Homecoming

Good news!  On Thursday evening, August 30th at around 9pm, Julie brought Elijah home from the hospital.  He had been there exactly four weeks since his birth, and Julie had been in and out of there since June 3rd when she was first admitted with premature labor symptoms.  Whew!  What a ride this summer has been.

We are so thankful to have the little guy home and to finally be a family, united and living as one.  The children just LOVE their little brother.  It is such a blessing to see the joy and affection they have for him.  Every one of them, even Selah our baby for 3.5 years, is so excited to have Elijah home and healthy.

Thank you to Mercy Hospital for taking such good care of Julie and Elijah these past 3 months.  They were wonderful this whole journey.

Elijah sleeping in my arms as I carry him around the house last night.

23 Days Old

Good news today.  Elijah finally reached 5 lbs and has achieved all of his benchmarks except for eating enough full feedings from a bottle.  Overall, he has made great progress the past 10 days.  They are talking like he may be able to come home by next weekend.  Come on Buddy!  You can do it!!!

19 Days Old (with more pictures)

Well Elijah has begun gaining a little bit of weight, which we are so very thankful for.  After getting stuck just below his birth weight ( 4 lbs. 3 oz.) for almost two weeks, he has gained 7 ounces over the past 4-5 days.  He is 4 lbs. 10 oz. and hopefully not too far from the big 5 pounds!!!

Also, he had his air tube removed several days ago which was necessary because like many premature babies, he would forget to breathe every now and then.  According to the doctors, there are 300 muscles in the windpipe that need to work and can collapse so a slight push of air into the lungs would help minimize this occurrence. Not necessary anymore however, as he is breathing on his own just fine.

Then last night they removed the incubator and he is now sleeping in a crib.  This is good because it means he is able to regulate his body temperature which is another requirement for him to come home. 

So currently we are just waiting on steady weight gain and his ability to eat from a bottle and/or through nursing.  He still has the feeding tube because he only takes partial bottles and then only part of the time.  He has to learn to drink the whole thing consistently before they will release him.  Moreover, we ask for your prayers as we want and need him to transition from a bottle to nursing which can be difficult for a smaller and weaker baby.  Remember, last Sunday was only 35 weeks were he still in the womb.  We are asking a lot of this little guy (breathing, eating, maintaining temperature, etc.) which he wouldn't normally have to do for three to four more weeks.  

Alright, alright, here is what you have been waiting for...

13 Days Old

Well Elijah continues to live in the NICU at Mercy Hospital.  His growth is slow, but he is no longer connected to an IV.  They removed his oxygen tube for a day but he didn't fare well so they replaced it.  We were able to get a couple pictures without it though which was a blessing.  Please continue to pray for him, his growth, and for the reuniting of our family here as soon as possible.  Also, pray for Julie as she continues shuttling back and forth from the hospital every day and having to leave our boy there in the evening as she comes home.  Not a fun thing to do.

Elijah Pictures - 5 Days Old

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 Latest Update on Elijah

Well, we can finally close the "Julie's is pregnant and in and out of the hospital with pre-term labor" chapter of this journey and begin the "How long before Elijah can come home?" chapter.  We sure are familiar with Mercy Hospital.  I know those color zones like the back of my hand.

Here is the latest on Elijah:

These Are the Days of Elijah

World, Elijah...Elijah, World

Born at 2:36 a.m. on Thursday, August 2nd, 2012.  4lb. 4oz.

Day 33 - This Is the Day!

Update - 1:30 a.m.: I just got back from touring the NICU and the baby is not responding as well to the contractions as the doctors had hoped.  We just confirmed with our primary doctor and they are going to proceed with a c-section here shortly.

Day 32 - This Could Be It...

Update - 10:30 p.m.:  Well it has been decided that we will proceed with induction and see how Julie and the baby respond.  This will be our first vaginal delivery with an epidural and pitocin.  They will be monitoring Julie and the baby very closely to ensure there are no problems or distress, and if the is they should be able to act quickly.  Julie was at 1.5cm the last time they checked so we don't know if this will be a short or long process.