1st Bath

Today Elliot had his 1st Bath!!  What an exciting day.  It took 5 people for this 5 minute process but I think Elliot enjoyed himself.  Enjoy the photos! 

Elliot sleeping before his bath...

Elliot's large bath tub...

Elliot getting his hair washed...

Elliot enjoying the warm water...

Elliot getting all dried off...

Elliot's new hair do...

2 Fun Photo Updates

I have now started to make small, very small blankets to match some of Elliot's hats - these blankets usually take me a few days to complete but you can see how cute he looks!  Enjoy these updated photos!

The calm before the storm...

Elliot is all ready for Hurricane Irene or Tropical Storm Irene...we got a new outfit for him to enjoy during the wind and rain.  BJ and I are also all set to ride out the storm with the little guy...stay warm and dry! 

Week 5

What a difference a week makes.

After 7 days of steroids we have seen Elliot go from a high frequency vent to a conventional vent. Although many of you will not understand the reason for celebrating... imagine a constant pulsing vibration to silence, that's what the vent switch means to us, since we sit with him about 12 hours a day.  It also means great things for Elliot lung development and for that we are thrilled, it's also easier for us to hold him which is a HUGE bonus. 

He is still hooked up to his monitors so we have the occasional bells and whistles which are sometimes quite soothing and at other times easy to tune out.  Elliot also had his Pic line removed this week, so no more iv's in the little guy. These are all milestones and we are thrilled with his progress. Speaking of milestones, today Elliot put on his first set of article of clothing...

We continue to see the him change, develop, grow and make us smile every day and while he tries things for the first time so do we. Carrie has transitioned from hat making to blanket and scarf making. BJ tried Reiki as a way to help him balance his energy. We have just taken a few days off from hat making but I imagine we will be back at it on Monday.

Thank you to everyone who watched his 1 month video and celebrated with us on Tuesday. Nearly 250 views and it was even brought up in Elliots rounds this morning (he has offically gone viral). We continue to recieve cards, emails, well wishes and prayers and you have all made a HUGE difference in our adventure here at Dartmouth...keep them coming and please stop in if your ever in the area!  Till next ime...Live from Dartmouth!!!!

The Perry Family

August 23rd - One Month Old!

Happy One Month Birthday Elliot Francis Perry! 

It's hard to believe that Elliot is one month old today, we have experienced so much in just one month it's unbelievable!  BJ and I have become an even closer couple, we have watched our son achieve milestones, have some struggles, make us smile, laugh, and even make us cry but most of all make us a family, and for that we are lucky.  Every day here is a miracle and we are so lucky that all of you are able to celebrate with us today!  Enjoy the suprise below (make sure you turn on the speakers) and keep following for we have many more milestones to achieve! 

P.S. For thoes of you who have been following our hat making...today we completed our 30th hat! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZMQTnikCU0 

Drawing for Elliot

Elliot has a new drawing for his isolette - his cousin Seamus colored this great photo of a frog!  We've hug it right up so Elliot can see if every day!  

Week 4

Another week has passed and Elliot continues to fight, grow, make us smile, laugh and sometimes cry, but the most important part is that the three of us are together. 

We had to make a pretty important parental decision this week, to put Elliot on a steriod treatment or not.  This was the hardest decision so far that we have had to make in regards to Elliot's treatments.  In the end, we decided to give it a go!  The steriods will help bring down his high oxygen requirement and reduce the fluid around his lungs, giving him and his lungs more strength and hopefully....geting him off the vent!  He had reached a very high oxygen intake this week - hence the need for the steriods.  He has been on them for about 24 hours and we have already started to see an improvement - this is a 6 day treatment.  We are keeping our fingers crossed for all positive results. 

BJ was able to do kangaroo care on Friday (hold Elliot) - they spent about 75 minutes sitting together and Elliot loved it, I think BJ enjoyed this also.  This was BJ's second time holding Elliot, we had to take a break from holding when he was having all his vent changes and higher oxygen numbers so when we got the chance to hold today we jumped on it (we have some photos below)!   

The feedings have been going well.  We are now up to 3 cc's - every 24 hours we raise a cc - it's still a small amount but the little guy seems to be enjoying the milk!  Now we just need him to put on some weight, right now he's at 2lbs 3oz.

We continue to ride the Dartmouth rollercoaster and believe this week we did alright, we have a great team here at Dartmouth who ride along with us and that is always comforting!  Again, thank you all for the cards, emails, texts, phone calls and prayers...keep them coming!    

