In The Life of a Boucher: 2015

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

2 Month Update

It's amazing how fast time flies AFTER you have the baby. It somehow just doesn't seem fair. The last two months of pregnancy crawls at a snail's pace compared to the first two months of a baby's life.

Well two months have come and gone and little Miss Maren is thriving. She is probably the easiest baby we've had. Some of that, I'm sure, has to do with the fact that parenting isn't entirely one big guessing game (with her at least), and part of that has to be that Miss M. is just a super relaxed, chill little girl.

The last month has been really fun with Maren. She still rarely wakes on her own to eat, but once she wakes up she'll be up for awhile. She is happy to hang out with the family -- and we cart her around wherever we are going. She spends an ample amount of time "playing" in each of the kid's room -- and they love having her there, often fighting over who gets to love on her "this time".

Maren started smiling at us about two weeks ago. Nothing feels better than walking in her room and her giving you a big dimple grin when she sees your face! We have discovered that she has a few dimples in her smile (in the top corners of her mouth) and one in her chin. The chin one only comes out every once in awhile. It'll be interesting to see how it develops as she grows. Recently she has been playing with cooing. She doesn't do it very often, but you can tell she wants to. It won't be long before she's talking up a storm!

Today we discovered that Maren loves listening to us sing! We started singing songs from Beauty and the Beast and she broke out in song too! She didn't do it a lot, but was quite alert and happy as the songs kept a coming. And her big sister thought it was pretty awesome too!

There is something so special about this little girl that has joined our family. She has my whole heart and I feel so honored to be her mother. She is so sweet and I can not wait to see how her personality develops. Now if time could only slow down a bit and let me enjoy her while she's still small!

Friday, May 22, 2015

Heart Check

Today was our first appointment with the Pediatric Cardiologist. They ran all of the tests that were run while we were in the hospital -- a 4 point BP check, an EKG, and an ECHO. Everything looks really good. She has a pulmonary stenosis -- but not a standard one. The Pulmonary valve is opening fully (they originally told us it wasn't) but the valve itself is thick -- making the passageway more narrow than normal. When the blood flows through the narrow opening -- that's where we hear the murmur. For right now -- it's something to just keep our eyes on. The Dr. told us she has about a 1/3 chance of the walls thinning out and if they do her heart will be "just any ordinary heart". She has about a 1/3 chance of nothing changing and she lives with the murmur unaffected her whole life. And she has about a 1/3 chance that the walls will thicken causing that passage to become too narrow, in which case a surgical procedure will be required. We will see the cardiologist again when Maren is 3 months.

The other problem that they found with her heart was a minor mass. They actually saw several small growths today, which they are assuming are small benign tumors and we don't have to worry about them at all. BUT if they aren't benign -- we'd likely find more tumors in her kidneys and/or brain. So they want to be safe and have her checked. SO ... off to neurology we go!

It's a little scary ... cardiology ... neurology ... but we are grateful that we live in a time where such things can be tested and that we can be proactive in her care. We are grateful that Joe works for an awesome employer with great medical benefits -- so what the pediatric cardiologist mentions that our 3 week old baby needs to get her brain scanned ... we can calmly focus on her health -- and we don't even have to fret over the dollar signs.

So for now - no immediate danger - and we can just love on our sweet baby girl!

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Overwhelming Joy

Words cannot do justice to how grateful I am for having these awesome kids in my life! I truly have been blessed beyond measure.

Jace is growing into such a nice young boy. He is the kind of big brother that I wish that I had. I love listening to him play with Elsie and hearing them have fun together. He is caring, kind, and sensitive. He currently loves to play outside, coloring, making bead projects, and going to school. He has grown up so much and I am uber proud to call him my son!

Elsie such a big helper. She is eating up the role as big sister! She loves to help out with her baby sister and will do anything she can to help baby "Baron". She also really enjoys helping any way she can in the kitchen, always wanting to be involved in the cooking. She loves to laugh and loves to learn. She has a huge personality and knows what she wants, even if that stubbornness can drive her mom and dad bazonkers!

Maren has been in our home for less than two weeks, but it feels like we have known her forever. When I look at her, I can feel that she is a gift that came straight from Heaven. She has been the easiest baby so far -- and we are looking forward to seeing what kind of personality she adds to the mix.

Being a mother has been the hardest, yet most rewarding adventure that I have ever experienced. My heart is full of joy for these three babies that have joined our family and I pray that we can help raise them to be good, hardworking, faithful people. I know that their spirits were saved to come in a time where there is much confusion and discomfort in the world -- but their spirits are strong, and they can conquer anything! I love them so SO much.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

A Perfect Heart

On Saturday morning of our stay at the Riverton Hospital, the on call pediatrician came in for the routine check up. I could tell that the doctor was concentrating a bit more than normal -- within a few minutes the doctor asked if she was the first one to hear a heart murmur. Yes, we responded. She assumed that it was something very minor that would close within the day. BUT -- to be safe -- she ordered a four point pressure test, which would check to make sure the blood pressure in her four extremities were roughly the same.

The test results came in, and it showed that there was a discrimination between the blood pressure in her arms and legs. They wanted too look closer to her heart, so the pediatrician ordered an EKG. We waited all day for the results and finally got a phone call later that night.

They found two small abnormalities on her heart. They aren't serious enough to require immediate attention ... which we are grateful for. We check in with the pediatric cardiologist in about two weeks.

Trials are hard, but I have felt an overwhelming feeling of comfort and peace today as my Heavenly Father has assured me that he made her and she is perfect. I am so grateful that she has been reunited with our family. I noticed it with Elsie, and it feels the same with Maren. We aren't strangers. We knew each other before we were born. It feels like I have been reunited with a best friend.

The world is super lucky to have her in it.