As the sands on the shore, so are the days Ryan and Heidi will be detained at Anshutz Inpatient Pavilion.
So "they" have decided to keep us at least until Sunday afternoon, possibly Monday. Bella is still looking amazing, but she has not shown "them" that she can eat well enough to be sustained at home. She has lost about 9% of her body weight, which is bad, and she cannot lose anymore especially since she was only 5 lbs 12 oz to begin with. Thus, "they" would like her to eat 20 mLs (in cc's that would be 20) every 3 hours and she has been having difficulty with that requirement. There could be many causes including neurological issues pertaining to the abnormalities previously discovered, the fact that she is only 36 weeks and did not have the opportunity to develop a good sucking motion whilst in the womb, but the most probable is that she is simply too tired. We have been trying to breast feed diligently at first then go to the bottle, but Bella gets way too tired to do both and cannot finish her milk. We are now, instead, using a breast pump to get the required amount and feeding her with a bottle and this has so far proved successful. If she keeps this up, we will be home Sunday night.
Upon further examination, "they" found two encephaloceles, but are so small they are of no concern. They may disappear when the soft spot goes away in 2-3 months, but if not, "they" are still not concerned about them. "They" are also watching more closely for symptoms of seizures.
Heidi is doing great as well. She is, as usual, way ahead of schedule for recovery, but will stay in the hospital as long as Bella is kept. Ryan will also be staying. He sleeps on the couch and it hurts his back yet "they" will not give him percocet. Heidi gets it. Sigh. Anywho, here are some things we would love for you to pray for
That the MRI comes back with favorable results
That Bella shows no signs of seizures
That Bella eats well and maintains weight or she will have to return to NICU and be fed through a tube

Thank you so much for praying. We have already seen God moving and pray that He continues to do so. We'll let you know what's going on with more updates via e-mail and our blog. Thanks again!
-Ryan, Heidi, Isaiah, Eli, and Bella.

Our blog address is
http://www.thefamilypolk.blogspot.com
Sorry, I (Heidi) gave the wrong address the first time, as you will see from the sight it has not been updated since Isaiah started walking. Oh and hopefully we will get pictures