Happy Late Christmas Everyone...

Baby Girl,
You had a rough go of it this past weekend. I don't know if it was over stimulation from Christmas or what, but the doctors had to reintubate you on Sunday.
But, you are doing really well now and we are all grateful.
We love you little girl.

Can you believe it?!?!?

Baby girl,
The doctors took the tubes out of your throat today!!!!!!!!
Can you even believe it?

Your mommy was telling me that last night that as she was reading a book, she felt the need to pray for specific things about your road to health rather than just praying for your overall well-being. So, she (along with Nana) decided to pray that your body would be strong enough to breath without the help of the tubes which have been damaging your lungs.
Your mommy couldn't sleep last night after praying, so she went to the hospital at 4:00 in the morning to visit with you.
The respiratory therapist came up to her while she was with you and told her they were going to remove the tubes around two hours after her visit!
I am so grateful to see Heavenly Father's hand in your life. You are a wonder to behold and I appreciate the opportunity that our family has had to pray for you. We know that sometimes Heavenly Father's infinite wisdom allows things to happen that we fervently pray to prevent, as in the passing of Grandma Carol. Even though we were sad, we understood that God had a different plan for her than we did.
But we are so happy to see that our desires for you and your well- being at this time are in line with Heavenly Father's plan for you and we are thrilled!
You have been doing amazingly well today! We are so grateful to see this miracle of your strength!
Now, your mommy gets to see your face and hear your sounds.
What an incredible day!!!

Wow, I need to catch up on posting...

Miss Alyssa,
I had the time of my life with you and your mommy last week.
I got to hang out with you and all of your family plus your Aunt Janice and cousin Chloe- and boy was it wonderful!
Your mommy got to hold you every night that I was there... the doctors told her she had good "heaters". (that is a good thing, not a pervy thing)
You waved your hand at me, you looked straight into my eyes, and I fell head over heals for you.
Your mommy is getting to know you pretty well- even from the few short times that she has been able to hold you.
Like...
she knows that you don't like to be cold. When the doctors place you in her arms, sometimes she has to remind them to quickly put a blanket over you so that you can stay warm from your mother's body heat.
she also knows that when you get moved, you get mucus build-up. As long as the doctors get the mucus out of you, you are content to stay in your mom's arms all day.
she knows that you love to hear her sing and read scriptures to you.
I think that your mom is doing an awesome job and I think you are, too. Thank you for letting me be a small part of your life.

I get to see you in 6 days!!!!

Baby girl,
Please excuse my last post. I accidentally sent it to your blog rather than my silly little other blog for my four children.
It won't happen again!
You want to hear the good news now?
Your mommy has gotten to hold you three times now!
The first time was definitely the longest.
The second time, you were not really feeling it.
And the third time, the nurse was a little frazzled.
But your mommy has been able to hold you three times!
Isn't that wonderful?

Maybe I can take some more pictures of her holding you when I get to MEET YOU IN 6 DAYS!

As always,
You are loved,
truly, madly, deeply,

Aunt Jennifer

africanenglandbaby

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Guess what they let happen yesterday?!

Guess what baby girl,
Your mommy got to hold you for the first time yesterday!
The nurse warned her that you may not react well to the cuddle session-
so she said that your mommy might only be able to hold you for a few moments.
But, you LOVED it!
Your mommy ended up holding you for a WHOLE HOUR!

What a blessing.

Look at you grow...

Baby girl,
You are staying so strong even through the craziness of your new life. The doctors said that the blood in your brain has not gotten worse, so they are confident that within the next few weeks, the blood should pretty much disappear.
We are so thrilled about that!
You have also gained a bit of "bloating" weight... which is not good. But the medicine that the doctor has given you is working... so that IS good.
I continue to be amazed at how hard you are fighting.
What a blessing you are!

On a side note, here is your cute, cute, cute big brother. Isn't he adorable?! You are just going to love him to pieces.

As always,
You are loved.
Truly, madly, deeply,

Aunt Jennifer

Update on the weight...

Baby girl,
You are 1 pound 9 ounces now!
Way to go missy!
(I think it is all because of your mother's milk- isn't she awesome?)

I am very thankful for you
and for your mommy and daddy and brother who have not yet ceased to amaze me.

Happy holidays baby girl.

Aunt Jennifer

Up till now...

Hey baby girl,
Up til now, things have been pretty smooth.
But you are having a hard time right now.
You have bleeds on both sides of your head and the doctors are carefully monitoring you.
On a scale from 1-4, 4 being the worst, your bleeds are at a 2.
So, every day the nurses are going to measure your head to make sure that it is not swelling.
And in a week, they will do another ultrasound on your head and make some decisions.

We continue to pray for you and will be fasting for you this week as well.
We think that you are pretty special and if you can just hold on, maybe you will think that some of us are pretty special as well.

As always.
You are loved,
truly, madly, deeply,

Aunt Jennifer

Holding Hands

Baby Girl,
Here are your daddy and your mommy holding your hand.
They love you so much and are becoming so anxious to hold you.
But for right now, they are trying to stay content.

