Home at Last!

I apologize for no update yesterday, but since we were able to take Taylor home from the hospital it turned out to be an incredibly busy day (and no time for blogging). I spent late morning and afternoon at the hospital speaking with the physicians, practitioners, and nurses and getting all of the needed instructions to take Taylor home. Taylor passed her car seat test with no problems. She was not very happy to be out of her warm bed and in a car seat for 90 minutes, but soon she settled down and fell asleep with no drop in her oxygen level or heart rate. She said goodbye to all her friends in the NICU and had a photo shoot with her friend Reagan before leaving. (pictures will be posted soon) Reagan, we know you will be the next one coming home, so keep gaining weight!! ;-)

It was quite an experience to finally get to bring Taylor home after 3 weeks and 2 days of her being in the hospital. We made it through our first night of not a lot of sleep. Since the Dr. is still concerned about her weight, she has to eat at least every 3 hours, her milk gets supplemented with extra calories, she is taking a liquid vitamin with iron, and she is still on Prevacid for reflux. We took her to her first Dr. appointment this morning and they are pleased with her progress and stability. She weighed 5 lbs. when she left the hospital and she weighed 5 lbs. and 2 oz. per the Dr.'s scales this morning. The hard part is that we have strict instructions from the Dr. that we are not to let others besides family touch and hold her due to her high risk for infection. Please keep Taylor in your prayers that she does not get any infections now that she is home and the she continues to do well.

To all our friends and family, thanks for your continued support and prayers during this time!! We will keep you updated on her progress.
Love,
Dana, David, and Taylor

Last night in the NICU

"Mommy and Baba love me."


"Snug as a bug in a rug."


"Mamoo knows just how to burp me".


"My Aunt Mula and Uncle Bumpy posing with me."


"Uncle Tom and Aunt Danelle came to see me."


"My Grandpa and Grandma Lilly."


"Aunt Carolyn holds me for the first time."


Sleeping Beauty

We are so blessed that Taylor has had so much improvement over the last few days!! She is still on track to go home tomorrow, and we could not be more excited. God has been so good to us during this time and we are truely grateful. Tomorrow will mark 4 weeks since I was admitted to the hospital and Taylor will be 3 weeks and 2 days old when she gets to come home. It seems almost odd to not spend every day at the hospital in some way since it has become such a part of our lives. This experience has given me a totally new perspective on those that have disabilities, are bed bound, and/or have babies or loved ones in the hospital. It has also taught me an invaluable lesson to lift others up in prayer along with the medical professionals caring for them.

Taylor continues to tolerate her feedings much better, and she was 5 lbs. today!! I would like to thank all the nurses and others who have cared for Taylor over the past 3 weeks. You all have been incredible, and it made it easier to leave her every night knowing the excellent care she was receiving. I know I cannot remember all of your names, but thanks so much for your care to Taylor, answering all our questions, teaching us how to feed and bathe a preemie, and giving me updates on Taylor even in the middle of the night when I was most likely not making sense!! ;)

We also have to give props to the best NICU neighbor that anyone could have in Miss Reagan Winslow. She came into the world at only 24 weeks old, so she will always have 9 weeks seniority over Taylor even though she was only supposed to be 5 days older. She let Taylor borrow preemie clothes (when she did not have any), came for visits, and her parents provided a lot of support when it was needed most. We will miss seeing you every day, and we will be praying that Reagan will continue to develop and grow in order to go home as soon as possible!!

Much Love,

Dana, David and Taylor

Happy 3 Weeks Old!!

"I feel much better than I did last week."


"Daddy always wants to hold me."


"I get a little upset at bath time."

It is hard to believe that it has been 3 weeks ago today that Taylor came into the world. Our lives have definitely been changed...we have learned many things like what it is to be parents, patience, compassion for others less fortunate, what amazing family and friends we are blessed with, and most of all the ever present friend we have in our Heavenly Father.

Taylor is continuing to make progress, for which we are so grateful!! We know the prayers of all have made an impact in her improvement. After speaking with her Dr. today, they are still planning on letting her go home this Thursday as long as she remains stable and she passes her car seat test. In order to pass this test, she has to sit in her car seat for 90 minutes without dropping her heart rate or oxygen saturation.

She is back up in weight, and is at 4 lbs. and 15 oz. She is improving in tolerating her feedings even though she is still having some issues with spitting. As long as she continues to gain weight, the Dr. is OK with her progress.

Love,
Dana, David, and Taylor

First Holiday - Happy Memorial Day

Taylor wishes that she was out on the boat soaking in some sun on this beautiful day, but we will settle for the NICU. She is getting such amazing care at Forsyth Hospital and her nurses are the best in the world. She also has a great neighbor, and Reagan would miss her if she goes home too soon ;-) http://reaganoliviawinslow.blogspot.com/

Taylor is holding steady today, and she continues to eat with some spitting. She was slightly down in weight today at 4 lbs. and 13 oz. The Dr. let her come off the wedge pillow to see how she tolerates it, and she is continuing to get Prevacid. Please keep Taylor in your prayers that she will gain weight and get to come home soon.

Love,
Dana, David, and Taylor

BIG YAWN!! (I look like my cousin Lexi when she was this age)

NICU neighbors...the proud Grandpa's are posing proudly with Reagan and Taylor

I love my pacifier!!

This is where Taylor and I spend most of our days until she gets to come home.

Daddy and Taylor catching a nap.

