HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!
(Pictures of Ellison coming soon)
WELCOME TO THE ADVENTURES OF OUR FAMILY OF 3!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Brown Eyed Girl
We are trying to her on a schedule with naps during the day. Right now she takes a good morning nap. After that it is litlte 30 mins cat naps.
SLEEPY GIRL
BIG GIRL SITTING UP
Ellison just amazes us everyday with the new things she does!
PLAY TIME
She loves to play and has big smiles for us all the time now.
SLEEPY GIRL
BIG GIRL SITTING UP
Ellison just amazes us everyday with the new things she does!
PLAY TIME
She loves to play and has big smiles for us all the time now.
Friday, October 22, 2010
2 Months!!!
(one week late)
Ellison Grace you are 2 months old! You sleep in your bassinet in Mommy and Daddy's room at night, and you try to take naps in your crib.
You weigh about 10.5 pounds and are 21 inches. You eat every 3 hours while you are awake. You wear size one diaper and 0-3 month cloths.
You have been through a lot in the last few weeks. You were in the PICU at DeVos. You had surgery on your throat to correct your obstructed airway. It was the scariest thing Mommy and Daddy have ever been through. We are glad you are doing so well.
This was your little shirt you wore because the gown was to big.
Mommy and Ellison in pre-op. You were so good and just slept.
This is where Mommy slept in your room at night.
Daddy was so excited to hold you.
Here you are in your hospital bed.
View from your room at night.
View during the day.
Little Ellison
Papa, Nana, Ellison and Mommy all cuddling together.
Nana and Ellison :)
You started sleeping through the night! Whoooooooooo! We will put you to bed sometime between 9:30-11:00pm and you will wake up around 5:00-7:00am. Which is wonderful for Mommy and Daddy.
Ellison we are so happy you are healthy now. We love you so much and love watching you grow.
Ellison Grace you are 2 months old! You sleep in your bassinet in Mommy and Daddy's room at night, and you try to take naps in your crib.
You weigh about 10.5 pounds and are 21 inches. You eat every 3 hours while you are awake. You wear size one diaper and 0-3 month cloths.
You have been through a lot in the last few weeks. You were in the PICU at DeVos. You had surgery on your throat to correct your obstructed airway. It was the scariest thing Mommy and Daddy have ever been through. We are glad you are doing so well.
This was your little shirt you wore because the gown was to big.
Mommy and Ellison in pre-op. You were so good and just slept.
This is where Mommy slept in your room at night.
Daddy was so excited to hold you.
Here you are in your hospital bed.
View from your room at night.
View during the day.
Little Ellison
Papa, Nana, Ellison and Mommy all cuddling together.
Nana and Ellison :)
You started sleeping through the night! Whoooooooooo! We will put you to bed sometime between 9:30-11:00pm and you will wake up around 5:00-7:00am. Which is wonderful for Mommy and Daddy.
Ellison we are so happy you are healthy now. We love you so much and love watching you grow.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Mail call
I love to get mail anything except bills and packages those are the best. Here is by far the best package I have ever gotten.
Josh and I got a present in the mail sent from our good friends Tim and Ruthie Hoving!
Guess what it was.....? This is the box it came in!
We were puzzled untill we opened the box and found......
A fresh baked chicago style pizza our favorite!!!!!!!!!
We had no idea that you could overnight a pizza but you can. It was frozen so we thawed it out and baked it that night and it was amazing. The only thing that would have made it better was to be eatting it in Chicago with the Hovings.
Thanks again Tim and Ruthie!!!!
Josh and I got a present in the mail sent from our good friends Tim and Ruthie Hoving!
Guess what it was.....? This is the box it came in!
We were puzzled untill we opened the box and found......
A fresh baked chicago style pizza our favorite!!!!!!!!!
We had no idea that you could overnight a pizza but you can. It was frozen so we thawed it out and baked it that night and it was amazing. The only thing that would have made it better was to be eatting it in Chicago with the Hovings.
Thanks again Tim and Ruthie!!!!
Doing well!
Ellison with her cute "E" socks from Papa he picked them out all by himself!
Such a little model
Here is Ellisons new collection :)
This was her first Giraffi she got from Nana and Papa the day of her surgery. We call her "pinky"
This one she got from Nana and Papa when she came home from the hospital her name is Sophia she came with this name. She sqeaks and ESPN thinks it us for him....this could be a problem.
