A Few Firsts

Today is Amelia's 5 th full day home. Is it possible to spoil an infant in 5 days? It seems she prefers to be held during naps vs. sleeping in her bassinet. Hmmmm...do you think Grandma and Grandpa had anything to do with that? :)
Speaking of Grandma and Grandpa...Amelia had her first babysitters last night. Ford asked my parents to watch her for a few hours while he took me out to dinner for our 3 year anniversary. How strange and fun it felt to go out to dinner knowing we had a little bundle at home we had to get back to. Surreal parenthood moment.
Another first...first bath today!! We were waiting for her umbilical cord to fall off before placing her in a tub. The lack of humidity at home has slowed down the sloughing process in the areas where the skin was being stubborn so, we thought a bath would help speed this along. It did! We were told water was good for her skin as long as she is well lubricated afterward to seal in moisture. Since being out of her tropical isolette at the hospital, we've noticed some dry skin in her cracks crevices and on her back...these are places that the humidity couldn't reach. We were told she may "slough" again, not like before, more like "flake" from dry skin. They said not to panic, that it's part of the process. Easier said than done, but we are trusting that with each step and each day, she is healing more and more. I wish I could say she loved bath time but I'm afraid she cried the whole time, pooped on her Dad when the bath was over, and then passed out from exhaustion. Maybe next time.
We are adjusting to life with a newborn pretty well. She sometimes sleeps in 5 hour stretches at night usually waking 2 times to eat. She is still sporting a healthy appetite! She likes to snuggle. And she really enjoys doing her homework. (We brought home some black and white images that her nurses hung in her isolette...she loves to stare at them, she's a genius). :)
We have not heard the results from her foot prick checking her electrolyte levels. Hopefully that is a good thing and we'll find out tomorrow. We are confident she is fine, as she drinks like crazy and has plenty of wet dipes! Still, praying for only good news.
We will keep you updated throughout the week. Thank you for your comments. We love hearing from all of you, and we love knowing you are keeping up with our Amelia's progress.
Psalm 103:3
Praying for healing,
Kim, Ford and Amelia

2 Week Check Up

Amelia had her 2 week pediatrician visit today. She's tip top. She weighed in at 10 lbs and measured 21 inches. Big girl! She is in the 95th percentile for weight, 75th for length, and 90th for head circumference. Wow! Everything about her is healthy!! Her doctor told us today that the dermatologist at Vanderbilt (whom we have not met yet) would like her to get weighed as well as have her electrolytes checked weekly, just for a few weeks to be sure she is not getting dehydrated now that she is home. So, we will go to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital's lab to have her little foot pricked so the dermatologist can have access to the results. Although she does not have an appointment until October to see the him, he has offered to meet us next week with the understanding that he won't be able to tell us anything about her condition, or lack there of, by looking at her at this stage. Just a consultation. Although we want to be informed to an extent...let's just say there is still so much anxiety surrounding all of the unknowns. A big lesson in parenthood. All we can do is continue to believe in the power of prayer and God's healing as we take care of her at home. We are overwhelmed with the amount of people who know about her story and have added her to their prayer lists. We have been told that entire congregations and prayer groups are praying for her, plus our family and friends have been spreading the word like crazy. Keep them coming!! Amazing...one little life, so much prayer. We can't tell you what a gift you all are in our lives, in her life.
Love
Kim, Ford and Amelia

She's Home!

Amelia is home! Wow, what a day. We thought we'd never get out of the hospital this morning. But finally, around noon, we pulled up to 1807 Beechwood to find a big "Welcome Home, Amelia" banner and pink ribbons on the tree out front, courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Lotoszinski. They patiently awaited her arrival and then loved her up for hours.

Finally, we can snug our bug in the comfort of our own home. And that's just what we did...all day. Making up for lost time. She was a bit more fussy today than usual. We think she might hate clothes, she's been naked for so long!! :) Her skin is reacting just fine to the open air. We still have the Aquafor and eye drops regime at every feeding. Just part of our routine for a while. We pray that things just get better and better.

It turns out the dermatologist does not need to see her until she is about 2 months old. We scheduled an appointment for October with the option to come earlier if we feel it necessary. There is definitely some anxiety associated with these future visits, but happily we get to just have some time just to adjust to life as a family for a while. Today is a good day. We are definitely sighing a huge sigh of relief now that she is home.
Please continue to pray, pray, pray...for a successful transition from hospital to home, for her continued complete and total healing and for peace.

