Merry First Christmas, Simone!!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!!

We are so blessed to have our greatest gift ever this Christmas. Love you, Peanut!!

Some random pics:

Simone smiles quite a bit now. Look at those cheeks!


Simone is changing so much every day! I just love it. She is cooing and babbling more, making fun different sounds. She is much more alert, great at holding her head up, and I swear has come close to rolling over a couple of times if one arm hadn't been in the way! Her cute spunky personality is definitely coming out. At the same time, she's such a good baby. We usually only get up once with her during the night. She slept 7 and a half hours a couple of nights ago! Woohoo!


Goofball sleeping with her arms up in the air.


Jenny, Beth, me, Simone and Angie at the Quale Christmas party.


Awwww...Angie and Simone!


Tiger enjoying the Christmas tree.


This is the scene at our house a lot- baby in one arm, cat in the lap.


Joel and Simone sporting their Vikings gear, watching the game last weekend.


Simone meeting Kendall for the first time! She was very cozy on him. :)


Simone listening to Grandpa tell a story.


Having fun with Auntie Brenda!


Mesmerized by Auntie Sue, who was sweet enough to babysit last week.


Beth with little Sophia, Jenny with little Harper, and me with little Simone at my work Christmas party. All 3 of us had our babies within nine weeks of each other- crazy! And all girls at that!

HEALTH UPDATE:
-I spoke too soon last update. Things ended up being bad with the chemo. I ended up being allergic to Taxol, the chemo they had me on.

-I failed to mention (I don't know how) that 2 weeks ago with my first infusion, I got a rash all over the place when they started infusing the chemo. They said this was common with that med, pumped me full of Benadryl and steroids, and managed to finish the infusion. I was fine most of the week, but then started feeling crappy by the end of the week. My body aches got pretty bad. The night before my 2nd chemo infusion, I got really sick. Went in to get my infusion, and they decided to try it again, thinking I might have had a bad reaction to the steroids.

-Within 10 minutes of them infusing the Taxol, I got REALLY sick, and the rash was even worse. So, enough of that. They found I was officially allergic. They think some of me being sick was from the steroids, too.

-For the next week I continued to have "episodes", which really sucked. Out of nowhere my chest would get all blotchy, my face flushed, I'd get really weak, and EXTREMELY nauseous. Not fun. I was really frustrated because they hardly got any chemo in me- I didn't know why I was still having these reactions. I talked to the docs and PharmD about it, and they said I could possibly have these symptoms for a couple of weeks even though the chemo was out of my system. Fun.

-SO- yesterday, they started me on a new chemo, Abraxane. First off, let me say I was terrified to try this, though the incidence of people reacting to this is MUCH lower, which is why they gave it to me. It was kind of a blessing in disguise that I was allergic to the other stuff, since this stuff is much better. It's just as effective, but the side effects are SUPPOSED to be milder, and it's packaged in human material in a lipid form. I DON'T need steroids before I take it, and it only takes 30 minutes to infuse. I couldn't have it initially because it's REALLY expensive, and a committee needed to approve me getting it.

-The infusion went great. I did not break out and felt fine. THAT was a nice Christmas present. My Dad was with me, and I think I asked him 20 times during the infusion, "Do my chest and neck look OK? No rash???" I DON'T want to speak too soon, as it's only the day after my infusion, and I don't know how many side effects I will experience. I will keep you posted.

-Again- just happy that the infusion went OK yesterday. I was getting really nervous because we were running out of options. We have one other med we can try if I don't tolerate this one, but I would need steroids with that one, and I don't anticipate that going well. If I didn't tolerate the 3rd drug, we would have to abandon chemo altogether, which scares the crap out of me. For all we know, I am cancer free right now, and this second bout of chemo was kind of more of an insurance policy, but it's insurance that I WANT!!!

-Radiation is going fine. Overall just tired a lot, but who isn't with a new baby?? :)

-The BEST part is, no matter how crappy I feel, I get to wake up and get the biggest smiles from Simone every day. It makes me forget about all of this icky stuff. I just love her.

-This upcoming week will tell all- I'll keep you posted!

Again, we hope everyone has a WONDERFUL and BLESSED Christmas and New Year! We know we will with our perfect little bundle.
LOVE YOU ALL!

