7 weeks and counting....

Tesh is doing wonderful. Her incision looks beautiful. Her shape is coming along. Her cheerful and playful disposition is unwavering. Her motor skills are coming along. Her eating.... we're still working on it, but it could be worse. She has been getting more teeth and hair is growing! We are almost helmet free.... AND she's beautiful!!! I couldn't ask for more.

I'm posting lots of pictures, but you can see her scar is starting to widen a little. I've been told that that happens when growth is happening.... which means her head is growing, and things are good. :)

Her head is looking a little better as far as shape goes. It's still oblong, but it looks better than what it was, and I'm expecting the shape to get better as she grows. (Her head will always be a little mishapen:)

Her social skills are beautiful. I can tell she's going to have energy that matches Isaiahs. Which does make you exhausted just thinking about, but each family can only handle one Eve. God love her, as do I. ;) Tesh laughs and rambles her sweet ramblings. She's beginning to know what "No" means and that's a good thing.

She's 10 months now, and just yesterday she started really pushing herself to sit up, without the help of being at an incline. AND she just started doing a drag/crawl forward thing and I'm very excited about this. I was getting just a little worried, but I knew she'd catch up at some point.

I've been really really slow with her on food. We had to take a break for a week or so due to a yeast infection that was getting worse. Her poop was just acid, and I wasn't sure if it was the food or not. But it did get better once we stopped. (weird) anyway, so I started something different yesterday... carrots. (pureed, of course) and she gagged and winced like she did before. I tried to water them down even more and it got to the point where she threw up. So I quit and gave it 10 min. I went back to the avocados/banana mix (smoother texture) and she gagged a little at first, but with each bite, it got better and better and she finished it. I think she has MAJOR texture issues and I do believe it's her inexperienced swallow either creating it or exasperating it. So we're still working on things in that department.

She is 7 weeks post op. They told me that she is to wear the helmet for 6-8 weeks. So we are in the window of being helmet free if I decide to. I would love to be helmet free. My only worry is my wood floors that are in most of my house. When she's on carpet, I'm fine with her having her helmet off. When we are in public, I usually have her helmet on for her protection from other children (it's amazing how many kids have seen her scar and automatically feel the need to touch it.) and also for others (yes even adults) to know right away that her head is not to be messed with. From what I can feel, her gap seems pretty big still, unless I'm being deceived by bone, which that might be the case, cause I'm no expert. So it all lies with me. .... Helmet or No Helmet? That is the question. They also said that I may have it on till she's 12 weeks out, depending on her mobility. Well, crawling doesn't scare me, it would be the walking... and I don't think I have to worry about that any time too soon. (now that I've said it, she'll be walking next week... just kidding)
One last note about Tesh: She will be seeing a genetisist at Iowa City at some point to determine whether or not she has a syndrome that connects her intolerances, craniosynostosis, dysphagia, and minor large motor skill delay. With that information, we can know what to expect in the future and also watch for it with any other babies that we will have.
Here's some funny pics of her sleeping. :)

Isaiah got a first tooth pulled and he's so proud. Eve is crazy about Pippylongstocking. (I still haven't discerned as a parent whether or not that's a good thing, lol) Sarah's birthday is coming around the corner on September 7th. She would've been 4 years old, and that's is very weird to think about. I miss her so much, and just last night I got to talk about her to a very dear friend. I love to talk about her and cry about her. I miss her face.

But out of all the sad things I have on this blog, when it comes to our trials with Tesh, they are over. (well at least I hope) I have nothing but Praise to God that He has had mercy on us to give us this blessing of keeping a healthy Teshura.... our "gift" from Him.

There was one moment when I was sitting on the couch, I had Tesh in my arms, and Isaiah and Eve came up to me and sat practically on me. I wrapped my arms around all of them at once, saying to myself, "These are my children." I closed my eyes and invisioned one more little girl that would be in that huddle and tears came down my eyes. But in the same breath, I'm thankful that she is safe, and that God has allowed me to keep what I have today.

I will keep everyone updated about Tesh's progress as the months/years go by, but for now, I'm going to continue writing about my loved ones that have gone on, whether it was by their own hand or whether it was out of their hands. I appreciate the detour you have allowed me with telling Tesh's story (and love all of you who have tuned into that), but I wish to honor these others by their stories, and to share my testimony that God is still good, even in the core of the fire.