God is good and we are so thankful.
We love you all very much,
Kim, Ford and Amelia

Homeward Bound

We got news today that Amelia will be able to go home with us tomorrow! The dermatologist paid us a visit, told us she looked great, gave us some pointers for the transition, and said we could leave in the morning. There will of course be follow-up with another dermatologist, hopefully in the coming days, but for right now her condition is stellar. She has just a small amount of the original skin left on her toes and fingertips, and this should dissipate in the next couple of days. The nice folks in the NICU found us a hospital room to stay in for the night, so we are rooming-in with Amelia tonight. She's been moved from the humidified incubator (the humidity was decreased this morning to 50%) to an open-air crib in our room. The maintenance folks checked the humidity on this floor and it was about 45%, so not a big change. Additionally, the nurses talked to someone about getting a humidifier in the room, and so that is currently running.

Amelia is loving her first few hours of freedom, which includes unlimited snuggling with mom and dad, no poking or prodding from strange nurses, and no crying neighbor babies. She is currently asleep (surprise, surprise) in her crib (see picture above), while mom and dad sit and stare at her. I guess we'll just sit here and wait till she needs us or something. We are both feeling really excited at the prospects of getting her home tomorrow, and we're both interested in seeing how she responds to the open air as well as how she responds to wearing clothes (she's basically been naked for two weeks and the NICU t-shirts were a little bit tight on her 9 pound 9 ounce body---it looked like her biceps might bust through at any moment). We'll also be keeping up with the blog in the coming days as things do/do not develop.

Kim and I are very thankful today for so many things. We are thankful for all of you and for all of your support over the last 13 days. It's hard to believe she's two weeks old in a few hours. Please continue to pray for her healing. Healing happens.

All our love-
F, K, and A

August 19, 2007

Today is day 12. It's hard to believe Amelia has been in the NICU for almost two weeks. Life at the hospital has become routine. Luckily we only live about 3 miles away. We make it home for the occasional meal, nap, and to sleep at night. Thank you to everyone who continues to bring us delicious meals. It is so helpful and greatly appreciated!
The doctors have her feeding on demand instead of a feeding schedule of every three hours. Although, she still demands every 3 to 4 hours. :) Last night she weighed in at 9 lbs 4 oz! She continues to grow, the doctors say growth is good for everything! Her "birth skin" is almost completely gone except for some on her scalp, palms of her hands, soles of her feet and some on her back. The doctors have started to decrease her humidity by 10% a day. She is down to 60% today and tolerating it well.
Tomorrow a dermatologist will stop by to take a look at her and talk a little about her care in the days to come. (We will be seeing the Vanderbilt pediatric dermatologist shortly after she is discharged...he cannot visit her here at Baptist). Anticipating these visits are a little nerve racking, all we want to hear are positive things...so please, please pray specifically for a great
visit with the dermatologist, please pray for all of those in charge of her care, and of course her complete and total healing!! We are so thankful for her progress thus far and we so believe in the power of prayer. Again, we cannot thank you enough for praying for our baby.
Love to you all,
Kim, Ford and Amelia

August 17, 2007

Double digits today. Ten days old! Just wanted you all to see a recent photo of Amelia, we took this tonight at our 9:00 pm feeding. Her "birth skin" is not yet completely gone but her face is looking great, look at those eyes!! The rest of her is working very hard. Everyday we get a little closer.
Amelia is growing before our eyes. She weighed in tonight at 9 lbs 3 oz...oh my goodness!
Her NICU doctor (we think she might be an angel), had some very encouraging words for us tonight. She is very positive about what is to come. She even said that she thinks we've been airing on the side of conservative considering Amelia's mild Collodion condition. Great to hear and conservative is fine with us. We know she is getting great care. Next to come...as the membrane continues to slough, she and the dermatologist will be discussing the "step down" process in which Amelia is weaned off of the high humidity. Also, her regime may change a bit, again we are waiting for instruction as they decide. Before the doc left, she looked Amelia over again and actually said that she thinks Amelia might be the sweetest baby she's ever seen. :) We agree. God is great.
Please, please keep the prayers coming, specifically as always, for Amelia's complete and total healing.
We cannot thank you enough for the gift of your prayer.
All our love,
Kim, Ford and Amelia

Word of the day...

