Graduation Day!

Well, not the big graduation day, like graduating from college, but more like graduating from grade school. Ella has moved to the NICU South! A little earlier than expected, but pushed along a little bit by a heavy inflow into the North. Ella's new home is Butterfly Pod 25 (there are 4 pods with 25 rooms in each). Her new room will be great for us, but there will no longer be viewings of her from a visible window for Ella's guest. We are still allowed to take guests in though, but the over age 18 rule still applies.

Ella started her stay at her new place with some new blood. We knew a blood transfusion was likely, and they decided today that her count was too low (all the tests, etc. use more blood than a preemie can make). She started her transfusion an hour ago, and things are going well. It is a three hour process. If there was to be any negative reaction, it usually occurs in the first 15 minutes (and rare anyway). So things are going well! I am sure we will get pictures of the new digs up tomorrow.

Heading South for the Winter

Wow - lots of good info to blog about today.

First and foremost, Ella is projected to move to the South NICU unit in a few days!! We are so thrilled about this for a couple of reasons. First, she is stable enough in her breathing and heart rates that she will soon be able to move from the constant nurse monitoring to a shared nurse. For her size and gestation, this is incredible news. Secondly, we got a tour of the South unit today, and the facility is pimped out. Ella will have her own MTV Cribs episode. Each baby room is private and she'll have her own little "bedroom" with glass sliding doors where we can stay overnight (there's a couch bed for us) and decorate with her personal items.

We've heard the move South can sometimes be worrisome for parents since there isn't constant nurse monitoring, however the baby monitor alarms are all linked to a cordless telephone that each nurse carries so they are still notified of every desat, brady, etc. Also, once you see the facility, you'll see that the there are still plenty of nurses assigned to a block of private rooms, so I'm sure she'll continue to be in good hands.

On other notes -

We learned that St. John's has a website for each NICU baby where they post daily vitals & pictures, and we can blog (hmm, that would have been nice to know sooner). So after almost a month of being there, we're still discovering new things. Rather than asking you to follow two websites, we will interpret the important 'need-to-knows' and share with you on this blog.

Each time Tim talks to Ella she gets a smirk on her face. We're still proving out whether this is linked to her enjoying her Dad's voice or if she's taking care of business in her diaper.

Ella started decorating for Christmas today too. St. Nick thinks she's definitely deserving of a visit in a few days.

Happy Thanksgiving

Ella embraced her first Thanksgiving. Unknown to us, she and the nurses had arts & crafts time in the wee hours of the morning. She made handprint turkeys that hung on the walls of her bed, and will definitely now go into her scrapbook. Apparently this was a popular idea, as Tim and I packed a little craft bag to trace her hands and make similar decor.

As you can see, Ella also fit right in to the Bauwens family wearing her Cowboys shirt. (Thanks Uncle Matt & Aunt Michelle!) She cheered on a turkey day victory.

She was wiped out most of the day, not sure if it was the arts & crafts, football cheering or tryptophan.

Exceptional Ella

Ella continues to get a good report card from the doctor. She has moved out of her preemie incubator bed to the next model up. This one does not regulate the heat inside as much, as Ella can do a little bit better on her own. She has been 100% on the nose plugs for several days now - a great sign. She was at 5 liters of air flow, and went down to 4 today. When that goes down to zero, she will finally be breathing on her own! She also weighed in a shy under 2 1/2 pounds. Ella heard there was a little party for her today, and thanks everyone who showered Stef with gifts!

Everybody loves videos

Ella turns 21 (days)

Hooray for Ella! She moved to 100% nose prong breathing assistance today! No more CPAP.

Our little book worm enjoyed a couple of new books today from the awesome baby shower in Perryville this past weekend, "If You Give a Moose a Muffin" and "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". She really liked them both.

Food update - Ella will begin receiving a supplement in her feedings which is high in calories so she can grow quicker. History has shown that babies do not always react well to this supplement so she may have a belly ache, more spit up and undigested food. Right now she seems to be exerting her calories during her moments of exploration, which I captured today in the picture and short video clip. She loves to stretch and look around every opportunity she gets.

