Doing Well

This past week just seems to have flown by. I seriously don't know where the time goes! I was able to attend a Care Conference at South Davis a few days ago. It was nice to be able to meet with members of Elaina's "team" to get the full picture. Doctor, nurses, respiratory therapy, nutrition, child life, early intervention, etc. were all in attendance. The general consensus was good. Elaina is in a very stable place right now. They reiterated that she is still very fragile and the scales could tip very easily. I don't think that she'll ever get out of the fragile category. But stable is good. Her saturations are continuing to improve. She was between 88 and 90 when I was there for a few hours today. In fact, I thought she looked practically pink!! :) She's attempting to become mobile. She likes to scoot herself around in her bed. She'll start at the top of the bed and arch her back until she's at the foot of the crib. She turns herself sideways and sometimes trys to roll herself over. She gets about half way over and then runs out of steam. She's got the sweetest little personality. She's so playful and happy all the time! She really likes to watch Disney/Pixar movies. I think that she likes the colors and fun characters. Her favorites are Finding Nemo, Cars and Monsters Inc. She also loves to listen to fun upbeat music. We had a really good time today playing pat-a-cake, itsty-bitsy spider, and piggies on her toes. She is extremely tickilish but doesn't laugh out loud. So cute! That pretty much catches us up. Surgery is still planned for the beginning of February, her snotty nose and cough have cleared up, so hopefully she won't have any problems that could delay our big day. Well, I thought I'd finish up the post with a few pictures from my last couple of visits. She's just getting so big!! By the way, she weighs 20 lbs!!! But she's still at only 30% on the charts. Not bad for a little one that started life out at barely 5 lbs!

Sucking her thumb, I can't wait until the no-no's can be gone for good!

I think she might finally be teething. I don't feel a tooth quite yet, but she's drooling more and her gums feel harder to me. She rarely takes her fingers out of her mouth once her hands are free.

I think she was trying to talk to me. She's just so expressive!

Such a Big Girl! We'd just finished playing with some of her toys.

Chewing on some of her toy rings. I love how she is starting to explore things more with her mouth.

:) So cute! I love the ponytail on top of her head. :)

Her smile melts my heart every time!

Playing with her wires. At least it's not the NJ tube!

Trying to figure it all out.

Thanks for checking in on us!
Hugs,
Hollie, Ben and Elaina

Picture Links

Okay, so I am SUCH the slacker lately. I have no time to accomplish all that I need to accomplish. So, I've put all the Christmas and Birthday pictures in my Facebook albums and thought that might be an easier way for anyone who wants to to look. I've linked it above, so just click on "Christmas" or "Birthday" above, and you should be directed to the right place. It took me less time to create the Facebook albums with all the pictures than it took to upload the few I posted yesterday on the blog! Go figure!
Anyway, I've got to run again, but I appreciate all the love and support! I had a great birthday yesterday, thanks for all the well wishes!

Hugs!
Hollie, Ben and Elaina

Birthday Girl

Happy 1st Birthday Elaina!

We had a wonderful Birthday Celebration for my little Miracle. Here are some pictures of her big day!

My computer has NOT wanted to cooperate with me today, so I will be adding and updating this post tomorrow. Today is my birthday (Elaina was my present last year!) and I need to leave for a birthday dinner at my friends house. For now, I hope you enjoy the few pictures I was able to get on here!

Hugs,
Hollie

False Alarm

No surgery today. Apparently there was some kind of mix up with scheduling and Elaina's surgery has now been scheduled for February 2nd. In a way this is a good thing. I hadn't been able to talk with the doctor about the surgery before today. The doctors at South Davis had only scheduled a g-tube placement, they didn't schedule the Nissen proceedure. When the surgeon talked to me today, he told me that after reviewing all of Elaina's charts, he wondered why he wasn't also doing the Nissen. I told him that to the best of my understanding, she needed to have the Nissen for her reflux and throwing up problems. The main reason for her being fed by NJ was the risk associated with throwing up. So now we're on the same page and both the Nissen and G-tube will be done. Good news, he didn't forsee any complications during recovery for her. He thinks that she is strong enough to undergo this surgery and will only need a couple of days in the PICU post-op and will only need to be at Primary Children's for a week before being able to go back to South Davis. This truly is one step closer to getting her home. I'm very hopeful that by spring, when there is much less risk of flu/strep/rsv, etc being brought home, I'll be able to have her home. She was in a very good mood today and was quite playful and fun to be with. I was so glad to be able to spend time with her. Her nurses had her dressed up in a cute outfit and had managed to pull her hair into a tiny pony-tail on top of her head. It wasn't a big ponytail, but it was completely adorable. She's so cuddly that I just want to eat her up! :)

