Connected

The day after we found out

A few hours after her surgery


The day after her surgery - her face was badly swollen, but we could already see the change in her head shape

reading to Indigo, Levi listens in

my resident artist, he is a prolific drawer/painter, maybe a future scientific illustrator - here he is making a sketch of the dead cicadas he found

Waiting in pre-op the hour before her surgery - she could not eat past 4am & so the nurses gave us a pacifier that we could dip in sugar water to keep her calm - I remember being scared but ready to face it so it could be over

Both sets of grandparents in the surgical waiting room at Shands

this is the first time I saw her afterwards - she was screaming, hungry & attached to 3 IVs - she wanted to eat & I was terrified to handle her with all the tubing & monitors attached - over the course of her hospital stay she had 9 IVs placed - most of which blew out when the fluid was started, that was torture for me - I'm so thankful we are at home now & she's well

Mid August from Cairo

These are all pictures off my cell phone - a few are a little dark. Indigo's surgery is next Tuesday. I'm trying to get the last of the boxes/rooms done before we go, so when we come home it will be calm & clean.

back of house - nice big deck & bird feeding station

front - the house faces a dirt road - the original structure was built in 1890 - the 'add-ons' are to the left & right


on our way to Tallahassee for the Wednesday farmer's market at Lake Ella

Levi's first day of school - he started pre-K on August 5th

Loving on his sister

"I can hold her"

"talking"

first visit with Grandma - I went there the weekend before last

One of the three garden spots we've harrowed up - I can't begin to get these all planted right now - maybe this will be our sunflower field next year....

From Cairo

No internet at the new place yet. I'm at Burger King in Cairo - now almost midnight - for an internet fix. The house is taking on shape & I'm down to only maybe 20 boxes left. Papa & Joe are going to harrow a garden spot up on Saturday - think the first seeds to go in the ground will be the old heirloom Wildwood pumpkins. Wondering how to add nutrients & stick to organic. Fish emulsion & I needa find a horse farm quick.

Indigo's surgery will be on August 23rd. We got the best possible news when we went to Shands. She will have the less invasive surgery & be fitted for a helmet within the month. She'll have to wear it for the next year.

We've survived the move & will be going to Shands hospital tomorrow.

This week Indigo was diagnosed with craniosynostosis. It is the early closure of one or more of the sutures in the skull. She has the most common type: sagittal craniosynostosis. The sagittal suture (the one on top of the head) is fused and must be opened with surgery.

We are slowly taking in what this means for our family. Her surgery will likely happen within the month & she will have to wear a helmet for the next year.

Our move to Cairo will happen next Friday. We're trying to focus on the present & just take things one day at a time. Please keep us in your thoughts.

One month

It seems impossible that one full month has passed since the birth. I can't get my head around it. Indigo is more alert & really a perfectly lovely baby. And making this very busy time so much easier in that she is an excellent sleeper.

This is our 501st post

since beginning this blog back in 2007 - right before Levi was born. I've enjoyed reading thru those old post lately - especially to compare the pictures of Levi as a newborn to little Indigo. And to take a look at our experiences as new parents.

We've got 3 weeks before our move to Cairo. I've got the packing well underway & have to say it's making the housekeeping a bit easier - as in: the more I pack into boxes, the less there is for our family to maintain. As always, I'm parting with numerous items during this packing process - I love to purge. Less is always more.

Having a potluck solstice party on Saturday... a few days before the actual solstice on Tuesday.

Moving

We'll be moving to Cairo, Ga at the end of this month. Joe's taking a new biologist position with DNR. Still finalizing everything & taking it all in. We'll begin packing soon.