The Ely Trio: July 2010

28 July 2010

Baby on Board

Last Tuesday Hayden and I accompanied Jeff on an overnight trip for work. It was her first "vacation" and she did great! She slept almost the whole 3 hour trip except for waking up (like clockwork) for a bottle. So we stopped at a nearby Starbucks and Hayden got a bottle and Mommy got a Skinny Cinnamon Dulce Latte- win-win!

She's a good car rider!

After our brief stop we were back on the road and quickly arrived at the hotel. It was really nice! Daddy left for his meeting and we took a quick nap while he was gone.

Besides being her first "vacation" it was also her first time to eat out at a restaurant. The city has a smoking ban and it was a small local place so we felt she'd be OK to go in with us. The food was awesome and Hayden was a perfect angel. We thought she'd sleep through it but she was awake the entire time just looking around and entertaining herself.

The trip was just a quick one and we were headed back to Jackson the next morning. It was so good to get out of the house with Hayden even if it was just for 24 hours. She did great adjusting to our modified routine that day, too. This makes me a little less nervous about our next trip to Tucson in September.

13 July 2010

Buggy Ride and Bubble Bath

We attempted our first stroller ride the other night. It did not go well. She screamed and screamed. We thought that after we got going she would start to like it, we were wrong. She screamed and cried so loudly we were too embarrassed to go much further than the end of the drive way.

To add insult to injury she also got her first tub bath after our "walk". She wasn't to happy about this first either. Again, she screamed and screamed except for when we washed her hair. She dried up her tears and began to enjoy the pampering. She loves having her hair washed and brushed, just like her Mama!

Poor baby

Safe in Mommy's arms after all the trauma

07 July 2010

Big Big God

After a day or so in the NICU Hayden wasn't showing marked signs of improvement, or as much as the she should be if her breathing issues were caused by immaturity of her lungs, fluid or infection. They decided to run some other tests to figure out the cause of the problem. An echocardiogram, or an ultrasound of her heart, was performed on Sunday afternoon and after a pediatric cardiologist reviewed the scans we were told she had a PDA of her heart. This means the valve that routes blood correctly while in the womb didn't close at birth as it should have causing symptoms similar to congestive heart failure such as rapid breathing and fluid overload which would explain Hayden's issues. Jeff and I immediately started praying for her and reaching out to all the prayer warriors we know. By divine appointment the neonatalogist, Dr. Owens, who was taking care of Hayden, attended a dinner with top neonatalogists from around the country the night after Hayden was diagnosed with the PDA. He was able to discuss her case with several other doctors who were in agreement that he needed to try ibuprofen to close the ductus. He consulted with the cardiologist and plans were made to start IV ibuprofen and do a repeat echo after the last dose. Five LONG days later the repeat echo showed no PDA! Hallelujah! We know that God healed our baby girl and He gets all the glory. It was a very hard week for us, especially having to leave her at the hospital after I was discharged but God gave us comfort and strength to make it through the week.

(6/12) Hooked up to all the machines and monitors. She was not happy.

(6/13) Finally off cpap and on nasal cannula so we can hold her!

(6/14)But then she got jaundice and had to stay under the billi-lights. However, this is one of my favorite pictures of here that first week, even with the mask on.

(6/15) This was the hardest day because we had to leave the hospital without her. But when we came back for visiting hours she was doing so well we got to hold her and give her a real bottle!