Mikels Miracles are Marching!

Tomorrow is the March for Babies! We are so excited to march as a family tomorrow for Noelle and all babies that deserve a healthy start!! This week has been a little hectic and I haven't been able to get nearly as much done as I was hoping.

It started on Sunday with an ER visit with Noelle. Poor girl had a bad ear infection where she actually perforated her ear drum. In December, her ear infection ended up with a week at Hotel INOVA Fairfax...this time...even with the perforation...we went home after 2 hours in the ER. That should be some kind of Noelle record! :) I was so excited to take her home. I think the big difference is this ear infection came from a cold...where the previous infection came from an Upper Respiratory Infection. Anything that has to do with her lungs....forget about it!

Andon is enjoying his second week of soccer. His team is a lot of fun and has some really fun (and cute) kids on it! He didn't really come out of his shell the first practice...the second practice this morning was much better. He was so proud as we were leaving that he participated and had a blast. The kids slept the whole way home and we stopped to go fishing on the way home as a treat! Andon loved it...Noelle...not so much. It was too windy and was taking her breath away. Oh well...next time!

Tomorrow is a big day...I'm making a speech at the March for Babies in Reston to tell our story about prematurity. I guess it's kind of a big deal! I would call myself anxiously excited. It will be great to get together and walk for a great cause. I wish I had raised more money this year...but it seems like life always gets in the way. I have big plans for next year!! :) :) Wish me luck!

Well, thats all from here!! Busy as always. Even not working...life is still insane most days! Definitely a more fun insane though! Hope everyone is enjoying April...it will be over before we know it!


xoxo,

Stacie :)

Easter Blessings!

Noelle's EEG came and went on Friday. Luckily (and kind of unluckily) Noelle had lost some additional weight and came in under 10kg (she is down to about 20 pounds approx). Therefore, they were able to just put some sleepy medicine in through her gtube. This was great news. I totally wanted to avoid an IV. However, the medicine didn't really work and she pretty much screamed through the whole thing. Hopefully it did not mess up the results. The technician at the end made a comment that hinted toward her having seizures. I guess we'll see. The Neurologist should be calling me back any day now with results.

We also celebrated Ross' 30th birthday last Friday!! Last year, Noelle was admitted on his birthday and needless to say, we didn't do anything special for him. In fact, I think he ended up bringing me lunch and was a shoulder for me to cry on! He is an incredible husband and dad!! I attached a picture of his birthday cake. The "old fart" was his idea and Andon got so excited about it...I just did it! haha!

Otherwise, Andon and Noelle had a fantastic Easter. The Easter Bunny was very good to them.

My poor babies are both sick. Andon started yesterday and Noelle started today. They both have nasty noses, coughs and slight fevers. Nothing too alarming...but of course, Noelle needed extra oxygen support to keep her sats up this evening. We were playing the old "up and down game." Nothing new in our house. I took her back to more frequent nebulizer treatments and turned her oxygen up. Luckily, she is still not on high flow. I have been able to manage her oxygen sats on about 2 liters. If she requires any more throughout the night...I probably go ahead and put her back on high flow and call the doctor in the morning. I am so blessed to be able to handle these things at home with ease. Not every household can just pop their kid on high flow oxygen if they need it. The tricky part is...knowing when to call the doctor. That part stinks. Admission to the hospital is always looming in the background when you talk about Noelle being sick. If I can manage her at home without steroid help....I call myself successful. If she gets worse or is all of the sudden requiring a lot more oxygen...of course I would call.

Andon starts soccer this weekend and he is super excited! I have to admit that Ross and I are really excited too. Having a family activity "all about Andon" is a wonderful change!

Also, big news in our family is that I was asked to speak at the March for Babies coming up next weekend. I accepted...however am somewhat shaking in my boots! I will be speaking in front of about 1,500 people! By far the biggest crowd I've ever spoke in front of. Granted, I MC'ed events in college, spoke and taught at conferences....but this is a little different and its about a very personal experience. But one that people need to hear. We have a great story to tell about our miracle baby. If you all are going to be around on April 18th, come to the March for Babies in Reston and support me and all the preemies. I would appreciate as many people as possible to cheer me on. The more familiar faces...the better!



I wanted to post some recent pictures!! I finally am posting some pictures of her new shoes. They are so cute and she is so proud to wear them! I also put up a picture of Noelle in her Pony Gait Trainer. This is helping her to figure out what to do with her legs and to get down the motions of walking while being fully supported. She likes it some of the time! :) Enjoy and have a great rest of the week!

xoxo,

Stacie