My foot in my mouth...

Well, today marks the first time Elizabeth got her foot in her mouth while lying down. She's done it before in her swing, so I only knew it would be a matter of time before it happened elsewhere. Now that Elizabeth's found out how flexible she is, all she wants to do is stick her foot in her mouth. :)

Jenny Jump Up

As a baby, one of my favorite toys was my Jenny Jump Up, or so my mom has told me. I would spend tons of time jumping in it each day. I was so excited that one of my good friends got one for Elizabeth! We decided to try it out for the first time. Elizabeth didn't exactly get the concept of the toy, but with time, I know she'll love it, too!

Hi Mommy!

What is this?

Still our favorite toy!!

Best toy ever!

Blog facelift

I'm still playing around with my new design. Not quite sure if I want a 3 column blog or a 2 column one. Any thoughts? And any suggestions on a new name would be great, too! :) I'm not too fond of what it is now, but can't seem to come up with anything else.

Not too much going on here today. We had a bit of a rough afternoon yesterday... Thank goodness for great friends! We went out to dinner with two couples from our Sunday School class last night, and I didn't even have to worry about Elizabeth. Julie held her pretty much the entire time. And she was such a trooper! She suffered through drool, attempting to feed her a bottle, AND fussiness and never once complained. Thanks Julie!! But today is a new day, and a much better one at that! This teething thing is for the birds... Another one of Elizabeth's canine bottom teeth broke through. Now, neither of them are fully in, but you can definitely see both of them now (the right side better than the left). I tried to get a picture, but that's next to impossible to do with her tongue and all. :)

Since I couldn't get a picture of her teeth, I tried some new shots outside.

My Daddy

I don't know if I've ever really posted about my family before. I have been very blessed with a great family - two awesome parents and an amazing brother and sister. See below for proof. :)

My parents

Me and Dad

Me, Michelle, and Mom in Virgin Gorda 2010 (I was pregnant with Elizabeth, but didn't know it yet!

Typical Dustin... sneaking into a picture. :)

Now, the week before Elizabeth was born, my parents came down (my Mom had been down for a while, but my Dad had to work, so he came the week after my due date, hoping she'd already be here... no such luck... haha). My mom had several "presents" left to give Elizabeth, many of them being clothes. For those that don't know, both my mom and I share a love of clothes, so it was no surprise that she was going to pass this love to Elizabeth. So when I was looking at all of Elizabeth's loot, I came across the most adorable outfit ever! It was pink and yellow, and you don't often find those two colors together. I fell in love with it immediately, but what made it even more special was that my Dad picked it out. I couldn't wait for Elizabeth to be able to wear it! She's worn it once before (on our anniversary), but I didn't get any really cute pictures of her in it, so we decided to have a little photo shoot with it today. 

Staring at the puppies playing outside

Trying to eat the grass

We don't like the sun!!

I LOVE this one...

Already taking her bow off

We just LOVE sticking our tongue out!

Too cute to resist!

Such a sweet smile!

Playing with our new book!

Fun toy!

Exploring our toy

Trying to roll over on the changing table

Mommy loves me! It looks like her arm was pinned in, but that's just how she put it. :)

Mommy and me! On a side note... I LOVE the ERGO that Alan got me for my birthday!!!

Play date!

Elizabeth had her first "play date" today! (It was actually more for the Mommies to hang out, but we'll use the girls as our excuse!) I brought my camera, but of course didn't get any pictures. :( It was so fun to get to hang out with adults, and I think it wore Elizabeth out. She slept the entire way home and didn't even make a peep when I transferred her from her car seat to the crib - she normally wakes up as soon as the car stops. Elizabeth even slept through her 5:30 bottle, so we got to eat on the way to church at 6! She still seemed sleepy after she ate, so I wonder how long she would've slept if we didn't have to wake her up to go to church.

I'm feeling a little sentimental tonight, so I'll close with one of my favorite pictures from when Elizabeth was coming home for the first time. Enjoy!

