Elizabeth Comes Home November 13, 2010
Elizabeth Grace came home September 25th. She was discharged from the hospital at a whopping 5 pounds 6 ounces.
Elizabeth Grace August 10, 2010
Elizabeth is continuing to do well in the NICU. Her breast-milk feedings have increased to 12ml every 4 hours and she is tolerating them well. She has gained a little weight back and was 2lbs 7oz this morning.
She is on room level oxygen and is no longer on the CPAP. She has a nasal cannula and has been doing well on it. She is still having “episodes” where she forgets to breath but her alarms go off, the nurses rub her back and she snaps right back. As an example, she had five “episodes” since 7:30pm last night but the doctor said for her age, size and being on the nasal cannula having 5 is actually not bad. She is on a higher dose of caffeine to help stimulate her breathing and the hope is as it builds up in her system she will have fewer of these episodes. If the episodes don’t improve or get worse they will put her back on the CPAP for a while until her nervous system matures more.
I am able to hold Elizabeth twice a day for Kangaroo Care, which is direct skin to skin contact. She responds well to the Kangaroo Care, her stats all improve when I’m holding her. I’m sure my stats improve too!
Luke isn’t allowed in the NICU (only 18 and older are allowed) so he hasn’t been able to see his baby sister yet. We have shown him photos and talk about Elizabeth all the time though. He is a bit confused still but excited to meet her.
Elizabeth Grace Hundley August 7, 2010
Hi Everyone,
We are happy to announce the arrival of our new addition Elizabeth Grace Hundley! Excited to enter the world, Elizabeth Grace, a little miracle at 2lbs 9oz and 15.4 inches long, arrived just shy of 10 weeks early on August 2nd.
It was quite a traumatic time for both Elizabeth and I, though we are both doing well now. I suffered a placental abruption just as we were getting ready for bed Sunday night. The ambulance arrived within 5 minutes and rushed me over to St. David’s Hospital downtown. Because of the massive amount of bleeding the doctor rushed us into surgery and delivered Elizabeth. Elizabeth came out crying and feisty, by the grace of God.
I had a difficult time in surgery because besides having a placental abruption they discovered I had a rare condition called placenta accreta. The placenta had grown into the muscle of my uterous and caused those contractions that play a role in minimizing blood loss to stop. I apparently lost so much blood I didn’t have protein/plasma in my blood to stop bleeding and I was hemorrhaging. After having had three blood transfusions and two plasma transfusions our wonderful and talented doctor was able to save me. I am out of the hospital and feeling better every day.
Elizabeth is in the NICU breathing on her own. Because she was born at 30-weeks her nervous system isn’t fully developed. She has periodic episodes of apnea and bradycardia. To help her body to remember to breath she is wearing a CPAP. The CPAP does not breath for her but rather keeps a steady stream of air going into her lungs to remind her body to breath when it forgets. In addition she is on a daily dose of caffine to stimulate her breathing. She has been doing well and seems to be having fewer apnea episodes each day. She has started to take small non-nutritional breastmilk feeds to stimulate her digestive system. Unfortunately, she has been having a little trouble digesting the milk so they are proceeding very slowly and carefully.
Overall we are very pleased with her progress and are told we can expect her home in 5-8 weeks. Jon is keeping busy helping out with the Luke, working and being a taxi driver to and from the hospital. We appreciate all of the well wishes and prayers. We’ll keep you posted!
Backyard Entertainment April 9, 2010
Bubbles are always a hit!
And when Luke gets bored of the bubbles he can eat grass with Zoey!
Potty Training in Full Force March 18, 2010
Luke is making real progress with potty training…. uh, when he feels like it. 
We have tempted him with M&M’s, a cupcake, a new train, and a tube of plastic bugs. He gets M&M’s for “wee wee” and a special bigger treat for “doo doo”. He is really into watching his “Once Upon a Potty Video” while he’s working on going. He loves to sing the songs and talk about what the other kids are doing. Yeah progress!!!
Luke eating breakfast while sitting on his potty
Luke’s “Doo Doo” cupcake treat
Luke’s Lunch Shenanigans March 18, 2010
Luke was eating standing on a step stool, chowing on a giant tomato, singing “I’ve been working on the railroad”. I got him to sing for the camera… but man I wish I had a camera glued to me for those spontaneous moments. Still very cute though.
