Eleanor Rebecca Johnson

Little Eleanora decided that she couldn't wait to meet everyone so she decided to make her entrance 10 weeks early! I've decided that my nieces are trying to out dramatic each other in their entrances to the world and this one takes the cake! It started with Tia Erika sending me a message that she was going to the hospital to get checked out. First she was fine and maybe had some gas or constipation, then it changed to she was having contractions and was going to be observed, next thing we knew Tio Robert sent a message saying Eleanor was coming! Needless to say everyone was a little concerned (even Clara). Luckily everything went well and she was born without complications. Eleanor Rebecca Johnson was born on April 22, 2018 at 2:37 PM. She weighed 3 pounds 13 ounces and was 16.3 inches long. She got to stay at Kaiser for a while and Aba and Tia Erika's family even got to meet her! Then an ambulance picked her up and took her to Valley Children's Hospital where she could get the best care around. Tio Robert got to spend some time with her, but unfortunately Tia Erika did not get released from the hospital until the next day.

Once Tia Erika got discharged they began their whirlwind new life of spending the majority of their time at the hospital. Luckily Eleanora is super strong and feisty! She was only on oxygen for a couple days and within a week and a half she was done with jaundice treatments and able to go back to the NICU at Kaiser! She was able to get out of the incubator after a couple days there and even started taking bottles! Her major hurdle is that she stops breathing sometimes (common in preemies). She was put on caffeine and this seemed to regulate her breathing.

Kaiser is close to my work so I try to see her at least once a week. I can't imagine how difficult it must be having to leave your newborn baby each night, and not even getting to hold her at first, but they are handling it like champs! Eleanora is getting stronger each day and doing so well all things considered. She'll have to stay in the hospital until she's at least 36 weeks, can eat on her own, and can be taken off caffeine without having any more episodes where she stops breathing. Eleanor is lucky that she has so many people pulling for her and praying for her on a daily basis. I can't wait until the day that she gets to come home and we can all snuggle her and her cousins can meet her! Both Bailey and Clara are extremely concerned about her and look forward to seeing photos and videos of her! We love Eleanorita and are so happy that she's a part of our family! She's tiny but fierce!