Brady at Home

Sleepy Time:)


Bath Time!



Brady and me at the hospital getting ready to leave.


Car Ride Home

BRADY IS HOME!

After 90 days in the NICU, our precious little baby is finally home. We are all so very thankful to have him with us. David and Delaney could not stop talking to him this evening. They haven't seen Brady since mid June so they are just thrilled. I let them each hold him for a few minutes...so sweet.

37 Weeks (Gestational Age)

Brady is 37 weeks. He weighed 4 lbs. 15.7 oz. ....ooooooo....almost 5 lbs.! LOL! Nurse Laura, one of our favorites, thinks Brady will go home Wednesday or Thursday. We are taking his car seat in tomorrow for testing. Brady will have to sit in it for an hour with no heart rate drops. Hopefully, he will handle it just fine:) Dave and I took a couple of Steve's famous cakes in for the NICU staff today. They loved them...who doesn't though, right? LOL! Steve, you are the bestest grandpa & "dad" ever! We love you.
Can't wait to bring our baby home:)
Love to all and many thanks for continued prayers.
Karissa

12 Weeks Old

Brady is 12 weeks old today. He weighed 4 lbs. 12 oz. He is doing very well and getting closer and closer to coming home with his family. I am so amazed at how far he has come. What a little miracle! We are getting so anxious to bring him home. Everything is ready and waiting:)

*click on photo to view larger*

81 Days

Brady has been in the NICU for 81 days. He may be going home as early as next week. The physical therapist evaluated him at his 11 a.m. feeding and she said he was ready to go to 'ad lib feedings' or feeding on demand. He has to show them that he can handle his feedings without having heart rate drops and continue to gain weight before he will be sent home. He did ok today with it. He did have 2 heart rate drops while feeding. Sometimes he gets too anxious when taking his bottle and he chokes...all normal for preemies. He will get it:)
Tonight, after his 6 o'clock feeding, he just laid up on my chest with wide eyes looking at me for about 10 minutes...so sweet and content. He is definitely a cuddler. I can't wait to be able to cuddle him all day:)

36 Weeks (Gestational Age)

Brady is 36 weeks and weighs 4 lbs. 8 oz. Dr. Wimmer is now talking about Brady going home sooner. He has put in a request for the physical therapist to re-evaluate Brady during his feedings tomorrow. The doctor and nurses will also discuss Brady's progress over the past week during their rounds in the morning. We'll see what they say tomorrow:)

11 Weeks Old

Brady is 11 weeks old today. He weighed in at 4 lbs. 6 oz. this afternoon. I have to say that although it is hard to update this some nights because we are so exhausted, Dave and I are incredibly thankful we still have a reason to update it. Brady has beaten the odds he was given the day he was born. He continues to do very well. He just needs to stay awake long enough to finish his feedings...lol! The nurse Brady had today thinks he has another 2 weeks in the NICU. I'm excited, but very very nervous.
We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. Thank you for your continued prayers, messages, gifts, help...etc.
Karissa & Dave

Bottle Feeding

Brady had a good day. The physical therapist came in for his 11am feeding to try the bottle again. She was very pleased with how well he did. He was able to pace himself and drink from the bottle without getting too much at once. He got sleepy after drinking 24 of the 33 ml. The nurse just put the rest through the gavage tube. Dave was able to feed Brady for his 5pm feeding after giving him a bath. The photos make Brady's hair look reddish, but it is really brown with some blonde.

35 Weeks (Gestational Age)

Brady is 35 weeks. He weighed 4 lbs. 3 oz. Dave and I spoke to Dr. Wimmer this afternoon and he said Brady is on the home stretch:) He has to maintain his breathing and master the bottle feeding. He may be going home in another 3-4 weeks.
We love reading all the kind comments and appreciate all your prayers.
Dave & Karissa

10 Weeks Old

Brady is 10 weeks old today. He had a pretty exciting day too. He reached the 4 pound mark on the scale and he was moved from the isolette to a crib:) The funny thing about all this is that Brady slept through it all. He was a sleepy boy:) He is also off the oxygen cannula...again...waiting to see how he does over the next few days. His eye exam last week was normal (I think I forgot to post this info.)and he will have another eye exam in 2 weeks. Brady's face is filling out and he is looking more and more like David when he was a newborn. In fact, Dave mistakenly called him David this evening when we were visiting...lol!

Wow! That binkie looks huge in this picture...LOL! It really isn't that big. Brady was wide awake a good bit today. He was very fascinated by the sound of my voice. He is also noticing his hands when he has them anywhere in front of his face. Dave and I had to laugh watching Brady looking at his hands. We also had a fun time changing his clothes this evening...having to unhook all those wires to get his little gown on him. It is so cute:) Thanks to Michelle, Dave, Misty & Shelby Bryan for the adorable preemie clothes they sent. Brady is wearing one of the gowns in the photo above:)
Brady weighed 3 lbs. 14 oz. which is exactly 2 lbs. more than he weighed at birth. Only 2 more ounces until he reaches the 4 pound mark:)

Brady is doing very well. He still has the oxygen cannula on, but it is not administering oxygen to him...just a low air flow that seems to be all he needs to maintain his breathing. Today, the physical therapist evaluated him with a bottle feeding. She said he is doing much better with his breathing while trying to work the bottle, but still not quite ready. She is going to try again on Friday. Brady had an eye exam today as well. We will get those results tomorrow.
Many thanks to all for your continued prayers.
Karissa

34 Weeks (Gestational Age)

Brady Ashton is 34 weeks today and so cute in his little dinosaur sleeper. It is so weird to think that he shouldn't even be here yet...he is such an amazing little boy. He weighed 3 lbs. 13.2 oz. this afternoon.
The docs did have to put him back on oxygen last Thursday. He was having some issues with saturation, etc. This morning, the doctor took him off the oxygen again because Brady has been doing really well the past couple days. Brady also had to have his 2 month vaccinations today. He had 4 shots total over 24 hours...my poor tiny baby:( He is doing well with them so far. Vaccines make me so nervous!
Thank you all for continued prayer.
Karissa

How Cute!