I Think She's Ready Now

Bella and Nana


Keep it up


Is that a double chin?




So here we are at day 59 and the only thing keeping Bella in Sacred Heart is her feedings. She is almost there, oh so very close! We just returned from another great but short visit with Bella, John and Lori. Nana's visit was long overdue and Bella has grown and changed so much! Her cute little rolls and dimples are really starting to develop.
On my last visit, it was so wonderful to be able to hold Bella but we had to be careful not to stimulate her too much. Our visits were rather quiet, because if we talked to her too much or moved her too much(like rocking her), her oxygen levels would drop. Even though we had to hold her quietly and calmly, I still loved every minute of it. Now Bella can handle the stimulation better, at least in small doses. She actually needs the stimulation to keep her awake sometimes during her bottle feedings. Although Bella is almost 2 months old, she acts like a typical new born, in that she often prefers to sleep instead of eat. Unlike our teenagers who can sleep late and then eat us out of house and home, it is necessary for Bella to eat a little bit every 3 hours. It is not good for her to go long periods of time without eating. She is up to 38 ml of formula and feeds through her bottle 3 out of every 4 feedings, receiving her 4th feeding via the feeding tube. This gives Bella some extra resting time, which is critical to her growth. When she takes her bottle, it is like an exercise work out for her, and if she’s tired when she starts, then she would rather nap than eat, which doesn't work out very well. When Bella doesn’t complete her 38 mls within 30 minutes, the remaining milk is then given to her through her feeding tube. Sometimes, if she's really hungry, she will suck with such force that she gets strangled. This, however, doesn’t bother anyone but Bella, Lori handles everything like a seasoned mother!

Bella continues to grow. She is up to 4 pounds 15 ounces and has started growing out of some of her “preemie” footy sleepers. She is off of her caffeine and only needs to build up her strength in feedings until she can take ALL OF HER MILK during EVERY FEEDING!! This is what we are waiting on. These last few weeks are the most anxious of them all, as we continue to see the end of our stay here approaching. It just can't get here soon enough for us. Bella will turn 2 months old on June 2 and John and Lori’s stay at Ronald McDonald House will be up for renewal again. As convenient and wonderful as it has been, if they are not able to continue to stay there, it will not be as hard now, knowing that she will be coming home soon. The need is still great at RMH. Just this week, a family we know has required the services of RMH. At first they were told it was full, but then an opening came up shortly after they were put on the waiting list. Praise be to God for looking out for those of us in need.

Even More Recent Update
Lori and John came home last night for a surprise visit and when Lori called this morning to check on Bella, we had more good news. Bella has taken all of her feedings since Sunday morning by bottle. And just to let us know she's ready to come home, this morning Bella yanked her own feeding tube out! The nurses decided to leave it out for now and see how she does!!

"I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him."
I Samuel 1:27

Update on the Ever-Growing Bella

Bella looking up at Grandmomma

Everything with Bella is still going GREAT!!!!! Well, except for the fact that Bella is a little sad because neither her Nana nor her Grandmother Angela have been able to get down there lately. There are, however, plenty of Great Grannies to take up our slack! Bella is continuing to grow and is doing well with her bottle feedings. She continues to have her feeding tube, but it has been moved from her mouth to her nose to aid in her bottle feedings. I know this is bothering her because she has already PULLED it out!!! She is still being fed every 3 hours and is receiving her feedings via bottle every other time. She now weighs 4 pounds 5 ounces.
Although no dates have been given by the NICU doctors or nurses, we are anxiously waiting to hear the news that she can come home. We know that those words are still a few weeks away because Bella will have to increase her bottle feedings to EVERY feeding without decreasing the amount of milk she is getting through her feeding tube. We are just happy to see her progress and to know that her homecoming is drawing closer.
"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" ~ 2 Cor. 9:15

Look What I Can Do

BREAKING NEWS: Bella finally got to taste her milk today!!! And she must really think it's good stuff because at her very first try with a bottle, she downed 12 of the 32 ML that she usually gets. I love to here the excitement in Lori's voice when she calls with reports of good news!
Our Baby Bella has been a very busy little girl in the NICU. She has many things to do in order to be able to come home and she is checking them off one by one. Great Grandmomma has just returned from a trip to visit and she got to hold Bella for the first time. I am happy to report that Bella is now totally off of the oxygen. She doesn’t even have a monitor any more! She has had a little trouble regulating her temperature so she had to be placed back into a hooded bed. This is temporary and she is already doing better at holding her temperature up on her own, so we do not expect her to be in that bed much longer. Her current weight is 3lb. 14.6 oz. Please continue to pray for strength for Bella as she continues to accomplish one milestone after another.

