So, we had a bit of drama this week with Ms. Ivy. She decided to stop breathing Thursday morning. And no amount of coaxing or stimulation would make her start again. I ended up having to do CPR -- the one thing that every mother tells herself that she'll never have to do. She started breathing again pretty quickly, but it seemed like an ETERNITY for me and my mom. The paramedics got here fast and they were wonderful. Even though Ivy was still recovering she flirted with the 5 cute men that were in the house. We had to fly in a helicopter back to the hospital and were blessed that the
NICU at Good Sam let us come back. (A lot of times, once a baby is discharged from the
NICU, they aren't allowed back.) Ivy is doing okay now... they think that it was reflux related and are running tests to verify. It is sad not having her here, but she is where she needs to be to get better. I won't go into what a wreck I am, but bottom line is: TAKE CPR! I am afraid that if I hadn't, Ivy wouldn't be here with us today.
Ivy & Elle
On a happier note, we got to take Mitchell-Moo home with us on Sunday. It feels so good to be able to pick him up and play with him anytime I want. He is so laid back and such a sweet boy. It's strange, but it felt weird having only one baby here. Two feels more normal, but I won't feel all the way "normal" until they are all here. Who would have thought that I wouldn't feel "normal" until I had FIVE babies in my house. Crazy, huh?
Stephen's mom is staying the week with us as the babies are coming home. So 3 people taking care of 2 babies is allowing me to get some much needed rest.
Mitchell
Ready to Go
Elle,
ReplyDeleteI can only sympathize with you as I had a similar experience (only mine was 11months at the time). I"m so glad you were able to do what you had too and that the NICU let ya'll back in. I do know how that goes too unfortunetley. I will say you look AMAZING!!!!!! ANd i'm so glad that hte babies are starting to come home! Sending you lots of prayers & love,
Misty
MOM to gggg quads
Ellen:
ReplyDeleteWow, what a time you have had! I can't imagine what that was like!
Your family is precious and I will keep ALL of y'all in my prayers...
Bless you,
Tracy (Kuenstler) Roberts
You did great and did what you had to do. My prayers are for Ivy and all the babies. Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteMorgan
Praying that ya'll will be REALLY home soon. We love you all! Mitchell is loving the one on one, I am sure, being spoiled by his grammies.
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Suzanne
Ellen, I know how scary that was for you, you obviously did a wonderful job and she is in good hands, hopefully they will all be home soon. You look fabulous, who would think you just had 5 babies. You are all in our prayers.
ReplyDeleteSharon
Thank goodness you had taken CPR..I will say an extra prayer for them all again tonight!
ReplyDeleteI love Mitchells hair in those pics..too cute!
You look AMAZING! You just had 5 babies and you look so great! Good job mom!
Oh my goodness, I just found your blog tonight and you are a true inspiration, you did an amazing job cooking those beautiful babies. Reading about your magnesuium brought back lots of memories. My prayers are with you and each of your precious children.
ReplyDeleteHow scary....I'm so happy to hear everyone is doing okay now (even a frazzled mama).
ReplyDeleteGood Sam rocks! Kinda weird to say it, but I miss that place. But there's no place like home. You'll be there soon enough!
You look FABULOUS, by the way. Keep up the great work.
Love from KS,
Moni
Oh, El! What a good blog! You manage to interject humor into your description of a terrible situation -- how "Ellen" is that?!!!
ReplyDeleteI love Mitchell-moo's hair -- even when he's not just out of a bath, it's crazy everywhere!
Hang in there (and you too, Stephen!!) I know it's easier said than done, but the end is totally in sight.
We love you ALL!!
Aim, D & Aiden
OH!! look at Ivy's little double chin!! She is gaining weight well!!! yay! And Mitchell's hair is fabulous, I love it!!!! He kind of looks like Aiden in the pic with you and Stephen!!! Oh my gosh I am so excited!! I know you are scared, but girl, you are NOT alone!!!! You are amazing and you are a mom. You have all the gifts and skills you will ever need. Words cannot express my pride in you!!!!
