Monday PM

Jonas is looking so good today! He is completely off the oxygen, blood pressure meds and got to start with a little of Mom's milk in the tube in his mouth. From what we can tell he is digesting it well and has been able to have a little bowel movement so it looks like things are moving. He is getting the milk continuously through the tube in his mouth. His jaundice is completely cleared up, so no more phototherapy. He didn't have the spinal today..we are hoping tomorrow. They said the results usually take 24 hours to come back, but they should have preliminary results after a few hours.

His labs look better are are continuing to improve. There is one level called CRP which is a basic indicator of the severity of the infection...Jonas initially had a level just over 100, and today it was down to 10 (Normal levels are less than 6).

Jonas is on Day 7 of IV antibiotics, and they are saying he needs 8-10 days total before he can go home. He also needs to be able to digest milk without any problems. If he's able to tolerate the small continuous amount of milk over the night, then we may be able to try nursing or pumped milk in a bottle in the next few days. Day 10 of his antibiotics coincides with Christmas day...so we are hoping Jonas can come home for Christmas! What a great gift that would be. :)

We are all doing well. Life has been busy with the travel back and forth to the clinic twice a day, and then getting ready for Christmas. We've also had visitors (neighbors and local friends from around town) that have come to visit or call us.

We are also getting serious about needing to buy a car...once we have Jonas home, we will be a 2-taxi family (Moroccan law prohibits more than 3 bodies in the city taxis, and this includes tiny newborn babies). We are still trying to save a bit more money because cars are A LOT more expensive here than we expected, but we are feeling the pressure and need for a car. We've heard that a lot of dealerships are having big sales until the end of the year, so Bruce is going to look this week to see what's out there.

Elijah is doing well also. He's getting back on track after being away from Mom and Dad for a few days. He's been extra clingy to mom, but then again mom is feeling extra clingy to him too. He's understanding that the baby is out of mommy's tummy and that mommy has to pump to give the baby milk...I think he's just confused as to where this baby actually is that we're always talking about.

Well, hopefully we will have more news tomorrow after we've talked to the doctors again. Will keep you guys informed. We are so overwhelmed and encouraged by everyone's prayers ... there are A LOT of people out there praying for us, and we FEEL IT! Love you guys.