Saturday, April 4, 2009

A Quiet Day

Saturday, April 4, 2009 - When Lee and I left the hospital last night, we both had an extreme peace. We had decided to come home for the night since Elle has been stable for a few days. We called several times throughout the night and every time, the night nurse told us that Elle was sleeping soundly and her vitals were good. We called at 6:45am and found out that one of our favorite nurses was taking care of her today. That was a huge load off our shoulders and it afforded us several much needed hours at home taking care of laundry and yard work and normal stuff. We made it up to the hospital around 2:00 this afternoon and found our baby sleeping all curled up. The nurses have all learned that they have to keep Elle's hands close to her body - not only does it calm her down - but she has learned how to pull on all her tubes. If her breathing tube is moved even 1/2 cm she stops breathing - not something anyone wants to deal with. Needless to say - her hands have to stay away from her mouth. Lee and I asked Elle's nurse today to be her primary nurse. This means that whenever she is working, she will be assigned to Elle. She usually only works on the weekends and then one day during the week. We feel so comfortable with this decision. This morning during rounds, the doctors made some big decisions for Miss Elle. They decided to up her feedings even more - when we left this evening - she was back up to 28 cc every 3 hours (this is what she was at when they decided to stop feeding her in preparation for surgery). They also took the IV out of her foot and stopped the antibiotics. She tested negative for any infection. As of right now, her nose surgery is still scheduled for Thursday and then heart surgery will be the week after. We will know more when the surgery teams meet on Monday morning. Estrella, the nurse we had during the day, surprised us by letting me hold Elle this afternoon. It takes a solid 20 minutes to get all the wires situated before Estrella (or any other nurse) can bring Elle to me. I cherish every second I get to hold her in my arms! Since she likes to be wrapped up like a burrito, the only part anyone can see when I am holding her is her little face. She especially likes it when the pillow is all wrapped up around her. She can't be swaddled when she is in her crib - so this is the closest she gets. When the nurses took Elle down for her CT on Friday - they didn't have to sedate her - they just swaddled her and she fell fast asleep! Lee and I are so thankful that today was a peaceful day. We pray that each day is a peaceful day - and our little baby grows stronger and stronger before surgery!

2 comments:

Becky Mc said...

Praising God for your peaceful day. And thanking him that you have a nurse you feel so comfortable with to care for Elle. Also thanking him that she is free of infection. Praying each day for her continued growth and strength.

Crystal Kovar said...

Rob and I have been praying for all three of you each day. Let us know if you need anything. I'm willing to cook, and maybe I can convince Rob to put together a blueberry dutch oven cobbler, hehe. I know you know this, but He gives us only what He knows we can handle. God bless the entire Lupher family.