ReplyDeleteI can't even begin to imagine going through all that you and Stephen have gone through already. Just know that we continue to keep your whole family in our thoughts and prayers, and we're so excited that your little ones are coming home. You guys are so strong! (and you do look fabulous)!
ReplyDeleteJess, Drew, Mason, & Ian
Oh my, Ellen, what a day that must have been. I can totally relate, unfortunately. Cullen was discharged and ended up back in the NICU 2 days later. He too stopped breathing, only he thankfully waited until we arrived at the ER. He had late onset group B strep so I am glad you are only dealing with reflux...doesn't make it any easier to deal with I'm sure. I'm so happy they let her back in the NICU. They put Cullen in the PICU (nothing like the NICU...it was terrible) for about 20 hours until I pitched a fit and got him back in the NICU at the Thomas campus, so I had babies at Banner, a baby at the apartment and he was at Thomas...that was fun :( Here's to a quick diagnosis and path forward to get Ivy back into your arms at home. God Bless yall.
ReplyDeleteOn a lighter note, Phoenix was voted #1 for the best looking firefighters and paramedics...Ivy has good taste :)
Jac
Oh Ellen, bless your heart. Sawyer had the same thing happen to him where he stopped breathing on me and we had to call 911. This happened a month after he got home from the NICU. I think the reflux can be very common. They put him on both prevacid and zantac. I had to go to a compounding pharmacy to have them put the Prevacid in a liquid form that I could administer. They tried giving me some solutab medicine that supposedly dissolved in water when I went to the regular pharmacy, but it wouldn't dissolve and would get stuck in the syringe. Finding out about the compounding pharmacy was so much better. So, you may want to see if you can find one in your area. When they compound Prevacid, you can only get it in a 15 day supply because it breaks down, so if they put Ivy on it and you go through a compounding pharmacy, you can't get a 30 day supply filled at one time. We also were told to add a little bit of rice cereal to his feeds (I pumped so we added it to breast milk) and that helped too. For the first 3 months he had to sleep in his bouncy seat so he'd be at an incline. All those things helped and the good thing is many babies can outgrow the reflux. I too was so glad we had taken the infant CPR before leaving the NICU.
ReplyDeleteI hope things will settle down and that all the little angels will be home soon.
Best wishes!
Shelly
am at a loss for words....you're fantastic! so glad that you were able to do what you needed to do. hang in there until all your babies are at home. am thinking of you a lot, despite not knowing you. you're in my thoughts!
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ReplyDeleteAn article about quads in Sugar Land is in the Sugar Land Monthly this month. I'll save it for you.
ReplyDeleteLove ya'!
Suzanne
Sorry to hear about the set back for Ivy...thank goodness you knew what to do! They will all be home before you know it.....and then back to TEXAS...YEAH! You and your family are in my prayers!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update, Ellen.
ReplyDeleteI was told about your blog by the Lenfests. My husband and I had spontaneous triplets june 2007. We were blessed to make it to 38 weeks and are doing well. You are in for a roller coaster of life but each day all you do is smile and thank God for entrusting you with such a wonderful gift that He does not entrust everyone with. Keep on your knees and you will be amazed how fast they grow and how happy you are through the sleepless nights and feedings. We have five children, we had one in 2006, three in 2007 and one July 2008.
ReplyDeleteWELCOME HOME! I am trying to schedule with Brad and Laurie when I can come help! I've been sending good thoughts and prayers to you daily. You look absolutely incredible. I've loved reading your blog and keeping up via Amy. Your babies are so precious I love the photos. Can't wait to see you! LOVE AND MISS! Hugs and kisses to all the Howells (very gentle hugs for the smallest of the Howells).
ReplyDeleteWow, how scary!! You handled it great!! I hope Ivy recovers quickly. We had a similar experience, not quiet a scary but our son Brady was readmitted to the hospital after being home 36 hours. Turned out to be reflux, they put him on thickener in his bottle (simply thick that we ended up adding to all four of the kids) and it made a world of difference. You look amazing by the way!!
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