Hospital schedule

We've had several people ask to visit Ella over the holiday weekend. Here is our schedule for the next several days.

Wed: 10am-1pm
Thurs: 11am-1pm
Fri: 1-4pm
Sat: 10:30am-noon (heading straight to baby shower afterwards)
Sun: TBD

Feel free to stop by and you can come on in and see Ella. Otherwise feel free to visit any other time and you can check her out through the window.

If possible, send me an email or text (314.482.7462) letting me know when you might visit so I know who to expect in case something would change with our schedule.

Back to bloggin'

We're back to bloggin'.

Our little peanut is doing great. She's a whopping 2 lbs., 2 oz. and we're celebrating every ounce. She successfully had her I.V. removed last week and has not missed the extra wire. She continues to breathe well on the nose prongs and nurses have indicated that she might be moving to that full time, and rid of her fighter jet mask entirely. Either way, Ella has been so tolerant of all of the switching back and forth. Hopefully she's that patient at home as well. ; )

I can't say enough great things about the nurses at St. John's. They all stop by each day to say hi to "Little Miss Ella" and today they were trying to pre-arrange a prom date with the handsome baby boy next to her. Good thing Dad wasn't around for that conversation.

She's so lovable. Admittedly, it's getting more difficult for Mom to leave her each day after holding her and seeing how peaceful she sleeps on me. Thankfully we're a 1/3 of the way through her NICU stay and it's gone by faster than we realized. Gotta stay upbeat and positive, especially through the holidays.

We love our baby girl.

Taking a Break

The blog writers will resume posting on Monday. Stay tuned.

Hello, World!

Mom's favorite time of day

16 days already?!

Can't believe we've been parents for 16 days now. Time has gone by so fast.

Ella had a great day - increased continuous food intake again (I've stopped posting how many mils it is per hour since the calculation gets a bit complex...just know that she is increasing and that's a good thing). The nurses will start adding a little fortifier to the milk to make sure she's getting the appropriate amount of calcium and other vitamins that she would have otherwise received in utero. Funny to think that milk needs calcium added...hmmm.

As of 5pm today, she was also scheduled to have her I.V. removed. Woo hoo!! The doc is going to try to switch her back to 8 hours of nose prong breathing and reduce CPAP to 4 hours. This was tried once before, but they think she is ready to try again. Initially the doc thought the nose prongs were partially causing the heart rate drops however as of now they do not see a correlation. Fingers crossed.

And most importantly, our little princess "wore" her first hair bow today. Thank you Tante Helga and Jim! Girl might as well look pretty while she's growing!

Ella's Move

So Ella got to move! Not because she improved though, just because they had to mop the floors on the other side. So, for those of you visitng, she is now to the right of the entrance. She is still visbile - look through the first window you come to, she's right htere. Definitely a better viewing spot for her fans!

Terrific Twos

Who says twos are terrible? Today was filled with terrific twos!

Ella weighed in just over TWO pounds. The awesome nurses made TWO gifts for Ella - a nice pink blanket to cover her bed lid and a pretty name tag. She is TWO weeks old today, and her mom is thirty TWO - well, that's not so terrific.

Ok, you get the picture...

Other updates - Ella's food was slightly reduced today, as the doc thinks the increased quantity of food was a bit too aggressive since she was spitting it back up. However, she is now on a continuous feed which so far seems to be drastically helping with her apnea. Also, while we were visiting today, she had 2 dips in her heart rate which she was able to bring up on her own, without stimulation. That's a good sign.

A day late...

We're a little behind on posting yesterday's progress report. Apologies to all of her dedicated followers who anxiously log into the blog each morning. : )

Ella is back to her birth weight of 1 lb. 15 oz.! This is right on schedule with where they'd hoped she'd be at 2 weeks. Her feedings continue to increase in quantity and they are also occuring more frequently. The doc believes this will help with her apnea as well. She's upgraded from a syringe to a feeding pump.

Since the feedings are increasing, there is less of a reason to have an I.V. for supplemental nutrients in her foot. Doc thinks the I.V. line will be removed in the next day or so. Fewer wires is a good thing.

