So I know 17 months is kind of a random age for an update, but these days when I have a thought, I have to go with it immediately or it’s gone forever. (ha) I have a lot of people ask for updates on how he is doing, so I thought doing a post with more details would be a good idea.
For those of you who don’t know his story, Elijah has been through quite the journey in his short little life. When I was 20 weeks pregnant it was recommended that I abort him, due to the fact that he wouldn’t survive and would be severely chromosomally “messed up.” Continuing my pregnancy was also a great risk to my health. You can read more about that here and here, if you’re interested.
But this post is about how our lil stinker is doing today! Yay!
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Eli loves music. He has a very short attention span, so when I read to him or try to show him things, he usually crawls off before I am done. But if I sing or put music on, boy he’s all in! He sways back and forth and has some hilarious dance moves. (he gets it from his daddy ha)
He is by far my pickiest eater, but PB&J sandwiches have yet to be refused by him. He also loves avocados, and I try and feed him one a day to help him gain weight. Raisins are also a new favorite of his.
Clapping. No matter the occasion, this boy is ALWAYS ready to celebrate with clapping. It’s adorable and now he yells “YAAAAAY!” while doing it. *heart melts*
He loves any kind of car or truck, and will roll them all around the house all the time. He wants so badly to be as tall as Rhett, so he is continually trying to roll the cars on our window sill. He stands on his tippy toes and it’s just the cutest thing.
Dislikes:
Eli is very easy going, so there are not a lot of things that he hates. But he has his one year molars coming through, so those have definitely made him more grumpy! And when Eli ain’t happy…ain’t nobody happy!
He does not like it when his big brother steals the toy he is playing with and he lets him know quickly!
He does not like having to wait for his bottle (yes he is still drinking a bottle…but I think we may have FINALLY found a sippy cup he likes). It never fails, as soon as he is done with lunch, he starts wailing for his bottle. When he sees me heating it up he starts whimpering like a puppy begging or something…it’s kind of hilarious.
He does not like sitting still (and thus the reason most of my pictures of him are when he is contained in his high chair. ha). I can tell he is going to be an active learner already, and he’s going to keep me on my toes! Sitting still for long periods of time will not work. If I am trying to teach him something, I usually sit on the floor and sing it to him. That way he can sway back and forth and the music keeps his attention. There have been a few times where he wasn’t feeling well and he snuggled with me for awhile. I cherish moments like that!
Milestones:
Eli is about two-ish months behind on his milestones but is right on target for his adjusted age.
He has been crawling for months now, and is pulling up and “walking” with the help of the coffee table and furniture. He will stand on his own, and then try to clap for himself and fall over. (ha) I bet he’ll be walking on his own in a few weeks!
He is not talking well yet, but will say a few words here and there. One things I’ve noticed about preemie babies (from Eli and other friends who have had preemies), they are SO stubborn! If Eli knows I want him to say something, he looks at me with that little dimpled smile and won’t say a word. So I know when HE decides to start talking, he will. He can say “Ma-Ma,” “Night night,” “So good!” and “Da-da.”
He is still very small for his age…as in the 2nd percentile. He wears mostly 12 month clothing, but since he has started to enjoy solid foods, he’s putting on a little bit of chunk! He has a little roll on each thigh and they make me SO happy, especially when I remember his tiny 2 pound frame only a few short months ago.
He has a mouth full of teeth and I call him my little snaggled-toothed boy because he will move his jaw back and forth and growl at you with all of those teeth! (ha)
He sleeps like a champ and would probably sleep more if his brother wouldn’t wake him up singing in the wee hours of the morning. Sometimes I go in there to get them up and Eli has this look on his face like, “Mom. I want a new roommate.” (ha)
Medical Concerns:
Eli has seen a retinal specialist several times since leaving the NICU and all of his tests and exams have come back great! We are so thankful his eyes seem to be in perfect shape!
He also had an appointment with a geneticist who went through all of his lab work with me and he was honestly baffled by Eli being chromosomally “normal.” He said he had never seen anyone with this kind of pregnancy (placental mesenchymal dysplasia) before and had only read about one other case in Canada. So that was interesting! I left that appointment just in awe of what the Lord can do…even genetics don’t stand a chance to His power!
Other than those appointments, it has not been recommended that we see any more specialists! It still blows my mind.
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And that’s all I can think of for now. I am SO thankful that the Lord healed my Eli and mercifully let us be a witness to his precious life day in and day out. He brings us so much joy!
“The LORD has done great things for us; We are glad.” (Psalm 126:3)
The Carolina Farmhouse 
He is just precious!!
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