Quick update....
Aayla is coming home!!! Yesterday the doctors decided to keep her in the hospital for another day of antibiotics just because it took so long to get her off NCPAP. So, we slept another night here. I was worried they were going to keep her longer because her urine output dropped way down and her bilirubin spiked high. They gave another bolus of fluid through her IV last night and had me feed her more. This morning the doctor gave her the go ahead to come home!!! Yay! I'm just waiting now for them to update her pediatrician and do her hearing screening. Then we are out of here!! She's doing so much better! I can't wait to let Ellery see her and hold her.
Sorry, no more pictures yet, but we will be updating shortly. :)
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Baby Aayla
She finally came! Aayla was born December 28 at 1:37 am! Here is a quick update and a few photos of our experience so far. I say quick because I might fall asleep any second now, but want to get this posted. :)
WARNING: MAY CONTAIN A GROSS PICTURE....
Here I am in lots of pain. I dilated very quickly once I got to the hospital. I was a 2 when we first got there, 3 an hour later, 6 an hour after that, and then complete and hour after that. My contractions were so strong, the epidural didn't work and couldn't keep up with how fast I was going. It took several more doses, stronger medication in the epidural, and an hour after it was put in until I felt comfortable. :)
My amniotic fluid had meconium in it, which can be very dangerous to the baby if breathed in. They told me the NICU team would come when she delivered to check her out and that she'd probably be ok. When she came out looking like this......... I knew there was a problem.
Yes, she breathed in the meconium. The respiratory therapist suctioned her trachea out, and she still wasn't breathing or responding. Here they are bagging her.
She FINALLY started crying. It was a weak cry, but still a cry. Still needing oxygen here since her skin wasn't pinking up very well.
They took her to the NICU for NCPAP. Here she is all hooked up. They gave her some surfactant in her lungs, started and IV and gave her a fluid bolus.
Here is our first photo together just after her surfactant was given.
I have no more updated pictures yet. As of now she is off the NCPAP finally. They tried several times throughout the night and day today. Every time she'd come off she would not keep her oxygen saturation up and was dipping into the 70's and 80's and she'd be breathing way too fast. They kept holding off admitting her to the NICU because I work there and were hoping to get her off soon so I wouldn't have to have here there. But they finally couldn't hold off any more and officially admitted her. She's on IV antibiotics and now off the NCPAP since about 4pm today (Monday). I was just up there and got to breast feed her. She was a champ and ate for about 20 minutes til I finally pulled her off since I was about to fall asleep. They was keep her there tonight. I'll go back and feed her throughout the night and she'll have her IV fluids weaned the more she eats. Tomorrow they will decide if she still needs the antibiotics or can just come home with me. Hopefully she can come home. :)
That is all for now, as I am drifting off to sleep....... :( sorry if there are mistakes, i'm not editing right now.
WARNING: MAY CONTAIN A GROSS PICTURE....
Here I am in lots of pain. I dilated very quickly once I got to the hospital. I was a 2 when we first got there, 3 an hour later, 6 an hour after that, and then complete and hour after that. My contractions were so strong, the epidural didn't work and couldn't keep up with how fast I was going. It took several more doses, stronger medication in the epidural, and an hour after it was put in until I felt comfortable. :)
My amniotic fluid had meconium in it, which can be very dangerous to the baby if breathed in. They told me the NICU team would come when she delivered to check her out and that she'd probably be ok. When she came out looking like this......... I knew there was a problem.
Yes, she breathed in the meconium. The respiratory therapist suctioned her trachea out, and she still wasn't breathing or responding. Here they are bagging her. 
She FINALLY started crying. It was a weak cry, but still a cry. Still needing oxygen here since her skin wasn't pinking up very well.
They took her to the NICU for NCPAP. Here she is all hooked up. They gave her some surfactant in her lungs, started and IV and gave her a fluid bolus.
Here is our first photo together just after her surfactant was given. 
I have no more updated pictures yet. As of now she is off the NCPAP finally. They tried several times throughout the night and day today. Every time she'd come off she would not keep her oxygen saturation up and was dipping into the 70's and 80's and she'd be breathing way too fast. They kept holding off admitting her to the NICU because I work there and were hoping to get her off soon so I wouldn't have to have here there. But they finally couldn't hold off any more and officially admitted her. She's on IV antibiotics and now off the NCPAP since about 4pm today (Monday). I was just up there and got to breast feed her. She was a champ and ate for about 20 minutes til I finally pulled her off since I was about to fall asleep. They was keep her there tonight. I'll go back and feed her throughout the night and she'll have her IV fluids weaned the more she eats. Tomorrow they will decide if she still needs the antibiotics or can just come home with me. Hopefully she can come home. :)That is all for now, as I am drifting off to sleep....... :( sorry if there are mistakes, i'm not editing right now.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
The Epitome of Idiocy
Inca Kola: Nectar of the gods.
