A few days before St. Patrick's Day the kids came to the hospital to visit me and were talking about their leprechaun trap (that we'd discussed before I'd been admitted). I realized I was in a pinch. So I quickly told a story about how I'd written to the leprechauns, telling them I was in the hospital and wanted them to come after I got home.
So the day I got home they talked about how excited they were that the leprechauns would be coming the next day. Ha. "It takes a few days for the leprechauns to get the message that I'm home. They're in Ireland, after all!"
My kids are so accepting of the "facts." Makes me feel a little guilty. :)
Anyway, it worked out. We baked a cake trap with a bundt pan, covering the whole in the middle with a paper slathered in frosting. Then we decided to lure that little green man in with a rainbow and a fake gold three- leaf clover bracelet I happened to have on hand. I hit the dollar store for some goodies and the bank for some of their "shiniest golden dollars" and we were set.
As I was setting it up, Jaron asked at what age they would realize these are paper footprints instead of real footprints. I laughed and told him that when we were kids, it didn't matter that you realize it's all a hoax; you don't point it out because that would spoil the fun. :)
After this attempt to catch a leprechaun, Alden came and asked me if me or daddy were the leprechaun or if they were real. I told him, "it's fun to believe" and winked at him and he smiled a knowing smile and nodded.
Looks like the little guy ate his way out of our trap! He must've dropped the bracelet when he realized it wasn't real.
His frosting-covered footprints made their way out the kitchen window.
The kids totally ate it up - the footprints, the break out from the trap, and the escape.
And then they ate up all their green and gold treats that the leprechaun left behind for them. So fun!
As for baby, he seems to be doing great! I have a few appointments each week that I get to do sonograms and non-stress tests at. Although they're making me really busy, I appreciate how they reassure me that baby's heart is still beating at a normal speed! I can't even explain how good the "lub-dub" of a fetal monitor sounds! His hydrops is decreasing, as is the excess amniotic fluid. The regurgitation (back flow) in his heart seems to be decreasing as well as his worn-out heart muscles recover from their "run." I still wonder from time to time how all this stress on his body has affected the rest of it, especially the development of the brain when blood flow has not been optimal. The doctor said it's impossible to know until he's born but encouragingly pointed out the incredible plasticity (ability to generate new connections) that fetal and infant brains have through the second year of life. Since I'm currently on high dosages of both medications, they're starting to wean me off of one of them. Hopefully baby's heart continues to respond to a lower dosage!
Thank you again to all who have been praying for our family, we have felt so encouraged knowing the number of voices that are pleading for our little guy!
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