Splish Splash Ellah is Taking a Bath!

We have a piggy on our hands, yepper doodles, Miss Ellah Grace Taylor is weighing in at a whopping 5lbs 3.8oz....she gained 2.8 oz just today and she even pooped. The nurse told us that is amazing, since she performed such a large duty and still gained that much. She has now moved to a 2 breast and 2 bottle feedings a day. She is just doing fabulous, we have surely been blessed. We are hoping to go home soon. It will be so nice to be at OUR home and just relax with our bundle of joy.

So today Daddy gave Ellah her first bath, our stinky little girl needed one. Those large feet of hers were getting a little stinky, like Daddy. She loved it, just relaxed, very relaxed, in fact she just let it all come out, luckily it was towards the end of her bath.

Alla Hjartans Dag

Happy Valentines Day!!
For a little catch-up, Ellah is doing fantastic, she's graduated from the big bulky incubator to a sleek, new, big-girl crib that's open. She also gets to wear clothes now. When we first went in to see her with clothes on the nurse had put newborn clothes on her and it looked as if she was wearing a big ol' tent. It was pretty funny lookin' (she gets that from her mom). She's also doing pretty well on her bottle/breast feedings. She doesn't get to try very often though as it tires her out quite a bit. She does take about half the amount of her food through the bottle or breast, so she just need to build up her endurance. She gets 1 bottle and 1 breast feeding a day, when she gets better at it we'll move up to 2 and 2, then start doing more breat feeding then bottle and so on and so forth. All in all she's doing wonderfully, we're pretty much just waiting for her to get stronger and better at eating. We'll see how long it takes her to learn it. Well, we'd like to thank you all for your continued support and prayers, we really appreciate it. We love you all.

Happy One Week Birthday Baby Girl!!!

Ellah is now one week old and doing FANTASTIC!! The nurses are always so happy and surprised with her progress, as well as her mommy and daddy!! She is becoming more alert each and every day, it is so amazing. It is usually when we are just showing up and well of course I think it is because we tell her we will be back and so she wakes up just for us...but I am sure it is just coinsidence. She came off her IV and BILI Light, eating more and guess what....SHE IS BREASTFEEDING!!! Oh my goodness, that made me the happiest mom in the world. The nurses had told us and we have seen all the signs of breastfeeding and they were really surprised because usually preemies do not show so early and of course not feed so early. Well last night we tried a little and she took but was really tired and so today we came at feeding time and she latched on like white on rice, like peanut butter to jelly....oh is was simply fantastic!! I told Miah she reminded me of the Hungry Hungry Hippo game, she opened her mouth wide and just attacked, it was funny, even the nurses were laughing. Because she is so small, it tired her out and so we work our way up with just one breastfeed a day, it is great.

I am guessing everyone is wondering why there is a picture of a finger, well look a little closer and you will see a small and cute little booger on Miah's finger. Last night Miah was holding her and found her first little booger and was so proud, he picked it and asked if we should keep it. What a proud and great father he is. So we chose to just take a picture instead, hahaha.

Another trait that we have found is her gas...she is definetly our baby. Miah was holding her once and she just let one slip and I could of mistaken hers for Miah's, once again, we are so proud!! I am doing good too, I am doing more for myself, like putting on my shoes and socks, going to the bathroom all by myself and of course Miah is telling me what a big girl I am by doing all these things, making me laugh which is still such a weird feeling. But we are hoping Ellah continues to grow strong and that her progress continues to increase day to day. We love all the care she is getting but we are ready to bring her home and start our family like at our HOME. Hope everyone is having a great day!!

Thanks...

