Day 9

Day 9 in the NICU. It seems Evie's bath yesterday really helped speed some things along. She is really shedding today and I am anxious to see tomorrow's progress. We were able to hold her tonight and I fed her, she drank 22 mL from me! Her minimum is now up to 50 mL per feeding so she drank half from me and half from a bottle. She has been very calm and content in her jungle-like isolette. They have turned her humidity down slowly over the past few days and she seems to be tolerating it well. Today it is set at 70 % humidity. Before her evening feeding she was wide awake, making faces and staring at me. I talked to her through the glass of her isolette and she smiled big cheeky smiles up at me. I could see her dimple. :)

Tomorrow she gets her bilirubin checked again. I am prayerful that her numbers are okay, I'd like to avoid the bilirubin lights if we could. Those lights and her skin might be tricky. Please pray for good numbers. She will also get another bath tomorrow.

Ford is still on break from MSU as well as teaching. Thank goodness. It has been so nice having him free during this whole ordeal. He gets up every morning and heads right to the hospital with milk for Evie. I join him later after spending the morning with Amelia and we come home around dinner/bed time to be with Amelia. As soon as she's asleep, he heads back up the hospital to be with Evie. He has been amazing through all of this and has had nothing on his mind but caring for his girls, all three of us. We are so blessed. I am so grateful.

Please continue to pray for Evie's complete healing. I know I ask this every time I post, but prayers are what we need above all else. Thank you and love to you all.

Day 8 - Happy New Year

Today Evie is 8 days old. Day 8 in the NICU. Her blood work came back with good results. Hematocrit and hemoglobin levels went up and her electrolytes were fine. Her bilirubin is a little high, but nothing to be alarmed about. She is eating like a champ and maintains her weight around 6 lbs and 14 oz. I've been able to try to nurse her twice, the first time successfully and the second she was just too sleepy. She continues to get breast milk as I pump every 3 hours! Brings me back 3 1/2 years...I pump, Ford makes the milk run. :)

The membrane around her eyes, mouth and ears has begun to crack and peel. She had her first "bath" today, which consisted of being wiped down with some purified water. Some of it she enjoyed and some she didn't.

Overall she is doing well and is following suit with her sister's progress. The waiting is hard. The hardest. Please continue to pray for her membrane to shed and reveal beautiful healthy skin underneath.

Amelia is handling it all so well. She has spent lots and lots of time with my parents, my sister and her cousins this past week. I've been so proud of how mature she's been, she just seems to be just taking it all in stride. She's had four "sleepovers" at Grandma and Grandpa Loto's house and handled the separation beautifully. Knowing she is happy has made this whole NICU ordeal so much easier. She is sooo excited to have a baby sister. I can't wait for the two of them to finally meet.

Thank you for your prayers.

Merry Christmas Evelyn Frances Turrell

Welcome to baby sister Evelyn Frances Turrell!

Born: December 25, 2010

Time: 8:17 am

Weight: 7 lbs 1 oz

Length: 19. 29 inches

Beautiful little Evie, born 4 weeks early, is in the NICU since birth with the same skin condition big sister Amelia was born with. We will be posting her progress here. Check back for updates and please, please pray for Evie's complete healing and good health.

It is a bittersweet New Year's Eve as I sit on the couch updating this blog as Amelia sleeps...while Ford rings in the New Year in the NICU with sweet baby Evie. But we are thankful, hopeful, and faithful. Here's to a healthy and happy 2011. God is good!

Country Roots

My Nashville born baby. Though Amelia's memories of living in Nashville are fading, if not sadly erased from her memory, Ford and I still talk to her about our life there. For example, when we see a country music star on television or hear a country song on the radio (I might point out we are not huge country music fans), we usually point out that the person singing lives in Nashville, where we used to live. She nods and listens intently. Tonight we flipped to the GAC station where a few Nashville stars were singing at the Ryman Auditorium...the original Grand Ole Opry. She wanted me to stop flipping so she could watch, well, mostly to check out the sparkly dresses. Rodney Atkins came on and she immediately jumped up and said..."Dad, he sounds like you!" Not sure how to take that, since Ford has never written or sung country music, he just laughed. She was then quick to point out..."and he's singing about beavers!" Well, there you go, Ford Turrell couldn't be any more like Rodney Atkins. :)
Listening to Carrie Underwood next, Ford pointed out that if he had written that song she was singing then we would be "rich." Amelia understanding only one context of this word, looks at him puzzled and said, "we'd be sweet, Dad?"
Yup, we'd be sweet.

My Neighbor

It has been a long week...wait...a long few months of illness around this house. Seems pre-school has introduced us to several new viruses and Miss Amelia has caught them all. The latest...she was home with me this whole week trying to lick a sinus infection. So sad. Especially sad in the mornings when she would wake up, eyes crusted with green gook, hoarse voice, stuffed up nose, cough and a warm forehead. Every morning, she'd crawl into our bed to snuggle, and cough, and cough some more...

Yesterday Ford was up getting ready for work and school while she and I snuggled. Since we were both awake, he came in before he left to say goodbye and give her a kiss. It was still fairly dark, but of course Amelia, regardless of her feverish, stuffed up and so sad state, noticed what he was wearing...khaki pants, a white button-down shirt and a gray cardigan sweater.

She quietly said, "Goodbye, Dad" and then as he walked away, she very seriously whispered to me...

"Mom, do you think Dad's friends and teachers will think he's Mr. Rogers?"

Halloween Treats

Pumpkin Patch

Ford carved a kitty! I am so proud of his artistic skills this year.

Treat for Amelia's first ever school Halloween party!

I know my blog posts have been very few and far between. A lot happening in the Turrell household these days. Hoping to catch up on this blog soon. But for now...a few pictures of pre-Halloween fun!

I'm Eighteen

Amelia and Ford came in from playing outside for dinner tonight.

Ford: "Did you know Amelia is eighteen?"

Me: "No I didn't! You're eighteen, Amelia?"

Amelia: "Yes!"

She begins to list her reasons that she came up with while playing outside...

Amelia: "My feet can touch the ground when I swing...I can skip and hop...and I can watch for cars! I'm eighteen!"