Major Developments!

Tonight Brenna hit some MAJOR milestones in her development. In chronological order (because mom is kinda nerdy): she ate some squash, held her own bottle, CRAWLED, and pulled herself into standing position by climbing mommy! We finally got her to eat some squash by dipping one of the nipples from her bottle into the food and letting her put it in her mouth, so we may do that for awhile until the spoon is more of a friend. Then, we went to eat a bottle after making a mess with squash and she held it all by herself - and continues to do so with her bedtime bottle. After dinner, we were playing with the book that Jason loaned us (his favorite bee puppet book) and Brenna decided to crawl around. We put the book just out of reach and made the bee buzz and she went right for it!! We were so excited and took video after video. After the big crawling show, she crawled over to mommy who was sitting on the floor and climbed up into a standing position. We could not believe how many milestones were hit all in one night! Guess we better baby-proof before she takes off walking tomorrow =)

Big new toy!

As you can see, Brenna continues to recover very well! She went back to daycare this week and is making the adjustment to being on a schedule again. Her sleep patterns got a little bit messed up, so we are paying the price, but hoping she'll get back on track soon. The glue came off of her lip on Sunday night revealing the scar - which is still healing, but looks great. I don't have a great picture of it just yet, but will try to get one online soon. She still has the nasal conformer in, we hope it is doing it's job and that it'll come out soon.

We've started giving her food (spoon fed food) again, but she doesn't seem to be a big fan. The sweet potatoes aren't going over really well, but the applesauce is better. Her eating pattern seems to be disturbed lately too, so we are just trying to adjust altogether.

Mom and dad bought her a new toy this weekend and she really likes it. She can play standing or sitting - it plays music and has fun peek-a-blocks with it too.

12 days later . . .

Brenna is still recovering extremely well and we couldn't be more thankful. The arm restraints are off and she seems pretty happy about that. We still have to clean out the nasal conformer, which she REALLY doesn't like, but that will only be for a few more weeks. We went for her follow-up appointment with Dr. Beals today (that's him in the picture) and he said that she looks great. We think he is amazing and have been very happy with the wonderful job that he did! We go back to check the nasal conformer again in 2 weeks. Meanwhile, Brenna has been hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa Pearson at home. She has been so lucky to stay at home with family the past 6 weeks. Before the surgery (to keep her healthy) she was home with Grandpa Dave, thenGrandma Diane, then Grandma Ann and mommy and daddy off and on. It has been so much fun! We are all looking forward to getting back into the old routine, but are so thankful to have family and friends that help us out so much.

A New Smile

Brenna is doing wonderfully following her surgery. Almost immediately, her personality came back and she is behaving very normally. She is eating well, and wants to play all the time. She is making noises (baba, mama) with her new full lip and is trying to figure out why her tongue doesn't come right out of her lip like it used to. Although the arm restraints cause her some trouble when trying to reach her toys, they aren't stopping her too much and she is doing so much better with them than we anticipated. Her smile and giggle have also returned and we are so grateful that she is handling this so well.

One down . . .

Brenna had her cleft lip repair surgery today - after 2 cancellations/postponements, we were relieved that it could happen. Grandpa Dave, Grandma Diane and Grandma Ann were all with us at the hospital. She weighed in at 18 pounds, 15 ounces and measured 27 inches long - pretty good sized for a 7 month old! She went into the OR at about noon and around 2:00, Dr. Beals and his partner Dr. Sing (sp?) came into the waiting room to tell us that she had done perfectly and that it had all gone well - there wasn't really anything significant to report it had gone so well. Of course, we were very relieved! After she woke up, Justin and I got to go in to see her in recovery and the picture below is what she looked like at that moment. We had been so anxious to see how different she would look. She was very groggy and drugged, but looked beautiful to us! She had her lip repaired, surgical glue is what you see on the lip, and a nasal conformer in her nostrils - to help reshape her right nostril after repair. We got to leave for home about 30 minutes later and are now adjusting to the recovery period. She seems to be doing ok - just groggy. We haven't had her eat yet, she's just not quite ready, but we'll start with water and see where we go from there. We'll keep you all posted as we travel down the road to recovery! She will also have her cleft palate repaired in a few months - we don't know any details yet. Now that we've been through one, we definitely have a better idea of what to expect. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, they really have meant a lot to all of us!

