He's Bubba-Licious!!

Happy Holy Week. Thought we would drop a quick update. Braden is only getting up about 3 or less times a night, and mommy and daddy are still trying to adjust to the extra allotment of sleep... we hope to be able to fully enjoy it soon without the extra wakings without Braden:-)

Thought I would share some of the things about Braden that puts a smile on my face. When Braden is trying to fall asleep, sometimes he will kick in his legs in a bicycle fashion. When he is awakened and still wants to be sleeping, he will arch his back and stretch and kind of grunt. When he is waking up from a good nap, he will scrunch up his face and stretch his arms straight out. He is also getting more active about "singing" or "talking back" to you... even his therapist this past week was enjoying the back and forth exchange of cooing with him. Braden is getting re-evaluated next week, to see if he will be able to handle semi-solid foods (or at least try) with rice cereal or yogurt or pudding - so we will keep you posted with that exciting news. It will probably be more of an exercise to teach him how to eat, than to get him nutrition, at least until he gets the hang of it.

Here are some pics we took this week to celebrate the Easter Holiday - we will post more next weekend too!

We could use some extra prayers for mom & dad this month, some unexpected expenses have come up, and we know that God will provide a plan, but it's still very stressful on them. At least Braden is getting stronger, having fewer oxygen drop alarms, which is some hopeful future peace of mind.


Love to all - Kodi, Brad, and "Bubba-Licious" Braden

Nice weekend in the pollen & the oaks

Mommy & Daddy struggled through being sick Friday & Saturday, and about noon Sunday finally felt good enough to venture outside, and yes, into the pollen. We made our way to Oak Alley Plantation for a partly-sunny day at the arts and crafts fair, and just enjoyed the spring beauty. For those who don't live here, the spring brings a ridiculous amount of yellow pollen that coats everything... reminds me a lot of the dust storms we suffered in KS in the late 80's. After walking the grounds at the plantation for only a few hours - our ankles and shoes were absolutely covered, along with everything else. We could tell we had enjoyed the outdoors long enough once our faces started to itch, and the sneezing ensued. Although we battled sickness on the homefront, the weekend ended well.

We got results back from Braden's last heart monitor, and it showed that he is having no arrythmia - which is a blessing! Braden seems to be taking to his new routine well, as he is sleeping more throughout the night (finally), and we hope soon he and HIS MACHINES will sleep for a six hour stretch! :-)

Braden's medical prescription needs continue to escalate, but he seems to be responding well to the new medical protocol. When Braden is continuing to grow strong, we know the sacrifices we make now, will be worth it in the long run.

Thanks for your continued prayers. Mommy learned today that God even answers small prayers... and He is SO GOOD!! Thanks for keeping us lifted up in His love and grace.

Kodi, B&B

Happy St. Patty's!

Sorry the post is late... we have been battling to keep Braden out of the hospital. While on the phone, our nurse wanted to take him in, we refused, knowing the circus that ensues once we are there... they freak out because he breathes so heavy and "in distress", that we get stuck in the ER for five hours, and then they admit him & keep him for at least four days. Now that we have oxygen at home - there is not a whole lot more they can do for him at the hospital, that we can't do at home, so we are trying to keep him out of that environment and possibly picking up second-hand illnesses/viruses, as has happened in the past. Luckily, our specialist Dr. Thomas agreed, and we just started an aggressive 7-times a day nebulizer treatments of saline, pulmicort, and steroids, plus adding antibiotics to his formula, and using the inhaler as needed... this will continue for 28 days... then we step it down a little bit, as we lose 3 nebulized treatments a day of the steroid, but will maintain a more intense nebulizing schedule to keep things loose so he can cough it out. Braden is really doing a great job of that!!

After we got his new routine established, we took a break as a family on Sunday to take a walk on the levee... mommy & daddy got to enjoy some down time in the cool breeze (a rarity for these parts), and Braden took a nice nap. Usually he like to look around a lot during a walk, but the new schedule and fighting off sickness/allergies/etc. had him a little worn out! We have had some rough nights with little sleep lately, as we try to get him healthy again, but slowly we make progress.

Will post again soon - we are planning another family outing this Sunday too. We will try to take some pics to post for everyone. Thanks for checking in on us...
Kodi, B&B

March Madness

Braden and his frogs, as we gear up for St. Patty's.

Well, our little man has a case of the GREEN... but not in a good way:-( His poor little sinuses are so packed, they are overflowing out of his eyes, so they are oozing green stuff. We started a regimen of antibiotics and hope that kicks it - if not we may be looking into treating potential allergies he may have inherited. The winter was pretty mild, so the allergy season here is truly in full force, and affecting the masses.

To update you on Braden's progress:

Braden can hold his head up for longer periods, and there really isn’t much “bobbing” anymore. The other night he held it up almost constantly for about half an hour with a few short breaks before getting tired… so we are seeing progress. He is cooing a lot more… mostly just like humming an “aahhh” or an “ooohhh” – which we know are his happy and content sounds. Sometimes he will ‘sing’ to us all the way home from daycare! (He LOVES car rides and stroller walks, and being held – those are times he is cooing most). Still not a lot of variety in his sound making, except those little jibbers we get when he is dreaming (adorable & hilarious at the same time). It sounds like shaking off a chill or something… hard to explain, easier to imitate.

He is finding that he can move his arms with purpose, and not just when he is mad. He is back to hanging them out to the side, or up in the air, or ‘flex’… some of which we haven’t seen since we were hospitalized at TCH at five months. So we are hoping to now move forward from here, now that we seem to have caught up to our "pre-TX" status.

I can't believe he is already 10 months old, time has really flown this year. Al new parents are told this - but you don't really expect it to go by as quickly as it does. Thanks for your continued prayers and support - our lives would be SO MUCH DIFFERENT if it weren't for the wonderful people in our lives, like YOU!

Kodi, B&B