Surgery...

Peyton's echo of her heart was good!  Her hypertension had gone down to where it needed to be for her surgery.  At rounds today, we were getting excited because they said that they would do the surgery on Thursday.  However, Peyton developed a skin infection.  The infection is like little red marks on the skin that peels off.  It is not everywhere, just in a couple of different places.  It is kind of like a sunburn.  This is something that happens from time to time in CDH babies, and even babies that do not have CDH.  This has pushed her surgery back though.  It will be 1 1/2 to 2 weeks out if it clears up.  She was started on an antibiotic that has to run its course for 7 days.  Although Allen and I were disappointed because WE are so ready for her surgery so we can start working towards other things, it's not up to us, it is up to Peyton and when SHE is ready.  Peyton has to bring her best game face when she heads to surgery, and if its not now, its not now.  Everything happens for a reason, and we will not be given anything that we can't handle.  Let's just hope and pray that her infection doesn't get any worse, usually you will see the worst of it within the first 24 hours.  I will definitely keep everyone updated through the course of  this.  Love Yall!

Anxious...

So this weekend has been pretty calm for the most part....thank goodness.  Tomorrow is the big day.  Her Echo of her heart is in the morning to check and see if her pulmonary hypertension has gone down more.  If so, they will talk a surgery date.  We are just hoping and praying that it has gone down some more.  I know she will just feel so much better when she doesn't have anyting pressing on those little lungs anymore.  It's kind of like that feeling you have the night before Christmas...just so anxious.  It would be the best "present" ever if she were ready tomorrow.  If she's not, that's okay too.  We want her to be in the best possible shape before we send her into surgery.  Little missy has been able to go longer periods without getting more dosage of sedation.  We have been able to see her pretty little eyes and she has just been stretching out that long little body of hers.  Oh...the nurse also said that she took her paci this morning!  Of course, she does that when we weren't there yet.  Hopefully I will have some more news to post tomorrow!  Love Yall!

Peyton's First Bath Pics!

Bath Time!!

So today was a big day for Peyton!  We got to the NICU this morning and did our usual...read a story to her and just hung out...the doctors came around for their rounds around 11:30 and then it was time!  Peyton got her first bath today!  We didn't want to over stimulate her in the beginning, and she has been pretty steady so it was okay to give her one.  Allen and I wiped her down with washcloths and soap, washed her hair amd brushed it, and clipped her little fingernails.  Oh, and Allen got to change his first poopy diaper today!!  She enjoyed being massaged with lotion too after her bath.  She looks better now...we even changed the quilt on her bed.  She is just a growing too...her cheeks are even filling out a bit.  She is weighing in at 6 pounds 9 1/2 ounces!  It was so exciting giving her a bath and taking care of her!  I'll have to post the pictures soon of her bath.  We have turned into those parents taking a picture of her every move! =)  I also heard from Mrs.Debbie Howell that we have over 50 pounds of can tabs waiting for us in Kosciusko.  That is just so amazing!  I just want to thank everyone for their help in collecting these.  It is so thoughtful, and Allen and I can't thank you enough!  Love Yall!

Growing Girl

As of this past Sunday, our sweet little baby is weighing in at 6 lbs 3 ounces and is 20 inches long.  They let Allen pick her up and measure her.  I will have to put the picture of this up soon.  It was so cute.  He looked a little nervous in the picture picking her up.  I said, "Look at that face you are making!"  He said, "Well, you should have seen the face SHE was making!"  Also, after her blood transfusion, she was feeling much better.  She looked a lot pinker and her swelling had gone down so much when we saw her Monday morning (they were giving her medicine for the edema).  Monday, Peyton also had an Echo of her heart done.  It looked better than the last Echo.  She is headed in the right direction.  She is no longer super-systemic at 180%.  She is just systemic at 100%.  This is all in relation to her pulmonary hypertension.  The doctors would like to have her at 80% systemic before they do her surgery for repair.  They uped her flonan to help this go down some more.  They will repeat the Echo on Friday and hopefully we can get her in to surgery by next week.  It is still uncertain though...it could be longer.  It will just depend on little miss.  We have been reading to her everyday, and I know she knows that mommy and daddy are right there for her!  It will be so nice though when she is actually able to open her eyes, and not be so sedated.  Every now and again she will get one of those eyes, but 99% of the time they are closed.  Please just keep lifting Peyton up in your prayers!  Love Yall!

