Always somethin'!

Over the summer we realized that Molly's "stuff" was taking over our living room. No matter how we organized or arranged it we just couldn't keep it under control so we decided to turn the basement into a play room. We started cleaning it back in August and Jay put the finishing touches on it about a week ago. Molly didn't adjust well to it. She is a creature of habit and doesn't do well with change. But with each day she was getting more used to it. On Thursday we had Early Intervention and since she doesn't like them I figured we would just have our session in the living room until she was more comfortable with her play room. After EI was over we went down to the play room. I sat her on the floor and turned her TV on so I could run upstairs to grab her lunch. On my way up I stepped in something wet. The entire rug was wet. It's happened before where the hose pops off the washing machine and floods the basement. Except this time I noticed there was also toilet paper on the floor. I called Jay and brought Molly back upstairs. Turns out there was a sewage back up that was supposed to be fixed over the summer. I don't know if it never happened, if it did and it backed up again or what happened. Luckily where I sat Molly wasn't wet...yet. It started creeping across the floor. Jay called the property management company (we live in a townhouse) and that night the cleaning crew was at our house, ripping up the rug, cutting out part of the wall, washing what could be saved, etc. We have been dealing with insurance companies, property management company, sanitation and restoration companies. Right now the clean up was covered but we're waiting to hear about the restoration and our property. The personal property will not be covered but we really only care about the walls and rugs. Everything else can be replaced over time. Of course the most important think is Molly's health. Everyone had freaked us out because Molly had been exposed to it and because her immune system is already compromised it scared us that much more. It made us forget about all of the damage and what we had lost in the back of our minds for a minute.

Molly had a doctors appointment the next day for a wellness visit. Usually wellness visits are once a year but because of her medical history and the fear the pediatrician has for Molly we are seen twice a year. She was a little over 24 lbs and 31 1/4" long which puts her in the 5th-10th percentile for weight, height and head circumfrance. First up on my list of concerns was sleeping...or lack there of. It was fresh in my memory because I had only had 3 hours of sleep the night before. I explained how she wakes up every single night. Some nights it's only for 15 minutes, some times it's multiple times a night and other times she's up for 3 hour stretches. We wanted to start her on Melatonin to reset her "sleep clock" but she wanted to wait 2 more weeks. She wants us to try not picking her up when she wakes up and just give her her blankie and tuck her back in. She also wants to introduce naps again. So we are now on day 3 and she woke up every night. Tucking her back in doesn't work. Naps are never going to happen because it was almost 9:00 before she went to bed.  I can't go to bed when she does because #1 I have to work and #2 I like my quiet time. I'm not going to make it two more weeks. We also discussed preschool. I expressed my concerns about sending her and told her that we were going to enroll her in the pubic school system but we were going to use it for the therapies that they offer but not send her to the classes. She told me that she was OK with that (not that I cared what she thought) but she would have to be exposed to germs at some point. Early Intervention isn't going to be happy to hear that but it's our decision. Next up, we talked about Orthopedic. EI also isn't going to be happy to hear this because they keep pushing for it. Last up we discussed how she was exposed to the "spill" in our basement. I asked if she had to be put on an antibiotic and she said that since she's already on Amoxicillan there's no need to add another one and to just keep an eye on her. So far she's been fine and we don't anticipate anything changing. Overall, it was a good visit and she was thrilled with how she looks, her progress and how she looks like a "regular toddler". Of course we have many things to work on but she'll get there.

We decorated our tree this past weekend, put up Molly's tree that my parents got for her when she was in the hospital and took her Christmas pictures. This time of year means everything to us. It's so much more than gifts. After all we have been through with Molly it has made us truly appreciate the meaning of this time of year and I'm looking forward to spending the holidays at home with a happy and healthy Molly while thinking of all of the kids that are fighting so hard along with their families.

Here are some pictures from our weekend! I hope you're enjoying your holiday season!