OK, a few more pics

"I don't want this cereal!"


My very own rocking horse!



Christmas nap!

Elyse's first Christmas

Our Christmas break is almost over. :-( It has been wonderful for the three of us to be home together but it was bound to en sometime. Lysee had a great first Christmas! One of her gifts Christmas morning was rice cereal. :-) She did not like it and we're still having trouble getting going with that. Other than being a bit overstimulated by all the traveling and all the people, everything else was great. I do think she is one of those kids who likes routine, though. A bit fussier than usual, I think the change in routine was hard. Yes Nicole, she needs to get back to you!:-) I've read that colicky babies are in need of routine, so I guess it's good that we will be back to that soon.

We went to see Dr. Cottrill a couple of weeks ago for our scheduled visit. She said all was good (praise God!), and she didn't want to see Elyse for two months! :-( I guess that's a good thing, just scary for mommy.

OK, here's the fun part, pictures! I don't know how to choose from them all!


What a precious face!


Lysee and Daddy


Cousin Blake and Lysee

Lysee update

I got in trouble at work today for not blogging m ore often. I will try to do better! Lysee went to the doctor today for her 4 month check-up. She had four shots. :-( She weighs 10 lbs, 8 oz!! This is up a pound since last week when she went in because of her cough. What a growing girl she is!! I promise to post new pictures soon. She is growing so much and is so precious!! We are really looking forward to our two weeks off work so we can be with our baby girl more! What a fun time of year!

Keep praying for Elyse!

Just a quick request for all of you to keep praying for Elyse. It is so easy to take her good health for granted. She seems so much like a "normal baby" that we forget about her heart block and how blessed we are that she is doing so well.

We went to the pediatrician yesterday and she was a bit concerned that Elyse was not gaining more weight that she had been gaining. She checked her heart rate and it was 52, which is a bit lower than what it had been. After having a minor breakdown, I am much better now. We went to see Dr. Cottrill, the cardiologist this morning, who assured me that she was not concerned about anything. She did the EKG and echocardiogram and saw nothing unusual. The fact about her heart rate being 52 is that, like all of our heart rates, it fluctuates. When she is calm, it is lower. When she is worked up, it is higher. She was extremely calm yesterday and eating, when they measured it at 52. Dr. Cottrill said she was not concerned about Elyse's weight being 9 lbs. because she was only 5 lbs, 1 oz when she was born. She said she is well on her way to doubling her birth weight by 6 months, which is what they want. She did put us on a "high calorie" diet to "fatten her up a little" and make our pediatrician happy :-), which means we give her just a 1/2 tsp more formula in each bottle.

I feel much better after our appointment today. Dr. Cottrill IS what Dr. Lear called, "the God of cardiology" and if she's not worried, then I won't be. She said she would see Elyse back in 2 months and my response was, "we already have an appt. set up for next month, can we just keep that?" :-) She laughed and agreed to it if would make me feel better.

Again, please keep praying for our little "Lysee", which her daddy nicknamed her. :-) The Lord has taken such good care of her and I know He will continue to do so. Thank you for always praying for our little miracle girl!

Elyse's first Halloween!

Elyse was the most precious Tinkerbell we've ever seen!

Approaching three months!

Sorry I have not posted pictures sooner! Elyse is growing so much, I don't really think these pictures even do her justice. She is probably about 9 lbs now and doing great! We survived her two month shots :-(. And she is quickly approaching the three month mark. I think that's the time when most babies' colic passes... we're keeping our fingers crossed! Her heart is doing great, the doctors are still not concerned and we don't see Dr. Cottrill again until December. I asked her last time we were there, if there was anything I needed to tell people who kept her to be aware of... her answer was, "just to treat her like any other normal baby." We are so blessed!

It's good to be back at work... but I miss her like crazy and am so ready to get her in my arms by the time 3:30 rolls around. I will post pictures of her first Halloween after tomorrow. She's going to be the cutest Tinkerbell ever!!