We were out very late last night with Ellah, till about 12:30am, it is just so hard to leave her. Just a quick note though...she is once again doing great and for me, I can bend over and touch the ground...I love it. Darn bladder is back to normal though, going to the bathroom all the time again, bummer. The Hickle House is so nice, they have a weight room, which Miah enjoys, the kitchen has everything from a snowcone maker to a Kitchen Aide and they even have making ingredients. It is such a wonderful blessing to us. Jenn...thank you thank you and thank you for the advice on the blanket. I asked last night if we were able to do that and they said, we actually have supplies for you to start right now. So while we held Ellah, she was wrapped in a little blanket and I was wrapped in one, then we left it there for her and took ours with us. I just keep smelling it, sounds creepy but I love the smell of her and well I am using it to help with pumping too. Jenn you are amazing, you have always been there throughout this pregnancy with some of the best advice. Well we are trying to get everything organized today so I'd better go....

Today was a great day. We were dismissed from the hospital, and put up to stay in the Hickle house, which is right behind the hospital so we can be as close to Ellah as possible. Enough about us... Ellah is doing simply fantastic. Each day she improves by leaps and bounds. She is able to go without the high pressure air flow and is fitted with a smaller one that is only on when she needs it. She is eating more everytime and challenging Mom to get enough milk pumped for her, apparently she got daddy's appetite. She has also started to gain weight daily instead of losing that initial weight. An even better sign of her maturing is when we hold her, as she's being fed through the tube, we put the pacifier in her mouth and she just goes to town on it, imitating of course breast feeding. She's so much ahead of the game it's not funny. Already we're the proudest parents in the world!!!

L...O...V...E

L...is for the way she looks to us!!
O...is for the only one we see!!
V...she is very, very extraordinary!!
E...even more than anyone we can adore!!

Well it has been quite sometime since I have written in here, so here it goes. I am the happiest person on the face of this earth and I owe it all to the most amazing husband Jeremiah and the most b-e-a-utiful little girl Ellah. I will have to say something about pregnancy before I fill you in on a few things....I am way disappointed with it. Not with everything, I know I had an extremely rough pregnancy and everyone should not be this way, if I get all these health problems taken care of but goodness....I was so looking forward to those wonderful cravings...I wanted to crave that humburger and maybe a huge roast or maybe some onion rings but no way, I didn't crave anything but gummy bears and I wasn't able to really eat anything, sick to my stomach all the time, man was I bummed out!!
Well as you might all know I had to have a c-section basically decided less than 24 hrs before she was born. She was breach but after everything that had been happening, Dr. Richey decided to not chance it and risk taking her "normal". I was actually perfectly happy going with the c-section because I just wanted her to be safe and in the doctor's hands as soon as possible. I remeber being prepped and feeling like a lost soul, they didn't allow Jeremiah back just yet and I was up on the table, freezing and shaking as they are about to perform the spinal tap and finally I feel warmth, the spinal tap is working and it didn't even hurt and then I see Jeremiah, I was so happy to see him and hold his hand. Well I won't go into details on the surgery but the moment she came out, they quickly lifted her over the curtain and she let out this little cry and then they took her away and I looked at Jeremiah and a tear came out, we were a family!!! I don't remember a lot about the next 24 hrs, I was as they say "hanging out on cloud 9" or somewhere nice. I remember a few things, the nurse in the recovery room making me very angry, trying to push my drug button and not having it in my hand and loving the catheder due to not having to get up all the time to use the bathroom. I do remember coming off the magnesium and being very out of it and wondering if I really had a child.
Well I was forced to get out of bed and that was by far the most difficult thing I have ever experienced, the nurse was losing patience with me but I did not care, she had never had a c-section and so she could not talk. Anyway, recovery has been very tough but wanting to see my little girl has been the best thing for me. I have to get out of bed, walk down the hall and down to the NICU, that is a lot of effort and she means the world to me. I was told to keep getting up and moving and then yesterday I was told to rest because I was over doing it, goodness they confuse me!! The most painful part of recovery is yes, the GAS!! Oh my goodness, I have never had problems with passing gas, if you all know me well and these past few days I have been in pure pain because of it. But due to some wonderful procedures and medication it has been cured....we won't go into those options though.
One of the first times I remember seeing Ellah in the NICU I cried...I can't explain the feelings that went through me and all the emotions. She was beautiful and perfect...how happy I was she was okay. The bad part was, I tried to supress my tears and that hurt my stomach like no other so I cried even more due to the pain....crazy red head!! My milk is coming in great, its wonderful. She is eating my milk and loving life. Last night Jeremiah and I was able to perform what they call kangaroo care...skin to skin contact...pure bliss. We were able to hold out little girl in a closed off space, skin to skin, feeling our heart beat and smelling the smell of our skin...we went in there and she was awake, she looked right at us and knew right away, her mommy and daddy were there. I still cry almost every time we see her, especially when I see Jeremiah hold her. Being a mom is great and the best present in the world....it has only just started!! I am in love with my family!!

