Our friend, Kristi, bought Eli some preemie clothes to help tide him over until he fits into his other outfits. This outfit fit him perfect, and I thought he looks absolutely adorable and took advantage of the photo opportunity! Thanks, Kristi!!
Mar
29
2007
11:36 am
29
2007
11:36 am
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Eli meets Papa B
Matt had the pleasure of introducing his son, Eli, to his dad, Papa B, on Monday. Matt’s dad was able to travel down from Idaho on his spring break. Gran-B was present for Eli’s birth and assisted us to transitioning to a family of three. Matt’s parents treated us to dinner at La Casita complete with sopapillas for dessert!
Mar
29
2007
9:36 am
29
2007
9:36 am
Good News for Eli, Bad News for Mom
Sorry its been so long since I’ve posted to the site! Many of you have been asking for pictures and updates. Needless to say, our lives have been a bit hectic around here trying to fit in lots of feedings and time for sleeping and showering and eating and whatever else.
So the good news for Eli came on Tuesday at the breastfeeding support group. He has gained another 9 ounces and weighed 6 pounds even. Matt and I can see so many differences in his features as his body is filling out! Its a relief to us to hear he is growing as probably the biggest focus for us is getting enough food into his little body! He now has upgraded to Newborn diapers…and continues to wear preemie clothes and few small newborn onesies.
So with the good news for Eli, I also learned some frustrating news, as well. Though Eli is doing better with breastfeeding, he still is only getting half of what he needs in a feeding from breastfeeding. In fact, he can breastfeed 5-10 minutes longer on each side than a week ago. However, he still is getting the same amount of milk in a feeding as he was a week ago. So we need to continue the long feeding regimen of breastfeeding, bottle feeding with breast milk, bottle feeding with formula, and finally mom pumping at the end of the feeding. We also need to continue waking him up every 2-3 hours. The hard part is that his feedings take 1-1.5 hours, which doesn’t leave much time for sleep. And it looks like we’ll have to continue this for at least another 1-2 weeks as we eagerly await for Eli to improve his sucking abilities. We’ve been working so hard with Eli on feedings…so continue to pray for endurance for the Matt, Eli, and I. Matt has been getting up with me more regularly at night to help shorten the feeding time for Eli and I so we can get a little more rest…unfortunately, its less rest for Matt. My energy level has been super low…and with Matt’s help these past few nights, I’m doing much better! I couldn’t do this parenting thing alone, that’s for sure!
Mar
29
2007
9:35 am
29
2007
9:35 am
And More Pictures!
Eli asleep in his crib. We raised the head of his bed with a wedge to help him breathe, and created a “nest” as taught to us by the NICU nurses in the hospital with receiving blankets to help him feel more secure as a tiny baby in a BIG crib! We found the nursery can get very hot during the day and very cold at night. So we are thankful to Gran-B for buying him a couple preemie sleepers! to keep him warmer at night. The blanket in the picture was made for Eli by my Aunt Mary.
Eli sporting his Tigger sleeper and trying to wake up for a feeding. He loves to hold our hands whenever he is awake.
Eli sporting his Giggle-Saurus onesie next to his toy dino given to him by his Great Aunt Ann. Toys don’t excite him at this stage in his life, so he has plenty of things to look forward to as he gets bigger!
This is a view I get to enjoy several times a day when I awaken little Eli to eat. He wakes up slowly and loves to stretch his arms and legs out after being cramped up in a swaddled blanket while sleeping. He is so precious to watch!
Mar
29
2007
9:26 am
29
2007
9:26 am
More Pictures
Eli on the changing table built by his Papa Baylor to go atop the dresser in his room. After bending over to change Eli’s diaper 10 times a day in his portable crib, Matt and I both appreciated a more back friendly changing table!
Eli on the changing table mats created by Gran-B to compliment her husband’s changing table creation. One mat has monkeys and the other has frogs.
Eli…aka burrito boy. He loves to be swaddled as much as he loves escaping from his swaddle and crying for his mommy and daddy to come and re-swaddle him. Its a never ending cycle!
Eli modeling his first preemie “outfit” given to him by one of Matt’s co-workers. He is still wearing preemie outfits and growing into some preemie clothes! I feel like I’m dressing a doll when I put clothes on him as he is still so tiny! Eli wore this new outfit while he slept through a friend’s birthday party and also to La Casita with his Baylor grandparents.
Mar
21
2007
9:14 am
21
2007
9:14 am
Eli’s Getting Bigger
Yesterday, Eli and I survived our first outing together to the hospital for some follow up tests from his hospitalization. First, at the breastfeeding weigh in, I was thrilled to hear Eli had gained half a pound in 4 days and is up to 5 pounds 7 ounces! Once he gains another half a pound, we can hopefully upgrade him from preemie diapers to newborn diapers, which you can buy in packages of more than 20 diapers! Thankfully, he has finally gotten the swing of breastfeeding, though our next goal is getting him to feed long enough and improve his sucking abilities so that we don’t have to continue to supplement with breast milk in a bottle. That will come with time! Eli also passed his hearing screening with flying colors. In fact, he slept through the hearing screening and a blood draw.