Back to work

They seem like three dreaded words, don't they? I actually never thought I would say it, but I think I am ready to go back to work. I really do miss teaching and am looking forward to starting back next week. Of course I will probably not feel like this next Monday (my first day back) but for right now, I feel ok about it. Of course it helps knowing Elyse will be in great hands! (Thanks Nicole!) The 9 weeks of maternity leave have seemed slow on some days (the colicky days :-)), but fast on other days. Altogether, time has flown by! Elyse has grown so much... She now weights 7 lbs, 11 oz and she goes for her 2 month shots this week!She has the cutest smile and we just can't get enough of it. Now if only the colic would pass... We're really holding out for the three month mark to be the end... cross your fingers!

Has it been 2 months??

We cannot believe that it's already been two months (almost) since Elyse arrived! How time flies! She has been the biggest blessing ever. Of course we have tough times (did I share that she is colicky??), but we wouldn't trade her for anything, of course. She is doing great! The doctors are still not concerned about her heart. When we went to see Dr. Campbell for my last appointment he said, "Katie, you are very lucky, ya know. Most babies with heart block do not turn out this well." Again, how blessed we are! I told him she was (and still is) completely covered with prayer and THAT is why she has done so much better than other babies with heart block. I try so hard not to take this for granted... God has been SOOOOO good to us. What an amazing story He has given us to share forever about our little girl! She truly is a miracle!

I will post new pictures soon!!

Katie or Elyse?

Yes, one is Elyse and one is me when I was a baby. Elyse is in the pink... but don't you think we could pass for twins?? We can't really tell who she looks like as we are now, but there's no question about who she looks like as a baby!

Elyse is a big girl!!

Yes... our little five pounder is gaining great weight! Last week when we were at Dr. Cottrill's, she weighed 6 lbs, 6 oz, up from 5 lb, 1 oz when she was born. Then yesterday we went to the pediatrician and she weighed 7 lbs, 4 oz! Yep, she gained almost a pound in one week!! Dr. Lear assured me that a baby like Elyse couldn't gain "too much weight too quick" and this was great. :-) I think we must have a very good eater!
I took Elyse to the doctor because she was having a lot of nasal congestion. Well, I say "a lot," probaby just "a lot" to a new mommy. :-) Dr. Lear said this was very common around 6 weeks, when they stop sneezing so much. Anyone else find this is true?? She said just to give her saline drops and use the aspirator before meals and bedtime. I make Ryan use the aspirator (Elyse screams!!). ;-/ Any other suggestions for nasal congestion? We tried the vaporizer, not sure if it's working or not.
Today I go back to Dr. Campbell for my six week check-up and for the last time. :-( I never thought I'd be so sad to stop seeing a doctor. He has been SO good to us.. if you ever know anyone who will see him for their pregnancy... pass along how wonderful he his! Anyone would be so lucky to be under his care.

Good doctor visit!

Today, we took Elyse to see Dr. Cottrill for her one month appointment. I can't believe she is one month old! The visit was very good and we praise the Lord for this! Dr. Cottrill was actually in a meeting so the doctor we saw was the chairman of the pediatric department at UK Childrens Hospital. He was very pleased with Elyse's heart rate, which was 63 when we were there. They did an EKG and said everything looked good. Elyse does NOT like the EKG as they put stickers all over her chest and then we have to pull them off. :-( She also doesn't like the blood pressure cuff getting tight around her ankle... poor little thing. She screams and cries during those parts. :-( The doctor was very positive. He reassured us how "normal" Elyse's heart structure was and said that was a very good thing. He also talked to us about the possibility of a pacemaker down the road when Elyse wants to play sports. Pretty much, we heard the same thing that Dr. Cottrill has been telling us, which is good. He said she wouldn't need to come back for another check up for two more months but I talked him into letting us come back next month. :-) Yes, I'm already an overprotective mommy.

So after a traumatic day at the doctor, our little girl is napping on the couch with her daddy. How precious! Thank you all for your continued prayers for Elyse and our family!

Date Night!

Mommy and Daddy have date night! We got to go eat at P.F. Chang's for dinner one night! We're realizing how important it is that we still have "us" time during this big change in our lives. Thankfully, we have my parents and my inlaws who are both so wonderful and super eager to babysit to give us this time. The quote of the night... when I walked out of the bedroom after getting ready, Ryan said, "wow, I haven't seen you like that in forever!" How should I take that?? :-)

This is our favorite picture of Elyse!

