Update No. 3...

It's almost midnight on New Year's Eve as I write this.  I am at home with Matthew while Amy is still in the hospital and watching over Ely.  This is the first New Year's eve that I can remember us not being together, so it is a little bit of a lonely night.

Today has been a pretty good day.  Matthew seems to be feeling better. We hope after another night, the antibiotics will have done the heavy lifting and have him on the way to recovery.  He certainly seems in better spirits.

Amy spent some good quality time with Ely tonight in the NICU.  We were encouraged to learn that her feeding tube has been removed, so I am sure that will make her a bit more comfortable.  She seems to be eating well enough from a bottle that the tube was no longer necessary.

Ely had her echocardiogram this afternoon, but it could be a day or more before we get results.  Evaluations are done by doctors at UMC, so it takes a while to get results (which is further slowed by the holiday).  We are praying that it shows nothing out of the ordinary.

Ely is still having an occasional oxygen saturation issue, but the good news is that she is recovering on her on without stimulation.  We are hopeful that this means her body is learning to regulate itself.  By all accounts she appears very healthy, other than the oxygenation issue.

We are hopeful that Amy can come home in the morning as planned.  She hasn't seen matthew since about 2:00 yesterday.  This is the first time she has not been the one to nurse her little boy back to health when sick, so it is certainly eating at her.  Having her home with us, even if Ely can't come home yet, will make things a little more manageable.

Thank you to all for your prayers of healing and for your thoughts and concerns.

Continue to pray for our family.  For Amy, please pray for her quick recovery from the delivery.  Also pray that she will be able to handle the stresses of having two sick baby's one being in the hospital.  For Matthew, please pray for his continued recovery.  Also pray that he will be able to handle with ease the disruption to his schedule that will occur over the next few days as we are back and forth to the hospital to be with Ely.

Brad

Update No. 2...

Today we have been able to visit Ely in NICU to have some more time with her.  To be certain she is getting nutrients, the doctors have had a feeding tube inserted.  She only used it a few times because she is taking from a bottle reasonably well.  Our hope is that the tube will not have to remain for long.  She is also on IV antibiotics in case there is a bacterial infection of any sort.

We were able to speak with the Doctor around lunch time today.  They still do not have a cause for Ely's oxygen saturation problems.  By his account, they suspect it may be a not too uncommon problem called "transition apnea".  This is where the baby has trouble breathing or maintaining oxygen levels on its on while it figures out how to transition from mom breathing for it in the womb to having to do all the work itself.  Out of an abundance of caution, the doctors have ordered lab work and two diagnostic ultrasounds.  The first is an echo cardiogram to rule out any heart issues.  The other is an ultrasound of her head to be sure there are no problems there.  We expect these to be done later today or in the morning.

Update No. 1...

Ely, did reasonably well through the night (December 30), but still had a few episodes.  Amy was finally able to disconnect from her IV lines, get freshened up and go down to NICU to see her baby girl.  She only had a few short minutes with Ely after her birth before she was taken away for monitoring.  Tonight (December 30) she was able to feed Ely, change her diaper and have some bonding time.

All was looking reasonably good as of 11:00 PM.  This morning (December 31) we learned that Ely had had a few episodes during the early hours of the morning.  As of early morning, we have only talked with the nurses regarding her status.

Matthew, while still running low grade fever, seems better this morning as compared to last night.

Just a little background...

To our family and friends, thank you for sharing in the excitement of the birth of our precious little baby girl.  Ely was born on December 30, 2010 at 12:58 PM.  She weight 6 pounds, 7 ounces and was 19.5 inches long.

Many of you may have heard by now that Ely had some complications not long after delivery.  We have been overwhelmed with an outpouring of support from all of our family and friends, both by way of phone calls and by way of text and email.  Today, we have found it not only difficult to remember who we have talked to and who we haven't, but also difficult to remember what we told those that we have talked to.  We get updates regularly and it is hard to spread the word.

As a result, we have setup this blog to keep all of you updated on her progress.  Please check back often for the latest information.

 * * * * * *

That out of the way, let me share our story.  Shortly after birth, and during the transition period, Ely began having trouble regulating her blood oxygen levels.  She gave us a few scares where it appeared she wasn't breathing.  Praise the Lord that our transition nurse (Jesse...who was wonderful) was watching Ely closely during transition and quickly reacted.  After a little oxygen and some stimulation, her Oxygen levels returned to normal.  Ely was fine for the next 40 minutes or so, but as we prepared to leave labor and delivery for the Mother/Baby wing, Ely had another episode.

Rather than complete the in-room transition, the nurse felt it best to take her back to the nursery and have the doctors give her another examination.  While in the well-baby nursery, Ely continued to have episodes where her Oxygen saturation would plummet.  As a result, the medical staff felt it best to hold her in the nursery for a while to monitor her status.

After some time in the nursery with no real improvement, the decision was made to move her to the NICU where there is a much smaller nurse/baby ratio and she could be more closely monitored.

As of late night December 30, we were waiting on updates on her progress and to hear word from her doctors.

 * * * * * *

To further complicate matters, big brother Matthew developed strep throat just a few short hours after Ely's birth.  I took him to the doctor last night (December 30) to get a diagnosis and medicine.  Due to his illness and the NICU restrictions, he is not able to come to the hospital to see Amy or baby Ely until his fever and symptoms subside.

I will post additional information as we have things to share.

Thanks for your love and support.

Love,
Brad, Amy, Matthew and Ely