Elise Days 585, 586, 587; Clark Days 12, 13, 14: Hospital

I've taken a while to post these pictures, I guess because I don't enjoy looking at them. They break my heart. Having Clark in the hospital with RSV for over 2 weeks was hard on everyone in our family, but poor baby Clark had it the worst by far.

This picture was taken the first day Clark was in the hospital, October 15th. An IV was inserted into his scalp because they couldn't find a big enough vein anywhere else on his tiny little body. He has an oxygen tube under his nose, heart and breathing monitors on his chest, an oxygen monitor on his right foot, and a blood pressure cuff on his left leg.



Here is Eliseypoo in bed after a long, stressful day on October 15th:



Clark on October 16th, still in the pediatric ICU:



Another sleepytime pic of Elise:



Clark was moved out of PICU and onto the regular pediatric wing of the hospital as his breathing seemed to improve. Here he is on October 17th in a hospital crib:



Elise and Daddy, visiting with baby Clark in the hospital on October 17th:

Elise Day 584, Clark Day 11: Neighborhood

Elliot, Elise, and I took Clark for his first walk around the neighborhood on October 14th:

Elise Days 581, 582, 583; Clark Days 8, 9, 10

Elise and Daddy at Baby Story Time, singing along with a song. October 11th:



Baby Clark sleeping on October 11th:



October 12th:



New babies sleep a lot. October 13th:



Elise doing a hula hoop dance in music class, October 13th:

Elise Days 579, 580; Clark Days 6, 7

October 9th:



Elise is already a helpful big sister. October 10th:

Elise Days 577, 578; Clark Days 4, 5

On October 7th, Clark had his first doctor's appointment. He was healthy and wonderful. Elliot came along and (hands-on daddy that he is) took over diaper duty.



Elise sleeping on the night of October 7th:



Clark in the park, October 8th:



Elise and Mimi, October 8th:

Another Trip to the Hospital

This past Thursday Clark was admitted to the hospital for a fever. Because he's still so young (5 weeks old), getting a fever pretty much automatically meant that he had to be in the hospital for a day or two while they ran tests and held him for observation. Fortunately, the blood tests, urine tests, and chest x-ray all came back clean, so Clark's doctor said that he probably just caught another little virus. His body was likely still kind of weak from dealing with RSV recently.

The fever didn't last for long and since Clark's breathing wasn't compromised this time, we were able to go home after staying just one night. He's still a little congested, but doing well overall.

Hopefully we're done with trips to the hospital for a while!

Elise Day 576: Music Class

While Elliot, Clark, and I were preparing to leave the hospital after Clark's birth, my mom took Elise to her music class. Action shot! Taken October 6th.

Clark Day 3

October 6th was Clark's homecoming day. Before we were discharged from the hospital, we took a few pictures to commemorate the occasion.

This is Clark with Kim, the midwife who delivered him:



Clark in his extra cutie pie going home outfit:



Daddy, Mommy, and baby Clark:

Elise Days 574 & 575, Clark Days 1 & 2

I think that this is the first picture ever taken of Elise and Clark together. My sister Sara is holding Elise and Elliot is holding Clark. It was taken about 2 hours after Clark was born, according to the clock in the background. October 4th:



Even though Clark's face is still all puffy and red, you can see the strong resemblance between him and his big sister. October 5th:

Days 572 and 573

Is it just me or does that butterfly Elise is stepping on look a little perturbed? Oct 2:



Oct 3rd:

Days 570 and 571: Pink Boots

Elise studying and discussing a stick, September 30th:



For the longest time Elise had a phobia of balls, balloons, and anything round that was roughly a similar size. And just as suddenly as the phobia appeared, it was gone. October 1st:

We're Back!

It's been a little while since we've made any new blog posts because Clark was in the hospital recently. He's okay now, thank goodness, but having a newborn in the hospital DOES shake things up quite a bit. It was a scary and exhausting experience, and I'm so glad it's all behind us now.

On the morning of October 15th Clark woke up with a fever. We took him to the emergency room because when a newborn gets a fever something is usually very wrong. He was diagnosed with a respiratory virus, RSV, and he also eventually developed pneumonia. Clark had to be put on oxygen to help him breathe. He bounced back and forth between the regular pediatric section of the hospital and the ICU.

Elliot's sister Katie and my mom came into town to help Elliot with Elise, Caleb, and Ingrid while I stayed with Clark in the hospital. Clark was in the hospital for over two weeks and was finally discharged on October 30th.

We love you so much, Clark, and we're glad you're okay!!!