While on Christmas break the girls eased into the usual winter cold and corresponding cough, meaning we spent a lot of time at home. With the sub-zero temperatures outside, not being out and about was welcomed (at least in my opinion!), but also meant a lot of energy was present in the household, and not from the adults.
One morning at home we patched all three kids, covering everyone’s right eyes in an attempt to show Reagan and Harper what Emerie goes through every day at school, and five days a week since she was fourteen months old. Unsurprisingly, Harper was instantly asking to take it off while Reagan didn’t seem too bothered by it.
Bonus points if you can tell who is who!
Throughout less than one hour, multiple requests occurred to take it off, mostly from Harper, who complained her eye hurt, it was itchy, or she didn’t like it. It truly goes to show the patience Emerie displays everyday when you look at how often she goes about her daily business with half the eyesight of other kids, and does exceptionally! I hope this experience shows the other two how resilient their sister really is, who can do anything patched that she does unpatched, and that is not an easy feat.
We assume we have another year or two before she will be grown enough for the patching to no longer make an impact on her brain senses. No surgery in 2023 was a great thing, less stress for kiddo as well as parents and no droopy eyelids, something she will start being more aware of at this age. And other kids are now more curious about it; although her class is used the normality of her wearing one each morning. From what we can tell, her eye is staying straight from the last procedure and we are so very thankful for that! All the complaints and questions why she has to do it and her sisters don’t is really worth it!
And now we can remind the other two how they felt when they patched for less than an hour…although Reagan seemed much less impacted by it than Harper. Everyone likes to “help” pick out which patch is worn in the morning, and so far the turtle and panda themed ones are the favorite. Harper also takes it personally that no seal option exists- it would be super cool for Ortopad to let kids make custom orders!
More to come on Emerie’s vision journey soon, after our next check in with Dr. Winkle.
We took advantage of the first beautiful sunny weekend of the summer this past week; saddest part being it didn’t happen until almost the end of July. On Saturday we went the easy route, going to a local park with lake beach front, and the kids played in the sand and dove right into the kiddie swimming area. The water was “warm” in Alaska standards and I was surprised how quickly they played in it; last year it was received much less enthusiastically. Friends brought floats to play on, teenie-tiny fish were a hot topic for kid conversation and collection- with parents trying to keep them alive and well in water buckets and kids more interested in checking them out- and the ice cream truck stopped by for a nice, midday treat. We played outside for the rest of the day, washed the cars in the driveway and the girls wore dress up and played with their sun umbrellas. We ended the evening picking up the trailer at cousins for the real adventure the following day.
Day two of the weekend continued the beautiful sunshine and 70 degree temperatures so we loaded up two kid and one adult four-wheelers and headed out to Eklutna Lake, about an hour’s drive from our house. When I was a kid the ten-mile road was full of potholes, scary overlooks and absolutely no pavement; these days it’s much easier vehicle access with two lane, freshly painted asphalt. The girls fought over marker selection on their coloring for most of the drive there, and if you exclude the whining, the day went pretty well.
All the kids abandoned shoes and climbed on logs and played in the water a bit. The driftwood teepee on the beachfront was also quite a hit and they happily played in it and tried to build it bigger. Craig became an unofficial four-wheeler mechanic not too long after we were out and about and by the end of the day, he was manually hauling them back to the car due to a variety of issues. The boys in the group, meaning cousins and Kaden, are all pretty good drivers when they pay attention, so parking lot loops and some basic trail riding was a hit. The girls aren’t quite there yet and probably need another summer before we can trust they will go straight by intention; we will get there. We had several kid crashes off-trail, but none that caused any bleeding or too many tears. At one point five kids and an adult were riding the adult four-wheeler- that’s impressive in itself! Craig installing the back bench was the best decision ever and let’s us easily cart four kiddos on the back safely, all strapped in with seat belts.
It was a fun day and we all returned home with new sunburn lines. Now I just hope we can have at least one more weekend with warm temperatures before we head into fall. Harper keeps telling me summer hasn’t started yet. You said summer was warm and it’s not warm. She makes an excellent point and I don’t have a good argument against that!
