Eli's Journey

Elijah is making progress. He desires to experience more. Formerly, he would fold his arms and hands inward as toys would near him. Now, he reaches out and wants to fully enjoy anything he can. He laughs at his sister. She can just do a funny face and Elijah laughs, which of course makes everyone in the room laugh too. Elijah is requiring frequent feedings overnight, which I hope signifies a growth spurt! But, it means David’s sleep is very disturbed and his days require napping to catch up. That is a strain on our family...especially Sophia. Sophia and I spent this last week at the Elk River with my sister and her kids, my mom and dad, two of my aunts and their families. We had a blast. It was a great time for Sophia and me to spend quality time together. David and Eli managed the house in our absence and did a fine job. In the last few months, I’ve found four families who have children similar to Eli. From London to Colorado, the children are doing well as they are much older than El...

When I put my most recent post just minutes ago, I didn't even notice that my wife had posted yesterday! I wasn't even aware Elijah had gotten back up to 12 pounds!! You guys pray fast! (NOTE: Melissa and I converse daily, about a range of topics, in loving tones. It must have slipped her mind... or maybe it slipped my ear.) While we're thanking our new nurse, Kim, I'd like to say a special thanks to Cheri, the nurse who has taken such good care of our boy for the last year. Please pray for her this month as she addresses a medical issue from home, and that she enjoys a speedy recovery. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SOPHIA! Big party tomorrow! She is sooooo six.

Tonight my family drove down the street to celebrate Father's Day for three fathers, including myself. Since I'm the biggest father in the room, I ate the most. Elijah made the trip with us, and he did his best to mingle and woo the crowd. He was a little crabby, but for reasons that make us very happy. First of all, his new day nurse, Kim, is doing a great job with him. She got the routine down very quickly, and she's playing with him at all hours of the day. He only got one hour of sleep today, what with all the stretching, peek-a-booing, eating baby food by mouth and just sitting up for hours at a time. The short and long is, we're enjoying a new phase in Eli's development, where he's able to tolerate all the things we were told to subject him to a year ago. His allergies are under control, he's eating well (holding food in better, for one thing), and he's getting back to a regular sleep schedule at night. So we're putting him through his paces, m...

Dear Friends and Family, Accept my apologies for not updating the blog more frequently. I have to admit that with Elijah every day is different and I wait for the really good days to post my update so as to appropriately color my perspective with a bit of rosy. This evening, Elijah is all smiles. His weight today topped the 12 pound mark again, which is great news. Elijah was switched back to the formula he started at 3 months old that I truly credit with saving his life at that time. From his birth until his GI doctor prescribed the elemental Neocate formula, Elijah starved. He was skin and bones and the photos from then are disturbing. After his GI nightmare the first few months of 08, his GI doc decided it was time to switch him to a more “normal” formula and thus he was on a soy-based product. You might remember how pleased I was at the thought of buying it at Wal Mart...well, we’re back on the UK-import Neocate as a result of his latest GI upset. I am hopeful that the return to Ne...

Elijah is happily home from the hospital once again. He snuggled right into his own bed and fell asleep within 15 minutes of his arrival. He has such a difficult time sleeping at the hospital. He still has some lingering diarrhea, which we will monitor at home. Specific Eli prayer requests: Elijah’s GI bug completely disappear, soon. Elijah gain weight, blow right past 12 pounds and reach 13 in record time. Elijah stay well for the next 3 months as we work to beef him up for his surgery in Shreveport. Pray that Elijah’s hearing and sight continue to improve. Pray that David and I will make the choices that are best for Elijah’s long-term success. Love, Melissa