New Medication and New Wedge

As of late last night, Taylor was still having problems tolerating her feedings, so they did an abdominal x-ray to make sure her abdomen was still OK. The results of the x-ray showed that nothing had changed - still a few thickened areas but no major problems. This means that they are going to treat her with Prevacid and put her on a wedge in her crib to help control the spits and reflux. She was put on a wedge late last night, and I gave her her first dose of Prevacid at 3pm today.

Her weight is holding steady today at the same as yesterday at 4 lbs. and 14 oz. Please pray that she will tolerate her feedings, gain weight and continue to have no "episodes" so she can come home soon.

Love to you all,
Dana, David, and Taylor

Continuing to Grow...

Today Taylor weighed 4 lbs. and 14 oz. and if she keeps this up, she will be 5 lbs. in no time. She is overall continuing to do well. She had several big spits today after her feedings, but hopefully that won't continue and she will be able to tolerate her increasing feeds. She has a minimum amount that she is to eat (28 cc's) at every feeding, but after she reaches her minimum she eats just what she can tolerate. Her PICC line was taken out this evening, so hopefully she will be able to maintain her weight on her own without IV assistance. She now gets extra calories added to her milk and she gets iron supplements. Please pray that she is able to handle these changes.

More pictures soon to come...

Love,

Dana, David and Taylor

Last Day of Antibiotics!!

Taylor finishes day 14 of her antibiotics today, and we are so thankful she made it through this milestone. Her infection has cleared and she is on day 3 of getting to eat. She is up to 22 cc's at her next feeding in a few hours and she has gained more weight and is at 4 lbs. 13 oz. The Dr. said today if she continued perfectly in everything, she would get to go home next Thursday (since that would be 7 days after her last episode of low heart rate and oxygen). However, everything is dependent on if she continues to gain weight, tolerate feedings, no longer needs an IV, and of course has no "episodes." Please help us pray that these will occur, so she can come home soon.

Thanks as always for all the support and most of all prayers!!
Much love,
Dana, David, and Taylor

Taylor Update

Hello all,
Taylor is 2 weeks and 2 days old and up to 4 lbs. and 10 oz. We are so blessed that she is continuing to improve. Her feedings are gradually increasing (15cc's every 3 hours) and she is increasing 1 cc at every feeding. Yesterday she had a brief episode of dropping her oxygen and heart rate, but she was able to recover with stimulation. Please keep Taylor in your prayers that she will be able to come home soon.

I will try to continue to post daily updates on Taylors status.
Much love,
Dana, David, and Taylor

Pictures of Taylors first 2 weeks in the World!!

Right after birth, Taylor was put in a bag
to keep her as warm as possible.

Taylor being a big girl since as of Monday, May 19th she is holding her temperature and was able to move from the isolet to the crib.

Taylor's first feeding after 10 days of not being able to eat. On Tuesday, May 20th she was able to eat 6cc's of milk. She sucked it down in a few seconds.

Taylor is showing off her PICC line. Her regular IV's were not holding up, so she had to have something more permanent to infuse all the antibiotics

and other fluids she was getting.

Taylor is showing off her dimple at 2 weeks old!!

This was soon after Taylor was born after her first bath.

The colorful blanket behind Taylor was a prayer quilt, give to us from Sandra McNease, a good friend at our church. This blanket hung over her isolet during her sickest time. Thanks Sandra for encouraging the extra prayer for Taylor!!

Taylor looking cute after she got the tube taken out of her stomach.

Sleeping peacefully...

Happy that she has all tubes out of her mouth!!

Happy 2 Week old Birthday!!

I have finally succumbed to my friends and family asking for a blog with updates and pictures of the newest addition to our family, Miss Taylor Jordan Lilly. Hopefully this will also help in getting updates to not only my out of town family and friends, but also those that we live close to but have not been able to be in as much contact with as of late. I must begin by thanking so many of you for your thoughts, prayers, cards, emails, and gifts since I have been in the hospital and also since Taylor was born. We have been inundated with support from so many family and friends. It is in times like this that we have realized how blessed we are!! I have been contacted by several people that I do not even know, but heard about baby Taylor through a friend and wanted to let us know they were praying for her. We thank you all for this support.

I will begin by providing a little background on what has gone on in the last few weeks. I went into the hospital on May 1st with what turned out to be pre-eclampsia and pre-term labor. After several days of trying to slow the labor process down, I was transferred to Forsyth Hospital on May 4th and Taylor was born on May 6th at 10:25pm. She was 4 lbs and 5 oz. and 18.5 inches long. Taylor was admitted to the NICU and did very well for the first few days. However, on Saturday May 10th, she had an abnormal abdominal x-ray and she was thought to have necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a problem with her bowels that occurs in premature infants that can be fatal at times. The next day, Sunday May 11th, she was also diagnosed with a blood infection. It was obvious that Taylor was very sick since her demeanor had changed and she was not as active. Her lowest weight she got down to was 3 lbs and 14 oz. She began 10 days of complete bowel rest, meaning she could not eat at all except to receive nutrition intravenously. She also started a 14 day course of antibiotics. Over the last 11 days, she has had ups and downs in her progress, but overall she has done so well.

We have excellent news today - on her 2 week birthday she was able to start eating again. She started by drinking 6 cc's at 3pm today and this feeding schedule will continue every 3 hours as she tolerates it. Her abdominal x-ray was improved today, and her blood cultures are free of infection at this time. Please continue to pray that she tolerates her feedings and that she is able to come home soon.

Enjoy the pictures!!

Much love,
David, Dana, and Taylor