This one she got the second day when Nana and Papa came to see Ellison at the hospital. She loves all of them.
Ellison and ESPN playing
<;a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiflLxUazbk1hsqLulLUnenv4geMwp_kwZeuRNOhF5Aky5aFNDrcWvlxXZOPFcSse2WFNuH5RqqVCiezSapK2B2sF7C578d9q9Tl79Sm3EsgP5Rw9eP1skhzQkfA1skBv_DS33p4g4FUzIa/s1600/Ellison's+Newborn+Pics+082.JPG">
Ellison's huge blow out...good thing Papa was here to change her ;)
Big girl with her pretty hair bow
New warm hat for fall from Tip Toes! I love it!
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Ellison playing on her play mat at Nana and Papa's house.
Ellison's huge blow out...good thing Papa was here to change her ;)
Big girl with her pretty hair bow
New warm hat for fall from Tip Toes! I love it!
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Ellison playing on her play mat at Nana and Papa's house.
We have been home now for two weeks and Ellison is doing great! She is sleeping so much better at night which is a huge blessing for all 3 of us! She is eatting really well too. We can't thank Dr. A enough for helping out little girl. We have a follow up appt with him next week and are excited to tell him how well Ellison is doing.
Thank you for all your prayers.
Thank you for all your prayers.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
WE ARE HOME!!!
Our sweet baby
Ellison swollen after she got her breathing tube out!
Ellison on the vent(Anne here) Thanks Katie for doing the up-dates for us! If you don't read her blog you should! I have a button my my blog on the side, it is called When Hello Means Goodbye. She is an amazing friend :)
We are home and Ellison is doing well. Going through this was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. It was so hard to see Ellison in pain. I know doing the surgery was the right choice for her but it was still very hard. They said Ellison should make a full recovery and be a happy healthy baby very soon.
We felt just immersed in prayers the last few days! Ellison was such a good baby the day of the surgery. She slept the whole time before she was taken back. She had not eaten since 7 am that morning. She is use to eating every 3 hours so she should have been so un-happy and crying but she was so calm. Every once in a while she would wake up a little and I would tell her Mommy was there and give her kiss and her bink and she would go back to sleep. Josh and I were just amazed with how calm she was.
We felt just immersed in prayers the last few days! Ellison was such a good baby the day of the surgery. She slept the whole time before she was taken back. She had not eaten since 7 am that morning. She is use to eating every 3 hours so she should have been so un-happy and crying but she was so calm. Every once in a while she would wake up a little and I would tell her Mommy was there and give her kiss and her bink and she would go back to sleep. Josh and I were just amazed with how calm she was.
We got to the hospital a little before noon. We were taken back to the pre-op area. Then we had to put Ellison in a little baby hospital shirt and booties, which were both to big. My parents arrived right after we got there. Then one of the pastors from our church came and prayed with us before surgery, which gave us a sense of peace. Later on Josh's parents came to sit with us as well.
After a while we were brought back to another room where Josh and I waited to talk with Dr. A the ENT before surgery. After talking with him we then, meet the nurse that would be in the OR with Ellison. Then we meet the anesthesiologist and he went over how Ellison would have an airway put in during surgery and it would remain in after. Then it was time for kisses goodbye. :(
It was so hard to hand her over to the anesthesiologist, but I knew she was in good hands.
Josh and I then joined my parents and his in the surgery waiting room. After the longest hour and half of my life. Dr A came and got us. We then got to talk to him he told us everything went great. He trimmed the extra cartilage as well as some other extra tissue he found once he was in there. He said everything about Ellison's airway is little which also added to her breathing difficulty.
Then we all headed up to the (PICU) Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. One of the staff members gave Josh and I a tour of the unit. Then they brought Ellison to her room, we all went to the PICU waiting room while they got her settled in. About 30 mins later they came and got Josh and I. We finally got to see our sweet baby girl.
She was hooked up to many machines, helping her breath, giving her meds and monitoring her vital signs. It was so hard to see such a tiny little baby in a huge bed with all the tubes connected to her. Josh and I just stood at her bedside for a long time then. We let our parents each take turns coming in to see her, they only let 2 people in at a time. Then our parents went home and Josh went to the cafe and got us some dinner.
They only allowed one parent to sleep in the room overnight so Josh slept in the waiting room. It was a ruff night Ellison was fighting the breathing tube and they were having problems keep her sedated and her blood pressure up. Once the Doctors came in and did rounds the next day in the morning they said Ellison was doing well and they would take the breathing tube out!
