A Little Proof

This evening, while Ben and Noah were finishing up Noah's bath and I was feeding Ellie, I looked over at the gate that is around the TV to see this:

Proof that my baby isn't a baby anymore... but a full-fledged little boy. Everything has become a racetrack to him... from the gates to the cushioned ledges on the coffee table to Mommy's leg.

My Favorite Time of Day

has become our evenings. We're quickly getting into our own {new} little routine of dinner, bath time, and snuggle time with each of the kids. And I have to admit, looking over from the futon {or computer or kitchen or wherever!} and seeing these two snuggle bugs sleeping while big brother is also down for the night...

... makes this time of day, my most favorite time of day.

Day One of Outnumbered Mommyhood

Or perhaps I should have titled this post: Day One of the Rest of Our Lives.

It actually went a little better than I had expected, but the three of us didn't get changed out of our PJs and the house is still a mess. I was glad when Ben got home though... and so was Noah:

During the day, Noah found Daddy's slippers and carried them around all day saying "ball" and "shu-shu". When Ben got home, he helped Noah put them on... Noah didn't leave them on very long.

And what did Little Sister do most of the day? Sleep!

{More} Thank Yous.

These past two weeks have seriously been filled with some crazy ups and downs. All of which would have been much more difficult to handle had my Mom and Dad not been here. Been here to help take care of Noah, us, the house, and just for some support.

So thank you - thank you both.

Thanks for the help, for staying a little longer than expected {and for letting her stay! ;) }, and for doing all the things that I couldn't do. We are VERY grateful and so VERY blessed by you!

Everyone got in a few last minute snuggles with the Snuggle Bug before they started their trek back to OKC.

And Noah even got in a few extra giggles with Daddy.

Lots of Family Time

The nice thing about having my Mom {and the rest of the family this weekend} here helping is that it has given Ben and I a chance to catch up on a little sleep and simply enjoy some quality time with both kids without having to focus on getting everything else done. Like this morning, we got up to find Noah already eating breakfast and enjoying some time with Aunt BB and Aunt Jessie who were about to spoil him with a "big brother" gift:

"Cars! Go, go go!"

Reading one of his new books with Aunt BB.

Little Miss Ellie just spent the day looking cute and collecting lots of kisses.

She even got an extra nap in with Aunt Jessie.

Last year, the three of us went to the BalloonFest and really had a great time. So, I saved up all my energy today so that we could go tonight to see the balloon glow. Noah didn't enjoy it nearly as much as he did last year - he was almost scared of the balloons this year! We took a bunch of pictures, but since several of them need a little editing and I'm way too tired to mess with that right now, I'll just add a few of the pictures that we took once we got back home...

Ellie loves the Moby Wrap {and so do I!}!

A happy family of four!

Ellie Meets the Aunts

Since Daddy-Man was coming back down anyway to pick up Mom, BB and Jessie came with him so that they could see Mom {I think they all were going through withdrawals} and meet their new niece too! And, just like when they got to meet Noah for the first time, a few tears were shed when they met Miss Ellie.

Aunt BB and Ellie

Aunt Jessie and Ellie


And, unfortunately for them, Noah was already in bed when they arrived... but I'm quite sure he'll be very happy to see them and Papa in the morning!

Thank You

Maybe it's just because my sisters and I were all delivered by the same doctor, but I had always imagined that all my children would be delivered by one doctor as well. But, when you're married to a guy in the military and you move fairly often, you can't expect your medical staff to move along with you. Lucky for us, we had a great doctor in Los Angeles and we have a great doctor here too. This morning, I had my two-week check up {I'm already at my pre-pregnancy weight!! Woohoo! Dr. Ogdee asked me what my secret was and I told him, "Have an 11lb baby." lol}. Dr. Ogdee had, of course, seen Ellie when she was delivered and then again once in the NICU, but he never got the chance to hold her and I never got a chance to take a picture of him with her. We remedied that today!

Thank you Dr. Ogdee!!

Oh, and, for those of you who might be wondering, like I was, Ellie is NOT the largest baby he's help deliver {almost 13lbs is his record high}, but she is the largest he has delivered so far in Abilene!

She's Still Glowing...

but without the "Glo-worm" blanket.

We took Ellie in on Monday for a bilirubin check, but didn't find out the results until today. And, because the wrong type of blood work was ordered, we weren't able to directly compare the results with her last NICU draw... which meant that we had to take Ellie back to the pediatrician today so that he could look her over and determine if another blood test was necessary. Her lab results were well within the normal range and after a weight check {up two ounces since Monday!}, Dr. Naidoo declared that she looks great and that we can take her off the bili-blanket.