What's New...

Yesterday my mom made the 12 hour trip back to Biloxi.  I just wanted to thank her for being here with me in the time I had to be up here before the baby, and the time after where I was having some trouble getting around.  Allen and I both really appreciate it.  I know my dad and brother are both excited about having her home though.  Yesterday Peyton had a good day.  She remained calm and restful all day.  Today has had a little more excitement.  Peyton is having a small blood transfusion because her red blood count was down slightly.  It was very slight, and if she wasn't acting up a bit when they turn her head and use the suction, they probably wouldn't even do one.  They just want to do everything they possibly can to make sure she is comfy.  The count was most likely down because they have to do tests a lot that require blood from her.  Everytime they do a blood gas to check her CO2 they take some blood, and they could do this a couple of times a day.  She was definitely being a trooper today though.  She was handling it very well.  They said that transfusions are very common and not out of the ordinary in the NICU.  She is one tough cookie!  Allen and I just came back over to the Ronald McDonald House to rest for a bit and are going to eat dinner here tonight (fried chicken...yum!) before we head back over tonight to go check on her!  Tomorrow is the echo, and we are both hoping that the medicine that they have been giving her for her hypertension is starting to help.  Love Yall!

Smart Girl!

Well today Peyton had a pretty good day.  They did go up on her sedation medicine just a tad.  They just want to make sure she is as comfortable as possible and relaxing.  This way the flolan and other things they are doing to get her hypertension down will be able to do what they need to do.  Now, I titled this blog post smart girl for a reason.  That little stinker has figured out that if she raises her mouth like she is smiling she can manipulate her repogle (the thing in her mouth that suctions out her secretions to decompress her) to be pushed out of her mouth.  Can you believe that? 1 week old...baby genius.  Other than that, I had a doctor's appointment today to check my incision.  The doctor said that it was healing very well.  He got the rest of the steri-strips off and said that glue will come off with time.  They had me done up very well...they had stiched, used dura-bond (glue), and then used steri-strips.  I've been doing more walking, and although I know this is very good for my healing process, it is wearing me out!  All will be better in time though!  My next appointment will be in 4 weeks.  Guess that is all for today...Oh, and no echo for Peyton this weekend.  There will just be one on Monday.  Love Yall!

Pics of Peyton!

Pics of Peyton!!

One Week Old!

Today is Peyton's one week birthday!  I went and got her some cute little hats to wear.  I was looking for her some little premie socks (her legs and feet are so tiny) but could not find any anywhere!  She will just have to grow into her other socks!  Today she did pretty good...she seems to be liking the new vent setting much better and the flo-lan that they started her on yesterday was uped a little bit to help with the hypertension.  The Echo cardiogram did confirm that her hypertension is still significant.  They will repeat the echo on Monday to see how she is doing and if need be, Saturday.  Oh and little miss thing as already acquired the nickname of "drama queen."  She likes everything just so and does not like it went the other babies in the unit cry or are being noisy.  She has the attitude of, "Excuse me, I have enough going on with me, could everyone please just be quiet and let me rest..."  Poor Allen, he's got 2 girls in the house now.  He's out-numbered!  Through her assessments today she did a little better than yesterday, she still does not like being suctioned and messed with but she is handling it better.  The occupational therapist has shown us some things too that we can do during her assessments without stimulating her too much... things like capping our hand over her head and holding her hand.  As far as things are going with me, I'm getting quicker!  Allen should be happy about this since maybe he won't have to push me in a wheelchair anymore when we go over to the hospital.  I will tell you that you do get tired quicker!  I am tired tired right now!  So I think I am going to go rest before we go on over to see Peyton for the night.  Daddy Allen will be driving back tomorrow morning...keep him in your prayers for safe travel!  Love Yall!

Peyton's Changes!

