April 28th

Brayden has been moved out of the NICU unit to the transition floor. This is the last stop before home. Hopefully in the next 2-3 weeks we will be able to bring him home. We were able to receive a private room so I can stay with him all the time. A TV in the room is a huge bonus.

They put him back on bottle feeds once a day and today he took the whole bottle for the first time. They are hoping to move him out of the incubator into a regular baby bed in the next couple of days.

Brayden continues to be a very active baby constantly kicking and grabbing at things. He is also becoming quite the cuddler.

Can't wait for you all to see what a precious lil guy he is and by far the cutest baby ever.

April 25

Sweet little Brayden has decided to pull some pranks on the staff these last couple of days. On Thursday night the nurse put him on his little bed in the incubator and Brayden decided he wanted to roll off the bed and try kicking himself out of the incubator. Yes I said he rolled off the bed not sure how he did it but like I said he is a little stinker. Yesterday his first diaper change of the morning he decided to pee on his bedding on his second diaper change he decided it would be funny to shoot poop all over his incubator. This weekend he has mastered pulling out his feeding tube which really upsets the nurses.

Otherwise his weight is up to 3lb 12.5 oz and gaining every day. They stopped the bottle feedings for a couple of days after a vomitting episode on Thursday's feeding(I personally think it was the way they fed him the leftover amount and not the bottle feed. Otherwise no other mentionings of moving out of the NICU unit since last Sunday. Hopefully soon though

April 22nd

Today Brayden is up to 30 cc of feedings every 3 hours. He is able to feed from a bottle every 12 hours. He only eats around 15 cc but it still a huge accomplishment for only being 32 weeks of age. All IVs have been removed. His weight is still around the same as when he was born. We are hoping that he will be moved out of NICU anyday now.

Thanks for all your support

Jayme and Jill

April 19th Brayden's a week old

Hello all from Crib 16. Can you believe that I am already a week old. Lets look back at what I have all accomplished in such a short amount of time.....

Rid of Apnea- check

Breathing on own - Check

Get rid of Jaundice- Check

Digesting food - Check

Feeding from a bottle-No problem even when the nurse said that usually doesn't happen for another couple of weeks.

Stress the parental units out-Check...of course I will be doing that the rest of their lives.

Add Weight...have they looked at me genes(uncle Chris, Cousin Troy, Cousin Adam, dad, Uncle Dan) I mean come on the odds are against me right now tall and skinny is what's in my blood.

Man am I doing great or what! I am waiting for the next challenge that the nurses throw at me.

This weekend uncle Chris came to visit me. I can tell we are going to get a long really well once he gets over the whole tiny baby thing. Yesterday my daddy changed my diaper for the first time I was so proud of him. I had a chance to squirt him but I refrained this time...look out pops one of these times I will get you. He forgot to have the second diaper handy right away he will learn the hard way.

Looks like I will be bustin out of the NICU any day now. That's a little disappointing because twin girls just joined me in my section. There pretty cute but man are they needy. My dad says that never changes.

Peace out from Crib 16.....Love Brayden

April 18th

Brayden is up to 20cc of milk every 5 hours. He is starting to even get a little cranky before feedings which is a great sign. They are looking to take is IV out in the next couple of days. His bilirubin level has spiked back up again so he is back under the lights.

We also learned that he is going to be moved out of NICU any day now. Our nurses are actually keeping him in here until a private room can open up for us.

April 17th

Brayden is continuing to improve everyday. He is up to 13 cc of food every 4 hours and is digesting it really well. I was able to change my first dirty diaper last night of course Jayme turned it down. They are hoping to increase is amount a couple times a day. Next week they are looking to start adding a fatty substance to help bulk him up a little bit faster. He gained a half an ounce today weighing in at a whopping 3 lbs 8.5 ounces.





His doctors are hoping to release him out out of the NICU unit in the next couple of weeks as long as everything keeps going good. Once out of the NICU unit he can either be transported back to our local hospital or moved upstairs at the Children's Hospital in Chicago. Once he is out of the NICU unit it will just be a matter of continuing to gain the weight and us getting use to taking care of a premie. If he stays in Chicago we would be able to have our own private room for bonding.

We are thankful everyday that he is in such great health. After seeing all the scenerios that could have happened and what some of the families are going through we are truly blessed. Thank you for all your prayers and support

April 15th Brayden's Story

Hello everyone from Pod 16 that's my crib here in the NICU. Today Grandpa Mark came to visit me. I was a little upset he didn't get to hold me but I know that I need to keep sun tanning to kick this jaundice in the butt. I must say it is pretty relaxing though! My favorite nurse Marianne asked to be my primary nurse. That is a pretty big deal here. She is so cool we listen to classic rock all day long. I know that dad appreciates me getting use to the good stuff. Her and my grandpa got along really well in fact he is going to sell her some insurance for her cottage. I would like to give a shoutout to my Grandma Dot..thanks for the books I was really getting tired of mom reading me Clifford the Big Red Dog. Otherwise not to many changes going on. Thanks for checking in and adios from Pod 16.....Love Brayden.

April 14

Today Brayden was taken off all oxygen and has been successfuly breathing perfectly on his own. His heart rate was also steadily between 150-170. He now only has a feeding tube in his nose and a line in in umbilical cord for easy blood draw. He was starting to get a little jaundice today so he had little sunbathing session in the afternoon. Doesn't he look so cool. They also upped his feeding from 4cc to 8cc every 4 hours. He is such an amazing little guy.

As for me it great finally being at home. Especially when we came home to a steak and potatoes meal cooked by dad. It was pretty tough leaving Brayden behind but I know he is getting the best care possible.

April 13th PM

Tonight we gave Brayden his first bath. He really didn't take to kindly to it either. The only part that he really enjoyed was getting his hair washed. In fact it put him right to sleep. They lowered his feedings from every 4 hours to 8 hours because his body was not absorbing it very fast.

As for me I am doing great. Not really sore just tired of being in a hospital bed and room. I have been in one for six nights now. As most of you know I don't do well with the whole sit back and relax let someone else take care of you kind of thing. The nurses really don't know what to do with me. Fourteen hours after labor I was walking to the Children's Hospital Wing heck with waiting on transport to wheel me down that takes to long. The nurses and doctors can never find me in my room because I am always out and about, mostly visiting Brayden. In fact they are so nice they have given me codes to rooms so I can go get my own water and such. Good new is I am busting out of this place sometime tomorrow. The one thing I will miss is the food being delivered to me.

April 13th, 2009

Today was a big day for little Brayden. He was taken off the Apnea breathing machine and has been breathing strong on his own all day. They began feeding him breast milk this morning ahead of schedule. Orginally they were just going to feed him fluids for a couple of days. Another milestone is all babies lives was the first poop..lol.

He will still be in an incubator until he can get his weight up to around 2ooo grams or 4 1/2 pounds.

We have been able to hold him all day. He is a little cuddler and loves to be read to. So if have any old children's books we would love to borrow them.

He looks just like dad and just like dad he does not like to be woken up from sleeping. He lets the nursing staff know when he wants to be left alone.