Lucy had a great first Halloween. But before I tell you about it, I want to share that her potassium level this past week was 4.2!!! That is a fantastic number, and we are thrilled.
The Halloween festivities began last Friday when we went to a surprise birthday party for Kris's boss. Everyone was dressed up, and Lucy wore her pea pod costume. Unfortunately, the costume was very warm and she didn't stay in it for very long. Happy Birthday Greg!
Lucy helped me carve a pumpkin on Sunday. Actually she just tolerated me putting pumpkin goo on her. 
I think she enjoyed the plastic bag that she was lying on more.
Kris went to San Diego for a conference this week, so Lucy and I were on our own. Once we got into a routine, we did fine. Lucy also had appointments with Nephrology and the Pediatrician this week. She got 4 shots and wasn't happy.
Our apartment had a Halloween party on Thursday night. Lucy didn't wear her costume, but she did wear her Baby's First Halloween footie-pajamas. It was fun to see all the kids dressed up, and our apartment knows how to throw a good party. On Saturday (Halloween day) we went to a party hosted by a family Lucy and I met at the New Mommies Club. We got to see all of Lucy's friends. It's amazing to see them all getting bigger and the costumes were adorable. Lucy and I dressed up as Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat.
We then went to our friends', the Zwengs
, house. Jeanette had a great taco/nacho dinner, and then we took the kids trick or treating. I carried Lucy in her pea pod costume, and I wasn't expecting to get candy, but one house gave Kris and I candy just because Lucy was so cute.
The Schwab Family had a mini-vacation to Boyne Mountain, thanks to MODE (Michigan Organization of Diabetes Educators). I am on the board of MODE and had to be at a meeting on Thursday evening and then the conference on Friday. I didn't want to be away from Lucy (and Kris) that long, so they came with me.
Lucy and Kris spent the day together on Friday. They drove to Petosky and hiked up the ski hill. That evening we went to the Red Mesa Grill in Boyne City. It was recommended to us for its good Mexican/Latin food, and I would pass on that recommendation to any one in the area.On Saturday morning, we drove to Bay Harbor and ate at the Original Pancake House. They had their Harvest Festival so we walked around that for a while.
Then we drove towards Charlevoix. We found the Bullfrog candle outlet. When we decided it was time to head back to Boyne Mountain, the GPS led us to the shortest ferry I've ever seen. The Ironton ferry only holds 4 cars and the ride took about 3 minutes. 
When we got back to Boyne Mountain, we took Lucy to Avalanche Bay. This was Lucy's first time swimming, and I was very excited. Lucy didn't know what to think, but she lasted 30 minutes before she got tired. After dinner, we rode the ski lift to the top of the ski hill. 
We saw a deer and a skunk, and it was cold. 
Our night still wasn't finished. Our next stop was at the arcade for a little skee-ball and Dance Dance Revolution.
On the way home the next day, we enjoyed the Fall colors and sunny skies. It was a great weekend, and Lucy did great the entire time.
4.9!Lucy has had her NG tube out for a week now. She kept pulling it out while at daycare, so we decided to trial her without it. The daycare has been great about encouraging Lucy to drink her bottles, and she is really starting to breastfeed well.The nephrology team doesn't want to try weaning Lucy's sodium supplements for a couple months minimum, but at least it looks like we are okay without the feeding tube.We will continue to have blood drawn every other week, and we follow up with nephrology and her pediatrician later this month. We are anxious to see how much weight she has gained. We know she is getting bigger, but we haven't had the opportunity to weigh her recently.
(This is the new Uncle Kelly.)
Uncle Kelsey and Great-Grandma were able to meet Lucy for the first time, and I think it was love at first sight. 
Everyone at the wedding wanted to see Lucy, and she did very well being passed around to family and friends. It was also nice to hear that so many of you are following this blog - it is motivation to try to post more regularly.
We are thrilled for Molly and Kelly as they start married life together, and hope that their honeymoon in Aruba is enjoyable and relaxing. The wedding and reception were lovely, and Molly looked beautiful in her dress. Thanks for making Lucy the honorary flower girl. 
Lucy also had her first fundraising walk the weekend before. The three of us joined my colleagues, patients, and others passionate about finding a cure for diabetes and walked in the JDRF Walk for a Cure. It was a little bit chilly, but Lucy didn't seem to mind.
Lucy's grandparents came to visit again last week. With my part-time work schedule, I had a long weekend, and it's likely the last long weekend in a while. So last Thursday, my parents drove through northern Minnesota, across the Michigan Upper Peninsula, and down to Ann Arbor. They said the leaves were just starting to change.
My parents spent the next three days loving on Lucy. She showed them smiles, giggles, coos, and some cries.Lucy rolled over for the first time. She went from belly to back, turning to her left.