Matt and I continue to slowly adjust to all the changes in our lives. One of our favorite things now is taking Eli for a walk around the neighborhood in his stroller. It gives us a chance to connect with each other after Matt is away at work during the day, and it gives me a chance to get some fresh air…and of course, Eli doesn’t mind sleeping through the whole walk!
Please continue to pray for us as we maneuver this new journey in life…we know we are far from perfect and have so much to learn! Thanks for everything.
Mar
19
2007
6:38 pm
19
2007
6:38 pm
Pictures At Home!
So with my husband’s prodding, I am finally going to post my first blog entry as a “mommy”! Today Eli is one week old and has been through so much in that one week. We are so glad to be able to hold him and care for him without the wires and IV lines from the NICU. He still has tiny bruises on his hand and heel from the IV and blood draws, but otherwise the NICU days seem like a thing of the past! Eli survived the trip home from the hospital in a take home outfit that was about 10 times his size! Upon arriving home, we were very grateful to Gran-B Baylor for buying him some premie onesies and sleepers, since all of the clothes we have are way too big on him. We are doing laundry quite frequently trying to keep the few items that fit him clean! Eli slept in his crib on his first night home and only awakened because he was a little cold. We are still having to wake him up for feedings every 2-3 hours, but we are noticing he is more alert when we wake him up each day. Eli has survived his first visit to the pediatrician who deemed him as a “normal, healthy baby,” much to the delight of his parents. Matt and I took him on his first walk around the block in his cool stroller with pneumatic tires that Matt carefully selected after months and months of research and careful evaluation. By the way, we named his stroller “Spud”…hopefully that won’t confuse him too badly. Eli was a trooper and slept through the whole walk…I don’t think he appreciates the view of the mountains quite yet. Today, he even cooed and grunted in the phone to his Grandpa and Grandma Davis in Indiana. Tomorrow he will return back to the hospital for a hearing screening and another blood draw, but otherwise continues to spend most of his days eating, sleeping, and filling up his diaper with all sorts of fun things.
Anyway, here are some pictures that we’ve managed to get amidst our lack of sleep. So please enjoy, and thanks again for all of your prayers, emails, comments, encouragement and everything else. It has helped us get through each day!
Daddy loves his little boy! He even gets up in the middle of the night to help with feedings! Matt took all of last week off work as we transitioned to the world of parenthood. He returned to work today, and believe it or not, Matt said he actually felt rested! Maybe there is hope…
Eli with his stuffed guard giraffe named “Weasel” by his daddy (thanks “uncle” Jared)! Its Eli’s first stuffed animal that is bigger than he is! Weasel lives on Eli’s crib rail and watches over him while he sleeps 
So in trying to show how tiny our baby is, we decided to compare him to the size of a Nalgene bottle. Fortunately, Eli is bigger than the Nalgene! One thing we know for sure is the Nalgene won’t grow, but Eli is growing a little bit each day! We are so thankful that our little guy is healthy!
Here is our first family photo of the three of us! We’ll admit we are rather sleep deprived…hopefully we’ll look more awake in future family photos!
Here is Eli sleeping in his car carrier awaiting his stroller ride. Isn’t he a cutie? I think we’re gonna keep him!
Mar
15
2007
6:49 pm
15
2007
6:49 pm
We’re Home!!!
We were discharged Thursday afternoon (praise God!!!). We’re now home and settling in. Please continue to pray for all of us as we adjust to the new way life will run.
Mar
15
2007
11:26 am
15
2007
11:26 am
Success!!!
Eli figured out how to breastfeed today! YeeHaw! Eli was able to complete 15 minutes on one side and 10 on the other. This is the best he’s done yet. Thanks for your prayers. God is answering them.
Mar
14
2007
9:00 pm
14
2007
9:00 pm
Offers for Help
Kimi and I want to thank you all for your prayers and support. We also want to thank our friends here in Colorado Springs who have offered to help with meals or anything else we need.
After discussing it, we know that we’re going to need help with food. It’s really overwhelming to have to think about feeding ourselves when we’re trying to stay focused on what Eli needs… so here’s what we’re thinking: For those of you who are willing we’d love to take you up on your offer of a meal.
In order to coordinate meals, would you put a comment out to this blog post with the date you’d like to bring a meal and what meal you’re bringing. That way everyone will see what dates are taken, and we won’t end up with a bunch of meals on one day.
Kimi and I thank you in advance!