Ben's appointment went well yesterday too. His MRI results were normal. Such a huge relief! The neurologist thinks that he will outgrow the seizures once he's in his teens or early 20's, and he seems to think that the medication is working well. We have to go back every 3 months for follow up, and if Ben has another seizure at this point, I need to call and let the doctor know. Otherwise, Ben is doing just fine. I hope that I'll be able to sleep a little better now. I was hopeful that the results would be good, but there is always that little voice of worry at the back of my mind that I just can't quite shut out.

Well, things are still crazy busy and it seems I rarely have time to do everything on my list that I need to. But there is always tomorrow, and somehow I just keep on going on! I promise that I will post lots of pictures soon. I keep taking them, so I have lots to share. I want to see if I can figure out how to make them into a slideshow or something fun when I have some time this week.

As Elaina's first birthday approaches on Sunday, I just have to say how amazed I am by what the past year has brought me. I am so grateful for my family, for loving friends and most importantly, I am grateful for my Savior. I know that I have witnessed a miracle and that Elaina's life is a gift from a merciful Father in Heaven. Looking back, I don't know how I survived some of the trials. I just know that I wasn't alone and that He continues to bless and strengthen me. I am excited for the coming year, and I look forward to the challenges that are ahead of me. Elaina's continued improvement and good health are a positive sign. I know that things can change quickly, but I feel that I am so blessed for every day, every hour and every minute that I have her in my life. Ben and Elaina truly are the greatest gifts I have ever received and I am so proud of both of them.

Well, thanks for checking in on us. Thank you as well for all your continued prayers and support. We couldn't do it without you all!

Hugs,
Hollie, Ben and Elaina

Happy New Year!

I hope that everyone was able to have a wonderful and safe Holiday! Ben and I were able to spend a week with my sister Tricia and her family for Christmas. It was very nice to be with family and for Ben to spend time with his cousins. Ben was so cute on Christmas, he was thrilled with all the presents that he got and was on his best behavior. We were able to attend a couple of family Christmas parties and I really enjoyed getting to catch up with cousins and aunts and uncles. We were also able to spend some time with my parents over Christmas and went out to the movies.
Elaina continues to astound me! Her oxygen saturations are staying in the mid 80's (82-87%), and her color is continuing to improve. She's trying to roll over and is full of smiles! She is so strong and beautiful! It was so fun to open presents with her and see the excitement on her face with some of the toys that she got. I left my camera at my friends house (oops!!!), but I will post pictures as soon as I get the opportunity.
Next week is going to be a busy one. I've got 2 appointments on Tuesday up at Primary Children's, one for Ben and one for Elaina. Then we have our big day on Tuesday. I will try to post more as I know what is happening.

Well, sorry for the short post, I just wanted to give a quick update and let everyone know that I hope you have a fantastic New Year! I plan on it being a good one!
Hugs!
Hollie, Ben and Elaina

Tis the Season!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Well, it certainly is the Season for Celebration! I can't believe how quickly time passes! This time last year I was blissfully unaware of the challenges that lay ahead of me. Last Christmas I was on bedrest with Elaina, but anticipated the best conclusion for my pregnancy. Little did I know that this wonderful, scary and blessed journey would begin a few weeks later. In a way, I'm glad that her heart condition wasn't pre-diagnosed, since I was able to enjoy the holidays in ignorance of the journey that awaited me. However, now that I am well into the CHD journey, I must express my gratitude. As Christmas gets closer, I am so grateful to be able to celebrate my Savior's birth. I know that it is through the prayers and faith of many that we have survived this year intact! What a beautiful time of the year to reflect on the many blessings that I have in my life. I am so grateful for Ben, for the way he makes me laugh, for his perseverence during this tremendous trial, and for his never ending hugs and kisses. I know that God sent him to me for a reason, and he really is a wonderful, kind, loving, and strong boy. I cannot imagine what my life would be like now if I did not have my sweet little Elaina. She is truly a miracle. Her eyes are wise and filled with love and happiness. It seems that she is always smiling when you gaze into her beautiful brown eyes. She has taught me so much and I will be forever indebted to her for the lessons I've learned this year. She continues to grow and get stronger.