This is Lucy, tired after rolling over.Lucy's daycare had a pancake breakfast to raise money for the Big Heart, Big House run this weekend. We were able to show my parents where Lucy spends her days.We also went to watch the University of Michigan Marching Band rehearse. The MMB rehearsals are open to the public every afternoon, and it was a treat to watch. They were preparing for the Michigan v. Indiana game the following day. (Michigan won that game. Go Blue!)Of the last 3 days at daycare, Lucy has gotten her NG tube out on all 3. Twice she pulled it out by herself, and yesterday, it came out when she vomited. Poor thing - we keep putting it back down when she gets home.The JDRF walk to raise money for diabetes research is this weekend. Lucy, Kris, and I will all be walking. If you want to donate a couple dollars, you can visit http://walk.jdrf.org/walker.cfm?id=87389592.
Lucy has discovered that she has fingers. Unfortunately, her cute little fingers are just the right size to get under her NG tube by her nose. She pulled the tube out once last week at daycare and she got it halfway out last night. So, how often to you think Lucy will pull out her tube? Daily? Weekly?
While I haven't been posting, I have been making notes about things to post. Turns out most of those things start with "S".
The first one: smiles. Lucy has started giving us lots of smiles and happy sounds in the last couple weeks. The smile starts out small and grows into a big one, and if you are lucky, a happy shriek or coo accompanies it.
I am trying to capture the smiles on video. They will be on Facebook.
The second S: sweat test. Lucy had a sweat test to determine if her PHA (pseduohypoaldosteronism) affects just her kidneys or if it involves multi-organs. This test is the same thing that they do to determine if someone has cystic fibrosis, but that is not what we used it for with Lucy. The first part of the test involved apply two electrodes to each of Lucy's thighs. One of the electrodes had a chemical that causes the skin to sweat, and when the current is applied, this chemical is pulled into the skin. Then very thin filter paper is placed on the skin to absorb the sweat. When enough sweat is collected, the lab analyzes the salt content in the sweat. Lucy's sweat test showed that she does not have the multi-organ variation of this disease. This means that she will most likely outgrow the PHA and her sodium supplements in the next couple years. :)
We had blood drawn this week for another potassium level. To weeks ago, her potassium level was 4.9. Then on Thursday, it was 6.2, a lot higher than it should be. Since there is no reason her potassium level should be going back up, we went to have it redrawn today. 5.3! Yeah!
Lucy is doing very well with her neck strength and holding up her own head.
I got crafty and decided to further decorate the nursery. I bought the letters of Lucy's name and I bought scrapbook paper. After tracing the letters onto the scrapbook paper and cutting them out, I decoupaged the letters using Mod Podge. I am very happy with how it turned out.
Lucy has been growing out of a lot of her clothes. So this leads us to the next S: shopping (kind of). We received a lot of clothing at my baby showers, and we packed up the items that were too big. I went through the drawer of the 3-6 month old clothes and picked out the ones that I think will fit her now. She is getting a whole new wardrobe without even entering a store!
Kris and I took Lucy to the Dexter Cider Mill today, and while we were out, I commented on how I was in a good mood today. Kris reminded me that it is probably because I got a good amount of sleep last night. And that is my favorite S: sleep. Lucy slept from 11PM to 4AM and for those 5 hours, I was in dreamland.
Lucy's least favorite S is the next thing: shots. She had her well child exam last week and had to get three immunization shots. Lucy actually slept really well for a couple hours after the shots, but then she cried/screamed for 1.5 hours. She spiked a little fever and finally fell asleep. We're all glad that she doesn't have any more shots for another 2 months.
Our final S is: stain removal with the sun. I've read that putting baby clothes in the sun helps to remove baby poop stains. I was doubtful and figured it was just working by fading the clothes. However, I gave it a try, and it works!!! One of Lucy's diapers leaked onto a cute footie pajama outfit. The poop stain did not come out in the laundry, and I didn't realize it until after I had dried the outfit. I put it out on our patio to get a little bit of sun, and the stain disappeared from the side that was exposed to the sun. I turned it inside out, and the stain disappeared completely. After I did some more reading, I read that the reason this works has something to do with bilirubin. Great trick!
I started back to work part-time this week. I am working 3 days a week for 3 weeks and then I'll be back to full-time. While Kris and I are at work, Lucy goes to daycare at Gretchen's House. We've heard many good things and so far we have been impressed. They are more than willing to work with Lucy's NG tube.
As a reminder, I put more pictures on Facebook because they are easier to upload there. We hope that everyone is doing well. Take care, enjoy the fall weather, and check back for more updates.
Lucy had a great first Halloween. But before I tell you about it, I want to share that her potassium level this past week was 4.2!!! That is a fantastic number, and we are thrilled.
I think she enjoyed the plastic bag that she was lying on more.
We then went to our friends', the Zwengs, house. Jeanette had a great taco/nacho dinner, and then we took the kids trick or treating. I carried Lucy in her pea pod costume, and I wasn't expecting to get candy, but one house gave Kris and I candy just because Lucy was so cute.
