3/15/2011 98 Days Old

On the 98th day in the life of the most beautiful girl in the history of the world the morning began peacefully. We had an early morning visit from Maya’s nurse this morning. Maya had kept us up a little bit last night and we were very tired. Her nursing visit went well. After the visit Erin started working from home, and I sat down with Maya on the couch. I practiced guitar all morning. Maya listened next to me, and Erin worked at the dining room table. It was a good morning. Maya was a little cranky from time to time but overall she had a good morning.

This afternoon Maya had a visit from her occupational therapist and her nutritionist. She weighed in at 8 pounds 8 ounces. We plotted her growth on her growth chart and she is growing just right. We talked with the therapist and got a few tips on some excersizes for maya. We also tried a little tummy time. She is an impressive little girl. She can roll from her back on to her side, where she likes to sleep. She is also becoming more aware of her hands. It is good to see the little things that she has learned over the last three months.

This evening Grandpa Bob and Grandma Chris brought us some dinner. They got their Maya fix in. We listened to Simon and Garfunkel Live from Central park as they held her. Maya is a big fan of Simon and Garfunkel. I can tell that she recognizes the songs. She relaxes and becomes a little more comfortable every time that she hears them. We are now hanging out and winding down from our day. It was a good day for spring break.

3/16/2011 99 Days Old

On the 99th day in the life of the most beautiful girl in the history of the world the morning began peacefully. Maya had slept on the bed with me through the early morning. She kept waking up Erin all night long, and since I am on the far side of the bed from her crib, I slept through everything. Apparently Erin woke me up several times throughout the night, only to be disappointed to the sight of me rolling over and falling back asleep. Some daddy I am. So in the early morning Erin said to me, “if I want to get some sleep I’m going to have to sleep on the couch.”

At 2:00 in the morning I thought she was serious, so I told her to put Maya in bed with me and I would listen for her grousing. After Erin got her laid down next to me she realized there was no room for her in bed, and she went out to the couch. It wasn’t until later this afternoon that I realized, She didn’t really want to sleep on the couch. OOPS

Grandma Patti came by today to help me take care of Maya. We watched a movie and hung out all day. Maya slept for most of the day. I guess she was tired after staying up all night. She has been cranky the last few days. We don’t know why. We know her heart and lungs are having to work very hard to keep up, but we have no idea if that is leading to her discomfort or if she is just going through a cranky week like most babies do. The hard part is not knowing. She may be doing just fine, but that doesn’t stop my mind from getting away from me. Luckily she has calmed down this evening.

At about the same time that Erin got home from work Grandma Kathy came over. We fired up the grill tonight and cooked some hamburgers. It was a beautiful day. We opened the windows and let the breezes blow through the house. After dinner Maya got a bath. She still doesn’t like the water, but her mom loves the way she smells afterward. Maya is resting in grandma’s arms now. We are hoping that tonight goes better than last night.

3/17/2011 100 Days Old and St. Patties

On the 100th day in the life of the most beautiful girl in the history of the world the morning began peacefully. Erin got ready for work and I got to stay in bed. Spring break is nice. After Erin left Maya gave me a little scare. After her 8:30 feeding Maya threw up a little. I don’t think she was able to get it all out and it rattled in her throat as she tried to breathe. I turned her on her stomach and patted her on the back as well as suctioned out her mouth. After a short time her color came back. At this point I was on edge and Maya was very cranky, but she was able to get calmed down and fall back asleep.

This afternoon David came by to help out with Maya and watch some basketball. A stressful morning turned into one of the best afternoons that I have had with Maya. At about 1:30 this afternoon Maya woke up. It was the first time she had really woken up without being cranky in quite a while. She stayed wide awake and playful for the entire afternoon. I spent my time sitting on the couch taking pictures and video of my little girl as she made funny faces and moved her hands all over the place.  It was a special afternoon.

This evening Grandma Kathy came by to share our corned beef and cabbage. We ate our dinner and watched some basketball. After dinner Gerilyn brought us some ice cream. It is cool when people bring us stuff so that they have an excuse to come see Maya. We are now sitting watching our cats. Maya gets a little emotional during the games but we tell her to take it easy on the refs. Halftime is almost over. Gotta go now. Adios.

