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!