Halloween and a tiny little pumpkin

My brother and his family came to stay with us for a few days, and help us out, and while here they - plus their friends who live here - took 9 kids to the ice rink. Ian had never been ice skating before but had a great time, and from what I heard, he did pretty well for a first try! These little walker-like things help a lot.

Our ward had a Halloween party Saturday night with a dinner and a trunk-or-treat. Ian really wanted to be a black cat, his grandparents made him the tail.

Fireman Levi

Caleb the ghost

And I couldn't forget Ellie's first Halloween, I made her a little pumpkin hat. While my brother and sister-in-law watched our boys, I spent three days with Ellie at the hospital (and John came for one night). One night she had thrown up, so the nurse had to take off most everything to wash her off, which meant she was wide awake and we could see her almost wire-free! 

The day I got there....notice anything? It's hard to tell since it's mostly white, but she's wearing clothes! They are preemie size, and still big on her, but so cute!

Just relaxing. She's on the CPAP for 8 hours, then a nasal cannula for 4. She's not on any extra oxygen, just room air, but the cannula blows air into her to help her breathe a little easier. All she has is the CPAP or cannula, three leads to monitor her heart rate and breathing, one lead is measuring her temperature (since she's in a heated isolette), and she has an oxygen sensor on her foot. In her mouth is a feeding tube where she's getting 25 calorie milk straight into her stomach. She hasn't had an IV since she was 9 days old. Right now she really just needs to rest and grow. Some hospitals call that a "feeder-grower."

We bought a teddy bear to compare her size with over time. It's about as big as her, only chubbier!

Wide awake. The first day I was with her I got to hold her for about two hours, she slept the whole time. The second day I held her about an hour and she was wide awake for the first few minutes, and made lots of little cooing noises, like she was talking to me.

I was trying to get a good picture of her hair, not sure if you can really tell the color, but it is red!

This was right after she got cleaned up and before another feeding tube was put in (she had pulled it out, along with throwing up all over everything) and her CPAP put back on. She likes to help - help change her diaper (her arms are the right length) and help pull on her tubes and wires. Plus she sticks out her tongue which pushes her feeding tube partway out.

Daddy got to hold her for the first time Saturday.

I've been requested to tell her stats:

Oct 4, birth day:  2 lb 3 oz, 13.5" long, 9.5" head 

Oct 11, 1 week old:  1 lb 12 oz, 13.5" long, 9" head (not sure why her head shrunk, I guess it's the difference in who measures it)

Oct 18, 2 weeks old:  2 lb 0 oz, 13.5" long, 9.25" head

Oct 25, 3 weeks old: 2 lb 3 oz, 14.25" long, 9.75" head

Big (or little) News

The pictures loaded at the top, and I don't feel like figuring out how to put them at the bottom, so here they are....

Ellie at 5 days old, with the CPAP and her sunshades, she's jaundice and has the billilights on her. John's wedding ring is on her left hand, I didn't want to push it on and then have a hard time getting it off over her hand, but it would definitely fit over her arm.

My gloved finger by her arm, they're about the same size.

My gloved hand over her head, it's really small! I was giving her a head rub while the CPAP was off.

All relaxed and sleeping under her sun lamp :)

I have months worth of pictures to catch up on, which may or may not ever happen. So, for now, I'll start with the present. About 5 weeks ago I went to a doctor's appointment in a city 2 hours away, and the doctor said I needed to be admitted to the hospital right then, that I wasn't going home. So, I stayed. I was 23 weeks pregnant and threatening to deliver early and the doctor wanted me to be in the hospital on strict bed rest where I could be monitored. So I laid in bed for 3.5 weeks, reading books, watching lots of TV, crocheting a little. It really wasn't all that bad, kind of boring, but I felt pretty good. My family at home were the ones who had the crazy lives, with John working full time and taking care of kids and everything at home. With help from family and our ward, they made it through.

We were hoping I could stay in bed for a while longer, and one morning the doctor and I were discussing how I was doing well, and could probably make it at least a week or so longer, and start going out of my room on wheelchair rides, but later that evening, at 27 weeks I went into labor and it was best for the baby to come. John made it the 2 hours from home before the baby was born, which was nice! At 1:36 am on October 4, little Eleanor Lois was born - a girl, after all boys! She was 2 pounds 3 ounces, and 13.5 inches long. Her head was about 9.5 inches around, about the size of a baseball. She started off well, being put on CPAP rather than a ventilator.

Even though she was so early, it was best that she came when she did. Her cord was wrapped several times around her body and was causing her heart to decelerate at times, something the doctors had been worried about for several days before she was born; not knowing the cord was around her, but knowing something was happening with the cord to make her heart decelerate.

It's a little tricky to have her 2 hours from home in the hospital, but she's being well taken care of. I'm at home right now and will eventually go there to be near her full time. For now we can help with her "cares" if we're there, which they do every four hours. They take her temperature, change her diaper, rub her with lotion. The rest of the time they let her rest and leave her alone, unless she does something like pull her leads off, which she seems to be good at! In a while, a few weeks, perhaps, we'll be able to hold her and then in about 6 or so weeks she'll be able to try and eat from a bottle. Right now she has a feeding tube and is being fed very small amounts of milk. Her brothers are excited to have a sister, and can't wait for her to come home!