Braeden's Adventures

2-Year Check UP

2008-10-29T05:40:00.000-07:00

My blogging days are drawing to a close I think - no time to even read other blogs let alone write mine.

Anyway, Braeden had his 2-year check-up early this month. He weighed 25 pounds (20th percentile), was 35 inches tall (75th percentile), only got one vaccination, is doing great. Still not talking much, but he's got about 20 words and a few phrases down, and that's fine with his pediatrician, so it's fine with me, although I can't wait for him to start chatting away.

His playgroup had a speech pathologist visit 2 weeks ago, so we got a mini private consulation with her. She wouldn't even consider seeing him until he's 2 years and 10 months old, the magic age according to her. That made me feel better.

Yesterday was traumatic for all of us. Brae had to go for a blood test to determine what food allergy he has, after the reaction he had awhile back. The pediatrician thinks it's peanuts, but we'll find out. The little guy did very well at the lab all things considered. Once the needle was in, he stopped crying and seemed to relax more. It probably hurt less than those awful vaccinations.

As for me, my eye is still being a pain. I had my radiation cataract surgery in August, but the retina continues to be swollen, so I'm on drops for another month, then the doc will reevaluate and see where we go from here. He's not able to do any further laser surgery, since there's no leaking. My retina just likes swelling up.

But I guess the bottom line here is that my blogging days are basically over. I'll still post if something interesting happens, but otherwise my posts will be few and far between. I've enjoyed all this, but time to move on, at least for now. Good luck and happiness to all of you. Thanks for sharing your stories, and for reading mine. Take care.

Braeden Turns Two

2008-09-22T10:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (Sunday, Sept. 21) was Braeden's 2nd birthday. Where has the time gone?

We had a little party for him at the house on Saturday with family and friends, then spent his special day quietly (he's getting over a cold). Thanks to his grand parents for coming to his party, bringing some food, and for his card and birthday money. They couldn't stay long, but we were glad they could stop by.

Thanks to everyone for their email, e-cards, greeting cards and gifts. Braeden enjoyed his party. He loved the pizza his Daddy picked up for him, and the Baskins Robbins ice cream cake I got for him. Thanks to our neighbors also for their good wishes, cards and gifts. The outpouring of love for Braeden was overwhelming, and we'll never forget it. Thanks again for remembering our son on his 2nd birthday.

As for my eye, it's healed well. I had the stitches removed a week ago and was finally able to order new eyeglasses late in the week. I go back to the retina specialist in mid-Oct. to be sure the cancer's still gone, but thankfully the cornea problems have been rectified.

Great Post-Op Report

2008-08-21T06:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my post-op exam. I got a great eye report. My vision in the surgery eye is now 20/60, where before surgery it was zero. And that's without glasses for that eye. The pressure is great, so no risk of glaucoma. They've been watching for that.

We stopped at my optometrist on the way home and I had him pop out the right lens of my eye glasses - don't need it now. My glasses look a little funny missing one lens, but until I get the stitch removed in about a month, I can't get new glasses. So hopefully problems with that eye are finally behind me, after 4 years of dealing with it, the past year being blind in that eye.

We all stopped for ice cream to celebrate. Brae loves ice cream, but his new favorite food is watermelon. Dang he can eat a lot of that stuff. He roamed around the waterfall there and then we headed home for his afternoon nap - late, but he was exhausted.

Now it's on to planning Braeden's 2nd birthday party, just a small gathering here at the house with cake and ice cream. DH and I will take Brae to the zoo ourselves 1st, then have people come over to help us celebrate. It's hard to believe he's 23 months old today.

We have to take Braeden next week for allergy testing. That won't be a fun thing for the little guy, but we really need to know what the allergen was that caused his allergic reaction. I'll let you know when we find out anything.

My Surgery's Over

2008-08-19T20:03:00.000-07:00

I had my cataract surgery this morning. My inlaws were kind enough to arrive about 5:30 a.m. to take care of Braeden while DH and I were at the hospital. Nobody should have to be up at that early hour.

We had to be there at 7:00 a.m., my surgery was at 8:30 a.m. Everything went well. I won't know for 1-2 weeks how much vision I'll end up with, but I've got a lot more now than I had before the surgery, and my pupil's still dilated. It should be even better by morning. Before the surgery I was totally blind in that eye - the one that had cancer 4 years ago, which they treated with radiation, the radiation doing so much damage.

The surgery wasn't even uncomfortable even though I was awake throughout the procedure, and I've had no pain or anything. I've got 3 bottles of different drops to use 4 times a day for the next month, but at least I can use them all at the same time - confusing if I had to stagger them.

I go back to see the surgeon tomorrow (Wednesday) for a post-op check-up, but to me everything's fine. DH is off work this week to take care of Braeden - no bending or lifting for me for awhile, hopefully not for too long.

Brae was a tired little guy tonight, but he had a fun day and wasn't upset that daddy and mommy weren't here for awhile. Thanks for the prayers and support.

Braeden To Urgent Care

2008-08-11T05:45:00.000-07:00

I had to rush Braeden to urgent care late Thursday afternoon. He had a bad allergic reaction to something he'd eaten. The bottom line though is that he's perfectly fine now, and will go in about 3 weeks for allergy testing to see what the offending food is.

Two possibilities - I gave him half a peanut before the reaction happened, his first peanut. I hope it's not that, but of course it's possible. I think the offender was a red mini popsicle. He loves all the popsicles, but wasn't too keen to eat the red one. He ate it though.

Here's my reasoning for it being the popsicle over the peanut. The red, itchy, bumpy rash was around his mouth, chin, throat, neck, upper chest, and the base of his right thumb, next to his index finger, where he held the popsicle stick, everywhere popsicle juice would have dripped. There was nothing anywhere else on his body.

As soon as I saw the rash I washed him down with a warm wash cloth, then raced him next door to a neighbor, who offered to drive us to urgent care. She's got 2 children of her own, had nobody to take care of them (I know that feeling), and I knew Brae and I would be fine. DH met us there.

The doctor examined Brae. By then the rash was nearly gone. But as a precaution she gave him an oral steroid, DH picked up children's Benadryl for that night and on Friday, and I gave him a nice oatmeal bath. He was perfectly back to himself Friday, playing at the park, doing all his normal things. What a scare though.

That morning I'd had to go for lab work at 7am, as part of my pre-op physical exam, which was the day before. Too much to deal with in 24 hours. My glucose numbers aren't as low as the doctor wants, so he's increased my meds a bit at night. It seems to be helping. But my surgery is definitely on for mid August. I'm nervous about it, but hopefully it'll give me at least a little vision back in that eye - I don't even see shapes now, everything's just white.

Will keep you posted on Brae if there are any changes. Any thoughts on which of the two culprit foods could have caused his allergic reaction? I really hope it's not peanuts, but if it is, we'll deal with it.

Latest Zoo Trip

2008-07-26T10:40:00.000-07:00

Off we all went last weekend to the zoo, us and 3 of DH's co-workers and their families. Braeden had a grea time seeing some of the bigger animals. He was running too fast down a pathway though, and took a tumble, getting his 2nd boo-boo, this time on his knee. Since then he's fallen 3 times and whacked the same spot. Par for the course at this age.

My eye surgery is scheduled for mid-August. I'm scared half to death about more surgery, but I really need it done. Being blind in one eye ain't fun, and I'm lucky there's a fix for my problem, unlike others who lose their vision for one reason or another. Bad timing that my SIL is arriving the day before my surgery and staying for the whole week. DH is taking the week off from work to take care of Braeden, since I'm not allowed to lift anything or bend over for awhile. Braeden's not used to my SIL or his grandparents for that matter, and they appear ready to descend on us to "watch" him. I'm going to need some rest after the surgery, and it won't help to hear Braeden crying because they're here. Oh well, it'll work out somehow.

Otherwise, everything is fine. Brae continues saying more and more words, doing more and more things. I still can't believe he'll be 2 years old in less than 2 months - scary where the time went.

Miscellanous Stuff

2008-07-14T20:05:00.000-07:00

Where to begin, after so long without posting - sorry about that. This may be long.

DH has been fighting some type of infection literally for months (bacterial we finally find out). Then he had an allergic reaction to the antibiotics they put him on and broke out in a very itchy and red rash. Add a rear-end car collision into the mix (he was the hittee and not the hitter). He's still a bit sore after two weeks, but got checked out and it's basically muscular. Hooray for that. He's driving a rental while our car's in the shop - courtesy of the other guy's insurance company.

Did I tell you about our bee situation? Dang if I can remember, so I'll keep it brief. We (and some delivery people) saw bees flying around our roof (we've got a 2-story house). I let them do their thing for 2 weeks, in case they were just visiting, but they appeared to be staying put, so I called in a bee removal company. They sprayed and fogged the area, then came back the next week to remove some roof tiles and the plywood underneath to remove the hive.

Hive? There was a total of 10 honeycombs under our roof tiles, all built within that 2-week period. The scariest thing was that the bee/hive removal guy told me these were Africanized bees. I knew they weren't far away from our area, but never expected some to take up residence under our roof tiles. This particular type of bee doesn't make much honey. They concentrate on having babies, and yikes, they were sure going to town. They showed me one portion of honeycomb that had literally hundreds of bee larvae starting to hatch and break through the wax. Waiting much longer and we'd have had another swarm to have removed.

Ok, so the bees were gone, the honeycombs were gone, and our roof (part of it anyway) was gone. Next was trying to get the roof repair guy in, a fellow who specializes in beehive repairs. It only took a week of "I'll be there this afternoon" and no-show to get it finished, but we're put back together again, hopefully the end of that little nightmare.

Braeden is doing great. He's finally starting to talk more, although he's still the strong, silent type for the most part. He's come out with some phrases recently, "get up", "me doggy", "there ya go" kind of things. His newest exploration areas are the kitchen sink - he's taken to washing the unbreakable dishes and playing in the soapy water - and the spice cupboard. He not only wants to smell everything, which he's done for awhile, now he wants to taste the spices too. His favorite one so far is garlic salt - ewww, not on your finger, straight.

Brae's meals have become more fun now that he'll eat most meat, so long as either a dab of ketchup or mustard appears on his plate - dipping sauce ya know..hehe. He loves mac and cheese, all the usual foods. He feeds himself for the most part, always with either a fork or spoon. I provide both utensils and let him choose which one he wants. He just started drinking some of his milk from a "glass" glass - an old juice glass I brought with me from Canada. I've really got to watch that he's not in a throwing mood (that would be extremely messy), but he's doing a great job. He's been drinking from those red plastic cups that we thrive on in the summer, but this little juice glass is smaller in diameter, so easier for him to sip his milk without getting his shirt soaked.

He found a bare patch in our garden in an area that doesn't get much sun, and he's taken to excavating the place. He hauls out all his gardening tools, dump truck, etc. and goes to town digging, loading up the truck, then moving the dirt somewhere else and dumping it. Next it's on to finding gravel to fill in part of his excavation site, only to then throw everything on the concrete. That's ok, he loves to use the broom, so he helps me sweep.

We took Braeden to a pro baseball game the end of June. He wasn't too interested in the game, but loved the crowd and seemed to have a great time. We passed on the 4th fireworks this year since he's in bed early, but we'll all go next year. We're heading for the zoo this weekend with some friends and their children - should be fun. Braeden loves the zoo.

I'll end this post with some news about me. My diabetes is under control now, so I've rebooked my eye surgery for mid-August. Obviously I'm not looking forward to more surgery on that poor eye of mine, but I'm now totally blind in my right eye, so I'm left with no option at this point. Ok, let's get it over with, and please God, let me regain some vision in that eye. It's really hard not to trip over Brae, or his toys, or the dog, or the stairs even. My depth perception is so off that I even find it hard to pour Brae's milk now without spilling it. Of course he laughs every time I miss. I laugh with him, but I'm not laughing inside. Nobody knows how much vision I'll get back after the surgery, but it's got to be better than what I've got now - zilch. I'll keep you posted.

Enjoy summer everyone!!

Braeden's Sick

2008-06-18T14:48:00.000-07:00

Poor Braeden developed a 102 fever yesterday. The little guy was miserable, although Tylenol drops brought it down to 99. He had a rough night though. It doesn't help that we're having a mini heatwave, with temps near 100. I ran the air conditioning for him yesterday, something I try not to do - costs too much with central a/c.

This morning his temperature was 101 before Tylenol, but dropped back to normal and has remained there the rest of the day, his appetite has returned and so has his activity level, although I'm trying to keep him a bit quiet (not much luck). I'm keeping my fingers crossed that his fever doesn't come back tonight.

I called his pediatrician just to be on the safe side, but she said to just let it run its course, that he's picked up a little virus. That's what I figured, but I basically wanted the fever recorded on his chart. I think he's on the mend now.

