Isabella's Hospital Stay

it's been a crazy couple of weeks. tom was out of the country, my mom had just arrived on a weds afternoon to help while he was away. we had put the girls to bed and were sitting on the couch looking at pictures and starting to watch "American Idol". I thought I should go up and check on isabella. i went in to the room to find her having a seizure - a big one. i gave her the "emergency" med we have for her, but she wasn't coming out of the seizure, so i called the neurologist. he sent us to the children's er. i was so thankful my mom was here since it was 10:30p. i grabbed a few things quickly and took isabella to the er. by the time we arrived at the er, she was acting more like herself again. the drs checked her out, put an iv in, and we waited for a room to be admitted to. around 3:30a, we were taken to her room. the nurse asked us more questions, got us settled in the room, and informed me that the lab would be coming around 4 (which by this time was in about 10 minutes) to draw blood. the nurse also let me know that isabella would go for an mri at 6a!. the lab tech came at 4:15a, drew blood, and left. isabella fell asleep not long after that. i fell asleep sitting in the chair next to her bed sometime after 5. at 6, they came to take isabella to radiology for her mri.


i watched my baby get put under anesthesia for the second time in less than 4 months. i cried, and was sent back to the room to wait for her. she was back in about 45 minutes. it took her a long time to wake up, but we couldn't be sent back to her regular room until she did. poor thing, was so sleepy. the neurologist came by to see us. he had the results before we went back to our room, and everything was clear again. thank you, God! we were taken back to isabella's room where she slept for several hours. they were planning to set her up for an eeg that afternoon, but she was completely hysterical the two times they tried. i broke down in tears too. i had never seen her like this. we figured out later that she may have been reacting badly to the anesthesia.

so, i could continue to go into detail about the whole crazy time that we were there, but i will try to summarize here as i don't want to leave you with a novel! not this time, at least!!

isabella ended up staying at the hospital for 6 days. she did end up getting set up for the 48-hour eeg again on saturday (we were admitted on weds). the neurologist had almost sent us home friday afternoon, but izzy had a bad night friday night with what we thought were several seizures. the eeg showed that the seizures are still coming from the right side of her brain. she is still diagnosed with complex partial seizures (a form of epilepsy). the neurologist did not feel that this was a setback and that instead, it's just part of the process in figuring out the right medicine, the right dose. isabella was sent home on two new antiseizure meds and a new backup med for any long or cluster of seizures.

we were so thankful to come home and sleep in our own beds with no interruptions of nurses in the room, the doors slamming next to our room. we were so thankful to the nurses who were so helpful and amazing at making us feel comforted during that time. and, we are praying that these new meds keep isabella seizure-free.

wired up - day #3 - cps

cps . . .complex partial seizures. we came home this afternoon after two long days at the hospital. when the dr first came to see us this morning, isabella still had not shown any activity. but during lunch, she ended up having one. i almost missed it, but caught her near the end and pressed the buzzer several times to let them know she was having an episode. the dr came in and reviewed the tape and the eeg printout . . . it was a seizure. they are coming from her right temporal lobe, and are complex partial seizures (epilepsy). isabella will stay on her meds for now, and we will go back to the dr in about a month to talk more. we will also continue to pursue some of the holistic/naturopathic options we have also been pursuing. the dr said that about 60% of kids with these types of seizures outgrow them. we are praying she is in the 60%. thank you to everyone for your prayers, support, and encouragement.

here are some pictures of isabella's last day . . . including her rocker look she had after the took off the wires.

wired up - day #2

we made it through another day at the hospital. isabella is such a trooper. she does not seem to be bothered one bit by all the wires and stuff attached to her. she spent the day running around the room just as if she wasn't hooked up to anything. she has not slowed down one bit! last night was pretty rough . . . she barely slept and was crying a lot last night. but she did take a great nap today. we also had several visitors, which was fun for all of us. isabella has been full of smiles and winning the hearts of all the nurses and doctors here.


