How Many Lambros's Does It Take?

How many Lambros's does it take to change the battery in a fire alarm?

 

3 - One on the phone and two on the ladder... LMAO!

 

 

A Very Merry Christmas

I dont have much to say today, but wanted to post a picture of our stockings... I LOVE THEM.

Thanksgiving... and the Redskins!!

I am so excited for Thanksgiving this year!  Family, food and FOOTBALL!  It is standard tradition that the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions always play on Thanksgiving.  I've never been a fan of having 2 set teams play on this holiday.  Why isn't it a random draw every year?  Whatever the case, it's always fun to watch these games.  We are early eaters.  This means we are stuffed, happy and dozing in and out of consciousness during the games... just the way I like it.  This year; however, will be different.  The Redskins are playing the Cowboys!!  This is huge!  Not only are these two teams big rivals, but I have been a Redskin fan since the day I was born.  My father wouldn't have it any other way.  I started going to the games with him when I was 9.  Rain, snow, sleet, blazing heat... there we would sit.  If the game was 40-0... there we would sit.  He passed away when I was 13 and the tickets went to me.  There were 4 of them.  My father had a son from a previous marriage and he was also interested in the tickets... my poor mom.  After multiple awkward conversations, we decided to split them.  Then, a few years later, we decided to move sections.  It all worked out in the end and now, after 21 years of the tickets being in my name, our seats are 6 rows from the end zone and fabulous!  I will never get rid of my tickets.  Pulling up to the stadium for the first game of the season gives me chills.  I can just feel my dad's presence!  Granted, we have switched stadiums since his passing, but it still brings memories.  RFK was our first home... Lot 8, under the tree.  Memories!  Now we are at Fed Ex Field and it's a wonderful new stadium.  I am forever proud of my team.

So, this year... after turkery, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn pudding, candied yams, Grandma's homemade rolls and gravy, the entire family will be in one central location... in front of the tv with pie and coffee.

I am posting this late and....... THE REDSKINS WON!  It was a great game!!!!

 

Michael... after the Redskins won!

 

Horner's Syndrome? No thanks, we'll pass.

I know that having a premature baby is a life changer.  Having a full term baby is a life changer in itself.  From day one we have had worries, scares and stressful, challenging times.  I am a researcher at heart... a doctor's worst nightmare.  Or maybe not?  I don't know if they respect the researcher or are annoyed by them.  I'll never forget the neonatologist's face when he stopped by Juliana's isolet one morning to see if I had any questions.  I had a huge book and my baby in my lap.  I smiled when I looked up at him and said, "yes, I have a few."  And I did.  We did.  Art and I had questions every single day.  The NICU nurses said we were their best parents... we were so involved and wanted to know every detail.  They told us that every set of NICU parents were different... some wanted to know it all, some didn't want to know anything.  Everyone has different ways of dealing with "trauma".  My way is by educating myself.  I admit, there were things I omitted researching or asking about.  I tend to do that a lot.  If something really bothers me, I ignore it.  I don't talk about it.  It was/is different with Juliana though.  I can only avoid things for so long... it's my daughter.  It is my responsibility to ask questions and educate myself as much as possible.  And that's just what I will do.

Our newest scare came in the form of two different sized pupils.  I noticed her pupils when walking her around the kitchen one night.  Her left pupil was a tiny bit bigger than the right.  I'm not even sure I mentioned it to Art at first.  It seemed so insignificant.  I mean, what do pupils have to do with anything?  I was sure that people were just born with different sized pupils... right?  At our 2nd eye doctor exam - normal for preemies - I mentioned it to the doctor.  He asked me a few questions and then requested that we come back - as scheduled - and to not dilate her eyes before he examined her.  So, that's just what we did.  About a month later we were back in his office and he began to exam our little one.  He sat down, jotted a few notes and then said to us, "I think Juliana might have Horner's Syndrome... bla bla bla... nerves.... bla bla... trauma.... bla bla bla bla."  Yep, that's about what I heard.  What do you mean our little girl might have a "syndrome"?  I dont want her to have any "syndromes"!  He told us there were a few tests we would need to do.  The first was a urine test by our pediatrician.  It just so happened we were going there the next day.  If that test came back positive - which it WONT - we would have to do a series of MRIs to make sure the "syndrome" wasn't caused by any tumors.  M... R... I... ?  As in, putting my baby under? 

To the computer I went...

Dear Google - Does Horner's Syndrome affect eye sight?  No.
Dear Google - Is Horner's Syndrome life threatening?  No.
Dear Google - Is Horner's Syndrome caused by premature birth?  No... Oh, really?  Awesome. 
Dear Google - What the hell is Horner's Syndrome?