The bee guys are coming next week to remove the hive underneath our roof. I'm not looking forward to that, but with 2 guys coming, hopefully they'll be able to finish in one day, then I can call the roof repair guys to take care of the damage from removing the hive. At least there aren't any more bees around. That was scary.

It's Been Awhile

2008-06-14T11:04:00.000-07:00

While the url for Braeden's site will stay the same, I just had to change the title of his blog. He's not a baby now, so this new name is much more fitting for a little boy.

Sorry it's been so long since I wrote. Things have become even more hectic in the time that's passed. I'm not even sure I can remember all of it.

My doctor released me to have the cataract surgery I need, but I decided after all the stuff I went through accepting the fact I'm diabetic and dealing with that plus everything else, that I'd take a breather before plunging in for more trauma to my poor eye. I can still see shadows with that bad eye, and I know my vision will be greatly improved once the cataract is removed, but I need some time to enjoy Braeden without a surgery date hanging over my head. I'll rebook early in July.

Brae's been so busy it's hard to keep up with him, but we do fine. He's still not talking a whole lot as he approaches his 21-month birthday next week, but his lack of actual speech sure isn't preventing him from making his "demands" known. He loves to grab your hand, or your shirt, or anything else he can get hold of, and drag you to the fridge, a cupboard, the TV, anywhere. He couldn't be more clear if he flat out said "follow me over here because I want what's there".

He's still helping to dust around the house, and since I last wrote has taken to dragging out the vacuum when he thinks the carpet needs some attention. He's finally tall enough to reach the locks to the garage door - both the button lock on the door knob and the deadbolt lock. Luckily he hasn't quite figured out that he has to turn the door knob in order to get the door open. He's constantly reaching in my pocket now looking for my keys - he knows he needs a key to open a door, but not that he only needs one from the outside.

He and I drag the trash cans back into the yard on trash pick-up day, me holding one handle, Braeden the other. He really loves to help. He insists on washing his hands at the kitchen sink afterwards, before and after all his meals, and several other times throughout the day. He pulls the kitchen chair over to the sink, climbs up and stands there waiting. He can't quite reach the faucet yet, but he will soon. Along that same line, he also loves to help me wash the dishes, unbreakable things only of course. I know he'd love to wash some of my mother's crystal, but I think I'll pass on that.

We got him a swimming pool, and he absolutely loves it. The weather hasn't been real warm recently though, so we packed it away in the garage for the time being. It hasn't been exactly safe for any of us to be playing outside lately, more in a minute.

Last weekend he attended his first birthday party, and he had a great time eating pizza and a little cake. He's not real fond of any type of meat at the moment, but he loved the pepperoni on that pizza.

Braeden will be attending his first pro baseball game the end of the month. We've got tickets to go to see the Padres play the Seattle Mariners. I'm not sure how he'll take to that, but we'll give it a try. He's enjoyed every other place we've taken him.

Two weeks ago someone pointed out that it looked like we had a bee hive on our roof. I couldn't see a whole lot of bees up there, so left it for awhile, in case it was just a swarm and would move on. It didn't, so I got a bee removal company in this week and they sprayed/fogged up there, which will kill off the bees, which the guy said were Africanized bees - not a good thing.

He also informed me there's what he estimates to be a 10-pound hive under our roof tiles, so he'll be coming back next week to cut through our roof tiles and the plywood underneath to get to the hive, remove it, clean up all the honey, wax and debris, then paint it with a waterproof solution until we can get another company in to make the roof repairs. Hello government rebate check - and good bye. So far it's over $1,500, with more expense to come {sigh}.

I'm sure there's a lot more to write, but I'll save it for another time. I've been reading your blogs - sorry I haven't had time to write until now.

Off To The Zoo

2008-05-04T10:43:00.002-07:00

Yesterday we took Braeden to the zoo for the first time. He looked around at everything quietly at first, then saw his first wildlife, a huge group of flamingos with a few ducks in the area, and he went absolutely wild, pointing, waving, smiling. He loved the petting zoo, marching right over to the first real goat he's ever seen to swipe at it with his hand. We really wanted to get him to see the larger animals, but they're far from the entrance, and we didn't want to travel that far on Brae's first trip. That's for next time.

The zoo is gigantic, so we didn't get to see much of it yesterday in the few hours we had, but got a year pass so we have free admission for the next 365 days. I know we'll spend many weekends there.

My cataract surgery has been postponed. My family doctor refused to sign the surgery form because my diabetes is out of control. I've been in denial that I even have it for over a year, but it's time to get back to reality and deal with it. So I've started diabetic medication, changed my diet drastically, and the glucose numbers have started to come down. My doctor threatened throwing me in the hospital if I don't have them down by this coming week. I'm not real pleased with where they are, but at least they're heading in the right direction.

Ok, enough about me and my stupidity and back to Mr. Braeden (something I've called him almost since the day he was born). DH says he'll think his first name is Mister if I don't stop...hehe. Brae's picking up new words every day now - finally. A lot of what he says isn't clear enough to decipher the words, but he's getting there. His latest thing is to grab you by the shirt and pull you where he wants to go.

This morning he wanted in the fridge, so pulled me in that direction. He's not able to open the door yet, but makes it known he wants to look inside. When I opened the door he reached in and grabbed one of his yogurt containers - that's what he wanted as part of his breakfast, and that's what he got. Once he had the container in hand, he was ready to leave the fridge and head to the table and his high chair for breakfast.

Will post more later.

All Healed

2008-04-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

Braeden had his post-op exam just over a week ago, and while he was still a bit swollen and bruised at the time, he got a great report, everything looking good.

Now the sutures have all dissolved and he's totally back to himself, although he's discovered great fascination with his private parts, maybe because things look so different there now, and probably feel different too.

He continues one of his favorite things - somersaults. They were temporarily suspended after his surgery, but he's up to doing them again. He's also just starting to use the potty - success twice this past week. He's still pretty young for it, so I wouldn't push him, but if he shows an interest I'll definitely help him along.

We're having a heatwave right now, so Brae's not too interested in playing outside. But last week when it was cooler, he was playing ball with the boy next door (who's 7 years old). He was tossing the ball to Braeden, and we were both surprised when Brae caught it most of the time. He loves J. so much. I'm glad he has time to play with Braeden most afternoons after he gets home from school.

I'm gearing up for my cataract surgery in 2 weeks. I hope and pray to get some vision back in that eye, because I'm really down to just shadows now, and it's getting really frustrating. I can hardly see well enough to get Braeden's meals, even changing his diaper's harder now. But while the radiation caused all the damage, at least once the cataract's removed that part of the damage will be gone.

I've got so much to write about Braeden's adventures, but dangit, when I sit down to write, I totally forget most of them. I'll have to make a list for next time.

Surgery Is Over

2008-04-08T06:09:00.000-07:00

Braeden had his surgery yesterday. The procedure went well, the doctor was extremely pleased, and Braeden was a brave little guy. We were home 4 hours after the surgery began, so it wasn't a long stay. It was sad seeing them wheel him into the discharge room. All we could see was his little face since they had him strapped to the gurney and he was covered with blankets. He was sobbing, his whole body shaking. Once they unstrapped him and I could hold him, he settled right down.

They gave him what they call a "caudal" - an injection in his lower back to numb the surgical area, something that lasts 4-5 hours post surgery. He couldn't walk at all while the caudal was still active - his legs were numb and he couldn't stand up. Once it started to wear off, I took him outside for a few minutes. He could hear the neighborhood kids out there and wanted to go out to see them, but didn't want to stay outside long.

After the caudal wore off, Brae had considerable pain. You could tell when he walked that it hurt very badly, and he couldn't bend down to pick up a book. All he wanted was to snuggle on the couch with daddy, hanging on tight to his blankie and teddy, then trying to get up and walk again. We got a prescription for Tylenol with codeine, but so far haven't given it to him, but have stuck with simple Tylenol drops. They seem to take the pain away, and the surgeon suggested using those first, and saving the strong stuff for those times when he might really need it.

He's slept through the night, which surprises me. I'll get him up at his usual time, change his diaper and get some Tylenol in him before his breakfast. He vomited once after we got him home yesterday, which they said was very possible, the car ride upsetting his tummy, but after that he was holding down juice, water, yogurt, and eventually his dinner (we kept it on the light side).

I know he'll still be very sore today, but he's allowed to have a bath Wednesday, although I think we'll stick with sponge baths a few more days, and goes for his post-op check-up the 16th. The sutures are the dissolving kind, so no suture removal in his future.

And so the hypospadias repair is over. The surgeon didn't have to repair Braeden's urethra, so no catheter or anything. He straightened the chordee (bend), and completed the circumcision nature started, and that was it.

Please Pray For Braeden

2008-04-02T15:17:00.000-07:00

Braeden's hypospadias surgery is this coming Monday. Please pray for him and for me. If I don't have a total meltdown before this is all over, it'll be a miracle. The thoughts of that little guy undergoing surgery terrify me, but I know it's something that needs to be done, and better now, when he won't really remember anything about it.

I'll post again sometime next week to let anyone who still reads this know how he's doing. I'll concentrate on my own upcoming surgery after Braeden's is over and he's recovered. At least I've got a month between his and mine. Sheesh, medical stuff really sucks, especially when it all seems to pile up at once.

We'd all appreciate any extra prayers you can send Brae's way. Thanks!!

Happy 18-Month Birthday

2008-03-21T05:41:00.000-07:00

Wow, where has the last 18 months gone? Happy year and a half birthday, Braeden. You're growing into quite the little man now, the little baby we brought home only 18 months ago is gone, replaced by the most gentle, good natured and curious little guy I've ever met (no, I'm not biased..hehe).

While Braeden's still not saying a whole lot, he definitely makes his wants and needs known in non-verbal ways. He loves his new slide/fort, a huge smile on his face when he slides his stuffed animals down first, following right after them.

He can almost put his jacket on by himself. He tries to put his shoes on, but that's not happening any time soon. He helps me undress him in the morning and at night. He knows some shirts go off over his head, others have buttons. Buttons have always fascinated him, as do zippers. He loves "dusting" with a baby wipe, and does it every morning. He also hauls out the vacuum cleaner on occasion - ok, I get the hint, time to vacuum again. He's drawing in his big coloring book now. Only scribbles obviously, but it's a start.

One of his favorite things is running around the yard carrying a little flower pot which he stuffs full of flowers that have fallen to the ground, the odd old leaf kicking around, anything he can find. Our hibiscus plants are in full bloom, but the flowers don't last long, so he's got a new supply of fallen ones each day to put in his pot, squealing as he finds another one. He also loves going to the park so he can climb the play structure all the way to the top, then with some help walk back down to the slides.

He's eating with his fork and spoon almost totally now. He doesn't want to eat unless I had him an approprite utensil so he can feed himself. Same with his milk - he wants to hold his own cup, doesn't want me to help him. He's an independent little guy.

He's still sleeping 12 hours at night, and has for a very long time. I'm always up early for some "me" time, and can hear the music or ocean sounds coming from his crib aquarium. He turns it on and off, changes the music, adjusts the volume (usually blasting it). The time change didn't seem to bother him in the slightest. Occasionally he'll have a morning nap, but usually he only wants to play quietly in his pack-n-play for an hour, which we've got set up in the living room. He has a great afternoon nap of 1-2 hours.

Tomorrow is our neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt, and we're all set to go. I need to buy a little Easter basket for him to collect eggs, but I'll do that tomorrow morning. Last night I filled the 12 plastic eggs with candy, that will be Braeden's contribution to the egg hunt. I know he'll have fun, especially since he's so familiar with the park and loves it there.

So Happy Birthday, Braeden. Happy Easter to all of you.

Laser Surgery

2008-03-13T05:54:00.000-07:00

First, a little about Braeden, since this is really a blog about him, although I really need to blog the medical stuff I'm going through right now too. I don't have anyone to talk to but whoever still reads this blog, and it helps me.

Braeden had no reaction to his vaccinations last week, thank God for that. Next on his plate is his hypospadias surgery in 3 weeks {gulp}. He's enjoying the new slide/fort combo DH got for him last weekend. It's a great place for him to climb, and he loves his slide. We have to check his left shoe. It's got a rough edge inside that's hurting him, so we'll have to see if we can glue it down or we'll get him another new pair of shoes. He's fine for a bit with it, then starts pointing to his foot, limping a little, which stops when we take off his shoe.

We took Brae to a little carnival in town last weekend, and he had a great time with all the games there. He wanted to visit each one. He really wanted to go on rides, but he's too small yet, even for the carousel - next year. We won him 3 toys, and he's enjoying those. He also got to sample his first cotton candy, a big hit of course.

I had to undergo laser surgery yesterday on my right eye (the one that had the cancer and was treated with radiation). Not a fun time, but I'm almost totally blind in that eye now, and the laser surgery will hopefully give me back a little vision. Back we go today, but to the cornea specialist this time. I've got a radiation cataract that will have to be removed in the next 1-2 months. The retina specialist finds it hard to do the laser treatment with the cataract blocking his vision looking inside. Not looking forward to that obviously, but I just want even a little vision back in that eye. I'm finding it harder to change Brae's diaper now, to feed him, because I can't see very well now. Vision correction via glasses/contacts isn't possible. But you deal with what you have to, and thank God for DH and Braeden's support. I know Brae doesn't understand, but he knows mommy's not feeling too well when I have an appointment like yesterday and he brings me some of his toys, almost like he's trying to cheer me up. I'll post later about this subject as things develop - hopefully for the better.

Speaking of feeding Brae, he's pretty much feeding himself now. He does a great job "stabbing" food with his fork and getting both into his mouth before the food falls off. He's not quite as good with the spoon, depending on what's on it. He hasn't quite got the hang of holding the spoon straight as he moves it towards his mouth, but he's sure got the fork down well.

We took Braeden's pediatrician's advice and got him a potty seat over the weekend. It's comical to watch him. I think somehow he knows what it's for, but he's not at the point of being able to pull his jeans down and taking his diaper off - duh. But he runs over and sits on it fully clothed, and after he gets up, sure enough he's "gone" in his diaper. So he's got the concept down, but then it's too early for the real thing. We'll work at it slowly, when he's ready. He insists on leaving his potty seat in the middle of the living room floor, and kicks up quite a stink if I put it away..hehe.

Brae's taken to invading the fridge, providing I open it for him. He looks in there and then decides what he wants and pulls it out, be it a teething toy (I keep a bunch in there so they're nice and cold on his incoming teeth), a container of his yogurt, his cup of water. Umm, any idea why he keeps reaching for an unopened bottle of wine? That's the only thing other than his own stuff that he tries to grab...hehe.

Happy St. Patrick's Day on Monday. We'll be wearing the green, even though we're not Irish. Have a great weekend all.

We're All Sick

2008-02-14T05:28:00.000-08:00

Oh, this really sux. Braeden and DH got bad coughs with phlegm on Friday, DH with a ripping sore throat. We think they picked up the "bug" at my retina doctor appointment last week, since they both got sick the same day.

DH was off work Monday, went to the doctor Tuesday, only to be told he's got an upper respiratory infection (the common cold). Neither of us has ever seen a "cold" like this one. We were starting to think maybe it was strep, nope. Brae's being a real trooper. His cough is better than it's been, but now he's got a charming discharge coming from his nose. Still, after he rests for awhile he's off playing again. A nice warm bath helped his chest congestion a lot yesterday.

Braeden was to go this morning for his vaccinations, but I called Tuesday and they said no shots for him for at least 2 weeks, until after he's over this cold. Talk about the medical community run-around. Our pediatrician wasn't there that day, so the on-call pediatrician returned my call and said "no shots". When I called to cancel today's appointment and reschedule, they wouldn't let me, the nurses saying he'd be fine to have his shots with his cold, as long as he doesn't have a fever (which he doesn't). Still, that's not what the doctor said. After being on hold for nearly an hour, the doctor called back again to reaffirm his position - no shots. He said he'd be having an emergency nurses' meeting immediately and one of them would call back. A different story on that return call - Brae's appointment for today was cancelled and a new one made for about 3 weeks from now.

By Monday, I wasn't feeling too well myself, and now I've been stricken full force with the same "bug" DH and Braeden have. Not a fun thing, but I've never been one to give in to a cold, and usually keep going, doing the best I can. I was worn out by the time last night rolled around, and was glad when Braeden went to bed - ok, so I put him to bed about half an hour early. We'll all be fine in a few days. Meanwhile, we'll be gentle with ourselves.

What really sucks is that DH's whole family arrived in town last night for a week, and they wanted lots of Brae play time (sister has multiple kids) and a family photo done. Play time is definitely out for Brae for the next day or two - I don't want those other children catching this on their vacation or risk Brae getting sicker. As for the family photo this weekend, it'll depend on how we all feel. I certainly won't drag Brae to an outdoor photo session if he's still sick. While it's by no means cold here, it's too cold for him to be outside for hours while they take various poses so we can select our favorites. I'll keep you posted.

For now, I just want to rest as much as I can, relax, and not think about anything else.

Retina Leaking Again

2008-02-05T18:14:00.000-08:00

Just a quick little background - I was diagnosed over 3 years ago with a cancerous tumor on my retina. They inserted a radiation plaque (like a disc) behind my eye in one surgery, left it there for 6 days, then removed it in a second surgery. That was supposed to kill off the tumor - and it did!!

I had my regular retina specialist check-up today. The good news is that the cancer is still gone, the tumor has vanished. The bad news is that because of radiation damage my retina is once again swollen and is leaking fluid (just like a year ago), and I've also got a radiation cataract which will have to be removed. My vision in that eye has deteriorated badly. I can now only read the 2nd line on the eye chart, and new glasses wouldn't help. They won't let me wear contact lenses either. I have to accept the fact that the vision in my treated eye is basically gone.

I had to have dye injected into my vein and over 100 photos taken of both eyes, of course many more of the radiation-damaged eye. Both eyes are still sore from all the poking and prodding, so many photos with the camera so close to my eyes, the bright flashes literally temporarily blinding me.

I'm waiting to hear back from the retina specialist once he views the pictures, on what the game plan will be this time. Last year they gave me a steroid injection into my eyeball, which hurt like sh** and didn't do anything to help. I refuse to do that again, although I'd definitely go for more laser surgery (I had two surgeries last year) to try and close off the leaks. I've gotta tell you though, I'm getting so dang sick and tired of dealing with this eye of mine, my lack of vision, the discomfort of feeling like there are 100 hairs in there that I can never get out (foreign body sensation), that it's tempting to just let them do an enucleation and get rid of the thing. It's almost useless now anyway.

I thank God every day that my other eye remains in perfect condition and with perfect vision. At least I can see Braeden with that eye. With my bad eye I can't even see his face anymore. It's just a blur. I've become paranoid about my good eye. If something happened to that one, I'd be legally blind and would never be able to see my son again. I have to think positively that my good eye will remain that way.

Thanks for letting me vent a bit here - this is definitely not fun stuff

Molars Arriving

2008-02-05T05:39:00.000-08:00

Poor Braeden's finally getting his molars. The two top ones have broken through his gums, the two bottom ones are nearly there. He's drooling up a storm, chowing down on all the teething toys he's got. It doesn't stop him from bombing around or from sleeping, so we haven't given him any meds.

He's now operating his little TV and DVD player on his own, turning both on, ejecting an old DVD, throwing it across the room and inserting a new one in the tray, closing the door. Then he heads over to his Elmo chair and sits down to watch. All the DVDs we have are Baby Einstein ones, so I don't object to him watching about 10 minutes of one DVD in the morning after his breakfast. By then he's bored and ready to move on. When he's done I have to pull the plugs on both the TV and DVD player, or he'll play with them all day.

His latest antic is trying to climb up the back of the couch in the family room, looking over there, playing with the window blinds, then throwing whatever he's got in his hand over the back. I have a very hard time navigating "stuff" to get behind there and retrieve the wayward object, since we've got it blocked off so he can't get behind the couch, but so far I've managed to get his things back for him, him watching me over the top.

He goes Februar 14th for his next check-up and round of vaccinations. Obviously not looking forward to that, but it'll soon be over with for another few months. He hasn't been for shots in 4 months, although we had him once to the pediatrician when he had a weird cold (cough and wheezing) awhile back. It disappeared in a few days.

As for me, I've got an appointment this morning with my retina specialist, to check on the remnants of the cancerous tumor they found (and treated with radiation) 3 1/2 years ago. At m last check-up the tumor was totally gone - I'm praying that's still the case. These dang appointments still scare me, but I'm hoping and praying for a good report today. I'm usually there 3+ hours. It's long and gruelling, and I'm ready to sleep by the time I get home. I'll let you know how things turn out.

Surgery Scheduled

2008-01-31T05:52:00.000-08:00

Sorry not to have posted for so long. Things have been very busy for us. Braeden's extremely active now, and loving life. He's so much fun, but in the shadows I've been dealing with the issues below.

Braeden was born with hypospadias - a congenital abnormality of his "private parts". We've been very leery of having this surgery done, because initially we were told they'd have to repair his urethra, which could mean several additional surgeries down the road because it can cause fistulas to develop, he'd have catheters, not a nice prospect, but that situation has changed for the better.

Now surgery will only entail repair to his minor chordee (his penis is bent). After weeks of research, getting a lot of information, and finally speaking with the urology surgeon's office, we're going ahead with the surgery. It's scheduled for Monday, April 7, 2008.

Nervous? Off the charts, but if we don't have the repair done now, it could pose major problems for Braeden in childhood and as an adult - he'd look "different" than other little boys, and could have problems being intimate, may not be able to have children. After the surgery, those problems will be non-issues for him when he grows up. I'll keep you posted.

Otherwise, everything's fine. I've been taking Braeden to Kidsville, a great little "town" set up for the children to play without a whole lot of supervision. I still stay pretty close to Brae while he's playing since there are a lot of older kids there and I want to be sure he doesn't get knocked over by a racing car zooming past, but I let him roam from building to building, hanging back so he doesn't see much of me. His favorite buildings are the school house where he "draws" on the blackboard, plays with puzzles and looks at books; and the take-out restaurant, where he spends most of his time putting the play food into the cupboards, fridge, oven, any compartment available, or sitting at one of the tables with "pizza".

Whoever came up with the Kidsville idea had a great one. It really is like a child-sized town, with all kinds of "buildings" around the perimeter, a park-like setting in the middle with tables and chairs for eating lunch, or having a snack, or just relaxing. Brae loves going there, and I love taking him, especially where our weather's been pretty wet lately. It's impossible to get him to our park up the street since everything's drenched, but Kidsville is always available as a place for him to let off some steam.

I'll keep you posted on Braeden's upcoming surgery, and will try to post more often.

Merry Christmas!!

2007-12-22T05:48:00.001-08:00

Sorry I haven't posted in so long, but it's been busy with Braeden. I wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate with your family), and all the best for a great 2008 for all of us.

Braeden is 15 months old now. He started walking a month ago, now he's running everywhere. He loves to splash in puddles outside when it rains, to pick up the odd leaf lying on the ground where the trees haven't quite lost all of them yet, to go to the park, and his Gymboree classes. And he loves playing with his dog. They chase each other around the house and he giggles. Going on "trips" are his favorite thing (he loves the car), be it to the post office to stand in line mailing out cards, to the store, and especially to restaurants, where we've been ordering him his own meal from the kids' menu. He loves his sippy cups for water, and his straw cups for milk, although he wants to drink right from the cup more now and not use the straw.

Poor Braeden picked up a nasty chest cold just over a week ago - coughing, sneezing, and some chest congestion. We took him to his pediatrician last Friday to be sure all he had was a cold, and she assured us it's going around, and that's what it is. What a relief, since he's only ever had one other cold and it was the nasal congestion type. He only has a slight cough left now, and it never slowed him down at all, or affected his appetite or sleep.

Nothing affects his sleep - he sleeps at least 12 hours at night, still has 2 short naps during the day. I have to laugh some mornings when I go to get him up from his crib. We've left his "aquarium" attached to the side of the crib and if he awakens early he turns it on. If he wants my attention before I get upstairs to start his day, he cranks up the volume on it so I can hear it downstairs and at the back of the house.

Braeden loves helping with the laundry, taking his clean clothes out of the laundry basket and putting them in his drawers. Now if I could only get him to fold them first..hehe. He's emptied one of his drawers of all clothes, and now stashes his favorite books in that drawer, putting one inside, closing the drawer, grabbing another book and adding that one. He loves taking off his socks during naptime. If one's missing and I ask him where his sock is, he either goes over to the wayward one, or points to it if it's nearby.

He's eating pretty well on his own with his spoon, although he misses his mouth sometimes. He also loves brushing his own teeth, after we've given them their "real" brushing. We haven't taken him for his first dental visit yet, but will do that before long.

All our months of work on sign language (and some great tips from Oliver's mommy) are finally paying off, and Brae's doing more and more signing. His favorite ones are sleep and more, but he's doing probably 10 signs. He's saying more words each day now and is starting to string 2 words together, his newest ones being "take dat" as he hands me something. He loves cleaning up his play yard and books each evening, and keeping the carpets and floors free of tiny specks of anything, picking some minuscule thing up and racing over to hand it to me. Carpet fuzz, a crumb, anything that's out of place.