the neurologists talked with us and said that no abnormal brain activity has shown up on the eeg yet, and we have not seen isabella have any episode either. of course, we don't want her to be having seizures, but it would be helpful if she would have one of these episodes that she;s been having so that they could track that time and definitively tell us what is happening when these episodes occur.


the current plan is that we are to be released tomorrow, but if she still shows no activity by the end of the 48 hours, we aren't sure if they would keep us longer. we certainly don't want to be here any longer than necessary, but we do hope to leave with more information at the end of this.

it took a long time again for isabella to fall asleep, but we're hopeful that she'll have a better night of rest tonight. hope you enjoy more pictures of our stay at the hospital!

wired up

isabella was admitted to the hospital today for her 48-hour video eeg. for those who don't know . . . back in sept, she started having these strange episodes where she looked almost like she was going to faint. the pediatrician could not find anything wrong with her. she started having some other symptoms and more episodes, so we found ourselves at the neurologist's office. he said that it was seizures. we were rushed in the next day for an mri and a one-hour eeg. both showed up clear. so, we are now doing this extended eeg in the hopes that we'll learn more about what is going on with our little peanut.
isabella did great getting hooked up with all these wires. they had to use some very sticky glue, which smelled awful. she was a real trooper for the whole thing. she is able to move around the room, as long as someone is running right alongside her, as the wires are hooked up to this box in a bag (looks like a camera bag). her head is bandaged up so that she won't start pulling at the wires. she looks adorable!


she had some visitors today, which helped to pass the rest of the afternoon and evening quickly. she was so tired tonight since we didn't get a nap today, but she was also very wired once bed time rolled around from all the activity and the new surroundings. it took a little longer to get her to sleep. but, she is now peacefully sleeping, and hopefully will rest soundly all night.

will try to post more with an update from what the doctor and video techs saw on the eeg since she's been hooked up. thanks for all the support!

18 months!

isabella turned 18 months on sunday. i just can't believe she's already a year and a half. we had her 18-month checkup the other day and she is now 33 inches (80th %ile) and 23 lbs 7 oz (25th %ile).

she loves point at all the parts of her face and body and saying the names of some of those like "no" for nose and "do" for toes. then she points at our faces and all the parts on us so we can tell her what they are. she also loves balls and trucks/cars. and she loves to push the buttons on all of her toys that play music and then she dances and tells you to dance with her. we started a music class with her over the past few weeks and she seems to be warming up to the other kids and the teacher in the class.

here are a few recent pics of her, including some from one of our pumpkin farm visits.

Into Everything

isabella has discovered what a great climber she is. after attempting emma's little chair the other day, i found her a few days later sitting in her little activity table. i also caught her standing on emma's little stool in the bathroom . . . i haven't caught that on film yet.she's still not fully walking, but she is taking more and more steps. i was able to get a picture of her taking a few the other day.

moving on up . . .

earlier today i had walked out of our family room to get something in the kitchen. when i walked back into the room, i found isabella on one of emma's little chairs. she had climbed up on the chair by herself. i missed getting a picture the first time for fear that she would fall and get hurt. but i kept the camera close by and sure enough, she decided to do it again a little while later. here are some pics of her on the chair.

two steps . . .

isabella walked yesterday! she took her first steps on her own. i almost missed it as i was fixing emma's hair for school. i happened to look up and realized that isabella had let go of the coffee table and was taking a few steps on her own! i tried to get her to do it again last night so i could get a picture, but she hasn't tried again yet. i know we'll have lots of pictures soon though, so stay tuned!

