5 Months Old

Can you believe it? Brayden is 5 months old already. The time just flies by. It's hard to remember the little 5 lb baby that came home 2 1/2 months ago. He is a chubby little thing now, weighing in at about 13lbs now. The funny thing is he looks huge to us but when people see him when we are out they always say he looks so tiny. Miranda and I don't see it.

Things have been starting to get into a good routine now, Miranda has a lot on her plate trying to home school Payton, take him to swim, gym and baseball plus contend with "His Royal Highness". That little kid can be very demanding of our time. I try and help where I can but sometimes Brayden gets so mad I can't do anything to comfort him. All he wants is his "Omma". This was his first word, Omma. He typically only says it when he is fussy but he says Omma and Momma very clearly when he is mad. When we tell people that he has says momma and that he is rolling over and trying to crawl they don't believe us. I think we have a little genius on our hands, which scares the crap out of me. That's all I need is a kid smarter than me.

Here are some new pics and vids of master Brayden. Enjoy. I will post some more soon.

Getting ready for Payton's Baseball Game.

Look at the size of that head. It's almost as big as Payton's

He loves his Chimp Chimp. Best $10 I ever spent.

Play time

Here are some recent pics of Brayden playing in his new activity bouncer. he looks so big until you put him in something like this. the box says suitable for 4-12 mo old baby's and he is 4 months old but not quite big enough yet. When we first put him in there he just slumped backwards. We had to pack blankets around him so he could sit up straight in the seat. We have to put a pillow under his feet because he can't touch the bottom. But he loves it, especially the little lion puppet.

4 months old

I know this is a little late but I was out of town last week.

On the 16th Brayden officially turned 4 months old. I can't believe he is that old already. He is growing so fast and getting so big. Brandon and Carrie made the comment the other day that he doesn't look like the same baby. I went back and looked at some older pictures and they are right. He has gotten so fat and so long that he looks completely different from the baby that came home from the NICU two months ago. The last weight check for him which was last week he was weighing in at 10lb 9.9oz. He continues to gain about an 1.5 oz a day. Which would put him around 11 lbs 4oz today.

Payton is still infatuated with his little brother, I figured the new would have worn off by now bu he still loves him and wants to play with him all the time. Brayden is just completely fascinated with Payton (and the painting we have on the wall). 90% of the time if Brayden is mad and screaming Payton can walk int he room and Brayden will stop and stare at him and just start laughing. Payton can make him happy when nothing else will. I guess its a brother thing. The other day Brayden was fussing and Payton walked up and started telling him it was okay, he was there, don't cry. the funny thing was Brayden turned and looked at Payton and changed his fuss to more of a telling off on Miranda and I. He was looking at Payton and kind of cooing/growling like he was complaining to Payton that we weren't making him happy. It was so funny.

Yesterday Payton was in gym class and they had to swing on the rope into the foam pit. the first time he went to gym he was too scared to do it. This time he climbed right up there grabbed the rope and swung into the pit. He told me afterwards that he wanted Brayden to be proud of him. He always says he wants to be a big boy so that Brayden will be proud. More to come soon.

New pics and vids

Brayden having some fun playing

Payton's first baseball try out.

The Chunky Monkey

I know updates have not been very frequent and I apologize to those of you who watch this site regularly. Things have been going well, except for the lack of sleep part. Brayden seems to have something against sleeping at night. he has been keeping Miranda up for hours on end just fussing cause he wants to be played with. We try keeping him up during the day to make him sleep at night but he still thinks when the sun goes down it's time to play.

Miranda has suffered the most, she lets me sleep at night during the week because of work, but on the weekends I try and stay up with him so she can get some rest. Not only does she have to keep up with Brayden, she also has to make sure Payton gets his schooling done and makes it to his baseball, gym and swim class. Then you throw in the doctors appointments for both of the boys, I don't know how she makes it.

speaking of doctors, Brayden went to the pulmonologist (lungs) two days ago and she told Miranda that he no longer needs to see Brayden. He is doing so well that the doctor DC'd any future visits. I was shocked though when Miranda called me and told me that Brayden is now 10lbs 1 oz. I can't believe he has gotten that big. I look at him and still see the little baby in the bubble, but he's not that baby anymore. He doesn't even look the same. All the fat has filled in around his face and he looks really different. If we didn't know any better we would think they gave us the wrong baby. (just joking by the way...we know he is ours. Dr. Nesslein assured us of it).

Payton is still loving his little brother. He is so protective of him and always wanting to play with him, so much so that sometimes he actually gets in the way. He still doesn't like the whole diaper change thing but he does help out alot around the house. having Brayden around has made him mature so much. He wants to help do things and is always asking how Brayden is doing when he is not at home. yesterday I was trying to make Brayden wake up so he would sleep at night and I jokingly said I was going to put Brayden in the freezer to wake him up...I opened the door so the cold air would hit him in the face and wake him up...Payton ran over grabbed Brayden by the leg and stared pulling him as hard as he could away from the fridge. He kept saying don't put my baby in there. It was hilarious. I will try and do a better job of keeping this updated in the future.

