Getting Closer...

Ellie is an all-star! She was moved to the "annex" nursery, which only has 6 babies and is the last one before she is sent home. It is more like an overflow nursery when things are really busy in the NICU. She is doing so well- finished her antibiotic today and off everything! (she still has the heart rate monitor on her, but that's it!) The nurses "orders" from the doctor said Ellie is "scheduled" to be discharged Thursday or Friday! I say scheduled because Ellie is still the one who will determine that. Ellie passed her hearing screening again (they have to do another one to leave the NICU). It has been so much fun getting to breast feed her and figure her out. She eats great for about 30 minutes, burps and all that good stuff. She starts to fall asleep and you would think she is done, but about 5-10 minutes later she is screaming because she wants her "dessert" as the nurses and I call it. She will eat just a little more from a bottle, burp and fall asleep for 3-4 hours. I LOVE LOVE LOVE when she is awake and alert. My mom has been driving me back and forth to the hospital and it has been so much fun to share this experience with her. It is crazy to watch a grandma's love for her granddaughter! Esteban's parents are flying into Atlanta tonight and will be here until Sunday morning. They are SO EXCITED to meet their first granddaughter as well! Ellie is such a lucky girl with all the overflowing love from everyone around her, especially her grandparents!

Esteban and I are so blessed and have really seen the Lord work through this time. Now that we are coming to an end, I can really say that I have cherished this time. Obviously, it is not where I would of thought I would be the first week of Ellie's life...but the nurses have been incredible and I have learned so much by spending time with Ellie and in their care. They have honestly met my "emotional needs" by just chatting and sitting with me while I feed her. They answer any and every question with such patience, but also talk about things outside the baby. I have felt more then confident with their care and knowledge. While learning to be a mom for the first time, they have given me a lot of extra tips and advice that I would of never even thought to try. The Lord has been so good to us and this time has really drawn me closer to HIM!

My sweet Aunt D sent me this encouragement this morning: For that which the Lord gives us the biggest challenge also brings us our greatest joy! Esteban and I have truly grown closer to each other and the LORD through this time and I can't wait to see what He has in store for our family!

I will update you guys as soon as we get an official word about when Ellie is coming home! Thank you all for your love, prayers, and encouragement!!! Please continue to pray for her to remain healthy and strong and that we would continue to lift her up to the Lord.

Love you guys,

Jenn

PRAY PRAY PRAY

Esteban and I just got home from hanging out with our sweet daughter. She is doing awesome, so alert and eating really well!! It is so much fun to see her wide eyed and alert! Ellie will be done with her antibiotic on Thursday and they usually wait 24-48 hours to discharge her. The nurse said she is showing GREAT signs of improvement- they are even moving her into a "open bed" like the ones in the mother-baby nursery upstairs. Basically, her x-ray of her lungs needs to catch up with what she is showing us. 

With that, PLEASE PRAY that her x-ray on Thursday will show the fluid is gone! Once her x-ray is clear, she is officially good to go! We are hoping and praying she will be home Friday, but we also want to do what is best for Ellie!! Thank you for your continued love and support!! 

OFF OXYGEN!!

Ellie is doing awesome!!! We are so proud of her. The nurse took her off oxygen at midnight last night and she has been doing great ever since. She is on an "on demand" feeding schedule- meaning she can eat when ever she wants, as much as she wants. I was planning on getting there at 9 am to try to breastfeed her for the first time. The nurse called when we were about 10 minutes from the hospital saying Ellie was crying and couldn't get her to stop so she was going to go ahead and feed her a bottle- which was fine by me, I'd rather her be happy and try at the next feeding. I got there for the end of it and she was so alert and had her eyes wide open! So much fun! She was waving her hand in the air and all the sudden saw it, so she focused in on it with her eyes. I went back for the next feeding and Ellie did awesome with breastfeeding! The lactation consultant was very impressed with her :) As of right now, Ellie has to finish off her antibiotic, be off oxygen for 48 hours and get another x-ray of her lungs to make sure everything is perfect! The nurse predicts she will be home FRIDAY! Esteban and I can not wait for her to be home and we can hold her and kiss her all we want. It melts my heart how in love he is with his baby girl!

Below are a few pictures I took of her today with her little pink headband. She is so sweet and I am so in love! 

Great Day!

Ellie is doing awesome! Her oxygen level is down to 21% (which is what we breathe) and they lowered it from 4 liters earlier today to 2 liters tonight! (I think it's liters, but I can't keep all the terminology straight right now). When Esteban and I left at 9:30 pm tonight the nurse said Ellie could be off oxygen by the morning! Once she is off oxygen it will be 48 hours before she can come home- so as of now, she will be home Thursday on the earliest. She has been being fed by bottles since 12 pm this afternoon, which is another huge step forward! I fed her a bottle at 3 pm and Esteban fed her a bottle at 9 pm. They have increased her milk intake as well. All good things! Ellie is now wearing a onezie, which I love! She was in just a diaper before and I hated seeing all the heart rate wires and such attached to her. The nurse put a pretty bright blue onezie with a watermelon on today and we brought one of her own for her to wear tomorrow. 

Esteban has been doing so awesome with Ellie and I love seeing him kiss and hold her! On top of being less than 2 weeks into a new job and having a baby, he has had incredible patience with me. I am so thankful for such a loving and hardworking husband. He is starting back to work tomorrow, which he is excited about- I pray that he gets enough rest with everything going on. 