I just found out this morning that they are planning a GJ tube surgery for the 7th of January. She goes in on the 6th for a pre-op workup, the same day that Ben has his neurology follow up. I hope I'm able to juggle both appointments! Holy Cow, I never seem to be able to get a rest! As I mentioned in a previous post, my move to Bountiful has been delayed. I think that I've been able to work out a solution, and I'm hopeful that Ben and I can be settled in soon after the New Year. (Fingers Crossed!!!!) Ben hasn't had any more seizures, at least while awake, that I'm aware of. I still don't know the results of the MRI, so I'm hoping that no news is good news. Otherwise everything is still as crazy and out of control as usual! My jobs are going well, and I am very hopeful that the 2nd job I took on will soon allow me to have some of this financial burden lifted off my shoulders. My car is still on the outs, and with colds and sniffles abounding, I've been a little limited in my ability to be with Elaina as often as I'd like. It's a good thing that her love is so unconditional. She lights up every time I walk in the room, and the sound of my voice will wake her up from her naps when I get there. She's really getting big and is really a happy little girl. All the nurses and aides at South Davis are in love with her. Every time I go to see her, she has had her hair done, or nails painted and is all dressed up and content. They've really taped her NJ tube well (tons and tons of tape!), and so they're letting her have lots more hands free time, with her no-no's off. She loves to suck on her fingers and play with her tongue. She's not very verbal yet, some coo's and growls, but she's a smiler. She's got a room-mate that is 18 months old, and they sit and stare at each other. It's too cute! He loves to watch Disney movies, and she's started to become interested in them. Her favorite is Nemo, she smiles and kicks the whole time it's on. What a sweet-heart!

Well, I'm a Super Slacker, not only in the Blogging department, but in the Christmas Card department as well. So, instead of gathering addresses and all that jazz, here's your Christmas card! These are some of my favorite pictures from the last several weeks. Happy Holidays!!!

All dressed up in her Christmas dress!

On Santa's lap at South Davis!

Ben was so nervous that he forgot to ask Santa for what he wanted. It was hilarious once we got back to the car, all of a sudden he remembered all that he'd forgotten and wanted to go back for a 2nd trip!

Elaina loved sitting on Santa's lap!

Back in her room, still in her pretty dress.

Watching Mom put up the Christmas decorations around her crib.

Playing with that crazy tongue! :)

Kicking her feet at the garland above her crib, she loves the decorations! I even tied some bows on her mobile!

Trying to "talk" to Mom!

"Please take off these No-No's!"

Blowing bubbles at Mom. She was so stinking cute that day!

I just barely missed her smile. She was still happy though!

This is one of my favorite outfits. The pink leopard pants just make me smile! She's getting so chunky! Go Girl! Not bad for a heart baby!

I hope and pray that everyone has a safe and wonderful Holiday season! Give all those sweet babies a kiss from us and I hope you all know how much I appreciate your friendship and support!
Happy New Year too!

Hugs,
Hollie, Ben and Elaina

I need more hours in my day!

