stitches on her skull (with her head to the side on the bed), because she keeps waking up and crying.

Or it could just be that her skull was cut into pieces and it just plain ole hurts, even with Tylenol with Codeine.

Selah doesn’t appear to have missed a beat.  She’s still crawling all over the place, “talking” up a storm, and thriving beyond belief.  She’s sleepier than normal (taking more naps/day than she used to), but that’s most likely because she just had a big surgery and is taking pain meds.  Her appetite has returned, she’s drinking her bottle, and still eating chicken nuggets and other yummy table food. 
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Praise God for His mighty hand in Selah’s miraculous journey.  She still has another surgery (reconstruction of the front part of her skull), which will most likely occur in the next 3 months or so.  Every time we walk out of the hospital with our princess is another step toward healing for us, as well as for Selah.  Since we know what it feels like to be forced to leave a hospital without our other princess, because she was dancing with Jesus, makes each hospital exit WITH our newest princess even that much more of a sweeter victory.  It’s all part of His story of making beauty from ashes.

Selah.  From the Psalms, meaning  pause and reflect.  The literal Greek translation is "so every eye can see and every ear can hear."

Thank you, God, for showing your miracles through Baby Selah, for causing people to pause and reflect, for opening eyes and ears.  We are beyond grateful for your miracles, mercies, and goodness!

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