Good morning.
Today's word of the day...UNLIMITED.
Here is the story regarding the word of the day verbatim per Ford..."I was standing at the unit putting on her Aquaphor, when one of the NICU nurses approached. She asked how Amelia was doing and said that she saw her when she first came in and that she's looking great. She asked how her new skin was and I told her it looks great now but we would have to wait and see. Then we got to talking about likelihoods and percentages when she said, "you know, some people believe in a higher power and those powers are UNLIMITED (as in not limited by percentages). Then she added, "Sometimes it's hard to remember that in a place like this."
So, keep that word in your minds today and in the days to come, about Amelia but also in your own lives, it's true on so many levels. We know Amelia is being prayed for by so many, even those who don't even know us...I can't tell you how that makes us feel.
God's love and power is UNLIMITED.
Thank you for your prayers.
Love
Kim

Goodnight Amelia

We just tucked Amelia in after our 9pm snuggle-o-rama. She's had a really positive day that started with getting her IV out early this morning. Yeah! The eye infection has definitely subsided and her eyes are now clear and fully functional. She's now looking really peaceful when she sleeps. She weighed in tonight at 9 pounds 1/2 ounce...which means she's averaging a gain of about 3 ounces a day! They haven't measured her but I can also tell she's getting longer. I've noticed her legs especially look longer. She really likes her feet and hands rubbed with the aquaphor and has become so used to it that she actually goes into a trance-like state when you're putting it on in those places. Today she's just a baby being a baby which is a nice change for us to see and be a part of.

Please continue to pray for healing, healing, healing. We can feel the support everyday.

All our love-
F, K, A

One Day At A Time

Another day behind us. The docs say that she's more than likely going to have the IV antibiotics for another couple of days, and will continue getting the eye drop antibiotics for another 4 days or so. Her eyes are looking much improved with every hour. She is still eating extremely well and weighs 8lbs 12 oz as of last night. We haven't yet received the report on tonight's weigh-in, but my guess is that she's probably added a bit in the last 24 hours. Almost to her fighting weight. She is very strong, holds her head up, and tries to push the nurses away when they are giving her drops. She's feisty with the nurses, and a perfect little bug with mom and dad, even when we're the ones putting on the gel...that's the way it should be :)

We were able to get her out of the unit and hold her three times today...mom really likes this time a lot! And I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a big change in me every time I get to hold her close. It's good for us both to have those minutes with her even if it's just 3 short times a day.

The preliminary report is that she might be able to come home early next week, but this is dependent on how quickly and easily her birth skin dissipates. We can't wait to get her back to the house. I don't know if I'll ever put her down once she gets here. Your support, in it's many forms, has really helped to lift our spirits at some timely moments. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your generosity. Right now we're praying for her eyes and skin to continue healing so that we can get her home.

Taking it one day at a time,

All our love---Ford, Kim, and Amelia

August 14, 2007

Amelia's Mommy here. Good news! Thank you for your prayers, they are working! Her eyes have cleared up amazingly well in the last 36 hours since the antibiotic IV. Everyone involved in her care keeps commenting on how well she is doing and how fast she's progressed since her admission to the NICU. Her doctor said today that she is "thrilled" with how well she has done, and how she is beginning to look like a brand new baby! She even got a bit teary. She said her eyes are very sensitive right now as this process continues, making her more susceptible to infection but after the process is over, chances of future infections are just like any other newborn. The IV was placed in her head, a common place for babies so they don't bang it around and knock it loose. It looks so sad...so her favorite nurse made her a crown to cover it. Silly, but it brought a smile and made it less traumatic for me at least. :)
Amelia is doing such great work, the membrane is "sloughing" off around her mouth, eyes, (she was batting her eyelashes today...beautiful) ears, and in all of her creases. The skin underneath is beautiful. The doctor thinks the antibiotics may even be helping her cracked red creases...a nice side effect. Also, she was weighed again tonight. She is up to 8 lbs 12 oz. Piggy!! A nice increase considering she got down to 7 lbs 14 oz from 8 lb 10 oz a few days after birth. She has surpassed her birth weight!! She is so strong and healthy and we are so grateful for that. She is by far the biggest baby in the NICU! Best of all, we got to have our twice a day snuggle time again today. What an amazing and incredible feeling...we cherish every second.

