Update Monday 4 pm

Eleanor has been at DeVos for one week now. Unfortunately, we don't have any more answers since we moved there. But we have seen a lot of progress in Ellie, as she gets stronger and more stable.

MRI: the results from the MRI are in. Praise God that there is no brain damage or abnormalities in Ellie's brain. This means physically her brain looks normal. Unfortunately, the test can not speak to the functionality of her brain, but physically her brain is healthy. This needs to be confirmed by the neurologist, but usually they agree with the radiologist.

Feeding: Ellie is up to normal feeding amounts for someone her size. She is tolerating them well. I guess the next step is to try to pull her feeding tube back up to her stomach to see how she does, but they have not decided whether to do that yet.

Breathing: Ellie's breathing is pretty stable on the CPAP. She has not had any alarming episodes of late. She still does not tolerate having the CPAP off for more than a few seconds. Her airway still cannot support her breathing without the pressure from the CPAP.

Blood tests: All the blood for Ellie's tests has been drawn and sent off to be tested. Some tests will be performed at Baylor University and some at Mayo. We hope to have results in about 7-10 days.

Other Updates: Ellie has been moved out of the warming bed and into a crib. In the NICU, this is generally a good sign. Babies tend to start in the isolette, move to a warming bed, and then to a crib as they get healthier. Since Ellie was full-term, I don't think she really ever needed the warming bed, but anyway, she is now in a crib.

Family Update: Adam is back at work today. Up until now, my dad has been coming every morning to be with the boys. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to give him a break :-) I have been blessed with generous friends who plan to each take a day a week to watch the boys for a couple of hours in the morning. I will be able to visit with Ellie and then return home for lunch and to get the boys down for a nap. Adam has been blessed with a flexible employer, and he plans to go into work early and then take an extended lunch to visit with Ellie. Today I was just leaving the hospital when he arrived, so Ellie had at least one of us for a few hours. My awesome parents will then be coming nearly every evening to be with the boys so that Adam and I can be at the hospital together for a few hours. I think it will be a pretty good schedule, though we feel drawn to two places at once.

So that's the latest. Thank you so much for your continued prayers and encouragement!