Sweet Braelyn!

Hello!

Sorry it has been a while since our last post! Let's just say life continues to be crazy...lol! Jamie, our wonderful sister-in-law, has come twice to take pictures of baby Braelyn. The first time was a week or so after Braelyn came home. One of my co-teachers at Ezell gave us a doll dress from Strasburg!! It is soooo precious! (pictures shown in this post) Then Jamie came and took her one month pictures!! (We will post these pictures soon!) She is AMAZING!!! If you ever need a photographer...she is your gal!


Had a doctor's appointment today! Braelyn is 6 lbs 13 ounces!!! WOOHOO!!! She gained a pound since our last doctor's appointment which was two Mondays ago. She is right on track and will hopefully be able to be out in three weeks after she has her shots! We are so excited!!



She has her days and nights a little backwards, but it is slowly getting better. I, Rachel, go back to work this coming Monday...woohoo! I do miss my kids and I am a little excited to get back into the swing of things, but I know I am going to miss Braelyn terribly!! Jamie is going to be keeping Braelyn for the rest of March and for April and a little of May during the day...have I mentioned she is wonderful!! We are so thankful that she will be able to keep her. It is so nice to know she will be well taken care of!! Love ya Jamie!!



Thanks for your love and support! We love you all SOO much!

Doctor Visit

Hello all! Braelyn had another doctor's appointment today and she is doing wonderful! She weighs 5 lbs. 8 oz.!! Woohoo!! Everything seems to be going well so far. God has truly blessed us with a precious healthy baby girl...

Love you all!

Braelyn is finally home!

Dear followers,

Just a quick note to tell all that we came home from the hospital today! She seems to be doing well and we just hope everything continues to improve as well as it has. Thanks for all of the prayers, we couldn't have done it without all the support!

Daniel

NICU News

Braelyn is continuing to do well. I, Rachel, just got home from visiting her and feeding her. She is eating REALLY well, which is great for her age. They did have to put her back on the jaundice light because her level went up a little bit, but they said that was pretty much expected. She will probably be on the light for another couple of days. They said once they get her jaundice under control, they will send her home as long as she continues to eat as well as she is.

We realize how much can change in a 24-hour period, but if everything goes well, she might be home at the end of this weekend or beginning of next week. Again, thank you all SO much for you prayers. We believe God is hearing every one of them and we are continuing to see him work in our lives.

Love you all...

No light!

Hello everyone! Sorry we haven't been able to update in a few days. Braelyn is continuing to do well! Yay! I just called the NICU and they have taken her off of the jaundice light completely. They will re-check her jaundice level in the morning to see if it goes back up. They said she was a little sleepy at her last feeding and they had a hard time keeping her awake to eat, but they said it is completely normal for her to have "sleepy days."

I am about to drive out to the hospital for the first time on my own. Daniel made me drive to the hospital last night so he could observe my skills. No worries - apparently you don't forget how to drive after four or five months...lol! He said I passed...woohoo!

We are hoping that we may be able to bring Braelyn home this weekend or at the beginning of next week. They have not said anything definite...but things are going really well. We are trying not to get our hopes up...but it is difficult not to.

We greatly appreciate your love and prayers. God is wonderful!

Quick Praise!

Daniel just talked to the nurse in the NICU and Braelyn is completely off of oxygen support. She is breathing on her own very comfortably!! YAY!! The nurse said she was eating well and that things are going in the right direction. She said that she was in the process of making their plan for the day and told us that she would call us if anything big happened. We are heading over there this evening for her 9pm feeding and will learn more then.

God is wonderful!!

Braelyn

Here she is! Braelyn Elizabeth Mitchell! She was born on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 11:51 a.m.!!

She loves holding Daddy's hand! Watching her with Daniel is the most amazing feeling ever!

She continues to improve daily!! I, Rachel, was allowed to hold her for the first time since delivery last night. It was such an amazing feeling. As of last night, they were continuing to ween her off of her oxygen, and were hoping that by today she would be completely on her own. We will find out later today if she was able to do it...

She is eating approximately 15ml every few hours at this point and tolerating it very well. They are slowly increasing the amount she eats at each feeding. Once she is tolerating around 40ml at each feeding, they will begin to feed her by bottle. For her to go home, she must be able to breathe without oxygen tube, eat by bottle, go to the bathroom, and regulate her body temperature with clothes on. We are hoping that she will only have a few weeks in the NICU, but it is very touch and go at this point. It is all up to her. Let's continue to pray that Braelyn will continue to be strong and will achieve all of these milestones soon...

Thank you all for your prayers. Again, we will keep you posted as soon as we know anything new!! God is amazing!!