He's a happy little boy. Sometimes I miss that snuggly little baby of months ago, but I really love this new toddler stage. He's not big on snuggling anymore, but he loves to hug and give kisses. It's going to be a fun Christmas with my DH's family. I know Brae's going to totally love all the wrapping paper. A friend gave him a wooden puzzle as an early gift, and he loved it so much that the guy gave us a few more to put away for him for Christmas. And Braeden's so strong now it's kind of scary. He picks up a huge box of diapers all by himself and carries it around the room, dropping toys and books inside if it's been opened.

Anyway, I'm off to start our day. Have a wonderful Holiday Season, and I'll try to post more in 2008.

Fire Storms

2007-10-25T05:57:00.000-07:00

We were caught in the middle of the recent Southern California fire storms that started this past Sunday. Before I go on though, we were very fortunate that we're all safe, and our home was spared the horrible devastation that so many people are having to endure here.

We were shopping at a large outdoor mall on Sunday morning, near noon. We bought Braeden a pair of crocs shoes, so we'd have a pair of shoes for him we could put on quickly, that he'd be able to use to walk and crawl around in our back yard without ruining his Stride Rite shoes. We had a great time at the mall, but as we were leaving, saw the all too familiar smoke in the sky that we saw four years ago during the horrendous Cedar fire that destroyed so many homes and started four years ago tomorrow.

We stayed tuned to the radio and TV Sunday afternoon and overnight, and did the same thing Monday. Suddenly on Monday afternoon we heard that our area had been placed under mandatory evacuation, that we had to leave immediately. Neighbors started knocking on the door to tell us we needed to get out - NOW, and our next door neighbor brought over a surgical mask for Braeden, to help him breathe. Luckily I'd been packing things up all day, in anticipation that we might have to leave. Four years ago we got a voluntary evac. notice - this time it was mandatory, the sheriff driving up and down the streets announcing "You must evacuate this area immediately", the fire moving towards us, driven by 60 mph Santa Ana winds.

Luckily my ILs' home wasn't affected by the evacuation notice, so after loading up what we could cram into both cars, I left in the SUV with Braeden and DP (dear puppy). DH followed after one last check of the house, grabbing anything else he could think of.

There's only one way out of our neighborhood, so traffic was gridlocked. It took me over an hour to travel the 4-5 miles to my ILs home, and DH was stuck in even worse traffic, having left about 10 minutes behind me. The smoke and ash was awful. If not for my ILs, we'd have been camping out at the stadium, the freeways gridlocked too. Thank God we were able to stay at their home, although they were under an advisory evacuation - i.e., pack up and be ready just in case. Luckily it remained advisory only and while we didn't sleep much Monday night, at least we were safe, praying for our home to be spared.

To make a long story short, on Tuesday afternoon we received notice that the mandatory evacuation notice had been lifted for our neighborhood, and we were allowed to return home. Seeing so many homes burned to the ground, was so reminiscent of the fires 4 years ago. Once again, we were spared that devastation. Why? The fire was heading right for us, just like last time, and exactly like then winds changed direction and the fire moved elsewhere, sparing us. God was certainly watching over us these past few days.

There are still evacuations being issued, others being lifted, but the 8 fires burning here have moved on, hopefully to areas without dense populations of people, where nobody else will die, be injured, and/or lose their homes. It's been an extremely stressful week, but we've made it.

For any of you reading this who were affected by these massive fire storms, know our thoughts and prayers are with you, and if there's anything at all you need, anything we can do for you, please let us know. Now the healing process starts, and soon the rebuilding for those who lost their homes and are left with only what they could take with them as they evacuated.

Chickenpox Outbreak

2007-10-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

It was announced on our news this morning that there's a chickenpox outbreak at one of the nearby schools, and everyone is being urged to have their kids vaccinated immediately if they haven't already done so. That's the 2nd series vaccination, given when they're about 4 years old. The one given at 12 months old gives them about 90% protection, while adding the 2nd one ups that to 99%. I like those odds.

Braeden's had a little head cold which I think he picked up at his gym class last week. Two of the other little ones were sniffling and sneezing, and while they strongly suggest you keep your child home if he/she is ill, some people appear to be oblivious to the fact that it's so easy to spread germs in a setting like that, no matter how clean they keep the gym area. Everyone's still climbing on all the equipment, drooling on everything, hands in their mouths. Braeden's just got the nasal thing going on, and it's starting to clear up now. It hasn't affected his activity level, or his appetite, or his sleep schedule. DH and I caught the dang thing over the weekend - blech.

We've got Braeden's Halloween costume. He's going to be a pumpkin this year. We didn't want anything fancy, and being 13 months old by then, I don't think he'll mind. It's a 2-piece outfit, nice and warm, with a hood. While our weather here definitely doesn't get cold, it's chilly at night, and we'll be out in the courtyard to greet the trick or treaters for a couple of hours, so I want Braeden to be comfortable. DH probably won't make it home from work in time for me to take Braeden to our nearest neighbors and pass out treats too, but again, I don't think Braeden will mind. I think he'll enjoy seeing the kids in costume, and he won't be eating any candy anyway.

He's still working on this walking thing, preferring to speed crawl rather than walk. I put his shoes on him inside the house this morning so he could try walking while wearing the shoes, since he hasn't been out much with his cold, and he did very well holding onto his truck and/or car as he took off around the living room. After about 15 minutes I took them off. I certainly don't want him learning to walk wearing them, but do want him to be comfortable walking while he's got them on for our outside trips.

1-Year Appointment

2007-10-03T11:11:00.001-07:00

Today was Braeden's 1-year appointment with his pediatrician. He weighs 22 pounds, 8 ounces (50th percentile), is 33 inches tall - nearly 3 feet (95th percentile), head circumference is 17 3/4 inches.

He got a clean bill of health, is thriving, growing at a "perfect" rate (if there's any such thing as perfect), meeting all his milestones - crawling, cruising, doing a little walking, "talking" and babbling appropriately for his age, waving, etc.; totally off his bottles and drinking from cups. We took a sippy cup full of water to his appointment, and his doctor was pleased to see only water in it and not juice. She's not a fan of sippy cups full of juice being dragged around all day, but prefers any juice to be given as a supervised snack and then taken away. Brae loves his cool water in the sippy cup, uses straw cups for his formula/milk.

We've decided to keep Braeden on a 50/50 mixture of Enfamil Next Step (for 9-24 month toddlers) and whole milk for another month or two. His doctor said we could go either way - as we are, or all whole milk - either is fine. Probably after one more can of Enfamil we'll stop it completely.

We're pro-vaccination all the way, so Braeden had his 12-month vaccines today - two shots. One is chicken pox, the other a combo shot for mumps, measles and rubella (German measles). When I was a kid I ended up contracting all those diseases except rubella, and had a very rough time with all of them - these vaccines weren't available in my childhood. I'm glad they're here for Braeden, so hopefully he can be spared the misery of contracting any of them. And not only that, these vaccinations are all required for him to attend school where we live. I'd much rather have each one administered as we go along rather than play catch-up later when it's time for him to start kindergarten.

Braeden and I went to Gymboree yesterday - he loves his weekly class. He walked for the first time (other than a few steps). He went about 10 feet on his own, heading for a bucket of balls he spotted across the room that he wanted to get to. Yipee!!! His doctor said he's maybe been a bit slower with the walking because he's so tall, that it's hard to balance all that height, but he's on his way now.

So we're home and Braeden's playing. I'm hoping he'll have a nap soon, but he had none yesterday so he may be outgrowing them. I'll post again soon.

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY, BRAEDEN!!

2007-09-21T06:37:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st Birthday, Braeden!! How much you've grown and developed over the past year, how many times you've melted my heart. He's off the bottle now (loves his straw cups) - I'll miss it more than he will. Brae had his first whole milk this morning and loved it, but we'll continue using Enfamil Next Step for a couple of months, and will gradually make the milk switch.

Today we're baking cupcakes for Brae's birthday party tomorrow. He loves to watch me working in the kitchen, and I know he'll be fascinated with all this baking. He's on the verge of walking, and it'd be awesome if he took that plunge today. But he'll walk when he's ready, and his timing works for me. Tonight DH and I will have our private celebration of Braeden's first birthday, a cupcake with a candle. We've got the camera and video camera batteries charged and ready to go.

Tomorrow (Saturday) we're having a little party to celebrate, with just a few close friends. We were hoping for the back yard, but with a rain storm forecast for later today and tomorrow, it looks like we'll be inside. That works. Early in the morning I'll pick up his helium-filled balloons and his cake, while DH will pick up the food. My MIL ordered and paid for the food for us, which was sweet of her. Sadly my ILs are leaving this morning on a trip, so won't be here for any of the birthday celebrations. My FIL's health is deteriorating, and this will probably be their last trip.

So Happy 1st birthday Mr. Braeden. You're no longer a baby, but you'll always be my baby!!

Two Weeks To 1st Birthday

2007-09-07T11:39:00.001-07:00

Wow, hard to believe Braeden will be a year old in only 2 weeks. We're planning a small party for him here at the house, a few close friends. Like others have written, it'll be bittersweet - so exciting that he'll be a year old, yet already missing the little guy we brought home nearly a year ago. I'll miss my baby bunting, but my little boy is such a sweetheart.

Braeden's got 6 teeth now - 4 uppers and 2 lowers. I've started weaning him from his bottles, and am not having any problem so far. He loves his cups, especially the ones with the straws. We've got a couple of sippy cups, but I save those for water. He drinks his formula much better with the straws. We've got quite a variety of different brands, but his favorite is the Nuby straw cup. He drinks his formula while sitting in his high chair - it's easier for him to grasp the handles, and when he decides to stick his finger in the straw and fling formula all over the place, at least we're in the kitchen..hehe.

I'm also weaning him from his infant formula to Enfamil Next Step. That's going well too. We thought of going right to whole milk, but decided to give him a couple more months of DHA and ARA that Next Step has before we make that switch. He's eating Graduates veggie and fruit dices, and meat sticks I cut up for him, and any table food around at his meal times. So far there's nothing he doesn't like. That makes life easier. He's still eating some stage 2 and 3 foods, mainly to finish up what we bought earlier.

DH got Braeden a pre-birthday gift - a Tonka riding dump truck. He absolutely loves it. It's supposed to be good for him until he's 3, but when he sits on it, he's already flat footing it, so I think he'll outgrow it before then, but it'll still last him a long time. You can take the seat off and snap it on the back, so he has something for support as he walks along behind it. It's great for picking up blocks off the floor and carpet too - run over one and the truck scoops it up and deposits it in a storage area for later retrieval.

No, he's not quite walking yet, although he stands alone frequently and takes 2-3 steps on his own before he sits down, so walking isn't far off now. His new favorite thing is going outside in the afternoon with the neighborhood kids. They're all over 4 years old, and the older kids sit on our lawn in a circle, Braeden in the middle, and he giggles as they pass him around, rolling on the grass.

This morning I started taking Brae and DP (dear puppy) for walks together. DP has gained weight in the past year and after checking out a dog walking service, they're way too expensive for our budget. When I tried walking DP and Brae at the same time earlier, it wasn't a pretty sight, but today DP walked calmly next to the stroller, totally enjoying a nice long walk, and of course Braeden had the best time - he always loves going for a walk.

So we're gearing up for Braeden's big day. Have a great weekend.

Happy 11-Month Birthday!!

2007-08-21T12:30:00.001-07:00

Yikes, 11 months old today. It doesn't seem possible that in one more short month little Braeden (who's not little anymore) will be celebrating his 1st birthday. What happened to our little baby? I'm so glad we've got a ton of pictures and video of those early days to look back on.

We went to our gym class this morning, but poor Brae's cutting 2 teeth at the same time, so he didn't have the best time. Still, he participated with the other children there, and did some of the activities. We were going through tunnels today - lots of fun. He was more clingy though than he has been, but that's ok. He'll have good days and bad like we all do.

So Happy 11-Month Birthday little Braeden. The next time I wish you Happy Birthday, you'll officially be a toddler - ack!! LOL!!

Braeden's Busy Week

2007-08-10T13:43:00.000-07:00

Braeden and I headed off for his 2nd Gymboree class earlier this week. It was his last level 2 class. Next week he moves on to where he should be, level 3 - 10-16 months. Now that he feels totally comfortable at the gym, he's more than ready to move on.

He's had a few adventures and minor mishaps this week. We've got a gigantic play yard in our living room (32 sq. ft.). Close to it is an antique "drum" table (about 36 inches round) that's been in my family for over 200 years.

One day this week Brae decided to climb onto a stool we've had in his play yard for him to use to pull himself up. It's not there now. I was playing in there with him when he put his knee on the stool, then pulled his other leg up, so he was kneeling on the stool. Grabbing the top of the play yard, it was nothing for him to pull himself to a standing position so he could bang on the table. I keep the camera in my pocket now, so was able to get pictures of him in action, and got a video of him going from kneeling to standing. Major danger lurks there though. Standing on the stool, the top of the play yard is below his waist, so if he leaned forward, over he'd go. Like I said, the stool isn't in there now.

