Brody is home... again!

Brody is home again and for good this time! He came home yesterday afternoon and has been doing great so far. He is comfy and happy. Just giving him lots of love and letting him get his rest and get adjusted once again. Today Aunt Kimmy came to snuggle him... all that she wanted for her birthday. He has been making a few noises that might indicate his vocal chord will heal itself, but that could just be an optimistic mom over analyzing. Time will tell.

Cam ate rice cereal mixed in with his applesauce and handled it great-another new texture down. He also was able to handle his bottle without the rice added in... yet another accomplishment. He laughs all day long now! That ceiling fan must tell some pretty good jokes!

Early Intervention came today to talk about the boys. They will be evaluated on Monday for which therapies they will require (we're assuming the bulk of them). It's exciting to get an at home plan in motion for encouraging their development.

Don't think I say it enough but we have the most amazing families on the planet. When the nurses leave, our mothers are here around the clock. We would NEVER be able to do this without them. Thanks moms!!! WE LOVE YOU

9-1-1

It has been a rough weekend adjusting... and that's just what we thought Brody was doing. Adjusting to his new home after knowing nothing other than the NICU for the first 6 months of his life. Finally last night he tired and we rushed him off to the ER after a really bad episode. His blood oxygen saturations were in the 30s (normal should be close to 100%) and he was blue and limp. Brett and I were terrified and not sure that we could get him help in time.   We called 9-1-1 to realize that because we live in new construction they could not locate us on GPS. After screaming at them Judi arrived to watch Cameron and since the ambulance was still not there we rushed Brody off to the Emergency Room ourselves.  He was readmitted to the NICU, held for observation and today we determined that his oxygen compressors at home could be the source of the problem as he is doing great on the hospital's O2. Tomorrow our compressors will be switched out in the house for huge oxygen tanks and hopefully Brody will be cleared to come home in the evening. We are having a filtration and humidifier system installed in the house to better the quality of the air and have been scrubbing, cleaning and throwing out anything that can harbor dander, pet hair or bacteria.
If you think security around here was tight before, now it's on lock down. We just want our baby Brody to be home, happy and breathing easy!

Photo Shoot!

Before leaving the NICU we had a photographer come in to take pictures under the nurses supervision of Brody without his cannula on.

Me and Cam in our Uggs

Brody was screaming 2 seconds before this

Brody without his cannula. Amazing

                                                            Cam in sexy pose

Pics

                                                                            Balls

                                                   Smiles!

                                                                      Cuteness

                                                   Eating applesauce... he LOVES it!

                                        Eating the sauce... actual age 6 months old, adjusted age 3 months

                                                          Brody's going home!

                                                        Ready for his exciting car ride

                                                                     Hi Brother!!!!!!

                                                 First time together in their pack n play

                                               Let me get that boogie for you Cam

                                                                      Sucker punch

                                                                             Love

                                                                Holding hands

                                                                     Happy Boy!

                                                               Double fisting

Under one roof

Hello All,

We know that everyone is excited about Brody's homecoming. We are relieved to have our whole family under one roof finally. Brody has come so very far from the conversations about trachs and short term after care facilities a few weeks ago. For an "at home" set up things are still very challenging however. We are confident that once he gets adjusted to his new environment and schedule that he will thrive in his home versus the hospital. The level of support that he is on has not changed, just the setting. He needs an eye on him 24/7 as he can not be heard when he cries due to his paralyzed vocal chord. Brody can not get too worked up or over active as he does not yet maintain normal saturations when stressed by these factors. We have oxygen compressors in the family room and the nursery, back up oxygen tanks, travel oxygen tanks, feeding pumps and bags and venting systems hanging from IV poles (and very creatively on my part from light fixtures). We have a night nurse from 11pm-7am 7days a week. Our nurses are learning what is normal for Brody but were both alarmed by his work of breathing and coloring when they first came in. We had to explain to them that this is Brody's baseline and convince them he did not need to go the hospital. As they get to know him they will become more confident with his behaviors.

We thank you all for your continued support and love. Brody is home right where he should be but we are still managing a very sick baby that has a long way to go before we can consider visitors or any lifestyle changes. We are patiently waiting for Brody to get bigger, stronger, healthier and past cold and flu season. Once he is breathing easier and requiring less aparatus and can be more mobile things should free up around here.

A bunch of new pics to come but very very very limited time... barely enough to brush our teeth in the morning.

xoxo

Brett and Melissa

Brody's coming home... just like P Diddy

Brody is tentatively scheduled to come home Wednesday. We are so excited! Poor baby has been in the hospital well past what we expected and has been missing out on all of the fun at home. He is doing better and better every day. He gained a ton of weight this week. He is now 7lbs 12oz. The more he gains the stronger he gets. The bigger Brody gets, the bigger is airway will get. Protein is what creates new lung so it will also help him to grow out of his oxygen requirement. He will be coming home with oxygen and a night nurse to help us out with his g-tube feedings. We don't anticipate needing this for very long as he is capable of taking all of his feedings by mouth but we are trying to keep his calorie intake up and output down so we let him sleep at night rather than expend extra energy so we can fatten him up. It will of course be challenging with all of his apparatus and monitors but beats the stinky hospital.

Brody has such a calm, patient demeanor. He is such a good boy and we are excited to watch him thrive at home like his brother. We can not wait to watch them interact for the first time!

One happy boy

He has the biggest eyes!

Cameron-Fun at Home

Snuggle bear ready for home

Kito meets his little brother

I gots lotsa chins

Balls : )

Giving Daddy a purple nurple

I smile and laugh all of the time!

                                                Mommy tortures me

I grab for my woobie and we like to snuggle

Mom tried to give me rice cereal. She made me mad.

                                             Neener neener neener

My last weight was 9lbs 12oz. Double digits here I come!

Good day

Cameron saw his retina specialist today who was thrilled with his eyes and confirmed that we will not be going back to Michigan for any tweaks and we won't even need to see him for another 2 months! Opthamalogist next week to see if baby lenses are in his future but he sees everything as far as we can tell so far and tracking objects beautifully.

Brodys oxygen is down significantly again and he took 2 full bottles his last 2 feedings!!! Almost 3 oz each. He is an amazing little boy. They are thinking 2 weeks until he is home. I'm counting down the minutes.

I am so grateful for days like today and kids like Cameron and Brody. We are so fortunate.

What one can do with a baby bjorn

Laundry, update blog, brush teeth (very carefully)... My discovery of multiple-tasking while having an infant hanging from my chest is just beginning.

Cam us doing great at home. He gained weight again and is now 9lbs 2 oz. We're having so much fun with him but it is a lot of work too!

Brody is kicking baby ass back at the NICU. I am so proud of him. He took his first full bottle by mouth last night...hopefully this means we'll be saying goodbye to his g-tube sooner than we thougt. He is almost on low enough oxygen settings to go home on but we still have some other things to work on. Little man has come so far.

With teamwork from e family the transition of having one baby home and one still in the hospital has been as seamless as possible. Thanks family!

Cameron pics at home

Sleep Sitting

We are...Penn State!

                                                                      Not a fan of tub time

                                                                         Cutest baby bear ever

Cameron is home!

Entries will be short as the little stinker isnkeeping us very busy. Can't imagine how insane it's going to be when Brody gets home. Lived hisncar ride home. Looked very cute in his bear snuggly outfit. No sleep last night. Eating like a champ. Pediatrician today and a million appointments to make. I was hysterical leaving the NICU. Pretty surreal moment.

Pics to come.