Well, somehow the long holiday weekend has evaporated... nearly as quickly as a newly shoveled driveway did all week long in Kansas City thanks to a deluge of snow. Heather and Chuck are back at the salt mine tomorrow. Until Gwendolyn gets her jaw extension devices removed, her and Braelyn will be chilling with Grandma McKee. Between the care for Gwen's pins and her feeding tube, we've been told that there's still a high risk of infection for her. Therefore, we decided it would be best to give the girls a reprieve on daycare until Gwen's pins are removed.Speaking of Gwen's jaw, things are nearly complete on that front. Her right pin has finished turning and the left one should very shortly. Once they are both done, it will just be a matter of waiting for the new jaw growth to fill in and heal. Likely, by the end of next month her jaw will be set enough that they will be able to remove the device altogether... this time for good we hope.
We did have a great weekend with both the girls at home again. Gwen has seemed to get more and more comfortable as the days past. At first she was pretty skittish at any loud noises or quick movements. In a house with a loud Italian father, two dogs and a cat, you can imagine that there were plenty to go around... but at least now Dad can sneeze without freaking his poor daughter out.
;)
Some interesting observations... the girls seem to have a night and day outlook on getting their diapers changed. As we noted before, when Barelyn is laid on the changing table she immediately breaks into a smile, often laughing. Gwen on the other hand screams so loudly that she almost forgets to breath sometimes with the shrills she unleashes. On the flip side, Gwen does tend to have cooing "conversations" with us quite often while Braelyn's vocal times are much less frequent or lengthy right now. Well, just in case any of you wanted proof that they aren't identical, there you go.
Okay, since we've got work tomorrow and the girls are still mastering sleeping through the night (instead of a Maters Degree on the topic of sleep we'll take a G.E.D. right now, trust us!), I suppose we'll sign off for now.Hopefully we'll talk to you all real soon.
The girls are darling. Sorry you are missing out on some zzz's right now, but I know you are enjoying it as much as you can! :) Heather, I did not know you had to be back at school this week. I will be keeping you in my prayers as I know that it's not easy to leave those little ones that we love so much. It's great having something so wonderful to come home to, though, right?
ReplyDeleteKeep on keepin' on, Castellano family. Glad to read such a joyful report on everyone's progress!
Love you all -
Steph and Rance
I am amazed at all the progress little Gwen has made. But then, why would we be amazed? Prayers work and her parents are increcible. I am also wiping a gentle tear from my cheek. It's been a long journey to this point and you all have the strength of lions. We send our hugs and our love, but most importantly, we continue to send our prayers and praises. This New Year is looking very blessed right now. Have a wonderful week and thank you for the role models you have been. When the girls get older, you need to lead a support group for parents. Seriously! Until then... happy growing and healing.
ReplyDeleteLove, Randy and Debbie