MRA Eve

Aerin and I spent today preparing for her MRA. First we saw Dr. Cantor, who gave Aerin a clean bill of health. Everyone at the office was so excited to see her walking. Aerin was pretty good during the exam, but she absolutely hates having her ears checked. We found out that she grew 2 inches in a month! That brings her back up to the 25th percentile for height, which is great. It's nice to be able to put one fear to rest. She's gained 2 ounces in the last month, which is okay, too. As long as she doesn't lose any weight, she'll be fine for the surgery.

After the pediatrician, we went to see the new rabbi at our shul, Rabbi Case. The shul staff was thrilled to finally see her. We got to meet the new principal of the Religious School that Aerin will be attending when she gets older. Rabbi Case was so kind and gave Aerin a special bracha (blessing). He'll be coming to see us at the hospital tomorrow and will come to the hospital when she has the surgery. He told me that it's apparent that Aerin is a very special child and that Hashem has a special path for her.

I woke Aerin up at around 11 p.m. to give her milk. She did not want to wake up - it was so adorable. First I took her in the rocking chair and tried to give her the sippy, but she just wanted to cuddle against me and go back to sleep. I tried moving her into different positions to no avail. She was determined to get back to sleep. I can certainly relate - I hate being woken up. She was a much better sport about it than I usually am. She didn't cry at all. She didn't make a sound, in fact. I finally had to sit her on the rug and she woke up enough to drink. I rocked her when she was done and put her back in the crib. She went right back to sleep. I was afraid she would wake all the way up and want to party, but she pleasantly surprised me.

I have to be up at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning so that we can be at the hospital at 7 a.m. I'm hoping that Aerin will be groggy enough that she won't be upset when I don't give her anything to eat or drink. I have everything packed up and ready to go, so I'm going to try and get some sleep.