New Farm Equipment December 29, 2009
Luke and Ethan had so much fun on the new bikes Gram and Pop got them for the farm. They are so much fun to watch together.
Christmas Day December 29, 2009
I woke Luke up. I tried to be patient… but I failed. He was a little grouchy at first but after a few minutes of discussing presents Santa might have left him he was persuaded to check it out. I think he was a little confused at first.
We had lunch with Luke’s Great Grandmother Lucille. Luke was willing to share his trains with her but made sure she got their names correct.
The real fun started when Luke’s cousin Ethan arrived. Here they are having a light saber fight (Ethan is a Star Wars fanatic!). Notice that “Luke” has the blue good guy light saber.
Luke and Zoey are catching their first glimpse of a Star Wars movie with Ethan. They were both so spaced watching the movie.
I bribed Ethan to hug Luke… all it took was one cookie! He should have held out for more.
There were six baby Longhorn born in time for Christmas. They are so cute.
Luke really likes the new Buzz and Woody toys he got. He insisted on hauling both of them around with him for a couple of days. Now he is mostly taking Woody along… he’s much easier to carry.
Luke’s First Snow – Christmas Eve at the Farm December 29, 2009
Throwing a snowball at Mom and her camera. Grrrr. He sure is lucky he’s so cute.
Gingerbread Train December 11, 2009
Much more candy went in Luke’s mouth than made it on the train… ugh.
Not healthy or pretty… but it was messy and fun!
Having fun Outside on a cold day December 11, 2009
This is what happens when I ask for a smile… he takes after his Dad.
At least I can catch a smirk as he laughs about his lack of smile for the camera.
Setting up the Christmas Tree Train December 2, 2009
Someone didn’t want to go to bed last night. He cried “I want to play with Mr. Steam Engine” then he said “Don’t do that again, I’m going to give you a time out!”.
Halloween November 29, 2009
Luke was a park ranger for Halloween this year. He really enjoyed going around the neighborhood and gathering candy. I got away with only giving him one piece of candy on Halloween night. I put it up and when he woke up the next morning he forgot about it. Whoo hoo!
Luke and Ethan Houston Zoo November 29, 2009
Luke and Ethan got to hang out at the Houston Zoo while we were staying in Houston for Grandpa David’s surgery. They got to watch the elephants getting a bath and a sea lion show.
A day out with Thomas November 29, 2009
Luke is still crazy for Thomas and Friends. We had the opportunity to go to the “A Day Out With Thomas” special event in October. It was cold and rainy but Luke is still talking about seeing the big big Thomas… so it was worth it!
Well, the chair is really comfy… September 14, 2009
This is how I found Luke when I checked on him last night. I put him back in his new big boy bed and he slept through the night. This morning I asked him what happened and he said “I fall down”. He fell off the bed during his nap yesterday afternoon also. I guess he doesn’t get the concept of sleeping by the rails yet. I do have to admit that that chair is super comfy though… I can sleep there with no problem!
Luke and Zoey August 19, 2009
Jon took this picture of Luke and Zoey while they were playing in the back yard. Zoey heard a loud noise and went into what we call “panic mode”. When she is in panic mode she starts shaking and looses all good sense. She will let Luke pick her up and hold her which is dangerous for her but makes for great pictures. Poor Zoey!
Some favorite shots from Luke’s 2-year photo shoot August 8, 2009
We had a wonderful photographer named Jennifer Cota take Luke’s 2-year photos. She really captured his personality and essence in very beautiful and artistic photos. The photo shoot was so much fun… Jennifer is a doll to work with and Luke warmed up to her fast. We went to the park by our house, down to a creek, he rode his bike, we visited the coy pond at the botanical gardens, and more. We are just so pleased with the pictures and will treasure them forever.
Chasing Grasshoppers July 8, 2009
Luke and Ethan were chasing grasshoppers at the farm on the 4th of July. I love the way Ethan screams when one touches him and Luke is getting so big he can actually say grasshopper very clearly.
South Padre Family Trip July 8, 2009
We had so much fun with Jon’s family in South Padre. Luke and his cousin Ethan were so cute together! They ran up and down the beach, in and out of the water, back and forth from the beach chairs.
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