YouTube Thursdays - 3/31/2022
It's been a wild ride the last several months, and if we seem a bit distracted, it's because it's true. Instead of all the details, we'll give you an abbreviated version. Our pregnant daughter, who lives in Denver, has been on hospital bed rest since the first week in February.
Several weeks ago, her baby decided she was ready to meet mommy face-to-face. Therefore, on March 6th, at 8:25 AM, Ellie Grace was born at the gestational age of 31 weeks. She weighed 3 pounds!
Kelsea, our daughter, wants me (Debb) to come stay for a while once Ellie gets out of the hospital, so we are getting our baby time through videos, photos, and a wonderful TV monitor installed over Ellie's incubator.
It's been a God-send and our entire family has the link - we call it our closed circuit Ellie-vision. It's much better than most of the programming on television. Right now, she's wrapped up in a swaddle and sucking on a pacifier.
They describe the NICU journey for families as a roller coaster. Now, we know why. There are ups and downs, good days, and bad days. An ounce of weight matters, a degree or two in temperature matters. These tiny humans are fragile.
Doctors are working to unravel a mystery as to why Ellie's blood sodium levels are high. Currently she is on diuretics and fluids to stabilize them. The doctors believe she has a rare condition called Diabetes Insipidus, yet blood tests and two MRI's (in her first week of life) ruled out any serious cause or reason. For that, we are so grateful. But, we are left wondering why.
It's even possible she may outgrow it - and hopeful is the direction we're all headed. Therefore, with that mindset, we are hopeful she will be out of the NICU around the first part of May. As you can see in the last photo in the video, she's finally beginning to get a layer of baby fat.
Here's an Ode to our Little Mighty Mouse - Ellie Grace.
Comments(45)