Emerie Eye Update
Emerie’s eye specialist checkup this week went great after no visit for six whole months! This is the longest stint without an appointment since cataracts were diagnosed at twelve months in her left eye, and the outcome is looking better. Emerie was on her best behavior; I kid you not, it was the smoothest appointment we’ve ever had! She sat all by herself on the patient chair (past demands involved a parent underneath) and told the nurse all the letters she put onscreen across the room. In January she was seeing 20/40 out of her weaker eye, even with glasses on, and this time she was able to see a few of the letters in 20/25! After a couple in that size she declared they are too small to read!
This visit she also listened to Dr. Winkle’s requests obediently and maintained eye contact while holding still. For the first time he looked in her eyes with the fancier equipment typically used for adults- she is getting so grown up. And she did great! Dr. Winkle said patching must continue for several more years. The nurse did a quick light test before the doctor came in, a test that informs whether her eyes are working together or operating separately in conjunction with her brain. She couldn’t see both red and green, which tells us her brain is still fighting the connection between the eyes and patching will continue to help remedy that. He also praised our efforts to patch daily are paying off and her eye alignment is staying straight and not drifting out; if anything she is slightly inward on alignment. This is largely encouraging and means we don’t need another checkup for six months and no surgery on the docket. Very exciting!!
Dr. Winkle and Emerie ❤
The plan is to continue patching in the mornings like we do now, and giving her a break on the weekends so she isn’t operating with one eye while we go on fun adventures. I’m not entirely sure how well this will go for kindergarten so I plan to see how she does with school while patched, and reassess if we need to start doing evenings or afternoons instead so she has less hardships during school activities. All in all, she does everything her sisters do while patched and it’s really impressive, knowing that eye is weaker and still trying to get stronger. She’s a rock star.
Lastly, in case you were curious, Dr. Winkle’s favorite color is green. This is not to be confused with teal or blue. He and Emerie had a deep conversation about favorite colors, and she loves to talk to him when we go. She also went off on a My Little Pony tangent and discussed the princesses and different ponies; it was pretty funny. His favorite color was quite the topic of conversation later in the day as well, and I could hear her telling Reagan and Harper, Dr. Winkle told me his favorite color is green! It’s not teal like Reagan’s color, it’s green like the color of Mom’s pants today. He loves green. So, very cute.
Here we are again at Emerie’s next surgery. This one is unique, a combination of new ear tubes and another left eye resection surgery. After three Botox procedures, one successful and two not as much as hoped, we are back to the drawing board on straightening out her eye and convincing her brain to keep using it.
Sunday night Emerie woke up with a major ear ache on one side, which the pediatrician confirmed yesterday as a definite ear infection. After two hours of tossing and turning and prohibiting Craig and I from getting sleep, she demanded to go sleep with grandma in the guest room. Worked for us and gave me a few minutes of shut eye before the next one was up. Fortunately this didn’t hinder having the surgery, with the doctor noting that he would clean out the infected side when the tubes were placed, essentially making it feel better, with the ear drops kicking the rest.
On the drive across town Emerie excitedly pointed out , at 5:45 in the morning mind you, that darkness means fall and that mean trick or treating, then Christmas, then my birthday and then hers! It was an impressive observation so early and from a four year old!
Grandma Sue came with me this morning and Emerie loved every second of it. Balloon gloves blow up to look like little blue sharks and the longer the versed was in her system, the more hilarious that seemed to her. Lots of giggles occurred as we waited to see both doctors, and Emerie cooperated for her pulse check much better than usual. She didn’t appreciate the little girl crying across the hall, who I overheard was also getting eyes and ears worked on, but eventually blocked that out and relaxed.
We opted to do both procedures under the same anesthesia, which meant one less time going through the whole surgery process. Arriving at six AM, we were the first in line for the day for Doctor Winkle (eyes) and Doctor Kowolski (ears).
She went back with the nurses to the OR about 7:45, and by 8:10 Doctor Kowolski was out to tell us the ear tubes went in without any issues. Doctor Winkle didn’t come out with his update for more than an hour after that, as expected, and another forty minutes after that before we could go back and see her.
