Bringing Home Eli

It's now almost a week late but between feedings every three hours, and the lack of sleep grabbed in between I have worked to get you caught up on how we came to bring Eli home.
I already shared in the about us finding out on friday that we would be bringing him home. I then shared the events of Saturday and the first part of Sunday. So it is there that we pick up the rest of the story.

It was Sunday night that we were to room in. What is rooming in? Up to this point the nurses have taken care of Eli. We have come in and fed him a few times, or changed diapers, but no matter what there was always a nurse right there by our side. This was comforting as we are both first time parents and the thought of a tiny human being depending on us for everything was a bit overwhelming.

The nurses taught us how to hold the bottle to feed him, they showed us how to swaddle him, and they helped us to give him the medicines he needed. They also did all of those things for him when we were not there.

The room in was our chance to go solo. We were in a room next to where the nurses were, but we were basically on our own. We got to feed him every three hours, we gave him his medicine, we woke up to comfort him, we were the ones responsible. Now they were right there at the call of a button, but it was up to us to take care of Eli.

Meagan working on some school stuff during our room in process.

There are a few things you should know about staying all night in a hospital if you don't know. First of all, up to this point every time I have slept on a bed that was created by the creative folding and unfolding of a couch it has been a most uncomfortable experience. This was no different. The couch cushion pulled out toward us and the back of the couch came down to be one side of the bed. Ouch.

Not near as good as it looks.

Second, the food in the hospital cafeteria was exactly what you would expect. They gave us meal vouchers for us to go down and get our supper on Sunday, and then again for our breakfast on Monday. Sunday the choices were vegetable lasagna or hamburgers. You know me, I chose the hamburger. Bad choice. The next morning I went with the eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon. The eggs were good.. and they had cereal.

Finally, no one is designed to get sleep in 3 hour increments. Yep every three hours, 3pm 6 pm 9 pm etc... one of us had to wake to feed the sleeping boy. Now granted he's so cute that of course anyone would give their right arm for the chance to hold and feed the baby boy, however if you are not used to it, the 3 hour naps you get in between can take some getting used to. I especially thought it cruel because we had a 7 hour drive home ahead of us.

Loading up in the car.

It was a night to remember, and we made it through. The next day the doctor signed the release order, the lady from the adoption agency came to help with the sign out process, we loaded him up in the car seat and we were on our way.

7 hours, 2 feedings, 4 stops and many miles later we arrived to the place that Eli will call home.

Well that's about it. Since then we have had many new firsts. For instance our first trip to the doctor. However those stories will have to wait for another time.

Saturday...

When I left off in the previous post, we had settled into the room for the night.

When we would travel up to see Eli our weekends typically went like this. Get in late on Friday night. Spend the day Saturday feeding him, hanging out at his bedside in the NICU at the 9:00 a.m. and Noon feeding, eating lunch and picking up a few things from the store, coming back to the NICU for the 3:00 p.m. feeding and then heading back home.

This Saturday was really no different except that we were joined by my parents, and we wouldn't be going home.

We started off the day and headed to the NICU to be there for the first feeding. Before we went in we were met by the Oxygen guy. He showed us how to use the oxygen tank that we would be taking home with Eli. It was not as scary as I thought it would be when we first learned of this.

We went in to feed him and were met at the door by the monitor guy. He showed us how to use the monitor that Eli would be sent home with. If I woke up with any doubts that they were planning on sending Eli home with us, they were slowly melting away. 

After the monitor guy we saw Eli, who had grown quite a bit since we last saw him. We changed his diaper, and fed him by bottle. The last time we fed him he was barely taking anything from a bottle. It was a joy to watch as he gulped down his food. 

Then it was time for the grandparents. I could tell you what happened but I thought pictures might say it best.

After they got a chance to visit we went to lunch with a friend going to college in Norman. Let me just say that any sandwich that you batter, deep fry, dust with powdered sugar and serve with raspberry jam is a winner in my book.

We came back home, saw Eli a few more times, had a good dinner and went back to the hotel...

That was Saturday... Find out what happened on Sunday...

Prayers for Brooklyn

For the past many months you have been praying for Meagan and I in our adoption process. First of all I thank you so much, and hope you will continue.

I write now though to ask for prayers for another hopeful family. It is for my cousin's daughter Brooklyn. Here is her story...

A Word From Mom:

At week 20 in my pregnancy, our child was diagnosed with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. We were told that there was a hole in her diaphragm and that her intestines were invading her chest cavity. She would undergo surgery at birth and face many trials in order to survive. My husband and I were scared, but we clung to our faith and believed that God had placed this little girl in our lives for a reason.

Brooklyn Elizabeth Hales was born on November 28th, 2010. She was the most beautiful thing we had ever witnessed. Without a chance to hold her in my arms, she was whisked away to the NICU at Texas Children's Hospital. Hooked to tubes and wires, our little girl was struggling to hold on. Over the next few days she fell in and out of stability. Her vitals jumped up and down as the doctors worked hard to control her treatment.

We are taking it one day at a time. Brooklyn has proven herself a fighter and has already had her corrective surgery. She was put on a heart and lung bypass machine which kept her stable throughout the process. She continues to make progress and grows stronger every day. She has a long way to go, but has proven herself worthy of this battle. She has already touched the hearts of hundreds and continues to amaze us with her endurance. We are grateful for the honor to be her parents. She has taught us all to "have a little faith", and I encourage us all to learn from her journey.

Friends and family are holding a Benefit BBQ and Auction on March 5th in Lake Jackson, Texas, with all proceeds going for Brooklyn's medical expenses. If you are in the area and can stop by, that would be awesome. I am including the flyer so you have all the information.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers.