I finally put the pictures from Hilton Head on here... sorry it took me so long. We have been dealing with some issues in our house. My sweet baby girl has been a wonderful sleeper from day one. She has always been on a schedule and done so with ease. Well, all that went down the toilet when we went on vacation and has not been regained since. We are still dealing with sleeping issues. We do our normal bedtime routine and prepare for bed with ease. Well, as soon as she realizes it is time to actually get in the bed, she starts throwing a fit. This goes on anywhere from 20 minutes to over an hour. The past two nights (actually early morning) she has waken from sleep and not wanted to go back to bed. She will so much as fall asleep in my arms but as soon as she realizes I am putting her back to bed the screaming comes. Nap time is just as bad. I am absolutely exhausted!!! This has been going on for weeks and I really feel at time that I might lose it!! I told Mike today that I am having a memorial service for my sanity!! I know, I know, I am silly. I just honestly feel at a loss for what to do. This morning she was up for good at 6am. I tried to get her to go back to sleep with me but that did not work. I let her lay in my bed and watch tv while I took a shower. As soon as I left her side she started screaming and crying for me... and continued the WHOLE time I showered. As soon as she saw me again the crying stopped. That made me realize that maybe this whole thing with bedtime is separation anxiety. So... I got online and started reading about things to do with kids when they deal with this. Hopefully, I can try some things tonight with a little bit of success!! Please pray for our household as we are all tired and exhausted... and pretty much desperate at this point!!!
To add to matters yesterday after therapy, Mikayla felt warm so I took her temperature when we got home. Um yeah, it was 102.8!! I thought, "no more please Lord". Because of Mikayla's shunt we have to be very careful with high fever. I took her to the pediatrician and they checked her blood, urine, ears, throat, everything they could think to check. Everything came back fine!!! Crazy. The doctor said it could be a fever bug(that only causes a fever with no other symptoms), the beginning of a stomach bug(she complained that her tummy hurt and gagged as to throw up once), or just a regular old virus. Today her fever is non-existent because she has been on stuff to keep it down. Besides being sleepy and clingy she is acting fine. I am letting the medicine wear off to see if she still has a fever and it is very close and she is singing and playing. I think she is going to be fine later today.
Again, please keep us in your prayers for this sleeping stuff- I feel like it is never going to end and I need a miracle.
Hope everyone is doing great. We love you all.
oh- one more prayer request... my grandfather(maternal side) has been placed in hospice care for Parkinson's Disease. His wife is having to adjust to not only not having him at home with her but having him an hour away. Keep her and him in your prayers. Thanks.

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Hilton Head

Things are getting back to normal after our trip to Hilton Head this past week. I will have to say we had some craziness. This is kinda how the week played out... we left Friday night around midnight. Our sweet sleeping baby decided she wanted to wake up as soon as we moved her to the car from her bed and remain awake the ENTIRE drive (9+ hours) except for about 30 minutes!!! This drive was a nightmare!!! After getting to Hilton Head, she still did not nap and did not want to go to bed that night. We had intended on her sleeping on the pull out bed but after 2 nights and nap times of screaming, we thought maybe she did not like sleeping without a crib. We decided to find a pack and play so we spent hours driving all over Hilton Head Island looking for one- nightmare!!! We finally found one only to discover it was not the sleeping arrangement that was upsetting her... it was sleeping in general. Two mornings she woke up around 3, screaming... so much so that I slept on the couch with her in my arms. Lack of sleep made her into a crying, whining, mess the majority of our trip- which in turn made me feel the same way. After returning home at 2am this past Saturday morning, Mikayla screamed in her bed until after 4am before falling asleep. She did however sleep a few hours on the drive back so that was nice. We are still working on getting her back to normal with sleeping... she usually goes right to sleep- no problems (and sleep for 12 hours)- I want that child back.
Besides the sleeping thing and being exhausted most of the trip, we had a great time. I could not have asked for better weather... sunny every day. We had a couple of late afternoon storms but that was it. We saw lots of animal life while there... sharks, stingray, starfish, sand dollars, and LOTS of crabs. Mikayla loved the beach!!! She could not get enough of the ocean and sand. We spent the whole time at the beach instead of the pool. We actually did spend a couple of hours one day at the pool but that was it. I am having problems getting my pictures onto the computer so hopefully in a couple of days I should have lots of pictures. Oh yea- our first morning on vacation the condo facility had a fire in their electrical room so the whole place had to be evacuated. We got to stand outside for a few hours, hot, hungry, thirsty, without showers... fun times. It really was not that bad though. It was a very interesting trip... but it was great to get away and enjoy time with family!!