Josh and I were so excited. Ellison did well they put her on a little oxygen for a while just as some extra help. In the afternoon we got to hold her and I got to nurse her and she did really well.
That evening the Doctors did rounds again, and said Ellison was doing really well and could move out of the PICU and up to the regular peds unit. Late that afternoon we got moved to a new room. Ellison still had to be connected to the IV and all the monitors to watch her for another day.
That evening my parents came up to visit with us. They watched Ellison and Josh and I went down to the cafe and got some dinner and brought it back to Elli's room. This was the first time I had left her since we got there. It was hard but I knew it was good for me to get out of the room even if it was for 10 minutes. I knew she was in good hands with her Nana and Papa.
The next morning Dr. A came in and said Ellison was doing great and that we could go home later that day. This was music to Josh and I! We were going to be able to take our sweet baby girl home!
Every day that Ellison was in the hospital Nana and Papa brought Ellison a present. She got a cute giraffe everyday. They are each different and special ;)
We want to thank everyone for the prayers and cards. We had many of our friends post blog up-dates about Ellison and facebook posts asking for prayers for our sweet baby girl. I know there were many people who did not even knows us that were praying for us and we can not thank everyone enough.
We can now put this behind us and know that everything is ok with Ellison and this should not be a problem for her any longer. We have a follow up appointment with Dr. A on the 27th of October and are excited to see what he has to say.
Thank You again!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
new crib and cord free!
Elli moved to the regular peds floor of the hospital last night!She is now cord free and Mommy and Daddy are able to hold her!
They will be able to take her home later today! Such great news! Please continue to pray for a smooth transition and continued health for Ellison!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
breathing tube is out!
After a rough night last night, Ellison got her breathing tube out this morning! No one got much sleep it sounds like. Please pray for a restful day for them today.
As you can see from the picture she is on oxygen at the moment but she's so glad to have her breathing tube out! yah!
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Josh and Anne are hoping to be able to hold Elli at some point today!
As you can see from the picture she is on oxygen at the moment but she's so glad to have her breathing tube out! yah!
Josh and Anne are hoping to be able to hold Elli at some point today!Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Sweet Ellison
I was just sent this precious picture of Ellison, so I thought I'd share it on the blog!
Hope you're feeling better really soon Elli!
We love you and are praying for you!
out of surgery
Ellison's surgery went really well!
Praise God for gifted surgeons! I just got off the phone with Josh and he said that she is in the PICU getting situated and they are anxiously waiting to see her. Elli will be on a ventilator until tomorrow morning and if all goes well they will be able to take it out then.
Thanks again for your prayers for this sweet family.
Praise God for gifted surgeons! I just got off the phone with Josh and he said that she is in the PICU getting situated and they are anxiously waiting to see her. Elli will be on a ventilator until tomorrow morning and if all goes well they will be able to take it out then.
Thanks again for your prayers for this sweet family.
on their way
Hi Everyone! This is Anne's friend Katie, I will be updating her blog as I hear updates from them.
Anne just called me and let me know that they are on there way to the hospital where they will check in at 12:00 (Eastern time) and get ready for surgery at 2. Anne said that they all had a good nights sleep and Anne had to wake Elli up at 7 to eat her last meal until surgery. Please pray that goes well, I know how babies get when they're hungry!
Thanks for all the prayers and comments on their behalf!
Anne just called me and let me know that they are on there way to the hospital where they will check in at 12:00 (Eastern time) and get ready for surgery at 2. Anne said that they all had a good nights sleep and Anne had to wake Elli up at 7 to eat her last meal until surgery. Please pray that goes well, I know how babies get when they're hungry!
Thanks for all the prayers and comments on their behalf!
Monday, October 4, 2010
PRAYER NEEDED
We just found out that Ellison will be having surgery tomorrow for her Larynomalacia, at Hellen Devoss Childrens Hospital in Grand Rapids at 2:00pm.
Ellison is not getting any better and is just getting worse.
Please pray for Ellison the Doctor's nurses and everyone that will come into contact with our sweet Ellison.
Please also pray for Josh and I as we go through this hard time. Pray for peace for us tonight as we prepare for tomorrow.
My friend will be up-dating our blog while we are in the hospital. So you can check back to see how things are going.
(Thanks Katie)
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Tradition
Nana and Papa Stuttman have been giving Ellison a book every month since she was born. They write a cute little note inside the book a well.
