Busy bees

It was yet another eventful day for this tiny Tinkerbell.

It was our first pediatrician appointment since coming home from the hospital. Luckily the office wasn't far away, so it made things nice and easy. It was only a 15 minute car ride.

"Did someone say car ride?"

We had Belle zipped up and fully isolated in this awesome car seat cover (a gift from our friends at Zippeemax.com). This is how Kiera and I manage to keep Arabella under wraps in public 😄

We made our way from the car, into the building, up the elevator, into the office, and right into a vacant patient room that was waiting for us.

"Right this way Arabella", said the receptionist. 

"Such exceptional service," marveled dad, "We can certainly get used to this!"

It's all for precaution, though. The staff know that we can't risk exposing Belle to other kids in the main waiting area. Ahh yes, a pediatrician who understands our neurosis. I like it 😄

Today's appointment was pretty straight forward. The doctor went over Arabella's medical history and the type of drugs and supplements that she's on. He also recorded her weight and measurements and discussed some of her ongoing issues with feeding, reflux, etc. We'll have a follow-up with him next week. 

Today was just the initial meet-and-greet, I suppose. 

She was so tired on the way home.

Once home, Belle had most of her bottle, and then she took a nap. 

A short time later, two nurses came over to help us replace Arabella's feeding tube and cannula. We had requested that they come over to help. It's a great service that was offered to us (for free), and we couldn't resist. 

They were surprised at Belle's alertness and responsiveness, and we always love hearing that. 

Time to get to work. 

The first thing we had to do was remove Belle's old tape and gear. And because the tape is so strong, we use a special adhesive removal pad to help slowly strip the tape off her cheeks. 

It was quite the process. It made her cheeks swell up, and Arabella absolutely hated it. But she needed it. She was way overdue. 

Those poor cheeks 😘

Dad then inserted her new feeding tube under the supervision of the nurses. Bella absolutely despised that too, as usual 😐

It felt horrible making her cry, but you learn to deal with it. By the end she had a new feeding tube and cannula, at least. 

A few minutes later she forgot all about the ordeal, and eventually she forgave her dad for the cruel procedure. 

The nurses then checked her vitals, went over her current medications and medical history, and asked if there was anything else we needed. 

We'll have them come over to check-up on Belle every week for the foreseeable future. 

Back to play time. 

"Let's forget about what happened earlier between us", propositioned dad.

As you can see, Belle has a decent amount of fun things to do at home. This activity mat is yet another beautiful gift we received. 

Following play time, mommy wanted to see Bella in a yellow dress (that she had been eyeing for some time in the closet), so we played a quick game of 'fashion show makeover'.

Arabella makes a great model.

She's a natural, isn't she?

It's like she has a million different expressions. 

"Mommy, stop it. You'll make dad jealous."

Then we had some more fun and changed Belle once more. 

We decided to take her out to the backyard for a little fresh air. She's slowly getting accustomed to being outside. 

And she's getting better with the brightness. Less grimacing today 😎

We enjoyed the setting sun for a short while, and then went back inside to relax and unwind.

"It was quite the busy day for me," said Arabella. "Thanks for coming along for the ride." 
💗