Eli's Picture Blog

So, we've gotten lots of requests for pictures of Eli, so here's the dumping ground for all pictures related to Eli's birth and hospital stay.  But first - a quick update.

As of now (Saturday night, 9/6), Eli is still in the hospital.  He's technically in the NICU, but that sounds much worse than it actually is.  When Eli was born on Tuesday, he stayed with us for a night in Kara's recovery room.  The next day, the blood tests showed that his blood sugar was a bit low, presumably because he was a really big baby and was a bit early, so he was too sleepy to eat enough to nourish himself.  They took him to the NICU for a couple days of IV fluids to help bolster his energy and activity and help kickstart his eating.

That worked great.  He immediately started eating much better, his blood sugar levels went way up, and he was good to go, scheduled to leave the hospital on Friday.  BUT....the night before we were slated to pick him up and bring him home, his bilirubin shot up, indicating that he had jaundice.  SO...we got delayed again...and Eli spent about 36 hours doing LED Phototherapy to help him break down the bilirubin that his body was creating.  This is a very, very common issue with big babies, and with babies born early, and Eli is both, so the doctor wasn't surprised at all.  The phototherapy is working, and he is now scheduled to come home tomorrow (Sunday, 9/7) afternoon.

All in all, the two very minor issues that he had that landed him in the NICU (and only the NICU because the CCN was full) were extremely common, non-concerning issues.  However, it has been a bit emotional for Kara and I to come home from the hospital without a baby, and then be told we could come get him, and then find out on the way that in fact he had to stay 3 more days.  Logically, as we walk around the NICU and know those who have had such bigger struggles, we are so thankful that our little guy's issues are minor.  However, we are human, and it was still hard for us.

So, all that being said, we are cautiously very excited to bring him home tomorrow!

Alright, here come the pictures!  Enjoy!

The first picture of Eli!  A bit purple just like his brother! :) 

One happy momma.  

A happy family.  This is about 15 minutes after he was born.  

Eli's first bath.  He is NOT happy about it.  :)

First time he opened his eyes.  About 18 hours after he was born.  He struggled to open his eyes for the first
72 hours or so, because his face was a bit swolen.

Eli's first feeding.  He struggled to eat for the first day or so because he was just too sleepy!

Close up of his first feeding.  Look at that sleepy face! 

Hooked up to all the wires at the NICU.  I HATE those wires.  

Snuggles with Mommy.  He loves being snuggled up in that spot.

This is the first picture we have of Eli with his eyes wide open!
About 48 hours after he was born.

Eli's private tanning bed.  The official term is "LED Phototherapy".  Not sure what that means, but I hope that its working!

Luke's visit to the hospital.  He was really disappointed that he didn't get to see Eli, but was sweet nonetheless,
 and it was so great to see him after 4 days apart.