Catch up on May...
          Not much news to report in the medical world of Bricen. On another note, people tell me this is a story I will look back on and laugh so I guess I should put it in the blog. Marty and I were both in the garage trying to get the car seat out of the car. (Yes, we are newbies, it took two of us.) It was about 11:30 at night. Apparently, Scruffy jumped in the car during that time because he was still there when I went to the garage about 6am the next day.
          My first thought was thank God he is still alive. My second thought was....my car! To sum things up, Scruffy got realllly comfortable in there and especially comfortable in the stroller that was in the car. I was on my way to work. Out came the stroller and I went to get towels to sit on, because who knows what germs were where and of course, no clean towels. I found some old sweatshirts and went on to work so I wasn't late. I'm going up I 65 and see the gas light on. (I reallly wish this thing alarmed a little louder when it came on.) Decided I was going to have to get off the interstate to get gas. Upon getting off the interstate and pulling into the gas station I realized I did not grap my wallet. Stellar. Made it to work and had to bum money off a friend until I came back the next morning. Thank goodness, there is a gas station across from the hospital. So, Bricen got a new stroller. Marty cleaned out the car and did a great job! And Scruffy, well I'm pretty sure it was the left over Red Pop that kept him alive that night...See, sometimes it pays not to clean out your car. Needless to say, when the garage door gets opened Scruff just sits at the door and doesn't bother to go in the garage. He must be part cat and have nine lives.

 This standoff has become a daily occurrence. "Sophie the Giraffe" has a squeaker in it. This leaves Akita very confused if it's a Bricen toy or Akita toy. :0) Side note...stilll no teeth.

        Therapy suggested we get out the jumper to help Bricen work some of that energy off. He hasn't quite figured it out. And I will admit I haven't quite figured out the best way to get him in and out.

He has started rolling over on the regular now. But once he gets there he gets frustrated because he can't go anywhere else yet. Won't be long we will be kid proofing this house for a baby on the move!

He loves this sunshine on the activity center! I have witnessed some pretty in depth, serious conversations between him and the sunshine. ;)

Beginning of May...
          I was getting pretty excited because Bricen had started growing and was up to almost 12 lbs. 11 lb 14 oz to be specific. He had a little cough that turned into a full on cold. We went to the Dr. and confirmed an ear infection as well. Sounds minor, right? Lots of kids get ear infections. But he is not tolerating feeds so he's losing weight and I was just frustrated that we take a few steps forward and a few more back. Each day I kept thinking well, it's been so many days, this cold should be getting better, and then the belly should be better. To sum things up, we dealt with that ear infection for about three weeks. Two antibiotics later, he still tugs at his ears but we went back to the Dr. and he says they look fine. And he is finally starting to tolerate foods again. Mother's Day came and went. I had to work but enjoyed grilled out food Bri had made once I got home.

This is Bricen playing outside while I trimmed the bushes. This lasted...maybe ten minutes. :0)

 Love the head control!

I just love his little face!

 His love for his feet has returned.

He almost looks guilty. Haha

 We are doing cheese puffs and smoothies out of the sippy cup Riley Speech Therapy gave us. He was doing fantastic with this until he got the ear infection. Hopefully he bounces back soon.

          Our sleep study came and went as well. In usual fashion I hated it, even cried a little with him this time, and Bricen hated it as well. Thankfully Brianna went with us and let me get some sleep. How do I feel about the anticipation of getting the results? I'm always nervous. But he had the sleep study Wednesday and was full of nasal congestion and cough by Friday. So I'm sure that could affect it. Here's the thing. Sometimes I feel like, these are just numbers, these results. And even though I know these numbers could have a big impact on our life, (surgery to fix chin if obstruction was horrible) I'm not getting concerned about them. Besides, no matter what the numbers are telling the degree of obstruction, they will probably be different next time I ask for them. 

                                      

 The last two pictures were at the end of the sleep study. He was ready to get out of there! Sweet baby.

You can't tell very well in the picture but his little face is all read from all the things being hooked up to him. Poor fella.         

Thankful, Sad and Excited...
          We just returned from a Riley visit. It was a good visit. We saw surgery and Speech Therapy today. Bricen has a little granulation tissue coming up around his button and I was concerned that they were going to have to burn it off in the office today with silver nitrate but the Dr. said we could try some steroid creme first.
          We had some down time before the appointment with Speech Therapy so we decided to go visit our favorite NICU nurses. Walking back down the hallway that I walked over and over for over a month when Bricen was first born was so emotional. Simply put, I was and continue to be overwhelmed with my blessing known as Bricen Lane. We learned that two of the babies that were in Bricen's module and that had been there four and five months when we left did not make it. These poor parents. I can not imagine going through that anguish for four or five months and then losing your child in the end. One child's health deteriorated so much that his body made that decision for him. The other child, the parents had to make the decision to withdraw care because it became apparent that the child was not going to get any better and have no quality of life. I am a nurse and I've seen families make the decision to withdraw care in elderly people but I can not imagine being a nurse and seeing this in these babies or God forbid, being a parent and having to make that decision. I am just so sad for these parents. I don't know how long ago the parents had to make the decision to let the one baby go but I know from experience that when someone loses a loved one they continue to need prayers not only on the day or week or month it happened but for months to come. I know from experience that when you lose someone that has been ill and you have been their caretaker it is even harder to let go and learn knew routines in life that don't completely evolve around them. I certainly will be remembering to say a prayer for these parents and I encourage any of you that feel led to do the same.
          Again, and I know I sound like a broken record but today more than ever I'm so thankful. As we were walking out I was noticing kids in wheelchairs, on trach vents, Down Syndrome babies, a kid on a vent going into the outpatient clinic on a stretcher. I would have taken any one of these situations and been just as proud and thankful for Bricen's small accomplishments had he been in any of these situations but I'm so thankful that Bricen's conditions will get better. Love this little guy!
          Now for that excited part. :) It is always so good to see Speech Therapy. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Sarah just makes me feel better about things. (I trust Sarah.) We concluded and or confirmed that Bricen is going to skip over the bottle. We added some new things to our "exercises" such as working with a sippy cup and eating cheese puffs. This is not the typical hand a kid a sippy cup and move on. We use thickened smoothies and give it a little squeeze to help him work his mouth and eventually start to suck on it. He will be eating the cheese puffs himself and then I will be breaking off a little piece and putting it in the side of his cheek so that he uses that tongue to move it around and get it down. We will continue with the syringe and thickened baby food as well. He did great in the office and was doing exactly what Sarah wanted to see him doing. So proud of my Little Mister! At this rate he should be ready for Turkey Day before we know it! ;0)
          Oh, I almost forgot...11 lbs 11oz today!! Very Good weight gain! :)
................I keep coming back on to update this particular post. I can't help but reflect on my mom today. As I've mentioned before, I had a sister with Cerebral Palsy. When I think about all the good and bad, up and downs, surgeries and little victories that my mom had with Bridget I can't help but marvel at not only Bridget's strength but especially my mom's. Brianna can recall a little more detail with Bridget's medical stuff because of the age difference but I do recall being excited when Bridget learned to drink from a straw and how proud she was when she was able to feed herself cheese puffs. Here I am, working with these same issues, same cheese puffs :0) with Bricen. God sure does work in mysterious ways....