Well, life continues to be hectic. It seems that there is never enough time to get everything done that I need to. Elaina is doing very well. She's not throwing up as much the last several days, and her NJ tube has stayed in for over a week now! She's happy and smiling and cooing and growing, growing, growing!!! She will be 11 months old on Thursday! Holy Cow!!! When she was born in January and I was told about her heart condition and then with the events of the summer following her Glenn, I didn't think that I would be able to celebrate her 1st birthday. Now that day is just a little over a month away, and it's looking like we'll be able to have a fun Birthday celebration for her! Still no word on when they are going to schedule her g-tube surgery, but I keep asking. She's still struggling with a runny/stuffy nose, but it doesn't seem to be affecting her saturations or her happy disposition. She is just the sweetest thing and I'm thrilled to be able to plan her first Christmas this year. South Davis allows decorations (including small trees) for 1 week before Christmas and 1 week after. I've got the cutest little tree ready to go and a couple of wrapped presents as well as other fun decorations for her room. I'm so excited!
Ben is doing okay. We got the results of his EEG back, and it shows some abnormal activity in his left frontal lobe. We've met with a neurologist and he is somewhat concerned. He told me that the type of seizures that Ben is experiencing usually occur when the child is sleeping. His 1st two seizures did happen in his sleep, which would be expected according to the EEG and neurologist. The fact that he has now had two more seizures while awake is very concerning. The doctor started him on some medication and ordered a sedated MRI. The MRI results are not back yet, so I'm still on pins and needles wondering and worrying about him. I've had such a hard time sleeping. I keep checking on him throughout the night because I am so worried about seizures. He seems to be his normal self though. He's SUPER excited for Christmas and has already mailed 3 letters to Santa! It's so fun to watch his enthusiasm.
Well, that's about all the news. I've been burning the candle at both ends. I'm working 2 jobs, taking 2 kids to doctors appointments and still juggling my time between Ben and visits to Elaina. My move has been delayed a couple of weeks, but I'm still hopeful that I will be in my new place by Christmas. I'm excited for the move, mostly because I'll be so much closer to my ElainaBug, but I'm dreading the packing, etc. I've got lots of helpers lined up, so hopefully it will be an easy move this go around. Things really are looking up. Deciding to take on my 2nd job is really going to benefit my family in the long run, so it really is worth all the lost sleep and stress it's giving me right now. I am so grateful for all the blessings that my Father in Heaven has given me and I am looking forward to celebrating the birth of the Savior this Christmas.
All my love!
Hollie, Ben and Elaina

Life of a Crazy Woman!

So, I last left off by mentioning that Ben had been sick. Well, as the weekend progressed he seemed to get better. He claimed to be feeling better on Monday, so against my better judgment I sent him to school. Well, about an hour after school started I got a phone call. It seems that while playing at recess, Ben had a seizure!!!! I freaked out, prayed for my car to start (my alternator is out!), and sped to the school. I took him straight to the doctor. A little past history, the week that Elaina was born Ben had 2 seizures. He had blood work done, at CT, and an EEG. The results were inconclusive, and since he hadn't had any problems since, the doctor told me it was probably something random and wouldn't happen again. Anyway, I ended up having to take Ben up to Primary Children's for some additional testing with this new event having happened. I won't have results back until after Thanksgiving. Then to make my busy life even busier, I was able to take Elaina to her cardiology appointment on Wednesday at Primary Children's. SHE IS DOING GREAT!!!!!!! Her cardiologist was amazed at how well she's doing. He said that her numbers were all in the normal range! Hooray! He told me that there still aren't many options for her future, but her present looks fantastic. He also gave the go ahead for her to have a nissen/g-tube proceedure! Yay! I think that the nurses at South Davis are almost more excited for that than I am! Just this last week Elaina has pulled out her NJ 5 times!!!! Little stinker, she's wiggled out of no-no's and pulled the tube out with socks on her hands, any way that she can do it! So now she's being watched VERY carefully and we're just waiting for the doctors to decide when the best time for the surgery will be. She'll go back to Primary Children's for the surgery and initial recovery, but her bed at South Davis will be saved. Hopefully I will be able to have her home some time this spring, if all goes well. It's getting there!
Oh, and did I mention that I caught Ben's gomboo? I've spent the last week in bed with a fever, sore throat and cough. I'm finally feeling better today, but I'm sure grateful for the friends that took me to their house to take care of me and Ben through this last illness. Well, I'm sorry for the short post, but I only had a few spare minutes and really wanted to post an update.
Life is crazy!
Hugs!
Hollie, Ben and Elaina

