A New Brother!

  Hello! So today I'm going to be filling you in on Caleb, my newest brother!
  August 7, around 12:40 am, Mom and Dad left for the hospital. Mom was in a lot of pain, her water had broke, and the contractions were coming-quick. We weren't sure if they would make it to the hospital in time, which was an hour away.
  Tara and I were called upstairs and slept on the couch. Well, lay on the couch. How could we sleep?
  Around 1:30 Dad called. Strange... Would they really have reached the hospital already? We answered, and he told us he was still on a road that's not very far from our house. "The baby's here." Caleb was born in the Suburban in a church parking lot! After he was born, a cop and two ambulances arrived, and Mom and Caleb were taken the rest of the way to the hospital. Mom said she was looking out the back windows as it zoomed around tractor trailers on the highway. Dad followed in the suburban.

  Caleb was doing well. He was a little colder than he was supposed to be, so they put him under a heat lamp. Also, his sugar was low, which the nurse said could have to do with him being cold. Dad came home in the afternoon, and later took us all to see him. He was born 5 lb 11 oz and was 19" long.

  Caleb was doing good overall! His hair was brown, and his eyes looked like they would be too.

A little bundle : )

  On the 9th (still at the hospital) Mom pointed out that his lips and mouth were bluish black. The nurses rushed him away.  By the time they reached the room where they were going to check his oxygen level, he was better. A little later though, while hooked up to the machine, it happened again. This time they saw his oxygen level dip down on the screen. Later, his oxygen level dipped down AGAIN, twice,  without his mouth turning blackish blue. They had him hooked up; something checked his oxygen, something showed the speed of his heart beats. He was under a heat lamp with sugar water being put into him through an IV. The doctor came in and said he would get a chest X-Ray. That came back great!
  Later that night, only Mom was at the hospital. His oxygen level went down again, twice. She told Dad on the phone that they were going to take him to UVA, a bigger hospital. They put an oxygen mask on him, put him in a freezer-looking thing, and took him away. Dad picked up Mom and they drove there too. They put him in a NICU. We were really scared. That night Mom and Dad stayed there. They emailed that he was doing good, but his red blood cell count was high. His oxygen levels did not drop at all at UVA though, which we were happy about!

  We thought Caleb was 37 weeks, 6 days along at birth. But they began to think otherwise. You see, my Mom didn't go to the hospital for an ultrasound until she was quite far along. "By that time," we now were told, "it was too late to measure him and get an accurate due date." So, the due date was probably quite a bit off! They now think he was only 34 or 35 weeks along at birth!
  But you know, All thing work together for good to them that love God. Romans 8:28. When he was born, Dad had to take the cord off his neck. It was on there twice. If he was in there for five or six more weeks, would he have lived?
  Not to mention, my mom showed signs of the early stages of preeclampsia. When she was able to get her blood pressure tested after the baby was born, it was really high. Would my mom have made it another five or six weeks?
  Lots of people were praying for him. The next evening he was getting a EEG, to test his brain. Mom and Dad came home, along with Grandma. I wondered of he'd be okay. I wondered if they'd keep a good eye on him, with his family two hours away. Was he in good hands? But you know, God reminded me: Ultimately, Caleb is in God's hands.

  This morning, Mom called in to check on him. The EEG showed such wonderful results that they were taking it off early! Also, his red blood cell count was completely better! Below is a picture Mom and Dad sent today. Doesn't he look peaceful? I'm so happy to see him without all those wires everywhere.

  Caleb is off the IV and doing wonderful! Thank you for your prayers;  God hears them! I don't know when he'll be able to come home, but I'll post more pictures when he does.

  "O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good; for his mercy endureth for ever." 1 Chronicles 16:34