Saturday, December 8, 2012

Introducing Levi Benjamin

Another life-changing opportunity has come our way.  This one is in the form of a tiny little boy born November 18th.

Steve and I are adopting another baby.  His name is Levi Benjamin Alston.

Levi wasn't supposed to arrive until February 4th, but the doctors said he might come early.  His birthmother flew down to Anchorage to be close to the hospital just in case.

On November 12th it looked like Levi was on his way, so I impulsively bought the next ticket out of Brevig Mission.  Longtime readers may remember that I missed Kaitlyn's birth by five hours.  That was not going to happen again.

After six days of waiting Levi was born.

Because he was eleven weeks early, he was whisked directly into the NICU.  I got to see him long enough to verify that he was, in fact, male before he disappeared through a window.

It was three hours before I got to see him again.  Three hours of frantic prayer.  Three hours of being told that he wasn't yet stable enough for us to see him.  Three hours of wondering what that meant and if it was normal.


Levi Benjamin Alston

Finally, the charge nurse brought us into the NICU.  He was tiny.  He was fragile.  He was beautiful.


DSC_0282

By the next day, he was off of the respirator and on a bubble C-PAP.  Basically, that means he was breathing better.

It also means I got to hold him.


DSC_0290

He only cried a little bit.  :)


Tiny Baby

Most of the time he was calm.


DSC_0320

We even got to see him with his eyes open!

DSC_0271

I am in love again.

More about Levi coming soon.


3 comments:

Missy said...

Congratulations! He is so tiny and cute :) So happy he is doing well.

etreiersen said...

Congratulations!!! I am so happy for you and Steve. What an adorable baby boy.

The Hoogland Family said...

Aww he IS so little! What a lucky kid to have you and Steve as parents. I bet you are just dying to show him to Kaitlyn. Aren't new babies the most wonderful miracle in the world!