Anything You Can Do I Can Do Cuter

Lately Braden has started imitating our sounds and actions which apparently includes sticking out our tongues. Braden loves to talk and sing with us. Good thing he is unaffected by our inability to carry a tune.

He wants nothing to do with laying around and all he wants to do is have us help him stand, stand, and stand! He facial expressions when he gets a different view of his world are priceless.

We are so fortunate he is sleeping 10 hrs a night and he continues to gain weight at 15 1/2 pounds. He is an absolute joy and we are so lucky to have a smiley baby loving life!

Solid as a Rock

Braden continues to thrive and we attempted semi-solid food tonight by mixing rice cereal with milk. This is the first time B has taken food other than from the bottle and needless to say he did a great job!

B was rooting for the Ags and Longhorns but unfortunately he is left disappointed. In fact he usually barfed on his UT outfits :) However, he is rooting for the TCU Frogs in the College bball World Series!

He smiles, laughs and tells us all about everything on his mind. He love baths, the outdoors and he wants to do nothing but stand up when you hold him.

I also survived my first time with daddy out of town... We take our first trip on the road with him July 4 weekend, fingers crossed.

Looking Good Kid

Braden had a doctor appointment today and I am proud to say the doc thinks Braden is developing great!

He is 15 lbs and 6 oz! He is being taken off a few supplements to gain weight but is still on breast milk with some rice cereal to help with the reflux. We get to start to introduce solids this month which scares me to death!

He loves sucking his fingers (esp the inside ones so he makes a longhorn), continues to smile, laugh and discover the world around him. He is so vocal talking to us all the time about the latest dream he had, the happenings of the day, or just what is on his mind!

Look for a video soon as he is so amazing live and in person :)

Say Cheese!!

Braden continues to grow and change every day. Lately he has picked up tracking us more and flashes us some really cute smiles.

He has discovered he has 2 hands and clasps them together all the time when he is not sucking on them. He loves to grip different things and he still LOVES to stand up. The kid would walk tomorrow if he had the chance!

Not sure on his weight but I would guess he is past the 14 pound marker. He sleeps about 10-11 hours at night in his crib and as we speak I have him napping in his crib for the first time. There was a 5-10 minute nuclear meltdown but all is well now.

Reunited and it feels so good

Had a wonderful Saturday with my ante-pardum/NICU mommas. As many of you know we made some really good friends while in the hospital for a few months.

Missy and Russ on the left of the pic were on bedrest in ante pardum for 11 weeks and then in the NICU 2 weeks. We had so many laughs and honestly I could not have imagined experiencing this without them there cheering us on. Missy is officially a celebrity making it as long as she did in ante pardum and she and Russ are two of the most amazing parents and friends we could have in our lives.

Kate and Joey on the right are two of the strongest people I have ever known and wow did they have the book thrown at them being in the NICU 5 months! Kate and I only met the day before Braden was born but when baby Reece came just 3 days later we got to know each other for 10 weeks in the NICU as we were positioned right across from one another. We shared ups and downs and found ourselves rooting for one another throughout the process.

Our sweet photographer was none other than my most favorite night nurse Joanne. She is back from Africa working her magic at St. Davids and it is a pleasure to get to spend time with her again.

There is always silver lining and ours comes with a new family and new friends. Mr. B is likely 14lbs and then some. Doing great and loving spending time with his Nana every day.

Balancing Act

I wrapped up going back to work a few days a week yesterday and it was definitely an adjustment to balance work and home life. However, it felt great to get back into a routine and to interact with adults! I miss Mr. B but his Nana is taking great care of him as our nanny and she even sends me email updates of how he is doing a few times a day.

Braden continues to grow and is 13lbs and 10oz. He is in the 98th percentile for his head... which is definitely picked up from my side of the family. He has a funny hair cow lick which he definitely gets from his daddy. He is still scarce on hair which could be pointed at either side of the family :)

He is picking up on smiling at mom and dad and is starting to track us a little better. He had a professional photo shoot today and he cooperated this time versus the first attempt where he screamed his head off at the photographer. He has really strong legs and insists on practicing standing up all the time.