Baby Dedication

we recently had isabella dedicated at our church's baby dedication, which is where we as parents share that we will raise her to know God. we had participated in baby dedication with emma as well. the church had changed the service from what it had been when we went through it with emma, including some homework and messages we had to listen to before attending the dedication. tom and i discussed five values we want to instill in isabella and two habits we would institute in order to instill those values in her. we got to share the values with our friends and family who joined us for the dedication. there was also a message, which basically reminded us to cherish these years with our little ones as it goes so fast . . . yes, fast is true. i still can't believe that isabella is one already! anyways, it was a fun and very meaningful celebration.

One year!

yes, isabella celebrated her one-year birthday this past weekend. how did one year pass by so quickly?! i had heard that the more kids you have the faster it goes, but i just didnt' think that could be true until now! here are 12 fun things about isabella . . . and some fun pictures from her birthday celebration. (big sister emma picked out all the decorations, party hats, etc. i think she has a future in party planning!)

oh, when i asked emma what was her favorite thing about isabella now that she's one . . . emma responded . . . "cake."



12 fun things about isabella . . .
1. her laugh - she loves laughing, and if you've ever heard her laugh, you know what i'm talking about . . . a deep, very funny, from the belly laugh
2. her kisses . . . when she kisses you, she gives a full mouth, sloppy kiss, but when she hears you make a kiss sound, she'll pucker up and smack her lips making a kiss sound back
3. she crawls really fast, and when she really gets going, she'll look where she wants to go, put her head down (very aerodynamic) and start crawling
4. the way she is always saying, "tickle, tickle" . . . it kind of sounds like "ditka, ditka"
5. she can say woof, woof . . . she kind of grunts!
6. her rhythm . . . she hears music and she starts rocking and dancing
7. when she gets excited, her legs and feet and arms and hands start shaking like crazy
8. she is pulling up on everything and walking around all the furniture . . . i'm sure walking on her own is coming soon, especially now that she has all the walking toys from her birthday
9. she loves to look out the windows . . . she especially loves watching out the front windows and seeing the cars and trucks go by
10.she is full of giggles when we take the girls up for bed and she sees emma following behind
11. she loves looking at books and will help turn the pages when we read . . . her favorite books are the ones that have real pictures in them, not the animated graphics
12. the way she scrunches up her face and breathes in and out through her nose

almost 11 months!

i cannot believe isabella is just over a week from being 11 months old! how crazy that a year ago she was still squirming around in my tummy as i lay on the couch or in bed (24 hours a day!), and now here she is moving all over like crazy!

here is a quick summary of what isabella has been up to:
* she has 7 teeth now and the eighth is ready to pop through any day now
* isabella went from crawling to pulling up and moving around . . . walking will be coming soon!
* she puts her arms or arm up when we say touchdown or high five
* isabella has started eating finger foods - she seems to like her veggies better than her fruits (total opposite of emma) and is a bit of a picky eater (i'm hoping that means she won't be picky later since emma ate everything when she was this age, but is so picky now!)
* she waves at us
* isabella can say mamma or mommy, pappa, bye bye, and we think she's tried saying baby, emma, and a few other things

all i want for christmas is my two front teeth ...

isabella's third tooth, the first one on top, is coming through. she's being such a trooper. on top of having a cough and cold, her poor gums are swollen and bleeding where the tooth is coming in. i just can't believe her third tooth is already popping through and in just a few days, she'll be 8 months. where has 8 months gone?!

she is rolling everywhere, which has been quite a challenge with the Christmas tree up now. and, it seems like any day now she will be crawling. isabella gets up on her hands and knees and starts rocking. if you look at her, it looks like she is really concentrating on how she will get from here to there. and, even though she is not crawling yet . . . she can get to where she wants to go pretty quickly . . . which often seems to be right towards emma's toy with little bits and pieces! always keeping mommy on her toes!

isabella also started playing peek-a-boo on her own in the past week. i was making dinner one night and isabella was in her bouncy seat. i looked over and panicked at first as her blanket toy was over her face. as i went toward her, she slowly pulled the blanket down and had a big smile on her face. i suddenly realized she was playing peek-a-boo. so cute!!

we are looking forward to celebrating Christmas together as a family of four in just a few days. i'm sure we'll have more to post soon!

merry christmas!

sweet potatoes, bananas, and more ...

ok, we're back again ... life has been a little hectic lately. anyways, isabella is growing and changing so quickly. it's crazy. she is 7 months now!