New baby = Rough nights

Yes, our nights have gotten a little rough. We are really hoping it is not colic. Elyse will take her night feeding and then act like her tummy really hurts for A WHILE. This is when she will scream and cry. It is so hard to listen to because its obvious she is in pain and yet she is inconsolable and nothing seems to help. We've had one REALLY bad night, with the pain and crying lasting a couple of hours and then several very fussy nights, starting at about 10 p.m. I've heard the fussy nights are
Other than this, Elyse is doing wonderful! She is so sweet and she makes the funniest faces! I'm determined to try to catch a picture of all her funny faces so i can share them. She is growing everyday, but still in preemie clothes. :-)
We don't go back to the cardiologist until September 12, so no new doctor news. It's amazing how the Lord has taken the burden of worrying about her heart away from me. I hardly even think about it and we are not obsessing with using the stethoscope! My sister said, "I can't believe you don't use that everyday to check it." Praise God for this peace He has given ME... the biggest worrier of all.
Again, any advice on night time fussiness, send my way!

What's wrong with this picture?

Lol... does anyone know?

Elysia's first trips to the doctor

Well Elysia had her first doctor appointments this week and she did so well! First we went to see Dr. Cottrill on Monday. She had an EKG and echocardiogram done of her heart. Everything looked great, huge blessing! She did not like the EKG at all but was such a big girl when she had her echocardiogram done. It was so neat because they had her lay down on the same big bed where I used to lay to have her echo done. They had me lay next to her to soothe her and she just did beautifully! Dr. Cottrill was very pleased with how everything looked and Elyse's heart rate was 62 while we were there.
Next, we went to see Dr. Lear, our pediatrician on Tuesday. We loved her and everything went great. Again, Elyse did so well. Her umbilical cord even fell off while we were there so we get to have a real bath now!
We are so blessed with how well Elyse is doing. She is eating so good and is already over her birth weight, weighing 5 lbs, 3 oz. Now if only we could get the sleep schedule down. :-)
We continue to thank you for your prayers. We know how well she is doing is all a blessing from God and we're overcome with joy and thankfulness.

Ok, just one more pic :-)

TOO CUTE!!!!

The first days of being a mommy

I'm so sorry I haven't sent out an update sooner. As you can see, we have been so busy. :-) Our little Elysia is... well... quite perfect, I'm sure of it! We got to come home yesterday, after I practically begged all of our doctors to keep us til Friday. They all were so assured that she was ready, so we got home yesterday afternoon.
Health things first... Elysia's heart rate is staying steady in the mid-upper 50's. This is lower than it was in utero but of course, she is not getting my medicine anymore so this is understandable. Dr. Cottrill is not concerned about this. She said that they could always give Elyse medicine to raise her heart rate but she didn't think it was necessary. She said that Elyse will give us signs if something is wrong, like her heart rate drops a lot. We would see blue around her lips and she would get really pale. She would also have a big lack of urination and she wouldn't be interested in eating. So... we feel better that we know what to look for. They said they did not need to send us home with a heart monitor. They said we could buy a pediatric stethescope to have to listen and count her heart rate IF we get worried. My mom has warned me not to get obsessed with the stethescope if I get it and let it worry me all the time... good advice for someone like me. Other than Elyse's heart rate, her health is wonderful. Praise the Lord! We have so much to be thankful for.

And as for my first days of being a mommy, all I can say is, "does it get any better than this?" I always heard about a mother's love but had no idea it would be like this. The love a mommy has for her baby truly IS unlike anything in the world.Of course my hormones are raging, but I can hardly look at Elyse without breaking down into tears or at least tearing up, amazed at what a miracle she is and how good God is to bless us with her.

Thank you all for the many prayers you sent our way the day Elysia was born and the days after that. God heard them and we have been so very blessed. Again, my hormones are raging and I am tearing up writing this because I am so thankful for friends that care so much to pray for us. We couldn't ask for anything more!

Elysia is here!