Everything went well. Doctor Winkle noted that her inner eye muscle was a bit tighter than he expected and that he put a little liquid (can’t remember the word he said) to help with the scar tissue, which is an issue when repeat procedures occur over the years.
Today’s recovery was different than previous surgeries. This time she really didn’t want to wake up; in fact we spent almost two hours in recovery where she lightly snored, snuggled under the heating blanket, completely out to the world. The nurse removed the IV from her hand and her chest monitors without even a flinch. Eventually we were able to con her into consciousness by rubbing the cherry popsicle on her lips, just enough for her to subconsciously want it. We tried talking to her about it first, and threatening to eat it or give it to a sister, neither of which helped. She then proceeded to eat the whole thing with both eyes closed, mumbling short word responses to questions.
Prior procedures resulted in a completely asleep child diving straight into a demanding, I need a popsicle now, kid. We typically head home within 30 minutes or so. This time around, we didn’t head to the car until about eleven, she instantly went back to sleep in her car seat while hiding under her blanket from the sun, and slept in her bed until after two! The rest of the afternoon was watching movies with snuggles- a rotation between wanting me, Craig and grandma- and warm washcloths on her eye with several pedialite popsicles. Her ears don’t seem to be any bother (albeit they look red with dried blood), but her eye is swollen and red and puffy. Not droopy like the Botox procedures, but definitely swollen and sensitive and greatly bothering her.
While we normally delay a bath for two days after a procedure, she begged so badly for one that Craig let her sit in the tub, with promises to not splash anything sensitive. Early bedtime was a definite must, with Harper and Reagan both quite supportive of letting their sister get to sleep to feel better. Early bedtime for the adults too I hope, as these days are mentally exhausting and I could have fallen asleep hours ago. I imagine it’s going to be a long night once the pain meds wane, and hope tomorrow will be a bit better for her and that we all get some rest. First thing is her post-op eye check, probably followed by a quiet day at home and a lot of coffee (for me!)
The latest in the saga of eye appointments; we opted to take all three at once for their annual eye check. Harper and Reagan haven’t had a check in about a year while Emerie sees her beloved Doctor Winkle every few months.
Everyone was overly excited to go visit Dr. Winkle and not go straight to school in the morning. Harper even brought him a custom colored picture, but was shy to hand it to him. Emerie hung out like it was a normal appointment and held still for her pre-op check like a pro.
Harper and Reagan fought the dilation drops to the death, resulting in Craig and I both holding them down while the nurse snuck a drop in each side. As Harper received hers, Reagan tried to hide behind the equipment as to “escape” her turn. Luckily Emerie didn’t require them on this visit, since she gets really great eye checks while unconscious and under the knife.
We are happy to report that both girls received good news, with no signs of any cataracts in their eyes, and that by now since no anomalies have appeared, they are in the clear. This also tells us that Emerie’s pediatric issue is not genetic; rather it is likely environmental, and happened specifically to her and not her siblings sometime during early development.
Today we went to the surgery center for Emerie’s third Botox procedure- the first successfully aligned her eye for a few months and the second didn’t seem to help so much; we are hoping this third one will!
As usual, Emerie dressed up in her fancy Tangled Princess nighty specifically for her time with Dr. Winkle. She insisted on wearing it throughout all the pre-op checks and didn’t don the gown until after he came in to say hello and mark the correct eye. At this point she was also completely loopy and shy.
She conned the charge nurse into additional fanciness and several “fall risk” bright yellow bracelets on her arm and leg and a blanket for her stuffed animal.
The grape flavored versed was gobbled down and immediately took affect, prompting her irritation once again that she couldn’t grab the images off her book pages. She loudly screamed and disrupted the entire room at the sight of a beach ball on one page. This is always my favorite part of the process. By the time they whisked her away on the rolling bed, she was completely chill with her monkey and just going for a ride. I forget how much easier this process is now that she’s older and been through it a handful of times. Watching the other toddlers in the room today; Emerie is definitely a pro and takes it all in stride. She even cooperated on the finger oxygen tracker, much more than usual, and was flying it around as a helicopter and making me try it on.
