No News Is Good News

It's been awhile since I updated, I guess because nothing too exciting has been happening. Jordan is healing well from her tonsillectomy. She's still not snoring, gurgling less, and breathing like a champ. Unfortunately both Avery & Jordan seem to be getting a bit of a cold, so we're hoping it doesn't blossom into something big.

Tune in again in a couple of days as Avery & I are off on a great adventure early tomorrow morning. . . .

Watch Out Dorothy Hammel

It was rainy on Sunday & we needed something fun to do -- so ice skating it was. It was Avery's first time, and after 2 hours she was doing great & wants to go again soon! You should have seen her when she was holding both of our hands -- we were flying around the rink (and I was desperate not to fall: 6 months pregnant, camera around my neck, video camera in my back pocket. . . .).

A hug before going up the stairs to the ice -- it was a slow walk up the 8 steps. . . . Starting off she was pretty adamant about holding onto the wall Holding onto dad's hands while she get's her "ice legs" Trying it on her own She didn't even mind falling every so often (which, we kept telling her, is good for learning!)
Now, for the live action -- the first few minutes

After about 1.5 hours

Changing A Button

Not very "theatrical" -- next time we'll stage it a little better -- but in case you're interested, here's how to change a g-tube (in this case a Mic-Key Button)

Too Quiet!

Totally typical! After a couple of years of not sleeping (well) due to Jordan's snoring, now I can't sleep because she's too quiet. Since the tonsillectomy 10 days ago Jordan has been breathing better than ever, gurgling less & less, and sleeping in complete silence. I find myself up every couple of hours with my ear to her mouth, checking to see if she is breathing. I guess I'll have to get used to this & learn to sleep as solidly as she finally is (~10 hours straight each night!).

So far the tonsillectomy has been completely worth it -- even though it took a scary turn the day after the surgery. I just hope the good sleeping & breathing lasts. . . .

Back Together Again

What a week! Jordan & the hopsital, Devon & his citizenship, Devon & 3 days in SoCal, and the biggie: The return of Mojave & Sierra!!! As they say, I guess, If you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you, it's yours, if not, it was never meant to be.

Mojave took his leave on 23 August while Avery & I were at the Pend Oreille County Fair, and was out & about the neighborhood for 27 days. Sierra took off 15 days later, and was gone for a total of 11 days. Then, on Wednesday night, Sierra waltzed back in the house, stinky (pew!) and skinny, but acting like she'd been gone for ~10 minutes. Avery & I were down at the blackberry patch, but nurse Robin quickly shut the doors & gave us the great news a few minutes later when we got back to the house. Did I mention how bad she smelled!? I don't know how to explain it, but not even the cat (flea & tick) shampoo completely got rid of the smell.

So, she got a bath after the girls were asleep, and spent the night in the bathroom drying out. She's down to 6.2 pounds (from a high of 10.5 pounds, but more recently ~8.5 pounds), so I'm trying to keep her eating, and actually bought kitten food today (higher calories). Most cat foods are focused on making cats lose weight (there's even a fat cat epidemic in this country)!

On Thursday morning, after she was dry, I locked her downstairs, then opened the door to the back deck. Within 1 minute Mojave walked in, like he'd been gone for ~10 minutes, too! He had the same stink, and got the same bath. He was down to 8.2 pounds (from 11.8 pounds), so he's not quite as gaunt as his sister, but skinny nonetheless. He seems to have quite a few cuts and scratches (Sierra didn't), but none of them were serious, which was a relief. By evening he was all snuggled up on the bed with me, just like he hadn't missed a beat. Oh what I'd give for a talking cat -- I'm dying to know what little adventure they were on for 27 & 11 days. One neighbor thought he saw Mojave down in the blackberry patch a few times, which could easily explain the scratches.

We're just so glad & relieved to have them back. We're going to have to keep the doors closed for a few weeks, while everyone recovers, both physically & mentally. I guess we were meant to be.

Sierra straight out of the bath, feasting on a can of tuna.
Sierra snuggled under the sink all night as she dried out
Dry, and back to her reclusive self, acting as a bookkend on the built-ins downstairs (one of the last things in this house that hasn't been remodeled yet -- soon!). She's a little "wacky" since her big adventure -- she even let Avery walk up to her and pet her on Friday, which has never happened before. A soggy Mojave, right after his bath, resting in the mini-litterbox (I'm glad it was clean & isn't clumping clay litter!)
Mojave snuggled up in his usual spot on the loveseat
and hanging out in the playroom

A Few Random Pics

Jordan with her tonsils (nice & big & red), 11 September 2008 (click to enlarge)

Jordan missing her right tonsil, 16 September 2008 (click to enlarge) -- I'm working on getting a better picture. You can see the white "scabs" where it used to be.

