Pictures

Sweet dreams...  Still only been able to get her to smile maybe twice outside of sleeping. 
Neither of which I was there to see.  She smiled for Daddy and Samuel.  The day will come.  :o)
OK, I have to now add that this afternoon she gave me 2 big smiles!  The day has come.  :o)

Thinking about going home tomorrow for the first time... ;o)  This was on Sunday, May 20th.

Nurse Mary Lou came by to say goodbye before we were discharged Monday, May 21st.  She's so tiny and petite and so helpful, sweet and caring. 

Cathy, a wonderful lactation nurse came by to make sure I was set for going home to pump my heart out!  She even called me at home later that week to check up on me.  Such great people. 

Rosanna, my Amish friend came by to say goodbye.  Her husband gave me such a clear testimony of being saved and born again and wants to reach other Amish who don't really know Jesus Christ personally. 
She said she had no problem with getting her picture taken.  :o)

 

Daddy bought her a little going home present... she's so excited about it...



Little Cayla just had all the sticky monitors peeled off her belly and is not happy
even though it's a great thing to have them gone.  She'll appreciate it all later, I'm sure. 




Grandma with a ready-for-home Cayla Joy    :o)



First time outside in the fresh air waiting to get in the car to go home! 
May 21, 2012



First time in her car seat.   Didn't really work well with the cast on her leg, so we had to "jerry-rig" it. 

Arriving at home.

Enjoying her bouncy, vibrating, musical seat from Aunt Cathie! 




First bath at home.   Didn't really care for the washcloth scrub-down... Can't win them all.



She is such a Daddy's girl.  He can calm her down way better than I can. 
She will respond to his voice more than mine at times, but  I'm not bitter or anything.......  ;o)




Two sleepy-heads.  We're all a little on the exhausted side.  :o}




Little dress that jumped in my cart at Wally World... She's so cute.  :o)   All ready for her 1st Sunday at church (had to try it on after her bath on Saturday).  We never made it that Sunday though as she ended up in the hospital by that night, May 27th.



The little peanut... looking like my mom a little in this picture.





The paramedics had just put an IV in her foot and were ready to take her out and to Cleveland Clinic.



I could've just held her in my lap... it would've been so much lighter and easier to lift her into the ambulance... 
but they wouldn't listen to me... :o}

 

My accommodations in the PICU in her room.  The bench worked fine and wasn't too bad to sleep on.  Free lodging and meals provided since I was pumping.  We checked in around 11pm Sunday night and Monday morning, a gluten-free breakfast was delivered to our room.  God is so great to work out a "small" thing like that, but for gluten-free and on a budget, it was a huge thing!

  

On antibiotics because her white blood cell count was really high, but every test they took came back negative.  So  if it was an infection, they couldn't trace it and had no idea how it got there.  Lots of unexplained events that week.  This was her 3rd unexplainable "episode". 

 

Tuesday night Lowell, Samuel and my mother-in-law came up,
 and Lowell took this picture of the sun setting on Lake Erie from the roof top pavilion. 

 

Home again and loving life in the bouncy seat! 



Grandma Pat made Cayla this beautiful cocoon! 

Our family of 4!  We're all a little tired...

Some of the beautiful dresses Cayla has been given!  The yellow one is from our Pastor and his wife.  So delicate and soft!  The next one is from Ginny Klein from church who really did find a most beautiful dress complete with shoes!  The middle one is from Terena and Janice, my sisters in Canada.  So, so pretty with all the layers underneath too!   :o) The little pink jacket and flowers is from Tom Hayhurst, one of my favorite people at church!  He did a smashing job picking this out, it's beautiful Tom!  The little green one is a dress I found in my Grandma Brooks knitted baby things.  It's a dress she smocked herself and Cayla will get to wear it.  She put a big hem on it to make it last!  There's been more sent, but when my dad and Pat dropped in Monday night, these were the closest ones.  I hope I don't offend anyone by missing a dress.  They are all so beautiful and I so appreciate all the gifts people have sent and dropped by!  We are blessed indeed!  :o)

Cayla in one of her favorite positions. 

Big bro... Lil sis      Love it!

 

The little snuggle bunny.

 

Two peas in a pod.



Mommy time while feeding through the NG tube.

 

Her ultimate favorite position.  She turns over and curls up on her side, head back and hands curled in front of her. 
She's such a cutie.  :o)  Yes, I'm quite a bit biased. 

 

Heading down to her first Sunday at church.