Are we Viable yet?

Why yes dear we have reached viability!!! That is to say newest baby H can live outside the womb if born now. And for the record our nephew Ethan proved it only a few short years ago. He will be two years old next week and he was born at 25 weeks and that is only a week further into pregnancy than we are. Now don't go getting all up in arms we are intending to much further... read much much much further... but I love having this milestone behind us.... I would no longer have to fight tooth and nail to get care if she is born... instead they will fight as hard as they can to save this baby should she make an unscheduled appearance. THAT is a relief, because as some of you know and many of you may not know... we had to fight like wildcats for the care that was offered to our little Aislynn. Several doctors tried to talk us out of the fight and only one neonatalogist in the entire hospital would take it on. Now that is not to say that the fight was entirely hopeless. As a matter of fact a baby that was several days younger than Aislynn's gestation actually survived about a year later. And is still doing fine as far as we all know. We had to struggle to keep a positive attitude while our oldest daughter struggled to live. Dave and I got to the point where we crept in and out of the NICU to see our daughter hoping not to see a doctor because they would come and dump a load of crap on us and we would be left shell shocked. I always countered by asking for the battles that she had won and digging into the numbers that were heading in the right direction. You see they were there and we would then get a list of accomplishments and victories... but we had to search them out and cling to the hope that they offered. On nurse turned to my mother in law after we had walked away and told her " They really are going to have to start being realistic about this" And I will forever be grateful for her response to him which was " They are being realistic... but they are looking for the good in the pile of bad that you offer them so that they can keep being hopeful also!" We knew that we were fighting an uphill battle and that it wouldn't be fun... but we also knew that as her parents we couldn't walk away with out giving our little girl a fighting chance. That is all here nor there however... because we don't have that fight anymore. This little girl has earned the right to a good fight!
Now that I am done bragging about how long I have been pregnant I have to say that my last blog entry was filled with a lot of activity... but none of it was really an update on the stinker that so many of you really want to hear about. And mind you that is not to say that she hasn't been busy making strides in becoming a person more than a baby. As a matter of fact I would go so far as to say that she is now officially all toddler and very little baby. She is a wonder and a marvel all rolled into one.
This weekend her cousin R came over and we spent all day on Sat shopping for shoes. Her gramps and gran got each girl a pair of sandals and a pair of Easter dress shoes to go with the dresses that Gran is making for each girl. ( I had to laugh when I mentioned that she would have to make three next year. Ha ha ha Another girl WOW) and Dave and I got each girl a pair of tennis shoes. At any rate so we were off and shopping and A worked so hard to keep up a conversation with R like a person does. Basically it consisted of A repeatedly saying R's name and then pointing at the things she knows the word for and saying it for R. I think that this was the first time that R really saw that A is a little person as opposed to this baby thing that everyone thinks is so cute. Though there is obviously a little bit more to go as later in the evening she wanted to dress A like she does her dolls... and when A was not so obliging as to sit still she kept asking me or Gran to " make her stay still so I can get this outfit on her" I had to laugh as I often myself wonder how to make her sit still so that I can get an outfit on her.
A has added to her vocabulary in leaps and bounds. Her new favorite is " Oh Well" Daddy thought that it was just hysterical the first time that he heard it out of her because it is such a mommy phrase. Oh well is my catch for everything. I get upset at Dave and there is no point in talking about it " Oh well" Juice gets spilled on the floor and A says "Uh Oh" Mom says " Oh well" It is my " whatever" though to be frank I use whatever also... I heard that one out of my niece a few weeks ago and it cracked me up. She sounded like a little adult, though I also realized that it isn't very nice to hear! At any rate A hears "Oh well" a lot because at her age there are a lot of " Uh Oh"s! It is my attempt to let her know that those little "uh Oh"s are never anything that she will be in trouble for. She picks up words so quickly that you have to be careful what you say around her because I expect that very soon now she will start picking up the words we don't want her to know. Dave and I are both potty mouths who let loose with those words with out much thought and in common every day conversation so we are trying to change that trend. The thing is that when A repeats a word she is so proud of it and we make over her like crazy. So we really don't want her to let loose with a big ole " S@*T" only to beam at us with expectation of praise. And Dave and I have a bad tendency of being so inappropriate at those moments that we really make things worse. We would probably laugh hysterically thus making it a really cool word to say again and again. OH WELL!
We have determined that our child has a mind of her own and will not be led in any direction that she does not want to go. She has definite likes and dislikes and she has a one tracked mind that drives an adult to distraction. Take for example she LOVES to brush her teeth. And now when we go into the bathroom she wants to brush her teeth. Pointing at her toothbrush and repeatedly saying "teeth". Now that doesn't seem like a bad thing... in fact even a good thing... except that she now goes to the bathroom with me every time that I have to go ( and i am pregnant I pee A LOT!!!) Even that isn't a bad thing, I mean some kids you can't even get to brush their teeth and ours wants to ten times a day. Well mom does have some control and we do it two or three times a day, the issue comes in that there is no off button to let her know that it is time to STOP brushing her teeth. If we allow it 15 minutes later she would still be brushing... and once she has started it causes a slight fit to stop. We have gotten REALLY good at distraction. As a matter of fact we often tag team. " Go show daddy how clean your teeth are" while from the living room " A come show me how clean your teeth are. Are they white." Or dad will come in with her coat to go bye bye a couple of minutes after we start. Distraction is our greatest tool.
She has begun noticing and being distraught about changes in the house too. When Dad put up the screen for the projector for movie night that caused her distress.... and when it came down that distress came back. We got a new shower curtain this week and that was a new and distressing change all over again. And while she has noticed changes of this nature for several months she is just now starting to realize that she can use words to verbalize these issues. "Uh Oh" she says in a worried tone pointing until we explain that it is okay.
We got a Sesame street video for her on Friday and she is entranced. As I write she is watching said DVD ( the second time today, twice yesterday, and once on Friday) She has learned the words grouch and poof and points out kitty and elmo and abby. She is CRAZY about it. Dave and I haven't really used TV much in her life and we both feel strongly about using it sparingly.... but both of us LOVE watching her watch this thing. She is so into it... and she keeps a running commentary on who is on the screen and what is going on.
Alright I have to go.... my little one is looking for Mommy to cuddle her on the chair while she watches her show.... She was a bit spoiled when she was sick... and mommy sat on the couch with her ALL day long.... And well being as I am not allowed to do too much, and in a few short months mommy will have to be shared I am not in any rush to unspoil her. Besides as I was telling Dave earlier today when two hours into her nap you are getting excited that she will be waking up soon and you can spend more time with her.... you know you are addicted to your child. I would say that I am an addict and all I can say to that state of affairs is "OH WELL"