Oh Happy Day!

Up until Friday, and then officially on Sunday, I've been dreading today. DREADING this day because today was the day that Ben was scheduled to leave for training. Dreading it for the past four months. But today, is now a VERY happy day.... because I am able to take pictures like this:

It is a very happy day!

The kids agree with Mommy.

It is a very happy day indeed!

***

And, just because I think this photo makes me happy too, here's Nana and the grandkids enjoying a little bit of Word World before we headed out to run a couple of errands this morning.

Oh Happy Day!

Sharing

Noah is already learning to share with his little sister:

He brought her his blankie and Lightening McQueen....

and in exchange ran away with her milk.

I'm so glad you're learning to share Buddy.

***

Both of the kiddos had to get blood drawn today - Ellie to recheck her bilirubin and Noah to recheck his iron level. Not fun. For the kids, for me, for Ben or for Nana. We're hoping to find out if Ellie's bilirubin level has gone enough to take her off the blanket today... but until then, we're keeping her mostly on the blanket. So we all need a couple of extra pictures of the cuteness that is Noah and Ellie:

{More} Good News

I'm sure, that like me, that the majority of you that read the blog have been dreading this upcoming week. Knowing that Ben was leaving for his training and then his deployment. So I'm sure, that like me, that the majority of you will rejoice in the good news that I am about to share...

Ben is NOT deploying this time around.

We got wind of the cancellation of his training and deployment on Friday, just as we were going up to the hospital for Ellie's last feeding before we got to bring her home. And it was completely confirmed, 100%, today. It was actually cancelled back in August, but he was not informed or notified until this weekend.... a mere two days before he was suppose to leave. We're all just in shock and beyond excited! I don't say this lightly when I say that he is my Isaac.

There will be many more pictures like this in the months to come.

And that makes this Mommy VERY happy.

***

Noah is finally starting to warm up a little bit to Ellie... but only with some coaching and a lot of supervision.

We go in tomorrow to have Ellie's bilirubin retested and are hoping to get a very low number - please be praying with us!

***

Since Ellie was in the NICU and only NICU parents, grandparents, and siblings of the patients are allowed in, none of our friends have been able to see her in person... until tonight. We invited our Life Group over to meet Ellie and Zoe {the Steele's latest addition... just four days younger than Ellie!}

Little Miss Zoe Grace

The New Mommies and Babies!

The Glo-Worm and Outside Playtime

Daddy-Man had to leave this morning so that he'll be able to get everything ready for work this next week....

but first he had to get in some extra Ellie-time.

Daddy-Man, thank you for all your help this week! We love you!!

Nana and Noah spent a good portion of the afternoon playing outside...

... throwing the ball...

... and pointing out the few remaining cucumbers and watermelons in the garden.

And what did Ellie do on her first full day home?

She was an adorable little swaddled-up Glo-Worm, sleeping sweetly in the light from the window.

Discharged {and Glowing}

We're HOME!

It's been a 24 hours filled with ups and downs, including arriving last night at Ellie's 11PM feeding to find that her bili-lights were still on since her bilirubin had risen .2points. Not a big change, but since it went up, the Dr. didn't want the lights removed and ordered for her to be tested again this morning. When we arrived at her 8:30AM feeding this morning, Ellie {and her nurse} greeted us at the doorway with clothes on! We knew immediately that her bilirubin had gone down and it had - a WHOLE point! We were told then that she was going to get to leave today, no matter what, with the stipluation that if her bilirubin was back up after being tested around 4PM, that we would have to keep her on the bili-blanket that they were going to send home with us. When we went back up to pick her up from the NICU, her bilirubin level had gone back up {a whole point}, so we're currently snuggling our little glo-worm.... but at least she is home. We'll have to go in on Monday to have her bilirubin level retested.

In her carseat, about to leave!

{I think she looks so much like Noah here!}

We're home!

Noah was not very interested in Ellie. Until it was time to take a picture, and then he was simply just not happy to be next to her.... or to see her on Mommy's lap.

The new family of four

Celebrating her arrival with a Christmas present from the Frey's!




I do believe that her heart DOES belong to her Daddy!



Nana finally getting to hold her granddaughter!



Papa snuggling with the glo-worm!

NICU Watch: Day 6

Seriously, Friends and Family, THANK YOU. Thank you for your prayers! They have undoubtedly been heard. And please, please, keep them coming.

