Chillin' in the Sun

Easter Bunny Encounter

On Saturday, we journeyed to Belleville, IL for our first family visit to Eckert's. We met up with the Lamons and Rivoltas and had an Easter Bunny spotting! We took several pictures with him, here are just a few. I love how Ella is looking up at the Bunny thinking, "what is this furry thing?". She also got to touch a baby chick, very cute.

Eckert's had several other Easter-related activities that we're anxious to participate in next year, however Ella was too young for the egg hunt, bunny holding and mini carnival rides this year.

Busy Bees

This week was busy and exciting on a few fronts.

Dad flew to Chicago for training for a couple of days this week - his first out-of-town trip since Ella's been home. Mom got a taste of single parenthood. Even though it meant very little relaxation, it honestly wasn't too bad because I didn't feel guilty eating frozen dinners instead of cooking elaborate meals. But of course, I missed having Tim around.

On Monday, Tante Gerda watched Ella for an hour while I ran an errand. It's nice to have the convenience of willing babysitters (thanks!).

Tuesday, we drove to West County to meet a former co-worker of mine (Jen Fischer) for a sushi lunch. Ella stuck to formula, she's watching her figure. It was so nice getting out of the house and socializing! Afterwards Ella and I went to Babies 'R Us to get some diaper essentials, along with the next stage of dishware for Ella: sippy cups, cereal bowls, spoons, etc. Even though she isn't quite ready for these items, it's easier to pick them up while I'm there and I'm sure she'll be using them before we know it.

On Wed, Ella and I visited Nana and Papa for a playdate. It was so cute seeing the playmat set up on the living room floor when we arrived...do you think they were excited?? : ) Ella entertained very well by being awake, eating and playing while she was there. On the playmat, she kicked her legs, swung her arms and babbled something very wise for about 30 minutes. It was fun for all of us, and it never hurts when Nana sends you home with some tasty soup. Later that afternoon, Grandma Jerry stopped by our house to say hello. By this time Ella needed sleep though so the visit was short.

Thursday was a rainy, 'stay-in-your-pajamas' kind of day, and that's just what we did. I caught up on laundry and tried to declutter the house in prep for the real estate agent coming on Monday. Our plan is to have the agent give us advice on what we can do in the next 12 months to get our house in the best condition to sell next year. We aren't necessarily excited to go through the process of moving, however we are quickly realizing that we need more space.

This week we officially stopped using Ella's heart monitor and the in-home nurse this morning documented it! This means a more peaceful night's sleep for everyone in the Lynbrook household (including the cats). The reality is that Ella really didn't need to wear the monitor anyway since she wasn't having any heart rate drops or respiratory issues, it was more for us (Dad) to get comfortable not using it. The in-home nurse placed the call to the Pediatrician today which means a 3rd party will pick up the equipment from our house soon. YAY!

Speaking of in-home nurse visits, I believe that today was the last of those as well. Her weight was 9 lbs, 8.8 oz, which is only up 1 oz since last week however the trend is that she is gaining and we believe the Pediatrician is getting comfortable with that. (The in-home scale is usually a few ounces lower than the Ped scale.) Her height/length is approximately at the 40th percentile for a 2-month old (her adjusted age) and weight is approx 20th percentile. Her height and weight proportions are in sync, which is most important.

After scrubbing the floors and eating lunch on the go, Ella and I went to City Hall downtown to get her birth certificate. We are so excited to finally have it, so we can now apply for Ella's passport for a *fingers crossed* trip to Europe next Summer! As expected when dealing with government entities, our trip to City Hall encountered a few delays and involved plenty of people-watching. After not finding any parking nearby, we walked 6 blocks across busy streets, I carried a stroller up a flight of stairs (because the only accessible ramp is through the basement...shady), the homeless begged us for spare change and we waited in line for 30 minutes to complete a 'birth certificate print request' using a No. 2 pencil. Gotta love the efficiencies of the government. (Oh, and as a side note for Ella's memory book, let it be known that healthcare in America will soon be run by the government as approved in March 2010. Scary.)