Surgery update

March 3rd - we are hoping that is the day. We are scheduled for surgery at St. Joseph's hospital that afternoon and are keeping our fingers crossed that it will happen. Brenna has a cough still, but will be getting on antibiotics this weekend and hopefully improving quickly! We are doing the best we can to get her healthy - keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Surgery Postponed - Again

As many of you already know, Brenna's surgery did not take place on Tuesday. Due to a cough and runny nose, the doctors wanted to play it safe and postpone the procedure. There are risks with anesthesia in children with colds and the runny nose could complicate the healing process of the lip itself. So, after a period of time at the hospital - we got the frustrating news that we had to wait about 3 weeks. We are still waiting to get a date for the surgery and will let everyone know once we know! Meanwhile, we are all pitching in to keep Brenna out of day care and healthy. It is difficult to figure out everyone's schedules, but we are fortunate to have family that are willing and able to help out. On another note, Brenna is growing like crazy and doing new and exciting things. After giving up on the cereal - figuring we'd have to reestablish the process after surgery anyway - we tried again after the postponement. She is doing very well now! We mixed the cereal with water instead of yucky soy formula and she eats it right up! She is also perfecting her "army crawl" which is not quite a crawl, but she definitely gets around quickly and can get to something if she wants it bad enough. Thank you all for your support as we wait for more surgery news. We'll keep everyone updated!

6 months!

Today is Brenna's half-birthday! We can hardly believe how fast time has gone by. She is getting so big. She had her appointment last week (so she could get her shots far enough away from her surgery) and weighed in at 16.8 pounds (75th percentile) and was 27 inches long (95th percentile). She is developing right on track and we are so proud of her! She has just started to sit up - with some help. She can stay in the sitting position for awhile, but usually she starts bouncing and throws herself back onto her back. We are getting ready for her surgery - only about 2 weeks away. She will out of day care starting next week in an attempt to keep her healthy for surgery. We are looking forward to getting one surgery behind us, although we don't look forward to Brenna being in any pain whatsoever! But, she's a strong little girl and we know she'll be just fine. Stay tuned for more updates - including pre and post surgery pictures!

Birthday parties and standing

It might not seem like those two things have anything in common, but in Brenna's world they do. Both were big events in her life this week! Last weekend, we attended two 1st birthday parties. One was for our friend Sydney (her daddy is Justin's friend from college) - we had fun watching the other little kids play and watching Sydney eat her special cupcake with lots of frosting. Then, we left that party to go to our friend Maya's party (she goes to daycare with Brenna) near our house. We got there just in time to wear a princess hat that we personalized for Brenna, get a special blow-up wand, and watch Maya tear into her cake, and dance in it too. Brenna is learning new things every day and standing is one of them. She has had strong legs from birth, but now can hold herself up for short periods of time without any support from us. This picture was taken tonight when daddy let her stand at the table while he was close behind. She is definitely more of a wiggle worm than ever before. It is getting more difficult to change her diapers since she squirms around so much, she doesn't want to sit still in our arms, she rolls all over the place when she is put on her floor mat, and her baths are soaking mommy - so much splashing and kicking! But we are having so much fun with her - we can't wait for more!

First snow

Brenna saw her first snow this weekend when we took a trip up to the mountains to see Grandma and Grandpa Pearson. It was very COLD there so we spend all of our time inside, but she got to see it from the windows - in nice warm grandparent arms. Brenna spent the long weekend entertaining everyone with her babbling, funny facial expressions, giggles and rolls. She played peek-a-boo, tickled Grandpa's beard and tried to eat whatever letters/pictures she could find on someone's shirt. She even got a bracelet that mommy wore when she was a baby. We got to visit with Meghan, Sean and Colton too - it was lots of fun! Tonight was our first adventure into the world of oatmeal. Since the rice cereal didn't seem to be making it into her belly, we tried the oatmeal cereal and it went very well. We think she actually ate it instead of rubbing it all over her face. After she ate, we gave her the spoon to play with and she chewed on it for awhile. Maybe tomorrow it'll be more familiar and the food will go down easier.

Another surgery update

We've just been rescheduled - again. But, this time it is moved up a week - to February 14th, Valentine's day! We are still working to get our little angel healthy, she can't seem to get rid of this yucky cough that caused her surgery to be postponed in the first place. She's back on antibiotics and we're hoping it'll work. We might have to take some extra time off with her to get her healthy, but whatever it takes will be worth it! Even sick, Brenna is a pretty happy baby. She is becoming more mobile - rolling around all over the place. Sometimes we'll find that she's rolled from her floor mat/toy to under the coffee table or next to her swing (both about a foot away from the edge of her mat). She continues to wiggle in her sleep and we find her in all sorts of funny positions. She is much easier to get a laugh out of now. Sometimes just talking to her in a silly voice elicits a squeal or giggle. Since our last post, we've stopped trying the rice cereal. She just wasn't doing really great with it and would get pretty mad when we came close with that spoon. So, we took a short break (continuing to let her play in the high chair while we ate) and starting early next week, we'll try out the oatmeal. She is sleeping well - she almost always sleeps through the night for us, which is a great relief (then nobody is cranky due to lack of sleep). Check back soon for more updates!

5 months old

Brenna is now 5 months old! Based on the home scale she weighs about 15 pounds (her next checkup isn't until next month). She is growing and changing so much every day and we can't believe that our baby is almost half a year old. As we've mentioned in earlier posts, she is learning new things each day and has recently started making new noises and puts EVERYTHING in her mouth so we think that teeth are on the horizon. She really seems to enjoy paper and books - those are almost always what she reaches for first (and of course brings them straight to her mouth). I hope she likes books this much when she learns to read! Now that she is 5 months old, we decided to introduce rice cereal to her diet. She was giving us signs that she was ready for food (eating A LOT, eyeballing our food, reaching for our cups, etc.) so we thought we'd try it out. So far, we've tried it 4 times and most of the cereal ends up on her chin, cheek, nose, hands, bib, etc. But, we figure the longer we try, it will become a part of her routine and she'll learn to eat it. It is also an attempt to get her used to the new high chair (and attached toys) that she got for Christmas from Grandma and Grandad Pearson. She has moved into a bigger car seat and has been sleeping through the night most nights (hope I didn't just jinx it) and it is nice for us to get some rest!

Happy 2006!

We started off 2006 with . . . well, with sleep. You know they say babies change everything! Our family has been suffering from coughs, stuffy noses, and all around yucky feelings for awhile now and New Year's Eve was no exception. We are hoping to just kick this junk out of our house soon!! Anyway, our evening was quiet. We started off the weekend getting to see Aunt Jamie and Uncle Josh and then Grandma Diane came to visit too. Grandpa Dave couldn't make it since we were all sick and didn't want to get Great-Grandad Alvin sick. We got to open more presents (and paper for Brenna to eat) and hang out together. It was a fun time. We helped Great Aunt Debbie and Cousin Chelsea move into their new house on Saturday - it was a busy day. Brenna treated us to a couple of new things this weekend. A new noise that she makes sounds like she's clearing her throat, but she does it when she laughs, before she cries and sometimes when she's just hanging out. She's also discovered her tongue and chews on it and sticks it out all the time. It is so fun to see each of her little discoveries! We are definitely looking forward to what new things she will learn as we move into 2006!

Christmas!

The Harvey family had a very nice Christmas this year. Since Brenna was not feeling well, we decided to stay home this year and missed getting to see all of our family, but wanted Brenna to feel better and thought home would help. On Friday, we got to have special visitors from Philadelphia - our friends Ryan and Paula. We went to Christmas Eve mass and boy was it packed! There were lots of precious little people dressed up in their Christmas outfits - including Brenna. Then, Grandma and Grandpa Harvey came over for Christmas Eve festivities and helped Brenna open gifts - including a rocking horse that sings and talks! We enjoyed watching Brenna rip at the paper and try to eat the bows - she was feeling good for a few hours that night. She ended up being sick most of the weekend, but we are hoping the worst is over. We wish that we didn't have to postpone the surgery for so long, but will do what the doctor recommends! Next weekend, we'll get to celebrate with Aunt Jamie, Uncle Josh and Grandma and Grandad Pearson - so they'll be more pictures to come of our Christmas part 2.

Surgery postponed!

