Evin's Mini-Me

My sister, Kyla, has always been a wonderful gift giver.  She is super thoughtful and always finds the cutest things.  She had been telling me she had a gift for Evin but it was taking awhile to come in the mail.  She had me curious and excited!

She ordered Evin a custom made doll that is handmade to look like Evin.  Not only does it look like her, it has scars to match.  Evin's tiny twin doll has a zipper scar on her chest just like Little E.  She has light brown hair with a hint of red, light blue eyes, and an adorable smile.  Evin's name is even stitched in her little foot.

To make the doll even more special, her little dress is made of fabric from one of my dad's old dress shirts.  My dad passed away of ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) when I was 19.  I know he would have adored this little girl!  He was such a great "girl dad" and I don't think for one second he ever wished he had a boy.  He was so into every single activity, sport, and club that Kyla and I were a part of.  We both miss him so much and we love to have little reminders of him in our lives.  I hope Evin knows how much her Papa John loves her!

See the hand stitched scar?

This picture kind of makes me laugh.  The older she gets, the harder she is to photograph because she won't hold still.  Throw the little doll into the mix, and it made it all the more difficult.  She kept wanting to look at the doll instead of me, and when I would finally get her looking at me and smiling, she would have her arm on top of the doll's face or body.  We worked hard to get these pictures and I still wish I had some better ones!  Oh well... :)

Matching smiles.

Two little dolls.

Thanks for the wonderful gift, Aunt Kyla!

6 weeks post surgery

On Tuesday, October 15th, Evin reached 6 weeks post surgery!  This was a date we had marked on our calendars during her surgery, and we were so excited for it to finally come.  6 weeks post surgery is kind of the "all clear" after surgery.  Her sternal precautions were over (so we could lift her under her arms- woohoo!), the possibility of infection is nearly gone, the steri-strips on her chest have fallen off, no more medicine and we are out of the danger zone.

Of course, we are most excited that we made it through the 6 weeks without infection or Evin getting really sick.  Post-surgery, your immune system is weaker, so we had to be extra careful in keeping her healthy.  She did get a minor cold, but was over it in a day or two.  

We were also pretty excited to be able to pick her up under her arms.  Have you ever tried getting a 6 month old in and out of a high chair, carseat, or exersaucer without picking them up under their arms?  Not fun, people.  It's so wonderful to be able to hold her like a normal baby!

No more Lasix for Evin!  I got to turn the alarm I had set on my phone to remind me every day to give Evin her medicine.  It was such a great feeling!  No more tricking her with her paci, no more taking syringes with us everywhere we go, and we have less wet diapers to change throughout the day.  All good news!

Way to go, baby girl!

6 month Well Check

On October 10th we took Evin to the pediatrician for her 6 month well check.  Her appointment was actually about 3 weeks late, because we were given instructions from the cardiologist that Evin would need to wait to have her shots until 4 weeks post-surgery.  This was her first big visit since her surgery (she had one quick visit to diagnose a small cold) and I was anxious to discuss her eating, weight gain, and development with the doctor.

Kicking those legs!

Weight: 14 lbs 2 oz (10th%)
Length: 25 1/4 in  (10th%)

Dr. Daniels pulled up her growth chart and we were able to see the upward trend in both weight and height.  She is not only gaining on track for her percentile ranking, she is moving up in the rankings.  She went from 2nd%, to 5th% and now 10th%.  Way to go, Evin!  He said by looking at her chart, you would really have no idea that she has had 2 heart surgeries.  Amazing!

I brought up how Evin has never really been much of an eater.  She will eat, but she isn't nearly as interested in food as most babies are.  She has NEVER taken an entire bottle without stopping.  It still takes her almost an hour to take a bottle, and even then, she usually doesn't finish it.  She is still getting fortified (formula added) breastmilk through a bottle.  I think the bottle feeding process is exhausting for all involved!  We started her on solids about 2 months ago and she has done really well and loves to eat solids, but just doesn't like drinking milk like normal babies do.  We decided to increase her solids to 3 times a day and keep offering her bottles as we have been.  Hopefully this will keep her putting on weight.  

