Gabriel is doing great now. The doctors have not been able to determine any medical reason for the seizure. He is back on seizure medications and will never be able to go off of them again because of the seriousness of this seizure. It would be too risky.
Benjamin
Benjamin had brain surgery on December 19 to relieve the pressure on his spinal cord. The surgery went well, but he healed more slowly than the doctors and Leah would have preferred and ended up staying in the hospital a little longer than expected. The surgery was successful in relieving the pressure. Unfortunately, this has not affected the non-stop vomiting as we had hoped, so he will be undergoing more tests and possibly receiving surgery to make it so that he is not able to vomit by putting a one-way valve on the top of his stomach. It is also possible that he will be given a feeding tube like Gabriel. My sister is hoping that she can get a nurse to help with Benjamin a couple of days a week. He is being evaluated for nursing services this week.
Work
I started back to work on Monday, so Charlotte and I made it through our first week, three more to go before she starts daycare. I cried all day on Sunday because I didn't want this first chapter in her life to end. I desperately want to stay at home with her, but that isn't possible right now, hopefully soon though. We are shooting for June for me to quit my job, but I don't know if I'll make it until then. At that point, I'll do contract work 2-3 days a week and take care of Leah's kids 2-3 days a week.
Charlotte
Charlotte is close to rolling over. She lays on her tummy and rocks from side to side. She is growing so fast and she laughs all the time now. She has started to form opinions about things. She now has favorite ways to nurse, sleep and play and she protests when we put her in her car seat.
Christmas
My brother came for Christmas, so my whole family was together. He hadn't met Charlotte or Benjamin before, so it was nice for him to meet the newest members of the family. We just hung out at my parents house, watched movies and played games while tending to little ones.