Apparently my table was even closer than I thought. For his next trick, the next day Brae opened one of the drawers (only 2 open, the rest are false drawers), but I guess he couldn't see everything in there he wanted to see, so he pulled the drawer right out and it landed in his play yard. Thank God it didn't hit him, but it scared both of us half to death. I was in the play area with him, lying down with my eyes closed, obviously drifting off. I could hear him playing with the drawer handles like he always does, but never thought he could pull the drawer out. Needless to say the play yard is now further away from the drum table so he can't even reach the handles.

Yesterday he was playing in his play yard (no he's not in there as much as it sounds - he just gets into more trouble when he's in there now) while I uploaded some pictures to the computer, and he was totally enjoying his new game of picking up toys one by one and dropping them over the top and onto the carpet and/or ceramic tile. He's already broken a few electronic toys by throwing them on the tiles. He started to cry - he'd thrown one of his balls over the top, then decided he wanted it back, so stuck his arm through one of the slats to retrieve his ball - yep, he got his arm stuck above the elbow. It only took a second to free him, but by then he wanted some "hold me" time, and he got plenty.

After he'd settled down, I put him back in the "yard" so I could finish uploading the pictures. More crying. We got Brae a "phlat ball" which you push down in the middle so it goes totally flat, and then springs open into a ball. He loves playing with it, and if a finger or two gets caught when the ball "pops" he laughs and thinks it's funny. I've tried it myself to be sure, and it doesn't hurt at all. Not so when somehow he stuck his whole hand inside. He was waving the ball around, trying to get his hand out, but he needed mommy to push down on the ball a bit so his hand slid out.

No worse for wear, at that point I let him roam around while I finished up the pictures. Maybe Braeden doesn't want his pictures on the computer..hehe. He headed right for the stairs, and of course I hadn't closed the baby gate since he'd been in his play yard. Forget the pictures - I'll finish them later..hehe. I followed him as he climbed upstairs and roamed around up there awhile, then carried him back down.

Otherwise it's been a quiet week - yeah, right..hehe. He continues saying "wassat?" to everything he sees, inside the house, while we're out for our walks, at the store particularly where he wants to know the name of everything on each shelf. Of course right now he doesn't know what they mean, but out goes the hand towards an object he's interested in, then "wassat?" follows. After I tell him, he moves to the next object. It's funny. He's saying his name even more clearly now. I love how he says "Brae" - he rolls the "BR". He's also calling his dog by name now. I was on the phone last week when he called for his dog, and the person on the phone with me could hear him say the dog's name very clearly.

I hope it's a quieter weekend. Hope you all have a good one.

Braeden Rules the Gym

2007-08-01T11:38:00.000-07:00

Braeden had his first "real" Gymboree class yesterday, level 2 (6-10 months). He ruled that place, feeling totally comfortable and at home. The instructor said only one more class and then Brae moves up to level 3. He's way beyond the activities from yesterday, but at least he had a chance to become more familiar with the gym and the equipment there - he was crawling everywhere, racing over to the other babies so he could touch their faces. They didn't seem to mind, although you could tell they were probably wondering what this little person was doing racing towards them.

The instructor rings bells when a new activity is to begin - unless Braeden has made off with the bells, racing to the other side of the gym with them. She had to chase after him 3 times, to retrieve the bells, the faster she chased him, the faster he crawled, trying to make his great escape. She eventually had to hide them in her pocket.

The other babies were only 7 or 8 months old, so Braeden was far more advanced. He rocked...hehe. So we'll go back next week, and after that will be in the level 3 class. That class is earlier in the day, which works better for us with Brae's lunch and nap. It's a fun place though. Even I had a good time there.

Gymboree Classes

2007-07-30T14:52:00.000-07:00

We signed Braeden up yesterday for 10 weeks of Gymboree play classes at a new facility that opened up over the weekend just down the street from us.

We ended up going with the level 2 classes (6-10 months old), since we went to a trial level 3 class Saturday (10-16 months old) and poor Braeden had a total meltdown with all these little toddlers walking up to him. We had to leave, and they told us to come back Sunday and try a level 2 class. He started with a minor meltdown on Sunday too, but after a few minutes calmed down, and towards the end of the class had started to become more comfortable and was crawling around playing with some of the toys. The babies there were from 7-10 months old, much more his peers. One little girl was giving him the "eye"..hehe.

So we decided to try 10 level 2 classes. We had to pay yesterday, but they told us that if he doesn't become totally comfortable after another 2-3 classes, they'd refund our money, so it's worth a try. It's been very hard to get him out and about with other babies around his age. While there are about 10 of them in the neighborhood, nobody's ever around like they used to be (I have no idea where they all are, but I rarely see any of them at our park or out for walks).

This morning Brae went to work with daddy for a couple of hours. He had a very minor crying jag at first, but settled down quickly, and poor DH spent the majority of the time chasing Brae around the office, as he crawled everywhere exploring the new territory. Braeden's got some real separation anxiety right now though, that hopefully we can work through with the classes. Like at DH's office, he was fine until people came up to him, then he raced for DH. Still, all things considered, it's to be expected, and he's doing well.

He's now got 4 teeth fully through (he was slow getting those first teeth), and has taken to climbing the stairs from bottom to top, with one of us right behind him. He never misses a step though, and once he gets to the top he's off and crawling into all the rooms.

Brae took his first walking steps Saturday - only 3, but all on his own, without any support. Yipee!!! It's kind of scary knowing he'll be walking so soon, but the time has come.

As for his eating, he continues to devour his food. He's not real fond of stage 3 dinners, except the chicken noodle one, but our ped. said if that happened to just skip them and move onto the diced table foods, which is what I've done. So far he's only had green beans, pears, and chicken sticks, but he loves all of them. He's also sampled some restaurant food when we go out to eat, and he loves everything, except carrots. He looks so cute chewing everything up. He still gets his 20-24 ounces of formula, and is still eating stage 2 foods along with the dices, and he likes to drink bottled water in between, right from the bottle. We got small child-proof bottles for him with a sport cap, so he can sip away without worry he'll get the top off. He also loves his cups with straws. He's not fond of sippy cups he has to tip up in order to drink, but we're working on that, since I don't think he'll be drinking from a straw the rest of his life..hehe.

He needs another hair cut already. This with be the 6th one, and it's getting harder to cut myself. I'll keep going through until it's impossible. Everyone says I do a great job on his hair - that's incentive to keep cutting away awhile longer. I've taken to giving him hair cuts while he's in his high chair. That's about the only place he's reasonably still these days.

We're off this weekend to a luau. Brae's got a Hawaiian shirt and shorts for the occasion. It's at 4pm, so we'll be able to have some fun, and still get him home pretty close to his 7pm bedtime. Speaking of bedtime, he's still sleeping about 11 hours at night, straight through. He wakes up at 6am and plays with his toys in his crib, then after I take DP for her walk and get her breakfast ready, I go upstairs and bring Brae down to start his day.

Happy 10-Month Birthday!!

2007-07-21T18:59:00.000-07:00

We spent Braeden's 10-month birthday quietly at home, after a very busy week. He's getting more and more active all the time.

The little guy just went to bed, and to be honest, I'm totally wiped out, so suffice it to say, HAPPY 10-MONTH BIRTHDAY, Braeden!! And no more climbing the stairs please..hehe.

My Mother's Birthday

2007-07-17T12:22:00.000-07:00

I hope Braeden doesn't mind me posting on his site. Not many people come here now, so I guess this site is just for the two of us - me and my son. I think he'd approve.

Today would have been my mother's birthday - would have been, because she passed away many years ago. It doesn't make it any easier when her birthday rolls around each year. I still miss her and I always will. How I wish she could have known Braeden, how I wish he could have known her. It wasn't meant to be, and that's ok. I know she's watching over us, almost as though she were actually here.

A week from today would have been my father's birthday. Same situation - he passed away a long time ago too. It's hard on both dates, but harder on my mother's birthday - she and I were so very close.

I'm an orphan, no siblings, in fact no remaining family of my own. Until I met DH I spent years by myself, me and my dogs. Now DH is here, DP is here, and of course Braeden is here. While I love them all, I still feel so alone sometimes. I just want to call my mother today and wish her a happy birthday, have her over for tea and a visit. I know that will never happen in this life, but does it ever get any easier? I don't think so. I learned to go on, learned to cope without her, but that gaping hole will always be there, the emptiness sometimes overwhelming.

Braeden is my pride and joy, but he was born via surrogacy - I couldn't carry him and give birth to him. That honor belongs to someone else, and while she's the sweetest lady, and Braeden wouldn't be here without her, it's hard knowing that one day I'll be sitting Braeden on my lap and telling him about her, he'll spend time with her. Will he love me less? I hope not - God, I hope not. Sometimes I almost feel like I don't want to get too close to him, to let him know how very much I love him. Maybe that will shield me a bit from the biting pain I'd feel if he rejects me for the surrogate who carried him, who gave him life. Thankfully though, dealing with that is down the road.

Today I'm sad, depressed, in tears. Maybe it sounds silly at my age to say this, but I want my mom. I could really use a big hug from her. When I was growing up I used to ask her, "Mommy, how much do you love me?" and she always answered, "All the much's in the world". I've been teaching Braeden that little exchange, hoping to keep part of my own mother alive.

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

Busy Weekend

2007-07-16T12:17:00.001-07:00

Yikes, what a busy weekend we had, compared to our usual laid-back style.

Aunt Y. arrived on Saturday and was here for 4 hours. She was shocked at how big Braeden's gotten, at his teeth, his smile, how fast he can crawl. She hasn't been here for a couple of months, so lots of changes. After a great visit here, we all headed out for lunch. Braeden had a great time sitting at the table in the restaurant high chair (shopping cart cover in place). He was flirting with everybody who passed our table, waving and smiling and talking. I felt badly for the little girl at the next table (probably about 18 months old). Braeden was "flirting" with her, and he made her cry. He didn't seem to mind. When she started wailing, he turned back to eating his Cheerios and banging on the table again, trying to grab food off my plate.

After we finished our meal, we all came back to the house, and Aunt Y. was able to give Braeden his bottle and feed him his food. This is the first time she's been able to spoon feed him, and you could see the excitement on her face. Braeden's not particular who feeds him, as long as that food keeps coming. Aunt Y. is really looking forward to Braeden's birthday in September. She doesn't know where the time goes either. We're so lucky to continue having her in our lives.

Sunday we headed to the pet store to stock up on DP's food and treats, then went to Pizza Hut for lunch. Braeden got to sample his first mushrooms (the only thing on our pizza that didn't have sauce on it). He loved them. I gave him one little piece of soft pizza crust with a tiny amount of cheese on it, and that was a big hit. I didn't want to press my luck though, so left it at the one piece. He continued flirting with the people in the restaurant, and became so bold as to grab at the server's blouse as she passed by - she thought it was hilarious. Braeden let out a hearty laugh, so I guess he got a kick out of it too.

So today we're resting a bit. It's been very hot here, so we bit the bullet and dumped Braeden's sleep sack that he's slept in since we stopped swaddling him way back when, and let him sleep in just a little top and shorts his grandparents gave him a couple of weeks ago. He was much more comfortable, and seemed to sleep better. I kept checking the video monitor (will I ever give that thing up?) and he barely moved all night, whereas when he was wearing the sleep sack he moved a lot more. Now the mattress is at the lowest level, we have no fear of him tumbling out of his crib, which is why we persisted so long with the sleep sack. Now he can feel free to move about his crib, play with the little toys in there, turn on his aquarium music, and talk away to himself.

So all is well with us - Braeden will be 10 months old on Saturday.

9-Month Exam & Shots

2007-07-06T11:08:00.001-07:00

Braeden did great at the doctor's office this morning, unlike last time when he cried throughout the whole appointment. He was more interested in what was going on around him than in anything else, grabbing at everything within his reach. DH and I took separate cars so he could head right to work after the appointment, but he got stuck in traffic and only arrived at nearly the end. At least he made it.

Braeden weighs 20 pounds and 14 ounces (85th percentile), and measures 30 inches tall (95th percentile). Since he's had a cold, his pediatrician gave him a good going over, but the cold is gone for the most part, nothing to stop him from getting his vaccinations.

He only got 2 shots this time, one in each hip. Of course he cried, but as soon as the bandaids were on and he was back in my arms, he stopped crying, and started banging on the exam table, grabbing for the paper covering, banging on pictures which hang on the wall, he was having a great time exploring, the shots forgotten. He goes back in 3 months, early October, after his 1st birthday celebration.

