Sweet Times

We had some very sweet times with Brayden this weekend -- see the pics below.

Kel and I spent the majority of our weekend at the hospital since we are going to be out of town for 3 days for T-giving. 

Brayden is doing very well, and getting to be a BIG BOY!!  He is finally starting to pass his food which has been a big concern over the past 3 weeks or so.  It still isn't passing as often as we would like, but we are holding onto the progress he has made in just the last 4 days.  He has had an upper and lower GI over the past week, and those have all come back as "clear" - meaning he has no obstructions.  So, it appears that his intestines just need some more time to process food, so we just need to learn to be a little more patient.  :)

Because of the clear Upper and Lower GI's we were able to give him his FIRST BOTTLE!!!!  We were so excited that the Dr signed off on allowing us to let him start to bottle feed.  They are only giving him 10mL's every 3 hours, but he is taking it like a CHAMP!!!  He sucks that stuff down in no time, and the nurses have said he is doing very well there ... he has to be able to take a bottle before they let him come home.  Thank you JESUS!!!!


He had his monthly Brain Sonogram on the 19th, and it appears that he still has a cyst in the left side of his brain.  The good news there is that it doesn't appear to be getting any larger, so we are happy about that (if we can be happy about anything regarding the cyst).  There is also a bright white spot that is appearing and the Dr believes that to possibly be another cyst developing, but we probably won't know anymore on that until his next sonogram on Dec 19th.  At this point we aren't sure what the cysts mean, but being on the left side of his brain, the Dr said they could affect his motor skills on the right side of his body.  Our prayer is that Jesus will re-wire his brain and these cysts will have no negative effects on Brayden -- please join us in this prayer.

Otherwise, he is very well tempered, does not seem to be in any pain, and has really enjoyed the Kangaroo Care we have been giving him.  Kangaroo Care is "skin-on-skin" therapy that you can see in the pics below with Kelli.  We basically just strip him down to his diaper, and then we tuck him into our shirt and let him feel our skin.  The Dr's say that, of course, he should still be in his mother's womb, so the Kangaroo Care is the closest we can get to simulating that because it allows his body to feel our temperature, heartbeat, and hear our voice and breathing.  It also helps in keeping him warm.  The goal is 4 hours per day, so that is what we will shoot for from here on out.  Of course, that makes it hard for us to go out of town for T-giving, but we are excited to get to see some of Kelli's family on Andrew's side...but we will be anxious to get home too. 

Since it's the week of Thanksgiving -- I am so very thankful for Jesus who has blessed us with many things, but our most recent gift of Brayden has been truly a miracle -- in more ways than one.  I am thankful for the Lord putting Kelli in my life, to allow me to experience all of life's blessings and tribulations.  She is a rock and has been so great with Brayden, sacrificing so much time and energy and prayers.  I am also so thankful for our friends and family who have rallied around us to pray with us, cry with us, and rejoice with us in our most recent endeavor.  Obviously my focus is around Brayden, but we have always had immense support from our friends and family - even before Brayden was given to us. 

Please continue to pray for Brayden as he still has another month or so before they are looking to let him come home.  We are shooting for Dec 19th, and the Dr thinks we may even get to bring him home before that based on how well he is taking his bottles.  We still have some paperwork to get done with the Adoption Agency, so please pray we are able to get that completed and can get him home as soon as possible.

Thanks for stopping by
DD




Momma helping with his passy




Momma doing a little Kangaroo Caring (and fixing to steal a kiss!)





More Kangaroo Care




Brayden loves his Kangaroo Care time -- wide eyed here





Brayden getting a bottle -- Momma is so excited!!




WE STILL NEED TO SELL THIS THING!!!!!  --> $5,000