After that adventure, we headed back home where we had our First Steps development meeting with the Service Coordinator, Physical Therapist and Dietitian. The meeting went well and we defined goals and outcomes for Ella over the next 6 months. She'll be working on things such as strengthening her neck & head control, sitting up, rolling over, purposeful batting of toys, and introducing more calories and solid foods into her diet. I'm anxious to get started. We work with her quite a bit and recently made black & white picture flashcards for her to work on understanding contrast. I think she's going to be a smart little cookie.

After a little relaxation (blog time!), we hope to see Ella's cousin Evan play baseball at the Affton ball fields (field conditions permitting). I am hoping the weather stays nice so we can continue our walks in the neighborhood again next week.

Whoever said that a stay-at-home mom just sits around eating bon bons all day was very misinformed. ; )

-Mom

Ella's Family Tree - Mom's Side

Mom

Grandma Norma

Aunt Stacie and Uncle Adam



















Cousins Kevin and Bryan




















Aunt Shelly and Uncle Tim


















Cousins Evan and Mallory




















Uncle Jeff and Aunt Holly















Cousins Blake, Shelby and Lindsey



Uncle Jason and Aunt Christina














Uncle Justin and Aunt Jill















Cousins Jayden and Jeslin

Ella's Family Tree - Dad's Side

Dad

Thalheimer side

Grandma Elfi

Great Grandparents - Oma and Opa
Tante Gerda
















Jerry side

Grandpa Tim and Nana Renee


Great Grandparents - Nana and Papa






















Uncle Tom & Aunt Marybeth























Uncle Matt & Aunt Michelle

Everyone should Poop

Without a doubt Ella's reflux meds (Prevacid and Carafate) have helped her control spit-ups and enjoy her meals without irritation, arching of the back and tongue thrusting. Although a side effect has been constipation. This has made Ella an unhappy little girl (who can blame her!). Mom and Dad won the 'Parents of the Year' award when Mom gave Ella a suppository and then they had to pull poop out of her butt to help her. We didn't win any awards, however, for video taping her strained, red face grunting. For Ella's sake, we will not be posting that video.

Go Fish

Last Friday, the Jerry fam met some friends (Lamons, Bonds, and Rivoltas) at the local Fish Fry for Lent and our little Catholic girl was held, cuddled and loved by all. At one point, we thought our friend was going to sneak Ella out under her coat. ; )

On Sat, Mom and Dad went to a co-worker's house (Vicki) and played cards. Ella did great. She slept well, ate a little and even played her first game of Pitch. What a great Poker face.

Eating Toys is Yummy

As briefly mentioned a few posts back, this blog will now serve as Ella's memory book. Therefore, the blog will continue to focus primarily on Ella, however you'll begin to notice that it will now include pictures of family and friends in Ella's life, as well as important events, milestones, holidays, etc. We will attempt a family tree, however the formatting options are limited.

Earlier this week, Ella showed us that she can grasp toys and start bringing them towards her mouth. According to our visit with the Parents As Teachers, this is a skill that's developed between 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 months of age (Ella is approximately 2 months adjusted age). Looks like Ella is right on track with wanting to eat her toys. Look at that neck strength & head control!



Ella has also started sleeping 6 consecutive hours at night too. This is much appreciated by Mom & Dad, although Mom typically still sleeps lightly with Ella's little grunts in her sleep.

Nacktarsch!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

"Woo hoo! I love parades!", exclaimed Ella. Mom and Dad took Ella to her first parade in Dogtown today to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. It was a nice 60-degree sunny Spring-like day, perfect for a stroll. The parade was ridiculously crowded so we only stayed for a short while, and then hiked back to the car. The people-watching was fabulous.

After the parade, Mom and Dad secured a daycare spot for Miss E! This was a huge relief for Mom. She finally found someone she was comfortable with taking care of her sweet baby girl (after visiting about 5 other places). The daycare is located in Kirkwood and was recommended by a co-worker. It's a great mix of comfy home environment with a focus on development, and it's tax deductible. Those three items were a tough mix to find. I suppose the Luck of the Irish was on our side.