3/18/2011 101 Days Old

On the 101st day in the life of the most beautiful girl in the history of the world the morning began peacefully. Erin was off work today and we planned to have a fun family day. Somehow we ended up cleaning the house this morning, but I guess that was part of the fun. In the middle of our morning cleaning Maya had a hard episode. Her heart rate went way up and she began to cry. We did the best we could to comfort her but sometimes there isn’t much that we can do. Her spell lasted for about 45 minutes, at the end of which she got worn out and drifted off into a fragile sleep. She would awake from time to time to let out a little whimper, and would then drift off again. After and hour or two she was rested and recovered so we loaded her up in her stroller and went for a walk.

It was good to get out of the house with her. She slept through most of the journey until we turned around to start heading home. Walking the other direction the sun found its’ way past her sun visor and down to her beautiful face, causing a nose scrunch and some tears. We walked home with one of the two of us standing so that our shadow covered her face and the sun would not disturb her slumber any further.

This evening Grandpa Bob and Grandma Chris came by to share our leftover corned beef and see Maya for a while. She was a little bit cranky tonight. Maya that is not grandma. Grandma was just fine. We are going to make it an early night tonight. Maya is already asleep, and we just started a movie. I think I’ll try and watch the movie, but Maya is so cute when she is sleeping that I may be distracted.

3/20/2011 103 Days Old

On the 103nd day in the life of the most beautiful girl in the history of the world the morning began peacefully. Erin had woke up with Maya for her 5:30 feeding. She moved Maya into bed with us and we were able to rearrange a bit and fit all three of us in our little bed. We slept like that through the morning hours.

This afternoon we took turns watching Maya while the other ran errands. It was good to get some alone time. First just Dad, and then just Mom. It was a beautiful afternoon and we were able to open the windows and let Maya smell the breeze as it made its’ way from the front of our house out the back windows. We past the time like this all afternoon. With Maya’s recent health needs it was a needed pick me up. We have been stressed over the past few days. Maya is still doing well, but she is struggling more than ever before. It is hard to see her go through her struggles, but today we got to leave those behind for a little while. She still had her difficult episodes, but we were able to get through them.

This evening Grandpa Bob and Grandma Chris brought us some dinner from our favorite mexican restaurant. We ate our food as Erin held Maya. Maya had gotten hot earlier and we had striped her down to her diaper. She is so cute snuggling against Erin in nothing but a diaper. It is also amazing how much bigger she had gotten over the last 3 months. She has chub-a-lubs now. Little rolls of chub.

We both return to work tomorrow. Neither of us is looking forward to tomorrow, but we will get through. We will rely on our family to help care for Maya and we will keep going with a new found energy from our beautiful day with the most beautiful girl in the history of the world.

3/21/2011 104 Days Old

On the 104th day in the life of the most beautiful girl in the history of the world the morning began peacefully. I ended up having one more day of spring break due to my work schedule. I woke up early to see Erin off this morning. Maya is so beautiful when she is sleeping. When I pick her up from her deep sleep she squints her eyes closed even tighter and puckers her lips. She then reaches both fists up to her face and lets out a whine before drifting back to sleep in her new found comfy spot.

Grandma Patti came by to help take care of Maya today. Maya had a pretty good day. She did urp up a little bit and need some suction to clear her throat, but other than that she did well. The weather has gotten warm here and we had to put Maya in a tank top onesie. It is the green polka dot one from yesterdays blog. In the afternoon it gets a little to warm in the house and I have to wake her up every hour or so and turn her over to her other side. Her down side tends to get sweaty and sticky, so changing it up helps her stay cool. She passed her afternoon on the couch. Sometimes awake but mostly asleep.

This evening Grandma Kathy came by and brought us dinner. After dinner we loaded Maya up in her stroller and went for a walk. I don’t think she liked it much. She wasn’t too cranky, but she is not a fan of the wind or the sun. Even though Maya probably would have preferred staying on the couch it was good to get her out into the world a little bit. She is wide awake now, and is enjoying the company of her mother. We are listening to Mumford and Sons and relaxing on the couch. In case you haven’t noticed are couch is getting pretty well used now. Maya has her favorite spot staked out, and she always calls seat back.