Thanks for all the love and support!! I will update you guys tomorrow with more good news! The Lord is so faithful! It has been such an incredible experience to see God's love and faithfulness. The best thing we can be doing for Ellie is trust in Him and fall on our knees before Him. 

A few pictures

Below are some pictures I have recieved from my dad and Chuck's iPhones by email and a few taken by my camera...I will have to get some more from other camera to put up soon, but I wanted to put up a few of the fun we have had so far. There are MUCH better pictures of Ellie I will have to get on here soon, but you can tell even here how BEAUTIFUL she is!

Valerie, Esteban, Ellie, Dr. Arona and I minutes after Ellie was born...2:44 am!! Almost awake for 24 hours at this point.

Precious Ellie only minutes old.

Daddy checking out his daughter.

Esteban changing his first diaper!

Julie coaching Esteban

Ellie and I hanging out a few hours after she was born.

Julie, my mom, Ellie, Esteban and Chuck a few hours after Ellie was born!

Proud grandma with Ellie! It was very comforting to have my mom there through it all (she wasn't in the room for the actual birth, but the before and especially while we were in the hospital)

Chuck and Julie Scott- they are Ellie's 3rd set of "grandparents" :)

Sweet baby only hours old.

Ellie and Grandpa (my dad)

Ellie and I hanging out...she is awesome!

My good friend Amber and her boyfriend Frank. Frank loved holding Ellie! When they were leaving I said, "Thanks for coming!" and Frank said, "Thanks for having a baby, this is awesome!" Too cute.

Daddy and Ellie taking a nap after a LONG day!

Flowers from both sets of grandparents.

My awesome diaper bag! My parents neighbor, Michelle, helped me design this bag that was hand made by a friend of hers! It turned out awesome and I love it!!!

A few pictures of Ellie in the NICU

Beautiful Ellie resting peacefully in my arms while in the NICU.

So sweet.

Ellie and I hanging out in the NICU, can't wait to be doing this at HOME soon!

Our beautiful baby girl! Love her!!!

Update on Ellie

Ellie had a GREAT day today! We went to see her around 11:30 am and the nurse said that she was doing really well- her oxygen level was lowered, her respiratory rates were in a good range and staying steady, and they increased the amount of breastmilk she is getting (she is being fed through a tube right now since her breathing is still heavy at times).

Basically, she has fluid in her lungs that they are pretty sure is from birth, but they still have her on the antibiotic just incase it is an infection. Because of the fluid, it is harder for her to get oxygen, which makes her breathe heavier. I was able to hold her while she was being fed, which was SO wonderful! She is so sweet and I can't wait to have her home and hold her all I want! Esteban and I have such comfort knowing Ellie is getting the best care, but that doesn't mean it isn't hard not to hold her all we want! While I held her, I watched Ellie suck away at her passy and hold my finger while she ate (the tube goes through her nose so she can have a passy at the same time). She loves being held and wrapped up in a blanket, but the process of getting her in and out of bed with all the wires gets her worked up so we try to limit the holding, if any.

When we went back tonight to see her, the new nurse said she was still doing really well. The earlier nurse fed her a bottle at 3 pm because her breathing was level enough- which is really great! She took the entire bottle. Ellie was sleeping so peacefully the whole time we were there. She does get a little excited when she hears us talking around her and touching her, which is so hard not to do! It is so tempting to kiss and touch her, but for right now it is better if we don't.

The nurse said she was scheduled to give Ellie a bath and weigh her tonight. She said she would only do that if her breathing continued to stay level since it would get her worked up, she didn't want to do too much- which I completely agree with! The nurse said that they usually have the babies off oxygen for 48 hours before they can go home, which was a good milestone to know. Obviously, things can change daily but it helps to know little goals at a time. She will be done with her antibiotic on Wednesday. Esteban and I are so proud of our daughter and so thankful for how great she is steadily doing! It really is just a matter of time for her to get rid of the fluid and get everything else under control.

Thanks for all your love and prayers, we will keep you guys posted with updates and can't wait for Ellie to meet you all!

ELLIE IS HERE!

I will be sure to update a detailed blog with the whole "birth story" soon, but I wanted to go ahead and update Ellie's status so you all could be praying for her. About 24 hours after Ellie was born (I think it was 2 am) the nurse came into our room and told us that Ellie was breathing irregular (respiratory distress) and that they were going to bring her down to the NICU. The nurse was very calm the way she told us, so I didn't freak out right away. I was having really bad cramps at this point, so Esteban went with the nurse to watch them bring her down and get situated. He went down again around 5 am and sat with her for a while. She was on oxygen and an IV and they started an antibiotic incase there was an infection. She has been breathing on her own the entire time. There are more details, but long story short she is doing well and responding to the treatments they are giving her. Last night she was moved from nursery A to nursery C- which is a huge step and one step closer to home. She is off the IV for nutrients and 100% on my breast milk. Due to her irregular breathing, she is being fed through a tube. She has a little oxygen and the IV for the antibiotic still. From what we gather from all the nurses, doctor, and nurse practitioner we spoke with, this is all and waiting and TRUSTING game right now. Ellie is continuing to do great and we are so proud of her! She is beautiful and I can't wait to post pictures soon. My dad took a ton the first day she was born that I will have to get from him. Please pray that she continues to improve and get strong. As much as we want her home, we know and trust that she is in the best place for her right now. We got to hold her a few times yesterday, but it is really better for her to let her rest and get strong without any interruptions. Esteban has been amazing the entire time (again, I promise to give more details soon!) Thank you for your prayers and love! I will continue to update on here as needed.

love, Esteban, Jenn and Ellie