Eli's Army

The Internet, sadly, may be killing newspapers, but it's sure connecting us to all of you. On this thankfully light news day (see Steph's post below), I'd like to say a word about the blog. When Stephanie started it during her pregnancy, in the cheeky voice of our unborn baby, we of course had no idea that months later it would become a daily chronicle of our premature son's health and our attendant fears and joys. Or that it would produce a wellspring of support for Eli in places near and far, including from people we haven't seen in years or, in some cases, have never met. Your positive energy lifts us, and even without consciously trying, we pass it on to Eli every day. Although we'd never choose to be in this situation, there are some wonderful benefits to going through it. Realizing what a wide support group we have is certainly one of them.

My Baby Things

Check out the new duds Grandma Cam and Grandpa Bill gave Eli. Believe it or not, this onesie is almost too small for him! I think it might fit him for only a few days. Oh well—it was worth it to get these photos. Normally, the nurses don't allow the babies to wear clothing unless they're big enough to be in an open crib (as opposed to the Isolette Eli resides in). But Anna, his nurse today, was kind enough to let us give it a try. As it turns out, Eli liked it so much he got to wear his outfit for the entire day. :-)

1,000 Grams!

Eli hit a benchmark yesterday: He now weighs 1,000 grams! According to another mother who was there at the time, the nurse who weighed him applauded when she looked at the scale and saw the four-digit number. Maybe it's just the power of suggestion, but Eli does all of a sudden look bigger to me and Paul. And though he's always been active, he seems more interactive than before. Doesn't he seem like he's playing in this series of photos? He must be getting ready for Grandma Cam and Grandpa Bill's visit tomorrow.

The doctors officially have ruled out pneumonia and stopped the antibiotics. Though Eli still has some collapses in his lungs, the doctors have steadily been weening him off the ventilator. I have a feeling it won't be long until he graduates to CPAP (nasal oxygen). We are looking forward to that day because then we will finally be able to hear his voice—the ventilator prevents Eli from making any sound. All in all, it was a great day—such a great day, in fact, that Eli's nurse, Anna, decided to let me hold him again. I'm hoping this will become a daily event!

Looking Good

Well, two Neonatologists and the head of Pediatric Radiology concur; it does not look like pneumonia! The blood cultures won't come back back for a day or two, but they are fairly confident in their diagnosis which makes us feel quite relieved. Eli has already stepped down on his ventilator settings from yesterday and seems to be doing well on them so the chest physiotherapy must be helping. He also got a third dose of Grandpa Bill's blood last night and seems to be feeling much better for that as well (he had been a bit anemic). Despite all that happened yesterday, in an amazing feat, Eli also topped two pounds today! Now, keep in mind that at least part of this weight gain must be attributed to the IV which is newly attached to his arm, and that blood transfusions usually result in a gain, but still, he's getting there.

Steps

It was another tough day in the NICU yesterday. The phrase "one step forward, two steps back" certainly applies. We went in to see Eli expecting that I'd get my turn to hold him again, only to see his ventilator settings had been increased significantly. This has been the trend over the past few days. I have tried not to worry but, of course, that is pretty difficult. Paul and I and our sister-in-law Melissa, who generously drove up from Philadelphia for the day to be with us, help around the house and see Eli, spoke to the doctor about Eli's condition. Concerned about Eli's breathing, the doctor ordered a chest X-ray, even though the one Eli had on Friday was completely normal.

This is one of those moments when you're reminded that, although medicine is a science, opinions can differ greatly when interpreting the data: The doctor thinks he sees another small collapse in the left lung, while the radiologist believes Eli has pneumonia. Although both scenarios sound scary, neither is an unusual development in preemies. Still, we'd like to think that our preemie could sail through without these complications--especially after having a string of trouble-free days.

To cover all bases, the doctor decided to treat both pneumonia and a collapsed lung, or atelectasis, as he called it, using a medical term we'd never heard before (this experience is an education in many ways). The staff started Eli on a course of antibiotics, which means he will have to have an IV put into one of his arms again and have that arm partially immobilized (understandably, he hates this). They also began doing physiotherapy on his chest again, tapping it firmly and repeatedly with a small rubber hammer to free up any mucus and reinflate his lung. The nurses told us we should start to see results almost immediately. We hope they're right.

Lights, Camera, Action!

Daddy Kangaroo Care

It was Paul's turn to hold Eli today! Eli seemed to love snuggling with his daddy, and Paul looked like a natural father; it made me feel really good to see him bonding with our son. It's only a matter of time before Paul and Eli will be going out on father and son golf outings!