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Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Taking a Bottle


Drinking her bottle

Trying to burp!

Worn out after eating!

The big news for the past two days is that Ella is taking a bottle! We are very excited and proud of our girl. She is still taking half of her feedings through her feeding tube but they are alternating every other feeding with giving her a bottle. She is taking 25 cc's which is a little less than an ounce every three hours through her tube and by bottle. It takes her about 30 minutes to take her bottle so it is slow going but she is getting the hang of it! She has some good spit ups every day but the doctors seem pleased that she is tolerating the feedings as well as she is. So, as Ella does well and takes these feedings they will gradually increase the amount until she is on full feeds. It's going to take some time but so far she is really working hard at taking her bottles so we know she will have it down in no time. The doctor looked at her wound vac on Monday and said that he is seeing some progress as far as her incision coming together a little so that is good news. More than likely she will have the wound vac on for awhile but they are checking it twice a week to see what changes are occurring. So far so good! They did tell us yesterday that Ella has a hernia caused by trying to get everything back in her abdomen from her omphalocele surgery. Apparently this is common and is to be expected but we did not know about it until yesterday so it was a little bit of a surprise. It's not necessarily a big deal in the grand scheme of things, it just means another surgery later down the road to repair it. Even though it's not a big deal, anything extra like that right now feels like a big deal to her mommy and daddy. We are just trying to take one day at a time and focus on the fact that she is doing so great considering all she has been through.


Ella weighs 5 pounds now so she is a big girl! She is so sweet and the nurses all say that she is very laid back. She loves to suck on her passy and listen to her little rainforest mobile. It puts her right to sleep. We are so thankful that she is content and doesn't seem to be in pain. We know it is because of all the prayers being prayed over her for peace and healing. Thank you for your continued faithfulness in praying for little Ella. She is doing so well but still has a long road ahead so keep the prayers coming. You all are such a blessing to our family!

Love, Rick, Amy, Eva and Ella


17 comments:

Calista said...

Oh I couldn't help but cry seeing her take the bottle. I know this was a big day for her and I'm so proud of her. Way to go little girl!! She is such a little fighter so we better watch out, I know she's going to continue to amazes us.

Anonymous said...

I'm so proud of little Ella! She looks great. Give her a kiss for us. I just love her little face in that second picture! She's so sweet.

Summer said...

What a big girl - I'm so proud of her! I was just wondering today if she had started taking a bottle yet, and lo & behold! :-) We love you guys and think of you daily...we are here if you need ANYTHING!

Mere Ware said...

She is so stinkin cute!! I love those sweet eyes. And I can only hope that she has great hair like Eva did (and still does!) In fact, I am pretty sure that at 2 weeks old and only 5 pounds Ella has considerably more hair than Blake who is almost nine months old.
What an amazing journey this little girl is on so far! She is such a blessing!!

The Speck family said...

What a precious baby girl~ I just love that burp pic. I am soooo thrilled that she is eating so well~ that is huge guys! We continue to pray for and think about you guys all the time. Hugs, Kelly S.

Anonymous said...

Good girl Ella !!! She is the most precious little girl. I am so glad she is tolerating her feedings and getting stronger by the day. Keep up the good work precious baby girl. I hope mom and dad are holding up well. I love you all very much.

Steve said...

Ella looks great! We can't wait to meet her! We continue to pray for her progress and for you and Rick too. Hospital life is hard. . . but we know that God will lift you up each day with renewed strength.
Our love, Steve and Marsha

Jodi said...

Way to go, Ella! Keep up the great work! And hang in there Mommy and Daddy... those little setbacks have got to be hard. But you are loved and prayed over!

LYN said...

Awesome report...our God....he is awesome!! LYN

Anonymous said...

Those are the sweetest photos. Thank you so much for being so willing to share with all of your friends.

Love you,
Suzie

Unknown said...

Loved seeing you today! I am so proud of Miss Ella and that bottle! God is already working in and through her in a mighty way! Love you bunches!
Hugs!

Kendra said...

So thankful that she is doing well and making progress . . .she is the most precious, beautiful little baby girl!! I love how the Lord answers prayers and blesses even little newborns with just the right personality to best suit the demands of the body - laid back when you need to rest and be healed - He is good!

karson said...

Amy, Ella is such a doll! Just wanted to let you know that I am praying for your sweet family. Thanks for the updates.

Anonymous said...

She is soooo precious!! What a warrior she is! I am continually amazed by God's faithfulness. Praise HIM for the blessing of a perfect baby girl! Love you all!!

Macy said...

She is just beautiful. Her eyes are mesmerizing. So glad she is doing so well.

Brittany said...

She is absolutely beautiful!!! I can't WAIT to cuddle her. We are continuing to lift you all up in our prayers and we love you so dearly. We can't wait for us all to get back to Small Group so we can get back to our sweet fellowship.

amber dayton said...

She is precious! Just wanted to let you know that we are continually praying for all of you - for God's total peace & for amazing healing for Ella. We love the updates & of course, the pictures - what a doll!