Avery was happy to spend the afternoon yesterday with me and Jordan, despite spending 1.5 hours at the wheelchair store getting Jordan's 2 flat tires fixed. Back at the hospital she got to play with all the cool toys from the "toy room" and couldn't wait for Jordan and her Project Linus blanket (staring Scooby Doo) to get home! Jordan even "said" that the blanket could be Avery's when she got home . . . what a nice, sharing little sister. Avery loves the music toys -- as noisy as can be! Perfect for the hospital, but hey, they supply the toys. . . .We also had a great view (again) of Life Flight. It was practically feet from our room as it approached the landing pad, but I couldn't get my phone camera out fast enough to see it zooming in right beside us.

Citizen Devon

Devon did his oath today in Seattle. He is now officially American (and Canadian, too). He had to trade in his green card for his naturalization certificate, and got a flag, a citizen's almanac, and a pocket guide of the Declaration of Independence & Constitution of the United States. The envelope is addressed "A Message From The President of the United States" (return address: "The White House").

Since Jordan was still in the hospital, and because Devon spent the day at a training session in his Environ Seattle office, he went up for the "ceremony" alone. He said he was the only one there without guests (there were 93 sworn in), and when he got home, he was the only one that could drink his congratulatory champagne (a gift from nurse Robin, who was working so she couldn't drink, and of course I couldn't due to baby "snigglefritz"). He's off to Irvine for the rest of the week early tomorrow morning, so I guess we'll have to save the real celebration for the weekend.

Click photo to enlarge for detail

Super Tonsillectomy Star

We are home and things have really turned around for Jordan with her tonsils gone. She was breathing room air for 48 hours before we left the hospital, and having oxygen saturations better than she's ever had before in her life (high 90s to 100% consistently). Her Monday morning labs were pH = 7.4 (7.35-7.45 = normal) and her CO2 was 44 (35-45 = normal). These numbers are great! In addition, she's awake, alert, tolerating her feeds, and acting like her old self again -- only quieter. She was so quiet when I woke up early this morning I thought the nurses had taken her out of the room. But there she was, in the bed, sleeping away without gurgling or snoring, with oxygen saturations at 98%. It was almost unbelievable. It's perhaps too early to tell, but so far it seems that the tonsillectomy has improved her quality of life. I hope it continues this way.

As for Saturday's scare that landed her in the PICU for the weekend, it was decided that the somnolence was from a bad reaction to the codeine in the Tylenol, and the previous doses of anesthesia (during the surgery) and morphine (the night before) probably didn't help. So from this point forward, we'll have to be very careful with codeine, using it only when very necessary (or not at all), and monitoring her very closely when she does have anything that can act as a respiratory suppressant. Luckily, she's just about passed 5 days since the tonsillectomy, and her pain is easily controlled with regular Tylenol, so we haven't needed the codeine.

Now we're just waiting for the stinky tonsillectomy breath to pass. . . .

Lookin' Good!

We're back on the regular floor, Jordan's last labs were pH = 7.4 and CO2 = 56 (great), and everything else looks good, too. She's been breathing completely on her own for 14 hours, and finally, when I told her at 6:30pm we were moving out of the PICU and back to 3616, she perked right up and has been awake, alert, and comfortable for hours - no pain meds required. So, if all goes well, we'll be on our way home tomorrow.

As much as I want out of here, I am a little haunted by what could have happened on Saturday morning. What if I had been driving & not noticed she wasn't breathing? Or what if we were at home and the rapid response team wasn't there to rush in? As much as I want out of here, I also want to make sure we're really ready & safe to go. This whole episode has reminded me how many surprises Jordan can still throw our way. I'm just so thankful we were still in such able hands when things went wrong yesterday.

My Gorgeous Girls

I took a few pics on Monday. I rarely seem to get them spontaneously together anymore, so I had to pose them. Avery wanted all the attention, and didn't want Jordan to drool on her, so I only got a few of them together. Enough to make me happy, though. Boy oh boy is Jordan a "wet noodle" when it comes to positioning & posing. . . .