Chillin and reading a book
Today’s procedure was the same Botox injection into her eye muscle, which is less invasive than cutting it to adjust its elasticity, in hopes of straightening out the eye. This procedure is our last ditch effort before we go back to more invasive and there’s no way to guess which way it’ll end up. If it does straighten the eye, then we will do it again later this fall. The effects usually wear off by about three months.
I barely sat down in the waiting room before Dr. Winkle came through the doors and was completely done! He noted that a bit more of the “magic dust” was mixed today to try to be more effective and I entirely plan on telling her he gave her magic fairy dust in her sleep! Such a quick procedure meant no IV and only has gas anesthesia.
Of course, afterwards the first thing she always wants is a popsicle and some juice. The nurse received strict instructions beforehand that she wanted a purple popsicle and her second choice of flavor was also purple (this kid I tell you!). She came out of the anesthesia perfectly and after her snack, insisted she wanted to go home.
The rest of the day has been uneventful and full of a loopy but happy Emerie Faye.
Thanks for all the prayers! Let’s hope this one works!
Waking upHappy at homeDandelions and feeling better
February always seems like such a long month, even when in reality it is the shortest one of all (maybe it’s lucky it’s in the winter and not the summer!)! It drags on for a number of reasons you’ll all agree with me on- it’s the end swing of the eternal Alaska winter, still pretty dark outside (but improving on light), and by now parents have exhausted all the creative, indoor play ideas and are so tired of putting snow gear on and off just in time to hear mom, I have to poop. Yep. Pretty glamorous.
Nothing too crazy is happening at the Douglas household as we try to maintain sanity for the remainder of the winter season. I latched onto the Valentine train this year and tracked down some cute crafts, outfits and recipes to try while we maintained our indoor status due to colds, the darkness, and the general sopping wet snow that’s crummy to sled on.
Valentine weekend was chocked full of cookie decorating, some sledding after a fresh snowfall and four wheel riding, the jump park and very wild, grumpy and overtired girls. Craig mixed the sugar cookie dough on Saturday and the girls assisted shaping it into hearts, flowers and butterflies on Sunday morning. We tried out a new princess icing that “shined” and glossed over each cookie in a fancy pink color and the girls decorated a bunch of cookies to gift to their teachers the following day. In the midst of all this sugar, Craig also made an epic batch of from-scratch cinnamon rolls.
The girls flip flopped on their enthusiasm for decorating, with Harper on board the most and Reagan picking up the slack. Emerie was a bit more enthusiastic than her usual two cookies and out and everyone was thrilled to eat ONE heart shaped selection at the end of the chaos.
This year the girls created custom valentine boxes using crayons, a million stickers of numerous variety (puffy, glittery, sparkly and crazy shapes) and a lot of discussion on placement. Reagan colored the entire box with crayons before sticker commencement, while Emerie and I argued that stickers should go on the outside of the box, which she found entirely unreasonable.
Megan and I filled out the princess valentine cards that night and everyone brought a chunk to school for their party the following day. I did not anticipate the level of goodies requiring collection and shoved everything into my one bag at pickup. The girls then managed to push all the candy and tiny toys into their fancy boxes and demand to taste more candies. The slinkies and light up balls were definitely the favorites from the day, in addition to the sugar.
Craig and I managed to sneak away for the night and do a craft class together while Auntie Megan graciously came over sans the boys and made mini pizzas and fought the girls off the newly acquired candy. Overall it was a good holiday and we greatly appreciate Megan taking on our tribe for a few hours.
While not too much craziness has occurred since my last blog a couple weeks ago, I’m happy to share a few of the “pre-schoolisms” (toddlerisms sounds so much better!) that fly out of the mouths of my children at random. Things they will likely deny as they get older, of course, but are oh so fun to record for my enjoyment in my older age. And these are the only the ones I’ve remembered to write down…
Reagan, sitting on the toilet (which makes it so much better): Mom, pee-pees and penises are gross right? Even though everyone has one?
