My Name is Elias

Hello everybody, my name is Elias. Now let's clear up a common misconception right away, I prefer to be called Elias, not Eli. I know Elias may be hard to say but it is no different than Elizabeth, Christopher, Katherine, Caroline, etc. It only has one more syllable than Eli and I like it.

Anyway, moving on. I was born January 23, 2008, at 11:18 a.m. My mom was in labor for 19 hours (I have a feeling she's going to remind me of that my whole life). Her water broke on Grandpa's birthday, January 22, and we went right to the hospital. Mom was trying to be strong and have me without an epidural. She lasted five hours.

The whole reason she wasn't going to have an epidural is because Gramma Bette said giving birth was easy. She always said, and I quote, "It hurt more getting my ears pierced than having Carly." Well that didn't work for Mom. However, when it came time to push, Mom's epidural had run out so she went through three hours of pushing without pain medication anyway. She's really tough!

Finally I arrived. I was 7 lbs 14 oz. and 18 1/2 inches long. Since than I've grown 3 1/2 inches and put on a little over a pound. I'm a little on the light side but gaining strong. Mom and I had a set back when she got mastitis but she's all better now. So here I am today, almost 7 weeks old. Some things I really love:

The blanket Auntie Erin got me;

My sling;

The song Row Jimmy by the Grateful Dead;

My Badger Mobile;

and of course Mommy & Daddy.

Well good-bye for now, it's my nap time. I'm going to go hang out in my sling so my mom can get some cleaning done. Grandpa Bill is coming tomorrow for a visit and I can't wait to see him. Talk to you all later...Elias