Update

Things are going well. Another INSANELY busy week for us. I've started working a 2nd job to help cover expenses, and I think I'm going nuts. Not because of the job, I LOVE IT! But because of the time that it is taking. Like my 1st job, it's something that I'll be able to do from home and do in my own time. But now, while I'm learning the ropes and getting started, it's taking up a lot of my time. I was able to see Elaina several times this week and she is doing great! Her sweet little personality is really starting to show, and boy oh boy does she love Mommy! :) Every time I go in to visit she is full of smiles, coo's and is just a wiggler! The last 2 times, as I've put her back in her crib when I'm ready to leave, she's started to cry. Talk about breaking my heart! I've stayed and played with her in her crib until she's happy and then sneak out while she's watching her mobile. The velcro strips on her no-no's have come off, so they have been putting socks on her hands to help her not pull at her face. Well yesterday, with her nurse at her side and socks on her hands, she pulled out her NJ again! Silly, silly girl. So she took a ride to Primary Children's to get it replaced. They told me that she was pretty happy to take the ride, and when she got back to South Davis she was exhausted and slept really well through the night. I was going to go in to see her today, but Ben woke up with a fever, cough and a tummy ache. After throwing up several times, he slept for a few hours, but he still isnt' feeling good tonight and I'm going to go and snuggle in bed with him and watch a movie. Poor kiddo. I guess it's the season. Well, please know that I check on all my blog friends all the time, but I haven't been able to post much due to how busy I've been. I will be able to move into my new place at the beginning of December, so hopefully things will calm down and I'll be able to post more often again. Elaina has her Cardiology appointment on Wednesday, so I'll be sure to let everyone know how she's doing. Hopefully this weekend will allow me to do some much needed catching up (on sleep as well as other things!)
Hugs!
Hollie

Prayer Request for Katie

There is a family that I've been following closely. Their sweet heart, Katie has HLHS, and is REALLY struggling. Their struggle closely resembles the struggle that I had with Elaina this past summer and my heart is filled with emotion for them. I know that prayers can be answered and would like to ask anyone that is willing, to join in prayers for this family as they contiue to fight this battle. Katie is not doing well, and is not expected to survive the next 48 hours. They are praying for a miracle.
Thank you SO much!
Hugs,
Hollie, Ben and Elaina

Still here!

Sorry for not posting more lately. I have been SO busy that I barely have time to sleep! I have tons of pictures, but I am having problems getting them downloaded to my computer. Ben has been coming along on several visits and I was able to get some good pictures of the two of them together. Elaina really loves her big brother. She follows him with her eyes and smiles at his goofy faces. She especially likes to be tickled. There have been a couple of times that I thought I heard a small laugh, but then I couldn't get her to do it again. She's getting there though! She's still congested with a small cough, but no fevers. It seems to be getting gradually better. I'm chalking it up to season change and reaction to the flu shot she got a couple of weeks ago. Her sweet personality is really starting to show and I am so pleased. She is such a pleasant, happy little girl! She is easily entertained by her mobile and colorful toys. The nurses and techs at South Davis actually fight over who gets to play with her! It is so nice to know that she is so well taken care of! I am very anxious to be able to move to Bountiful. I think I finally found a place near South Davis. It is about 5 minutes away from Elaina, so if I needed to get there quickly it would be possible! If everything goes according to schedule, I should be moved into my new place before Christmas! My fingers are crossed! I am going up to visit Elaina on Saturday, my Aunt Marney is going to be in town and Ben and I are going to visit with her when she comes to see Elaina! I am very excited! I will take more pictures and hopefully I'll be able to get the silly things downloaded for my next post!
Love,
Hollie