Hello everyone! Yes, Elysia Hope has arrived and she is absolutely perfect! She is 5 lbs, 1 oz, 18 in. long and has a head full of dark hair!
The irony of her arrival is crazy though. It was 1:00 in the morning last night and I woke up with contractions. Thinking I only had about 4 more hours of sleep anyway, I tried to go back to sleep when... my water broke! How ironic is that?! I guess Elysia had her mind made up that either way, she was coming this morning, and wanted to throw us for a loop.So we headed to the hospital at 2 in the morning, where I was given medicine to stop my contractions. Dr. Campbell was to be there by six to "start" getting me ready so to make a long story short, we had to wait until our scheduled c-section time. Everything went great and Elysia is doing very well, praise God!!
She is in the NICU so they can monitor her heart rate, her blood pressure, and how much uring she produces. Her heart rate is staying in the 60's, which Dr. Cottrill is very pleased about. Her blood pressure is good and they put a catheter (sp?) in to keep track of her urine output, because this is connected to the heart somehow. Her lungs are great! But she really isn't crying that much. (Knock on wood), All the nurses say she seems to be a very content baby. I haven't gotten to "hold" her yet other than really quick when she first came out. But I get to touch her and feel her soft skin, which I love! She is eating VERY well, although I am not able to breastfeed right now because of all her cords and monitors. So I am pumping and they are giving her that and supplementing with a bit of formula. They are hoping I can breastfeed tomorrow.
So praise the Lord for all this wonderful news! I appreciate so much all the phone calls, emails, thoughts, and most of all, all of the prayer. It continues to be so amazing to watch the Lord answer prayers. We feel so blessed by this day and I thank each of you for your prayers. As I always say, PLEASE keep praying for her.

Monday's the day!

Well here's the rundown on how our day went with the amnio. It gave us a few surprises. Dr. Campbell did the amnio but was not able to get a good sample of fluid to measure the development of the lungs. He said she was positioned too "lateral" and she started to move toward the needle when it was in. So... he had to stop. He said that the reasons TO go ahead and deliver on Monday outweigh the risk that the lungs may not be fully mature.
Then they wanted to monitor me after the amnio because that can apparently trigger labor. So they put me on a monitor for an hour and found that I was having contractions every five minutes. I wasn't feeling this at all so this was a huge surprise to me. The nurse thought Dr. Campbell may put me in the hospital over the weekend by he said as long as they weren't painful to me, I was fine to go on home. I am supposed to "take it easy" and go to the hospital if they get painful or if I start to lose fluid. Oh, and she weighed in today at 4 lbs, 14 oz, so she may get to 5 lbs by Monday.... maybe not. :-)
So... after an eventful morning, we are scheduled for a c-section at 7:30 Monday morning at St. Joe East, where Elysia will make her arrival! This will be a day full of uncertainties, so please pray for us. We want to pray that Elysia will have a smooth delivery so she won't be in distress and that her little heart and body will be ready to function well on its own when she comes out.
Thank you in advance for your prayer for all of us on this big day. It's been a long time coming. Psalm 139:13-14 has been a verse that I've thought a lot about throughout this pregnancy. It says "You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made."
We know this has been and continues to all be part of the Lord's plan for Elysia Hope. :-)
Ryan or I will update the blog just as soon as we can after the weekend!!

Getting closer...

Hello everyone! I know some of you were expecting an update yesterday after our doctor appt. but I wanted to wait until today because we met with the neonatologist today. First, the appt. yesterday with Dr. Campbell went very well. Elysia's heart rate was the highest I think it's been. It measured at 73 and then at 70, so we were very pleased with that! I told them I think it's because she's saying she's ready to come out! While we were there, Dr. Campbell set us up a time to meet with a neonatologist today. So Ryan and I went and did that this morning. He was very intelligent and very informative. It was almost too much to "take in" and I ended up just feeling a little overwhelmed. BUT, he was very nice and helpful. He said that Elyse would definitely be in the NICU at St. Joe when she is born so they can more closely monitor her heart. It sounds like there's just going to be a lot of monitoring going on for the time she's there. They not only have to monitor her heart rate to see what it's going to do once she's born but they have to monitor her urine output to make sure she's getting enough fluids. This is somehow related to the heart. He mentioned other things to be monitored but I sure can't remember them. :-/ He didn't say if she would come home with me on Thursday or if she would need to stay longer. As much as I know I will want to take her home, I'll definitely be ok if they want to keep her longer to be on the safe side. He also talked to us about the fact that she would probably need a pacemaker down the road, which is one of those things we're very thankful they can do.