Friday Photos

BJ was able to hold Elliot today, we have not been able to hold him since he was put on this new vent so it's been a long time!  I was able to snap a few fun pics from the holding and we wanted to share them with you!  Enjoy! 

Sunset

Tonight on the way home from the hospital we watched a beautiful sunset with a hot air balloon also enjoying the view.  It was peaceful and beautiful - a picture perfect way to end a long day!  We were at the hospital with Elliot for about 12 hours today so driving back to David's house with a beautiful view was the best way to end the long day!  The peace and quiet of the surroundings here at Dartmouth are wonderful and we enjoy taking a break from the busy ICN to enjoy them. 

Hat Update

Here are a few of the hats that BJ and I have been making - this is how we decorate Elliot's area!  We are getting pretty creative, this week BJ learned how to do multiple colors....

Dad's Turn!

We snapped a few photos of BJ giving Elliot some milk on Tuesday...

Milk...it does a body good!

Big day for the Perry Family!  Elliot recieved his first taste of milk!  After 23 days we have started him on 1cc of milk every 2 hours.  He seems to be doing alright so far but we just started late Monday afternoon.  Keep your fingers crossed that he enjoyes this and then we will be bringing on the pounds! 

Wink

BJ got another great shot today of Elliot - he was giving his dad a cute wink! 

Another Fun Photo

Elliot was in such a great mood this afternoon we also got this fun shot of him!  Hope you are all enjoying the photos as much as we are!  P.S. Thanks Stevens Family for the personalized burp cloth!

2nd Family Photo

Elliot was very awake this afternoon so we took advantage and got a few good shots.  We thought you would all enjoy this one!

Week 3

3 Weeks Old Today!   Elliot is clocking in at about 1lb, 13 oz's. 

The little guy sure kept us moving this week, we have officially experienced the "roller coaster" ride everyone in the ICN talks about - not sure it's a ride we actually want to be on...but we are....and I think we've been taking it in stride. 

This week we have delt with all sorts issues but I think we managed them well and we seem to be on top for the moment....we will see how long the little guy let's us stay on top!  We had one under inflated lung and one over inflated lung both on the same day - so Elliot became the proud owner of a jet vent...for a total now of 2 vents, we think he just wanted one more machine with additional bells and whistles attached.  We have also been working on getting his intestine tube out so he can start having some milk - they gave him a drink to follow the path but now Elliot is having some trouble getting the drink out...hopefully things get moving for him over the next 24 hours!  His blood pressure was a little low but that seems to have corrected itself and he even had a little blood transfusion to help him get some additional juice! 

BJ and I continue to try and laugh, but this week also showed us how quickly things can change and how important it is to celebrate all the little milestones along this crazy adventure!  We are so lucky to have each other to lean on despite if we have a "good day" or a "bad day".  Today we looked at photos from 21 days ago when Elliot was born and we can actually notice a difference in his size...amazing to the two of us since we spend about 12 hours a day watching him and he usually looks the same! 

This week in art therapy land we made shadow boxes and learned know to knit hats by using a hat loom - the record number of hats made by a parent of a baby in the ICN is 70 - BJ thinks we can totally make more than 70, especially if we are here until November...we will end the week with a total of 9. 

Again we thank you all for your continued support, we couldn't continue to fight every day without the our family, friends, loved ones, and our wonderful Dartmouth family that watch us day in and day out and are on this adventure with us!   

Home Made Hat!

Check out Elliot's outfit today!  His hat was personally made by his dad, and his matching sheets were selected by Chelsea one of his nurses - looks like he's having a good Friday!  

Arts and Crafts

BJ and I have learned how to use a knitting circle and we've started making some hats, we have even dressed up Elliot's moose, since Elliot's head is still a little small for these hats.  BJ has become quite the knitter and I imagine soon he will have all the folks in the ICN and Birthing Pavillion outfitted with hats....I also see lots of Christmas gifts for others in our future...too bad that they are all premie size....

Pick Me Pick Me

BJ captured this fun pose of Elliot on Sunday, we knew it was blog material!  Enjoy the new shot! 

Week 2

14 Days at Dartmouth! 

Sometimes time here moves so fast...other times we feel like time has stopped, but today we are celebrating the 2 week mark! 

Elliot has had a very steady week and we are thankful for that.  He recieved a bigger breating tube, his smaller one had a leak due to mechanical error.  We are happy for the larger one since it's brought his levels down and he is much happier - a good move all around for everyone.  It took the folks here a few tries to get it in and finally success!  Though we have learned that if a child has a hard time with this change they often put a "difficult airway" sign on the oxygen mechine.  So now Elliot is the proud owner of one of these very large, very red "difficult airway" signs - BJ and I got a good laugh at the size of the sign on Thursday, it's easily bigger than Elliot! 

