What is in a Smile.....

Our girl has definitely settled in at home. Yesterday she was a little quiet yet not complaining too much. We were able to figure out good sleeping arrangements with some improvising. We have seemed to improvise a lot lately, but hey, whatever works.

 The point was to have the nest tucked behind her so she was wedged on her side, during the night she got her way and had some time on her back which she loves. Because of the layers of blankets, that thankfully protected her head. I used a white blanket so I could see if there was any seepage from the bandage, all was clean so that was a big plus! Sleeping arrangement improvising = success!

So much is told from Danielle by the continuous smile on her face. If we don't see it then that is our que that something is wrong. Her smile literally tells us a story, there is so much behind her smile.
Yesterday I had to change one of her bandages for the first time. The bottom one had become quite loose and I was really nervous about it not staying covered. The PICU sent us home with a nice kit of alcohol prep pads and bandages for this reason. So I set off to change the bottom bandage. I made sure to do this before her bath because I did not want any moisture at all to get under there. She is not allowed to get her hair or bandage wet for over a week, so sister's got a sweet little do going on right now!

Supplies = check! 

Poor little girl, incision #1.

 All done!

 The changing of the bandage went good. As you can see the incision is pretty large and is sort of 'c' shaped, and that is only 1 of the 2 incisions. The top incision you see has bled a little bit but until the bandage loosened up more I could not change it.
This afternoon it was pretty loose, and just attached at 3 corners lightly so i was able to change it as well. Changing the top one, she cried. It made me feel horrible. It was stuck to her hair a little bit which pulled more than I anticipated. But it was good to clean it, there was a lot of dried blood underneath that needed to be cleaned.

Incision #2.

So now she has 2 fresh bandages on and I know both incisions have been cleaned. I really hope that the bandages stay and don't need to be replaced for several more days, but it was good to see both incisions to have a baseline and I know what to watch for as far if any concerning changes come up, and should I see anything different. I don't want to put our poor lil peanut thru that hair pulling again so hopefully all will be good for awhile.
Today was spent just me and her. We are in the process of getting nursing set back up and so today we had no agenda. We snuggled and talked. It was so great to hear her voice today, she was mocking me which was adorable and even giggling at herself. It was so great to see her smile, there was a very happy girl behind that smile.

 We have improvised yet again breaking out the infant bouncy seat. She barely fits and only one side of the buckle fastens her in. But it allows her to be in a somewhat upright position which she needs and provides nice cushion behind her head should she turn her head from the side. We use the nest to prop up toys up there for her to play. I also am using this for spoon feeding as well.

 Around Noon she was a little fussy. Probably the most fussy we had seen since we've been home. She hadn't had any Tylenol since Saturday night so I felt it was time to give a dose. We hadn't given her any because she hadn't acted like she really needed it. Because we need to really watch for infection it is important to not give the Tylenol unless really needed.  Her belly was full and she was being held and still fussy, so I knew she was a little uncomfortable. A dose of Tylenol and a 2 hour nap did wonders. The smiles returned, just what this Mommy needed to see!

What is behind a smile...... so so much. There is a story that this beautiful little girl has to tell. We are working on helping her get it out, she has quite the story and so much to say. We are so blessed to have her with us today.~