A good day for a run

I got home from work yesterday and decided that it was a good day to go running. No, that's not a typo.

Seriously, pick your jaw up off the floor...I've been known to run on occasion! Mostly when being chased but that's so not the point here.

It was a little damp but a perfect cool fall day. So, I loaded up Alaina and away we went. Thirty seconds later, I remembered why I don't take my child running with me. Strollers are HEAVY. Seeing as my neighborhood has crazy steep hills, I spent the entire hour either being dragged down and trying not to fall, or moving at a snails pace trying to push it back up the hill. Every time I stopped to breath for a second, my child would look at me and laugh. Apparently, mommy about to pass out is the most hilarious thing in the world.

Whatever.

After our run we had a great impromptu photo shoot that resulted in exactly 3 acceptable pictures. I won't tell you how many I took to get those 3. It was so much easier when she was less active!

She loves her jumparoo! She cracks me up because stares at the little animals for the first couple of minutes in awe every time we put her in. It never gets old for her and I love it.

She is the happiest baby all the time! The only exception is if you are jet-lagged and have gotten zero sleep. Then she's a rat and will do nothing but cry and refuse to let you put her down. Mostly, just smiles and giggles.

Scotlon makes fun of me because I have an obsession with her feet. There's just something so sweet about tiny little baby feet!

Happy Halloween & Game Day

Since I know several of you are Georgia fans, I'll get the game day portion out of the way first. Being the always fair person that I am, Alaina was house divided on Saturday. She wore a black shirt & Georgia socks with her Gators bib. Which she drooled ALL over.

I think she took it to heart when her daddy told her that, "Dawgs rule & Gators drool."

Her first Halloween was wonderful. We spent the evening over at the Emerson's and had such a great time. We took the girls trick-or-treating until it started to get cold and windy. Scotlon and I headed back to the house with Alaina while Hannah braved the elements in search of more candy. She was NOT going to let a little wind get in her way! I don't blame her a bit, by the way. I would have done the same during my trick-or-treating years.

I know that I am a wee bit biased but Alaina was the cutest thing ever. Don't you agree?

I hope that you all had a wonderful and very happy Halloween!

4 Months

My sweet baby girl is 4 months old today! It's hard to believe that the time has gone by so quickly. She is doing new things every day and getting bigger by the minute. I swear I pick her up after work and she's heavier than she was when I held her that morning. Hailey swears that she's not feeding her miracle gro but I'm not so sure... We tried to take some 4 month pictures but our photo shoot was not entirely successful.

After several minutes of this, we changed locations and finally got a good one!

My sweet Alaina,

You are such a joy! Your daddy and I are ridiculously in love with you baby girl. You have really found your voice over the last few weeks and you are not afraid to use it! You usually wait until we are trying to talk on the phone and then you chime in nice and loud. After not getting to hear you make any noise for so long, we are always tickled when you talk to us though. You absolutely love your jumparoo and squeal with delight when we put you in it. We love that you are happy and we have free hands to eat dinner with:) While it is a little sad that you are getting SO big, we look forward to seeing what the coming months hold. We are incredibly honored to be your parents and thank God daily for giving you to us.

I love you,

Mommy

Pumpkin Patch

One of my favorite things to do each fall is go to the pumpkin patch. Last year, I found out I was pregnant right before our annual trip and I remember thinking about how great it was going to be to come back with our sweet baby. We usually go to Burt's and we tried to again this year but it was just miserable. Since Burt's is so far away from our house we decided to try a new place near Athens.

It was awesome.

Instead of having all the pumpkins together, they're still sitting on the vines.

Alaina thought the vines were really cool. And then she tried to eat them.

She wasn't so sure about the pumpkins themselves. She kept touching them and then pulling her hand away and looking at us.

We took a million pictures and tried to get her to smile but she only looked at us like we were crazy. As soon as I lowered the camera she would smile and giggle again!

Finally on our way out to the car I caught a couple of her smiling at us.

Overall it was a wonderful trip and I can't wait to go back again next year!