They were happy with his skin color this week so they have taken him off the tanning lights - he's got more color than his mom and dad, but that's not hard to accomplish...BJ wondered if they could shine the light down on me and if my skin would tan....needless to say we don't get much color sitting in a hospital all day! 

We spent 90 minutes taking a water color class on Thursday afternoon.  Once a month a woman comes in and does different art projects with parents of children in the ICN.  We were a little hesitant at first but once we got the directions we were off!  We each made a little sign to post next to Elliot's incubator - it was acutally very relaxing, but I don't think we will change our professions quite yet!

Elliot continues to put on some weight, he is not getting any milk yet so he's only getting his nutrients from a gatorade drink, it seems to be working for him now.  Hopefully he will be able to get some milk in the next 10 days.

Earlier this week we posted photos of us holding Elliot - that was a HUGE milestone for the two of us.  It was so nice to get him out of the incubator and hold him, despite the challenge with all the wires and oxygen mechines once he got settled it was wonderful!  We were also excited for our first family photo!

Again, we can not thank all of you for the well wishes, prayers, cards, emails, packages and phone calls - it really is heart warming to think of all the people who have reached out to us!  We are so lucky to have all of you in our lives and we can't wait to introduce all of you to Elliot! 

First Family Photo

Today was BJs chance to hold Elliot. Can anyone say Christmas Card, photo?  Now if they would just let Liberty into the ICN for another shot we would be set!

Fun Photo

Today we decided to see what was bigger...Elliot or the Ted Gatsas for Mayor bumper sticker....Elliot Won!  We do believe that we have found the youngest and smallest Ted Gatsas for Mayor supporter....Elliot is cheering Ted on live from Dartmouth!

Me & My Mommy

This afternoon Carrie got the chance to hold Elliot for 1 hour. Thanks Team Dartmouth!

What an wonderful afternoon....after 10 long days we were able to get Elliot out of his incubator and hold him.  It took about 10 minutes for all of the nurses to get him settled and then he and I were off for an entire hour of bonding.  They told me that once he was placed on my chest it would heat to keep him warm, it was an amazing experience.  We sat together for an hour, both so peaceful and quiet.  He had the best numbers all day when he and I were bonding so it was a great experience for both of us.  They will let BJ and I do this once a day for an hour, so we will alternate times so Elliot will get used to the both of us, BJ is counting down the hours until his turn!  A successful day 10! 

Day 9

Elliot got a new incubator spot in the ICN a few days ago but it was not until yesterday that I appreciated the placement, it's near the windows and watching the warm sun outside while sitting watching Elliot is so peaceful.  They try to make it has "homey" as they can but with all the wires, bells and whistles going off it's actually nothing like ones home, but there is something about the windows and seeing the fresh summer air...I think Elliot likes it too!

Yesterday was a pretty good day for Elliot, he was a little less active but we think he just tuckered himself out from his show on Sunday.  So he laid around and rested, trying not to burn any calories since we need him to keep as many of those as he can!  We will see what today brings.  It's early here, about 5:00am - I find myself awake at this time now just wanting to start the day and we truly believe that each day is a gift!  There was some talk yesterday in rounds about taking him off the vent and moving him onto another breathing assisted vent but we shall see how he's doing when we get over there this morning.  He had a hard time keeping his temp in the right place, a few degrees below normal so they turned up the bed heat but we will work on getting that regulated today.  Nothing major to report, just little things that are normal for a baby born so early.

BJ and I are doing well...we manage to get sleep at night and get in a nice shower - the little things that we now appreciate.  We got a good laugh the other day when stating...or maybe we were complaining to each other how exhausted we feel....then BJ pointed out that we didn't even get to bring Elliot home....so imagine how much more tired we could be!  BJ's has his online e-dition to the Union Leader so we can rest easy now - we needed that since we don't have a TV - we were feeling really left out!

Thank again for all your emails, cards and well wishes....and if you ever find yourself driving up 89 towards Lebanon and want to come visit be sure to look us up!  We enjoy talking to folks without scrubs on and who are speaking our language!  Take care - Carrie

My First Hat

Today Elliot got to wear his first hat, earlier this week he had a iv line in his head that prevented him from getting a hat...but last night he was able to score one!  Thanks to one of his wonderful nurses for picking the best color for his skin tone and taking such a cute photo for his parents.