Juicy Update

Braden wishes all of you a Happy St. Valentine's Day, and sends many kisses your way! He really seems to be doing well at his new daycare, and they really have become like a second family. His caregivers all want to hold him, because he is so cuddly, and they call him "JUICY". The little ones are adorable & all say hello to him and interact with him. When I show up, they all run to the door to greet me with hugs - what a great way to end my day!!

Braden is now 20 lbs and 26 inches long... we were told that some of the medications he had to be on during his long hospital stay may slow his length growth for awhile, so maybe he will still be able to catch up:-) We told you that he has started rolling back to side and side to back, he is holding his head up for longer periods, he is starting to bear weight on his legs (which also, strangely, calms him down quickly), and is getting more social. If a new person enters the room & he hears their voice, he will look for that new voice. He is still playing around with figuring out how to use his voice without crying, and still trying to cut teeth, but none have come in yet.

Braden has been a good sleeper for a while now, but up until this past week, Brad and I were lucky to get three or four hours of sleep each night, given his machines would go off. Braden would be fast asleep, but in his relaxation, he would have a hard time keeping his airway open. For the past month or two (since Thanksgiving), his cough has really gotten stronger, and he is clearing stuff on his own. We thought he got a bug at Thanksgiving, but in retrospect, we think it was just then that he was learning to clear his own airway with a good cough! If we heard him cough at night, we would immediately rush to his bedside to suction him... but over the past few months, he is clearing it on his own - so we got maybe four or five hours of sleep apiece. Well, this week, Braden has slept through the night, THREE NIGHTS IN A ROW!! We still have to get up at 2 to add milk to his feeding machine, but until early this morning, he has been sleeping and clearing mucus all by himself!! So maybe some full nights of sleep are on the horizon - yeah!

Thanks for all your support, especially over the past few weeks as we make this transition with his caregiver. Once we submitted to God's will and just said, "Okay, show us the door you want us to go through, whatever that may mean", He has blessed us abundantly!! On our visit to Houston, the docs said that they have seen improvement in Braden, so we will remain hopeful that one day Braden will catch up to his peers in several areas, but continue to be thankful for the progress he makes, and thankful for every day we get to take care of this sweet little man in our life.

Happy Heart Day from our family to yours - The Wilson Family