Furry Friends

Shiloh, the Protector


Tiger, the Cuddler

Photo shoots

Yesterday, Ella had a girls day out with the Bauwens family. She visited her 93-year old Great, Great Aunt Clara - the sister of Ella Schnurbusch, whom our little Miss Ella was named after. It was a pretty neat trip to Delmar Gardens, and amazing to see how spunky Clara still is. She played the harmonica for us and was very concerned about wearing a jacket that didn't match in the pictures. ; )



Unrelated, Mom dressed Ella in her denim dress and pink tights today (first time wearing tights! They were a bit too big.) Here are a few of her goofy faces. She's such a ham.

Smiley Girl

Ella has become much more interactive these last few days. She smiles a lot, especially in the morning after a good night's sleep and a clean diaper, and responds to Mom and Dad's voices. She is also starting to coo when she's lying on her playmat kicking her legs and flailing her arms. I guess she is talking to her toys. It's very cute.

Here is a short video clip showing her smiles. I haven't yet captured her coos. She is such a happy baby.

Recent Photos

Ella's 4-month birthday! She celebrated with milk formula.


Ella's first stroller outing, on the Hill with Mom and Dad on a sunny day just before Spring. Visited Shaw Coffee, Missouri Baking Company to get cannolis and pizza dough, and Volpi to get fresh pizza ingredients.




















'Hanging at Home' photos

The blog is back!

We're back. After further consideration, we've decided to continue with Ella's blog. A co-worker of mine told me about this cool feature where you can turn your online blog into a printed coffee-table book with a click of a button! Tim and I thought this would be a great memory book for Ella and have committed to continuing it to capture all of Ella's milestones during the first year.

So let me quickly get you up to speed on the first 3 weeks at home.

1. Doctors, doctors, doctors. Did I say 'doctors'? Ella has doctor appointments (or in-home nurse visits) 3-5 times per week. Ella is seeing a physical therapist, dietitian, nurse coordinator, First Steps coordinator, GI doctor, Parents As Teachers, Neonatologist follow-ups, and oh yeah, a regular pediatrician. Although it gets to be a bit much at times, it's just become part of our routine (and gives me an excuse to get out of the house).

Ella continues to gain weight, although at a slower pace than the doctors would prefer. Ella is currently at 9 lbs, 4 oz (and 21 1/4") and the docs would prefer she gain 1 oz per day (which would have put her around 9 lbs, 10 oz; up 1 pound since leaving hospital). Oh well, the point is that she is headed in the right direction and we need to ensure she eats well throughout the day. The GI doctor added a medicine to her lineup, Carafate. Apparently, this is good stuff and should help Ella power through her feeds until she outgrows the reflux. The pediatrician, on the other hand, is not a fan of adding meds (and neither am I).

2. Sleep, eat, poop. This is how the rest of Ella's days are spent. Over the past couple of days though, Ella has really started to be more alert during the days and is interacting with us. She is starting to smile more, coo, and be interested in playtime. She also loves books. Reading to her really captures her attention.

The PT has given us a series of development items to work on in an effort to reduce any delays in development. Ella was assessed as performing as a 2-month in terms of head strength, arms/legs movement and general interactive behaviors. This is good, relative to her 1 month adjusted age. The hope is that within the first year, Ella narrows the gap entirely and there are no signs of prematurity, and the expectation is that within the first 3 years there are no signs. All in all, the PT was pleased with Ella's abilities.

Dad and I are getting more sleep as well. The pediatrician has given the green light to let Ella sleep through the night. We are still experimenting with this schedule and currently we are able to get up to a 6-hour stretch of sleep (if we choose to go to bed when she does - that's been the challenge because I feel like it's my only opportunity to catch up on TV shows!)

3. All in all, life is good. We've truly enjoyed having her home, especially with the nice weather. We've gone on a few outings to grab lunch, met Dad for coffee, took some strolls in the neighborhood and even had a playdate already with "cousin" Emma. I enjoy visitors as well. ; )

I'll post some updated pictures shortly.

Bye Bye Blog

Our little Ella turned 4 months old today! For her birthday, we gave her a Facebook profile! Be sure to 'friend her' for continuing updates via Facebook to learn how she's eating, pooping and eating...exciting stuff, huh?

We felt this was a good time to transition from full story blogs to brief updates. Ella will certainly still remain in touch with all of her fans through emails, phone calls, in-home visits and family events.

Here is her initial profile picture.



We truly appreciate all of the prayers and support needed to get Ella through the NICU and safely home.

Love,
Tim and Stef