Ellie's first check-up

Ellie visited her pediatrician today. Everything went well. She is 5 lbs 6 oz, and 19 inches long. She has a home nurse coming out tomorrow to make sure she is staying well hydrated and eating sufficiently. So far, and as all newborns do, she pretty much eats, sleeps, and poops. Ava adores her, wanting to be next her at all times. They are so cute together. I feel so lucky, and still can't fully believe that I am the mother to such beautiful girls! Jeffrey's not too bad either, wink. She will go back every two weeks until she is around 10 lbs. Motherly instinct tells me that my baby is healthy, but I will truly be at ease when all the post NICU check-ups and tests are in the passed. Until then, though, I continue to enjoy every second with my girls, and our family.

Ellie is HOME!!!

Five weeks to the day after her birth, Elizabeth James Butterworth has finally made it home. She has been doing really well the few hours that she has been home. I have to say, it was a surprisingly anti-climactic event leaving the hospital. We kind of just packed up and left. But we are absolutely thrilled to have her home, and to officially be done with the hospital. She is in good health, the only real concern at this point is that her eyes were deemed too immature by the eye doctor, and she has to get re-examined in 4 weeks. It's not necessarily a bad thing, they were just unable to make a diagnosis at this point. A home nurse was referred to come out and check on her only once in the next few weeks, which means that she isn't at such a high risk as they originally expected. She is 5lbs 3.8 ounces, and growing. Ava had an interesting reaction to her sister coming home. She came down stairs and began crying for no apparent reason. Then she just wanted Jeffrey to hold her. She is fine now, just learning how to be gentle with her baby sister. We will keep you all updated on Ellie's progress in the coming weeks and months. Thanks to everyone for supporting us and our little noodle!!!

IF ALL GOES WELL.....

Ellie will being coming home tomorrow morning. She just needs to make it through the night with no incidents. I think she'll do just fine! I can't believe she has been in the hospital for 5 weeks, and that she has never been exposed to the outside world! We'll keep you all posted on her homecoming!

New Photos

Friday, April 25th Update

Ellie has reached another milestone....She is over FIVE pounds. You wouldn't believe how chubby she looks. It is amazing what a difference 2 pounds can make on a newborn. She looks so good, and if all goes well (no heart rate drops, no apneas) she'll be coming home on Monday. I just pray that nothing happens this weekend that would postpone her homecoming. Ellie was a month old yesterday, the craziest month of both our lives I'm sure. She has had quite a journey thus far, and all Jeffrey and I want is to offer her the safe haven that is her home. She is a strong and courageous little lady and I have learned a lot from her. Keep praying for her this weekend, and hopefully she will be meeting you all very soon!!

Monday, April 21st Update

Ellie had another apnea this morning. She is going through a difficult stretch right now. I really want an explanation as to why this has been happening everyday, and multiple times a day. The doctor says that she is still just too immature to be relied on to remember to breathe on her own, and that there is no main contributer other than her lungs are not fully developed. She was born 4 weeks ago today. She weighs 4lbs 12 ounces, and eats like a champion. To be honest, I am just getting really burnt out going to the hospital everyday, not being able to have any privacy with my baby, and dealing with the politics of different nurses. I can't handle witnessing other sick babies around us getting poked with needles, other moms crying when the nurses fill them in on the status of their babies, and worst of all, I can't handle seeing other moms take their baby's home. It just doesn't seem fair. Of course she is in the best place possible with her breathing condition, but I can't help but be disappointed every time I walk into the nursery and the nurse informs me of yet another apnea episode. I just pray that this is the last one for the week, and that she WILL come home early next week.

Saturday, April 19th Update

Today was a tough day for Ellie. She had 3 apnea episodes within 24 hours. She started holding her breath again when she falls into a deep sleep. When this happens, the hospital won't discharge her for a week after the last episode of apnea. The nurse told me that out of the 3 times she did this today, only 1 was a "true" apnea, where she lost the color in her face and had to be woken up to recover. I am thankful that this is happening while she is in the hospital and not at home, but at the same time, I really want to bring my baby home.

Some good news...They took out her feeding tube, and she is eating really well. She is up to 4lbs 9 ounces. In order for her to come home next weekend, she needs to continue to eat really well, and not have any apneas or drops in her heart rate.

She seems to have turned a difficult corner with her feedings, she just needs to get her lungs stronger, and remember how to use them! Pray for our munchkin, we want her at home!!!!