World Prematurity Day- Elijah

World Prematurity Day - November 17th 2012

Today we are rejoicing that our MIRACLE

Elijah "Eli" Cade

 is a happy and healthy 3 year old child!

Eli- 3 years old

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

♥ ♥ Elijah Cade Smith born at 33 weeks 6days ♥ ♥ Our sweet baby boy spent 3 days on a ventilator and spent 2 weeks in the NICU. It was a miracle that he came home so soon....thanks to surfactant treatments he was able to breathe on his own after 3 days with only O2 support at 40%. Of course the "Suck, Breathe, Swallow" was our next hurdle while in the NICU along with A&Bs, but our nurses and Neonatologists were FANTASTIC!!  After 15 days he came home weighing 5lbs 4oz and healthy. Today Elijah is a wild and crazy toddler with little to no effects from his prematurity and without studies like those that developed the surfactant therapy my sweet baby boy may have struggled a bit longer or he could have died. Elijah is happy and healthy thanks to the March of Dimes and thier research teams!!! :)

~~~*Eli- 1 day old*~~~
 (recieving his first of 3 surfactant treatmetns
through the ventilator)


Day 4 and 5 were the days that we were able to hold Eli for the first time. Our sweet baby had already lost 1/2 lb (8oz) which preemie/NICU parents know is a huge loss in 4 days. On day 4, I begged the Neonatologist to feed him breastmilk through his feeding tube and see if he would get better and gain his wieght back. They decided against it. I was devestated because my mommy heart knew that if he could just have a little of mommys milk he would be filled with life. He lost 2 more ozs at his 11pm weigh in. :(

Day 5:
Guess who got a taste of mommys milk??? Yep! Eli did! They only gave him 5ccs which isnt a lot but they wanted to make sure he could tolerate it. Well of course he did! God made that milk in my body just for him. :) 6 hours later they called to tell me he was getting another 5ccs and that he was stablizing and that we could hold him as long as he maintained his body temp and O2 sats. If so mommy was going on day 6 to do Kangaroo care. MY FAVORITE TIME SPENT WITH HIM!!!



Day 6:
Kangaroo Care....this article helps explain it. It is pure bliss. I waited 33 weeks while i carried  him in my womb and 6 more days after that and my heart was aching for that closeness again.
***Unfortunately I dont have any pics of this because its kinda hard to take pictures of that while you are topless and holding a 5lb baby covered in cords and stickers and tubes.***

TAKEN FROM http://www.babyzone.com/newborn/premature-babies/kangaroo-care-skin-contact_65716

What is Kangaroo Care?

The practice of kangaroo care originated in South America. Quickly garnering success and notoriety throughout the continent, the method spread and gained popularity throughout Europe and later in the United States. Modeled after the way a kangaroo mother carries her offspring, this direct skin-to-skin contact is usually best accomplished when a mom or dad is sitting in a rocking chair. The diapered baby, deemed stable by the medical staff in the NICU, is placed either on the father's bare chest or between a mother's breasts with a blanket draped over the infant's back.

Does Kangaroo Care Work?

Research gathered by such leading organizations as the March of Dimes has confirmed that kangaroo care may assist in maintaining an infant's body warmth, regulating the baby's heart and breathing rates, and establishing necessitated weight gain.
"Through the practice of kangaroo care, the infants make many strides—their heart rates become stable while being comforted by their parents, and we see improvements in their nutrition, as these babies steadily gain weight," explains Dr. Jesus Jaile-Marti, MD, Chief of Neonatology and Newborn Services at White Plains Hospital in New York.
Dr. Karen Henricks-Muñoz, MD, MPH, Chief of Neonatology at New York University Medical Hospital and Bellevue Hospital, agrees, adding that, "time and time again, it has been shown that kangaroo care causes a regulation in a premature infant's heart rate, breathing, and temperature control."~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Day 7-15 learning to eat and breathe and the same time and getting rid of his jaundice and A&Bs!

*~~Eli-Billi Bed*~~
Almost ready to come home with Mommy and Daddy! Still getting fluids in his "unicorn IV" LOL
(Scalp IV)

 

2 years later

We thank God for him  every day!

We are back...stay tuned for an update very soon!

Hello friends! Just a little note say HELLO! We are BACK!! Look for an update very soon!

Until then...


Love,

Photo Card

Cool Cupcake Orange Birthday

Create the perfect card for Birthdays, Valentine's Day and more.

View the entire collection of cards.

Pajama-rama!

As of late, my family has enjoyed hanging out in their PJ's! I have to say there are MANY positives to this, the first one being 5 less outfits to wash each day!!! Whoo hooo!!!!!!!!!!

I have also noticed that my kiddos also nap better when they are still in their pajamas too! So unless we have some super duper important errand to run or doctors appt to go to I think this summer will be deemed the "Summer of Wearing Pajamas!" :) aaahhhhhh!!!

Living the life in my comfies...

Love,

Jacki-one blessed mama :)

a quick update

Hello World!

Wow, Im sorry we havent been keeping up but it has been a whirlwind of a month. The sickness in this house has been out of control! But now I think We are finally done!! :) Yay!!!!

Other then being sick we have had some fun and I will try to catch you up!!

Easter was great! Kevin finally had this AWESOME day OFF!! This is the first time in our marriage that he has been off. It was nice to be able to spend this special day as a family. We went to church on Saturday night with some of our good friends and then on Sunday we spent the morning talking about the special meaning of the day and then had our egg hunts and headed over to the Sharkeys for Easter dinner! It was a great day of fellowship!!!

Now that the weather is nice we have spent ALOT of time in the backyard. The kids love it and it gets alot of thier energy out which makes for an easier, more pleasant evening. We also had out very first beach day of the season. We headed to Isle of Palms and it ws sooo nice! The kids LOVED it and this momma was able to relax....well kinda! ;)

We finally went to the strawberry patch and picked strawberries. The kids loved it! I think Eli may have eaten more strawberries off the vine then he picked...silly boy!

"Eli, Where's your..."

"....your mad face?"

"...your nose?"

"...your eye?"

"...your mouth?"

So excited to watch him learn!! My girls did this much earlier then he is but I have come to realize that boys are just plain DIFFERENT!!! Love him!

One proud mommy,

Baby Dedication

"I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. Now I am giving him to Lord and he will belong to the Lord his whole life." -1 Samuel 1:27-28 NLT

In February we dedicated Rylie and Elijah "Eli" back to the Lord. It was a great day and we will not forget how important this day was for our sweet babies!! We thank God for them EVERYDAY!!! They are truly a blessing from Him! :)

The week prior to the dedication the outfits I had made for them were still not here and so that meant I was in a panic. It even got down to the Friday before the dedication and they still were NOT here yet! rest assured they got here Saturday at 3pm. Yep and wouldn't you know Rylies dress was more of a SHIRT! So out to Target at 8pm to find a way to make it work!! And i did! I found some really cute white capris and some pretty white sandals! It was perfect!! I love how it turned out! Enjoy!

Blessed,