Okay, I just got scolded for not blogging yesterday.  Talk about pressure!  Sorry, Dad and Julie got here yesterday afternoon, and we had clinic all morning.  Not that we don't love you all, but we were busy yesterday! 
Julie, Bella, and I are currently watching an all new episode of What Not to Wear, bagging on the clothes that Clinton and Stacey chose for their makeover candidate.  Is that sad?  We really did have a fun night, though!  Dad and Julie took us out do supper (Piccolo Forno, of course), and then we came back here for (non-alcoholic) cosmos.  My mom's cousin Carol's friend Joan (confused?) came for a visit, which was really nice.  She thought I was alone this week, so called to see if I needed company.  I insisted she come to say hi because she hasn't seen Bella since she was paralyzed and intubated in the PICU, and it was a great visit.  She is a sweetheart, and is so nice to check in on me. 
I took Dad and Julie on a walking tour of my little corners of Pittsburgh today.  We went down to Shadyside and explored that side of town.  I am taking them down to the Strip District tomorrow, where I took Mom last weekend.  Saturdays are the market day down there, and it is really bustling.  It will be fun!
Miss Isabella is doing well today.  I had to bring her over to the transplant floor to get her blood pressure checked this evening, because I have not been able to get a pressure using her bp cuff  here at home.  If anyone knows a reliable cuff to use at home, please let me know.  It obviously has to be good for pediatrics.  She has also been having a hard time holding down her bottles over the past few days.  I told her she needs to shape up, because they are going to make her have an upper GI study if she can't get it together.  I don't think anything major is going on, but she is getting a lot more fluids at then she has ever gotten at once.  I am starting to slow down a bit, but I haven't ever had to read her for how hungry she is, and I am not sure that she will take in enough fluids if I leave it up to her.  I am also being told by the nutritionists exactly how much to feed her, while I don't remember ever having to worry about that with the older girls.  I remember feeding them a bottle, and if they didn't finish it I would put it in the fridge for later or throw it away.  I don't remember ever worrying about how much they were eating.  It was just sort of a "feed them at meal and snack times and they will eat what they eat" mentality.  I would love some feedback from other moms as to how many fluid ounces you think your kids take in over the course of a day.  I know that they want Bella to stay well hydrated in order to aid her healing process, but she isn't a UCD kiddo any more, and should be able to eat and drink when she is hungry and thirsty.  Right?  Obviously I am still going to tube feed her to make sure she doesn't starve or dehydrate, but I want to be reasonable.
Anyway.  Tomorrow's a new day.  I am not panicked because Isabella is not going to have an episode of hyperammonemia because she didn't get enough/got too much protein/calories anymore.  This is a good thing.  I do want to make sure she heals and is healthy, though, so I am working hard to find a balance between hyper vigilance and neglect.  I think I am doing okay, but sometimes I worry.  We'll get there.  That has been my mantra for the past 16 months (tomorrow she will be 16 months old!!!), and I think it is a good mantra for the next 16 months or 16 years.  I don't know where "there" is, but I am sure it is a wonderful place.  My beautiful baby girl (who is currently crying in the other room because she is overtired, thanks Papa!) is a miracle every single day.  We are so lucky to have our lives blessed by her presence, no matter what she throws at us.  She makes all of our lives so much richer and more beautiful.  Her smile and laughter make every day worth living, and her joie de vivre (sorry, no English words quite fit) is absolutely inspiring.  I thank every possible higher power for my amazing family every day, and consider myself the luckiest person in the world.  Plus, I get to have my whole family here on Sunday, and my three beautiful girls will be with me for almost two weeks.  Could I ask for a better gift?