As our pregnancy journey comes to an end, I realize it has been a long one, full of uncertainties! Yet, it's been wonderful in so, so, many ways. Ryan said it perfect several weeks ago, that he felt blessed that God chose us to go through all of this with our baby. Isn't it amazing that God can give you this feeling of peace and joy in such a time of uncertainty??!! We have gotten through all the uncertainties, not because we are strong people, but for the simple reason that the Lord is SO good and because so many people have prayed for us and for Elyse's heart. Now that we end the pregnancy journey, we will get ready to start a whole new journey , also full of uncertanties. I ask again for your continued prayer for the upcoming week and even long after that. If you have other people you know praying for us, please have them keep praying! We can never thank you enough for this.

I will definitely post a message Friday after I have the amnio. We will know for sure then if she will be delivered on Monday or on a different day. Either way,... it's getting close! :-)

Less than 2 weeks!??!!

Well it looks like we are possibly less than two weeks away from having Elysia! Doctor appts. have been great so far this week. We are still doing the amnio on Friday, August 10. From that, Dr. Campbell can tell how much of her lungs are developed. He said he is expecting to see that most of them are well developed enough to deliver on that Monday, the 13th. He did say that if he found they were not, he would be able to predict how much longer they needed and we would then change the delivery date. So I guess we kind of have to take it step by step til we know for sure after the amnio. He is predicting that she will be right at about 5 lbs. Ryan says "5 lbs, 3 oz." :-) We saw Dr. Cottrill today for the last time before delivery, and she was very encouraging. She expects Elyse's heart rate to stay steady in the 60's when she's born and not need any medicine. She is going to write a letter and send over all our information to the neonatologist at St. Joe this week so he will know to expect us and Elyse's heart situation. This, of course, was a big comfort to me since I'm being over obsessive that everyone there know what they're doing with her. :-)

Still amazed at all the answered prayers we've seen! Thank you and please, please, please, keep them coming in the next several weeks!

Growing girl!

Elysia continues to be quite the growing girl! She weighed in today at 4 lbs, 2 oz. They are estimating that she will be between 5 and 6 lbs (probably closer to 5) when she is born. Not too small, but definitely a little preemie. Her heart rate was 64 today, again staying steady. It's so easy to take these good appointments for granted because we have had so many. But we praise God for every good thing we hear about our girl and feel so blessed by what He has done and continues to do in her as she grows. We go see Dr. Cottrill next week... I think for the last time before Elysia is born! I can't believe that... time is flying and she will be here before we know it!

After a weekend of car hunting, we have finally bought a "family car." It's a 2006 Saturn Ion and it's a really safe car... which was most important. Poor Ryan, having to give up a Mustang for the "family car"... what a trooper! He said my Celica will keep him young, though. :-) I think with the car purchase, we are officially "ready" to bring Elysia home in a few weeks when she arrives!

The Power of Prayer

Well, we are about 25 days away from welcoming little Elysia into our world. Every day that passes, I realize how good the Lord has been and continues to be. And I realize how lucky Ryan and I are to have such wonderful friends who have prayed for our baby and for us throughout this pregnancy. It's made all the difference in the world.

Today, we went to the doctor and we scheduled the amnio for Friday, August 10. Dr. Campbell was talking about how with heart block, the electrical impulses of the heart beat can't pass through at a normal rate, which makes it slower. He pointed out (and Dr. Cottrill did too on Tuesday) that although most of Elyse's electrical impulses pass through slower due to the block, some are acturally getting through the heart block at a normal rate, which he said was "great." And I'm going to quote what he said next... "your baby's heart block has actually improved more than most babies with heart block." WOW!! You could probably say this is because of the steroids and I'm sure that has helped some... BUT... I contribute it to the Lord and all the prayer that Elyse has gotten. We have had so much prayer support, I can't wait to tell her about all of it when she is older. I left the doctor's office almost in tears, thinking about what Dr. Campbell had said. I was just in awe of the Lord, His power, and the power of prayer that we have seen and we continue to see as we all pray.