At the end I went down to the camera store to have my remote control checked out. I accidentally got this shot of Avery while we were testing it, and I loved it.

Holding Steady

Things went well last night, and by morning Jordan's blood gases were considered "normal" again. They removed the BiPAP mask (that was running at 40% o2), and put her nose canula back in (at 1 liter of O2), and will continue to monitor her blood gases to make sure her levels remain constant. She also had an x-ray at 5:00am, and that was clear for pneumonia, so things are looking up. She'll be here today and tonight, but might get moved back out to the regular floor later in the day (yeah for a cot to sleep on for me). They're even talking about possibly sending her home tomorrow, but she has to pass one more test before that happens -- she has to wake up for more than a minute or two at a time every few hours.

Lookin' better today (I really need to get a new cell phone like Devon's -- it has a much better camera & it syncs to Outlook calendars, too . . . . )

No one is sure why she's so sleepy -- it's not from pain meds as she is only getting those every 12 hours or so (because she's asleep she's not indicating pain, so they're not medicating her). And when she does wake up it only lasts for a few minutes. Now, from a pain standpoint, I think this is great, because it doesn't hurt if you're sleeping. But the question of why she's sleeping so much is a bit worrisome. Is it because she hasn't cleared the anesthesia from Friday from her system (which would be expected for a non-neurologically impaired person)? Or is it a left over from the acidosis yesterday & her brain is taking longer to clear the sleepiness of the high CO2 levels? Or is it just because it hurts in her throat to be awake and therefore she's "choosing" to sleep through the discomfort? We're not really sure, but whatever it is, we're going to hang out here and see if she snaps out of it within the next couple of days.

BD At The Hospital

As some of you know, I'm passionate about Jordan's blended diet (BD). Just because she has a tube to her tummy doesn't mean she can't have real meats, fruits, & veggies, just like the rest of us. Actually, we should all eat as well as Jordan does -- really! To accomplish this we have a Vitamix blender that will liquify anything (okay, I've personally only tried food items). The Vitamix is her teeth, and her g-tube is her esophagus. And the recipe I've developed* is almost perfectly balanced in calories, protein, carbohydrates, fat, and fiber -- not to mention vitamins, minerals & other nutrients.

For those of us that are orally eating, our food is "blenderized" by the time it hits our tummies, so what's the big deal? None of us are expected to survive on a diet of Ensure for every meal for the rest of our lives, and if we did, I wonder how strong & healthy we'd feel day in and day out (not very, I'm convinced). But there certainly is a lot of money to be made by large pharmaceutical companies that "teach" the medical world that "g-tube = formula" (at least $6 per can, which adds up quickly at a few cans a day). Many people find huge resistance for blended real food from dieticians and the medical world, but we are lucky to have great support for Jordan's BD here in "the granola northwest" -- as a fellow BD mom loves to refer to our little neck of the woods.

These past couple of days have proved that. The nurses here at the "Hotel Emanuel" have been fascinated with Jordan's blend each day. They look at the container & try to guess what's in it by the color. I've been able to make a couple of batches and bring them from home, and each one is unique (and a slightly different color). Yesterday's was fairly green -- but no one guessed broccoli! Actually, it was: pork, chicken, broccoli, peas, grapes, pear, yogurt, barley & oatmeal, flaxseeds, a pinch of salt, some blackstrap molasses, canola/olive/codliver/flaxseed oil, and cranberry juice. The day before had chicken, carrots, and banana, and was distinctly orange.

I'm very thankful that not only do we get support for feeding Jordan real foods instead of formula, we've been able to stop her reflux & constipation, and get her off Zantac & Miralax, just by giving her real food.


*After I developed it I was able to get a couple of dieticians to analyze it & help me make sure it was, in fact, balanced for Jordan's specific needs -- but I couldn't find one to do all the initial legwork for me up front. Again, the only difference between doing a menu for Jordan and doing one for an orally eating person is that Jordan's hits the Vitamix before it goes into her tummy. Dieticians are supposed to be able to make menus for people -- that's their job. Their resistance is peculiar.

Unlimited Chocolate Milk, While Supplies Last

The best thing about the PICU is the unlimited chocolate milk supply in the fridge -- just for PICU kids and family members. As luck would have it, Jordan is right across from the fridge.