* rolling all over now
* sitting unsupported
* gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth ... crawling is soon to come!
* eating solid foods
* celebrated her first thanksgiving
* met her aunt anna


isabella has tried rice cereal, sweet potatoes, avocadoes, bananas, pears, and squash. we're trying to figure out if she's allergic to bananas like emma. she was not the least bit interested in food when we first started trying to feed her solids ... very different from emma. but, she is now enjoying it, and she makes the funniest faces.

6 months!

i can't believe it ... isabella is 6 months old already! how did 6 months go by so quickly?! and, it was over a year ago now that we moved into our new house, that i had my cerclage surgery, and i was into my 2nd trimester of pregnancy. it's crazy how time flies.


isabella went for her 6 month checkup and she's doing great. she is 16 lbs 14 oz now and is 26.5 inches long. she is in the 70th percentile for both. much different than our little preemie peanut emma was in the 5th percentile. it's really different having a full-term baby.

in honor of 6 months, here are 6 fun things about isabella ...
1. isabella is rolling both ways and all over now
2. her tongue is often sticking out
3. isabella said mama this month
4. she is usually full of smiles and "talking" very loudly to us!
5. isabella can't get enough of her big sister; she watches everything emma does

6. she likes to attack your face with big (very big!) open mouth kisses

Four months already!!

isabella is four months now. funny that i spent four months on bed rest ... but, this four months and the four months of bed rest somehow did not feel like the same amount of time!

anyways, we took isabella to the dr for her four-month checkup this week and she's doing great. she is now 15 lbs 11 oz and 25.5 inches long. she's in the 90th percentile for both height and weight ... much different than our little preemie emma who was in the 5th percentile. anyways, she's doing well ... rolling from her tummy to back, enjoying tummy time now, talking and laughing like crazy, and loving her toes. if she's laying in bed or on the floor, most of the time you will find her holding on to her toes. when she does it in her bed, she'll grab her toes and talk. then she lets her legs fall and does it again. after awhile, she ends up turned around in her crib! it's so cute. and, i think she is trying so hard to talk and laugh with emma now. there are times when she sees emma that she gets so excited. she starts talking and laughing so loudly, and her arms and legs start kicking all over. it's so funny. i wish i could get inside her mind to know what she's thinking and trying to tell emma.

Under the lights ....

sorry we are just now updating again, but for some reason we were unable to get online while in the room at the hospital. what a wonderful few days of celebrating we have had. after all those months of laying down, the reward in the end has once again made it all worthwhile! isabella is so beautiful, and we couldn't be happier.

and, we are happy to say we finally decided on the middle name .... isabella sara.

emma came to meet her new little sister on friday. she was very excited to meet her. the first things she said, "i want her to talk to me ... make her talk." and, then she wanted her to color with her! it was so cute. emma has been anxiously awaiting the arrival of her sister at home, and has been talking all about her. she's also taken a few things that the nurse gave her at the hospital and has been taking very good care of her babies.

i was discharged late last night, and we spent the night at the marriott across the street. isabella had to stay at the hospital as she was jaundiced with very high levels of bilirubin. it was so hard to leave her as we had so hoped to leave the hospital with our baby this time.

isabella has been on a phototherapy bed since late Friday night, and an overhead lamp was added last evening. we have been increasing feedings and keeping her under the lights to help bring the levels down.

we were so excited when we got the news this afternoon that she would be able to come home with us. the levels had come down some. so they sent us home with a phototherapy bed, which isabella will have to stay on unless she is feeding. a nurse will come to the house each day to draw blood to continue to monitor the levels. we will keep you all up to date.