Horner syndrome is a rare disorder that occurs when certain nerves that travel from your brain to your eyes and face are damaged.  Horner syndrome isn't a disease itself.  Rather, it's a sign of another medical problem — such as a stroke, tumor or spinal cord injury.  In some cases, however, no underlying cause can be found.  Horner syndrome usually affects only one side of your face.  Typical symptoms of Horner syndrome include a drooping eyelid, decreased pupil size and decreased sweating on the affected side of your face.  There's no specific treatment for Horner syndrome. Instead, treatment is directed at the underlying cause, when possible

Really?  Yea... I don't think so.

Off to the pediatrician we went.  He said a lot of the same things the eye doctor said and again, I didn't understand much of it.  We were handed a urine collection kit to take home.  I used the kit yesterday morning and had it to the doctor's by early afternoon.  I called today to make sure they had enough urine and that it was sent to the lab.  It was and it was.

My hope... Juliana has two different sized pupils in dim light.  AND THAT'S IT.  Both doctor's said they weren't too worried.  Art asked both of them how worried they were on a scale of 1-10:

Eye Doctor - 1
Pediatrician - 2/3

We should know our next steps by next Monday.

How beautiful is she??

 

11/27 UPDATE - All of Juliana's tests came back NORMAL!  Basically, in certain light one pupil will be slightly bigger than the other.  When her eyes turn brown (if they turn brown), you wont even be able to tell and this does NOT affect her sight.  More importantly, it means no stroke, tumor or spinal cord injury!  THANK GOD!  Yay!

Michael Arthur Lambros - 1st Year

My little prince was born on November 4th, 2010.  He weighed 6 pounds, 5 ounces and was 20 inches long.  A quick labor story goes like this... after 9.5 months of being pregnant, I was ready to have the baby.  My pregnancy was a wonderful journey filled with house hunting, designing a home and living at my mom's house while it was being built.  It was the easiest pregnancy ever!  So, after moving into our new home, I was ready for the little one to arrive.  My husband called me at work one afternoon and said "I know we are saving, but tonight we are going out to dinner... and we are going all out."  There were no complaints from this end!  We decided on Carrabas since it was close to the house and chowed down on appetizers, huge meals and a dessert - delicious!  Once we got home, I got a burst of energy.  I excused myself and decided for an hour of pampering... showered, shaved, washed and blow dried my hair, painted my finger and toe nails and gave myself a facial.  Ahhhh... it felt SO GOOD!  Afterwards I went downstairs to watch a little tv and then we went to bed.  At this point I was exhausted so I rolled over around 9:30p and BAM!  My water broke!  LOL!  I said "I think... no... I KNOW my water just broke!"  We called my mom and best friend and were at the hospital in 30 minutes.  I labored for about 8 hours until I just couldn't take it anymore.  I was hoping for natural, but I hadn't prepared and wasn't really focused.  When the doctor told me I was 7 1/2 cm, I was like "no way... I can't do this for another 3 hours."  So the epidural was given and the next couple of hours were nice.  Relaxing and nice.  When it was finally time to push I was ready!  Yay!  My husband was by my side and my mom was in the corner of the room.  My step-dad and best friend were in the waiting room with my husband's dad and sister.  I didn't progress as quickly as they wanted so a nurse who calls herself "the pushinator" walked in the room.  "Honey, do you want to get this baby out or what?"  "Ummm, yes," I replied.  To my husband, "Honey, you ready to help?"  "Ummm, sure," he replied.  The nurse proceeded to lead him in front of me and show us how we were going to hold hands and play tug of war.  I'll stop with the details at this point.  About 20 minutes later, Michael was born, lol!  It was 8:30am exactly and he was perfect...............

Michael Arthur ~ November 2010-November 2011

 

Newborn

1 Month

2 Month

3 Month

4 Month

5 Month

6 Month

7 Month

8 Month



9 Month

10 Month

11 Month

ONE YEAR OLD!!

 

Ready for the holidays!

I am so ready for the holidays this season.  I just ordered our custom stockings and am anxiously awaiting their arrival!  Four stockings!  How exciting.  I haven't had a paycheck since August so the gifts will be limited, but the love will be there.  We have SO much to be thankful for this year.  Just the fact that Juliana is home and well is enough of a present for me (and maybe one pair of Uggs, lol).  

