Working Together.

When it comes to taking care of Wendy, it is a two person job. Especially now that she is in the squirming and kicking stage, it is almost impossible to change her colostomy bag alone. And when you do change her bag, you want to make sure it is put on well because the better it is put on, the longer it stays, the happier baby is. Luckily Zed and I have been working really well together when it comes to Wendy's care. We've kind of developed a system and it really works for us. I take Wendy at night and get up to do her feeds, change her, etc. When Zed comes home for breakfast, he takes her while I sleep for an hour or two. I keep her the rest of the day while he's at work and when he gets off he watches her while I make dinner and shower. On the weekends, he watches her pretty much all day, so I can have some time to rest, clean, whatever. Whenever her bag comes off, we change it together. Even if he's at work, he will come home to help. Zed is a very dedicated daddy. Of course, her g tube dressing has to be changed twice daily, which again, we do together in the morning and at night.

Some days it's really frustrating because Zed and I are human and we get ill with each other, but our main concern is getting Wendy tended to. I've been trying to start The Love Dare for the past week, because I thought it might be a good thing to do since Zed and I are under quite a bit of stress and no matter how good a marriage is, it can always use improvement. However, I cannot get past the first day. It says to not say anything negative to your spouse. But no matter what, the frustration seems to take over (especially when we are having to change Wendy's bag and she's screaming and we're trying to get it done) and I always say something negative. It doesn't even have to be something mean, it's just negative. Like "hold her better, I can't get her bag on". It's not necessarily saying something mean, but it's that aggravated tone I say it in. So I'm taking a break from The Love Dare and focusing on better teamwork. That's what it's going to take for us to succeed in caring for Wendy.