We have taken him out on walks quite a bit and I even got him a hat to protect his face. Unfortunately for Braden mommy did not exactly get the right size... see video below.

To All My Working Mommas

I go back to work tomorrow and wow it is bittersweet. I have this new best friend, who I am in love with, and while I only talk to him, I feel like I have known him my whole life.

I have so much respect for moms that stay home and moms that go back to work. Because both are HARD jobs regardless!!

I look forward to the challenge of work and actually having adult conversations. However, I will miss the meaningless TV time with Mr. B and the moments where there is nothing in the world that matters but me, Mr. B, and the trees he loves to gaze at all afternoon.

Going back to work is one of the hardest decisions a woman has to make after having a baby and while I was always certain I would go...I had no idea how heart breaking it would feel.

Silver lining. My mother-in-law moved to Austin and she is going to be Braden's care taker for the next year! We are so blessed to have her as well as my wonderful mother (Gammy) coming to town all the time to watch Mr. B.

Speaking of B... he is a love. Truly a wonderful person and such a joy to be around. I hope you all get to meet him soon :)

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

When he grips my hands with intensity while taking a bottle.

When he gets a half smile, for no apparent reason, or due to gas.

How he sucks his pacifier while sleeping.

His constant talking/grunting about who knows what, but I wish I did!

His content during bath time, even when mom and dad are taking forever.

His looks of interest when his daddy reads him bedtime stories.

But one of my most favorite times is first thing in the morning when B wakes up and stretches as if to say, "Here I am world!".

He is doing great at about 12 1/2 lbs. He has completely grown out of new born clothing and even gives 0-3 month outfits a run for the money. He is sleeping better due to his special sling contraption you saw in the video. We had a 7 hour sleep the other night!!

We love how everyone continues to ask about our miracle boy and we read the blog posts to Braden so he can keep up with what all his friends and family say about him :).

Sprouts, Bouts and Ceiling Fans

1Braden continues to grow and grow. He is about 12 lbs at this point and in the high percentiles for babies of his premature state. I swear he changes every day, in fact this morning I came to get him and I swear he had more hair that literally sprouted overnight! Speaking of overnight he is getting into 5-6 hour stretches of sleep, which is amazing for us, but still rough on me due to the pump schedule. I am starting to stretch that out in order to dry up my milk and will hopefully be finished in the coming weeks.

Braden is a total riot. If he is not taking on bouts with the play gym he is shadow boxing in mid air at who knows what, but it is adorable to see him work it out. He is also taking on daddy and the nurses. He peed on the nurse at his 4 month check up last week... but even funnier he peed on daddy when Brian had his back turned for a moment during the clean up of a huge stinky poop. It sounds cruel, but as a mom home all day, these moments make me smile just a little... well maybe a lot. Someone else has to feel the "experience" of Braden's bodily fluids :)

The video below is the latest of Mr. B and his sister Daisy. He continues to be a "vocal" child, but a dear all the same. We continue to feel so blessed and are doing our best to navigate through this adventure in parenting!

1st Easter

Cashed out after a great weekend celebrating Easter. Dad ate my bunny while I was sleeping :) Even my sister Daisy was worn out from all the fun!

Have You Seen My Brain?

Wow, when they tell you you actually lose brain cells when pregnant, they were right. But when they told me those cells do not come back when the baby arrives... well, they were right again.

I do not have enough text to tell you some of the most amazingly dumb things I have done so I will give you a few highlights.

Started the dishwasher, without loading a single dish.

Warmed up the water for the bottle, without putting the water in the microwave.

Washed clothes thinking I was using detergent only to realize I was using fabric softener... a month later... not proud of this one.

On a funnier note, my little B is growing like a weed. Already 11lbs 5oz. He loves his bath time and especially loves to pee in the tub mid-way through so mommy gets to start all over :)) Love our little boy! He is technically 1 month old but literally 4!