4 Months Old!

Dear Elizabeth,


Another month has come and gone and I can't believe that you're already four months old. That's a third of the year! You'll be one year old before we know it. It seems like each month gets better and better! You are truly one of the happiest babies I know. Daddy and I have loved watching your personality grow and develop! Your smile brightens every day and with each day that passes we love you more and more! We can't wait to see what each new day has in store for you. We love you so much!


Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Weight: We'll get the latest stats August 10!

Length: We'll get the latest stats August 10!

Diaper size: Size 2

 Teeth: Your right "canine" tooth has broken through! It's not all the way in yet, but you can see the top of it. I think your other three canine teeth will be the next to come in, too. There are hard bumps where each of them should come in. Daddy and I were very surprised that the middle teeth on the bottom didn't come in first!

Clothes size: One piece outfits are 3-6 and 6 months, two piece outfits are still 0-3 or 3. The shirts will be too short before you outgrow your shorts - You take after your Daddy, long and skinny!

Sleep: You go to sleep between 7-7:30pm. We had a couple nights where you were up 4 times a night, but I'm going to attribute that to the fact that we were out of town and that your tooth broke through around that same time. We've been working on sleep training you this month. And it's worked even better/quicker than I expected. For most of the month you would go to bed, get a dream feed around 10:30-11, wake up around 4-5 to eat, and then sleep until 7ish. I started to decrease your 4-5am bottle and increase the rest of them throughout the day. Instead of slowly weaning you from that bottle, we went from 5oz to 3oz before you decided you'd rather just sleep straight through the night! I'm still not officially saying you're sleeping through the night, but we've definitely had enough to say that you're on the brink of STTN!! Mommy and Daddy are so excited. :) During the day you get 2 2 hour naps and a quick cat nap in the morning.

Favorite activities/things: Playing on the floor, looking at yourself in the mirror, hitting your snail toy to make it make noise, standing up, reading books, Princess Sophie, chewing on your hands and/or other toys, bath time, talking/singing with Mommy, rolling over, and your exersaucer.

Eating: You eat every 4 hours during the day, except for your first bottle. Surprisingly, you don't seem to want much for your first bottle, so we're trying to work some sort of new schedule out. Ideally, I'd give you a small bottle around 7, have play time, get in a 30 minute cat nap, then start our every 4 hours at 9am. We're trying that today. We'll see how well it works. :)

Nicknames: Sweet Pea, Lizzie, Miss E, Baby Doll

Talking: You still love to talk when you're in the mood for it! And when you're not sleepy, you'll often "sing" with Mommy! You make the cutest noises and we love hearing you explore all the new sounds! This month you started making several new sounds - the "g" and "m" sound! I also think I heard you make a "b" sound a couple of times!

New adventures: You went on 2 trips this month! We went to the DFW area to see family, where you got to meet two cousins and an uncle for the first time (you'd already met your aunt when you were in the NICU). Your cousins loved getting to meet you, and they both got to hold AND feed you. Your other cousin, the one that lives in Houston, was also there and he loved to give you kisses. We also went back to Texarkana to celebrate your great-grandparents 60th wedding anniversary! These two trips were your best car rides yet - you either slept the whole way or when you were awake, you were happy.

New Skills: You can roll over from your tummy to your back and from your back to your tummy. You prefer to roll from back to tummy now, as you'd rather be on your tummy these days. You are so proud when you do this! 

You still love bringing your toys to your mouth to chew on. You get better with this each and every day. 

You've grabbed your toes for the first time on 6/27. Now it's a constant for you. 

You also like to help with your bottles now. You love to hold them while you're eating, as well as help guide them to your mouth when you're hungry! 

You've taken your paci out of your mouth and got it back in for the first time on 7/12. Most of the time you still don't put it back correctly, but you sure try!

While we were at Aunt April's house, you giggled for the first time at your cousin Kailyn! It hasn't happened since, but I know that it will become more constant before we know it.

Minute Monday

I just had to share this picture. We went to the grocery store this evening. Elizabeth instantly fell asleep like this when I put her in the carseat. So cute!