Here he is...

I had to show off my new nephew, Blake. Isn't he precious??!!

Doctor day

We went to the doctor today and got some answers to some questions. First of all, Elyse's heart rate was 64, so it is staying steady, which is great news. Dr. Campbell said that assuming things stay the same and we go to 37 weeks (I'm 33 weeks now), we are looking at delivering around the 13th or 14th of August. He said that they will need to do an amniocentisis probably on Friday, the 10th to make sure the lungs were well developed. That scared me so of course I asked if that was absolutely necessary. He said that when they have a baby with an "issue" like Elyse has with her heart, they try to eliminate the possibility of all other issues that could occur upon birth. If they do the amnio and see that the lungs are well developed, they eliminate the possibility of her having difficulty breathing and needing a ventilator when she is born. This makes sense and I trust Dr. Campbell's judgement so I guess the amnio will be done and then hopefully, the c-section a few days later.

He also talked a bit about the medicine I was on now and how he didn't want to take me off of it, which I completely understand. I had asked him if he contributed her steady heart rate to the medicine and told him I was a little worried about what would happen when she was born if she was no longer exposed to it. He said that he really couldn't say that he contributed the steady heart rate to the medicine alone but he thought it definitely helped because we did see such a good increase. I contribute a small bit to the medicine, but a HUGE part to God and answered prayers. :-)
As far as what would happen after she is not exposed to the medicine, he told me to understand that there is a lot more that can be done when a baby is born as far as treatments rather than what can be done at this point in utero through me. Again, understandable.

Oh, and how can I forget to tell all about how SHE was today... she weighs 3 lbs, 13, oz. Dr. Campbell said she is lacking in growth by about a week and half but it is not a big deal. He said she will just be a little preemie, probably. :-)

So, overall, another good doctor day, with two more to go this week. We see him again Thursday and Dr. Cottrill tomorrow. PLEASE keep praying for Elyse as these next few weeks are crucial in her development. We pray that her heart will stay strong and healthy and her lungs will continue to develop quickly so she'll be all ready for birth in four weeks.

Big news....

I am an aunt! My sister Amanda had their baby boy, Blake Walker yesterday evening. She was in labor for almost 36 hours but he finally arrived and he is absolutely perfect! He was 7 lbs, 2 oz, a great size. After being put on oxygen overnight from swallowing fluid, he is now off and she and Brad are able to hold him, finally! It was such an exciting day. Does this make us ready for Elysia??... more than ever! I know that nobody wants their summer to end but the next few weeks can't go quick enough for me! :-)
Now, I just have to stay worry-free as we approach the delivery in the next few weeks... I got a little worked up yesterday seeing how all the nurses were so involved in the delivery and care of Blake. It got me thinking about how all the nurses will need to know all the specifics about Elysia and her heart block so they can properly care for her when she arrives. Being a baby of 1-2% that is born with heart block, she is a unique case and requires unique care. ;-) I'm sure Dr. Campbell will make sure everyone knows the situation. I know, I am a nervous mom already... goes to show I still need all your prayer too. :-)

No news is good news

Our doctor appointments went very well this week. We got no new news, which is good news. Elyse's heart rate is still staying very steady. Every time we go, they say how much hair she has. They will measure her again next week to see how much she has grown. At the moment, she is pushing on my ribcage so I'm pretty sure she's growing some! :-) Keep praying for her please!

By the way, we are selling a 1999 white Mustang if anyone is interested or knows anyone who is. It has 90000 miles but is in PERFECT condition and has been "babied" for the past 3 years. It has a great title and there have not been any problems with it. It has tinted windows, power everything, and custom 19+ inch wheels. Asking price is $8000. Email me if you are interested!

Welcome to our blog!

Why did I just now think of creating a blog? This is such an easy way for all of you to be in touch with us and know about what is going on with Elysia. I just sent out an email today with the latest from our doctor appointments. I will be updating on here very often if you are interested. :-) In the meantime... please keep praying for our girl... and welcome to our blog!