For those of you unfamiliar with this beverage it is pure bottled deliciousness. A product of the Coca Cola Company, most popular in South America, more specifically Ecuador and Peru. Although it is available in some areas of the United States, much like Original Coke in a can or plastic bottle, nothing beats the flavor of the Latin American bottled beverage. Maybe it's the reused returnable glass bottle it comes in, maybe it's the small changes in ingredients (like REAL sugar), or maybe it's the fact that one must travel some 3,000 miles just to get one!
It had been almost ten solid years since my last Inca Kola (REAL Inca Kola, from a glass bottle), when the sun decided to shine down on me in the form of my sister-in-law going down to Ecuador to serve in a Cuenca orphanage for three months. She safely returned the day before Thanksgiving - made all the more thankful by presenting me with not one, not two, but THREE real glass bottled Inca Kolas! Drinking them had to wait; one must savor the IDEA of drinking such a liquid - plus the fact that I had been suffering from a two month long sinus infection, which prevented me from tasting anything, it'd be pointless to drink under such conditions.
So, I decided to bide my time.
Finally, the sinuses cleared (with the help of antibiotics) and my sense of taste (and of course smell) returned. I popped the top of bottle number one, fresh out of the fridge. Ahhhhhhh. Refreshment! Millie and Ellery helped finish it off (mostly Ellery though) and I decided number two would have to be drunk sometime after Ellery went to bed.
Aside from the fact that I only got to drink about half the bottle there was something else missing. The Inca Kola I remember (when I lived in Ecuador) was always ICE cold. We used to put one or two in our sorry excuse for a freezer each morning and by nightfall it was just cold enough. How cold is enough? You know that point where the sealed liquid is still liquid - but the moment you pop the top and it is exposed to air and the sudden change in pressure the entire drink slushes up? THAT was the level of cold I loved. I decided to try and recreate just that for number two.
Unfortunately, this is were I - yes, I - become the epitome of idiocy.
Last night I put the bottle in our freezer - made a mental note to take it out in an hour or two - and went about my evening activities. Ellery was in bed, Millie was playing the Wii and I was catching up on some light reading. Time passed (and lots of it). Millie and I started watching a show about Mt. Vesuvius on the History Channel. About halfway into it - amid the images and sounds of volcanic eruptions - we heard a loud "bang" or "pop" sound coming from our freezer. Without the slightest clue as to what it could have been, I investigated.
Oh the moronic consequence of the distracted! Adding insult to injury (not only could I no longer enjoy bottle number two - AND my collectible bottle now lied in shards strewn about our freezer - I had the blessed duty of cleaning it up. It was like having to scrape your puppy off the road after accidentally running it over. Despite Millie's objections, I gathered what little bit of slush remained (mostly) free of glass and ate it.
I think I'll set a timer for bottle number three.
For those of you unfamiliar with this beverage it is pure bottled deliciousness. A product of the Coca Cola Company, most popular in South America, more specifically Ecuador and Peru. Although it is available in some areas of the United States, much like Original Coke in a can or plastic bottle, nothing beats the flavor of the Latin American bottled beverage. Maybe it's the reused returnable glass bottle it comes in, maybe it's the small changes in ingredients (like REAL sugar), or maybe it's the fact that one must travel some 3,000 miles just to get one!
It had been almost ten solid years since my last Inca Kola (REAL Inca Kola, from a glass bottle), when the sun decided to shine down on me in the form of my sister-in-law going down to Ecuador to serve in a Cuenca orphanage for three months. She safely returned the day before Thanksgiving - made all the more thankful by presenting me with not one, not two, but THREE real glass bottled Inca Kolas! Drinking them had to wait; one must savor the IDEA of drinking such a liquid - plus the fact that I had been suffering from a two month long sinus infection, which prevented me from tasting anything, it'd be pointless to drink under such conditions.
So, I decided to bide my time.
