Updates from Tuesday

Tuesday was a day learning about development. Last night while we were talking to Ella's PT (Physical Therapist) we found out that just a week ago they were actually talking about the fact that she might be confined to a wheelchair or need positioning devices to help her, short and long term. It was looking last night like they were seeing HUGE improvements in her motor skills and her muscle tone. I never thought about the muscle tone of a baby, but it's VERY important for early development. It still looks like she might be a little behind in some skills (rolling over, crawling, walking, etc.) but she should be able to do them all eventually. Joe keeps saying that even if she has any "special needs" that she will be perfectly the way God intended her to be from the beginning. We also worked on some oral stimulation last night to get her moving in the right direction towards feeding. I honestly fear that we are still quite a ways off from knowing anything, and it's a huge concern of mine right now. We obviously can't take her home till she can feed or we'll have to have a tube to her belly that we just feed her through. PLEASE pray that she starts to show signs of suck/swallow/breathe and that she swallows safely. One of the big concerns with feeding is that the brain remembers to shut off the airway and allow the food to go down the correct tube...it's scary to think that while feeding she could choke bc of the damage to her brain. There are still SO many prayers needed. We are out of the woods as far as the infection itself, but the effects are still unknown.

Here are some pictures of our beautiful baby:



Above is daddy singing bible songs to Ella...she loves it when he sings to her.