I dressed him in his jean shorts and a top that has "Chick Magnet" on the front. The staff went totally nuts over his top, and as usual everyone commented on all that hair. He's due for hair cut #5, but I wanted to wait until this weekend, so it won't grow too much before his photo shoot next week. His pediatrician signed the form required, giving her authorization that Brae's good to go for the photo shoot. We'll go next Friday, but getting those pictures will be enough for me. I don't want to drag him all over town doing shoots.

He slept on our drive home, but has been very active since we got back, crawling around his expanded play yards, squealing, standing at his piano table and banging away on that. He's been cruising a lot lately, this morning he let go and took a step without holding onto anything. That was so awesome to see. He's finally settled down for a nap.

I nearly forgot. Brae's got the ok to start with table food only, we can stop any and all baby food at this point, although it'll be easier to keep going with it as we transition over. I'm no cook, so I'm not even really sure where to start with table food other than fruit. He's allowed to eat anything he wants now, and is even allowed a little whole milk, so long as we continue with his formula for the majority of the "milk" part of his diet until his 1-year birthday. Some of that baby food is gross - if I won't eat it, I sure won't feed it to my son.

Happy 4th of July!!

2007-07-04T06:47:00.001-07:00

I hope this finds all of you well, and that everyone (in the U.S. at least) has a very Happy Independence Day. I may be Canadian, but I still love a good celebration.

Braeden's cold is nearly gone, and he's really on the move. We went into the front yard yesterday so he could crawl around on the grass. I turned my back on him to close our courtyard gate, and there was Braeden halfway across our driveway, heading for the next door neighbor's house, and speeding right along. He wasn't too happy when I picked him up, but concrete and bare knees don't make for a good combination.

The two of us went visiting an elderly neighbor later in the afternoon. We're in the middle of a heatwave, and E. lives alone, so I'm kind of keeping an eye on her. She thoroughly enjoyed Braeden's visit. He was a bit timid at first, although we've been there many times before. But when I set him down on the carpet, he looked around for a few minutes, then off he went exploring this new territory. E. has hardwood floors, whereas we have ceramic tile. Braeden was fascinated by the hardwood, banging his hands on it and giggling. I guess he liked the feel of it.

DH ordered Braeden a new play yard so he'll have a place to crawl (inside and/or outside) but won't be able to get into trouble. He actually ordered two of them, so we can link them together and give Braeden 34 sq. ft. of crawling room, for short-term use only, like taking DP for a quick potty break while DH is still asleep. I put one of them together when they arrived. One wall of this thing is a "play wall" with all kinds of goodies to keep Braeden amused. I'd just put it together and placed him inside for an initial inspection, then ran upstairs to finish the laundry. Suddenly I heard the weirdest sound coming from the living room where Brae was. I looked down from upstairs (our upstairs is totally open to below, with a "bridge" going to the master bedroom suite - so you can look right down into the living room. There was Braeden playing with his new play wall, spinning everything, testing it out. Then he found the musical section, and was hitting all the buttons. He had a great time. This particular play yard has a gate on one side, so I opened it up and left it that way. Brae came crawling out, explored a bit, then went back inside to play more.

He did something different yesterday too. He's got a large plastic dragon with holes to drop little balls inside. It makes music when you do that, and the balls pop out different doors at the bottom. Somehow he got a little chicken he plays with inside one of the bottom doors. I watched (and videotaped) him for about 4 minutes, opening the door, trying to get his chicken out of there. The door doesn't stay opened, so he had to figure out how to hold it open with one hand, while he reached inside with his other hand. The concentration blew me away. But after a few minutes he turned and looked at me, and raised his right arm in the air. That's his signal that he needs help or wants something. I took that as my cue to help him get his chicken out, and after I retrieved it, he picked it up, raised his arm high, and said, "Yeah".

We don't have anything planned for today, except to maybe take in the picnic up at the neighborhood park. But we're in the middle of an excessive heat warning and the park has very little shade, so we may skip that and head for an indoor mall to roam around. Indoor malls are few and far between over here, but there's one only a few exits up the freeway. It'll be nice and cool there, and it's one place Brae hasn't been to yet.

He goes to the doctor Friday for the dreaded 9-month shots. Hopefully he'll do as well as the 6-month ones, without any type of reaction. The 4-month ones didn't go so well - he had a fever. The following Friday is Braeden's photo shoot. It's an informal event to get his little portfolio put together. He'll be a fisherman in one shot, a baseball player in another, and the 3rd will be him hanging out wearing jeans and a T-shirt, standing up on his piano table. Aunt Y. is coming down for a visit that weekend. It'll be great to see her again.

So enjoy and celebrate today, but stay safe.

Braeden's First Cold

2007-06-27T12:22:00.001-07:00

DH is a bit on the paranoid side when it comes to photos of Braeden being posted here. Somehow I don't think there's much in this picture to identify him, so here it is, and I really wanted you to see his favorite pose. He hasn't figured out yet how to stand upright without some form of support, but he's getting the hang of it.

My poor little man awoke this morning with a runny nose, sneezing, a little cough. It looks like he's got his first cold (or maybe allergies - we've all got those right now).

He's teething big time, that's for sure, and is very cuddly. I broke down and gave him Tylenol drops, which he hasn't had since the slight fever he got with his 4-month shots. Those work too well. In about 30-45 minutes he was raring to go again, crawling all over the place, and at a faster pace than usual.

We're all very lucky - at 9 months and 1 week, this is his first cold. He doesn't seem in any discomfort now, but refuses to take a nap. He's too busy standing up in his play yard. Braeden and I had to take our dog to the vet yesterday. It was a much better trip than the last time we all went together. Our DP (dear puppy) is much more used to Braeden and the stroller now, and while we waited, she sat right next to the stroller. Brae looked at her a few times, but he was much too busy waving at everyone who came through the door. In the exam room, he took to waving at the vet when she came in - waving is his latest "I love doing this" thing.

Happy 9-Month Birthday!!

2007-06-21T10:40:00.001-07:00

Happy 9-month birthday, Braeden!! I know you're going to have a wonderful day today, crawling all over the house, playing in the grass in the front yard.

You're not a baby any longer. It's sad in a way to see the days of babyhood give way to your toddler period, yet I love seeing your little teeth when you smile at me, I love chasing you around as you crawl so fast towards your dog to say good morning, I love seeing you enjoy your meals. I love watching you wave at daddy and me when you see us in the morning, and at various times throughout the day. I love how you still want to cuddle, although not as often as you did when you were younger. I love watching you play with your toys, figuring out new ways of doing things. I love hearing you say "yeah," "hey", "daddy", "mama". I love everything about you.

Braeden weighs 20 pounds and is 30 inches long, is one very happy fellow. He's one very busy little guy too, and over the next few months he's probably going to be even busier. You see, Braeden now has a modeling contract. This was a totally unexpected turn of events, but living where we do, not totally surprising. It's only for 6 months, and only for the odd print ad, but out of 100 babies, he was one of 8 selected. We're taking it all one step at a time at this point. If Brae isn't happy with photo shoots, we're finished. His happiness is the most important thing. On the other hand, if he's able to do a few shoots so we can put aside some money in his trust fund, he'll have a nice little nest egg down the road for college, or for whatever else he may want to do. The law here requires a trust fund be established to protect any money he earns. Never would we let anyone exploit our little man in any way, nor would we do that. But we'll give this a chance and see how it goes.

Braeden's met each and every milestone to date, and goes in 2 weeks for his 9-month check-up and more of those charming shots - only 2 shots this time thankfully. We've got some questions for his pediatrician on the #3 dinners. Those dinners have such big chunks in them that he doesn't enjoy eating them, and all of them have carrots as the top ingredient. Brae and carrots do not agree with each other, so I'm not sure where we'll go from here. He's loving his finger foods, so is able to handle chewing without a problem. #3 fruits and veggies are great, it's those dinners that are the problem. I'm sure there's an answer.

I'm sorry I don't post much, but it seems like the following we had with "Our Miracle Baby" has disappeared, and I keep a written journal so don't post here that often now. I'll keep updating occasionally though. It's hard to believe we'll only be saying "Happy __-Month Birthday" two more times - then it'll be his 1st birthday - hard to believe he's nearly a year old.

Braeden's Adventures

2007-05-31T14:16:00.000-07:00

Braeden's been a busy little guy the past week, having some fun adventures.

This past weekend was our wedding anniversary. We all went out for lunch, the three of us. Since Braeden's outgrown his 2nd car seat (due to his length) and we've moved on to a convertible one that will last him until he weighs 65 pounds, we've had to carry him, or use his stroller. No more car seat to conveniently sit on the table at restaurants, or in a shopping cart. So at this particular restaurant, Braeden sat in one of their high chairs for the first time. He wasn't real fond of it - kind of hard on his little behind - so we put him back in his stroller.

I ordered a great meal which included a baked potato. On a separate little plate I mashed some up and let Brae try it. He loved it. It's so funny watching him chew, his two little bottom teeth glistening white. He sat back and enjoyed his first taste of "adult" food. I can feel the top teeth, but they haven't broken through yet. Mashed bananas are next on the new food list.

After we left the restaurant, we went and got a supermarket cart cover, so I'll once again be able to easily take Brae shopping with me. I did that yesterday, and it was fantastic. I parked right next to a cart corral so I could leave Brae comfortably in the car with the door open while I quickly grabbed a cart. Never having put one of those things on before, I was pleased to see not many people around, nobody paying much attention to me, although I must admit that it was very easy to put on, and the belt loops very easily behind the cart seat to securely attach the cover to the cart itself.

Brae seemed very comfortable sitting in his new shopping cart cover, his favorite toy with him, and off we went into the store. My only concern was that without a baby car seat or stroller, he had no coverage from the sun, but he was wearing his sun visor so that kept the sun off his face, and it's a short walk into the store. He wasn't real happy traveling backwards, and was constantly turning around to look where we were heading. He wasn't too interested in where we'd already been..hehe. But he did great, seemed to enjoy himself and the sights, and visiting with a few people who stopped to chat. Boy, this is the only way to go for me. I won't be hesitant to take him anywhere now. If the store has a cart, I've got the cover for it. If it doesn't, I've got Brae's stroller.

Early this afternoon we headed up to the park, which is just up the street from our house. It's a great place for dogs, kids, family picnics. Nobody was there today. I was very happy to see that, because I wanted to try out something else, and I get nervous that I'll look like a total dork if there are experienced mothers around. I know everybody has to do all this stuff for the first time at some point, but if I can manage it without people watching, it's much easier.

There are two baby swings at the park. Braeden loves swinging in his swing at home, rocking back and forth to get it moving, so I thought I'd try him in a park swing. OMG, he absolutely loved it. He hung onto the chains on either side of the swing (thank God for baby wipes..eww), and laughed, throwing his head back as I gently pushed him. We stayed at the park in the shade for about half an hour, but he was only in the swing about 5 minutes.

So as you can see, Braeden's been a busy guy this week. We have to lower the mattress in his crib this weekend. When he sits up in the morning to play (even wearing his sleep sack), he can look over the crib railing, so it's time to drop the mattress down a notch. His new thing this week is pushing up from his tummy to a sitting position. When he was first trying it, I wasn't sure what he was doing, but now he's an old pro at it. Once he's sitting up, he drops down to his tummy and does it again - over and over again..hehe. He's more fun every day!!

Happy 8-Month Birthday!!

2007-05-21T10:14:00.001-07:00

Happy 8-month Birthday, Braeden!!

Every day I find it hard to believe that Brae is growing and developing so fast, and here we are at his 8-month birthday already. I think I'll always wonder where the time goes. It seems like only yesterday he was born, not 8 months ago. A true miracle!!

Braeden's Baptism on Saturday was beautiful. We've got some great video, and will have the CD with the pictures either later today or tomorrow. He looked so gorgeous in his little white suit, although it was pretty snug - the buttons down the back held, but were gaping open. You'd never know from the front thankfully. Braeden fell asleep in my arms during the entire ceremony, and only awoke when they poured the baptismal water over his head, a few tears, then he was too busy looking at everything to cry. After the ceremony, we headed home so he could have a short nap before we were off to the reception. There were a lot of people there, but he seemed to enjoy himself. Aunt Y. sat with us, and gave him his bottle. We took his food with us, but knew not much would manage to reach his mouth, let alone be eaten while he was so busy socializing, so we waited until we got home to give hm the rest of his meal and a snack. He was having no part of sitting in his chair at the restaurant - he wanted to be held. DH's sister carried him around to all the different tables so people could see him up close. That gave us a chance to grab some of the scrumptious food from the buffet tables.

