Saturday, May 9, 2009

Happy Nine Week Birthday, Elise (Plus Another Spell & 5-10 or More Days)

Can you believe it's been nine weeks? Although we had hoped to have Elise home between 7-8 weeks, we are so thankful for the amazing care she's receiving in the NICU. She wouldn't be alive without them, and we are praising the Lord for all they've done to keep her progressing.

This morning Elise had another big spell and needed oxygen again to come back. I talked with her doctor (the main guy at the NICU) who said that realistically learning "suck, swallow, breath" takes just as much brain power as learning to walk so it's very common that premature babies take longer to learn the coordination. He said that, if he had to guess, he'd say she'll take another 5-10 days to get coordinated enough to come home but that it may be longer. He said she was born so young and has already overcome lung disease, her PDA (the heart murmur caused by a blood vessel in her heart still being open that normally closes within a couple of days after birth in a full term baby; though it's still there, she's doing well and isn't symptomatic of any major problems because of it), and other hurdles. So now she just needs a little more time to overcome this final hurdle.


She was really sleepy here.


But not too sleepy to show off her beautiful little eyes.


And definitely not too sleepy to pose for a picture with mommy.


And for another last night.

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Kit's been working on completely redoing a 1971 Columbia Sports III three-speed bike since Elise was born. It's been a good project for him to do to relax a bit. He took the following photos of his work and said I could post them if I wanted to (aka he wanted to show off his bike :)). I'll post more photos when he's done.



7 comments:

Kristin Duke said...

I know first hand that it's frustrating. My Tyler was born a preemie (25 weeks) and I'll never forget the time I was feeding him and he turned blue. The nurse had to take him and give him oxygen. I cried so much I had to leave the NICU and gather myself. It's hard to be a mom to a preemie when they have those spells because you don't know what you did wrong to cause it and you can't fix it. Scary, I know. She looks soooo great and is doing so well. Hope she comes home soon!

Jennifer said...

Those spells sound so scary, I can't even comprehend. Looks like 6lbs is just around the corner! Sounds like she's doing so well given everything. And hey mama, Happy Mother's Day!!!!!

Melissa Nickerson said...

Em, I wanted to wish you an early happy mother's day! The pictures of you & Ellie from this post are so cute! Much love, Mel

Claire said...

Such cute photos of you and Elise! Happy Mother's Day!

Cxx

Anonymous said...

Happy Mother's Day!!

Just got caught up on the last couple day's blogs and I feel like I need to lay down from all the stress of her "spells". I realized as I was reading I was holding my breath. So glad that she is getting such good care and that they take the time to teach you guys and communicate to in depth with you! Blessings, Brenda

Unknown said...

Happy Mother's Day Em!! You are an amazing mom. Hang in there. You guys are in our prayers. I can't wait to have a playdate for our little ones. Ezekiel really wants to meet Ellie!
Hope to see you soon.
love, april, aaron and ezekiel

Stephanie said...

Praying for your sweet girl! I love the pictures of you and her...adorable!

Hope you had a wonderful first Mother's Day!