4 Months

Our little fighter is 4 months old today!  I have to be honest, it often feels like Eli should be 4 years old and not 4 months old but I'm sure that's because he's been through so much already in his short life.  Even though it may be hard to believe, I wouldn't give the past 4 months back for anything in the world.  Despite the ups and downs we've had as a family and everything our little guy has had to go through, the time we've had Eli in our lives has been an absolute blessing and more wonderful than I could ever imagine.  Waking up every morning knowing he's my little boy is the greatest miracle I could ask for.  Happy 4 month birthday, little dude!

It's tough to know Eli's true weight right now because he has been retaining so much water and isn't even weighed that often but his doctors feel he is pretty close to his "dry" weight and a couple days ago he was 11lb 4oz so my guess is somewhere right around 11 pounds even.  When they measured him this morning he was a hair under 24 inches long.  He's our tiny little 4 month old!

Despite being so sick and having such little energy, Eli's personality definitely shows through quite often.  If they suction his mouth, do mouth care or anything else he typically doesn't like, he'll shake his head back and forth.  He always loved getting a bath and washing his hair and that still calms him down quite a bit.  As some of you may remember, Eli was a fantastic eater before his transplant and they often told us to not be surprised if he developed a nipple aversion because he wouldn't have to eat on his own for so long.  Yesterday when they were re-taping his breathing tube the nurse was holding it in place with her finger and he was going to town sucking on it.  It was the cutest but saddest thing!  Hopefully he won't have a horribly difficult time learning to eat again when he's healthy.

When I woke up a couple days ago I found Eli all wrapped up in a bunch of blankets.  He had gotten a bath and his temperature was low so he was doing his best eskimo impression!

A good friend of mine and her husband and adorable little girl came and brought me and Logan dinner the other day.  It was so fun to visit with them and play with their darling little peanut.  They also brought Eli the perfect gift!  Check out the awesome mini boxing gloves for our little fighter that now hang right above his head.  Thank you for the delicious dinner and fun present, Nick and Sonia!  Eli can't wait to have play dates with Kayla :)

Eli has many friends here at the hospital and one of them brought us a fun little gift today.  It's a clicker that we are supposed to hang by his crib and every time something good happens we have to click it.  This is a good exercise to do because it will help us recognize all of the blessings we receive each day amidst the difficulties of living in the hospital.  We will definitely use it!

Eli was trialed off dialysis for the 2nd time last night around midnight and we are still waiting for him to pee!  He's keeping his labs under control for now so they don't have to rush to put him back on yet.  The goal is to give him until tomorrow morning to pee before he goes back on so we still have some time but are hoping it happens soon.  It took him about 23 hours to urinate after his first trial off so we are hoping it happens a little quicker this time.  Come on, little kidneys!

Eli's respiratory status continues to slowly improve every day.  His lungs seem to be getting stronger and they are getting less and less blood each time they suction his breathing tube so that's a great sign as well.  It's a slow recovery process but we couldn't be more proud of how hard Eli is fighting and all of his doctors talk about how much he is improving all the time.  Keep it up, buddy!

Fight on, little Eli!