She's awake. She's awake!! We took a walk down to see Ellah last night and she was just lying there eyes open looking at the world. When we walked in she fixed her eyes on us, like she knew who we were. We got to hold her and do this kangaroo care thingy where we hold her skin to skin. It was fantastic!

She's doing really well. They've turned down the air flow to her lungs from 3 liters to 1.5 in the few days she's been here. She's digesting pretty much all of the milk she's getting, and she's eating only mommy's milk now. She's just doing great. Michelle's able to get up and move more like a granny of caffiene as oppossed to a sleepy one. She can get up and down by herself now, and i don't have to help her go to the bathroom anymore. We're getting ready to get out of here on sunday and move over to the hickle house. It's a part of the hospital, more like a hotel, where we can stay to keep close to Ellah. So we'll see how that ship sails when it gets here.

Other then that we're doing just dandy. Almost getting sick of the Hospital life though, but we'll make it through.

Here she is again!

Sizing her up

Ok, the results are in. Ellah Grace Taylor is 4 lbs. 14 oz. she is 17.5 in long, and little belly is 26 cm in girth. And she's officially the CUTEST little girl ever born, even with tubes and things flying every which way. Michelle is still doing alright. She's pretty loopy right now, drifting in and out of conscienceness. When she comes back to reality she seems to be stuck in a story or movie that i've never heard of because she's usually saying some kind of mumbo jumbo that no one understands. Amuzing, yes, borderline frustrating, perhaps, mostly amuzing. Being on all of these meds brought to pass the first time that she's really snapped at me. Like a turtle. NO seriously, i was a little shoked to be honest, but all is well as she proceded to talk about some girl named Sue she flew around the world with. Easy to brush things off at that point.
All is well for now and are only expected to get better. Hope all is well with all of you.
The Taylors.

Well, here she is. The wait is over! This morning the journey began at about 6:20. A nurse came in to help get Michelle all prepped and ready to go. She was hooked up to test her blood pressure and Ellah's heart rate before everything went down. Then it seemed like everyone and their dog came in to give us some info or advice, as if everything wasn't stressful enough. Eventually we got the room packed up and shipped down to the Mother Baby rooms before the procedure took place. Once everything was ready to go, she got wheeled in through the big scary security locked doors where I couldn't follow, just yet. She went to get a spinal tap and a cathader placed, (which she now thuroughly enojoys because she doesn't have to get up to go all the time now). After a super nervous nurse came to take me back for the surgery, I walked into a room buzzing with people. Our doctor looking at my wife's belly covered with a yellow plastic-type material, proabably to protect her. The rest of her seemed to be swallowed in a sea of blue tissue-like paper and towels. Once on the other side of the huge blue barrier of sheets, towels, and tissue, i saw my Michelle's head sticking out of the blue mess as if straining for air. She was pretty much out of it, but completely aware and nervous for what was going on- as any mother would be. The whole thing took about 8 minutes, and at 7:54 Ellah Grace Taylor showed her precious little face over that big wall of blue nothing that faded away as the only thing in this world that mattered, Ellah. Oh and how beautiful she is. She was quickly passed through the window to the NICU to make sure she was able to breathe on her own. After Michelle was sewn back up i was able to go to see Ellah as she placed on moniters and got an iv, having tubes placed in her lungs and stomach, some medicine pressed into her lung to help them absorb oxygen better. During all of these pokes, pushes and draws, i was looking at the most beautiful thing I'd every seen. My baby girl. She's doing great. There aren't any complications, beyond the coming early ones. So, basically she has to learn to eat on her own, without any helping from tubes, beathe on her one without extra oxygen, and maintain her body temperature. The table-side dr. said that usually babies at 37 weeks reach all of the criteria, but some as early as 36,37. So we could be hear as little as 2 weeks or over a month. Either way, we get to go in and see her at any time. We have these cool little wrist bands that let us ''get through the gates''.