The worst part is that they don't even have lumpy, old, saggy cots for the parents to sleep in -- just a reclining chair that doesn't recline all the way.

Well, actually, the worst part is having a kid that needs to be in the PICU for any reason, but thank goodness the PICU exists when you need it -- and Jordan needed it today!

All in all, despite the freaky scare this morning, things have been pretty mellow and improving all day. As of 10:00pm her pH was 7.33 (normal is 7.35-7.45), and her CO2 was 63. Her pediatrician, who happened to be the hospitalist today (total fluke), said that she would expect Jordan's CO2 to be in the 50s or 60s normally, even though a non-neurologically impaired person would be 35-45.

So, she's pretty much back to normal. However, they're going to leave her on the BiPAP machine for the night, start her feeds back slowly, and do a chest xray at 5:00am to check for aspiration pneumonia, as she did have a mouthful of food pooled up in the back of her throat when her little crisis transpired this morning. Who knows where that food went -- lungs are definitely a possibility.

That's alot of tubes & cords! (and Devon's new cell phone has a way better camera than mine does!)

Unfortunately, Avery had a hard day, too. She was prepared for me to be gone one day and one night, but when things changed she wasn't too excited about mommy not coming home or spending the night at home tonight. Luckily we were able to spend the afternoon and evening together, I even took her home and tucked her into bed -- but of course she didn't fall asleep & was upset when I came back down to the hospital. So, we made a deal -- Devon & I are switching, so Avery & I can get up and have breakfast together. She's very caring with her sister Jordan, but at the end of the day, she's 4 and still very much the center of her universe.

Avery & I got to play for quite awhile at the various play areas at the hospital this afternoon. Then we had dinner & ice cream together -- mommy & daughter only!

I just hope there is some chocolate milk left after Devon spends the night here tonight. . . .

Thrown For A Loop

Well, so much for going home. As is usual with Jordan, she turned on a dime and threw us for an unexpected loop.

Jordan had a good night and all was looking well. The ENT was in at 8:30, happy with her progress, and in the hall writing orders to discharge her. Then things went downhill -- fast. The nurse removed the tiny amount of oxygen she was getting in her nasal canula, and bam! she tanked. We ended up with a rapid response (~15 people in the room), and within 15 minutes she was in the PICU & they were getting ready to intubate her! Luckily they were able to pull her back by "bagging" her and they didn't have to stick a tube down her already painful, scabby throat (or even hook her up to CPAP for that matter). The forced oxygen from bagging her for ~30 minues, and a little Narcan perked her up and brought her back from the brink.

The problem was that she was acidotic (her pH wa 7.1 instead of 7.4). Her carbon dioxide (CO2) blood level was at a 100 (very high, should be 35-45) because she had been breathing so shallowly for so long. She was building up CO2 by not expelling it, and not replacing it with O2 because she wasn't sucking it in like she should have been. This can be a brutal cycle, because the more CO2 that builds up, the more "sleepy" you become, and the more shallow you breath. So intervention is necessary. I'm just happy we caught it while we were still at the hospital, instead of in the car or at home -- even if it is ruining our weekend with grandpa Earl & grandma Linda!

So, needless to stay, we won't be going home today. We might be going back to the regular floor (out of the PICU), but it'll be at least one more night in the hospital to make sure she's breathing strongly enough on her own and on room air before she heads home. Otherwise still she's hydrated & her mouth is moist & the tonsillectomy site seems fine. It's just this other tricky breathing stuff we have to make sure is okay!

Moisture & Healing

With a tonsillectomy, mouth moisture is the key to healing quickly. This seemed to me like it would be a problem with Jordan, since she really won't tolerate much in her mouth, and I expect she'll tolerate even less with a sore throat due to the surgery.

But good news! Because of her g-tube, we are able to keep feeding her & giving her water, which is preventing her from getting dehydrated, and keeping her mouth moist with saliva & secretions. Much to my relief, moisture does not seem to be a problem!

Jordan had some serious pain killers today, so she slept most of the day. She was awake for a few hours this evening and was clearly in pain. She was very stiff the whole time she was awake, and holding her breath or breathing shallowly (and trying not to cough), so her oxygen saturations were low. She's been on and off a low dose of oxygen all day, but it's very similar to what normally happens when she's in the hospital. Hopefully she'll be able to head home in the morning & we'll have the rest of the weekend to enjoy the great weather and the visit with grandma Linda & grandpa Earl, who arrived late this evening for a quick weekend visit.

