Claire Update

Our dialysis nurse called yesterday and they had some great news for us. Claire's oxalate has remained below the 70 level. It is at 67 and a month ago, it was at 65. So virtually the same. We are all very excited about that and know the prayers of many (more than we are even aware of) are being answered. Thank you for everyone for your continued prayers for a baby girl!

They are going to be doing some precautionary tests on Claire within the next few weeks. Because of her need for the B6 vitamin, Claire is at risk for peripheral neuropathy. That means some kind of weakness in certain parts of your body, having to do with the nerves. It's hard to see any signs of it now, as she is still so young; but they do want to stay on top of things and ensure they are working on the offense instead of the defense. We will also be doing another echo on her heart to make sure oxalate isn't getting into other organs (her heart) in her body.  I am so grateful for the medical care we are able to have. What a blessing it is to live in this country where these things are readily accessible and available to us.

Still no word on the genetic studies. Dr. Ford was going to call the Mayo Clinic to see if he can find out what is going on with those studies that were sent back in the end of January. That will hopefully help us know what the next step needs to be with Benson.

Claire is now starting to be able to sit up by herself! She is also began to eat some baby food. She is not as accepting of the food as Benson was, but hopefully with more exposure, she'll start chowing it down!

The Terrific Two's

Yesterday was one of the classic two year old days, at least as far as nap time went. Benson went down for his nap a little better than usual, not putting up much of a fuss at all. I didn't hear anything from his room for the first 45 minutes of his nap and thought yay he went down just great and is sleeping like a champ! Little did I know what was going on behind a closed door. Then the doorbell rang-it was the UPS man-and after that I heard some noise coming from upstairs. Great he's not asleep like I thought. Or he was asleep and the doorbell woke him up. A few minutes later I decided to go and see if I could figure out what was going on. As I walked around the corner, he was looking out the door and quickly shut the door as he saw me approach. I quietly went in and to my surprise, saw baby wipes all over the room. Then I noticed there was a white paste on some of the wipes. Upon further examination, I recognized the paste a diaper rash cream. Then it all started coming together. His Mickey Mouse stuffed animal was covered in diaper cream with a diaper that he was obviously trying to put on too! Not only Mickey but Mr. bear and the majority of his bedspread and sheets were spotted with cream!

Wait, it gets better.

I haven't said a word yet as I begin to take out the sheets. I put the sheets, stuffed animals, and other tainted items in the hallway and got another blanket and pillow for Benson. I said "night night" and left.

So I started the laundry and didn't expect him to go to sleep. Another 30 minutes went by and I suddenly heard his heard his door open and close real fast. As I walked upstairs, I thought I smelled something unusual. Outside of his room, I saw the extra blanket and pillow I had given him. I opened his door and saw him sitting on his bed with a bottle of hand sanitizer in his lap. There was hand sanitizer everywhere! I first smelled his mouse to make sure he hadn't eaten any. He hadn't put any in his mouth, but it was just about everywhere else.  Blanket and pillow outside of his room were covered in sanitizer and it was all over his mattress pad and rug.

Oh, the joys of toddler hood. I suppose this is a say not uncommon to almost every parent of a two year old. What a boring (and much cleaner life) we would have without these inquisitive, "I can do everything by myself" little-guys!

Relax

Today I got my first facial! It felt so good! I was surprised how relaxing it was to just let someone else pamper me. I'll definitely have to do it more often!

Benson is staying with Jared's parents in Idaho for the week. It is a very strange feeling to have him gone and you have such a quiet house. It made me realize how easy taking care of a baby is compared with taking care of a two year old! Although I miss Benson and will be grateful to have his sweet smiling face and burst of energy back in our home, it has been a nice break for me. I've been able to catch up on a lot of things around the house that keeps getting put off. It has also been nice to spend a little more one-on-one time with Claire and give her a little more special attention.  Children are a blessing, but it's been nice to take a small break! Quiet but nice!