Elijah lay there, wide awake, taking in the voices of the siblings he'd never met before.
The micro-premature baby that has melted the hearts of Hawke's Bay and New Zealand was, finally, incredibly, home.
There were tears, but not from Elijah, as he took in his new surroundings of hisCrownthorpe house on Friday morning.
Mum Madeleine Power and dad Zayne Ashwell say it's a dream come true to have him back after four months of up-and-down at various neo-natal intensive care units.
As they introduced him to the whānau they quickly realised the plethora of emotions a wide-awake Elijah could garner from people who had never met him.
Elijah was born at just 24 weeks and two days' gestation at the Wellington Hospital on July 6, weighing 610g.
Twenty-three to 24 weeks is often considered the minimum age of viability for premature babies.
However, most of the body's systems are underdeveloped at 23 to 24 weeks' gestation, so babies born as early as Elijah was often have a long, hard road ahead.
Micro-premmie baby Elijah Power-Ashwell had the entire family captivated. Photo / Paul Taylor
Ashwell said he had "leapt forward in recovery" in recent weeks, and on Friday said it was "quite a treat to have him home".
As of Friday, he weighed 2.855kg.
He said Elijah's four siblings Ruby, Rosa, Olivia and Jack saw him for the first time and there were some tears and smiles, followed by lots of cuddles from all.
"All the kids had a turn in giving him a cuddle, and even though the nurse said he might cry in an unfamiliar environment, he didn't.
"He was wide awake, and seemed to recognise their voices."
Madeleine Power and Zayne Ashwell with baby Elijah on his last day at SCBU. Photo / Supplied
Ashwell said having him home was a good feeling but hadn't sunk in yet.
"This is what we have wanted ever since he was born. It will probably sink in at 2am when he wakes up."
In preparation of his return, the family undertook an intensive cleaning process including sanitising the whole house, bleaching every wall and every cupboard, making sure there was no dust.
Ashwell said the idea was to keep Elijah in their bedroom until he becomes used to the surroundings.
"We will have to clean the room every day to ensure there are no dust particles.
"We are quite lucky though, in that he's on oxygen and so he's got an added layer of protection there."
Olivia, 9, cuddles her baby brother Elijah Power-Ashwell for the first time at the family home in Cronwthorpe. Photo / Paul Taylor
Oxygen tanks were placed in the bedroom, lounge, and the family also had mobile tanks for going out.
With the environment side of things sorted, Ashwell said Elijah's overall health was key.
"He's feeding through a nasogastric tube, and finishes a bottle of breast milk every day.
"He also had his hearing test done and he passed with flying colours."
Happy couple Madeleine Power and Zayne Ashwell were pleased to be returning home with Elijah, but said they couldn't fault the care provided by SCBU staff at Hawke's Bay Hospital. Photo / Supplied
His eye test, however, didn't go as well because of the pressure of oxygen on his eyes.
"We'll also be getting a home care nurse to check his vitals once a week for at least six months, because he'll still be on oxygen."
He had nothing but praise for the staff at Hawke's Bay Hospital's Special Care Baby Unit.
"The hospital has been amazing, they ran us through a resuscitation course before we brought Elijah home.
"They taught us how to use the nasogastric tube.
"They have treated him like he's their own baby, they have just been amazing and we cannot fault their professionalism and their care."
He said Elijah's homecoming was just one more step to him being a "happy, healthy baby".
