2 Cheeks are better than 1

On Friday we pulled out Katie’s feeding tube.  She has been eating every meal by herself and she has been gaining ample weight so we decided to go for it.  There are no guarantees that she will continue to thrive, but it did feel great to be able to give this gift to Katie.  After watching her struggle, I think that both Vickie and I felt like parents with some element of control when we decided to remove the tube…what’s more, we can now see both of Munchkin’s evergrowing cheeks- adorable!

After removing the tube on Friday, Vickie and I left Katie for the first time on Saturday morning.  It was the first time since the hospital that neither one of us was with Katie.  We played our first game of tennis since last September.  Needless to say that Mommy wasn’t quite in peak shape since she has had a couple of distractions over the past 10+ months.  All in all, it was a blast-  we exercised, got fresh (albeit humid) air, and enjoyed each others company…hopefully, we can do this intermittently over the summer months.  Thanks to Baba for taking care of Munchkin while we were out.

Yesterday was Granda’s 60th Birthday-  Katie celebrated like only Katie can-  eat, sleep, poop, repeat!  Unfortunately, we weren’t able to be together on Granda Jerry’s special day but we are all very grateful that we spent some time together around Katie’s first surgery.  We are also excited to welcome Nana and Granda back for Katie’s “show Christening” in late August (as you may recall, we had to have an emergency baptism the day prior to Katie’s surgery).  Happy Birthday Granda!!

It has been a very nice weekend so far and hopefully it will remain that way.  Katie is currently taking a pre-match nap before she gets ready to work her magic for the Spanish Men’s Football team in Euro 2008.  I think that Katie feels that the combo of Iniesta, Fabregas and Torres might be too much for the Germans to handle! Such a smart little girl.  After today, Katie will turn her attention to Wimbledon-  she might have some Spanish blood in her since again she’ll be doing her all to see if Rafa Nadal can topple the dominant Roger Federer.  We are big fans of Fed but Nadal’s passion is second to none- we also see it of the sternest test of Katie’s magical powers.

oops

So as I was filling you in on the events of last Friday, I forgot to mention one important part of the evening.  We went to the doctors, came home, Katie pulled out her NG tube etc.  However, in the midst of our action packed day we had to feed Katie.  As I held Katie, Vickie was warming up a bottle of ”baby sauce” for Munchkin to suck down.  I was reminding Katie of how proud I was and how good she had been during such a tough day of tests.  Then I heard an unmerciful yelp follow by a string of less than appropriate words from Mommy. I look up and she had spilled boiling water down the front of her pants!  I mean really!  If she felt that I wasn’t giving her enough attention, a simple caring confrontation would have sufficed.  Noooooooo, instead Vickie had to ensure her place in the blog by letting a bowl of boiling water pour down the inside of her leg.

I can make light of the issue because Vickie is doing fine (easy for me to say).  She has some blistering and a nasty looking “wound” but we were lucky that Team Manning wasn’t returning to the hospital to visit one of the remote locations we hadn’t yet visited in that wonderful yet godforsaken place!  You can’t keep these Manning women out of the headlines though…craziness.

I apologize for not writing as frequently lately.  Besides the doctors appointments, NG tube incidents, and dumping of hot water, all is quiet. While our days are fairly full, and as eventful as we’d like, they are not great blog material…famous last words.

There is one recurring theme that I am hearing though that needs to be addressed.  There are some people out there that feel that Katie will rule the roost with her Daddy. I take great offence to that.  We’ve even received a repulsive t-shirt for Katie that said “My Finger May Be Small, But I Can Still Wrap Daddy Around It.”  I may give in to every whim that Katie has, react to every whimper, and spoil her beyond all belief, but to say that she has me wrapped around her finger…good point!  I think that  I am going to be demanding of Katie as she gets older.  I am demanding of her right now as we force her off of the NG tube, but it is SO hard.  She is so cute and so good.  She is a trooper- a well behaved little girl who peacefully lies through batteries of tests, cooperates with the dropping of her NG tube, and is generally amiable when awake…who wouldn’t spoil her?  Who wouldn’t be wrapped around her perfectly cute and incredibly soft little fingers??? Ask yourselves that question before you judge me!  Just kidding. 

Finally, I wanted to let John and Maria know that Katie and I enjoyed the Spain against Italy match last Sunday.  We were shouting for Spain so you’ll be glad to know that Katie’s unbeaten streak lives on!!!!  Unfortunately, I won’t be able to watch the Euro 2008 semi-finals since I have work (the 5 hour time difference is a killer during the week) so the team will have to win for themselves without the magical voodoo powers of young Katherine Alexa.  Rest assured, that should Spain scrape through against Russia that we’ll be shouting vamanos into the TV on Sunday!!

more updates

We had our first cardiology appointment at Yale yesterday.  Overall, everything went very smoothly.  In fact, I think that Vickie and I feel a little more at ease with every passing day and every doctor’s validation. Katie underwent the usual battery of exams, including an echo and EKG.  She met with 2 cardiologists and 1 surgeon…your run of the mill doctors appointment. 

Katie’s heart looks strong and seems to be functioning as well as they could hope for.  Her lung saturation was slightly higher than desired so some of her meds have been increased.  The only “negative” was the way her incision is healing. It looks as though some of the sternal wires that bound her sternum back together may poke through her chest in the coming weeks.  They were very concerned that Vickie and I would take this badly…we just shrugged it off-  in the grand scheme of things, these minor physical/ cosmetic issues are trivial…what’s more-  she’ll have her incision opened up two more times-  they just need to get it ALL right the last time!

