WE ARE HOME!!!!!

Not sure if I could possibly put enough exclamation points behind the title of this post. It was such an awesome feeling today leaving the NICU - yet I will miss the very important people who helped to heal Braxton. Each and every dr., nurse, cardiologist, resp. therapist, lab tech, case manager, social worker, clergy, (can't forget) lactation specialist, x-ray tech, and the list goes on... Here is the link to his cradle roll picture through Sioux Valley - I will add a couple more once I upload them to the computer. http://www.sanfordhealth.org/CradleRoll/BabyList.cfm?CradleRollParentId=24241

Thanks A MILLION for all of the thoughts, prayers, offers, food, gifts, etc... Craig, Tifanie, Payton, Brooks & Braxton

Soon To Be HOME...

Braxton should be set to come home on Tuesday. YEAH!!!! Payton is super super excited for Tuesday.
He was taken off of his oxygen on Saturday morning and has done awesome without it. He has been taking a bottle like a trooper and is on an awesome schedule. We will definitely just have to work on the nights. He is back up to birth weight of 8 lb. 15 ounces.
He will be having this little "procedure" done tomorrow morning so hopefully he doesn't get too stressed out and need the oxygen again.
I was finally able to dress him in clothes today. By the pictures it's hard to see why he is in the NICU - compared to the pictures from a week ago.
Thanks Again for the continued thoughts, prayers, food, offers, etc... I don't know what we would do without all of you.
Have a great week... Craig, Tifanie, Payton, Brooks, and Braxton

Quality Time w/ My Dad...

Today Craig was able to visit Braxton and held and rocked him for about 2 hours. He thought it was pretty cool. Braxton just hung out and slept the entire time. This too was Craig's first time holding him since shortly after he was born.
He was still floating around with his oxygen today - between 28 & 30.
The dr. talked getting close to discharge but still has yet to give us a date. Tomorrow will be his day 10 of antibiotics and then they will check x-rays, and blood counts again to see if all infection has been taken care of. They sound real positive that we could be out of there soon.
His feedings are going good - he is eating like a trooper. He is still being fed through a tube in his nose but is up to 1 oz every 3 hours. By tomorrow he will probably be up to or close to 2 ounces.
I pray and hope that tomorrow will be an awesome day and that the dr. will have great news for us. Enjoy the pictures and the weekend...
Craig, Tifanie, Payton, Brooks, and Braxton

Braxton has graduated to a crib...

I will post more pictures this weekend...
What a surprise when I went to visit Braxton today... they moved him out of the isolet (sp) into a crib, he lost the bili-lights, was swaddled in blankets, and had a shirt on - WOW!!!! He has also mastered in blood pressure so they are no longer continually checking that - one more cord gone. I had to check him over twice as I wasn't sure if it was him I was looking at. They started his feedings on Wednesday however they are feeding him through a tube that runs from his nose to his stomach as his oxygen needs are still at around 30%. He is showing his true male characteristics and taking his sweet old time. I can now hold him whenever I want to - just have to be careful of all of his cords. Craig and I are both going to visit him tomorrow (he hasn't been able to see him since last week Friday) - I think he will be totally shocked.
I have yet to get pictures of Craig and Braxton as things went down so fast from the time he was born so super excited to get those.
Thanks Again for the continued thoughts and prayers... they are definitely working. There is still a possibility that he could come home on Sunday but if not then hopefully a couple days thereafter.
Have a Great Weekend...
Craig, Tifanie, Payton, Brooks, and Braxton

Braxton update...

Checked with Braxton's nurse this morning... She said he was doing awesome and that he is looking great. How reassuring.

~ He is still at 30% for oxygen... LAZY (meaning he is just not taking as deep of breaths as he should be).

~ His bili-level has dropped from 13.5 down to 11.7 so that's great.

~ He is still "pee-ing" quite a bit so that too will help lower his bili-rubin level as well as continue to get rid of the extra fluid in his body.

~ She said he is really ready to start eating - they will be starting that as soon as they get "orders" from the dr.

~ His weight continues to go down (which is okay) - he is now down to 8 pounds 5 ouces.

~ Here are the pictures that I took yesterday while I was holding him and I attempted to take some while he was awake but he has already figured out how to close his eyes when the camera is in front of him. Ha ha ha... Thanks Again for all of the help that we have received with the boys, food, thoughts, prayers, offers, etc... You have no idea how much it means and how much it's greatly appreciated.

Have a GREAT DAY!!! Craig, Tifanie, Payton, Brooks, & Braxton

Taking the nuk like a pro...
Look at all of my "mess" (wires and tubes)
Lil Stinker was awake - but wasn't impressed with the camera.

getting better and better

Things continue to go great with Braxton. They have removed one of the lines that was going into his belly button. We will be able to start feeding him tomorrow - so hoping that that will go well. They say for his size he shouldn't have a problem eating from a bottle so that sounds good - they will start him off with 10-15 cc's of milk and increase as they see fit. He needs to be eating 2-3 ounces every 3 hours before they will let him go home. He is still on a low dose of oxygen (30% - room air is 21%) so not too much lower to go. This is another little hurdle that he will have to get over before going home as well. If he can master these two we should be set.
I have asked when they think we can go home and the answer is still unsure. It will for sure be Sunday - as he is on antibiotics until Saturday. The rest depends on his eating and oxygen level.
I was able to hold him again today... It was GREAT!!! He is moving around pretty good and peaks every now and then. I have caught him awake a few times and he just follows me wherever I go. It seems as though he will be ready to eat as he is often trying to shove his whole hand in his mouth - so instead I substitute his nuk which he has done awesome. I have also heard him grunting and making other little noises... I haven't heard a peep from him since Thursday night when we got to SF. It's weird to think of a newborn not crying for 5 days.
His bili-rubin level is still a little high so they have had him on the bili-light since Saturday - he has started having quite a few bowel movements so that should help the bili-rubin level go down.
I will update with some more pictures when I go home. Now you can see how he actually looks like a newborn. He has lost the fluid that he had gained and is down to 8 pounds 11 ounces (he was at 10 pounds 5 ounces a couple days ago).
I can't believe that we have been here for 5 days already - it has gone fast but just hoping that the next week goes even faster.

New Pictures of Braxton...

He no longer has the strip of white tape above his lip holding a small tube in place. The only thing he has are the nasal canulas and the tubes in his belly button. He is looking better and better all of the time. You will probably think that he looks "huge" as he is swollen from the fluids that they are giving him. He has started to lose a lot of that so the swelling should go down. He was up to about 10.5 pounds due to the amount of fluids.

I think he is the biggest new born in the NICU - hands down.

They are talking about removing one of the tubes from his belly button and possibly starting feedings soon. Right now he has only had IV nutrition.

Enjoy the pictures...