Surgery Update

Just thought we'd update you on Ainsley's surgery today. It went well. We were very happy with the care. Everyone was very helpful and nice. The surgeon found a urachal cyst behind the belly button which he removed and stitched up an umbilical hernia he also found while in there. One of the risks of doing the surgery was that he would go in there and not actually find anything. But of course we wouldn't have known if there was anything to fix unless he did the surgery. So, anyway...... we're thankful that it was done because we wouldn't have known about the cyst or hernia otherwise. But we're glad it's over and hope that we never have to experience it again! Ainsley's been pretty sore all day and very calm and cuddly. We sat/laid on the couch and watched tv all day (which, if you know Ainsley, is very unusual as she is a BUSY girl!). We gave her some pain medicine before bed and are praying that she sleeps all night and wakes up less sore tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray for a speedy and less painful recovery.

Surgery and a Prayer

Ainsley is going to have surgery on Tuesday morning. It will be a minor surgery which should have us in and out of there within a couple hours. We are confident in the abilities of our surgeon but, nonetheless, it is still surgery and it's our baby girl who's having it! She will be under full anesthesia and the doctor will go in through her belly button to either remove something (if he finds anything to remove) or just close the hole which should have already been closed once her umbilical cord detached. Thus removing the little "bubble" thing from her belly button and it no longer will ooze. The only way to know exactly what the problem is, is to explore inside. The reason to do the surgery is two fold: 1) If we were to leave it, it will eventually get infected which could be painful and cause more of a problem. 2) If it was left as is then down the road (like when she's in her 30s or so) it would probably become cancerous. So, we decided to air on the side of caution and just get the surgery out of the way. The healing process is short, only about 2 days, and it shouldn't be too sore (however we will have medicine for her just in case). Anyway, like I said before, we feel she's in good hands but we are still a bit upset at the idea of the whole thing. Please pray that the surgery goes well and that Ainsley will be as pain free as possible. Thank you. I'll let you know how it goes.

Happy Christmas

I am so thankful I have a job that's so flexible. Because of that we were able to go to Indiana for 12 days for Christmas. We hopped in the car and headed north for a 9 hour drive (which is driven over 2 days now that we have a little one that gets a bit antsy after sitting for too long). It was great to get there but unfortunately our first 3 days were spent staying in because Ainsley had the flu. Once we did venture out we had a memorable experience in the good 'ol Indiana winter weather. After visiting with some friends in Indianapolis we left to drive home and have dinner with some other friends. We knew an ice storm and very very cold temperatures were in the forecast so we left plenty early to get to Anderson. What should have taken us 40 minutes to get home took us 5 hours due to the highway being closed and extremely slick roads. That's right.... 5 HOURS!! Needless to say, we didn't make it to dinner and we were ready to be home once we finally got there. Apart from Ainsley being sick and our "great adventure" we had a wonderful time with family and friends. Ainsley had a blast playing with her cousins, turning Christmas tree lights on and off, opening Christmas presents, decorating cookies, etc., etc. Andy and I even got to go to a Colts game with Jack and Rebecca while Andy's sister and family watched/played with Ainsley. We had a great time and so did our little girl.

Tons of Fun

Just a few days after the play date we went to Reid's 2nd birthday party at Gymboree. Ainsley didn't know what to do with herself. There was such a big space filled with pads and toys that she was not afraid to run around and jump and play on everything. She was laughing out loud and throwing her hands in the air. She had so much fun.

New Friends

I've been told more than once now that I'm overdue for a new blog entry. So finally I have the time to sit down and update everyone. First, let's back up to the first week of December... Ainsley and I had a play date! We went over to our new friends' house (Chris, Sarah and Reid Sanders) where Ainsley played with Reid (2), Jake(2 1/2) and Ella (21 months) as I visited with their moms. It was so nice to meet and get to know new people and for Ainsley to be around other kids. Ainsley was a bit shy at first but then made herself right at home- lounging in Reid's armchair and playing with any and every toy in sight. She shared very nicely and it was so sweet watching her smile at and want to give kisses to all of them.

After we left Ainsley was exhausted and it didn't take her long to fall asleep in the car on our way home. We got home and she continued her nap until I had to take her to the Pediatrician that afternoon. Dr. Elliot seems very nice. He checked her out and said she looks great. She's in the top 95th percentile for both her height and weight! She had to get 3 immunisations that day too. Andy has always been with Ainsley for shots as I sat in the waiting room but that day I had no choice because Andy wasn't with us. Ainsley was very tough and I only got a little bit teary. On another note, Dr. Elliot referred us to a surgeon which Ainsley will see this coming week. She will have an ultrasound of her belly button to see if it needs to be fixed. Let me explain: Ever since her umbilical cord came off her belly button has not looked normal. It has a little bubble on top of it which sometimes oozes clear puss. As far as we know it doesn't bother her but it definitely bothers us as we know this should not be happening. The doctor said he's not too worried about it but it could possibly be a problem in the future so he'd like a surgeon to look at it just in case. I'll let you know how that goes.