Here is a picture of Nana reading to Ellison.
This is such a fun tradition they have started!
Here is a picture of Nana reading to Ellison.
This is such a fun tradition they have started!
Friday, October 1, 2010
The Unexpected
We're a month and a two weeks into our new life and adventure. Becoming a parent has been so incredible. Rewarding, challenging, exciting, and sometimes scary.
From birth Ellison has had a little "honk" when she breathes. We started calling it her "goose" noise even before we left the hospital. The Peds docs and nurses all told us that it was most likely congestion due to the fact that c-section babies don't get the fluid squeezed out of them like natural birth babies do. Sounds funny now that I type that out... In the beginning Elli had issues with weight loss which led to a few extra trips to see the doctor. After 5 weeks and trying different things to relieve the congestion we realized that it wasn't improving. That's when the doctor referred us to an ENT to get a better idea of what was going on.
Little Elli in her swing!
Anyone who is a parent knows that anytime your doctor refers you to another, specialty, doctor you start to get worried. The ENT specialist gave us the diagnosis, Ellison has laryngomalacia.
Laryngomalacia: The epiglottis is small and curled on itself (omega-shaped). Approximation of the posterior edges of the epiglottis contributes to the inspiratory obstruction. (From B Benjamin, Atlas of Paediatric Endoscopy, Oxford University Press, NY, 1981,
This means that our little baby girl has a partially obstructed airway, and is going to have to have a surgery to fix it. She is going to have this done at Devos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids. We met with the surgeon and he had to scope Ellison again and he gave us the same diagnosis. As of now the surgery is scheduled for October 18th, we have an appointment with the surgeon again on October 15th for a final decision. We are told that the doctor who will be performing the procedure is an incredible doctor and that the staff in the PICU there is second to none. While this makes us feel a little better about all this happening we are still scared for our little one.
As an extra precaution the doctor has had us put her on an apnea monitor. So there are two electrodes that are attached to her sides that measure her heart rate and monitors her respiration. It's made dressing her and diaper changes quite a challenge but it's also given Mommy and Daddy a little more piece knowing that our angel is breathing.
Those who already know have asked what they can do for us. At this point all we can ask for is prayer. We hope that you would pray for Elli, for the doctors and nurses who will be performing the procedure, and for peace and some sort of comfort for us.
This is not what we expected as first time parents, but with the grace of God, and the love and support of family and friends we are making the best of what we have.
1 month
Ellison Grace you are one month old!
(Mommy is just a little behind blogging about it)
You weigh about 8.5 pounds and seem to be growing all the time.
You wear newborn diapers and are still in newborn cloths,and you are finally starting to fill them out.
You like your bath, as long as the water is nice and warm!
You eat every 3 hours and are getting better with nursing every day.
The most you sleep at one time is about 3 hours sometimes 4.
You have just started to smile! You are also focusing on things and studying whoever is holding you.
You sleep in your bassinet in Mommy and Daddy's room. You love to be held, and seem to sleep best this way.
You have been to Target, meijers, down town Holland and the Doctor's office.
You do not like to get in your car seat, but once you are in you fall asleep pretty fast.
You have had lots of visitors come to your house to meet you!
Sara Mommy's college roommate
Katie and Grayden
Lena your best friend that was born 2 weeks before you!
We have found that you love music. You will listen to whatever Mom and Dad have on there iPhones.
We love you Ellison Grace and feel so blessed you have come into our lives.
(Mommy is just a little behind blogging about it)
You weigh about 8.5 pounds and seem to be growing all the time.
You wear newborn diapers and are still in newborn cloths,and you are finally starting to fill them out.
You like your bath, as long as the water is nice and warm!
You eat every 3 hours and are getting better with nursing every day.
The most you sleep at one time is about 3 hours sometimes 4.
You have just started to smile! You are also focusing on things and studying whoever is holding you.
You sleep in your bassinet in Mommy and Daddy's room. You love to be held, and seem to sleep best this way.
You have been to Target, meijers, down town Holland and the Doctor's office.
You do not like to get in your car seat, but once you are in you fall asleep pretty fast.
You have had lots of visitors come to your house to meet you!
Sara Mommy's college roommate
Katie and Grayden
Lena your best friend that was born 2 weeks before you!
We have found that you love music. You will listen to whatever Mom and Dad have on there iPhones.
We love you Ellison Grace and feel so blessed you have come into our lives.
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