Triple P Kinda Night

He is 10 1/2 pounds! 21 inches long and discovering his voice more and more each day.

If reading about puke and poop is not your thing today, stop reading now :). Otherwise let me tell you about the triple P.

P #1. It started out about 3:30 a.m. when I went to get Braden to eat and before getting to his crib I could smell the destruction that was coming from his diaper. Needless to say this comes with the territory, just funny/convenient it usually comes with momma's shift versus dad. No problem, we got cleaned up and headed downstairs to eat.

P #2. He was eating really well until about an ounce to go he put up the stop sign, aka tight lipped grimace and the hairy eyeball that says, "don't even think about it mom". I tried to wait it out for a few minutes when out of no where, a river (at least it seemed that way relative to his size) of milk came pouring out of his mouth, down his bib, down his outfit, and down my legs. At this point I qualified it as a puke which meant no more food and we headed back upstairs.

P#3. As I calmed him down and we walked upstairs I heard suspect noises coming from the southern hemisphere followed by that oh so familiar odor that usually meant there was more destruction to clean up. This one doubled the first P. So we got cleaned up, into a new outfit and back to bed.

Other times we just crash out together, as seen below, until daddy puts us both to bed.

Magic Tricks and Kicks

Braden does amazing magic tricks these days. He has this amazing ability to fart (make popcorn) while eating. An innate skill at barfing all over mommy, even when I angle him away from me initially. He has learned how to grab things, including my hair... ouch. He starts with a bib on normal but we look away and somehow it always ends up turned at least 90 degrees. But in addition to his tricks, he also makes eye contact, smiles, and just is a really sweet baby :) He is learning to kick! The boy has found his legs and usually exercises them when taking a bottle. This means he propels himself backwards with jolting force while we try to feed him. Tons of fun :))



We go to the doc tomorrow but I am sure he is close to if not more than 10 lbs. I find my arm cramping as I hold him up for a bottle. He is still up a ton at night and we are trying everything to make him comfortable with the hope of getting 3-4 hours of sleep.



Our little man is trucking along and I am sure he has more tricks up his sleeves :)

All Dressed Up With Nowhere to Go

Daddy decided to dress up little man and as you can see he looks ready for a round of golf! He is growing every day and now I see why baby clothes are so cheap... they grow out of them too fast! But getting B in an outfit is one of the highlights of my day... even if I have to do it 3-4 times because he has spit up all over the outfit and usually me.

In fact I barely notice the spit anymore. I went out to meet a friend and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror (big mistake). I noticed what I thought was dry skin on my scalp only to discover it was a pretty big spit up that had dried up in my hair from when I apparently ran my dirty hands through it after feeding B.

Life as a mommy. Awesome. :)

The Bear Compare

The past few months have seemed so long and there are times where I feel like Braden never looked any different than he does today. Then I decided to finally develop pictures from a disposable camera we had up at the NICU. The nurses would take pictures of Braden for us when they took him out of the isoltette to do various things since we could not take our own. They had various photo shoots including some of the pics below. There was one picture that took my breath away because it really reminded me how far Braden has come. There was this really tiny bear that Reece's mommy and daddy gave us and the nurses took pictures with Braden. I went up to Braden's room and got the bear and almost cried when I saw how tiny it was and how far Braden has come on this journey. It is hard to describe the change so I took a picture for a comparison. Braden is 9lbs 2oz, 4x as big as what he was in that the top photo! Still a grunter and not giving us any sleep but it is worth every minute when we reflect on moments in these pictures.

Eye Contact

Braden is doing great. He went back to the eye doctor and they confirmed his eyes have matured and he is not at risk for sever visual disabilities. As you can see he is making solid eye contact with daddy and he is starting to follow our voices and eyes. He is still very newborn but getting stronger by the day. He is turning his head and we practice tummy time every day.