He's visiting with his grandparents today. DH's family is still in town, and they wanted to take care of Braeden one more time before they all head home tomorrow. I'm greedy though - they can have him for 4 hours, but I want him home this afternoon. He's still exhausted from being there all day Thursday, and his Baptismal celebrating Saturday. His teeth are erupting fast and furious now, and he's not feeling the best today. He managed to untie one of the bumper ties on his crib somehow and was chewing on it early this morning. I saw him on the video monitor. I went in and re-tied it, and he fell asleep again. It's time to put a teething ring in his bed with him, and the bumper will have to be removed soon. He sleeps in a sleep sack at night, so there's no worry about him standing up and trying to climb out when I'm not there. Those things are great - for warmth, and also for the safety factor.

I joined the "Baby's First Disney Books" book club, and received notice this morning that Brae's first shipment is on the way. It'd be so cool if his first books arrive today, on his birthday. He's got a ton of board books passed along from friends, and while he's been enjoying all of them, "My Train" being his favorite, they're all pretty well chewed up by prior owners. He's constantly grabbing at them to do some chewing of his own, but we've managed to keep them out of his mouth. Now he'll have his own books, some great books btw, that he can hold and gnaw on while we're reading him his stories, without wondering where they've been previously.

So Happy Birthday my little wiggle worm. The next few hours will give me time to reflect on the past 8 months, pouring over all the pictures from his birth to the present.

Baptism Tomorrow

2007-05-18T14:04:00.001-07:00

Braeden's Baptism is finally tomorrow. It's been hectic trying to book a time with our church because there have been so many babies born in the past several months, and only a few days short of 8 months old is pretty late, but tomorrow is the day at last.

After the ceremony we're heading to a Chinese buffet restaurant for the reception. It looks like there'll be about 50 people there, so it should be lots of fun. Brae's becoming more and more social all the time, so I know he'll have fun being the center of attention. He loves it when the ladies stop to admire his hair..hehe. DH got him a blue onesie with "Chick Magnet" in black on the front. He looks awesome wearing that and his denim shorts.

DH's sister bought Braeden his Baptismal outfit - a little white satin suit, tie included. Sadly, he grew so much between the time she got it for him and now, that DH had to go out and buy him the next size up. Even that's snug, but hopefully we'll be able to get him to suck in his gut a bit to fasten the buttons down the back...hehe. One of our friends will be taking the photographs, another friend doing the video.

DH's whole family has arrived for the celebration. Sadly, all of my family is deceased. I know they'd be so proud of Braeden, and I wish they could be at his Baptism. They will be in spirit. Brae's aunts and cousins babysat him all day yesterday, and from all accounts and the pictures they took, he had a blast. DH's sister has 3 children, all girls, the youngest one being 5 years old. She took over a lot Brae's care and entertainment, got on the floor to play with him, made sure he didn't have too many toys to play with at one time. DH and I joined them all last night for a family dinner. We ate in the dining room, while the kids ate in the kitchen. The little 5-year-old came running in, "Braeden's got a water bottle, he's ripped off the paper and is trying to eat it". He loves water bottles, and it appears someone left it too close to the edge of the kitchen table where he could reach it from his portable high chair that we had fastened to a kitchen chair.

After we all finished eating, it was time for Brae's dinner. DH's sister gave him his bottle, then sitting in his high chair, the two youngest children fed him his food, taking turns alternating between his meat and veggie. He thoroughly enjoyed his meal.

While Brae was off socializing with his cousins, I was out stocking up on more food, formula, diapers, wipes - he was running out of everything at the same time. I got some #3 foods, although he's yet to try them. We want to wait until after the Baptism tomorrow to introduce new foods, just in case. So far he hasn't had a problem with anything, and loves all his food, so I know he'll do great with these new foods.

I gave him the fourth hair cut of his young life a couple of days ago. DH once again said it was too short, but it's not. He looks so adorable. His hair was growing so fast he'd developed bangs that were so long they were hanging in his eyes. Not a problem now..hehe.

DP (dear puppy) is at a pet hotel this weekend. It would have been way too hectic for her (and me) if she was home with all the company we've had and will have Saturday, and she was overdue for a mini-vacation. We pick her up Sunday morning. She loves that place, always has a great time. I really miss her, and so does Braeden. He looks for "my dog" in the morning when I bring him downstairs.

Then Monday is Braeden's 8-month birthday. Wow, where did that time go? He's got several teeth coming in now. All have broken through the surface, but aren't fully in yet. They're becoming more visible each day. He's started crawling - backwards. He doesn't go far, preferring to continue rolling around the room as a means of getting where he wants to go.

I'll post more next week.

Teeth At Last

2007-05-10T11:55:00.000-07:00

We were starting to think Braeden would be going through life gumming his food, but we've finally got teeth breaking through the surface - 5 or 6 of them in total, top and bottom.

He's been taking this teething thing in stride until last night, when he was a bit cranky during his evening meal, not real interested in his food - highly unusual for Miss Piggy's nephew. Normally he eats everything presented to him. Towards the end of his meal he had a few tears, so I threw out the little bit of food left, and held him for awhile.

He doesn't have many cranky times, and is very easy going. So after some snuggle time we played on his puzzle mat, I read him a couple of stories, then we headed upstairs for bed at 7:30 p.m. He cried for about 15 seconds, then was out like a light, not to be heard from until 6:00 a.m. today. Maybe he wasn't cranky because of the teeth so much as the fact he was tired. He doesn't sleep much during the day - a couple of short naps is it for him. Another factor is that it's been close to 100 degrees here the past few days, and we've all been feeling the heat.

Braeden did enjoy a nice tepid bath last evening. Sheesh, break out the snorkeling gear. He grabbed 2 wash cloths from the side of his tub, and proceeded to splash with both of them, one in each hand. I was drenched from head to toe, but loved every minute of it, and Braeden was laughing so hard I know he was having the time of his life.

I'm going to have to get baby gel for his hair though. This is getting ridiculous. I've now cut his hair a total of 3 times, and it continues to grow faster than I can keep cutting it. When he woke up this morning it was all standing straight up, and he'd had his bath 3 hours before bedtime, so I know it was totally dry before I put him in his crib. I wet it down and tried styling it again, but it's a lost cause. Time to gel it...hehe.

Happy Mother's Day everyone. Enjoy whatever it is you've got planned!!

Happy 7-Month Birthday

2007-04-21T12:40:00.000-07:00

Happy 7-month birthday, Braeden!! At this point it feels like you've always been part of our lives. I can't even remember what things were like without you here. What a joy you are to everyone you know. As I write this, he naps.

Still no teeth, but that doesn't stop him from devouring his meals. I've noticed this past week that he's not drinking quite as much formula as he used to, it being slowly replaced by all the yummy foods he's now eating three times a day. His 24-hour formula total is down by only 3-4 ounces, but he's gradually wanting less, and what he does drink he now wants from his cup moreso than his bottle. He really does love to eat, particularly his oatmeal in the morning.

Personally I love his evening meal the most. DH isn't home from work then, which is sad, but Brae proudly sits in his high chair, his dog roaming around or lying under the kitchen table in hopes of some food hitting the floor, which doesn't happen often, but she keeps hoping. I have the television on, which Brae can see while he eats, and he glances over periodically for a look. But mostly he's intent on gobbling down that food. If DH were here, it would be my idea of the perfect family meal. At least we've got weekends for that.

Braeden's been sitting totally on his own for about 3 weeks. While he's still not crawling, he's taken to rolling around the room to get from point A to point B and so far it's working for him. Man, he can cross our living room in seconds. I'm surprised he doesn't make himself dizzy..hehe. His new excitement is standing next to the couch, his hands on the seat for support. He stands there for 2-3 minutes, looking around, but hasn't taken the plunge of trying to cruise yet.

He's thoroughly enjoying playtime. DH got him 4 "high tech" toys, meaning they run on batteries, have flashing lights, make music or sounds, and while he enjoys them, he usually returns to the old stand-bys - his blocks, teething rings, teddy bear, his mirror with pictures on the back, his exersaucer. One of the "high tech" toys he enjoys the most is his "driving console". He beeps the horn, turns the steering wheel, shifts gears, and has even figured out how to use the "key" to turn it on and off.

This past week he started saying "mama", "dada", and "daw", which I think is his version of "dog". Obviously he doesn't know what the sounds mean yet, but he's using those three a lot. He's also just started singing, "lalalala". And he loves to scream when he gets excited, that and a lot of giggling.

We moved him up to a larger bath tub, and he really enjoys that. He has more room to kick his legs and splash. It's harder to rinse his hair, which will need another trim very soon, but he doesn't mind water on his face at all - he thinks it's funny. That hair of his is totally amazing. It's dark brown but with a lot of red and reddish blonde highlights. And it's growing so fast. I've already cut it twice, and DH and I will have to attempt cut #3 very soon. It won't be as easy now because he won't sit still for long, but hopefully between the two of us we'll manage to make him neater. He has a natural part on the left side, and the hair on the right is so long it's falling into his eyes, even though I comb it straight back after his baths. Once it's dry, down it comes.

His library of DVDs is expanding. He gets an educational one in the morning, and a fun one before his evening meal. They're mainly Baby Einstein ones, but he's got favorites that he enjoys. It's amazing how his personality has developed so far already.

Aunt Y. was supposed to come for a visit today, but she's come down with a very bad cold, so opted to stay away - good plan. That's the last thing we need, for us to get sick. Hopefully we'll be able to get together next weekend instead.

So Happy 7-month Birthday little Braeden. I hope you have a wonderful day.

6 Month Check Up

2007-04-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

Braeden went for his 6-month check up on Wednesday (the 4th). He weighs 17 pounds and 7 ounces, is 27.5 inches long, head circumference is 17 inches. Physically and developmentally he's right on target, healthy as a horse. We move onto Stage 2 foods now, which I think he's more than ready for. Like Oliver's mommy, I'll be careful to only introduce one new food at a time. Braeden does love to eat. He's started cutting back his formula on his own, not drinking quite as much as he did before he started solid foods.

He did great until his pediatrician put him on the examining table. He started crying his head off, almost screaming, and she hadn't even touched him. Since he was so upset, she didn't do too much in the way of an exam. From that screaming, she knew his lung function is excellent..hehe. Even after she left the room, he continued to cry so hard that I was joining him. It was so hard to watch him like that, but he remembered being there last time I think, and didn't want any part of it.

He got some different vaccinations this time, but the same number as two months ago; an oral vaccine, and 4 shots (2 in each hip). He was already crying so much, I couldn't even tell when he got the shots. But once we got him loaded up in his car seat and he had his toys to hold onto, he calmed down and was fine. He had no reaction whatsoever this time around, whereas at 4 months he had a lot of pain and a slight fever. He's a bit quiet today, but he was so "chatty" yesterday I'm not surprised he needs a rest today.

Time for his mid-morning meal. He's taking a short nap, but I know he'll be wide awake once he sees that bottle of milk (formula, but we're calling it milk). He knows the sign language for milk now, opening and closing his fingers when he sees his bottle. That's the only one he's picked up yet.

Our neighborhood is having an Easter Egg Hunt and block party Saturday. Braeden's not old enough obviously for egg hunting, but the park is just up the street, so we'll take him up there for some socialization time. He'll have fun, and next year he'll be able to hunt for those eggs with the other children.

For those celebrating various holidays this weekend, I hope you have a great time.

Happy 6-Month Birthday

2007-03-21T16:06:00.000-07:00

Braeden is 6 months old today - where did that time go? It feels like weeks, not months since he was born.

He was awake early, playing in his crib, almost like he knew this was a special day. He constantly sleeps on his tummy now, and no amount of flipping him over works. He rolls right back onto his tummy before I leave his room. He can roll over from tummy to back though, so I don't worry as much as I did when he had trouble doing that. So I let him sleep on his tummy, although it still makes me a little nervous. DH set up the tripod so I could videotape today's events for posterity.

In the past few days he's started pushing up on his hands during tummy time. He's desperately trying to crawl, but so far it looks like he's swimming - he's not moving an inch. He's found a way to move around though - he keeps rolling over in the same direction.

He's had such a wonderful and busy day that he's fallen sound asleep in his play yard with his toys. He was on the go almost all day. DH bought him some new teething rings last night on the way home. No teeth yet, but from all the drooling and chewing on everything, I think they aren't far from breaking through. His new teething rings are fantastic. One's shaped like a dragonfly, the wings being different textures but soft so he won't hurt himself when he bites down on them. The other is round, with "bubbles" of soft material he can chew on. I haven't chilled either in the fridge yet, but both suggest doing that.

DH also got Braeden a puppet for he and I to play with. He loves the puppets on his Baby Einstein DVDs, and seeing one for real, being able to touch it, he's thrilled. A couple of board books rounded out Braeden's half-year birthday gifts. He's more interested in chewing on the books than looking at them..hehe.

We're moving right along with the #1 fruits and veggies. Bananas were on the menu for the first time today - not a big hit by any means. In fact, they're the first food he really didn't like. He ate them, but made a face at every spoonful. He wasn't too fond of pears at first either, but seems to like them now. All the veggies have been a hit. I really think he finds the fruits a bit too sweet, not a bad thing.