1 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation
Psalm 100: 1-5

I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed day!

Bella Is On The Move

Lori came home for a few days this week. This is the first time that she has slept in her own bed since April 1st and it has been really nice having her here. John came up Thursday night but could only stay one night because of the RMH policies. Of course there was much to do, I just wish it could have been at a little slower pace.
Little Bella continues to grow and show signs of strong development. She is up to 3 pounds 14 ounces. She has officially been moved up to level 2 AND into an open crib!
Level 2 is the last level before coming home!!! Most babies are off of oxygen before going into stage 2. Bella, however, was moved with her oxygen or “nasal cannula”. Remember, they started lowering her oxygen levels while we were there last Friday, but she didn’t do as well as we had hoped, so her oxygen had to be increased again. This has gone back and forth all week, but Friday we learned that she was doing so well that they were able to take her completely OFF OXYGEN!!!!! Although this is normal for preemies, we are so hopeful that she will continue to breathe normally and without oxygen assistance. They plan to start her on the bottle one day this coming week and if she continues to do well with her oxygen and does well with her feeding….....The BIG NEWS is that, she will then be able to come home!!! So the end of her stay at the Sacred Heart NICU could be only a few weeks away!!!
This GREAT NEWS came just hours after Lori’s first baby shower. Lori was already busy trying to get everything from the shower sorted, organized and put away! This news really did put us into overdrive! Thanks to all of our many special friends and family who came to the shower and made today so special. We are blessed.

The House That Love Built

Lori and John were able to keep their room at the Ronald McDonald House! This is truly a blessing, second only to Bella’s good health! RMH is such a wonderful place and has made our situation easier to deal with. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Ronald McDonald House, I would like to tell you about the organization that has been such a blessing in our lives.

When I think of RMH now, as opposed to 1 month, 1 week and 2 days ago, my heart is overwhelmed with thankfulness, joy, and true amazement that such a place exists. And now that I am aware and have experienced first hand the blessing, I feel it is important to share with others.

In 2008 RMH provided 6,625 family members a place to stay in the Pensacola facility alone. 1,621 of these rooms were provided to families, like ours, who had babies who were dealing with the uphill battle of being born too soon. Unfortunately between 2006 and 2008, this 9 unit facility had to turn families away over 3,000 times due to a lack of space. This prompted the Pensacola chapter of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northwest Florida to launch their “Capitol Campaign” to raise $5 million dollars for a new 26 unit facility. This new facility is well underway and is scheduled to be completed by August. If Bella continues to do well, she should be home long before then, but to the countless families to come, this will be a wonderful blessing.

RMH is known as "The House That Love Built". I am very proud to live in a community that is so compassionate and full of love. My family has been surrounded by many wonderful people who have gone above and beyond what we could have ever imagined. This is done not just now for our family, but on countless occasions for people who are facing difficult circumstances. All of your visits, cards, comments, calls and gifts to our family have been more than welcomed and greatly appreciated. In addition to what has been done for our family personally, your contributions of pop tabs and your Kaps for Kids T-Shirt orders AMAZED the staff at the Pensacola RMH! For those of you who still want to help and continue to ask how you could do so, I would like to suggest supporting the New RMH by donating household items. Basically, they are in need of ANY item you use in your own home. Anything from an inexpensive box of Kleenex or a can of green beans, to a large box of washing powder or even scrap booking materials. For those of you who ordered a T-shirt through us, I attached a RMH Wish list that included a variety of items and information. The Wish List can be viewed at http://www.rmhpensacola.org/LinkedFiles/Wishlist.pdf If you are from our community and would like to donate, please get up with me and I will be glad to deliver any of these items for you. Even if you don't' live close by, let me know and I'm sure some type of arrangement could be made. I would also like to encourage all of you to visit www.rmhpensacola.org to see just how awesome this place really is!

"I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Acts 20:35

Sometimes Angels Are Born Without Wings

"If one feels the need of something grand, something infinite, something that makes one feel aware of God, one need not go far to find it. I think that I see something deeper, more infinite, more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby." Vincent Van Gogh

Our visit Friday was wonderful, as usual, but even more special since it was my first time getting to hold Baby Bella! Even though she now weighs 3 pounds 8 ounces, she still seemed as light as a feather. She was alert and awake for a while when Nana held her. She must have known that we had a special date!



Bella is still learning to regulate her breathing/oxygen, so we couldn’t “stimulate” her too much. When you do, she concentrates too much on YOU and forgets to breathe properly. We are told this is normal for preemies. She has always rebounded on her own and now her doctors think she is ready to have her oxygen decreased. This is good news and is just another step that she will have to master. Her little body has to work hard just to learn the simple things that full term babies already know how to do. In addition to this good news, her feedings have been increased now to 26 ml and her heart murmur was not as loud or as noticeable as it was before.