So today was a busy day for little miss Peyton.  When we got to the NICU this morning, she was resting peacefully.  Her blood gases were going up so they made some changes so that she would blow more of the CO2 out.  They changed her vent MODE.  This is not the setting of the previous vent.  This is called a bi-vent, this is where the amount of air taken in is held longer than when it is blown out, where they other one operates a different way.  They also did her ECHO-cardiogram today and started her on flonan (sp?).  This will help open up the vessels and help with the hypertension that she is having.  Tomorrow we should have more results from the ECHO.  Peyton also had her repogle (sp? again....all these medical terms are getting me!  I'm usually a good speller I swear!) changed from being in her nose to being in her mouth.  She was having thick secretions which is normal for some babies, but the tube for this that was previously in her nose kept getting clogged when they would suction her out.  Hopefully having this in her mouth will help her out with that.  Phew!  What a busy baby already!  Other than that, Allen flew back home today to take a care of a few things and is going to be driving back up Friday morning with my car.  He did not want to leave us today!  It's hard leaving such a precious little face...talking about Peyton here =)  Today we also received a wonderful amount of can tabs from my wonderful wonderful work family from Lemon Mohler.  The can tabs weighed in at 3 1/2 lbs.  Sam's Club is getting a lot of Lemon Mohler money with all those drinks yall are drinking! =)  We really appreciate how much support and strength yall have given us.  Yall have been absolutely wonderful.  Well we just finished up dinner at the Ronald McDonald house...delicious...and are about to go visit Peyton.  I get so excited in the elevator on the way up to see her...it's crazy.  Oh, and tonight they are having laughter yoga here at the house...how cute is that...don't think laughing is really good for my acheyness right now though!  Until tomorrow...Love Yall!

Back!

I'm back!  Well after being discharged Sunday afternoon, it has certainly been nice being back over at The Ronald McDonald House.  All the nurses that took care of me from Thursday til Sunday were so wonderful and caring.  They played a BIG role in getting me better so quickly.  I am still sore and moving at a snail's pace (I think I'm actually slower now, than before I had Peyton when I was waddling!).  But I know that all gets better with time...hasn't even been a week yet!  I go Friday to the doctor to follow up with him to check my incision.  Today Peyton had a pretty good day.  She was calm most of the day and was very restful.  The only time she had a little "spell" was when they repositioned her in her bed and they moved her head.  She is not a fan of getting moved...she gets comfortable and wants to be left alone! =)  Allen and I sat in today while the doctors did their rounds.  They are not planning on doing her repair surgery this week.  They want to be sure she is absolutely where she needs to be before sending her into surgery. They also want to be sure that they do not create any problems by sending her into surgery.  Tomorrow they are doing her echo-cardiogram again to check her hypertension.  Surgery could be next week, but maybe later.  The doctors working on Peyton absolutely have her best interest at heart.  They are so great.  They have been wonderful and caring towards us, and are very compassionate about what they do.  Peyton's primary nurse in the NICU is also very good.  She is very knowledgable.  It has been so great visiting Peyton.  She is just something else.  She is so precious and beautiful.  Allen and I have each changed her diaper.  She leaves me the poopy ones...Allen still gets just the wet ones.  We have been reading stories to her too...we just can't wait to be able to hold her.  I just wanted to also say THANK YOU to everyone!!  Everyone's prayers, support, and love have been amazing.  Prayers have been heard, the support has been much appreciated and we definitely feel the love.  It is just so great to have such wonderful friends.  Allen, Peyton, and I are very blessed to have all the many people who care in our lives.  THANK YOU!!!  Love Yall!

Today

Here's an update I received from Debbie, Allen's mom, today:

Shannon was released from the hospital. They have settled in, once again, at the Ronald McDonald House. Shannon is so thrilled to be with Allen in a more “home environment.” She is still recovering and is being a real trooper!! Around 9:00pm they were off to visit Peyton. It’s so nice being right across the street from the hospital.


Peyton had a really good day today. Also, Peyton has a very important test in the morning. I do not know what the exact time is, but the test is an echo and this will determine if her heart and lungs are ready for the repair surgery.

I know all of your prayers are being heard. Please continue to pray for this sweet family.
-Laura

Ronald McDonald House

Shannon and Allen want to thank everyone who has collected can tabs. When they arrived, they had 25 lbs-worth. That's a lot of can tabs! You can continue to collect them and turn them in to RMH in Peyton's name.
The house is pretty impressive. You can check it out here: http://www.rmhcincinnati.org/about-photo-tour.aspx
-Laura

A Surprise for Daddy

Allen had gotten a little surprise. Without his knowledge, Kaitlyn signed him up at the Ronald McDonald House to win 4 tickets to a Cinnicinatti Reds game, and HE WON! He'll get to relax a little at the game tonight! I know Peyton is glad that her daddy won such a special prize!