Katie is advancing well enough that we were cleared to take her outside a little more, so we went for our first walk tonight.  Obviously, Katie loved it- she slept the entire time…a sure sign of satisfaction I’d say.

We are now trying to decrease the amount of food Katie gets through the tube…time for a little tough love and a little operant conditioning.  Ideally, she could be off the tube in a couple of weeks.  That would be great for all involved, but we won’t rush things-  calories and growth are most important.  Unfortunately, I think that Katie heard our conversation with the doctors about her tube-  we got home and she yanked it out again…so impetuous….like….mommy. 

(picture- this is Katie today in an outfit given to her by Granda…she loves striking a pose!)

Picture Time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our little Bullet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 Generations of Penchuk women!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Manning family enjoy their first walk together tonight!

 

 

Unbeaten

(Picture- Katie is in utter disbelief as the Celtics demolish the Lakers to win the 2008 NBA Championship!…fair reaction!)

Munchkin is truly a good luck charm- in only 1 month of life she can say she was around when United won the Champions League and the Celtics won the playoffs for the firs time in 20+ years.  Granted, poor Katie has had a couple of incidents that could be deemed less than fortunate, but at this rate our professional sports teams will see some serious domination in the years to come.   She is a true martyr-  trading a fully functional heart for the good of her teams… 

Katie is getting bigger, stronger, and more alert with every passing day.  She has gained weight for 3 straight days and she has her first cardiology appointment tomorrow.  She is also eating less and less through the NG tube (although we aren’t going to be free from it in the very near future).  I will have more to write tomorrow after our appointment.

One last thing-  everyday I become more and more humbled by the support that has been given to Vickie, Katie and me.  I knew we were loved but the outpouring of support is remarkable. Thank you all again for what your are doing for our family…unbelievable.  I couldn’t imagine a more difficult situation being more easy…if that makes any sense.  Each of you are proving adidas right- “impossible is nothing.”

She speaks

…well, not really, but tonight I heard Katie make noises for the first time.  This wasn’t coughing, grunting, or crying, but cooing.  Such a trivial yet amazing thing!  It was as though I had heard her quote a Shakespearean sonnet.  I am amazed by how much Katie is growing and developing every day-  she is more alert, aware and coordinated.  She is even becoming more responsive to her surroundings…such an amazing thing to witness.

As you can gather, Katie had another positive day.  She gained a bunch of weight on Sunday, lost a little on Monday, and gained a good amount more today.  She is now back to her birth weight…way to go Munchkin…if she doesn’t watch herself I’ll have to start calling her Chunkin!!!! 

angel

4 weeks old today and already Katie knows when Mommy and Daddy need a boost!  I got home from work  excited to see Vickie and Katie, but I was tired.  I didn’t sleep a lot last night.  Vickie went to run errands and I sat with Katie.  Sitting here, I began to grow angry.  Every now and again the “fairness” anger and frustration comes to the forefront. Within a half hour I was slipping into an angry, tired, moody state.  Katie was sleeping and I was looking at her- searching for answers.

Fast forward 2 hours-  Katie pops her eyes open and begins to act like the cute little angel that she is!  Was I frustrated? Angry?  Looking for an explanation?  Who, me?  No way- I am a smitten father enjoying his daughter…I don’t have a worry in the world.  And as quickly as it came, the anger was gone with a literal blink of my Munchkin’s eye. Thank you Angel.

Father’s Day

What a day!  Today I celebrated Father’s Day.   As someone who doesn’t like to make a big deal out of my birthday, I was far more excited to enjoy being a member of the Father’s Day club.  My birthday doesn’t mean much to me (although now I understand why it does to my parents) but Father’s Day represents Katie, and my connection to her. 

While today felt fantastic because of Father’s Day it was tempered by the departure of my Mam and Dad (pictured to the right holding Katie). They have been an immense support over the last 4 weeks…and 29 years!  While their departure marks a return to normalcy and an indication that we are going to start living our normal life now, it hurts more than ever to see them leave.  I was SO excited 4 weeks ago when I realized that the arrival of Katie meant that I was no longer the apple of their eye (the “Prince” is dead).  They are smitten by Katie- their love for her is plastered across their face every time they are in the same room as her.  We are all very excited for your return visit and glad that it will be sooner rather than later.

A day like Father’s Day now makes me reflect on parenthood and the type of dad I’d like to be.  Contrary to popular belief, I don’t want to be an overbearing dad. I want to show Katie the world, both good and bad- give her the tools to thrive and then sit back and let her flourish!  Vickie and I both agree that we can attain these types of goals if we are even half of the parents to Katie that our parents were and still are to us!!!!

Katie is still coming on strong.  She is struggling with a very minor “cold” that is creating some discomfort in her throat but it didn’t prevent her from putting on a chunk of weight today.  The doctors want her to gain 10-15 grams a day-  she put on almost 100.  Understand that our Buddha will most likely drop some weight tomorrow and that the gains they desire are averaged over a series of days…the scary part of the weight gain though is that ALL of the increases are going straight to her cheeks!  Already she could probably take on 10 marshmallows without flinching…she’s like her daddy after all.

Art from Oz

This is Katie showing off her newest piece of art-  a painting from Emily in Australia!  We are hopeful that someday Katie will get to meet Emily and thank her in person for the beautiful painting which will be put up in her room.  Thank you Emily for being so thoughtful-  this picture brought a big smile to all of our faces…

More Proof

…she IS the Incredible Hulk!  Check out Katie’s right foot- more support for our claim that she is extra special.

 

The truth-  this is Katie and Mom making a Father’s Day card for Daddy…perfect!