Funny Pictures

Santa gave Sam some silly putty for Christmas. To give him something to do in between calls at work. We got a little bored yesterday and this is what we did just before he left for work.

THE DAY I BECAME A HEART MOMMY!

THE DAY I BECAME A HEART MOMMY!
I found this poem from a friends site. It somewhat describes what my new life is like!

One day my world came crashing down,

I'll never be the same.

They told me that my baby was sick.

I thought, "Am I to blame"?

I don't think I can handle this.

I am really not that strong.

It seemed my heart was breaking.

I have loved her for so long.

I will not give up on this child.

I will listen to your advice.

I will give my daughter any chance.

No matter what the price.

I will learn all that I need

To help my baby thrive.

I'll even use that feeding tube.

My child must survive!

Will she need a lot of therapy?

Will she gain the needed weight?

Please God, help me do this.

As I accept our fate.

When the monitors beep at night,

it serves as my reminder.

How many parents would love that sound.

Tomorrow I will be kinder.

As another Angel earns his wings,

I run to my baby's bed.

I watch her sleep for quite a while.

I bend down and kiss her head.

I cry for the parents whose hearts have been broken.

I look to You wondering why?Oh Lord,

I just can't know your ways....

no matter how I try.

And yet, I trust you hold her life,

and guide us through each day.

My mind says savor each moment she's here,

but my heart begs, "PLEASE let her stay"!

From pacing the surgical waiting room,

to sitting by her bed.

From wishing for a good nights sleep,

to learning every med.

From wondering, "Will she be alright?",

to watching her reach out her hands.

With every smile my heart just melts,

despite life's harsh demands.

For all who see that faded line.

I look to them and smile.

You see my child is loved so much.

I would face ANY trial.

That scar I trace with my finger

(It's the door to her beautiful heart).

God must have known how much I'd love her

(Just as He loved her from the start).

A heart mom is always a heart mom.

Now wise beyond her years.

For those who have angels in heaven,

Our hearts share in all of your tears.

Every day I will try and remember,

I was chosen for her (and no other).

I will always embrace that beautiful day.......

When I became a "Heart Mother".

"author unknown"

Doctors, Doctors, Doctors....

Last Tuesday we took Misky to see a chiropractor that was recommended by a family member. It was fun to see what he could do with Mariska and did some adjustments that are supposed to help the mind and the heart and liver afterwards she seemed to be much happier during the night and wasn't nearly as mad as she would get at night. Later in the week on Wednesday we went to her pediatrician for her 2 month checkup to see how she was doing and their was some great news. She had gained one pound and is now 9 pounds. Although she is slightly smaller in size than an average baby her age. The Pediatrician said she has developed mentally and has caught up to any normal baby her age and maybe even more than expected. Afterwards they gave her six immunizations 5 shots and one oral. She didn't like it too much but all went well when it was all over. The following day we decided to record her on video camera because she was cooing allot and trying to take. Then funny thing was that in one moment Melynda mentioned on the video that Mariska was doing really good, immediately afterwards we caught on video what sounded like her first words. Which was "I'm Good", at first we didn't realize it but as we played back the video camera it was exactly what she said. Wow, we are thinking either it is just a coincidence or we have a really special baby.

Hungry Hungry Hippo!

Mariska surprised me today. After throwing up most of the last bottle and the bath to clean her up. (she loves baths, sits there with a smile on her face and kicks a little in the water, doesn't even mind if waters running down her face.) she ate over 3oz. That's the most she has ever ate at once, I was wasn't sure if she would keep it down but she did. I jumped online to message Sam about how much she ate. haha Its wonderful how little things can make you so happy. We see her pediatrician tomorrow, and find out how much she weighs, she has been getting heavier and is filling out every where, seem like every day she is changing, its so wonderful. Love, Melynda and family

Two Months!

Mariska is two months today! What a ride it has been for us. I'm not sure what to say today. Mariska has been fine so far with being off her Reglan. I have to say it been nice not having to give it to her every 6 hours. It by far was the best smelling med she had, smelled like french vanilla frosting. I got Misky to nurse for 13 mins, I was so excited, something finally worked. I had to leave her in her bouncy set and bend over the top of her, not the most comfortable position but it worked for a while. :) hopefully tomorrow it will get her to do it again. Looks like my dad (Mariska's grandpa) is staying in Iraq for a few more months. He was called to be the 2nd counselor to the Bishop in their Branch a few weeks a go. He is loving it so far. There was talk that he was going to be sent back home with the rest of the group, he was kind of sad about leaving his calling. He has to move to Balad airbase. We're so proud of him for being over there. Hes missed all the events with Mariska, he might be home before Misky has the next surgery. Take care, we love you all. Melynda and family Here's a picture of him and the group.