Simone is 5 Weeks Old!

I can't believe my sweet girl is 5 weeks old already! Isn't she cute?? :)


Well, again, it's been a while since an update...but we've just been having an absolute blast with our little angel. She's changing so much already. She's now reactively smiling to us (I totally bawled the first time she did that!) and is so much more alert. It's fun to see her light up when she sees us- she knows her mom and dad!


Smiling at Daddy. She actually smiled more, but I didn't take the picture in time. :)


All dressed up and ready to go out to dinner. She was a gem and slept the whole time.


Mommy and Simone. :) She was actually protesting here, but it looked like she was smiling- ha!


"Uncle" Joel meeting Simone for the first time.

Simone is doing just wonderfully. We had a check-up a couple of weeks ago, and she is gaining weight beautifully. She's a great eater, and is overall a mellow baby. Except when she's really hungry- ha! Then she's pretty spunky! She will go 6-7 hours without eating at night (though doesn't necessarily sleep that whole time)...but we feel so lucky. We're getting lots more sleep than we were initially. She's such a good baby!


HEALTH UPDATE:
***BIGGEST NEWS***- My PET and CT scans came back ALL CLEAR!!!! YAAAAAAAYYYYY!!!! We cannot tell you how relieved we are! The scans showed no signs of cancer anywhere in my body! Trust me, I was having nightmares of the docs telling me that the cancer had spread, but that was not the case. The scans, of course, don't rule out microscopic amounts of cancer cells, but that's what the chemo is for. We're going to blast away any traces of it!!

-I started chemo and radiation last week. It was pretty tiring. The main thing is it just sucks to have to leave the house every day (or mainly, leave Simone) and make arrangements for Simone to be taken care of. Luckily, we have lots of friends and family helping- thanks so much everyone, we couldn't make it through this without you.

-Radiation is fine- no weird side effects except a little pain from that.

-Chemo SO FAR is going OK. I had my first treatment Wednesday. This is WAY easier than my treatments I had over the summer. I am really tired, but the nausea/body aches have been pretty much next to nothing compared to before.

-I got a port-a-cath in my chest last Monday. It is SO nice!! OK, it wasn't fun getting it put in, but it's so nice not to have anxiety over them starting an IV with my chemo and having the vein hold up. It's so convenient!

-It's looking like I will lose my hair again with this chemo. Blah. But, it should start to grow back again by the end of my treatments.


Finally, some 12 Bars of Christmas pictures:

For the past few years, my friends and I have gone on the 12 Bars of Christmas pub crawl in downtown Mpls. This year, my friends all wore pink Santa hats for me for breast cancer awareness. It was a surprise, and it meant so much to me- I have the best friends ever! Thanks, guys!!!


The girls. Don't ask about the mustaches. :)
Yeah, Greg and I initially weren't planning on going with a one month old at home...but the more we thought about it, if anyone deserves a night out on the town, it's us, after all we've been through!! Grandma and Grandpa took care of Simone for us.


Brian and Joel- weirdos.


Gene and Ashley. Gene was back from Iraq for a couple of weeks- it was good to see him!!


Ryan, Alicia, Jenny, Kelly


Joel and I


Scott and I- love this pic.


Greg and I shakin' our groove thangs.


Kevin and Scott on the dance floor.


And, always have to put in a cat pic:

Poster enjoying Simone's boppy pillow.

Well, wish me luck on another week of chemo and radiation...gotta keep powering through!!! Hey- I get to look at Simone's sweet face everyday- if that isn't incentive, I don't know what is. :)

Simone Marie- Our Absolute Joy

Our sweet little girl is 3 weeks old! :)

Wow, and what a 3 weeks it has been! The best of our lives. As all you parents out there know, it's a lot of work, but we couldn't be happier. We have our perfect, beautiful, healthy little girl, and are so blessed.
The above pic isn't at the 3 week mark, I just liked it and wanted to put it at the top of this post. Look at those toes! :)

Below is just a hodge-podge of pictures...and tons of them!! Enjoy!!



Simone, freshly born. She was telling me all about her tough journey out. :)


First bottle after being born.


Daddy just loves his little girl.


