Progress!

It's been a few days since my last post and a lot has happened in that short period of time! We are now situated nicely in Fargo (and loving the free parking!). Elise did great on the transfer, slept the whole way I am told :) Her days have been similar, she's mostly a feeder & a grower. Just today though, she is being weaned out of the isolette (and doing great keeping her temp regulated!), and now up to 2 breastfeeds/day and a few bottles. If this goes well, she will both be out in a regular crib and have her feeding tube taken out in about a day or two! They told us today that we can bring her carseat in at any time now, too! We are overjoyed by this, and so proud of our little girl :)

















Keira has been visiting as well, and will be spending the week with us in Fargo while Daddy gets the house ready for our newest arrival. Keira is having a blast and I cannot thank Josh & Heather enough for their help. Bishop, too - him and Keira have so much fun together, I love it!

Hello World!

Closer to Home!

We found out last night that our insurance approved the transfer of Elise to Fargo! Two hrs less to drive makes quite a difference for us. Josh will be able to travel after work on Fridays to come see us and get more time to spend together. Less time in the car with Keira will be nice as well. She has handled it well so far, luckily, but I think this will help with the stress level trying to keep a toddler happy while driving :) I am pretty excited to see Boscoe soon as well :P
We checked with nurses and drs and they all say the transfer is completely safe (especially because Elise is doing so well) and one of her nurses will be traveling with her :)
We have been so lucky to have my sister here to allow us to stay and feel welcome. Now we are fortunate again that Josh's sister and our good friend, Josh M., are welcoming us to their home for as long as Elise is in Fargo :)
We love you all and cannot thank you enough!

Ten Days Old!

Some pics from the past few days :)

A Little AW for Myself

One week postpartum :) I haven't weighed myself, but I am pretty sure I am at or less than pre-pg weight. Recovery from an incredibly quick labor with no problems is also soooo much easier. Very little bleeding and no pain. I've said it before, but it's pretty surreal. Makes focusing on Elise my one and only job right now, which is perfect!

Little Fighter

I just love this pic (taken by my great friend, Stacy) - Elise is showing off her guns :)
As you can see, she was back under the bili lights yesterday, but out again today. Today marks one week old! She spit up a little today, but I think that may have been because they could not find my frozen milk (even though it was there all along and definitely no shortage since I am now pumping over 24oz/day) so they gave her formula. Nothing wrong with getting formula in my eyes (we did both for K - breastmilk till 9 months, formula after that till whole milk at a year), but it seemed to be the only different factor so almost has to be the issue. It all but stopped after going back to BM as well.
A routine head ultrasound was also done today, something that is done with preemies at one week (sooner if there is reason). All looks great, no bleeds or abnormalities at all.
The nurses call her a little rockstar. I tend to agree :)

Keira seems to be doing better as well. Josh says her ear has much less draining. She has continued to be in good spirits, luckily this ruptured eardrum hasn't affected her too much!

I have to say a big Thank You to "Auntie" Stacy for visiting yesterday and today! It was so nice to see you :) I can't wait to be back home to see you and everyone else more! I'm super bummed to be missing Heather's baby shower tomorrow, too - I'll definitely be there in spirit, though!

Tuesday Update

Things are going well, last night Elise's IV was removed and she was bumped up to full feedings (30ml), making only the feeding tube left :) She is really doing well sucking on a paci, waking to eat, etc so I am hoping that transitioning to breastfeeding/bottle feeding will go well, too. She was off the bili lights and put back under, but now back off again. It is likely she will go back under them a couple of times, it works almost like a weaning process. She lost a little weight after birth, but it was completely normal and has started gaining it back. My great friend Stacy is on her way down and should be here soon to go see little Elise. I am so excited! Here are some pics from the past few days :)