No Surgery...for now!!!

Good evening all! Things at the Delange House are very nice this evening. We had a fabulous long weekend and several successful doctors appointments.

Isabella and I headed to New Braunfels last week, Tuesday, so that I could be in the office for work. Granmommy got to babysit while I was at work Wednesday and loved it (Chris was with her Thursday and Friday). When I got home that evening I asked to hold Bella and she actually told me no. Reason being: "You have her all the time". I asked if I could at least kiss her and she allowed that. It was a great visit; being able to see family, hang out with friends, and see my co-workers. Everyone was so wonderful and excited just to see Bella. I felt so bad having to tell people they couldn't hold her. I just hope everyone understands the reason. I want to thank everyone that stopped by the house to see the princess and brought SOOOO many gifts (our cars were stuffed on the trip home). And to my AWESOME co-workers...thank you for the shower and basket of goodies. And last but not least, a much special thanks to Kat and Randy for bringing Isabella's crib to Midland (they were in the area for the weekend and used their truck to bring it by the house from Granmommy's), that was a huge help.

An unexpected event, but great outcome, of our trip was getting to go to Cranial Technologies. We did our consultation for Bella's Doc Band helmet as well as getting pictures and measurements done. They said that she was in the middle range of severity. Once we find out if insurance qualifies her we will move forward with imaging and fitting. Then we will be making trips to Austin fairly often for observation and adjustments.

Today the princess had GI and Surgery appointments in Lubbock. Dr. F (GI) was very pleased with her color and weight gain. Oh, she was 10 lb 14 oz last Tuesday...she was 11 lb 11 oz today...AT BOTH APPOINTMENTS!!! She is at 21.5" long, which we are surprised by...she just seems so much longer to us. Dr. F thinks, just by looking at her, that the Colestasis is gone. They ran a GGT panel and should know officially if it is flushed in the next couple of days. Dr. G (Surgery) just kind of scoffed at the hernias. She was not worried in the least about their appearance or affect on Bella. There are two definite hernias at the incision and an umbilical hernia. Dr. G said that each area feels large enough to not obstruct bowel and could wait on surgery till November at the earliest. That is great news...Chris and I were all prepared to start on the surgery path again. But we will continue to keep our eye on them for any changes or pain to Bella.

Psalm 127:3
Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Enjoy our pictures from the weekend!

Proud Granmommy



Uncle Rob (hahaha, my camera...my picture)









Cousins Bonding (thanks Sis for making them scrub down :)



The Princess

Bella Boo Chunkaroo

Hello dear friends!!! Sorry we didn't post this weekend. Time to make up for that.

First I would like to start by praying for the Freeman family. Many of you probably began following Kayleigh Freeman while checking up on Isabella; or the opposite is true and we were blessed to have you follow us from Kayleigh's blog. Either way, so many of us know who Kayleigh is (I say that because she will always be in our hearts), what strength she had, and how she impacted a vast community that came to love and respect her existence.

Dear Lord, please allow the entire Freeman family to find peace in their hearts at this time of grief and for the rest of their lives; we ask that you continue to fill their souls with faith as they have done for so many months; please guide their hearts and minds through the confusion and emptiness to be filled with the spirit of Jesus Christ and his love. Amen

As for our family, we are doing well. We were very sad last week in learning about Kayleigh. Which made us hold Bella that much tighter. Then this weekend we happened to run across and pick up a stuffed animal from the Shining Stars collection, it's a cute monkey. Thing is, that is Bella's second animal from the collection. The first was given to her by Cherish's family. Our hearts still hurt in thinking about the precious child Cherish was, just like Kayleigh. Remembering each of these amazing souls makes us appreciate how precious the gift of life is, especially the life we are blessed with bringing into this world and raising.