Smiles

Mariska has been starting to smile more and more. She's been trying to laugh when we play with her. Some times a squeek will come out. Shes so much fun, such a happy little girl. Its been about every other day that shes super happy and smiles every time we look at her. Then the other days shes just not as happy, and cries a lot more. But dont we all have out good and bad days. She has such a strong personality and it comes out more each day. Every time I look at her she changes, she'll have a new smile, and is just getting so big. She finally is out of her newborn clothing, seeing how shes 8 weeks now.
Love Melynda and family

Moving End Of Febuary

Our lease is up soon at our appartment, I knew this day was going to come. With all the new bill we have and with gas prices. I have to find somewhere that we can afford. We might have found a few places, I pray one of them will work out for us. I have forgotten what it is like to move, this should be a fun road ahead. Please keep us in your prayers and hearts. Love Melynda

Reglan

We just found out today that one of the drugs Mariska is on is not that good for her. One of our support group friends began to research the medicine Reglan on to see what the possible side effect of a medication. What she found disturbed us. she found out that Reglan, is only intended for short term use, 4-12 weeks at the most. It is known to cause tremors & a whole slew of other problems. Her little one was showing signs of tremors just after 10weeks of being on the drug. Mariska has been on this for about 7 weeks. Its used to help with throwing up. We stopped this med as soon as we read that. She hasn't had a problem with throwing up even since we got to take out the feeding tube. Seeing how this is not that important of a drug for her we feel good about dropping it. If she stats to have trouble with throwing up we can just put her back on. I feel bad, that I really didn't read on any of the drugs shes been on. Reglan has the effect of dizziness and headaches and a few other things. It was hard to even remember all the drugs shes been on. We are still giving her aspirin, Zantec, and a lasix to help get the fluids out. I hate to the thought of doing something wrong that will damage her in some way that we could have avoided. Some times it would be nice to have someone tell you strait up how it is and what the pros and cons are, I guess that's my job as a parent to find out. Its just scary to thing sometimes not knowing what tomorrow has in store for us. Thanks for all the prays and help. Love Melynda

A Whole Month

Mariska has officially been home with us for a whole month! What a miracle. Sam and I cant decide who she looks more like, it switches between us daily. What a joy to have her home, I finally feel like a mommy having to get up every few hours for her. I still pump, and nursing her seems like some far away dream. We give it a go and after she screams for a while and we're both almost in tears I give in and give her the bottle. We'll just keep going at it. Love the Andersons

A Look At December

Here's a little update on Mariska. We got the feeding tube out before Christmas, We are really glad to see that one go. Now we give her all her meds orally, one of them is not the greatest tasting thing, she makes faces when we give it to her. very entertaining. Her umbilical cord had come off it was being held on by the strings they used to sew up her belly button, ( they did a medicine line threw her umbilical cord for some of her heart meds, to keep her heart valve open before surgery.) So we cut the strings, she go her first real bath on Sunday Dec 30th. She enjoyed her bath, it was funny to see her kicking in the water trying to figure out what it was. We got her Medicaid card in the mail on Saturday, She has full coverage, what a blessing. Now we just have to find out how to get all bill from the hospital payed, just a few phone calls hopefully. She Got her RSV protection shot yesterday on the 31st. This is the shot that was going to cast us any where from $1,000 to $1,500 per shot, every month until the end of spring . We got a call from a Primary asking if we wanted to be part of a new medicine study, this was the answer to our prayers, we signed up for it, she now will get the shots for free and they'll pay us $30 for each visit. We got the shot on the last day of enrollment. We're so grateful we got that call. Last week we went to her pediatrician for a check up, she has gained a pound in a week and a half, I thought she was getting heavier. Mariska now weighs 8.1lbs. hehe. Mariska has become a good little eater and sleeps threw most of the night, just wakes up to eat and goes back to sleep. Shes more then either of us could have dreamed for. Thank you for checking up on us and for all your support. Love Melynda, Sam and Mariska