Ellie's back to Lori's!

Ellie went back to Lori's today and actually from 8am to 5 pm so mom and dad can catch up on homework...and the blog. HA! We're so glad the Harlan's are back and healthy. Bill, Lori and Bridget all did end up getting Influenza A. Not fun, but all fought it and Cloroxed their place in prep for Ellie to come back! It's been an adjustment again though because I was used to seeing her all the time these past two weeks and now we're back into the "new normal" routine. I've called Lori like 50 times today to see how she's doing. So far so good. I was wondering if she's have a little stranger anxiety (only because my mom and dad tried to feed her a couple weekends ago and she wouldn't have it!), but she did alright! Ben's interview in Texas at Lockheed Martin went well and we should hear within a week if he were to get an offer. So continued prayers there. Ben did finally make it home at 2 am on Friday night though after going into the ditch with some icy road conditions. Freezing rain when he hit Topeka...not so fun. We are thankful that he was ok and had to just wait about 3 hours for the tow truck to pull him out and then was able to drive our dinged up car home. There was some damage to the passenger rear door and the grill, front bumper. We're just hoping there was no damage done under the hood, with the wheels or anything. Ellie just last night started to experiment with her voice - giggling to a bit of a screech. It was pretty cute. Although we've tried to get her to do it again and nothing! I've got a video I will post soon of her talking jibber jabber to her animal friends on her playmat!

Prayers for Dad!

Ben's just got offered an interview with Lockheed Martin!!!! He will fly out of Kansas City tomorrow night for an interview in Fort Worth, TX on FRIDAY! This all happened about an hour ago...yes, they called him at 9:40 pm! But, hey whatever works! WE'RE SO EXCITED and THANKFUL for this lead! Prayers please!!!

Farmer Ellie

This outfit is just too cute! Had to post some more pictures! Good job on this overalls outfit Adrienne!

From March 2009

From March 2009

From March 2009

From March 2009

E-L-L-I-E G-R-A-M

Well, again, the time has gone by to fast and we've been very busy, but I MUST update you on the latest with our changing and growing Ellie...in her Ellie-Gram...funny because Ben actually calls her Ellie Gram sometimes!

From March 2009

E - is for 80 degree weather that we had last week and couldn't let the opportunity to take our little princess on her first walk in her stroller! I was more nervous than the rest of Team Gramkow! Ellie loved it. She was looking around for all the new sounds - birds chirping, wind blowing, tree leaves moving - all those things she hasn't gotten to experience yet! I almost felt guilty for sheltering her this long, but well, that's what we needed to do!

From March 2009

L - is for laugh and ehhh sounds - yep, she's becoming more and more vocal! She giggles when her mommy and daddy tickle and blow on her neck and also pat a cake is still a good giggle prompter! She's also increasing her leg muscle speed, she never keeps socks on! Oh, and focusing and grabbing toys! It's so cool to watch her grab stuff!

From March 2009

L - This L is for lighter load! Yep, that's right Ellie's a few pounds lighter during the day because Dr.Duff said she doesn't have to wear the monitor during the day anymore! It's been so nice to not have to cart around too! I only carry the diaper bag and it feels so light! So we only strap her up to the monitor at night time. She has had a couple apneas during the night (little stinker), but we get to call back in a month to the Dr to see if we can discontinue at that point.

From March 2009

I - is for immunizations! Yep, more shots for Ellie at 6 months. I made Ben hold and comfort her because she cries a lot harder these days! She did not like it one bit! We are nearing the end of cold and flu season, PRAISE JESUS! Ellie won't actually get any more synagis shots. So prayers as we go into a season without synagis. Prayers also for our babysitter Lori. Bill, Lori and Bridget have all had Influenza Type A the past two weeks (well, one then the next) and are recovering! It's been a tad stressful as Ben and I have been watching Ellie in our crazy switching routine! Prayers that we'll be able to catch up with school and work stuff! Thanks too for a couple friends who were able to help out when Ben and my classes overlapped! Prayers too as Ellie goes back to Lori's and that all the bad germs would be gone from their place! ;)

From March 2009

E - is for eating! Yep! Ellie eats every three hours now and she's really taking off her her eating! We've almost officially converted over to ounces. I know..shock! She's averaging 4 to 6 ounces per feeding! Wahoo! She still eats sidelying some of the time though. AND Dr.Duff said we could let her sleep as long as she wanted over the night time! He's was so impressed that she's been doing so well staying healthy and gaining weight, that he was comfortable with us trying that! So the she's slept 3 nights in a row - EIGHT HOURS! Last night she only slept 6 hours, but that's ok, she went right back to sleep after that 6 am feeding! Wahoo! Oh, we're also going to wait maybe a month before starting some rice cereal. He wants her to get to eating 35-40 ounces a day before we start trying solids. She's getting there!