Elaina Bug and Jedi Ben

What a weekend we had! Halloween was a blast!
Thursday was super busy trying get costumes organized and sewn. A special thanks to Colleen and her super sewing skills! She made Elaina's costume as well as Ben's. We spent the afternoon planning and shopping, and then were up late making the perfect costumes for my kiddos!
Friday I volunteered as one of the room mothers for Ben's party. Since I was in charge of the game portion of the party, I decided to dress up for the event and went as a witch with purple hair. Ben was so excited that I was there and that I wore a costume! We played Halloween Bingo and I think that the kids liked the game. We played until everyone won, and I gave out some fun party favors and suckers to all the kids. Ben had fun giving out the leftovers to his friends at the end of the party. After school we stopped by Aunt Kathryn's and Uncle Don's for a quick hello and trick or treat and from there we went up to South Davis. We got there in time for a visit from my sister Liz and her husband John. Liz helped me get Elaina dressed in her costume before they left for another Halloween get together. They have a really neat tradition at South Davis. All the residents (including the Adult Units) dress up for the event. All month long the nurses donate candy. They have a contest for the department that donates the most. There were TONS of treats donated. Everyone lines up in the main lobby and down the hallway in their costumes and then the fun begins. Families from the community bring their kids for a safe trick-or-treat environment. Ben got SO MUCH CANDY! He was in heaven. After he'd gone through the line, he came and sat with Elaina and helped me hand out the candy. It was a lot of fun. I had Elaina in a small stroller and she really did well. I took her out a couple of times and held her in my lap, but people tended to want to touch her when I was holding her, so I put her back in the stroller where she wasn't getting touched. She was very interested in all the costumes and was happy and content. I didn't keep her downstairs for the entire evening, I was worried about exposing her to so many people, but it was fun to spend the evening with both my kids. After I got Elaina back up to her room, we spent a little bit of time playing with her, but the excitement of the evening wore her out and she was tired, not to mention that all the candy had wired Ben, so I decided to leave. We stopped by my Grandma's house and did a little bit of trick-or-treating on her street, and then we went to Colleen's house. I'd forgotten my camera at home, so she had been sweet enough to let me borrow hers. I've been spending the weekends with Colleen and her husband Najee. They live closer to Bountiful and so I don't have as far to drive when I stay with them. They are also so good with Ben and we have really been having fun playing games and watching movies at their house on the weekends. They are also helping me in my search for new living arrangements, so we keep pretty busy on the weekends.
Anyway, here are some fun Halloween pictures! Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Elaina Bug!

She was in such a good mood!

Ben was "Luke Skywalker" super Jedi!

Okay, now he's a Vampire Jedi. She's just a cute Bug!

Sitting up so well in her stroller.

She's a people watcher!

All worn out from our evening fun.

Elaina wasn't sure what to think about Mommy's purple hair and giant eyelashes. At least she didn't cry!

Little Miss Houdini Strikes Again!

Elaina was absolutely beautiful today! She was all dressed up in one of her hot pink dresses with a big flower in her headband. She was extra sweet and cuddly and made some really funny faces at me. She's found her tongue again and was actually smiling a big smile while sticking her tongue out as far as it would go. She wouldn't do it once I pulled out the camera, but I'll keep trying. She's starting to get a little bit ticklish, but hasn't quite figured out how to laugh yet. We played with some toys, sang some songs and I got in quite a few kisses (one is never enough!) during my visit.

When I got to South Davis today, Elaina was napping. She'd managed to wiggle out of one of her no-no's and was holding onto her oxygen cannula. I looked at the monitor, and her saturations were 81%! Not bad for having the oxygen out of her nose! While I was holding her, the alarm kept going off because she was as high as 89%! HOLY COW! She's doing this with a stuffy nose and a cough, I can't help but wonder what she'd be doing if she wasn't congested. Right now Cardiology doesn't want us to turn her oxygen any lower than 1 liter. At least those were the instructions that I was given before leaving Primary Children's. Although at that point, we felt that she was having a good day if she was 75% and didn't think that she'd ever truly sat over 80% on a regular basis. I'd been told that when she was 80% or higher, it was probably a false read on the pulse oximeter, and to be fair, that was most likely true at that time. But Elaina has been showing these high saturations for several days now, and I'm wondering if I should call her cardiologist and ask if it is still necessary for her to be on at least the 1 liter or if it can be turned down to 3/4 or 1/2 liter settings. We have a cardiology appointment on November 19, so I may just wait until then to ask, but it is so suprising to have her sats so high (for her!).

