This Baby Was Born Without A Nose And He Is So Adorable

This rare malformation affects just 1 in 197 million babies. See how Eli’s doing now!

This is 4-week-old Eli.

He was born March 4 in Alabama. As doctors handed him to his mother, Brandi McGlathery, she quickly realized he had no nose.

Everything was normal, but …

Eli was taken to USA Children’s and Women’s Hospital in Mobile, Alabama to see doctors who were more equipped to deal with his condition. He was able to breath fairly normally right away, but doctors still performed a tracheotomy when he was just 5 days old to make things even easier for him.

It’s extremely rare.

Only 43 recorded cases of Eli’s condition — congenital arhinia — exist since it was first reported in 1931. While it can potentially be life-threatening because of breathing and feeding problems, there are also many cases of people surviving into adulthood with the condition.

What they’re doing about it.

His mother has been working with doctors and lactation specialists to make sure she and the rest of the family know how to properly feed and take care of Eli.And Brandi McGlathery has already been in touch with parents who have had children born without a nose and other patients who have grown up with the malformation.

“He’s perfect the way he is.”

While there are plastic surgery options available to give Eli the appearance of a nose, his mother is opting to wait for now. She wants him to be able to decide on his own as an adult. “Until the day he wants to have a nose, we don’t want to touch him. We have to take it day by day.”

Watch the video of Eli’s parents talking about raising a child with no nose: