Krista Phillips

Finding Joy in the Journey

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HAPPY THREE MONTH BIRTHDAY, ANNABELLE!!

My baby is THREE months old today!!!! MAN I love her!

I really truly can’t believe it’s been three months.

By this time, my babies are usually sleeping through the night, starting to eat baby cereal, and practicing sitting up but flopping to the side like a overstarched ragdoll.

It’s hard for me to digest that instead, my Annabelle is still in the hospital ICU, having a machine breathing for her, not able to be held, and has never even had a bottle much LESS cereal.

Annabelle’s manicure…

That said, I am SO SO SO thankful to my Jesus for how far we’ve come. She’s alive. She’s still with us. She can (when extubated..) smile at us. She has cute toes and cute fingernails:-) She’s one of the best-dressed babies in the PICU (or so say the nurses.)  She’s survived a major, very risky open-heart surgery, a handful of infections, severe reflux, collapsed lungs, three blood clots… and probably other stuff that I’m not thinking of.

So, while she might not be trying to sit up quite yet, she’s still my STRONG TOUGH little girl!

And she’s here. When I get really overwhelmed at things, I keep reminding myself of that. SHE’S HERE! She’s alive. There is hope.

Things in the PICU have been pretty darn stable lately, which MOMMY LIKES! Little blips like some Brady episodes that she recovered from on her own (that is when her heart-rate drops quickly) and her love of pulling out her tubes (this morning she yanked out her feeding tube.)

I did her manicure the other day when they had to retape her breathing tube. She was restless, so they gave her a paralytic and put her out. When they were done, I still had another 15 minutes or so of a zoned out little girl, so I took advantage and painted her nails. JUST enough time for them to dry! 

She’s also gained some weight, is now 5.11KG, up from 4.92KG. That means that she is finally… drum roll please…

OVER ELEVEN POUNDS!!!

11lb 4oz to be exact. EEEE!

Momma is VERY excited about that! She’d stalled for the last week or so, so weight gain was a good thing!

One and a half more days till surgery. Tomorrow is prep day. Both for Annabelle and for Mommy. We are believing that God’s will WILL prevail (despite Mommy inserting her own opinion and having slight breakdowns like the other day about her surgery date… I’m over that now!) We are believing in health and healing for our little Annabelle, and a QUICK recovery from surgery.

THANK YOU for all your prayers and thoughts for our little girl. We appreciate it SO very much!

My sleeping beauty

Minus a feeding tube. She wanted a break I guess:-)

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Comments

  1. Thanks for the update, Krista. I can't believe it's been 3 months. Wow. That's been such a long time for you. I just can't even begin to imagine the stress and the heartache. I'm still praying for you and will definitely be lifting you up over the next couple of days.

  5. How exciting to be celebrating Annabelle's three-month birthday and to hear the positive update.

    I love her pretty pink nails. What a little doll!

    May the Lord walk beside you as Annabelle's team preps her for her Glenn, and may He fill you with a tangible sense of peace that is so intense it blows you away with its sweetness.

  6. Happy birthday to Annabelle! She is so beautiful, Krista!! I love her little pink outfits! That's wonderful that she is gaining weight and we'll pray for the surgery.

  7. Thank you for the update Krista!!! I am choosing to believe the same thing you are. Health and healing and a great surgery so you can take her home soon. I will be praying these next two days for your Annabelle and your family.

  8. Happy Birthday Annabelle!
    She is so incredibly precious and I am praying for health and healing and a successful surgery!

    p.s. How's that writing going?

  11. So hard to believe it has been three months, she looks so much better! And I do agree, one the best dressed (and manicured) babies I have ever seen! She is precious. And YAY for weight gain. 😀

  12. My husband, Paul, works with you and we have been following your blog for all 3 months. We will be praying for all of you tomorrow and during her recovery. I pray that she gets to go home soon!