Now, if we could just do something about that horrible "tonsillectomy scab" breath!

Success!

It's only 9:30 am, but I just met with the ENT post-op & he is very optimistic that the tonsillectomy will improve Jordan's quality of life. It was easy to see when she's awake that her tonsils blocked about 70% of her airway (when she's healthy!), but he said that as soon as they put her to sleep they collapsed together and pretty much blocked her airway entirely. No wonder she snored and gurgled so much! Of course this will help, although it probably won't completely cure the gurgles. As with all thing Jordan, there are no simple, easy fixes, just improvements along the way.

Now we have about 24 hours to hang out here at the "Hotel Emanuel," and if all goes well we'll be home by this time tomorrow.

Tonsil Time, Finally

Jordan & I will arrive early in the morning on Friday for the nerve-racking but long-awaited tonsillectomy. She's doing a good job tonight proving to me that she needs them out -- her gurgling & snoring is at it's worst! I just hope this little "procedure" improves things -- I am certainly tired of life with the sucko (suction machine), and hope that this might allow us to park it in the mud room once and for all (I can dream, can't I?).

Oh Say Can You See -- The Election Booth

Inspired by the primaries & caucuses early in 2008, Devon decided to mail in his US citizenship paperwork in hope of getting to vote in the presidential election in November 2008. He's been following the campaign closer than anyone I know, and would definitely be one of the more educated voters, if only he could make the deadline & become a citizen in time to get registered to vote.

After diligently checking the mail each day for months, in July he got a somewhat cryptic note from Immigration & Naturalization Services (INS) saying he needed to be in Seattle on 9 September, and to bring a stack of paperwork with him. He also was expected to take his citizenship test on that day.

And, of course, with typical "Rowe luck" (it's not just for good parking spots, ya know) 9 September was just in time to get everything in order to register to vote. He passed the test with flying colors (100%) & is set to take his oath on Tuesday 16 September. Once the oath is complete he'll have a few weeks to head down to Clark County & register to vote. Just in the nick of time!

After the 16th, Devon will have dual citizenship in Canada & the US. And wouldn't you know it, Stephen Harper just called an election in Canada (that Devon won't be able to take part in, but also is following closely). Amazingly, that national election was called and will conclude in less time than the US election has from the end of the Democratic & Republican National Conventions. In fact, the Canadian election will be on 14 October, and campaigning will only last 36 days. I personally wish that our campaigns only lasted 36 days, but that's another story entirely. . . .

Pick A Friday

And the date is: Friday, 12 September, a week from tomorrow.

Jordan's tonsillectomy will take about 20 minutes. Piece of cake, the ENT says, since her adnoids are already gone (since February, I wish he'd have taken her tonsils then, but that's a different story!). She's all signed up and ready to go at the "Hotel Emanuel." Now I just need to make sure she gets her special spot in the window next to the nurses station at the hospital, although I don't intend to leave her side for the 24-30 hours she'll be there. Fingers crossed its just one little overnight. . . . I'm still a little haunted by the 18 day stint she had last August/September over a cold. But she definitely is stronger and healthier than ever before, so there's no reason to think anything will keep us there longer.

The Tonsils Must Go

Jordan went to the ENT (otolaryngologist) today. It was a strange visit: He sat there and hummed & hawed out loud while trying to figure out what the advantages of removing Jordan's tonsils would be (and he commented a few times on how easy & convenient it is to see what's going on in the back of her throat, since she holds her mouth open & her head back naturally -- she's a pediatric ENT's dream for examinations). In the end (~8 minutes later), after weighing the pluses & minuses out loud, he announced "okay, I'm game, let's go get 'em, pick a Friday." They're certainly big, and even today while she was healthy they are blocking 70% of her airway, and are reddish and a little pussy. When she's sick with anything (bacterial or viral) they get worse, and having them removed might help keep her out of the hospital and off antibiotics.

But, it won't stop all of her "gurgling" -- that is a function of her poor swallow. She holds mucus in the back of her throat instead of swallowing it down, and removing her tonsils is not going to change her actual swallowing ability. But, it will give her mucus more room to go down the hatch. It also will help the (unbelievably loud) snoring -- and maybe I won't have to sleep with earplugs anymore.