-Laura

Reunited

Shannon was able to see Peyton for the first time yesterday. Peyton is doing well in the NICU. They are taking things day-by-day to determine when her surgery will be scheduled.

-Laura

New Pics

Here are some new pics of sweet Peyton. She is doing well, but has a long road ahead her. Please keep lifting Baby Peyton, Shannon, and Allen up in your prayers!
-Laura

                                         

She's Here!

Cousin Laura here again...
Peyton Anne Howell was born at around 8:20 this morning! She weighs a little over 5 pounds and is 19 1/4 inches long. She'll be evaluated today to determine the next steps to take. I hear that Shannon's doing great.These are some pics that Katilyn snapped this morning.

Please keep them all in your prayers!

Update

Hi Guys! This is Allen's cousin, Laura. I'm going to try to keep you all updated today. I got word from my mom that the epidural had been started, so it's really any time now!

Can Tabs...

Oh and I forgot to mention that I had weighed the can tabs that my mom and I had brought up with the can tabs from my work, Annalee, and the Upchurchs, and the tabs weighed 7.9 pounds!  That's a lot considering it's such a small piece of metal!  Can't wait until tomorrow when we have a big bunch more to weigh.  Everyone has been so great in saving them.  This helps with the operating costs of the house.  Thanks a bunch to all have been collecting!  We can still keep getting them too!  Love Yall!

Birth Weight!

So took a day off yesterday from the blog...it was a pretty restful day.  We hung out at The Ronald McDonald House pretty much all day.  Yesterday morning, they had a salon here doing haircuts and manicures so mom and I got our nails done.  There is a little girl here who is in a wheelchair with the biggest personality ever.  She is very sweet.  She came and showed me her nails which had polka dots on them, and was just asking me why I was here.  I told her that I was about to have a baby, and she was just so excited about that.  I told her what was going on with baby Peyton too, and it was cute the way she put it.  She just said, "Well that can't feel good."  I said well I think she's fine now, but she will need a little help as soon as she is born.  It has been nice staying here the past few days though.  This morning we got up and went to my doctor's appointment.  I have another ultrasound and non-stress test done, and we got the estimated birth weight!  She is estimated to be 5 lbs and 8 ounces!!  This is great since we were hoping for her to at least be 5 lbs.  I think she would have been small either way, whether she had something going on or not.  I only weighed 6 lbs 3 ounces when I was born and Allen only weighed 6 lbs 14 ounces.  We can work with 5 lbs 8 ounces!  I also got my first steroid shot today.  I have to have some blood work, and the second steroid shot tomorrow.  The shots will give her lungs a better shot during delivery on Thursday.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.  The actual needle part wasn't the bad part, it was the medicine going in that kinda didn't feel good.  Anyways, well we are about to go grab some lunch downstairs...starving!  But how sweet was this, we just had a knock on the door and someone had brought a little gift by from the house, 2 baby blankets, some hangers for baby, and some baby powder.  So thoughtful.  Love Yall!

Long Day!

What a long day today!  I woke up a little bit later today too, especially considering Peyton decided to get in some extra exercise right as I was deciding to go to sleep!  Today my mom and I went to go see Ramona and Beezus...it was one of those cute kid movies.  There were only groups of mothers and daughters in the theater, and I am pretty sure I was the oldest daughter in there.  After that we ran to Walmart and then went to go grab dinner at Chili's...yum!  Well since they didn't have everything we needed at Walmart, we then went to Target. What a hard task it becomes to do day to day things when you are this far along...things like..oh I don't know...walking!  After Target I thought I may pass out on the 20 minute ride back to The Ronald McDonald House!  Plan for the rest of the night?  Rest, TV, and if my mind is up for it, might do some reading!  No big plans tomorrow...might be nice since we only have 3 1/2 more days til our adventure begins!  Ahh...so excited and anxious!  Love Yall!

Address...

Oh...and we now have an address up here in Cincinnati!!

The Ronald McDonald House
Attn: Shannon & Allen Howell
350 Erkenbrecher Avenue Room # 62
Cincinnati, Ohio 45229

Love Yall!

Ronald McDonald House!!!