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Elizabeth's Time in the NICU

*I'm finishing this almost 4 months after I started it. The details are beginning to get a little fuzzy, but I wanted to make sure that I had this down before I forgot too much.*

Started 4/3/2011

Well, a lot has happened since my last post. In fact, it all started that Wednesday afternoon. This isn't going to be a pretty post, but I know I'll want to remember what we've gone through later, so here goes..,

Elizabeth

Wednesday after our first pediatrician appointment Alan and I decided we needed to supplement with formula until my milk came in. Alan and mom were with Elizabeth trying to feed her when she suddenly became listless and unresponsive. We rushed her to the closest ER, where I later found out she had coded for about a minute. The ER had no idea what was wrong so they called Texas Children's Hospital who immediately sent a team of doctors by ambulance. The team was called Kangaroo Krew.

Granddad and Elizabeth

In the meantime, there were tons of doctors around Elizabeth trying to stabilize her. They intubated her twice without any sedation. They weren't able to find a vein so they did an IO (don't know the real name, but you basically drill into the bone of the leg to gain good access) in both legs.

After what seemed like forever, the Kangaroo Krew arrived. They saw that Elizabeth was fighting the tube down her throughout so they extubated her saying they could provide oxygen another way if needed. Luckily, it wasn't needed. They assessed her and then we loaded up the ambulance (I rode in the ambulance) and Alan and mom followed.

Dad and Elizabeth

When we got to Texas Children's, we saw all sorts of doctors. I can't even remember them all. They immediately started Elizabeth on iv antibiotics in case it was an infection. Some of the reasons for her decline included genetic issues, infection, and metabolic issues. Over the course of the next few days, Elizabeth went through pure hell. She's been poked and prodded more than I have ever been. They started with an IV in her scalp, but after about 2 days decided that needed to change, so they tried 3 times with 2 different people before they successfully guided an IV through her vein (in her arm) using an ultrasound. She ended up with 2 other IV sites. One in her foot and another in her other arm.

Grandmom and Elizabeth

She also had an EEG to make sure she wasn't having seizures, an ECHO to look at her heart ( they heard a small murmur ), a CT Scan and MRI to look for a brain clot, and tons more needle pokes to draw blood for cultures. They also put a NG tube (feeding tube) down her nose, which took 2 nurses several tries before they got an ENT involved it took the ENT several tries to get it in, too. *This is where I stopped back in April.* Everything major has turned out normal, which was such a blessing. Elizabeth was also seen by an ophthalmologist because she had a "blank stare" at some points. It was determined that everything eye wise was normal, as well. *I'm sure she had many other tests done, but I'm blanking on them right now.*

In the beginning, Elizabeth was put on soy formula while being tested for metabolic disorders. During that time, however, I continued to pump and freeze whatever I got. Elizabeth had the NG tube put in because they wanted to make sure she was taking in a specific amount of formula at each feeding. If she didn't take it by bottle, they were going to finish it using the NG tube. Luckily, it only had to be used once or twice! They kept it in much longer though, since it was so hard to get in.

Drinking a bottle of soy formula

We stayed in Level III NICU until Monday morning. While there, we had some wonderful nurses! One even got very upset when she wasn't assigned Elizabeth on her second shift. (Of course, we were upset too - we loved her, but at least she was still in the same "pod.") On Sunday, we also had some visitors! Two of our very good friends came up to the hospital to meet Elizabeth. They have a baby girl, who is 3 months younger than Elizabeth. I know they'll be great friends! From Monday to Saturday, we were in Level II. Level II was for babies that didn't need as much care, and while the nurses there were good, I am so glad that someone (me, Alan, or my mom) was with Elizabeth at all times!

Burping!

The hospital that we took Elizabeth to first took blood cultures at the time of admission. They ended up growing some kind of bacteria that both them and Texas Children's was having a hard time naming, so enlisted the help of a special lab. It took forever, but it was finally determined that Elizabeth had some kind of strep pneumococcal (strep pneumo for short). This is a very dangerous bacteria, so we caught it in the nick of time!

