Glad to hear that your 1st day of FULL TIME MOTHERHOOD went well. I am so glad that those smiles make your day as it would any parent… Ella is so precious. Hope you guys figure out her feeding so she can get strong and gain weight. God Bless

Just seeing her smile reminds me that she might have not been if the medical doctors could have convinced you that she was not worth the time and energy. How wrong can they be? LOL Aunt Char and Jim

Those smiles are worth a million!

Ella, I am praying that you have a good visit with Dr.Kays and have gained some weight. Maybe he and the pediatrician can help with the feeding issues and get you going. You look so happy these days it makes me feel so good. Tina and Josh I hope things keep settling down and that you can get ready for the ordinary challanges ahead. I will check on you later. Love,Grandpa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She is a million dollar baby! Ella is so darn cute,we think you should submit these darling pictures and her mircale story to a leading magazine!! I do think your blog would make a great book and encourage, other parents whose preborn baby may have a problem, to give life a chance,as you & Josh say the Lord is faithful and does’nt give us more than we can handle,though we tend to think so at the time. your faithful trust in the Lord has rewarded you with such a charming baby!Ella is a poster girl for God’s miracles!! Lots of prayers always, Gloria & Red

OHH how wonderful she sounds. I’m with Glorida and Red. Since finding out about Ella I’ve surprisingly met people who said their baby was diagnosed with CDH and they chose differently than you. They were also told by their doctors that their baby would not survive after birth. Everyone one of them said the same thing. Luckily here in town the medical community is very well aware of the Shands Hospital and know to refer folks over there when they find CDH. That is so relieving to me. My ob said they have referred 1 couple to Shands.

As always praying real good for you.
XOXO
LL

Hi Josh, Tina and the beautiful Ella. I ran across your blog when I was visiting Par’s site. Par’s grandpa Darrell & grandma Mary Rich are good friends of mine here in Asheboro, NC. I look forward every morning seeing how Ella’s day has gone. She has truly been an inspiration to so many as well as her parent’s. I found this today and I thought I would share it with you.

Before
I was a Mom

I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a
lullaby.

I didn’t worry whether or not my plants were
poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a
Mom –

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed
on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my
thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom

I
never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.

Or give
shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got
gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at
night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom

I never held a
sleeping baby just because I didn’t want to put him down.

I never
felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn’t stop the
hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so
much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never
knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom –

I didn’t
know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn’t know
how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn’t know that
bond between a mother and her child.

I didn’t know that something so
small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom
–

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes
to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the
love, the heartache,

the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a
Mom.

I didn’t know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a
Mom.

It seems logical that now that she’s taking in more volume this week that you are seeing a more satisfied baby girl (sleeping better at night, happier during the day, etc.) It would also make sense that if she’s less ravenous that she wouldn’t have the same motivation for bottle feeds. One thing you could ask your feeding team is striking a balance between having her get the volume she needs vs. “encouraging” her to use her bottle/ future solids, etc. Every baby and circumstance is unique and we pray that the Lord will continue to bless you with the strategies you need! He already has in such amazing ways. Praying that the visit goes well today. The kids love seeing Ella photos and are still so excited to know that she’s still home!

We’ll keep praying, especially about the food issue. She looks really good in those pictures! There really is nothing like seeing your child smile…what a blessing.

Absolutely loving the photos of The Bun 🙂 Hope she starts eating more! Thinking good thoughts for you all.