The next morning after birth- I love how Simone is peeking out from her little bed.


Grandma Joanie meeting Simone.


Grandpa Tom meeting Simone. He is so calming with babies. :)


Grandma and Grandpa S. meeting their first grandchild!


Grandma loves all of Simone's dark hair.


Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Pat with their first granddaughter. :)


Uncle Sean holding his niece.


Just got home from the hospital!


Her brothers, Poster and Tiger, meeting her. Poster loves her, Tiger is taking a while to warm up to her. He doesn't like it when she cries.


Mommy showing Simone her room when we got home! She loved it. :)


First bath at home!


Tummy-time with Daddy.


The Friday after we got home, Angie, Jenny, Beth and Jesse were sweet enough to come over and bring dinner. Simone loved meeting them all.


Cousin Liam meeting Simone! These two are going to be good buddies.


Simone "watching" her first Vikings game with Daddy.


First trip to the grocery store!! Yes, I am going to be one of those moms who takes pictures of her kid's first everything....


Tummy time on Mom.


2 weeks old- to the minute!!


Simone meeting our good friend Krista!


All cozy in her bouncy chair.


Look at those matching profiles!


Sleeping with her arms up in the air.


Tiger wanted to go on a walk with Simone, so crawled into the bottom of her stroller.


First walk outside!


It's a girl! :)


Simone sporting her awesome boots.


Wearing her U of M hat from Joel, Kevin and Ryan- thanks, guys!!


Meeting friend Alicia!


Meeting friend Ryan.


Uncle Steve and Aunt Krista meeting Simone for the first time! They came to visit all the way from Connecticut!


Daddy, Uncle Steve and Simone


Precious picture. Simone looking at her daddy.


Simone's first Thanksgiving! Here with Grandma and Grandpa S., Uncle Steve, Aunt Krista, and Mommy and Daddy.


Cousin James holding Simone.


4 generations!


Cousin Amy with Simone.


Great Aunt Carole with Simone.



Simone in her pretty Thanksgiving outfit.


First Thanksgiving family photo. We had SO MUCH to be thankful for this year!!

Again- I just can't say enough how much we love our little girl. It is such a relief to finally be able to hold her and see that she's OK and healthy. Simone and I went through quite a lot together during my pregnancy! We will definitely have a special bond throughout our lives. And it's been so fun for me to see what a wonderful Daddy Greg is. I KNEW he would be a great dad, but he truly is just amazing. :)

HEALTH UPDATE:
-Yuck. I was enjoying not having to post one of these. I really have been having such a wonderful time just focusing on my new baby daughter and not having to worry about all of this cancer stuff.

-I unfortunately had to start in with the dr. appointments again these past few days. Last Friday I went in for my radiation planning. Turns out I will need 7 and a half weeks of radiation, not 5, like I previously thought. Blech. My doc, however, explained things very thoroughly to me, and showed me recent studies that have supported adding a couple of more weeks of radiation to younger patients like me. These extra sessions significantly reduce the chance of my cancer coming back. So, I will start radiation on Monday, December 7th. 5 days a week for 7.5 weeks.

-Still waiting to talk with my chemo doc, but also will most likely start chemo again on the week of Dec. 7th. Still waiting to get the port in my chest.

-Today I had the PET/CT scans that I've been absolutely terrified for. I couldn't have them during my pregnancy, so these are the first I've had since this whole saga started. We're not expecting any surprises, but it's still extremely nerve-wracking. I will find out the results either tomorrow or the next day- and could use your prayers that these scans don't show any cancer anywhere!!!

-Just a side-note: because I had these scans today, they had to inject me with a radioactive marker. Since I give off some of this radiation, I now cannot hold Simone until tomorrow morning- is that weird, or what? Can't be too careful though. So, this is why I have all of this time to update the blog tonight. Trust me- not being able to hold my new baby daughter for about 20 hours is SOOOOO HARD!!! I just want tonight to be over!

Well, I will keep you all posted on the scan results...again, I REALLY could use your prayers!!

In the meantime, Simone says hi, and can't wait to meet all of you who she hasn't met yet! I just cannot say how much we love her. We feel like the luckiest parents on this earth. :)

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know we did!!