Well, unfortunately, the purpose of this post is to tell you all that we had to postpone Brenna's surgery to repair her cleft lip. Earlier this week, mommy got sick and tried her best to stay away from Brenna, but she somehow still got sick and on Thursday we had to call Dr. Beals' office to cancel for Tuesday. Because she had a fever, the informed us that we have to wait 6 weeks before rescheduling. So, her new surgery date at this point is February 21st. Brenna is still feeling a little icky - some vomiting and diarrea - so mom and dad are not very happy either. We hope that she will feel better in time for Christmas so we can at least get some good pictures! We are missing out on a trip to Show Low because of this icky illness too - but there's always next month right?
This is a picture of Brenna's visit with Santa - she did very well in his lap! I know her eyes are red - I can't get our software to fix it, so oh well! This is a picture of her in her cute little patent leather shoes all dressed up for the Christmas parties we attended last weekend. We are looking forward to her first Christmas, even though she is feeling sick. It should be fun to see what she likes most - the gifts or the packaging. =)

Brenna's baptism

Brenna was baptized this Saturday at St. Mary Magdalene's parish in Gilbert. Her Godparents, Jamie and Mark are in this picture and lots of family and friends were able to join us for this celebration. Brenna was on her best behavior and looked adorable in the baptismal gown that Aunt Mary made for her! The only part she didn't like was the water being poured on her head - but she was happy as soon as that was over!
After the baptism, we had a small gathering with family and friends and allowed the subjects of our baby blogs (Brenna, Jason and Jacy) to meet and play! They were all very interested in each other and Jason was a lucky guy to be in between two gorgeous baby girls.

4 months!

Brenna hit the 4 month mark on Friday! She is getting bigger and longer every day and we are enjoying every minute we have with her. I don't have her official weight/height at 4 months - her checkup is next week, but I'll report it then. She is generally pretty happy these days, except for a yucky cold and some gas. She is laughing out loud now, and the baths have moved into the big tub (where plenty of leg kicking and splashing can occur). This weekend, we went shopping for awhile, went to church and to a class to get ready for her baptism. She was a good girl pretty much the whole time! Meanwhile, we are getting ready for surgery and preparing ourselves for the aftercare. Mom is starting to get sad about her poor baby going through this yucky surgery, but we know it's for the best and that she is in good hands!

Happy Turkey Day!!

We had a very nice Thanksgiving this year. We remembered that last year at this time, we were just starting to tell the family that Brenna was on her way into the world! We had dinner at our house and Grandma and Grandad Pearson and Aunt Jamie and Uncle Josh came to visit. Brenna babbled and cooed all day long and then took a nice little nap right as we sat down to eat - she konked out at just the right time! We have all been fighting a little cold, but in general doing great! Brenna weighs 13.5 pounds now and is changing so much every day. I just put away a lot of her 0-3 month clothes and felt so sad that she'll never wear them again. I just can't believe how fast she has grown! We put out the Christmas decorations this weekend and Brenna really seems to enjoy the lights on the tree (and so does mommy). We have a surgery date of 12/27, so we are beginning the preparations that go along with that. She'll be out of day care for about 2 weeks, so we are planning for that and making all the arrangements. We'll continue to post updates, so check back for all the details on her surgery!

Favorite time of day

Brenna loves her bathtime. She gets a bath every day and it seems to be her happiest time. Even if she is grouchy for no reason at all, once she hits that water she is happy! She frequently tinkles in the tub and thinks it's very funny that mommy (or daddy) has to empty and refill the tub. We love giving her a bath, but it's starting to get a bit wet for us too - she's enjoying splashing a bit too much. We're still using her tub over the kitchen sink, but think that that will soon come to an end because of all the splashing.








Mommy was home with Brenna a couple of days this week since some kids in the daycare (including Brenna) got pink-eye. She is doing fine, but hates getting the drops in her eyes - who wouldn't? We also had an appointment with the geneticist (a part of her cleft team) to see if her cleft lip/palate are related to any other genetic conditions. She was fully examined and lots of medical history questions and developmental questions were asked and it looks like she has what is called "isolated clefting" meaning that it is not connected to any other conditions. She was also weighed and measured and is currently 12 lbs, 11 oz and 26 inches long! She's getting so big =)

3 months!

Brenna hit the 3 month mark last Wednesday - we just can't believe how fast these months have gone by! She is doing very well and growing every day. We don't know officially how much she weighs since we didn't have a well-baby visit this month, but we estimate about 12 pounds from our experiences with the home scale. She is really adjusting to the day care and is smiling more and more throughout the day. She has now figured out how to roll all the way over - but still tends to get stuck on her belly and get upset. Most nights, she sleeps quite a bit, maybe waking up once in the middle of the night. She is holding her head up very well and the day care teachers have been putting her in the Exersaucer, so we decided to try it at home and she loves it!