Fun in the PICU

This has been a very interesting week for Lily. She was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) last Wednesday with pneumonia. Not uncommon for a fragile little girl. Tests were done to verify that her brain shunt is working (it is), that her heart is functioning well (it is), and to see what infections she has. All the while, she's hanging out as the healthiest kid in the PICU, getting bounced room to room and nurse to nurse to meet the needs of the unit. They have some really, really sick kids right now, more so than normal. Lily, however, is being adored by the nurses and doctors with choruses of "She's so big!" and "Six months? You guys are doing great!"

The princess decided to pull a double all-nighter a few days ago, and has been sleeping it off for the last two days. During day one of the sleep fest, Lorelei and Daddy came to visit. We were able to let Lorelei cuddle Lily in the bed while Lily was awake. Lorelei was especially enthusiastic about that since it's one of her favorite things to do at home. Lorelei also left some beautiful artwork on the dry erase board in Lily's room. Her talents as an artist are definitely making themselves known and she is so proud of her work and what it means for Lily. Lorelei was also able to color the pillowcases for Lily's super soft positioning aids. These are called Z-Flo and they are amazing. After coloring with permanent marker and machine washing in hot water, they are pretty cute covers.

Mommy did leave quite a bit on Monday for time with Lorelei. For Mommy-Daughter Monday, we went to a place called Yogurtlicious that is very much like Yogurtland (where we went in Las Vegas). A nice little self-serve frozen yogurt shop. Lorelei really enjoyed choosing her own toppings, especially the edible water beads (aka strawberry boba) and the purple and blue gummy bears. We also took a few other outings in between waiting for the doctors to round.

Lily has been sleeping most of the time since Daddy and Lorelei's visit. Mommy hasn't had too much time to be lonely though. Between medical mama friends and new friends from the local LDS churches, I've been kept in good food with good access to laundry and showers. It also gives me that chance to get out of the hospital and take care of myself. Much needed at that.