Yawn!

Throughout the course of our stay, we had close contact with the infectious disease doctors. They were very thorough  which we definitely appreciated! They wanted to send us home after 7 days of antibiotics, but day 7 was when they determined the severity of the bacterial infection, so that 7 days turned into 10. We were discharged Saturday, April 9, and so happy to be headed home!

Splint to keep arm still

Mom, Dad, and family:

While Elizabeth was in Level III (Wednesday, March 30 -Sunday, April 3), Alan and I stayed at the Ronald McDonald House that was on the same floor as the NICU. Both of our families were so good to us while we were in the hospital. Alan's sister that lives in the DFW area drove in for the weekend and stayed with Elizabeth while we slept. It was very comforting to have someone we love with Elizabeth at all times, especially when doctors were still coming around the clock and running all sorts of tests night and day.  I was pumping at the time, so every 4 hours during the night, Alan and I would head to the "pumping room" (for lack of a better name) and then check on Elizabeth whenever I was finished. Alan's sister would update us on what was going on, how well she ate, what tests were run, etc. and then we would head back to the Ronald McDonald house. We also had both my parents and Alan's parents in. My dad was great because he knew all of the medical jargon and knew all the right questions to ask. Alan's dad, who also has a medical background was right at home, too. He knew what all the nurses were talking about and was able to interpret if we needed him to. Alan's sister that lives in Houston helped out as much as she could, before her son got sick. My brother also came down the night we took her to the hospital.

Our family of 3

During the day, I would pump every 3ish hours. I actually started to enjoy this time, once Elizabeth was doing better, because it was down time, where I could relax, check my messages, and make any phone calls that I needed to. The pumping room at the hospital was great! There were two individual rooms, where you could go if you had someone with you, as well as a room with 8-10 pumps divided by curtains if you were by yourself. The nurses and lactation consultants were great and I felt very comfortable with them.

Mom and Elizabeth

Everyone but my mom was gone by Sunday evening (I hope I'm remembering correctly). One important detail to remember is that this was the week/weekend of the Final Four, which was taking place in Houston this year. Sunday afternoon before my dad left, we were trying to work out sleeping arrangements for the remainder of Elizabeth's time in the NICU. We wanted someone to be with her at all times, but didn't think it would work out with the Ronald McDonald house, seeing that you could only be there at certain times during the day/night. And it also wasn't reasonable to travel  from our house to the hospital several times a day. My dad decided to call around at various hotels to see if any of them had rooms available. We struck out at several hotels, even finding some that had rooms available for one night here and there at ridiculous rates, before finding a room at the Holiday Inn. I was shocked when we arrived at the room later that evening. It was VERY nice and it had a dishwasher and refrigerator, perfect for me since I was pumping and had parts that needed to be washed.

Sleeping

We quickly got into the routine of Alan and me coming to the hotel around 9-10 each evening. I would pump every 4 hours, like I did while we were staying in the hospital, and we would shower/sleep/relax until the next morning. Alan would drop me off at the hospital around 6-7 and then make his way to work. Once I got up to the NICU, my mom would go grab us some breakfast while I would nurse Elizabeth and then we would eat it in the waiting room. Mom would then head to the hotel to shower and sleep before coming back later in the afternoon. We would eat a late lunch when she got back and then hang out with Elizabeth until Alan came back for the evening, most of the time with dinner. During the day, I would pump every 3ish hours, just like when we were in Level III.

This routine worked out great! I am so fortunate that my mom was able to stay with us and help us out! We were never so happy for the weekend, though, because that meant Elizabeth got to come home for the second time! :)

Ready to go home!!

In the car

On our way home!

I know this is a long post. Kudos to you if you made it all the way through. Hopefully I didn't ramble too much, but, as I said at the beginning, I just want to have this documented for my own memories. I also don't have tons of pictures from this time. At first, I didn't want to take them because I was so scared. All of these pictures are from after we knew Elizabeth was going to be fine. Looking back, I wish I had taken pictures of all of our visitors.