Four weeks as a family of 4!

I can't believe Elizabeth is four weeks old and one day. She has been home with us now for two weeks and two days. The past two weeks have been very busy! I had my mom's help until Sunday June 12th. This week and next week I have a girl from church helping me in the afternoons for 4 to 5 hours. She is a great help and Will loves playing with her. Having her here has allowed me to take care of Elizabeth and to get some rest or things done around the house. 

Leighton has been back to work for two weeks now. We have done well adjusting to him being back to work. I'm still recovering from my c-section but every day I'm getting a little better. I'm hoping I can go back to lifting Will in the next two weeks. He is just a little heavy for me to carry.

William is adjusting well. He does have his moments of jealousy, but we are managing. He is getting ready to walk any time. He cruses around the furniture and is starting to only hold on with one hand and taking steps. He will stand on his own for a few seconds and then sit down. He is growing so fast! He will be 13 months old tomorrow and is about 20 lbs now!

Elizabeth is doing well here at home. She went to church for the first time on Sunday. She has attended a few mom's groups with Will and I. She is getting bigger and starting to have a little more awake time each day. She loves to eat, eat, eat!

Being a mom to two is wonderful! It has a lot of challenges and is a lot of work but very rewarding! We have had some tough days but I wouldn't change it! I look forward to the days and years ahead, watching them grow and learn.

Finaly Home!

Elizabeth came home with us on Tuesday May 31 after spending 13 days in the hospital. She is now a week old and is doing well here at home with us. The past two weeks have been a roller coaster but we are finally at home as a family. William seems to enjoy her. He is constantly checking up on her. He does want to play with her but has been as gentle as a one year old can be with a baby. It is nice to be home so I can spend some time with Will since the past two weeks I was in the hospital and then going back and forth to and from the hospital to take care of Elizabeth. When I was at home I was spending most of my time sleeping. It has been hard to recover from the emergency c-section but now that I'm at home and Leighton is on vacation and my mom gets to spend some time helping out I will be able to get some rest. I was very thankful that my mom and my mother-in-law have been able to help out during this time. Thank you also to those of you who have prayed for us and have made meals. It has been a great help!

Update on Elizabeth

Today the Dr came in to look at Elizabeth and gave us an update on how he thinks things are going. We are looking at doing a sleep study on Sunday (5/29) night and a car seat test as well. If she passes both of thoes tests we are looking at Leighton and I being checked in to a room Monday (5/30) night and rooming in with Elizabeth to see how she does with mom and dad and to ask the nurses any questions we may have. Then on Tuesday 5/31 afternoon we will be bringing her home! The Dr said he didn't think that we would be brining her home on oxygen or monitors. The past week and a half have been so crazy and now having this news is helping so much! Thanks to all who have been praying and helping us. We greatly appriciate it!

Welcome

Welcome to the Powell Family blog. We have created this blog so we can keep connected with family and friends as we live away from most and to update family and friends of the recent birth of Elizabeth and how she is doing in NICU. I had attempted to do a blog in the past and never kept up with it but this time I plan to do better. Please be patient with me as I'm slowly going to be making this blog a little more exciting with pictures. I'm learning, but slowly. I'm hoping to update this once a week at the least. Anyway I want to welcome you and hope you enjoy our family adventures.

Elizabeth Ann

Elizabeth Ann Powell was born on Wednesday, May 18, 20011. I was 36 weeks and 2 days gestation. My water broke on it's own at 6:30pm and we knew she was breach. Leighton and I quickly packed a few things and took Will to the hospital with us. It was confirmed at the hospital that my water was broke and she was breach. They then did a c-section as soon as they could. Elizabeth Ann Powell was born May 18, 2011 at 11:22pm weighing 6lbs 8oz and 19 in long. The birth went very well and Elizabeth seemed to be a healthy little girl. On Friday night she went for a car seat test and we got news that she failed that. On Saturday the did a car seat bed test and she failed that one so they kept her in NICU and did a sleep test Saturday night. She failed the sleep test so they told us they needed to keep her in NICU for at least a week to keep an eye on her. These test she was having are ones that test her heart rate, breathing, and oxygen levels. It is common for a baby at her gestation to forget to breath at times. They just need a little help with some oxygen to help them learn how to breath.

As of now Elizabeth will be staying in the NICU for a total of 7 to 10 days. They will then re-test her to see how she is progressing. Every day there is a little more progress on her feeding, alertness and breathing. We hope she continues to improve.

I want to thank all of our family, friends, and church families for your prayers and support at this time. We have had my mom and mother-in-law here to help juggle taking care of me and my healing and William as Leighton has worked this past week. Leighton is taking vacation next week so that will be great to be home as a family if Elizabeth gets to come home next week as well.

William has done better than I expected in the midst of all the changes. He has been gentle with mommy and also has behaved himself visiting in the hospital and seems to enjoy his little sister.

I will try to update this blog once a day to keep you up to date with how everyone is doing. Thank you again for your prayers and support. They are very much appreciated.