Christmas and Myra's 3 Month Update

Wow, it's been a while since I've updated! December was VERY busy, but January has finally slowed down a bit....

"Miracle" had her umbilical hernia repaired on December 18th and had an anal scope and dilation done along with an MRI. Her umbilical hernia might have closed on its own, but her intestines were falling through the hernia and would likely not allow self-closure to happen. So, we opted to do the surgery earlier rather than later because it would be easier the smaller she was, and we felt she was having some discomfort from it, too. The scope was just to check for problems because Miracle had blood in her stool a few times, and I'm still not sure why he did the dilation. The surgeon mentioned anal fissures, but she only has breastmilk stool.... I guess to avoid future problems....?? Anyway, the surgery apparently went well, though they had issues during her MRI and had to hand-bag her the entire time since she was sedated. I'm glad the anesthesiologist was anal like I am and was with her every moment through surgery and the MRI to keep an eye on her. We will get her MRI results on January 21st. Here are some photos from the stay in the hospital:

Waiting for Surgery in the sling:

Right after Surgery:

Belly button before Surgery:

Belly button after Surgery:

Christmas was pretty laid back this year. I didn't put up the tree until days before Christmas and didn't do any extra decorations. It was fun to have 7 stockings hanging this year! We did our Jesse Tree, but Mommy dropped the ball a few days....oops! We were given lots of gift money with Miracle's situation this year, so we had a good Christmas for the kids. Probably the last one for a while. They each got a big present, a few little presents and a stocking full of little tinker things. And for the first time in 6 years, Mr. Prince and I got to purchase gift for each other! They were fun, cheap gifts but it was nice to get a gift from each other. It's something we need to do more often. Here are some photos from Christmas:

This ended up being Boo Boo's favorite gift, a cowboy hat!

Grandma and PopPop got the kids 63 piece puzzle and they loved them!
Sid is in his new GI-Joe costume, too.
The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is popular in our house...
mostly because we love to hear Boo Boo say, "Oh Tooooodles!"Princess Pea and Angelica Pickles have BEGGED for these PJs for MONTHS!Sid has gotten into GI-Joes recently

After multiple Christmas celebrations, PaPaw and Grammy and Cousin Kristan visited from Illinois! They even came bearing MORE gifts! My ornery children weren't very grateful as they opened clothes as their gift. The girls seems excited at first, but then Sid the Science Kid actually asked why they weren't getting toys. Boogers! So much for the unselfish Christmas I planned on... PaPaw then brought out the FUN gifts and they were a hit! Much better than Mommy and Daddy's gifts... =) It was nice to visit with my Dad and Step-Mom since we couldn't make the trip to IL this year. Our van just isn't big enough for a long-term trip with 5 kids! And Miracle HATES the car anyway....

PaPaw and Boo Boo

The same day my Dad headed out, I took the girls on a special trip to MI. Princess Pea's best friend, Kia, was having a Princess birthday party. Since we weren't making the trip to IL during Mr. Prince's vacation, I decided to visit Kia's family with just the three girls. They had a blast! Happy 5th Birthday Kia!

Princess Pea, Kia and Angelica Pickles

I helped with the cake. =)

Like I said, January has finally slowed down a bit and we are starting up some school finally, since Miracle's birth. Our first week it took me all week to get through each subject area at least twice, but that's better than nothing! I'm really going to focus on Math and Reading this semester, and our History and Science curricula will just be bonus features for now. I think the breaks we've taken, though necessary, have set Princess Pea's reading back and I'd really like her to move forward with that. She's ready to keep moving and doing great. Sid the Science Kid needs to focus on memorizing his addition facts better so we can move forward with carrying/borrowing and get ready for multiplication at the end of the year. The kids are BEGGING for school these days and our house really runs more smoothly with school structure in place. Looking forward to getting back to "normal"!

I have picked up a few little projects this month. Miracle was in need of a winter hat to fit her tiny head that didn't squeeze it, so I crocheted and knitted a few. I am also in the process of making some leg warmers for the girls' ballet class. Here are Miracle's hats:

I didn't ended up liking this one on Miracle, so Angelica Pickle's doll took it.....

On of my favorite photos of Miracle!

Miracle Myra will be 4 months on the 24th....whoa!! I can't believe it's been that long! She is about 9.5lbs now and finally moving out of her Newborn clothes into 0-3 months!!! I thought my last three were tiny.... She is actually doing Great! She sees her First Steps therapist once a week and Mommy does therapy with her multiple times a day. She is cooing and smiling more every day, she is improving on her head control each week, she is tracking better and is becoming interested in more things, her range of motion is excellent compared to what is was when she left the hospital and in the normal range now, and her therapist has been very happy with her progress. She seems to like therapy and massage, which is good. I have been very encouraged with her continued progress, despite the fact that her head doesn't seem to be growing right now. We are still waiting for God to move and take control of this situation. There have been so many verses I've read, stories I've heard and sermons I've listened to lately that have been encouraging. Remember and hold onto the promises God has given you. Don't give up on your child's development because God hasn't and won't. Don't listen to what the world is telling you because God's power is greater than this world's. Believe. Pray. I've taken it all in and feel very confident that God was specifically speaking through all these avenues straight to me to encourage me. He has done amazing miracles in Myra's life so far and I have no reason to think He's done moving. I love John Waller's song:

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

Happy Girl

Myra - 2.5 months old

Myra has had such a rough start, poor little girl. What an amazing story we will have to tell her someday, though...

We actually ended up in the ER with Myra last weekend because she had her first seizure since 1 day old. They were weaning her off her seizure medication in hopes that her seizures were just due to her traumatic birth, hoping she didn't actually have a seizure disorder from brain damage. It's still to early to tell, but she will be on medication for at least a few years now, possibly for a lifetime. Unfortuantely, her debut as baby Jesus didn't happen, as we left for the hospital just minutes before she was to be on stage. Thankfully, we had planned a back-up baby for each performance in case one baby was fussy. Oh well.


Myra seems to slowly be getting back to her normal self. It took a number of days. But, she is back to tracking well, cooing some, smiling occasionally, and even grabbed onto my shirt a few times while nursing today.....all great accomplishments! We are working on tummy time, range of motion, and stretching out her neck (because she prefers the right side) with her physical therapist currently. She is still seeing a neurologist, pediatrician, physical therapist and chiropractor regularly. She has surgery for her umbilical hernia scheduled for December 17th. This week her intestines were falling through her hernia and seemed to be bothering her a lot. The surgeon said we could do the surgery any time, and we opted to do it sooner rather than later. Since she has to be under sedation for her MRI also, we are doing the MRI the same day. Unfortunately, it won't be until the end of January when we get those results. Her head has grown some more lately. It was 33cm at birth and is now 33.6cm. Something is better than nothing!! So far she seems to be developing normal, but there is still lots to wait and hope for. So, for now we take one day at a time and celebrate the little things. And each time I kiss my other four kids on their heads, I thank God for their big noggins that hold a perfect healthy brain. You sometimes don't know all the things you truly should be thankful for until it has been taken away...

Here are some photos of Myra now that she is 2.5 months.

Mommy has splurged on dresses now that I'm realizing this may be my last little girl!!!