Anyway, my visit ended far to soon. They always do. :( I gave her some extra kisses, and put her back in her crib. The nurse was in the room, and I mentioned some concern about the tape (or lack of it, to be exact) on her NJ tube. I told her that I was worried about it getting pulled and she told me that she had re-taped it this morning and that it was quite secure. She was in the process of putting Elaina's no-no's back on as I left the room. I made my hour drive home, and no sooner had I given Ben his kiss and hug hello, and my phone rang. It was South Davis. The charge nurse was calling to let me know that my Sweet Little Miss Houdini had struck again. Somehow, she'd wiggled out of her no-no's and had pulled her NJ tube out of her nose. So, she had to take her 1st trip back to Primary Children's tonight to get her tube replaced. One of the nurses told me that she was so cute on the stretcher in her pink dress and big bow. She told me that Elaina was looking around and seemed excited to take her ride!! She's not back at South Davis yet, but they have been calling me with updates. The last I heard they were just waiting for the transport to come and take her back. Silly girl! She just doesn't understand that if she pulls it out, they've got to put it back in. In any case, I'm sure she enjoyed having no tube in her nose for the short amount of time that it was out.

My Princess Elaina

When I got to the hospital this afternoon, Elaina was all dressed up! She was in her prettiest pink frilly dress with a huge bow.


The nurse told me that she was out of clean clothes, and this was the only thing that was left in her drawer. In my defense, I'd brought her clean laundry with me and there were a couple of onesies and 3 pairs of pants in her drawer. If you ask me, I think the nurses were just having way too much fun playing dress up! Elaina was asleep when I got there, she'd spent the morning doing physical therapy and in her swing. I put her clean clothes and blankets away and then pulled her out of the crib for some Mama snuggle time. While she was glad to see me (I got a huge smile when I kissed her cheek), she wasn't happy about being awake. So, we snuggled and rocked for a couple of hours while she finished her nap. When she woke up she was ready for some more fun. Luckily I had my camera in hand and was able to capture her cuteness!

She's still congested, but not quite as much as Monday. However, I think that her cough sounded a little worse. She doesn't seem to mind that much though, and the medical team continues to watch her carefully.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the cute little video! She was being so sweet!

Picture Time!

Elaina had a pretty good day today. Once again she's having a little bit of throwing up, it's mostly secretions and bile. They are watching her closely so that it doesn't happen when she's on her c-pap. I talked with the doctor about her cough and stuffy nose, but we didn't really get anywhere with it. She hasn't had any fevers (can you belive it?), so they aren't too concerned. The nurses and respiratory are keeping her nose suctioned to help her be comfortable. They are going to keep a good eye on her and see if it gets better or worse and then treat it accordingly. At least she's turned into a really good mouth breather! She was making all kinds of noises in her sleep as I held her yesterday! The congestion could be one of the several things I talked about in my last post; reaction to flu shot, teething, or a real cold. She seemed better to me today than she did yesterday. Hopefully that's a good sign. Today though she just wanted to be a snuggle bunny. She stayed awake my whole visit, but she didn't really want to play, she just wanted to be snuggled close while I sang to her. As soon as I'd sit her up and try to tickle, or play with toys or peek-a-boo, she'd start to fuss. So I obliged her and just rocked and sang her lullaby's with her snuggled up close. What a sweetie! She did give me some smiles and that always makes my day!!

Okay, it's picture time! These are some of my favorites from the last week or so.

Ben came to visit! He loves to hold her even though she's getting so big! He's so cute, we taught him how to hold his arms to support her head when she first came home from the NICU, and he still puts himself into the same pose now when I put Elaina in his arms. The poor kid's arms are too small for this growing little girl!

Looking at her mobile.
I LOVE the big flower on her headband. I found them at a local grocery store and the flower is just basically glued to a hair clip and detaches from the band! I bought 2 bands (they came with 2 flowers) and an additional 3 big bows. Since they're all interchangeable, we'll be having lots of fun!

My sweet friend Ann sent me this cute pillowcase. I use the pillow to help prop Elaina up when she's playing in her crib, or to help support my elbow when I'm holding her in the rocker. I had a pillow with a white pillow case on it, and housekeeping took it away thinking that it belonged to them!!! Thank you SO much Ann!!!

For the life of me, I couldn't capture a smile with camera that day!
She did give me several though!

"Hmmmm, wonder if I can pull this NJ out when nobody is watching?"

"Oh, just saw my mobile! That makes me happy!"

Silent laughter? Could be, she absolutely LOVES her mobile.
She won't smile at me, but as soon as the music is on and the mobile is turning, she's all grins!

Even in a blue dress with a blue blanket, she's absolutely adorable!

Well, that's it for now! I'm up WAY too late and have TONS to try to accomplish in the morning!