Correction from the last blog: today Amelia is one week old, not yesterday, her original due date is today. This mistake is testament to how this whole thing feels like one long day...I have lost track of time completely. Ford and I slept at home last night for the first time since she was born. It was very, very hard not to bring her home with us, but we were with her for her midnight feeding and got to tuck her in. Ford was up at 5:30 am to run my milk to the hospital and feed her at 6:00 am. She eats every 3 hours like clockwork and we are with her everyday for every feeding except the 3:00 am. Ford hates to leave her side, and today she had him really working while I went home for a rest...on top of the normal regime including her Aquafor massage, temperature check and feeding...she had three poops right in a row...all for Dad.

Thank you to everyone here in Nashville who have provided food for us these last few days. We truly appreciate the generosity. And thank you to everyone near and far for your continued e-mails, comments, calls, support and especially prayers...so powerful. It gives us great comfort to know how much she is loved by so many already and to know so many are praying for her and for us. And so we continue, one day at a time, one minute at at time. We trust God with each day...period.
Please continue to pray specifically for her complete and total healing.
We love you all.
Kim, Ford and Amelia

One week old!

Hey Everyone, it's Amelia's Mommy...hence the pink blog entry. :) Amelia is one week old today. Today is actually her original due date but she surprised us when she decided to come a week early! I just wanted to say hello and thank everyone for the phone calls and e-mails and to let you know how much I appreciate you reaching out. I decided the blog was the best way to respond since we are loved by so many!
First of all, thank you for asking about me. I am healing well. Many of you don't know that I ended up having to have a c-section. I'll spare you the long delivery story. Recovery with a c-section takes a little longer so it's been difficult at times getting around but I am healing quickly and for that I am thankful. The better I feel, the better I can concentrate on my little Amelia.
Onto Amelia...she continues to do well in her warm, moist environment. She eats like a piggy and the nurses can't get over it. She burps and poops like nobody's business too. No problems there. We are encouraged by her appetite, it reassures us that she is like any other newborn, getting stronger and growing. The doctors and nurses are encouraged by her progress. You can see her pretty new skin starting to emerge in certain areas as the membrane dissolves, especially around her mouth and eyes. Because the area around her eyes can be very sensitive during this process, she has developed a double eye infection. I noticed it in one eye last night and the doctor started her on antibiotic ointment. Unfortunately, it has progressed over night into both eyes and the doctor decided to be a little more aggressive with treatment by putting her back on an IV to introduce the antibiotic to her entire system and clear those eyes up as quickly as possible. This is very difficult for us. For one, it is hard to watch our beautiful little bugger go through this when all we want to do is take her home and snug her up. And two, the IV means we cannot hold her today. This is heartbreaking as I live for those two snuggle visits each day. But I know that with each day she is cared for here at the hospital it means we are a little closer to bringing her home.
I know that so many of you are praying for her, we are so thankful and we feel it coming from all over. Today I ask that you specifically pray for her eyes. Please pray that the infection would clear up quickly and totally. I also ask that you just continue to pray for her COMPLETE and TOTAL healing. We feel so blessed that God entrusted us with this beautiful little baby but we never forget that she belongs to Him and with Him all things are possible!
This picture I included was taken on day 6. This is her staring at her Daddy while he sings and talks to her. She's totally a Daddy's girl. I already know it. :)
Love you all,
Kim

Amelia Day 6

Hello Everyone-
If you are new to the blog please start reading from the bottom up so as to catch all the facts.

This picture is from our visit last night----she's such a peanut!

The last couple of days have been very good. Amelia's fluid and mineral levels continue to be consistent and she is sleeping and eating very well. She pooped on me today---which was awesome, and she loves to spend time with mom and dad. She is showing signs of some beautiful new skin under her birth skin. We were supposed to check out yesterday but the wonderful nursing staff found us a room to stay in until they need it. This is just a testament to the very professional and sincere group of individuals caring for Amelia and for Kim. I can't overemphasize how good her care is and how comfortable she is right now. We'll be continuing to watch her progress in the next few days, and I'll try to keep the information flowing out to those who think and pray about our beautiful baby.

Right now we're praying for her continued healing and strength.