I'm a little hesitant about sending her under the "knife" for a surgery with such a bad reputation for copious bleeding, but the ENT assures us that with the coblation tonsillectomy procedure there is almost NO blood loss at all during the surgery (~20 minutes total). The coblation procedure effectively cauterizes the blood vessels & prevents bleeding. There is a 2% chance of bleeding 5 to 8 days after the surgery, and if that happens they will put her to sleep & cauterize them again to stop it -- immediately (just drive to the hospital & call him on the way & he will meet us there & do it). And with Jordan, her lack of swallowing will be to her benefit if she happens to be one of those that fall into the 2% bleeding category. Also to her benefit is her g-tube: no worries about keeping her fed & hydrated post-op.

I just hope it isn't as painful at 2.5 as it was at 28 (when I got mine out, it was horrible!). Devon was ~6 when he got his out & has nothing but glorious memories hospital ice cream, so I'm choosing to believe that tonsillectomies really are easier on kids than adults, and that the pluses will outweigh the minuses when all is said & done.

Laboring Away The Labor Day Weekend

I really don't know how the days seem to slip by so quickly. We were busy over the holiday weekend, but it didn't feel too much like a holiday.

First of all, we're still on the hunt for our cat, Mojave. He "escaped" the confines of our nice, cozy house last weekend while Avery & I were at the fair, and hasn't been home since. He's been out plenty of times before, but always came back after a few hours. Not this time. One neighbor at the end of the block says he's seen him a few times in his yard, then he runs into the blackberry bramble (about a quarter-acre) and there's no way to follow him. On the other side of the blackberry bramble there's a pet-lover's house, and we're pretty sure he's hanging out with those 9 cats (or at least near their food). We talked to those people too, and they are keeping an eye out for him, but Mojave is not the kind of cat you can "catch" -- it's really going to be up to him to come home to us, and his sister Sierra (they're litter mates, and almost 9 years old, so it's strange to me that he would abandon us so willy-nilly).

As part of our Mojave "chasing," Avery and I went blackberry picking on Sunday. We went down to call Mojave with some cat food, left it out for him, and picked berries for about 40 minutes while waiting for him to come out (he didn't, but we did see him run into the bushes as we walked up).

It's just the beginning of the season, but there were certainly enough to fill our buckets quickly. Devon promised to make a dessert out of whatever we brought home, so we had big incentive to pick, pick, pick.

Lots more berries to come! It's so thick in there we probably can't get to 95% of the berries, but boy if we could. . . . Avery was a little too picky. She inspected each of the ~25 berries she picked, and discarded about half of them as not being good enough. But she didn't seem to mind throwing them back (it was half-killing me).

We were a little worried when we got them washed & laid out that we didn't have enough for a yummy dessert

But Devon measured them out, and found we'd managed to gather 9 cups -- he only needed 8 cups for his blackberry cobbler. Phew!

I didn't even get a picture of the cobbler until it was almost gone. Since the season was early they were a little more tart than we expected -- nothing a little ice cream didn't help!

The other thing we did this weekend (and by we I mean me, Avery, Devon, even nana Noma), was clean out the girls clothes -- present & past. Avery's dresser, Jordan's dresser, the closet, the mudroom, and even the 14 tote boxes that were stowed upstairs in the duck barn, waiting for the final determination on #3 -- boy or girl. I sure hope the ultrasound technicians are right with this boy thing, because the girl clothes are going out the door!!

Avery with 8 of the boxes (I was already done with 6 of them by then!)

In the process (see all the empties stacked up to the side)

Here are the fall/winter clothes (6 boxes), ready to go to the consignment stores

In case anyone is worried that we won't have enough boy clothes, this is what I sorted out from Avery & Jordan's old stash, plus some that were given to me by my cousin (who has 6 boys) even before Avery was born. That's a tote for 0-3 months, a tote for 3-6 months, and a tote for 6 months-2 years, plus a half box of shoes, and 2 boxes of socks. I was SHOCKED to see we have so much. I guess part of it is because we didn't know before Avery & Jordan were born that they were girls, so we have alot of gender neutral whites, yellows, greens, and even blues that the girls wore too. Now I know I can focus on storing up on cloth diapers rather than boy clothes.With berry stains on her shirt & a testament to the weather confusion we're having (it really seems like summer is over, fall is here, and winter is on our doorstep -- and it wasn't even September at that point!), Avery wanted to pose for a picture.