Happy Monday

One of my favorite times of the day is when I'm getting Alaina up and ready to go. She's such a happy baby in the morning! I love peering over the edge of her crib to see her smiling back at me. This morning she was especially friendly and was smiling in her sleep.



Then we get up and change out of our pj's and into a super cute outfit. The hardest part is picking which one to wear for the day!

We spend the majority of our morning eating breakfast...no pictures needed of that though! After breakfast it's off to the swing to hang out for a few minutes while mommy packs the diaper bag. It should have been packed last night but football was on!



Here we are all buckled up and ready to go to Aunt Hailey's! She's still not so fond of the carseat unless it's moving...

I hope that you are having a wonderful Monday morning!

Love,

Stephanie & Alaina

Two Months

I can hardly believe that my baby girl is already two months old! Has it really been two whole months since we took this picture? My belly was so big! Scotlon took this picture at 2:07a.m. when we were leaving to go to the hospital. I was definitely between contractions since I was smiling!


A lot has changed since her one month pictures...praise Jesus! I remember being so sad that her one month birthday was being celebrated at the hospital. The nurses were so sweet and decorated her sign after I left for the day.

My sweet girl today! She's hanging out with her daddy and loving every second of it!

Alaina, my love, there are no words to describe how happy you make me. You are getting so big now and I so enjoy watching all the new things that you're doing. You are such a happy baby and you smile all the time now. Last Friday you rolled over for the first time and your daddy and I were so excited! You are so strong and it's hard to believe that you are only two months old sometimes. You are the best thing that God has ever blessed us with and we can't imagine life without you! I love you baby girl,

Mommy

So grateful

Tonight I am overwhelmed with gratitude for my healthy daughter. Nothing happened, nothing changed, I am just loving my beautiful baby girl. It's been a rough couple of weeks since we came home. Alaina hasn't been sleeping well, Scotlon has been putting in a ridiculous number of hours at work, and I've been beyond frazzled. I've cried because being a mommy is so much harder than anyone tells you it is and then immediately felt guilty because our story could have had a very different ending. I've looked at my kid and said, "come ON, I just need 5 minutes of peace" and then hugged her so tight she probably couldn't breathe because I do love her so very much.

If I had to guess, I think every new mom probably feels that way to some extent but no one really talks about it. Why is it so hard to say that I need help? Why do I feel like I have to have it "together" all the time? We put so much pressure on ourselves and each other to not show any signs of weakness when it's not weakness but reality that we can't do it alone. Can you imagine what a difference it would make if we spent half as much time building each other up as we do picking each other a part?

I'm a little scattered tonight. I'm not sure exactly where I was headed when I started this post but it definitely wasn't where I ended up...

~Stephanie

Typing with one hand

I have been working on this post since we got home but can't quite seem to finish it. Right now I am typing with one hand because my sweet daughter screams when I put her down. It is so thoughtful of her to reassure me that her lungs really are healed now! Anyhow, here are some pictures from our first week home. Enjoy!

Love,

Stephanie

Home Sweet Home

As of 3:30 this afternoon we are officially done with our stay in the NICU! Praise Jesus! It's so surreal to have this day finally be here. We kept looking in the backseat on the way home in disbelief. We are absolutely thrilled of course and have spent the last few hours just beaming with happiness. The last 5 weeks have been incredibly difficult but rewarding as well. God is so good and has used this season to reveal Himself in so many new ways. We praise Him daily for healing our baby girl and bringing her home to us.

"Along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them."
~Isaiah 42:16

Love,
Stephanie

Room-In

Last night I got the opportunity to room-in with my sweet girl at the hospital. They asked me to stay to see how she would do solely nursing through several hours. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance! It was so wonderful to get to sleep with her next to my bed.

I use the term 'sleep' loosely since there was absolutely no sleeping going on. Please keep this in mind when you're reading this post:)

Scotlon had to work but Hailey was so kind and stayed with me so I wasn't alone. She was a huge help and I could not have done it without her. Around 5:30, the machine had been beeping non-stop because the wires were twisted, Alaina wanted no part of nursing or the bottle I was trying to give her, I was running on about 90 minutes of sleep total, and I was so glad for another person in the room with me. Hailey kept me from going completely crazy and I will forever be grateful for her!

