Ella update....Finally!

Well it's been a crazy couple of weeks (I actually can't believe it's really been that long since I last updated the blog....being in the NICU feels like time stops and you enter a different world...I can never keep track of days or times...we feel like we just go and do what needs to be done and then move on to the next thing) but I know people have been wondering what's the latest news with our crazy life so bear with me as I recap (for journaling purposes!) and get to the latest and greatest with little Ella.

Monday April 13th

Lance came to the hosptial for the day and they took Ella completely off oxygen and she did great all day and right before he came home the Doctors came in with results on the cultures of Ella's lung Infection. It was determined that she had Ecoli in her lungs. Another one of those fun bacteria (like group b strep) that just lives in our bodies and doesn't do anything to us but that can be fatal to babies. Apparently bacteria can travel up into the uterus and infect the amniotic fluid without any signs of infection to the Mom. We are fairly certain that she developed the infection while in utero which would explain the preterm labor and the need for her to get here so quickly. Thankfully at that point though on Monday she was over the infection.

That evening however Ella was put back into the isolate, was not allowed to eat and got an IV in her head for fluids because they had noticed that her belly was enlarged on after an x-ray they saw that her intestines were dilated. This is one of the signs of NEC a very scary/fatal infection preemies can get when their intestines do not know how to digest their food properly and the intestines basically die. They have to be very careful with this and watch for the signs because if a baby has this infection they can die in like 10 hours if left untreated. This was not fun news to hear but by the morning after careful observation and a very hungry night for Ella the doctors decided that it must have been a false alarm since she didn't show any other symptoms and that it was okay to start feeding her again.

Wednesday April 15th

I was able to start nursing her once a day and she was taking everything else by bottle and things were going okay but by Thursday or Friday she had lost weight (and was still not back to her birthweight) and was taking less at each feeding and basically working too hard to eat and burning more calories then she was taking in so her feeding tube went back in (not a fun day) and was only taking every 3rd feeding by bottle.

Saturday April 18th

A rough day as we watched how badly Mia was wanting to be able to see her little sister for the first time and we couldn't do anything to heal that little ache.

Monday April 20th A GREAT DAY

RSV season was officially OVER in Indiana which meant siblings were now allowed to visit the NICU. This couldn't have come at a better time since our family had reached the breaking point of waiting for this. Little Mia was the most excited little kid I've ever seen as I was pregnant with Ella and would ask me every day when she was coming out, so to have her come and not be able to let Mia see her was just heartbreaking.

But seeing the girls walk down the halls of the NICU to see their little sister was a wonderful thing. Maddi kept saying, "I go NICU" Kind of sad that a 2 yr old would have that word in their vocabulary. Mia immediately came home and starting "Playing NICU" with her babies. She put them in plastic tubs on top of a stool (similar to an open air crib) and used the cords from a cellphone charger down the babies shirt (just like Ella's monitor cords). When we told the Nurses that night they put together a little "NICU kit" for the girls with tiny diapers, hospital hats, tiny bottles, and leeds. They were pretty excited the next morning.

The slow down on feedings started working and Ella immediately started gaining weight. And slowly but surely we got her taking every other feeding by bottle and nursing twice a day. She was doing well with this but she started having some more Bradys where her heart rate slows down. In preemies because their brain is still immature it forgets to tell the heart to keep beating sometimes. Usually after the alarm sounds a few seconds later the she will just self resolve and things go back to normal and most babies grow out of this fairly quickly but if they were not able to self resolve CPR would have to be started on them which is kind of scary! Usually the rule in the NICU is that they have to go 5 days without a Brady before they can go home but in our case (where Ella wasn't having a multiple bradys each day and where we are moving soon) the doctor said that if she continued to have bradys then she would be sent home on a monitor instead of making her stay longer in NICU. This was a relief to us since trying to get ready to move is difficult when you are also trying to be a Mom in two different places and for Lance trying to fill in for me and also finish up his semester! Thank goodness for Grandma Tresa she was an absolute lifesaver in addition to our incredibly wonderful friends in our ward.

Thursday April 23rd

Things were still going well and we had increased Ella's nursing but it was looking like she still wouldn't be coming home for another week at least so on Wed. Lance and I extended my Mom's trip a week so that hopefully we could have her with us for a few days after Ella came home. And then Thursday afternoon while my Mom was watching the girls she fell on our driveway and fractured her knee cap! It was a horrible night as Lance took her to the walk-in clinic after work and we found out the terrible knews. And my poor Mom was in so much pain that whole night. So Lance took the night shift at the hosptial while I stayed with my Mom trying to make her as comfortable as possible.

Friday April 24th

We took my Mom to the orthapedic surgeon and he said that she might not have to have surgery if she could keep her knee completely straight (with the help of a brace) and that she could even walk on it. He did say it would be best to get her home asap so that the knee could be monitered by x-rays closely in case it started separating in which case she would have to have surgery.

Saturday April 25th

We found a plane ticket for my Mom to head home on Tuesday. Ella was still doing well and had gone 3 days without a Brady

Sunday April 26th

I went to church for the first time since Ella was born and was overwhelmed by the support from the ward after they had heard about our most recent drama with poor Grandma's broken knee. On my way from church to the hosptial one of the Nurse Practioner's called to say that Ella had had another Brady which would mean she would for sure be going home on a monitor. Not terrible news, but also not great news.

Monday April 27th

They took a brave step and took Ella's feeding tube out and let her run the show with feedings. I was able to stay most of that day and nurse her 3 times in a row and she was such a happy baby. She decided to eat every 2 hours those first three feedings and was so content in between and much more alert and crying (like a normal baby) when it was time to eat again. That night she took her bottles well and got back on a 3 hour schedule. And Grandma Tresa was able to come with me to the hosptial to say her final goodbyes to Ella.

Tuesday April 28th

Lance and my Mom headed off for the airport at 5 in the morning and I got the hospital around 9 to hear some WONDERFUL news. Ella had gained weight after doing her trial run with no feeding tube on Monday so things would continue the same and provided that she continues this way she will go home on Thursday!!! I'm trying to not get my hopes up too too much just in case something happens but it's nice to see things progressing. She will have her car seat test tonight (a 3 hour one since we have to drive to Washington in 4 weeks), Wednesday Lance and I will do CPR training, and Thursday we will do the Monitor training and that evening go home. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

More good news: I just heard from my Mom who arrived safely home and had her appt with the orthopedic surgeon who said her knee is looking great, will heal in 6 weeks, and she will not have to have surgery. We were all so relieved to hear this!