If any of you out there who are following this see Dr. Nesslein tell her to check out the latest pics.I think she would be amazed at how he looks now. He is such a chunk, all he wants to do is eat. I will add some more pics and video shortly.

New Pics

Brayden's favorite position. Sitting on Mommy's lap with a full tummy

Isn't that cute.

Farrah watching over her new pup.

Our Boys

The Hungry Hippo

Sorry it has been so long since the last update but things have been a little crazy with Brayden being at home now. We are trying to get into a routine of sleeping and feeding. Last week we had a pretty good routine going but this week I had to start back to work. Last week Brayden had his first appointment with his pediatrician and he had to get a few shots. It was so sad, he was sitting there nice and calm just looking around and then, WHAMO!! two shots in the leg. He screamed, oh my word it was loud, but nothing compared to Payton when he had to get his H1N1 shot. Miranda had told me the last few time Payton had to get a hot or have blood drawn he was bad, but Oh my God! He went from being the sweet loveable kid to a screaming swinging crazy man. I have never seen him so violent.

Saturday Brayden celebrated his 2 month birthday. I can't believe he is already two months old, although technically he still shouldn't be here. He's not supposed to be born till next tuesday. Today he had another follow up appointment with his pedi and Miranda texted me to tell me Brayden hit the 6 lb mark. He now weighs in at 6lbs 1oz. He is growing like a weed and eating like a starving Hippo. The boy eats almost 3 ounces every three hours. When we told the doctor how much he was eating he was shocked. He said he shouldn't be trying to eat that much for another 3 weeks at least. He's eating as much as a 8lb baby would eat.

Miranda said that Payton was such a good helper this morning. She said he got up and got himself dressed without having to be told, watched Brayden while she was putting on her makeup. He is such a good big brother and having Brayden around has made him mature so much. It's amazing how much he seems to have grown in the last week. he is always wanting to help with Brayden and loves holding him. Anytime Brayden cries Payton comes running and holds his hand and tells him it's ok, don't cry.

I will try and post some pictures tomorrow, I have some really cute ones with Payton and Brayden and Farrah (the dog) and Brayden. She is so funny, she thinks Brayden is her own puppy. If he is in his crib or his swing and starts to whimper, Farrah will run through the house whining until Miranda checks on him. It doesn't matter that I am sitting right there by him, she wants Momma to know the baby is crying. I guess that's all for now, check back soon for more pics and video of Brayden's first week at home.

Some Pics of Brayden's first day home.


The four of Us. Getting ready to leave the hospital.


Brandon, Carrie, Payton and Brayden

Brayden loves his new swing

Payton's first time seeing Brayden.


Payton and Farrah staring at the new addition.

Payton and Brandon after we got home.

I just wanted to let everyone know that we are home from the hospital now and Brayden is doing very well. His first night was a little rough. He didn't sleep at all and Miranda sat up with him all night holding him. We think he was just scared of the new environment because since then he has been pretty good about sleeping after he eats. He is starting to get into a routine now ans seems to love it when Payton talks to him. Payton is so cute, whenever Brayden starts crying, he runs in and says I think he wants me then he starts telling Brayden it is ok, don't cry, and Brayden will usually stop crying. Payton has been an awesome big brother and a great helper.

Visitors are welcome but there are some rules. If you have any kind of cough, sore throat, sneezing or especially fever in the past 7 days, please refrain from coming over until you are feeling better. When you get here we ask that you wash your hands with some of our antibacterial soap and then scrub your hands with germ-x. I know this may seem like a bit much, but Brayden's lungs and immune system are still weak and we must take precautions to keep him healthy. If you want to come and visit please give us a call so we can tell you how to get here.

Thanks to everyone for all of the love and support.

Going Home

Tonight we are rooming in, which means we are staying one night in the hospital in case we have any issues or concerns with taking care of Brayden, then we get to go home tomorrow afternoon. Payton is so excited to see his little brother. We thought we were going to be rooming in yesterday but Brayden failed his car seat test. When we told Payton about it, he told me it was ok, we didn;t have to worry he would sit next to Brayden and tell us if he stopped breathing. I almost started to cry. It was heartbraking to hear him say that. He wants him to come home so bad. When we told him today that he would be coming home tomorrow, he ran around the house yelling.

Here are some pics from the last few days. I will keep everyone posted on when visotrs will be allowed and unfortunatley, the rules for visitation. During this time of year and with Brayden's lung issues we will have to keep visitation to a minimum and guests will have to follow the same rules as we did in the NICU. Not to turn anyone away, we want everyone to come and see him, we just have to take precautions. Enjoy the pics!!! Talk to you soon.