Do you notice what is missing from this picture?

Mom and I went in this morning, just for a visit in between Ellie's 8AM and 11PM feeding while the boys were having a "Man Morning" and found our sweet little Ellie without a g-tube. PRAISE THE LORD! She did pretty well during her later feeds and took a full 2 ounces at her 8AM feed, so the Dr. allowed her nurse to remove the tube. But, as you can see, she's still under the Bili lights - her bilirubin went up .1, so they left the light on.

During her 11AM feeding, the neotatologist came over to let us know that he was ordering another bili-level check for 8PM and if it went down {any amount} that the last light would be removed. And, assuming that she continued to eat at least 45cc {1.5ounces} at each feed, she would be discharged late tomorrow. I TRULY believe that it is because of every one's combined prayers that the Dr. is working with us and that she is doing well. He actually said that it was like "magic" last night that she started eating.... but we all know that it was the power of prayer! This afternoon, we were there for the 2PM and the 5PM feedings and we were able to get her to eat 56cc and 45cc respectively. Ben and I are going back up for her 11PM feeding and hoping to find our sweet little Ellie with no bili-light and no g-tube. Please continue praying with us!

***

In other news, in between feedings and running up to the hospital, we're trying to spend as much time with Noah as possible and at the same time, get the last minute preparations done for Ben's training. We made sure that tonight we did his bath time.... or rather, Daddy did.....

and he even allowed the big brother to "go crazy!"

NICU Watch: Day 5

It's been a pretty stressful and frustrating day for us around here, so I thought I'd start off with a couple of cute pictures of the big brother during his bath time tonight:

"Cheese!"

We just love you Buddy!

***

Our frustrating day actually started last night when we arrived at Ellie's 11PM feeding to find that during her 8PM feeding {which we aren't allowed to go to because of the NICU transferring staff at that time} that a g-tube had been placed in her nose. We were NOT happy about this. She had gone all day eating well and eating according to the requirements that they had set for her. But at her 8PM feeding, she didn't take as much as they wanted her to have, so they reinserted the g-tube and gavaged the rest. We've fought this battle before, about how much food the kiddo needs vs. wants. And we know that when an infant is being gavaged, especially one of our kids, they are probably being given more than they actually want AND need.

Needless to say, today was a frustrating day filled with annoyance at the staff, at the doctors, and with the entire situation. But not at Ellie - she's simply perfect and we just love her to pieces.

On the bright side though, her bilirubin level came down and we're expecting it to be even lower tomorrow than their "requirement" for her to leave. But with the new development of the g-tube and the higher requirement of food intake, we've got a whole new set of issues to be praying over.

So, my Dear Prayer Warrior Friends, please be praying with us that Ellie will take all of her feedings tomorrow by bottle and not by gavage. I'm still pumping and am planning on switching her to exclusively breastfeeding once home, but for now, our big push is just to get her home. Home before the weekend. And home before Ben leaves for training.

Please, please cover this in prayer with us!

NICU Watch: Day 4

It's not an easy thing to be discharged from the hospital and not be able to take your new baby with you. Trust me. Today was the second time in my life that I've had to do this and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

{And, just in case you *might* need a reminder, here's the things you should and shouldn't say to a NICU parent - especially a Veteran NICU parent.}

Since Ellie's bilirubin level rose a little more, the neonatologist added a bili-blanket underneath Ellie to help bring the level down even faster. We're hoping that it works and that she is home with us in just a few days.

We've been able to {finally} start breastfeeding and Ellie is already quite the little pro - no eating problems here! I love the few moments that we have, just the three of us, in the "Baby Feeding" room with no doctors and no NICU noises.

NICU Watch: Day 3

We've been pretty anxious for Noah to get to meet his little sister and since the NICU only allows parents, grandparents and siblings of the NICU patients in, we decided to try it and see if Noah would be happy or uninterested in meeting Ellie.... but unfortunately, I think it was mostly just overwhelming for him. Hopefully it'll go much better when we come home.

Ellie got off the oxygen today and also had the g-tube removed - two BIG accomplishments! She hasn't had the problems Noah had with breathing or eating, so we already feel ahead of the curve. However, we have found out that she has a slight heart murmur and the echo cardiogram has shown that there is a small hole {PDA}, but that it is a very common occurrence and is expected to close up on it's own.

Happy Birthday Nana!!

When we went back in for her evening feeding, we found out that her bilirubin {jaundice} level had risen and as a result, she was placed under two photo therapy lights in hopes of bringing it down quickly.