My husband took my son to a birthday party in Maryland yesterday.  This meant that Juliana and I were stuck in the house all day.  I didn't mind though... we've had a lot of bonding time and I love snuggling with her on the couch.  I did take advantage of a 2 year old free home though... the tree is up!  We usually wait for the weekend after Thanksgiving, but I had to take advantage of the time.  I've never put the tree up by myself before and I have to say, I was pretty proud!  Lugging that monster upstairs and putting it together was a beast!  I will admit that I definitely took a break  before decorating.  Juliana was so good.  We had the Redskins game on and she just slept and occasionally peeked at me in between dreams.  I just love her.

Here's a glimpse of Christmas in the Lambros house... 

 

And Juliana's Christmas outfit:

 

NICU Mom (Part 2)

As we waited in the post partum room, I remember thinking to myself, "everything will be ok... everything WILL be ok."  I had to tell myself that.  There was no other option.  I would not accept anymore bad news.  Minutes seemed like hours and finally the doctor came in.  He said "wow, she's feisty!"  He told us she was stable and while trying to put medicine down her throat for her lungs she smacked his hand away, lol!  I dont really remember everything he said, but I do remember being a little relieved.  He was definitely worried, but there was something calm in his voice.  He'd obviously done this before.

An eternity later (or maybe 30 minutes) a nurse came in with a wheelchair to take us to the NICU.  My heart stopped.  I was so nervous!  What was I going to see?  What would they tell us?  I remember Art being excited and that confused me.  We were on two different wave lengths and that was a good thing.  We balanced each other nicely and it stayed that way throughout our entire stay in the NICU.  At that time though, I was a mess.  I couldn't stop thinking "WHY?"  As we were wheeled back I started to cry - it was fear, the unknown.  When we finally entered the NICU, it was the most out-of-control feeling.  There was my precious little girl.  In the NICU.  In a box.  Wires all over her.  An ugly mask over her little tiny face.  It was heart wrenching and I sobbed. 

We asked TONS of questions and I tried to listed to what the doctors and nurses were saying.  I still didn't believe it though.  I was a NICU Mom... and I was going to be a NICU Mom for a long time.  I think the best news we kept hearing - even though we didn't know it at the time - was that Juliana was going to stay at Sentara Hospital.  Sentara was close to our home, but Fairfax was supposed to be the best NICU around.  We didn't mind traveling if it meant the best care for our daughter though.  The doctor was positive about the situation though.  He kept telling us, "She's doing really good... you don't want her all the way up there for no reason.  Let's give her 48 hours and see what she does for us." 

The next 48 hours were a blur.  We asked millions of questions and received positive, encouraging answers.  The nurses seemed to have halos around their heads, but it was still unnerving having all these strangers take care of our daughter.  How could they be this calm?  SHOULD they be this calm?  Wait - she's leaving... I have to get used to another one?  Does SHE know what she's doing?  Did the other nurse do it like that?  Was is that tube?  Where does that go?  Is that necessary?  Has it already been an hour?  Do you have to draw blood again?  Can you use the other heel?  Can you see if blood will come from the last heel prick?  Can you make her neck more comfortable?  Is she in any pain?  Can you promise me that?  PLEASE?

She wasn't though.  She was amazing.  A fighter.  She beat ALL the odds.  She stayed at Sentara the entire time and was moved from the ICU side to the "Feeder/Grower" side in about a week - amazing!  We continued to watch her feedings increase, her weight increase and a million other things happen.  It's funny... you never realize how much an ounce is until you're in the NICU.  Ounces are everything.  Tenths of an ounce are everything.  We called every night at midnight to see what she weighed.  The nurses stopped asking for her ID # because they knew our voices.  I was there every single day from around 10am-3pm and back again from 7pm-10pm.  Art was there from around 3:30-6:00pm.  We never left her alone except for nights and even then we made sure whoever was on duty took extra special care of her.  We didn't have to say much though.  The nurses at Sentara were amazing.  In fact, amazing doesn't even describe it.  I love each of them and I'll never forget what they did for Juliana and what they did for US.  Each one of them was born a miracle and I will forever be grateful.

Nurses Joanne and Margaret

Nurses Joanne and Kathy

After 55 days, clear brain scans, clear heart scans, a good feeding schedule, no spells and a decent weight, we were able to take our 4.14 ounce baby girl home!!  It was the BEST DAY EVER!  We still have worries and challenges ahead, but I have faith that everything will be ok in the end.  I have faith that we will have a perfect little girl who will grow up to an annoying teenager.  I have faith that she will sass me one day and I will give her "the look"... I can't wait for that day.  I welcome it!!

Home Sweet Home!