All the Best, All our Love-

Ford and Kim

Amelia Day 3

Please read from the bottom up to get all of the information. The first post chronologically is last on this page or on subsequent pages.

After a Collodian is diagnosed it is important to help the child shed that outer covering. This process is encouraged in a warm, moist environment. The incubator that Amelia is currently in can reach a humidity of 98 or 99 percent. Amelia's skin is also being treated with an ointment called Aquafor, and her eyes receive a small amount of gel to prevent them from drying. All of this helps the collodial membrane to begin dissipating, and allows the new, pink skin underneath to be revealed. This is a painfree process for Amelia. In fact she is acting just like any other 3 day old infant, sleeping lots, fussing sometimes, giving us some smiles, opening her big eyes, and eating like crazy.

There is often times, but not always, an underlying skin condition with collodial babies called Ichthyosis. And once again, there are multiple forms of Ichthyosis (close to 30), and each form can appear with varying degree. It will not even be able to be determined if Amelia has ichthyosis until she is 2 or 3 months. Until then she will just have her new, pink skin. However, we have received much reassurance from the dermatologist that if Amelia does appear to have Ichthyosis (because it is possible that she doesn't), it will manifest itself as one of two varieties. Neither of these varieties are life-threatening, physically deforming, mentally altering, etc. They are simply surface skin conditions, much like psoraisis or eczema, that would need to be maintained with a regimen of baths, lotions, or medication. And again they could be as moderate as knee and elbow flakes, or possibly cover a little more of her body. But this may not be determined until she is a year or more old. These varieties don't affect her ability to learn, physically develop, or alter her life-span. Again, IF the Ichthyosis is there it is simply going to manifest itself as a surface condition that can be maintained throughout her life.

Right now she is a healthy, happy little baby and we are enjoying her as such. She is not in pain and is not expected to be. Her I.V. was removed today because her fluid and mineral levels are great. Her blood work was perfect. Right now we are expecting her to be in the humidifier at the hospital for about two weeks. This will give her skin plenty of time to heal in the warm, moist air. The doctors, nurses, and staff at the hospital have been amazing with Kim and I. Everybody around here loves, loves, loves her and thinks she is absolutely beautiful, which of course she is. :)

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers in the coming weeks. Right now we're praying for her healing. We can feel the support already. We also appreciate you relying on us for your flow of information about her condition and not delving into the vast and often times unapplicable world of the internet.

All the Best and All our Love-
Ford and Kim

Yeah! It's Amelia!

Hello Everyone!
As most of you should know by now Amelia Sava Turrell was born on August 7, 2007 at 6:50am. She weighed 8 pounds 10.5 ounces at birth and was 20 inches long. Beautiful! Kim and I were very excited by her arrival and relieved that the labor process was over after 30 or so hours.

Within the first few hours after Amelia's birth we noticed that the skin on her hands and feet had begun to dry and crack. This dryness was soon on most of her little body. 24 hours later a dermatologist diagnosed Amelia as being a Collodian Baby. This term comes with many questions, as we soon found out. Kim and I created this page to help control the flow of information for our 'googling' friends and relatives. There is a lot of information out there about collodian babies, some of which is very scary, and most of which does not apply to Amelia. It is important to us that you all have the right information as it applies to Amelia specifically. We are making this effort in order to keep you informed, reduce your level of anxiety and stress that can come with information overload, and so that you can know specifically what to keep in your thoughts and prayers.

Collodian babys are born with an outer "membrane" of skin that gets very dry and tight in the air outside of mom's warm body. This dryness can become constricting around a baby's face and on other parts of their body, and it can also affect the fluid levels inside of a baby. Once a baby is diagnosed as being a collodian it is then important to be sure the skin remains moist and that the baby's fluids and minerals are at the right levels. For this reason Amelia was put into an incubator that also had a humidifier in it. In the first few hours after her diagnosis she was in the incubator for a period of time and then in our room for a period of time. This however wasn't the best treatment for her because the air outside her little dome was still too drying for her skin. Additionally, she had lost some fluids. So the docs decided to move the little bugger to the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit. This was not as serious as it sounds and many children have to go to the ICU to get fluids after birth. Amelia has been in the ICU since August 9. She is now in an incubator that can create an even more humidified environment and help her collodian membrane to do what it is supposed to do next. This process, as it relates specifically to Amelia, I will explain in the next post.

All the Best,
Ford