Isabella is SOOOO big to me. When I got home Thursday night from my quick trip to Dallas I was in awe at how long she looked, and all her little chunky rolls. The baby rolls are too darn cute. Our guess is that she is just at or slightly over 11lbs. Chris does this test where he weighs himself first (and yes nurses, he even holds an outfit and diaper to zero out what she has on) and then holds Bella to find the difference. But the truth will come tomorrow at her doctors appointment. I even made the first purge of all the clothes she has outgrown this weekend. That really is a strange feeling, but also exciting. She has a pile of tiny clothes to use for her future baby dolls and a pile to save for a potential future sister.

It will most likely be official tomorrow, but Bella is going to wear a helmet for a few months. The doctors appointment is to have the pediatrician assess and write a prescription for the orthopedic device. The physical therapist has already given her assessment and is pushing for Bella to wear the helmet. If you look at the top of Bella's head it is starting to shape into a parallelogram; her right ear and forehead are pushing forward more than the left side and then the right side of her head is still pretty flat. Physical therapy comes tomorrow to work with her for the first time. The real focus will be stretching her neck. After Memorial Day we will be making our monthly trip to Lubbock for GI and Surgery appointments; at the end of the week she will have more physical therapy, vision coaching and feeding observation.

In addition to doctor and therapist visits, Bella will be making her first trip to New Braunfels tomorrow. The family is loading up for the weekend to spend time with Granmommy, uncles and aunts, and fabulous friends. Of course it will be hands off, but at least we will get to unveil the princess to a portion of her family. I know they are all looking forward to simply seeing her in person.

Hope you all have a splendid holiday weekend and remember to salute the men and women who gave and give their lives for our freedom. Love, Peace and God Bless :)























For all our Cville Crew!!! We love and miss you!!!

Mommy we miss you!!

Machel had to go on her 1st work trip since we have gotten home, in fact this is the first time that she hasn't been at Bella's side since a quick trip in January. Well everything is going great and Bella is getting big, here are some pictures for everyone to see, especially Mommy!!

Exciting Night :)

Why was last night so exciting? Because the BIG GIRL (she weighed 9 lbs 12oz yesterday) slept from midnight until almost 7am this morning!!! We had to go poke her just to make sure everything was okay, the grunt she let bout was a relief (then a seg-way into a happy dance). Of course she was wide awake from about 7pm until midnight last night and ate like a champ at her 7 and 11:15 feedings (between 5 and 6 oz!) Our little monkey is getting even more chunky!! :) She is so adorable, we sit there, stare at her and are in awe of her beauty and the miracle we see before us. Thank you Lord for this little angel!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND!!! May all of you be blessed and enjoy this magical weekend honoring the amazing people known as MOTHERS. Remember to thank your mom, wife, grandmother, godmother, etc; they are the pillars of our families! Enjoy pictures of our little bundle of joy. Thank you Meredith for her tummy time pillow, she loves it!!



















For my family......

Happy Mother's day Mom, I love you and appreciate all that you have done for me(even though I don't tell you all the time!)

Happy Mother's day honey, you are such an unbelievable mother and Isabella is so lucky to have such a loving mother (and I am lucky to have you as my wife!).

Happy Mother's day grandmommy, thank you for showing your daughter how to be such an amazing mother and being her best friend!

Happy Mother's day Mama, I miss you so much and can't wait to see you soon!!

Another Lazy Sunday

Another Lazy weekend, we find that the weekends are the only time that we can actually sleep when Bella sleeps. Everyone says that's the best way to get rest, problem is she likes to sleep during the day and stay up late at night. We work during the day and don't sleep at night unless she does. (She is getting better about this, she's starting to sleep for about 4 hours at night from 11-3 and then she'll sleep from about 4-7.) Anyways, we end up being lazy on the weekends and hanging out at the house. We tend to clean, do laundry, work on the yard and take naps. This weekend Machel has gotten some much needed her time! She got a massage yesterday and is getting a pedicure today. Well, I am going to go mow the lawn while the princess is dreaming!! Enjoy these pictures and we will try to update and blog more often. May the Lord answer your prayers and bring you peace, love and joy.