From March 2009

G - is for grams! Ellie weights 5800 grams! Ha ha..seems like a lot compared to the 1120 that she started out at! Whoa! At her last Dr. visit for her 6 month well check and shots, she weighed in at 12 lbs. 13 1/2 oz. (1 percentile) Length: 25 1/2 inches (30 percentile) and Head Circumference was 42 cm. (25 percentile) SHE'S ON THE GROWTH CHART FOLKS! But then Dr. Duff compared her with other preemies and she's actually weight: 35 percentile, length: 95 percentile and head circumference: 80 percentile.

From March 2009

R - is for Ready! Yep, we're getting ready for graduation to come! Ben did hear from Lockheed Martin and they want to move forward to the next step (after his first interview that went well). So apparently his info has been forwarded on to hiring managers. We're still waiting to hear back from them. We're praying Lockheed is where he'll be. He's pretty excited about the specific job titles there - he applied for about 6 different and said they'd all be interesting!

From March 2009

A - is for acid reflux. Dr. Duff said we should try next week, which is actually this week, to try her off of prilosec a couple days and see how she does. He said you'll notice if she still needs it!!! We haven't tried it yet!

From March 2009

M - is for Monkeys! Ellie got to go to the Zoo this past Sunday! She only was awake for the monkeys and then she fell asleep! Oh well! It was really windy too, so I had her stroller cover on the whole time anyway! But it was fun to be out in the beautiful sunshine with Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Caryn and Uncle Wade and Cousins Cedric, Amelia, Lawton and Josiah!

From March 2009

From March 2009

Ellie's Top Ten

So, I am SO sorry I have been a horrible blogger lately! This past week had it's normal busyness of school, work, mommyhood with grad hiring and duty for Jardine! Busy! Busy! But let's just say it's a good thing Spring Break is here. I'm still actually working and on duty, but I'm praying things are a little lower key around here this week! Starting tonight...we got some good smile pictures!

From March 2009

From March 2009

So, I decided I would update all you faithful readers on Ellie the past two weeks with a Top Ten list, in no particular order however! I love this picture...Ellie still plays with her snoodle from the NICU!

From March 2009

1. Friday we paid a visit to Dr.Duff's office because we had noticed (well, and the home health nurse when she came to give Synagis Friday morning) that he breathing patterns had changed - it's almost like she didn't have real rhythmic breathing patterns, just noticed more pauses. Which maybe they've been there most of the time, and I haven't noticed, I'm not sure. Well, anyways - she also had a rash on her tummy that had been getting worse. I called and the nurse said to bring her in. Dr.Duff said that it was a good rash that's for sure, but must be a viral thing, so might have to just take it's course. She hasn't had a high temp, her eating patterns have been pretty normal, just red bumps! He recommended vanicream or hydrocoritsone 1% and it's actually been clearing up her rash already quite nicely! We also talked to him about the home apnea monitor and her breathing. He wasn't concerned with her pauses - because she's not turning blue, etc. So phew, no worries there. He also said that we can start weaning ourselves off the monitor. We can let her be off the monitor if she's awake and if she's where we can watch her during the day. So basically it's at night that she wears it consistently. Wahoo. We'll see next week when we go to her 6 month well check what he says about everything else. (It was a quick visit Friday because there were lots of kiddos in that waiting room!) 2. Her latest thing is sticking out her tongue - mirroring us. It's pretty cute. She's even got a little curl at the end. I tried to get a picture of it.

From March 2009

3. She got her synagis Friday morning and her weight was 12 lbs. 5 oz. (although it was 12 lbs. 8 oz. earlier that morning at the WIC office...so we're going with that one! :) Prayers because we aren't sure if insurance will approve Ellie to get another Synagis into next month. It's supposed to go through April, but since Ellie got her's "mid-month" we're not sure if they'll provide another one. 4. Clothes - she's in 3 month stuff for sure, some 3-6 month and I just got some 6 month sleepers out because this girl is LONG! 24 1/4 inches at the WIC office! Yep! long, long, long! 5. This week's goal for Team Gramkow is to take Ellie on a walk in her stroller. Hopefully this Kansas weather will cooperate! 6. Ben had his interview with Lockheed Martin on Thursday and he said it went well - mostly behavioral based to see if he's a good fit for the company - supposed to hear back in a couple weeks and apply to some jobs on their web site online. The jobs he's finding are far away! :( Texas, Florida, Washington, Vermont....we'll just have to wait and see. Until then, he has to do more homework...I think Ellie must have already figured out this problem!

From March 2009

7. Apria Health Care (the home monitor company) paid a visit to our house because Ellie's monitor was going off like crazy (just ask our babysitter Lori!) Anyways, she had it go off pretty frequent and it just wasn't like Ellie, so we called Apria to come go through the episodes with us to see if they were "real." Only one of them was technically real, so that was good! We just have to make sure to put water on the leads to increase the conductivity and decrease our false alarms! 8. RECORD EATER here - Ellie on Friday ate 155 mL - yes, that's right 5 whole ounces. Good job on that one Ben! Gold princess sticker for ELLIE! Wahoo! Her eating patterns are getting so much better, I'm sure you can tell from the pictures, she's working a little more on those cheeks and jowel! The arms aren't doing to shabby either!!