Finally, the sinuses cleared (with the help of antibiotics) and my sense of taste (and of course smell) returned. I popped the top of bottle number one, fresh out of the fridge. Ahhhhhhh. Refreshment! Millie and Ellery helped finish it off (mostly Ellery though) and I decided number two would have to be drunk sometime after Ellery went to bed.
Aside from the fact that I only got to drink about half the bottle there was something else missing. The Inca Kola I remember (when I lived in Ecuador) was always ICE cold. We used to put one or two in our sorry excuse for a freezer each morning and by nightfall it was just cold enough. How cold is enough? You know that point where the sealed liquid is still liquid - but the moment you pop the top and it is exposed to air and the sudden change in pressure the entire drink slushes up? THAT was the level of cold I loved. I decided to try and recreate just that for number two.
Unfortunately, this is were I - yes, I - become the epitome of idiocy.
Last night I put the bottle in our freezer - made a mental note to take it out in an hour or two - and went about my evening activities. Ellery was in bed, Millie was playing the Wii and I was catching up on some light reading. Time passed (and lots of it). Millie and I started watching a show about Mt. Vesuvius on the History Channel. About halfway into it - amid the images and sounds of volcanic eruptions - we heard a loud "bang" or "pop" sound coming from our freezer. Without the slightest clue as to what it could have been, I investigated.
Oh the moronic consequence of the distracted! Adding insult to injury (not only could I no longer enjoy bottle number two - AND my collectible bottle now lied in shards strewn about our freezer - I had the blessed duty of cleaning it up. It was like having to scrape your puppy off the road after accidentally running it over. Despite Millie's objections, I gathered what little bit of slush remained (mostly) free of glass and ate it.
I think I'll set a timer for bottle number three.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
A Visit From Mom
Christmas came a little early for some this year. My mom came up to visit. Ellery (and Millie and I) loved having her here. She got in Wednesday evening and left early this morning. It was kind of an unexpected (last minute) visit but it turned out being perfect, Millie even got put on call for work and ended up not having to go in last night.
It was a great opportunity for my mom to teach me how to make my great granny's red chili (even though I don't think I'll ever be able to make it quite as good as the original) and she re-taught me how to make cookies. I used to bake SO much when I was younger, but have been out of practice as most of my cooking in the kitchen over the past decade has been meals, not desserts. I blame much of that on over exposure to Food Network... it's just too much fun trying out recipes from Tyler Florence, Alton Brown, Bobby Flay and then dreaming about making the things they do on Iron Chef America! Most of my meals are repeats of the same old same old, so it's nice when I have the chance of the real master in my house (my mom) to give me some pointers and run through a recipe or two with me that I can add to my repertoire.
Millie got a change to do some bonding as well. The two of them made corn bags for me, Ellery and other family members. For those of you who don't know what corn bags are, they're just what they sound like... bags of corn... only better. They're sewn bags filled with feed corn that you can put in the microwave and heat up to get/keep you warm. Perfect for this last week of sub-freezing temperatures around here... and more to come. Millie made me three bags. I chose the fabric: Simpsons, clouds and sheep. My mom made one for Ellery with cute fishies on it.
The week went by very fast and Ellery was sad that Grandma left so early and she didn't get to say goodbye, but we were happy to have the visit and look forward to another.
It's been snowing all day here today, so Ellery convinced me to take a break from being indoors and we went out and built a snowman. First one of the season... probably many more to come - if Ellery has anything to do with it!
It was a great opportunity for my mom to teach me how to make my great granny's red chili (even though I don't think I'll ever be able to make it quite as good as the original) and she re-taught me how to make cookies. I used to bake SO much when I was younger, but have been out of practice as most of my cooking in the kitchen over the past decade has been meals, not desserts. I blame much of that on over exposure to Food Network... it's just too much fun trying out recipes from Tyler Florence, Alton Brown, Bobby Flay and then dreaming about making the things they do on Iron Chef America! Most of my meals are repeats of the same old same old, so it's nice when I have the chance of the real master in my house (my mom) to give me some pointers and run through a recipe or two with me that I can add to my repertoire.
Millie got a change to do some bonding as well. The two of them made corn bags for me, Ellery and other family members. For those of you who don't know what corn bags are, they're just what they sound like... bags of corn... only better. They're sewn bags filled with feed corn that you can put in the microwave and heat up to get/keep you warm. Perfect for this last week of sub-freezing temperatures around here... and more to come. Millie made me three bags. I chose the fabric: Simpsons, clouds and sheep. My mom made one for Ellery with cute fishies on it.