Thumbs up for Ella

Mostly good news today from our little fighter. Over the last 48 hours, she has increased from 2 cc to 8 cc of food (now at about 2 teaspoons) every 3 hours. Mom is going to have to start working overtime.

Her Jaundice levels have slightly increased but have stayed within a manageable range.

The only area we'd like to see improvement is in her breathing/heart rate drops. She has had a bit of a set back in terms of staying on the mask breathing apparatus for most of the day.

We really appreciate Ella taking time out of her busy day to pose for our photo shoots.

Day 11

Just a quick afternoon visit with Ella today. Uncle Matt and Aunt Michelle stopped in to say hi. Her color and jaundice levels were good today. However, she had a few heart drops, so they decided to switch to 8 hours on the CPAP, 4 hours off, to give her some rest.

Gold Stars

Ella earned lots of gold stars from the doctor's round today.

She weighed in at 1 lb., 14 oz. (only 1 ounce less than her birth weight)! The doctor expected her to be at her birth weight at 2 weeks and she's just one ounce away at 10 days! Exceeding expectations.

Her food intake will increase from 2 cc to 3 cc tonight, and to 4 cc tomorrow. Double pumping for Mom.

She is continually improving on her breathing. She is currently alternating the CPAP (fighter jet mask) and nose prong breathing every 6 hours. Starting tonight the doctor has asked that she only be on CPAP for 4 hours and increase nose prongs to 8 hours. This is a step in the right direction.

Three cheers for Ella!

Ella finds her thumb!

Mom spent several hours with Ella again today, holding her and enjoying every moment of Ella's tiny body sleeping on her chest. Ella has learned to enjoy a pacifier when she's fussy and when that's not available, she discovered the permanent version also known as her thumb.



Her weight continues to increase, 1 lb., 13 oz. today. The nurses plan to double her food intake tomorrow from approx 1/2 teaspoon of milk every 3 hours, to a full teaspoon. She's growing fast!

Dad returned to work and is juggling the stress of Ella's heart rate drops and audit filing deadlines. Hopefully he finds a comfortable balance soon.

We've heard lots of great feedback about this blog - glad to know Ella has so many fans and that this blog is effectively keeping everyone informed of her progress.

Ella finally has 'a room of her own'...

or so she thinks...

Mom's POV

I had the most relaxing day with Ella. I spent almost 5 hours with her, along with a few visitors. Since she is now out of the blue light, we can hold her for as long as we want each day. I'm sure to enjoy my new routine. : )

Ella also had a scan of her brain this week, and all results came back positive. Looks like we'll have a scholar on our hands. She's already read 4 stories at the hospital. She's going to be a book worm just like her Daddy.

Day 8 - Dad's point of view

Well, I had to return to work today, so I did not have much time with Ella. Mom on the other hand got dropped off there at 8 am and picked up at 1 pm, so I will let her give most of the update. The real good news is that Ella is off the blue light special! They will check her levels in 2 days to see if this is permanent without the light. The bad news is that the heart rate drops continue, but we are told this is still normal at her stage of life.

Family photo

Happy Birthday, Ella!

Ella celebrated her 1-week birthday today! She is doing great, as usual. Mommy and Daddy spent a couple hours with her this evening. Here are a few noteworthy comments/observations/updates from our visit.


1. Ella gained another ounce and is up to 1 lb. 12 oz. Her skin color is improving every day.
2. Daddy gave his baby girl Kangaroo Care for about 45 minutes tonight. See the beautiful video posted below.
3. Ella had one heart rate drop tonight, which caused Daddy's heart rate to drop even lower.
4. The Ronald McDonald House has an amazing lounge area for the NICU parents.
5. Mommy loves percocet.

Day 7 (to be continued)

Ella continues to do well! She spit up a little food last night, but generally is taking the milk very well and gaining weight. We will visit her later tonight to hold her again and get a more detailed progress report...stay tuned.

Day 6

Another good day for Ella! She is eating and digesting her food. She also gained some weight and is at 1 lb. 11 ounces. She is on the CPAP for 6 hours at a time, and then off of it for 6 hours. So everything is looking great! Mom got to hold her for about an hour today!