Reagan (in the bathroom again): I dropped my coin in my poop. Get it out! GET IT OUT! For the record, I did NOT get it out and sent it to fishie heaven with everything else.
Emerie: Grandma, Elsa is afraid and she is running away from her sister really fast and builds a castle and quickly said so many more story words I couldn’t write them down fast enough!
Harper, any time she strongly disagrees with me on something, more often when she’s not listening to save her life: You’re not my mom anymore. You’re NOT MY MOM! This one is just so fun and I’ve yet to hear it thrown into a dad-ism, just directed at me. It’s especially fun when screamed at you in the middle of the grocery store.
Reagan, running over to tattle about something a sister did the prior day, when we tell her to stop tattling, she responds with: I’m not tattling; I’m just talking to you. Such a smart ass.
Emerie, completely asleep and yet yelling my direction: Harper took my toy! That’s my toy! and a shriek and then rolls over, still asleep.
The girls are now more aware of the meaning of time. While the yesterdays and tomorrows don’t always come out right, they understand if you say number of sleeps or refer to a school day versus the weekend. Everyone keeps asking when Grandma Sue will visit next and we started counting the number of sleeps after the questions become on constant repeat. Reagan especially asks several times a day, while Harper and Emerie keep demanding her presence solely for the donuts and breaded Olafs they get when she visits.
HarperEmerieReagan
We successfully attended our most recent triplet dentist appointment with three stacking appointments in mid-afternoon. Luckily waking up early from daycare nap time and whisking them to the appointment went better than we could have hoped. Last fall we kept two in the car with a show and sent one in at a time (with Craig) and swapped out each time; this visit we brought everyone inside at once and it went decently. Reagan immediately went back with Craig while Harper, Emerie and I chilled in the waiting room and watched “New Pan” (Rapunzel TV show). I believe it’s success was attributed to being allowed to hold Mom’s prized iPad.
Surprisingly our toughest client for the visit was Emerie, who didn’t quite want to follow directions when asked and was more interested in goofing off with the toothpaste for her teeth cleaning (which was strawberry, by the way). Emerie is incredibly behaved at her eye doctor appointments but doesn’t seem to enjoy other body part visits at all. Not all doctors can be as loved as Dr. Winkle is in our house. Reagan and Harper loved the dental attention and chilled with their cool glasses on. Craig recorded a funny video clip of Reagan playing with the water sucker and living the dream; quite the cool kid.
A couple weeks back we rearranged the girls’ toddler beds a bit in hopes of better overnight sleep. Did it make a difference? Of course not. But hopefully it’ll keep Emerie from overheating next to the heater all night. Well, I should say for the few hours she actually sleeps in her bed each night.
Dress up ladies
We continue encouraging the effort of actual bed sleeping by beginning a new form of bribery. If anyone sleeps in their bed, all night long for five whole nights, they get ice cream. Harper just hit her first five nights, although she’s great at sleeping in her bed all night and has been for months, just not recorded on paper. She was very pleased to receive the ice cream sandwich reward while Reagan super pouted that she needed one more sticker to get hers. Reagan is close to five nights, which seems like a crazy miracle given the last few months of adamant demands to sleep in our bed around midnight every night. Emerie is still at a solid zero nights in her own bed; but in her defense she gets up, collects her blanket, all her animals and sometimes even her pillow, and treks to the guest bedroom where she will sleep for the rest of the night. Sometimes I’ll hear her call us, but more often than not she now does it all by herself. We haven’t had any epiphanies how to fix this one yet, but really it’s not the worst thing in the world.
And lastly, Emerie’s surgery was a couple weeks ago and she’s doing well. She managed to lose a glasses lens at school earlier this week and then Craig had to repair the backup glasses Thank goodness we have three different pairs! Her eyelid droop is similar to last summer; it just took a couple days to take effect and will wear off in two to three months. Eye patching each morning doesn’t seem to be any worse than before, which is great, and we ordered some new patch patterns she enjoys selecting each morning.
The Douglets 