Ellis Is Three Weeks Old!

Ellis is celebrating her three week birthday in her new private hospital room! Up until now she has been in one of the large "pods" with 5 or 6 other babies and lots of commotion. It has been hard for her to rest at times because of other babies crying, people moving through all the time, alarms going off, and lights flashing constantly. But her nurse decided yesterday that she is stable enough now to have her own room, which has turned out to be a gift for us all. She gets to rest in a quiet and dark place, and we get a little couch to nap on, our own restroom, tv, and wifi. Since I am here most of the day and we are both here in the evening, her new room is making a huge difference already in the amount and quality of time we get to spend with her.

Other than an uncomfortable ultrasound yesterday, Ellis has been tolerating her incision much better and is now down to just tylenol. Her speech/swallowing therapist worked with her yesterday as well and is happy with her progress.

We have loved getting cards, emails, visits, and calls from so many of you! Thank you so much for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!

Better Days

Ellis has been feeling better these past couple of days. The pain of her incision seems to be the thing that sets off upsetting chain reactions, so her medications have been adjusted again to keep it all under control. She is still struggling some with the coordination of swallowing and coughing, which is further complicated by a damaged vocal cord. But each day seems a little easier for her, and we continue to pray this part will resolve itself without surgery. She is resting easier now and has had times of being more alert and playful now and then. We have gotten to hold her more each day, and today I got to give her a bath for the first time! She really didn't fuss that much as long as I kept talking to her.

Here's a picture of the clean and sweet smelling baby after her bath. The adorable monogrammed shirt is from Auntie Carrie!

Ellis has some fantastic nurses watching over her. Her night nurse commented that her attentive eyes and facial expressions make her seem aware of what is going on and what is said to her, which is apparently rare for the babies she is used to taking care of. She observed that the best way to calm her down is to get close to her face and talk to her, which is something Greg and I figured out right after she was born. We think she is taking mental notes and will give us all her critique of the situation as soon as her vocabulary gets a little bigger.

Aaarrrggh.

Today was a long day for Ellis and her parents. She is resting easy now and we are thankful for that. It seems the best level of pain medication to be maintained is still under development. Her moments of frenzy and being upset were brief, but seemed like decades to her parents.
We both had a chance to hold Ellis while she napped today and it was great. She's so sweet and nice.
Things have been going so well lately, days like these help us remember that it is a long and steady road to getting on track. The end of the day has us still pointed in the right direction and moving forward.

Pretty Baby

Now that her breathing tube is gone, Ellis can show everyone her pretty face! Here she is napping with her new best friend, Senor Duckyface.

Yesterday we got to hold her for the first time, and once she realized that no one was going to stick her with something sharp again, she calmed down and loved the snuggling. Her grandparents Jan and Russell got to hold her today, and she immediately loved it.

Breathing Tubes are for Sissies...

Ellis had a fantastic day. The scoping of her airway revealed that the tumor had not grown inside of her trachea and that's just swell. The doctors were pleased with the way things looked and removed the breathing tube. Ellis is doing very well without it. We've spent much of the afternoon and evening with her. She's been much more relaxed and sociable without it. Her agitation and awareness of the tube has been growing over the last couple of days and she has tried to remove it for the doctors a couple of times. There are some issues with one of her vocal cords that we'll keep an eye on as she grows. The doctors may have to help out a little when she is older, we'll see.
Since the procedure, Ellis has enjoyed sleeping on her stomach a little and has made new friends with a stuffed duck. We were able to rub her back, which put her right to sleep. We were both also finally able to hold her and it was fantastic.
We are so very blessed

Ellis is two weeks old!

Time is flying by! How is our baby girl already two weeks old? Today she weighs a little over 8 pounds and continues to gain weight as her feeding increases. She has been a little more awake these past couple of days and is even "helping" the nurses do her evaluations by holding some of the instruments. I gave Ellis her first manicure this morning because she was finding ways to scratch her little belly and face, and she seemed to enjoy getting her nails done. She is definitely my girl.
The procedure to determine if her breathing tube can be removed will be tomorrow at 12:45 pm. We would love for her to be rid of it!
Jessica

Thursday Evening Post Script...

The pain medicine levels have been worked out for now and Ellis was having a very good evening when we saw her. She was awake for almost 2 hours and calm. We enjoyed the time to love on her and see her eyes. It was a good way to end the day.

Baby Steps...

Yesterday was a difficult day for Ellis (and me) because her doctors turned down her pain medication significantly. She was upset all day with an elevated heart rate, so by the evening it was apparent that she is not ready for that. Her medicine was adjusted to a higher level again, and now she is resting comfortably. Her incision continues to heal as it should, but it will just take some time. Friday she will have a scope procedure to check out her airway, and if everything looks good her breathing tube can be removed. This will allow her to be more comfortable, and we will get to hear her voice for the first time!
Each day the doctors tell us she is making good progress. We thank everyone for all the cards, flowers, calls, and especially prayers!

Another Good Day...

It is the beginning of another good day for Ellis. She continues to be super tough and improving on track. During this morning's rounds, the surgeons had a whole list of things to take away because she is doing so well. It will be nice to get rid of a few lines and tubes, as well as come off of some of the pain medication. On top of all of that, the feeding tube went back in and she'll be eating the good stuff again soon. It is great that she is doing fantastic and we look forward to her being a bit more active by the end of the day. She had her eyes open and has already been a little wiggly for her dad this morning.
Jessica is getting stronger each day while she recovers too. Hopefully tomorrow's check up goes well and she can start doing cart-wheels and jumping-jacks again.
We are so pleased and blessed with the progress we've all made in the last 11 days. It's amazing how much has happened and the way God has smiled upon us. We are surrounded by a wonderful group for comfort and strength.

Ellis is one week old!

Ellis has accomplished quite a lot in this first week! She continues to recover very well, and her doctors say they are happy with her progress. We are so grateful that she came through her surgery as well as she did. There are still some areas of concern that need to be watched closely, and she does have a long way to go. So we appreciate your continued prayers. But she is definitely on her way to "normal baby stuff," as her surgeon put it. She is still heavily sedated, for rest and to keep her from pulling at her lines. But we look forward to the next week in which most of those should be removed and she will get to be more alert. It won't be long until we are able to hold her for the first time and feed her.
We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and love from all our friends and family. Thank you so much for everything you have done for us.
Jessica

Surgery

Today was exhausting. Surgery lasted 9 hours in addition to pre and post-op steps. It was very tiring for Ellis and all of us in the waiting room. She came through like a champ and is resting easy this evening. Now that the mass has been removed, the surgeons believe it was a lymphatic malformation as opposed to the teratoma we were hoping for. Removing the lymphangioma was harder and there will be some extra steps to go through to get everything the way it should be. The surgeons feel like it was a successful procedure. We'll have to wait and see how she heals and her body recovers to determine the next step.
For now, we are grateful for all of our blessings and the success of the day. Thank you all for the well wishes and prayer. We know it makes a difference.

Surgery Tomorrow

Thank you so much to all of our friends and family for the calls and texts and emails of concern and support. I am feeling better each day but can't believe how much energy it takes just to do the simplest things. Ellis will have surgery Wednesday morning at 11 am, and our surgeons feel pretty good about everything. We are praying that this tumor will be the kind that can be completely removed with one surgery. It will be tested, and we will have results in a couple of weeks that will let us know if more surgeries might be needed.
We look forward to sharing pictures of our beautiful baby girl when she is recovered from her surgery. She is a pretty healthy pink and has black hair and long fingers. :)
We will continue to update as we know more. Thanks again for all the prayers and encouragement. We know God has already blessed her in so many ways we can't count them all.
Jessica

Day 5

It has been a busy day for Ellis. There has been a flurry of pre-op tests and medical staff checking in on things for surgery tomorrow. She has been tough and will surely amaze us all once again. This morning's visit was fun. A few times now she has opened her eyes for us and tracked us while we spoke to her. The nurses agree that she is pretty feisty. Her hands have been more active as she reaches for more and likes to stretch.

Jess has been enjoying the first day of being out of the hospital. We are still searching for the best balance between resting, healing, and visiting the baby. There is little warning as she runs out of energy and hits the wall, but we are learning how to plan around that and it will get better.

We are settling into the Ronald McDonald House. It is a great opportunity for us and a blessing that we have such a nice place to be. It is action packed and there is always something going on. Pretty nice digs. I am sitting in a commons area and enduring my first full episode of Sponge Bob Square Pants. Why do kids like this? I guess I've got the next few years to ponder on that one. I'm sure I only tortured my parents with awesome entertainment and it was easier for them...

Greg

Another Good Day

It's been another good day here in Cinci. Jess continues to mend and push a little further each day walking more and doing more on her own.

It was a fun day to play with Ellis. She is still quite sedated so she won't tug at the breathing tube, but we are finding ways to interact. We spent some time helping her stretch and flex, got to change some diapers, help take a bath and change bedding. She continues to be tough and impress everyone, which is great.

Uncle Grant even called from overseas to check in on things yesterday, which was a special treat. Hopefully tomorrow is another winner. It is possible Jessica is released tomorrow or Tuesday.

Day 2!!!!

Things are looking better and better. The surgeons saw Ellis this morning and like the way things are looking. Surgery is planned for Wednesday afternoon. Jessica is mending nicely. She had the chance to take a very short walk and then another wheel chair ride to visit Ellis. We'll go again this evening after some rest and dinner for both gals. More IVs were removed today and Ellis seems to be more comfortable and happy to put her hands wherever she wants to for a change. Wednesday will be a big day, but there's a lot of time for her to heal and get stronger between now and then. It's been a nice day of good news and kind visitors from Lexington and Paducah. Lucky Us!

Ellis is here!!!

Thursday afternoon Jess complained of some sharp pains when the baby moved. We went to the hospital to check things out on our way home from work and the doctors decided it was go time.

A few quick hours later and the team was assembled and Jessica was in surgery. Jessica's folks got to Cincinnati as surgery was beginning and Mom and Ken arrived later in the evening.

Everything went as planned with no surprises. Ellis was born at 10:30 pm Thursday July 8. She weighs 7 lbs. 3 oz. and is 19 3/4" long. As of now the plan is to remove the mass from her neck some time next week. She has a little help breathing, but is big and strong and the doctors believe she can wait for surgery, which will allow her to get more stable.

Jessica and Ellis are doing great. Both are resting easy and recovering from the big day. Jessica got to see Ellis Friday evening for the first time and it was fantastic.

We've been blessed at every step along the way and are grateful.

We’re in Cincinnati and things continue to be on track. The doctors have set a date and we hope to deliver on July 19, so long as Ellis agrees to wait until then. We’ve settled into the Hope Lodge and are being taken care of by kind folks. All of today’s tests and exams let us know that things are still looking good for mom and baby. We are pleased and so very blessed.
Tomorrow we’ll venture downtown and try to work in the Cinci office. It will be nice to have a little distraction.