Last night's concert was good!  The weather felt so nice.  It kind of felt like November in Mississippi.  It had cooled down some, it was probably about 85, and had a nice breeze to it.  It was definitely a nice break from the 104 degree heat at home.  It's supposed to get hot again next week though.  Today was a good day!  We were on the way to the movies when we got the call!  We got into The Ronald McDonald House!!  So back to the extended stay we went to go pack up all our stuff and move it on out!  We got here at 4, and toured around and got settled in.  It is very nice here, and the staff are very friendly.  We are in the new wing too...very nice!  We ate our first dinner here too that a group came in and cooked...delicious....well I'm pretty much sure anything at this point is good to me considering i'm 37 1/2 weeks pregnant...but it really was yummy!  It was really nice getting settled in...we got put on the waiting list on Monday, and I was really nervous thinking about them calling next week when we have everything going on...delivery and such.  It is nice to get settled before we deliver and face our challenges.  But we are now ready for those challenges..only a few more days! Only about 4 until Peyton is here, 3 til Allen's family gets here, and 2 until my family and Allen get here!  I just can't wait to see everybody...especially our new addition!  Well it has been quite a day and I think it is time to unwind!  Maybe we'll get to see a movie tomorrow... Love Yall!

Passing Time...

Well we had more doctors appointments this morning.  We had an ultrasound to get the bio-physical profile and a non-stress test...she scored a 10!  I will tell you one thing though, she does not like when people start poking at her during the ultrasound..she started wiggling around.  She was still trying to sleep...our appointment was early this morning, and she is still on Mississippi central time.  She wasn't the only one who was tired!  I slept a good bit today.  We had some little baseball team check into the hotel that we are staying at last night...I'm guessing they won their game because they were wired and running around!  Tonight, Mom & I are going to check out this little concert thing at the town square in Blue Ash.  Blue Ash really is a cute community.  They have these summer concert series and they have music every Tuesday and Friday night.  We're gonna go see what this is all about!  Love Yall!

ETA - Estimated Time of Arrival!

She's booked!  After a couple of meetings with the doctors today...we have a day...August 12th (next Thursday) is when Miss. Peyton is scheduled to make her grand debut...unless she decides otherwise, which we hope not!  It will be her time to shine and her time to show us what she's made of!  I am hopeful that she will be a strong little baby!  The doctors here have been phenomenal, and I am so comfortable and confident in them.  Today when I was meeting with the anesthesiologist, we were talking about the C-Section, and he had mentioned that there will probably be about 25 doctors in the operating room...25!!  She's going to have a whole welcoming committee, but her biggest and most anxious fans will be Allen and I (so glad he is still going to be able to be in the room during delivery...he such a good supporter).  There will be neonatologists, cardiologists, surgeons, etc... just so many people there ready to do what they need to do.  It feels really good to have an actual date in our heads!  We have been talking about the plan of action of what is going to take place, but now it's time to put it to use!  Look out world!  Peyton Anne Howell is but a week away from being here!  Love Yall!

Cincinnati...Day 3!

So...I did it!  Got a blog started!  I figured this would be the easiest way for everyone to keep up with our sweet little Peyton and whats going on up here in Cincinnati.  Let's just start from Monday...Monday morning came too soon as I packed everything up in my mom's car and left for Cincinnati.  It was sad leaving Allen (even though he will be up here next week...yay!) and everything that I am used to at home.  The next day though, Tuesday, was such a good reminder to me of why I am here.  Seeing that sweet little baby on the ultrasound and hearing her heartbeat on the non-stress test was definitely what I needed.  This is where I need to be...this is where I need to be for her.  All went well yesterday, they said she looked good and my fluid levels were normal.  After the appointments we ran a few errands...went to the bookstore (probably going to be doing A LOT of reading)...almost finished a book already!  We even got Peyton a book...Fancy Nancy's Fancy Words...this is absolutely adorable.  She is going to be such a little diva.  Today was our off day!  No appointments so we were off to the movies.  I'm kind of limited to some activities at this point.  I would have loved the zoo, but I don't think my pregnant self would do too well in the heat.  So movies it was...Charlie St. Cloud.  It was so good...very much a chick flick...definitely glad I saw this one while Al wasn't here!  Tomorrow we have appointments for a physical and history, the anesthesiologist meeting, and a team meeting to decide when Peyton will make her debut into the world!!  Ahh...so excited!  Until tomorrow...Love Yall!