This morning after her 9:00 feeding the nurse pulled Alaina's feeding tube out. They want to observe her for 24 hours and if nothing crazy happens, Scotlon and I will room-in again tomorrow evening. Then on Sunday we will get to take our sweet daughter home! We are VERY excited and just a little nervous. Please pray that everything goes smoothly and that the next time I'm writing, it will be with my girl sitting next to me!

Love,
Stephanie

No news is good news

Alaina has had a wonderful week! They were able to turn of her oxygen so she is breathing completely on her own now. Also, the doctors let me start trying to nurse 2-3 times a day if I'm there. If you have any mail to send I can get you the address since I never leave now:) I think that the nurses are probably getting tired of seeing me there!

We are getting really close to being able to take her home. The ONLY thing that we're waiting on is for her to take all her feeds without needing any through the feeding tube. After she does that for 24 hours, they'll pull the tube and then observe her for 24 hours and we're home free!!! She's doing better but she'll get a few down and then have to tube some so the clock starts over again. We're both so ready and anxious that it's hard to be patient during this last leg!

Please pray that she continues healing and that she is able to come home soon!

Love,
Stephanie

I can't think of a witty title so we'll just go with 'Update'

Today has been a good day, full of rest for me. I spent a lot longer at the hospital yesterday and I think it wore me out more than I realized! It was a wonderful day though and I wouldn't have traded it. Aunt Jana, Aunt Hailey, Uncle Michael & Hannah all came to meet Alaina! Hannah had to wait outside because she is still a little young to visit, but they'll be spending a lot of time together in the near future.

Alaina also had a visit from our pastor and she decided to show off her ever-improving lung power for him! I can't blame her though since they were inserting a new feeding tube up her nose. Of course...if she would stop pulling it out they wouldn't have to put a new one in as often. I tried to tell her that but she refuses to listen. I never would have expected a stubborn child since Scotlon and I are so easy going and sweet...ha! In reality, I'm shocked that she's not more of a pill given the genes that she got:)

Last night when Scotlon got there to visit, she had managed to work her oxygen tube out and it was resting up on the bridge of her nose. The good news is that her stats were okay and she was breathing totally on her own for a few minutes. It's too much work for her to keep that up right now though so the nurse put new tape on the tube and we're hoping that she'll leave it alone.

Her feedings are going okay so far. She's not doing really fantastic but she's not doing really badly either. She gets a good rhythym going and tends to take about half the bottle before she needs a break. Once she sits up to burp, she gets tired and has no interest in working for the other half of the bottle. The physical therapist has reassured us that this is perfectly normal and that feedings are typically the last thing to master before kids leave. We are continuing to pray that she gets the hang of it. Once she gets it down a little better, they are going to let me try to nurse. I'm very hopeful that maybe by the weekend or first of next week, they'll let us try. Not that I don't love my pump, but feeding my kid has to be more rewarding than feeling like cattle...

Sometimes I get so tired and frustrated but then I look at that sweet face and it's totally worth it. Don't you just want to squeeze her???

I love that face too:)

Her new room in the Intermediate Care Unit. They didn't know her room was in ladybugs when they made the sign for her crib.

Aunt Jana, Aunt Hailey, Alaina & Me. We all look so much alike in this picture though none of us are actually related!

"Then they cried to the Lord

In their trouble and he saved them from their distress.

He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for men."

~Psalm 107:19-21

Love,

Stephanie

Picture Post

Here are some new pictures of my sweet girl! There's not much new to report right now as far as she's concerned. She is getting better slowly but surely and it's just going to take time for her lungs to heal after the trauma that they've been through. She's doing really well though and we're praying for the rest of her recovery to be speedy! We are both so ready to have our baby girl home with us. Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. It means more to us than I can even begin to tell you.

I just love the back of her sweet head:)

Throwing a major tantrum!

Sleeping peacefully after finishing our tantrum.

Snuggled in daddy's arms and all is right with the world.