From March 2009

9. Thumb sucking - yes, she's always got her hands in her mouth these days and will manage to find her thumb too! We'll see if that sticks. 10. She's focusing and grabbing things a lot more now! It's pretty fun to see her look at us and then oh, all the sudden she gets distracted by her hand! :) She wiggles and still won't keep any socks on!

From March 2009

From March 2009

Well, it's pretty much taken us two days to get stuff cleaned and laundry caught up. We've been napping a lot lately too! Check out these adorable pictures! Sleep is good!

From March 2009

From March 2009

Oh, there are some good videos on our PICASA SITE you'll have to check out! Too funny!@

NICU Follow Up Visit

From March 2009

Our visit to the NICU was great. It was a weird feeling going back there because I can't believe it was just a short 6 months ago Ellie was born right there at Stormont-Vail. I now think we've been home at least more than Ellie was at the NICU now! :) Well, Monday night (this would be March 2) we went to the NICU to see some of the night shift nurses (they always mention that everyone forgets to come visit them!) and it was great to see them! We also brought them some bagels from Panera (still pretty thankful for all they did for little Ellie). Then we got to stay overnight with Cousin Audrey and Steve in Topeka and we watched the Bachelor! Too funny that that was probably the most TV we've watched in a long time. It was great to be there and take a break from the Manhattan crazy life we lead! Plus, I know Audrey enjoyed her Ellie time! :)

From March 2009

Then on Tuesday morning we went to the NICU for her follow up appointment and were greeted by some NICU nurses who just couldn't believe how big Ellie had gotten! We met with Dawn, the occupational therapist, Chris, the social worker, Kathy, the nurse, and then Dr.Navarro did her assessment. We were SO SAD that our Nurse Practitioner Ellen wasn't there. :( They started with a series of questions that they asked about Ellie and how she's been doing since we've taken her home. Meanwhile, Dawn did some assessment of her development and was so happy and proud for how far Ellie's come!

From March 2009

I won't mention all the specifics again because I already told you all the stats on that. Poor Ellie fell alseep, but then Dr. Navarro came in and did some more assessments on Ellie listening to her heart, lungs, testing her tone.

From March 2009

She also talked with us about her eating patterns. This is where we discussed going to feeding every 3 hours and letting her go a 6 hour stint at night. But all in all it was a good report! We actually don't have to go back until September! Which is a good sign! Dr.Navarro also wanted to make sure that if/when we move that we will at least come back to them one time before we transfer physicians. We also got to see the day shift nurses (don't worry - we took them bagels too!). We were so happy to see Dr. Hall then too.

From March 2009

From March 2009

We also stopped at Ronnie's to say hello to the staff there!

From March 2009

From March 2009

Enjoy some of the pictures! There were too many to post on the blog - so check out more on our Picasa Web site.

Our Little Princess is 6 Months Old!

Wow. I can't believe we started the Ellie journey 6 months ago! Crazy how time flies by so fast. However, I'm a little short on time tonight, so I'll give you the basics..then after my make up test on Thursday, I'll fill in all the good details and pictures! weight: 12 lbs 2 oz. length: 24 inches They compared her on the growth chart for preemies (based on her gestational age) :) and she is in the 75th percentile for weight, 95th percentile for height and head circumference. So for a three monther she's doing well! We're so proud! Thanks for all the prayers for Ellie's development. Dawn, the Occupational Therapist, tested her development on the Bradley scale and she rated competent in all the areas except one. That one was in the emerging category (receptive communication...will explain more later) BUT...they were ALL high marks! Also, we're still fortifying her feedings with the Neosure to 22 calories; going to every 3 hour feedings; and we can let her sleep 6 hours in the night (we've just been doing 5 - so YEAH for another hour of sleep!) Ok...like I said before, will tell more details later! Love, TEAM GRAMKOW

Ellie's doing homework too...

From March 2009

Yes, that's right, we're starting her early. So far (as you can see) she's a fan of the itsy bitsy spider. (and does like it when Mom sings too). We've been starting to read to her more. Fun times and I'm reminded that it's been such a long time since I've really read aloud! Ellie is quite the active little girl these days. She loves to move her arms and legs and has developed an "attack mode" when she's playing in her bouncy seat or on her play mat. You can see that she's starting to bat at things - still not sure if she realizes it yet. Although today, in her bouncy seat we were eating and all the sudden I head the music start (I hadn't touched it, neither had Ben)..and we look over and yep, she had pulled the ring and her eyes were huge as the music played! We were proud! :) We've had a pretty restful weekend which has been nice. Oh! Oh! Good news - Ben got an interview with Lockheed Martin (on March 12). He also submitted quite a few more applications, so we'll see what happens. He also checked about Honeywell and found out that they denied him an interview because the job he would have been applying for through CES was a general engineer - whereas the position the recruiter talked to him about at the Career Fair was an optics engineer. He talked with her on Friday and she had said she was waiting to hear if funding for that project was being reallocated or not. So far, it wasn't looking promising. So I guess maybe something could come of it later. We'll see. We're heading to Topeka for the NICU follow up on Tuesday - I'm really looking forward to seeing how they think Ellie's progressing! I'm also really excited to see our NICU family!