Your mommy started reading to you and singing to you.
Your first and only book so far is The Book of Mormon.
The first songs that were sung to you were "You are my Sunshine" and "I Am a Child of God"

I can't wait to see you... in 3 weeks and 3 days... but whose counting?!

As always.
You are loved.
Truly, madly, deeply,

Aunt Jennifer

Itty Bitty in pictures

Baby Girl,

Every day that goes smoothly makes it easy for me to forget how truly special you are.
Pictures like this remind me.
Heavenly Father obviously has some special plans for you.

Guess what you did today?!?

You opened your eyes today, Baby Girl!
Your mommy got to look at you today.
And you got to look at her.
What a treasure for the two of you.

Thank you for letting us be your family
and thank you for letting us see the angels and miracles surrounding your life.

You are loved.
Truly, madly, deeply,

Aunt Jennifer

All together...

Guess what baby girl?
Your family is all together today!!! Your big brother Kaleb is playing with Thomas the Train in the play room at Quantum House (where your mommy is staying) and your daddy and your mommy get to go spend time with you.
I am so happy that you all get to be together!
And guess what?
Your family is going to be famous. They were taped today for a fundraising Christmas video for the amazing place that they get to stay while they are visiting you. It is called the Quantum House and it is right next to the hospital that you are living in right now. Your mommy and nana can't stop gushing about how wonderful this place is.
I can't wait to see it.
Your mommy said that she has new pictures of you that your daddy is going to send today. I am so excited I could just squeal!

As always,
You are loved.
Truly, madly, deeply,

Aunt Jennifer

Update...

Hey Baby Girl,
You had a rough night last night.
You developed a hole in your lung that was causing air to escape and build up in your chest.
We feel so lucky that the doctors found it so quickly- cause if not, this hole and the air pressure could have caused your lung to collapse.
Now you have a tube from your side into your chest to release the air.
So, crisis averted.

On to the good news... you are back on to just 35% oxygen AND the doctors removed the billi-ruben lights. Now you can lay in your comfy little space without a mask over your eyes.

Your mommy got to lift you up yesterday while the nurses changed your bedding. I think that moments like that are really wonderful for you and your mommy.

As always,
Truly, maddly, deeply,
you are loved,

Aunt Jennifer

A couple of firsts...

Today, your mommy got to change your diaper for the first time. At some point, your mommy might not want to be doing that, but for right now, her main emotion was probably... baby Alyssa has my butt. which means "no butt".

Today, the doctors took you from 100% oxygen to just 35% oxygen. It might have just been for a moment, but that is pretty amazing for a three day old baby who was not supposed to be born until February. Way to go missy!

Today, your Aunt Janice decided that she is totally smitten with you. She'll be honest with you when you get older and tell you that she was just a little scared when yall first met, but now you've got her wrapped around your finger.

That is it for today.

If you keep going at this rate, you will be graduating high school at age 7 and ruling the world by 20.

You are one tough cookie.

The name of a beauty

There is your daddy's hand... you are such an itty bitty!

Not an ounce of "Hudgins" fat on you.

Look at your sweet mommy... right before you came into this world!


They chose your name baby girl Brown... and it is beautiful!
Alyssa Jolei.
I choose to believe that the LY in your first name represents a tribute to my middle name.
You can choose to disagree.
Those of us out in Utah finally got to see pictures of you this morning.
I spent over an hour just staring at them.
I am already truly, madly, deeply in love.

Aunt Jennifer

My sister... the strongest girl on the block

Baby Girl Brown,
Your mommy is my little sister.
You have been inside of her belly for 24 weeks and 1 day. I am sure that you had a lot of fun in there listening to her voice and feeling how much love she has for you.
On Sunday, the 2nd of November, something happened and your mommy and you had to go to the hospital. The doctors told your mommy that she had to lay really still for as long as she could to keep you safe- and she did that.
She was the best at following the rules the doctor gave her. She didn't eat, she drank lots of water and she laid perfectly still so that you could have some extra time in her belly.
Your Aunt Janice and Aunt JoJo and I got to spend some time with you this week while you were still inside of your mommy. We all feel so lucky to have been there. And now, even though JoJo and I had to come back home, you have a big strong army of family and friends that are praying for you.
Your daddy and your big brother already love you so much. They can't wait until you get big and strong, so you can all be a family together at home.
But your mommy... let me tell you... you have someone special in her. She is such a good mommy, and such a strong person. I know that you can already tell that from the short time you were able to be inside of her. She is beautiful and hardworking and boy is she smart. And she has faith that Heavenly Father has a special plan for you and for your family.

We all love you.
Aunt Jennifer

Miracle baby girl Brown is here

Yesterday, on Thursday, November 6th, baby girl Brown was born.
She was born at 24 weeks and 1 day.
She weighs 1 pound 3 ounces and is 12 inches long.
She did not have a heart beat at the time she was born, but doctors were able to revive her.
This will be a blog in her honor