Visitors

Hi everyone. I just wanted to explain the visiting situtaion. First, Stef is now at home. Visitors are welcomed at our home at anytime, just give us a heads up first.

To see little Ella, we do need to be present. If you are interested in seeing her on a particular day, give us a call and find out what time we plan on being at the hospital that day. Currently we are going around 10:30 am each day, and staying till noonish. Once I start working this Thursday, I may swing by each morning around 8 and after work around 6. Stef will have to figure out the best time to go. If you do go, park at the main entrance, go straight in to the blue elevators (about 10o yards in) and go up to floor 2. Then ask or follow the signs to NICU North. Ella is currently located near a corner window, so you are more than welcome to go when we are not there, but you will only get a glimpse.

Thanks,
Tim

Random Pictures Days 1-4

A little cry

If you turn the sound up, you can hear her cute little cry

Day 5 - Daddy gets to hold Ella

Great day today! I got to hold Ella for about 45 minutes. Although she had two heart drops while holding her - which scared me to death. She made these awesome little pathetic cries too. The Dr. says she is a star little patient. Her jaundice levels are dropping and they hope to have her off the blue light by Wednesday. She is still losing some weight, which is expected through the first week. She is down to 1 lb. and 9.25 ounces. She is starting to digest her food though. She is also on 3 hours of CPAP, then 3 hours on the nose prongs/canula, for the next few days. So that is good too!

New Pictures

First Family Pic and First Time Stef Holds Ella

Day 4

Hey all! Sorry for the delayed update – Stef was discharged today. So last night was a great night – Stef got to hold Ella for the first time for about 40 minutes. It was emotional for her, but it was very good for them both, and they were tears of joy that only a new mother can understand. Ella started eating yesterday. However, her digestion has not yet kicked in, so that is the next step. She is still on the blue light and the CPAP – probably for another week.

I will get to hold her tomorrow, if all goes well.

We will probably want a few days to settle in at home, but visitors would be welcomed after that. We will also try to let people know the times that we will be up at St. Johns, so for those of you who had not seen Ella yet can meet up with us and see her.

Day 3

Ella had another good night. A few heart rate drops over night, but she went up again. This is normal and not a concern yet. She is losing some of her birth weight – she is at 1 lb. 12 oz. The goal is to get her back up to her birth weight at the 2 week mark. We may start feeding her today, which should help. She got her umbilical cord wires out, and now has a tube that goes from her leg to her diaphragm for medicines.

We have a few pictures. She is under her blue light to still help prevent jaundice. She is also wearing her fighter jet face mask for her air flow. We will get a picture of that cute face again soon!

Day 2

Good morning everyone. Ella had an ok night. She had to go to onto a CPAP, which is continuous air flow. It is a level worse than her breathing on her own, but better than the breathing tube. The nurse basically said that breathing is hard work, so she just needed a little break. The Doctor came by and gave her an A though. Her blood type came back as O negative – so again, she is being difficult!

Stef is doing fine. Well, she had her epidural removed last night, so that is “good” but Stef may say otherwise. She will be discharged this Saturday, although because of Ella, we can leave anytime we want on Saturday, and not necessarily by the 11 am check out (so “late” checkout for us!)

Day 1

Ella Marie Jerry was born at 8:08 pm last night, November 3, 2009! She was a tiny little girl at 1 lb. 15 ounces and 13 ¾ inches. Stef gave birth through C-Section and is doing great right now. Little Ella had to go the NICU, which will be her home for awhile. We are hopeful that she gets to be our Christmas Present, but they said New Years Day is more likely.

She is doing pretty good for 26 weeks. She has some premature lungs, which was expected, and was on a breathing tube. Good news is they were able to remove the full tube and put her on a smaller nose plug this morning already. Over the next 2 days we will learn if she has any infections – that is her biggest risk now.

Stef and I would love visitors at anytime – we are in room 5118 and will be here until at least Saturday morning. You can take the main entrance, go to the blue elevators, and go to the 5th floor. I have to set everyone’s expectations though – you will not be able to see little Ella when are you here, but we have pictures!

Love everyone,
Tim