We also discussed Evin's development.  Heart babies are notorious for being behind developmentally, which makes complete sense because they have not been given the same opportunities that normal babies have been given.  Adding up all the time Evin spent in the hospital for surgeries/procedures (33 days) plus a little bit of time spent recovering at home, I would say she is about a month or month and a half behind other babies her age.  Dr. Daniels said, yes, she is technically a little behind, but it is nothing to be too concerned about considering her circumstances.  She isn't sitting up yet (but is close!) and hasn't rolled over back to tummy yet.  Some parents might be upset by this, but Mitch and I are not at all upset.  We know she will develop fine, she just needs some extra time.  We just want to make sure we are giving her all the help we can be giving her to help her move along.  If this means some type of therapy in the future, then that is what we will do.  Dr. Daniels feels confident that her development will take off in the next couple of months and she will catch up.

Our last big topic of conversation was centered around potential illnesses.  Because Evin has had 2 surgeries and has a weakened heart, she is at much higher risk for illnesses than other babies her age.  Prior to her surgeries, we had to make sure she was healthy and strong in preparation for surgery.  Now, post-surgery, we still have to be pretty cautious with exposing her to lots of people and germs.  We try to keep her away from large crowds and lots of kids.  Sicknesses will hit Evin harder than normal babies, so we just have to be extra cautious with our girl, particularly during flu and RSV season!  Luckily, heart babies qualify for the RSV vaccine, so she will get her first dose at the beginning of November and continue getting doses each month for the rest of RSV season.  It is a tricky balance trying to give Evin normal baby experiences and exposing her a little in order to build up her immunities, but also protecting her from illnesses.  This girl is giving me {lots} of gray hair!

Her sweet smile is oh-so-worth-it though!

Showing off her band-aids from her shots.

Week in Photos- 28 weeks old

We made it into October (my favorite month) and finally got some cooler weather!  I was super excited to finally put Evin in some of her fall clothes.  This includes dressing her in Halloween attire!

Daddy & Evin before dinner one night.  Isn't she his mini-me?!?

My aunt & uncle were in town for a few days, so they came by for lunch one day and brought their grandbaby, Thomas, with them.  Evin enjoyed reading books with Vera and Thomas.

Girlfriend is still not a big fan of men.  Poor Mel didn't get to hold her for long because of the big ol' fit that she threw!

Halloween cutie

I love getting my after-bath snuggles.

She tried a sippy cup for the first time.  It did not go well.

She was very interested in playing with the cup and chewing on it, but did not care at all about the milk inside.  We will try the sippy again at a later date!

I have so many sleeping pictures of her, but sometimes I can't help but take another because she always looks so sweet!

Evin loves her prunes!  This day, she was determined to help feed herself.

She was pretty proud!

Taking a little snooze at GiGi and PawPaw's house.  A pillowcase was the perfect blanket!

This day, Daddy dressed her!

Looking adorable in some Halloween jammies.

Testing out her new giraffe chair from GiGi and PawPaw.  Pretty cute!  

Week in Photos- 26 & 27 weeks old

I feel like I am so behind!  We have been without internet at our house for almost 2 weeks.  On Wednesday an AT&T guy came out to upgrade/fix our internet and install Uverse TV.  He was at our house for 10 HOURS.  OYE.  And we still do not have internet.  I felt bad for him because he couldn't get it to sync up properly and he also locked his keys in his truck and had to call someone out to help.  I also felt bad for me- ha!  Luckily my mom came over to help wrangle the dogs and Evin for awhile, so I wasn't on my own with it all.  Hopefully this next week they will get it up and running.  Until then, I am bumming internet at family member's houses!

Here are pictures from Evin's 26th and 27th weeks, which were towards the end of September.

Storytime with Mums.  She loves to be read to!

We started walking some in the morning and she loves being in her stroller and taking in the sights.  She also cooperates and wears her sunglasses, which I think is pretty darn cute!

Blurry picture, but she started sitting up in her boppy this week.  She's pretty proud of herself! :)

Looking like such a big girl!

 Ready to cheer on the Aggies!

Participating in her own yell practice. ;)

 My friend Courtney came over so we could get some decorations ready for a bridal shower.  Evin loves Courtney and was happy to play with her for awhile!

A friend gave this adorable gown to me at my baby shower for Evin.  I have been waiting and waiting for her to grow into it, and it finally fits!  It was worth the wait, because she looks so cute in it!

 Giving her crazy cousin a "look".

We went on a little road trip to visit my Paw and the Snowdens in San Angelo.  Evin is a great car rider and she has a little buddy that likes to rest her head on her carseat.

Smiles for her great-grandpa, Paw!

Always happy after her bath.  I usually get grins and laughs while I am drying her off.

Just doing some light reading.

Cheering on the Rangers!  Too bad they lost...

Big cheeeeeeeese.