Everything is going great, we're just back to the waiting game. Thanks to everyone who's come in to visit, sent cards, and kept us in your prayers. We really appreciate it.

Sleepless in Providence

I tell ya with the sinus infection, strange place to sleep in, inducing tomorrow and headaches...there is no room for sleep. I fell asleep fast last night but woke up just hours later and couldn't fall back asleep. After finally doing so at about 3am, I heard loud knocking on the door and for a moment thought it was a dream and then it became louder, gosh darn her, the tech who checks my vitals opens the door and asks if I am sleeping? Hmmm, well I was. All she had to do was change the ice in my 24 hr urine box, yeah sorry gross but hey it has to be done. I was not a happy camper. Anyway, I somehow drifted back off to sleep. I woke early with a rather large headache and didn't want to wake Miah, so I went and took a nice cold shower....Miah is still sleeping...lucky!! Anyway, I am anxiously waiting for my breakfast and then maybe I'll try an lay down for a bit. Hope everyone has a good day!!

Less than 48 hours....

Well good news everyone...Wednesday morning they will be inducing me, just shy of 34 weeks. It has been just a day or so since I wrote last, just to catch ya'll up. We watched the SuperBowl on Sunday, Miah wanted the Cardinals and so I really did not care much but went for the Steelers, hahaha good thing we didn't make a bet. The rest of the weekend was pretty much same ole'. My doctor came back from London today and so she came in and welp decided it was time. They have steadied my blood pressure which is really important and what they wanted. But slowly other symptoms are coming along and she decided before it gets out of hand, she wants to get Ellah out.
The moment I found that out, I became a mom. It hit me, I went from trying to keep my body healthy to not caring so much about myself, rather caring about our little girl. All these emotions went running through my body, like I have never thought they could have. Right as I was beginning to understand patience and letting her stay in my incubator a little longer, it is time to take her on out and welcome her into this world. I almost went straight into a panic, will she be okay, will she be able to breathe, all those crazy questions....I remembered a blessing I was given right before I was sent up here and it gave me the confidence. Trust in my doctors because they know what they are doing and everything will be just fine. I also called my sister Averie and she reminded me that she would not do anything to harm and this is what she does everyday...just like when I go into a surgery at the dental office, I have no worries, I do it everyday and the Doctor I work for is great and has my full trust....I am blessed with a wonderful doctor here and am so thankful for that.
We went for our daily BPP and well Ellah is fully ready to come out, she is head down and pushing a lot. They still hook me up on the monitor and I am contracting a lot more and quite often, so Dr. Ritchie just said let her contract and go into labor....darn her, I hate being on the monitor. But my body is ready and well I am getting there. I asked the nurse this morning if Ellah will still have Lanugo (the tiny hairs that keep her warm inside) and she will...they shed that at about 36 or so weeks....Jeremiah was disgusted. But I just laughed because I know he'll fall in love right away.
I haven't been able to sleep very well the last few days and instead of staying in bed, I went and hungout with the night shift nurses, they really are great. I had a great time. They insisted on teaching me how to Knitting....hahaha oh my goodness, I bet you all wish you were a fly on the wall last night. But if not, its okay, they laughed enough for you too. Then of course they were beading too, I had to stop and laugh myself....
I am not going to lie, I am very nervous about Wednesday and ask everyone to keep Jeremiah, Ellah and I in your prayers,we would appreciate it so much. Hoping she stays head down and for a pleasant delivery, hahaha, ya know what I mean. Lots of love....