Love,

Stephanie

Quick update

It's been a crazy couple of days so I'm just now getting on to post. Alaina is doing well and hanging in there. She is definitely a rotten little stinker though...she pulled her intubation tube out on Friday night. They watched her closely and decided that she didn't need to have a new one put in. She is now getting oxygen through a nasal tube. She is stable and just trying to work on continuing to heal. And, for tonight that's all I've got since the storm is getting really nasty here and I need to turn off the computer. I promise new pictures and more info soon.

Love,
Stephanie

Please Stay Tuned…

I am commandeering Stephanie's blog for one more super short post; the Internet is down at the Hughes residence, so that is the reason Stephanie has not updated you about Alaina since Monday morning. I will not give away anything special, but Stephanie has some very exciting news to share as soon as their Internet connection is up & running!

I return you to your regularly scheduled blogger,
Hailey

Holiday Weekend

This weekend was a little bit of a tough one for us. Alaina continues to be stable and is happy hanging out where she is. There have been no major leaps ahead in her progress and no major setbacks. We are thrilled of course with the fact that she is stable but frustrated as well at the lack of progress forward.

Saturday was her first holiday and it was really hard to not have her with us. She had a little outfit that we bought and she was supposed to be home with us wearing it. We were supposed to be enjoying the day with our new daughter, laughing and loving, not driving home from Eggleston's empty handed. We came in and just sat there together, trying to ignore all of the fireworks outside. Normally we love the fireworks but our hearts weren't in it this year. This was just not the way that it was supposed to be.

Please don't misunderstand, we are so happy that she's doing okay. We praise Jesus for all of the progress that she has made so far. We belive whole heartedly that He can heal our baby girl. We still have a long road ahead though and right now, we're both so exhausted and emotionally drained that we can't see straight.

We continue to ask for your prayers for Alaina to be healed. Will you also pray for strength and peace for Scotlon and I? We want to remain focused on the positive and not let anything steal our joy in the progress that Alaina has made. I've included the newest picture of our girl-her daddy brought in pink mittens instead of those yucky white hospital ones.


Matthew 11:28- "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Love,
Stephanie

Little Milestones

I promise one day that I'm going to get my post up before the very end of the day. Well, I promise to at least try to get it up before the end of the day.

Our visit with Alaina today was incredible. The paralytic that they had her on is continuing to work it's way out of her body and she's moving around a lot more. I put my finger under hers today and she flexed her fingers around it and held on. What a feeling to hold my daughters hand for the first time.

Today was actually full of firsts! We happened to be there during the time that they were taking her vitals and we got to help. I took her temperature and got to change her diaper. Which, by the way, is not as easy as it sounds when you're working around a lot of tubes. She put up with my shaking hands though and we got the job done. Speaking of diapers, she has already outgrown her newborn diapers and has moved to size one! We finally got a measurement of her length and she's 22 inches long. I can not believe what a big girl we have!

Her stats all look about the same today. We just got our bedtime report and she's stable and tucked in for the evening. Her blood pressure has been going up and down and they would like for it to be a little steadier. She's still on the nitric oxide along with oxygen and they want for her to come off of that completely before they transfer her back to Gainesville. Overall, she's continuing to improve but needs a lot more time to heal.

What a praise for her to have come this far! Less than a week ago we were facing very grim possibilities. The power of prayer is an amazing thing and 6 days later, here we are! We are very aware of the fact that things could still take a turn for the worse, but are choosing to trust that God has us exactly where we are supposed to be in this moment. We will continue to praise Him for all of her milestone's and lean on Him for strength when things aren't going as well.

Please continue to pray for Alaina's healing and for strength for Scotlon and I. We were talking earlier about how people without faith in God get through things like this. I can't even begin to imagine how much harder this would be if we didn't have hope that it was going to get better. If we didn't know for a fact that He is with her tonight, watching over her as she sleeps. Our sweet Jesus has been holding us every step of the way and I am so grateful that He is.

Psalm 106:1~ "Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."