Braden continues to be a grunter but his personality and temperament make up for those moments in the middle of the night. Even his big sister Daisy loves to kiss him... constantly. He weighs more than 8lbs and is a wonderful baby. We are blessed.

All My Single Ladies

-Seeking female playmate

-18-21 inches in length between 7-12lbs

-Quiet in nature since I like to do all the talking

-Communicates well via grunting, no criers please

-Must likes babies with light brown hair, even if it is not growing in on top yet. Can an infant rock the comb over?

-Appreciates short naps and lack of sleep, I need a party animal that can stay up all night with me

-Enjoys long meal times and appreciation of the feeding experience, especially the drops that come back up

-Weak sense of smell preferred so she can look past the frequent, and lethal gas bombs

Any takers? :))

Braden is doing well. Tiring us out, but that is life with a newborn! He passed the 8lb marker this week and continues to change in some way on a daily basis.

My First Ambulance Ride

My first ambulance ride was today. Oh man was today a day. I noticed Braden was breathing harder than normal so I decided to take him into the doctor to get checked. What I thought was a precautionary step turned into a fiasco. We had 4 people, RNs, clerks, etc. try to take his pulse ox and all commented on how small he was and how hard it was to get an accurate reading. Well after being there a few hours and having a few nurses in with confused looks, it was determined Braden should go to Dell Children's Hospital, via ambulance, admitted through the ER.

Wait, did we mention he had not seen a doctor yet, nor did he... yup, our son was admitted to Dell via ambulance into their ER without even seeing a doctor. Once in the ambulance they took his vitals, the SAME vitals as the pediatric nurses, and he was just fine. They said they HAD to take him anyway but that we were likely victims of liability concerns in place of good medical practice.

We got to Dell and they were immediately more concerned with the fact we were there due to all the illness in the hospital versus any concern something was wrong with Braden.

We were evaluated and discharged within a few hours. We all immediately came home, exhaled, then looked for the nearest wine bottle ;)

We are totally exhausted and spent. But on a positive, Braden is born again tomorrow, his actual due date. Look for another post to come soon.

Braden's Big Sis

As many of you know, our "first child" is a 70 lb Doberman named Daisy. We brought Daisy home as a 6wk old puppy a little over 1.5 years ago. Several of you have asked how Daisy is doing with her new little brother being home. Well, as the saying goes, a picture speaks a thousand words....


Braden and Daisy both enjoyed our first walk as a family a few days ago. But, no, unfortunately that is not my motorcycle.

Rear View Mirror

As I take a few days to reflect I think about what we have left in the rear view mirror:
100+ days in the hospital
300+ trips to and from hospital
3 re admissions for mom
9 hospital rooms for mom
36 days of bed rest
73 days in the NICU
450 minutes scrubbing in per person
34 nurses and 5 doctors in the NICU taking care of Braden
19 nurses and 3 doctors taking care of mom
4 IV sticks... in one day for mom, not even sure on the total

While we are happy to leave these things in the past, we have made new friends for life with the Cook and Desormeaux family who have been in this experience with us from the early days in ante partum, in addition to meeting the Shoemakers in the NICU. All of our situations are much different but there is an unspoken understanding and support amongst all of us that just cannot be explained unless you have experienced it. Probably no coincidence we all have trouble-making boys.

We were also so blessed to have a wonderful family and friends come out and support us in and out of the hospital. I have had some beautiful showers and have no words or time to thank everyone for what they have done to support and prepare us for Braden. I have a countless list of thank you cards to write and am facing a reality that it might be some time, if ever, that I get around to them all! Usually the baby is not here yet when these things go on :)

Our faith has also been tested but strengthened throughout this process. We had a few talks with the big guy, some a little more colorful than others, but throughout the events thrown our way we were able to stay strong in our faith that God could and would get us through this.

Braden is home and spends his days eating, sleeping, grunting, practicing tummy time, more grunting, more eating and now and then some more sleeping.

I have been asked if I will keep up with the blog and I thought, well why not, the journey has just begun.