3/22/2011 105 Days Old

On the 105th day in the life of the most beautiful girl in the history of the world the morning began peacefully.  Maya slept well last night, and didn’t wake up until shortly before her 5:30 feeding.  I (Erin) woke up JJ to take care of her food since he had to get up for work anyway.  I fell back asleep until shortly before JJ left and Maya woke. She stayed awake until her 8:30 feeding. Maya slept then for a while so I could get some work done.

Michelle came over today to take care of Maya so I could work. Maya has been a little irritable today. Mostly while she is being fed.  Sometimes she calms down when she is eating, today was not the case.  Today it seemed that she calmed down after the flow of food stopped.  Other than eating, we had a good day. She slept, pooped, ate, slept some more, wiggled and chatted some.   Maya has been playing with her hands a lot lately.  She goes for her face especially.  She has several times actually managed to get her thumb in her mouth, but  as soon as she gets it there she realizes it doesn’t taste good and spits it back out.

Tonight I made a yummy dinner.  While I made dinner JJ played guitar for Maya.  She can definitely tell when her daddy plays for her.  She has definitely had a good musical education in her life, but she always reacts to dad playing to her.  Grandpa Bob  & Grandma Chris are here now and talking to Maya. She’s pretty awake now and is playing for the camera.

3/23/2011 106 Days Old

On the 106th day in the life of the most beautiful girl in the history of the world the morning began peacefully. Yesterday morning Maya made an attempt to keep me from returning to work. Right as I was leaving her oxygen level dropped and she sounded her alarm. She was able to get calm just before I left. This morning that was not the case. She stayed calm and asleep next to Erin as I got ready for work. When I left she was sleeping soundly next to her mom. It was a beautiful sight. My girls asleep in the morning.

While I was at work Grandma Patti came by to take care of Maya so that Erin could work. When I got home I asked how Maya had done today. Grandma said that she had been cuddly today. All that she wanted to do was to be held. In a blow to my ego as soon as I got home and picked her up her cuddly time was over. She groused until I put her down in her boopie. It doesn’t feel very good when she wants to be by herself. Luckily after an hour or so I was able to pick her up and get nestled into the couch. We sat there until dinner.

After dinner KC stopped by to see Maya. He was impressed with how big she has gotten. Shortly after he arrived Maya got herself into a cranky mood. She groused the entire time that he was here. right now she is getting a bath in the kitchen sink. Which is an activity that does not decrease her grousing. Tonight we debated the need for her bath. She won the argument for her mother when she assassinated another diaper. We thought she might be getting easier on the diapers. It has been a few days since we have lost a onesie. She made up for it tonight. Apparently she was saving up for a truly spectacular display of diaper intimidation. The onesie never saw it coming.

3/24/2011 107 Days Old

On the 107th day in the life of the most beautiful girl in the history of the world the morning began peacefully. I had to work this morning and Maya stayed asleep as I got ready for work. When I got home Maya was asleep on the couch. She had a good day today. There were a few times today when she would get cranky and not respond to any comforting we could give her. This only happened a few times today. She was a little bit cranky when I got home. Eventually she calmed down and we took a nap on the couch.

Earlier today Michelle came by to take care of Maya so that Erin could work. This evening Grandma Kathy came by to help us clean and get some Maya time. Maya is sleeping in her boppie now. There wasn’t much going on today. Maya did have a nurses visit today. There were no changes in her condition. She seems to have leveled out. She struggles, but she gets through. We are looking forward to our weekend at home with the most beautiful girl in the history of the world.

3/25/2011 108 Days Old

On the 108th day in the life of the most beautiful girl in the history of the world the morning began peacefully. I had a half day of work this morning, and Erin had to work all day. I was eager to get home to little Maya after work. Grandma Patti had come over to take care of Maya while I was at work. They were resting on the couch when I got home. I got to snuggle up on the couch with her for most of the afternoon. We watched a movie, I played guitar for her, and we just sat and napped a little.

This evening was much busier than the afternoon. Krissie, Travis, Ruth and Lowell came by to see Maya. Grandpa Bob and Grandma Chris also came by. Ruth and Lowell got to see Maya for the first time while Grandma Chris made dinner for us. Maya was in a good mood for most of the night. She is sleeping on grandma’s lap now.

It was an uneventful day. Maya had some trouble spitting up after her 2:30 feeding. She gets most of the spit up out but has trouble clearing out her throat afterward. I suctioned out her mouth, and patted her on the back until she recovered. Other than that episode she had a great day.