We are not normal.

Ever since August 28, 2012...we have not been normal!

Born to us was a very special child, Celia Annalise Murillo. We watched very attentively as the team in the NICU kept the love of our life healthy. The nurses would tell every single person that walked in our room (even us, her parents), "Wash your hands!"

Just because you are a very close friend, family member, or even a parent, that does not mean you are too good to pass on the germs of the world. We still encourage this behavior today since it has been working so effectively. Even though CC is a happy, healthy four-month-old baby, we never want to see her compromised again. 

Coming from a person that does not speak up, even for myself, very often, it has been uncomfortable (but very necessary) to demand people to wash their hands, not kiss baby on the face, not to visit if they have any symptoms of sickness, etc. So I do apologize if we have ever hurt your feelings in anyway. It is not YOU it is Celia. We don't want to hurt your feelings. We want to keep her healthy :)

We may seem like strange parents: paranoid, germaphobic, weird, etc. And yes, we agree, we are all the above! 

If you do not understand, it is okay. It is hard for us sometimes to understand how one could love something so much. It makes you go a little crazy, but in a good way. Just try to understand our behavior comes from loving our child, not from trying to keep YOU from loving her too.

The reason we want you to wash your hands before touching her: 

1.We do it too!

2. I sat in orientation for my new job as a Patient Care Tech at Blank Children's Hospital. On the subject of Infection Control...

Guess what they said was number one in prevention??? 

Guess what they went on and on about??? 

Guess what they made us watch a video about??? 

WASHING YOUR HANDS!

Yes, something so simple can prevent many illnesses and nasty stuff from spreading.

3. Think about all the things you touch during the day. Would you want your baby licking those things? Probably not.

Well Celia is in this very cute stage where she is trying to suck her thumb, but it is more like her whole fist! Hah hah. 

So just think, again, about all those things you touch during the day; then, you touch Celia's hands; then, she sticks her hand (which you touched after touching all those germs during the day) in her MOUTH.

Also, remember that viruses can be picked up from the surfaces that you touch!!!

The reason we want you not to kiss CC on the face at all right now. Also, the reason we ask that you don't visit if you are sick:

(Not because we just do not want you to kiss or visit our baby; we love that you love her! So...not the case at all)

1. It is winter. Winter is notorious for colds and flu.

2. As an adult, before you even have symptoms of a cold or the flu, you can still pass it on! A cold or the flu to an adult is so easy to get over, but for a baby it can be dangerous and even deadly! And we never ever want to see our sweet baby compromised ever, ever again!

Most of you know that Celia is a little peanut...She is tiny for her age, but healthy now, of course. What happens when babies get sick? They lose weight (at the very least)!!! She cannot really afford to lose any.

In summary, the point of this blog is to apologize for anyone's feelings who have been hurt or may be hurt in the future. The point of this blog is to agree that we are very weird parents, but for very good reasons :). The point of this blog is to help others to realize the reason for the simple demands that we have for our love's safety.

No we are not normal, but it is okay. We have learned to be this way by some of the smartest people that we know: our wonderful, doctors, nurses, and other staff at Blank Children's Hospital.

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On a different note, please pray for the other gastroschisis babies that I have had the pleasure in knowing. I have met some in person and I have met some through pictures and conversation with their families. They are all going through different stages in their gastroschisis journeys. They are all so beautiful!

<3 Isabelle, Maylee, Andres, and Easton <3