Saturday, December 26, 2009

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

We left bright and early Christmas Eve day and drove 9 hours to my parents’ house in Ohio.  The kids did pretty darn well considering we only stopped once for lunch.  The DVD player we had installed in the van 2 years ago that we’ve never really used did come in quite handy this trip! 

We made it to my parents’ in time to eat dinner, get dressed, and head to church.  Again, the kids were great during the service.  My mom and niece entertained Lindy the whole time and I held Will.  He was whispering, “What’s that?” and it was so cute.  It’s nice to know he knows how to be quiet when he needs to be!

Christmas morning was a lot of fun with four little kids.  Santa found all the kids in Ohio.  My sister, her husband, and her two kids were here (Hayley is 6 and Rylee is 1).   We opened gifts, had an awesome prime rib Christmas dinner, and rocked out to Band Hero on Christmas Day. 

And of course we headed out this morning for some after Christmas sales!  I got the kids their own little Christmas trees to decorate next year, can’t wait!

The kids found their last chocolate in their countdown calendars on the car ride to Ohio.DSC_0449DSC_0450  Opening one gift on Christmas Eve.DSC_0452DSC_0451 Santa presents for Lindy and WillDSC_0464The kids waiting on the steps. Will wasn’t much into waiting though.DSC_0469DSC_0474DSC_0473DSC_0475 DSC_0478 DSC_0481 DSC_0484 DSC_0487 DSC_0492 DSC_0493 Can you find Lindy and Will in all those presents?!DSC_0499 The kids checking out Elmo.DSC_0506 DSC_0515 DSC_0529 DSC_0531 DSC_0545Rocking on the Band Hero drums.DSC_0561 Nana and Papa’s house means treats we don’t normally get at home!  White doughnuts and cheetos!DSC_0568 DSC_0569

3 comments:

Andrea Cominini said...

hey, i am Andrea from Italy and I have been following your blog from months but I never wrote you. I congratulate with you for your little angels and I want to ask you some things. I am the father of Angelica, 24 weeker and now she has 10 months from the birth but 6 and half from due date. She had rop. Can you explain me what happened to Lindy's eyes? did she has rop? what kind of surgery she had, if she had it?
Please I wait for your news if you want... Bye and happy new year!!!

Andrea, Jolanda and little Angelica.

Jamie said...

Hey Andrea, thanks for leaving a comment.

Lindy and her brothers were born at 25 weeks. She developed ROP while in the NICU. She had 3 laser surgeries to try and stop the ROP but the retina in her right eye eventually started detaching. She had a vitrectomy on her right eye to lay the retina back down. It worked but she ended up with quite a bit of blood in that eye so she had another vitrectomy to get rid of the blood. Thankfully it all worked and her retina is now attached. They watched her left retina like a hawk but thankfully it never detached.

Hope that info helps. Hope your daughter is doing okay now.

Andrea Cominini said...

Hey, thank you for your precious infos.
Angelica is born on 7th march 2009 of 24+1 week.
She developed ROP while in the NICU as your kids.
She had 2 laser surgeries in both eyes here in Italy but retina detached.
So we came to the U.S., at Beaumont Hospital Royal Oak, Detroit, MI.
There we met Dr. Antonio Capone an he visited her and told us that
the laser surgeries done were done well.
Then Angelica had vitrectomies in both eyes and Dr. Capone told us that both retinas reattached in the visual part... He expects vision... light, colours, shapes, movement! but what is this??? VISION!!! He was happy... Just after the vitrectomies the eyes of Angelica were frenetic, always in movement. Capone told us that this is normal and that the optical nerve was touched and stop his role. The movement would stop between 1 or 3 months after his last visit (24th september). At that point she will begin to see something, to gaze objects. Now it's about 3 month and 1/2 after his last visit and the eyes are not so frenetic. Now they are firmer, more steady... we are hoping. We stimulate her as they told us. We did other visits in Italy and the phisicians told us that both retinas are attached everywhere even if they are thinner than normal retinas.
The optical nerve is not so pink as it should be, it's a little bit pale (on visit of 20 november). But Capone, after we communicate it to him about this visit, he reassured us and told us that for now it's normal.
We continue to stimulate her!!!

How much your little sweetee sees? when she wore for the first time her nice glasses? When you notice, after last surgery, that she began to see something?

Excuse me if I annoy you!!

If you want let me know.
Your news are very important for us.

Thank you .
Andrea Cominini from Italy