The week went by very fast and Ellery was sad that Grandma left so early and she didn't get to say goodbye, but we were happy to have the visit and look forward to another.
It's been snowing all day here today, so Ellery convinced me to take a break from being indoors and we went out and built a snowman. First one of the season... probably many more to come - if Ellery has anything to do with it!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
November
November absolutely flew by this year.
I spent the majority of it sick. Yes, that time of year again where I get sinus infection, after cold, after flu, after etc.... I love winter.
But rather than focus on the drab and gloomy, we did some great things this past November!
We took Ellery bowling again. She asked us, almost on a daily basis to go again ever since Bret and Tevs came to visit for BYU Homecoming and we went with them. She had a lot of fun and actually beat Millie the first game and beat me the second game. Yeah, we don't go very often cause we pretty much suck. But Ellery had fun and that's what's most important I guess.
November also brought Turkey Day... quite possibly my favorite holiday of the year, second to the 4th of July. We spent it at Millie's parents again this year and my little bro, Brandt, came up and spent it with us as well. It was good having him here - Ellery LOVES her uncle Brandt.
For Turkey Day I decided to attempt another deep fried turkey. Last year's attempt (my first ever) was... meh, at best. I blame it on the half frozen bird mixed with inexperience and weather so cold the oil never really got quite as hot as it should have, mixed with a bit of over salting in the brine. This year I decided to buy the bird well in advance and put it in the fridge with time to spare for proper thawing. I also decided to forgo the brine and do a Cajun style injection and rub. The result was - well, without tooting my own horn cause I gotta give proper credit to my uncle Chris Cool (who gave the the idea of deep fired Cajun turkey to begin with) - it was delicious!!! I'm looking forward to doing another turkey next year. Maybe even two! Guess it depends on where we're living and spending Turkey Day next year too.
I know it was sorely premature, but we also decorated our tree in November... November 1st. It's the least I could do for Millie, and Ellery, since this is our first tree we've bothered to get and decorate since we've been married. Naturally, this being our first we had to go buy EVERYTHING. We kept it simple, and low cost. The tree is a $15 dollar 6' artificial from Lowe's... can't beat that with a stick! We stayed simple with the ornaments and Millie did a great job making it look cozy. Add my two house Christmas village and train and presto, instant home for the holidays!
December is almost over. This year is almost over! Hopefully I can get a few more blogs in to keep caught up on our goings on before I inundate myself with another school year!
I spent the majority of it sick. Yes, that time of year again where I get sinus infection, after cold, after flu, after etc.... I love winter.
But rather than focus on the drab and gloomy, we did some great things this past November!
We took Ellery bowling again. She asked us, almost on a daily basis to go again ever since Bret and Tevs came to visit for BYU Homecoming and we went with them. She had a lot of fun and actually beat Millie the first game and beat me the second game. Yeah, we don't go very often cause we pretty much suck. But Ellery had fun and that's what's most important I guess.
November also brought Turkey Day... quite possibly my favorite holiday of the year, second to the 4th of July. We spent it at Millie's parents again this year and my little bro, Brandt, came up and spent it with us as well. It was good having him here - Ellery LOVES her uncle Brandt.
For Turkey Day I decided to attempt another deep fried turkey. Last year's attempt (my first ever) was... meh, at best. I blame it on the half frozen bird mixed with inexperience and weather so cold the oil never really got quite as hot as it should have, mixed with a bit of over salting in the brine. This year I decided to buy the bird well in advance and put it in the fridge with time to spare for proper thawing. I also decided to forgo the brine and do a Cajun style injection and rub. The result was - well, without tooting my own horn cause I gotta give proper credit to my uncle Chris Cool (who gave the the idea of deep fired Cajun turkey to begin with) - it was delicious!!! I'm looking forward to doing another turkey next year. Maybe even two! Guess it depends on where we're living and spending Turkey Day next year too.
I know it was sorely premature, but we also decorated our tree in November... November 1st. It's the least I could do for Millie, and Ellery, since this is our first tree we've bothered to get and decorate since we've been married. Naturally, this being our first we had to go buy EVERYTHING. We kept it simple, and low cost. The tree is a $15 dollar 6' artificial from Lowe's... can't beat that with a stick! We stayed simple with the ornaments and Millie did a great job making it look cozy. Add my two house Christmas village and train and presto, instant home for the holidays!
December is almost over. This year is almost over! Hopefully I can get a few more blogs in to keep caught up on our goings on before I inundate myself with another school year!
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