Elijah Update - 3 Days Old

Here are some pictures of Elijah and Julie in the hospital.  She was able to hold him for the first time on Friday and I was able to hold him for the first time yesterday.  He is (as you can see) still hooked up to many monitors and currently has the breathing tube (in the nose), an IV (in his hand), and a feeding tube has been inserted through his nasal cavity in order to feed him Mama's milk.  We both witnessed his first feeding Saturday afternoon while Mama held him to her chest.  A newborn baby eating is not as romantic when it is the pushing of a syringe through a tube directly into the stomach...but we will take it. :-)

The other wires are monitoring heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory strength, and some other stuff.  Also, he has to have his heel pricked periodically in order to get his blood sugar checked as well.  Poor kid is being put through the ringer right now so be praying for him.  He seems to be handling it all okay through.

Thank you to all of you for your congratulations.  We are thrilled to have him, currently in good hands at the hospital, and Julie able to visit and hold him regularly.  As I have shared with some people, as glad as I am to have him born and in good health, I won't be fully happy until he is home with the family and that will be some weeks yet.  In the meantime, we are thankful for him, Juile's recovery, and to have closed another chapter in this journey while opening a new one.

After 5 weeks, 36 days, Julie is being released tomorrow and will finally return home.