Braden eating Cheetos - Thanks Ms. Sharon for teaching me how to chew.

Ok much to my amazement our big boy Braden decided to actually eat cheetos. Not only did he eat them he didn't gag. Not only didn't he gag but he actually picked them up himself and put them in his mouth. Honestly he does stuff overnite. It's like he just wakes up and says I'm going to eat today and he does. I really think his therapy has brought him into a whole new world. He loves seeing his therapist so much and they bring out the best in him. We are so proud of him and I am also thankful his Daddy actually was home to see him eat. :-)

Braden Update

Sorry for not posting last week. I had a horrible sinus infection and Braden was junky all nite from teething. So little sleep and just barely making it thru the days. I am better now and Braden is still teething with drainage but is his usual happy self. Today we went to the Baptist Hospital NICU party. We saw so many friends, nurses and fellow preemies. It was great to see everyone and I wish we had taken more pics but it was so crowded and busy. I know we will be emailed at least one pic of Braden later. I'll have to post it once I get it.

Braden has been a busy little guy. He is so anxious to stand it's not even funny. I hate that I have to keep him off his feet. He is turning circles on the carpet during floor time. We were going to try and help him crawl but the smart little guy won't stay on his belly. He still hates his belly. Pushing up with his arms while on his belly is greatly improved. So he is making lots of progress. This week Braden will see Ortho again and we will find out if he has to continue to wear his splint 24/7.

Feeding is going well again. During this round of teething he slowed down to about 1 1/2 - 2 ozs per session. But now he's back up to 2 1/2 to 4 ozs at a time. He has also bit a Cheetos puff at least twice. lol That's progress even if he does gag afterward. I'll take whatever we can get at this point. Sippy cup drinking is going very well. Braden doesn't drink a huge amount but he does pretty good. It also helps keep his food down.

Allergy report

Ok so they called back quick this time. Told me Braden doesn't have allergies of any kind. So not sure where his drainage could be coming from... can't imagine he has a cold. We rarely go anywhere. Oh well doesn't seem to be causing him any problems. Just me at nite. Another good thing I can't believe I forgot to mention. Braden has been off O2 at nite since Friday. He is doing great. So I am hoping this means he is off for good. We will see at our next Pulmonary visit.

Update on test results

Well we actually got good news on Braden's reflux. It is minimal and we can keep him on 10 mg of Nexium or switch to 20 mg if needed. I am so thrilled with this news. They did forget to mention allergies when they called. I wasn't feeling well yesterday and forgot to ask. I am run down and my allergies are killing me. Braden's been battling allergies for over a week. I haven't been getting much sleep due to suctioning Braden several times a nite. I think most of my problem is just being worn down from lack of sleep. Fortunately, last nite Braden went to sleep at 6pm so I did too. Still had to get up 4 or 5 times between last feed, Nexium dose and suctioning. But I feel a good bit better today. Hoping we can both take it easy and get some much needed rest. Next week will be very busy. Braden has therapy early Mon thru Wed. mornings and also Wed. evening. We see Urology next Tuesday and we are going to the NICU party on the 30th. We are really looking forward to taking Braden out and seeing our NICU friends. As well as the other families and their babies or should I say toddlers. :-)

Braden is doing great in therapy. He is eating well and he is drinking from a sippy cup. We have took out the gadget that keeps the liquid from spilling. He does much better without it. He is also pulling up into the sitting position really well. He just needs a little support behind him and he wears himself out laying back and sitting up. Really working those stomach muscles. He can also roll on his belly but I try not to let him. The Doctor does not want him trying to crawl. :-( Braden has finally found his feet and loves pulling on his socks and trying to take them off. Remember his legs use to be so short. He couldn't reach his feet. Since his surgery his legs have really lengthened. So now touching his ankles and feet are no problem. He is really getting around despite his splint. Once his splint is off he will have PT twice a week so he can catch up to his peers. With as much as he is doing now we all think it won't be long before he is crawling and walking.

PH probe pictures

Here are a few pics of Braden's PH probe set up. Unfortunately, he had to have his arms restrained. His allergies are bad and his nose itched all evening. Couldn't risk him pulling the probe out. One good thing from today is he was so groggy from the mild sedation he slept alot. Took a three hour nap which was great for me. I needed one too. He went down for the nite at 8:30 pm. So glad this is only a 24 hour thing and he gets to have this out 8 am tomorrow.

By the way in these photos Braden's hair is standing up. This was not on purpose. His hair actually does this on it's own now. lol Everyone loved it at Vandy. He got so much attention today it was great. Even people in the elevator were loving his hair. :-)

Procedure Upper GI and PH probe

Just a quick note before I take a nap with Braden. Who is out sleeping already.:-) Today's Upper GI scoping and PH probe procedure went very well. The Dr. said no visible signs of irritation to Braden's throat. He also said the Nissen still looks good although we still won't know if that is working until the PH probe results come back. We will update sometime Tuesday with more information. Braden didn't even require an IV this time for the mild sedation. We were so pleased. We go back in at 8 am to have the probe removed. Braden will be thrilled since we have his arms in splints. It's the only way we can keep him from pulling out the probe.

Braden's first haircut

Just a quick post to thank Sylvia for giving Braden his first haircut. Now Braden looks more like his Daddy again. :-) Stephen will have to get better snapshots. I'm not getting Braden to smile so much these days. He's too busy playing and trying to sit up. He is so active and trying so hard to go places. I can't wait till he gets this brace off.

Braden update

So yesterday I was amazed to see Braden rolling on his side with his splint. I just had to share some pics. Also, on Tuesday during PT we tried putting Braden on his tummy. Well wouldn't you know he was trying to take off. We had to stop because we were afraid he would put pressure on his hips. So no more tummy time for now. Another funny moment... he actually fell asleep during therapy. Braden is still sick with allergies. I keep switching from Bendyrl to Zyrtec. I hate for him to be drowsy all the time but the Zyrtec just doesn't cut it for nite time. Since it's a 24 hour med. I can't give him both in one day. So it's one or the other. Today we are taking Bendryl because Braden actually needs the sleep. He is napping right now. Hope you enjoy the pics.

Braden's length and weight

I keep forgetting to post Braden's length and weight. He is now 29 inches long and 22 lbs. When we spoke to pulmonary last week they said just make sure Braden gets at least 16 ozs of Nutrin. So basically just feed him when he's hungry. So I am stopping the oil in his purees and not worrying about calories anymore. Hopefully, he won't loose weight and maybe he'll feel better. Less throwing up would be nice. We will just have to see how it goes.

Erwin trip

This past weekend we took a nice little trip to visit Stephen's family in Erwin, TN. We had a really nice time. It was great to see everyone and enjoy some time away before RSV season. Braden really enjoyed seeing his cousins Matthew, Riley and Avery. Braden's allergies were pretty bad by the time we left. So he's been a little sick the past few days. He is getting better and last nite was much better than the nite before. Also, Braden has been working on sitting again. He is doing really well with little support. I think he would be sitting on his own if it weren't for that bar between his legs. He can't lean completely forward because of it. Oh and I'd like to add Braden has a mouth full of new teeth. He has two new bottom molars one on each side. He's been drueling like a mad man. Poor baby got hit with alot all at once.