Ellis is Nine Months Old!

Ellis turned nine months old yesterday! We can't believe time is passing so quickly! She is sitting up on her own now and is starting to pull up on us and anything within arm's reach. She is signing more, especially "Daddy," and has three teeth now! We are sure the fourth is on its way. She gets bigger and stronger every day. We have enjoyed some walks outside with the warmer weather, even though this is still a challenge for me to manage by myself with all of her equipment and accessories. We enjoy visits from Amy & the darling B during the day, and an extra set of hands is a big help on those walks! And now that Auntie Ally is near again, we look forward to being more social during the day. This weekend we have also had Grandma Robin and Ken here to help entertain Ellis and what a big help they have been!
Ellis will have several checkups this week, which I am hoping will not be too hard on her (or us). She will see her eye doctor, ENT, pediatrician, and pulmonoligist. At the time, it seemed like a good idea to schedule everything so close together but now I'm not so sure. The visit we are most nervous about is with her ENT surgeon where we will surely be discussing Ellis's trach and what the schedule might be for getting it out. We know we have to be patient and trust God's timing for everything. It will be a great day when Ellis is strong enough to breathe unassisted and we can hear her sweet voice again. We appreciate everyone's prayers for her progress.

Last weekend at Granny Janny and Granddaddy's

Beatrice and Ellis playing charades

Amy says they are discussing the merits of a red bucket in this one. :)

Crankypants!

Ellis has ANOTHER ear infection right now, so she isn't feeling like posing for any new pictures. She's also teething again! She is being a crankypants at times, but is handling it all pretty well overall. We are happy to share some from last week, though, and hope to have some more next week.

Auntie Steph stopped by for a fun visit! Ellis is pointing out that new tooth trying to come in.

The sweet children at church sent Ellis some St. Patrick's Day cards, and she had the best time opening them! Thanks Miss Mary!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! (Last week)

Last weekend Ellis's grandmother Robin came for a visit and they had the best time playing and laughing. Sorry I'm just now sharing the pictures!

Ellis has had a calm week compared to last week, and we are thankful for that. We think she is getting another tooth, so she has been just a tad bit cranky. But we will take that any day over a missing g-tube or a self-removed trach. Oh, did I forget to tell you all about that one? A story for another day. She's fine and I am quickly meeting my quota for little heart attacks.

  



Ellis and her beau Case. What a handsome young man!

Ellis is still too little for her high chair, but she still gets to sit in it to play sometimes.

Here's a little video of Ellis figuring out how to eat her giraffe. Nothing really happens, but I could watch her all day. In fact, I do watch her all day.

"Oh, baby!"

That is what I said in a panic about 11:00 Wednesday night when I was putting Ellis in her crib and realized she was screaming because her g-tube (feeding tube) had just gotten caught on the corner of the crib and popped out. There was about a second of sheer panic, and then I remembered everything we have been taught to do in this situation, which was bound to happen sooner or later. First, I evaluated the damage, grabbed a clean cloth to put over her tummy, then tried to calm her down while I called to Greg in the next room and told him what had happened. We instantly went into emergency mode, something we are unfortunately pretty good at, and with few words began going through the steps of our training. And I felt terrible because I should have been more careful, and Ellis was in pain. I just wanted to hold her and cry, but no time for that.

I will fast forward here to tell you that Ellis is fine now, and she has a bright and shiny new g-tube button to show for her trouble. We spent six and a half hours (!) in the UK emergency department in the middle of the night to get a temporary g-tube, then went back to Pediatric Surgery the next day to get the real one put in. (BTW the UK Emergency Department is one excellent space. ;) ) Ellis cried only when the doctors were working on her and was a perfect angel through the whole ordeal. With a little tylenol and lots of hugs and kisses, Ellis is all better and seems to have forgotten about the incident. This is not the most stressful episode we have had in the last eight months, but it certainly is near the top of the list. Through the many hours of waiting and waiting and waiting the past couple of days I said many prayers of thanks for all the talented doctors, fantastic nurses, and superb therapists who have worked with Ellis and will continue to do so. And also for my very own Mama who came to help us when we needed it most!
Oh, and at Ellis's regular checkup earlier this week, she was 19lbs., 11 ozs. and 27" tall. That's the 85th percentile for weight and 50th for height. Her doctor is happy with her growth in all areas and says we can give her normal formula now instead of the high calorie mix she has been on since she has healed so well from her surgery.

Who needs some happy pictures?

Ellis and Granddaddy Russell

Go Cats!

Kisses From Ellis!

Ellis has been able to blow kisses for quite some time, but only recently has she started doing it when we ask her to. She's also camera shy sometimes, but I managed to catch her at a good time. I don't know why the videos I upload here get smooshed, but I think you can still enjoy the cuteness.

Ellis also waited until she thought I wasn't paying attention anymore to "clean" her own glasses. Such a good little helper.

Tomorrow we will go for another checkup with Ellis's neonatal doctors. We hope they are as impressed with her progress as we are.

Smile!

Ellis is Eight Months Old!

Sorry for long pause, but we have been having quite a week and a half! Poor baby Ellis has had another ear infection and respiratory virus. She is feeling much better now but was pretty pitiful for a while. There have been plenty of sleepless nights for all of us. She has also had another round of shots, and we did make it to her swallow study as well. The video swallow test went pretty well, but just not as great as we had hoped. She is doing very well with purees but is still having difficulty with thin liquids. She aspirated a small amount during the test, but not enough to make her sick. It seems to me that when we give her these things she is handling them much better, but the swallow study gave us more information about those things we can't see. She will now be allowed to have three teaspoons a day of baby food or formula, which is a very small improvement. Any progress is good progress. It's frustrating to see her struggle so much with something that should come naturally, but we have faith that this will get better with time. And in the mean time, we can still motivate her with sweet tastes like candy and fruit.
Ellis turns eight months old tomorrow, and it is always helpful to me to think back to how things were when she was born to realize how great she is doing now. We are so thankful.

Ellis, 3 days old

Ellis, now, studying her toy

Enjoying having her glasses off for a few minutes

Sooooo melodramatic when she is tired! We love her little personality.