Here she is modeling another adorable outfit.

And her she is in Daddy's hands.


Please continue to pray for Bella as her oxygen is decreased and she begins to learn to do more on her own. The next few weeks will surely be a busy time for her and an anxious time for those of us who are waiting for her to accomplish all of the steps that will eventually lead her home.

"For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs." Zephaniah 3:17

Rockin' The Polka Dots in the NICU

Big things are going on in the life of Bella that just could not wait another day to report!!

First of all, the news we have all been waiting for........Bella has reached and surpassed the 3 pound mark. She now weighs 3 lb 4 oz!!
To celebrate this big milestone, she got to adorn her very first outfit. Well, if you don't count the ziploc bag and plastic wrap that she wore on her birthday, it's her very first outfit.


Of course, the outfit has it's very own matching, monogrammed hat.


Many weeks ago, I reported on the blog that Bella could wear her own clothes at the age of 3 weeks. That was incorrect. I should have stated that Bella could wear her own clothes at 3 pounds. Regardless of this mistake, when Shae Page read this on the blog, she went into immediate action. For those of you who don't know, Shae (Her button is on our home page.) is Bella's very own "fairy blog mother" and she worked really hard when Bella was born to create and design this very special blog just for her. Shae wanted Bella to avoid her first fashion crisis, so she went to work and ordered the adorable outfit that Bella is wearing in these pictures. Yes, we do hope to get better quality pictures soon, and perhaps even with the outfit and matching hat on at the same time. But for now, we will settle for the pictures that have been taken and sent via cell phone.

Lori and John made a surprise trip home yesterday to spend a few hours. They went back last night and we hope to go down tomorrow. I can hardly wait to hold that sweet baby girl!!

We have all benefited from the rich blessings He brought to us – one gracious blessing after another. ~ John 1:16

Look At Bella ~ She's 1 Month Old!

Sleeping like an angel



Is that a smile I see??



Every good and perfect gift is from above.~James 1:17

And One To Go.....

The number of expressions of love and concern I receive each week is amazing. Hardly a day goes by without contact from someone inquiring about us or thanking me for the blog, telling me how much they love keeping up with Bella. Although we are not able to respond to every one, we do read all of the “comments” from Bella’s blog and all of the emails. We enjoy each and everyone.
I would like to make a special mention of one such expression that truly touched our hearts. Lori and John have been using Lori’s car in Pensacola because John was having problems with his car prior to Bella’s birth. Actually, on the day of Bella's birth, we were just thankful that it got them to the hospital in Andalusia. Last week, Lori’s car started acting up as well. The total estimated cost of repairs was about $700.00!!!! It required a trip to the motor repair shop, as well as a trip to Muffler Masters and Brakes located at 2020 N 9th Ave, not far from the hospital. Since the job was going to take a while, John dropped the car off and was taken back to the RMH by the owner’s wife. When Ricky and I went for our visit last weekend, we took John to pick up the car and was surprised to learn that the owner, Mr. John Armentrout had reduced the price of his labor by a considerable amount, saving us approximately $175.00!!! Mr. Armentrout simply stated that he knew what we were going through. This heartfelt expression of love by a total stranger truly and deeply touched our hearts to the core. We will forever be thankful. Even though we know such expressions of love are not done to bring attention to one's self, somehow a thank you card just did’t seem to be enough.
Thank God the updates from Bella haven’t been much different this week. She has continued to gain weight and as of Saturday night was up to 2 pounds 14.9 ounces!! That means the Bella has approximately one more ounce to gain and she will weigh THREE WHOLE POUNDS!! Her Doctor was pleased with her latest heart echo cardiogram. She still has a murmur, but her little body is handling it good so far. Her heart is still improving so the big news is no heart surgery, at least for now. If surgery is required, the older/bigger she is, the better it will be on her. From what I understand, the simpler the procedure will be as well. As for now, they will continue to monitor it and only one more echo is scheduled before she goes home. That sounds like good news to me!!!!!
For those of you who ordered Ronald McDonald T-Shirts, they have been delivered to RMH and we should be ready to pass your orders out soon. The RMH continues to be full. As of yesterday, no one was on the waiting list. Lori and John’s 30 day stay is about up so they will learn Sunday if they are able to remain here or if they will have to leave. They will only have to leave if there are people on the waiting list to stay. It saddens me to know that there is such a need for a place like this but it also thrills me to know that such a wonderful place exists. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. All of you make our lives full and more meaningful.

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. ~ Ephesians 2:10




PS
Pictures are coming soon! Nana promises!