Love,
Stephanie

Home

Hello all. I apologize for not getting this post up sooner. I had really great intentions this afternoon but found it difficult to type with my eyes closed. Who knew that pain medication made you so sleepy?

Alaina has had a good day and is doing well right now. They have stabalized her blood pressure and were able to turn down that particular medication. She's not weaned from it completely but it's half of what they were giving her previously. They had turned down her oxygen to 85% earlier today but have moved it back up to 95% now. We were a little concerned about that but the nurse explained that they will continue to move it back and forth while her lungs are getting stronger. They want her lungs to get used to working on their own but then give them time to rest until they are strong enough to be off of the additional oxygen completely.

Overall she is doing very well today. In fact, the transport team said that as soon as they were headed towards Atlanta, she started to improve. Apparently she just wanted to go on a road trip and see the city:) She's still in critical condition and we're far from out of the woods but it is such a relief to have some positive news to report.

I was discharged from the hospital this morning and am settled in at home. Walking through the door without my baby is the hardest thing I have ever done. I stood with Scotlon in her nursery and cried because she should have been there with us. I know that it's only a matter of time and she'll be here, it's just so surreal to be here without her right now. We're praying really, really hard that that day comes very soon. Until then I'm getting as much rest as possible so that I'll be all healed when she does come home.

A dear sister in Christ reminded me that I once posted this verse and I think it's perfect for today.

"My soul trusts in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by." Psalm 57:1

He is good ALL the time and we are resting in His love and peace tonight.

Love,
Stephanie

Jereiah 29:11

Hey guys...I am finally on here to post myself! It's been a whirlwind the last few days and I so appreciate Hailey posting on my behalf. She is the best friend a girl could ask for and I just love her. Last June she was posting for me after my ankle surgery so I think that we may just hibernate for the entire month next year!

I can honestly say that this has been the most exhasuting day of my life. If you told me a few months ago that I would have a child at Egleston's I would have looked at you like you were crazy. I had a perfect pregnancy and took for granted that we would have a normal delivery and be home with our girl in a couple days. On Friday night as we were headed to the hospital I made Scotlon take a picture of me going out the door (I actually made him take a few). I am grinning like an idiot and holding my belly because the next contraction had just started. I look back on those now and wish that I could go back and capture that light-hearted feeling for just a second. Tonight, I would settle for anything lighter than what I'm feeling now.

Alaina was transfered to the NICU at Egleston's tonight. Scotlon rode down there to meet the team and make sure that she got settled in okay. I just spoke to him and she is all tucked in with her new doctors and nurses. For the next 24 hours they plan on trying to just keep her stable and let her rest since she's been through a lot today. If all goes well tomorrow (or later today technically) they will discharge me from the hospital and I will be able to go down and see her. There are so many different variables that are playing a part in her health right now. For the next couple of days we are trying to get her well enough that she doesn't have to go on the ECMO machine. There's only a short window that they can introduce the ECMO though so they may have to just so she doesn't miss that window. It's so much information to take in and we're still trying to process everything.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. I am speechless at the number of people that are lifting up our sweet girl. Scotlon and I are overwhelmed and incredibly blessed by all of you. Please continue to pray for healing for Alaina and for strength & peace for us. We know that He has a plan and we will continue to follow Him faithfully.

Jeremiah 29:11~For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Sweet Jesus, I ask that you put your healing touch on our baby girl. You are the Ultimate Physician and there is no docotor on this earth who can heal her the way that you can. Touch her with your hands and let her feel nothing but love pouring over her. We are placing her life in your hands, Lord.

Love,
Stephanie

Update on Alaina

I just spoke with Stephanie, & Alaina is moving from North Georgia Medical Center to Egleston Children's Hospital. Alaina has continued to be in stable condition since my last update, but her precious doctor feels that she will receive better care with his mentor in Atlanta.

Please be in prayer for the Angel Team from Egleston who are en route to fly Alaina to Atlanta, as well as the medical team that will be responsible for her care until she is able to come home with her Mommy & Daddy where she belongs.

We love you so much baby girl, please don't stop fighting.
Aunt Hailey