In a couple of weeks we head back to the pediatrician for the next round of the dreaded vaccinations, and his well-baby exam. We're certainly not looking forward to that, since he had pain and a slight fever with the 4-months shots. Hopefully it won't be as bad this time, but from what I've heard it will be.

I hear him talking to himself in the other room, so I'm off to see what he's doing. It's nearly time for his DVD. Tonight he'll be watching the new Baby Einstein DVD "My First Signs" hopefully to teach him sign language so he'll be able to communicate sooner than he'll be able to talk. I'll keep you posted on new developments.

New Veggies

2007-03-04T12:04:00.000-08:00

Braeden's been enjoying his peas and pear juice the past 5 days, so we gave him his first taste of green beans this morning (the other veggie his doctor recommended for his little "stinky" problem). Everything seems to be settling down there now, and he seems to like the green beans even more than he does the peas. Cool, so far so good.

I had an awful ordeal Friday with the eye surgeon. To recap, I had eye cancer nearly 2 1/2 years ago, for which I had radiation treatment. The good news is that the cancer is gone, the tumor along with it. Sadly though, the radiation did damage to my retina, blood vessels left over from the tumor were leaking fluid. Six weeks ago I underwent laser surgery to kill off those leaking blood vessels. Friday was my post-surgery check-up.

Not good news. There was more fluid in there. They decided the best way to treat the problem was to give me an injection of steroids, then and there. I'm almost glad I didn't have to wait a week, because I'd have been a raving lunatic knowing it was coming. I really hate waiting for medical appointments, and/or results. So as unnerving as it was, I agreed to let them do the injection. This steroid medication needs to be positioned at my retina, so the injection was right through my eyeball (sorry to gross you out - it did a number on me too). Even though they numbed my eye with a bunch of gel, when that needle went through my eye and out the back side, I screamed in pain. It was horrendous, but at least it's over. The medication will remain in there for 3 months, before it dissipates on its own.

My vision's doing very weird things now - I can see the medication in there, in the form of floaters that look to be the size of a dime, and some areas of vision are totally black. They warned me about these phenomena, and said things should clear up in a couple of weeks. Then I have to go back for another sound of laser surgery - does it ever end?

Other than the excruciating pain of the injection into my eye, the worst part of having it is that I have to be extremely careful for the first three days, the hardest thing being that I can't pick up Braeden. Thankfully it's the weekend so DH has been taking care of him for the most part. Still, it's so hard not to pick the little guy up. I've done it a couple of times anyway - they said if I keep the lifting it to a minimum it should be ok. I'm also not allowed to lie down for three days and nights - tonight will be my last night sleeping in the recliner. I have antibiotic drops to put in four times a day for four days, but that's not a biggy. It's not being able to pick up Braeden that's so hard, but I'll have to a day early, since DH goes back to work tomorrow and there's nobody else to help me. Brae will have to settle for minimal snuggling Monday, but after that, I'll make it up to him.

I hope you are all having a great weekend. Counting down to spring - yipee!! Oh yeah, don't forget the time change is next Saturday night/Sunday morning - and the clocks go forward. I actually did it one year, turned them back in the spring - duh..hehe.

Braeden Graduates

2007-02-26T11:30:00.000-08:00

Braeden has graduated to fruits and veggies as of today. A bit early, but his doctor said it's time. He was constipated again over the weekend, even though he's been off cereal for the past week. So I called his pediatrician this morning, and she said that with a lot of formula-fed babies she recommends skipping the cereal entirely if there's a problem, and going straight to #1 peas or green beans, in addition to pear or prune juice, to give him the extra fiber his little body is obviously craving, even though he's only 5 months and 1 week old.

So this morning he had his first 2 tablespoons of peas, and he loved them. DH is picking up some pear juice on his way home from work tonight, and we'll start that. Braeden's to have 1-2 tablespoons of #1 peas and 1-2 tablespoons of pear juice 3 times a day for 5 days, to be sure he's not allergic to either, then we can switch to the green beans and real #1 pears. I think we'll skip the prune juice if the pear juice works. So he's arrived at yet another milestone.

He woke me up at 5:30 this morning (his usual time) talking away to himself. I turned on the video monitor, and all I could see was the bottom of his sleep sack. Somehow during the night he moved around so his head was at the foot of his crib, his feet where his head was supposed to be. When I went into his room and turned on his lamp, there he was smiling at me, looking kind of like the cat who ate the canary. I moved him back into his normal sleeping position (we've got a waterproof cover over that area to avoid any spit-up problem) while I mixed his formula. After he downed that and had his little constipated bowel movement, he happily went back to sleep for another hour, before I got him up for his morning DVD and tummy time.

Aunt Y. was here over the weekend. She brought him a new toy - a tractor, with 3 stackable farm animals. It's for ages 6 months and up, but Braeden's already batting it around, knocking the animals off the tractor, then picking up the tractor to stick the wheels in his mouth. He has no idea yet what to do with the toy, but he seems to like it so far. She also brought him some new socks, and two adorable outfits - one for 12 months, the other for 18 months. It was great seeing her again. We try and have her over for a visit close to each monthly birthday, and we've asked her to be one of his God Mothers at his baptism, which will be sometime in May. She cried when we asked her - she's never had that happen before, and she was very touched that we'd ask her.

I'll post again after I see what happens with Braeden eating peas and drinking pear juice. Hopefully it'll solve his constipation problem and he won't be allergic to them so we can move on to green beans and real pears (instead of juice).

Braeden Photos

2007-02-13T16:54:00.000-08:00

I'd like nothing better than to post photos of Braeden here, but DH prefers I don't do that. His job position is such that he wants this blog to remain as anonymous as possible.

However, if anyone would like photos of Braeden, please don't hesitate to email me directly with your own email address, and I'd be more than happy to send a few to you, the small variety so they won't fill up your email quota. He has totally awesome hair - no kidding. He lost some on the sides and back, but for the most part what he was born with is still there and growing very fast. He'll need a hair cut soon, or some major gel applications so he doesn't look like a troll with dark brown hair standing straight up..hehe.

Braeden continues to enjoy his cereal. We're still doing it only once a day, but will go to twice a day in the next couple of weeks. The Bumbo chair works great for feeding, leaving both my hands free, since he's not exactly sitting up totally on his own enough to try feeding him that way. Now that would be messy..hehe. Plus, we put it on the couch while we're sitting there so he can sit between DH and I. He looks so pleased with himself sitting beside us.

I do have one development that seems weird to me, but then this is my first time doing this, so it's probably what all these little ladies and gentlemen do at about 5 months old (he'll be 5 months in a week). After he eats his cereal, we return to his bottle for the rest of his meal. The only problem is, he doesn't want to drink from the nipple. No, he wants the top off and to drink directly from the bottle, as if it's a cup. We don't have any cups for him yet, so that's how we're doing it until we're able to buy some real cups. We've done research which suggests he should learn to drink straight from a cup before using a sippy cup, so that's the route we're going. I get the biggest kick out of him drinking without the nipple and collar on the bottle, but has anyone else encountered this?

One thing I'm not sure of is how much cereal he should eat as he gets closer to 6 months and the start of his fruits and veggies. I know we're supposed to work up to three times a day, but how much at each feeding baffles me. The cereal box says to start with 1 tablespoon mixed with 4-5 tablespoons of formula (or water), and that seems to be his limit right now. Does it stay at that amount, just more frequently? New motherhood is really showing here, isn't it?

He continues to outgrow his clothes. This is getting scary. I swear baby clothes must shrink at some point in the laundering process..lol. He's wearing 6-9 months, which is appropriate for his weight, but what's after that? 12 months? It seems from what I've seen that after 9 months things are labeled differently, at least here. I have no idea what 4T is, and he has some of those for later - they're huge. We'll need to go on a shopping trip before long, and it's a maze out there. We received some things that are marked as 12 months, 18 months, even 24 months, but the majority of the clothing items don't seem to be marked that way. Help!

We're breaking out the Exersaucer this weekend after we clean it up. Most of our big items were inherited from friends, and need a good cleaning. I know he's going to love that thing. Will keep you posted on further developments, and don't forget that if you'd like a few photos, just let me know at my email address. I wish I could post them here, but DH would have a cow..lol.

Shots Not Fun

2007-02-07T18:43:00.000-08:00

I'm so relieved Braeden's 4-month-old shots are behind us, and I'm sure he is too. He had a bit of a reaction this time (which he didn't at 2 months). Nothing major, some pain and a little fever, but Tylenol helped and he was fine in a couple of days.

He weighs 15 pounds, 5 ounces, is 25 1/2 inches long, and is doing great. His pediatrician said we could start messing around with the cereal eaten from a spoon stuff, so we're doing that, and he's doing very well. He loves that cereal. We're just experimenting for now, mainly getting him used to the spoon. We got him a "Bumbo"chair to help him sit up (he still needs some support), and that's working great for the spoon feeding. Thank goodness we also got one of those rubberized bibs with a big pocket to catch drippings..hehe.

His babbling has turned more to squealing, which goes on for most of the day. He only takes a couple of short naps, otherwise he's a busy little guy. Since he discovered his feet and toes, he's content to lie in his bed for an hour playing with them and sucking on his toes. Too cute. I guess naps are going to keep lessening. That's fine with me. I love playing - he's so much fun, loves everything. Let's hope that carries on to fruit and veggies when he reaches that point in about 6 weeks.

Will write more later.

Laser Surgery

2007-01-28T06:49:00.000-08:00

This is Braeden's mommy. For those who followed our previous blog "Our Miracle Baby", some of you may recall that I had eye cancer two years ago, for which I was treated by a radiation plaque during two eye surgeries. The good news is that the cancer is gone. There always seems to be a flip side.

The radiation did some major damage to my retina. I ended up with radiation retinopathy, had some blood vessels that were leaking, causing my retina to swell, me to have discomfort, and my vision to begin deteriorating.

Friday I was back at the eye surgeon for laser surgery on my eye to zap those blood vessels, stop the leaking, and hopefully restore some of my lost vision, but at least to stop it deteriorating any further.

The procedure wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. I was there a total of two hours, and the actual laser part only took about 10 minutes. The worst part was when they gave me two numbing injections around my eye - not a fun thing. I left sporting an ugly patch, but only had to wear it the rest of Friday, then could remove it.

My eye is still red and swollen, a bit sore, but thankfully I didn't get the horrendous headache I was told to expect. A mild little thing that a few Advil took care of. The surgeon said I'd know in a week how much my vision would improve. I already notice some improvement, and hope it continues.

As for Braeden, he's doing great at 4 months, 1 week old today. We go to his pediatrician this week for his 4-month round of shots and check-up. Not looking forward to that, but hopefully he'll do as well with this batch as the last. He's fast becoming a very busy little guy, although he has a definite hair problem. There's so much of it that it stands straight up, even after a bath and even after using a blow dryer to try styling it. He kind of looks like one of those troll dolls (I may be dating myself on that one). Everyone's told us from the start that he'd lose all his baby hair, but so far while it's thinned out some at the back and on the sides, the top isn't showing any signs of thinning, and continues to grow. He's in desperate need of a hair cut, although I hate to do that in case there's still a chance it'll all fall out. We've cut a couple of snippets for his baby book, just in case.

Has anyone out there had a baby whose hair did not all fall out somewhere between birth and 6 months of age? His pediatrician said he may lose it or may not. We'll see what she says this week. Every outing we take him on, his hair is always the topic of conversation, but people keep saying it's only a matter of time until it's all gone - I hope not. I love his hair too.

I'm following your blogs, just not commenting too much. Wishing you all well, and will post again after Braeden's appointment this week.

Sleeping Through The Night

2006-12-22T14:21:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm sleeping through the night now, and have been for about a week. They say it's 9-10 hours. I can't tell time yet, so I'll have to take their word for it.

I know mommy and daddy have been changing my feeding times over the past few weeks. I could never figure it out, but knew that they'd feed me when it was time. I can always eat my hands while I'm waiting. I'm a patient little guy.

Sure enough, after that last food of the evening, daddy (sometimes mommy) takes me upstairs to my room, lies me in my crib, then swaddles me tightly. I don't like it while he's doing it (I cry sometimes), but once I'm securely wrapped up like a burrito, I feel so safe and warm. He turns on a CD of relaxing baby music, and my "stars". That's a cool deal - it's a turtle, and when you turn it on it projects real constellations all over my room, in one of three colors - amber, green, blue. Daddy always puts on the blue one to supposedly relax me. Personally, I find looking at stuff around the room more relaxing, but if it makes him happy, I'm all for it.

Then he stands by the crib stroking my hair, going "shhhhhh", and before I know it I'm starting to relax and drift off to sleep. Mommy does the same routine if daddy's late getting home, but I think daddy does it better.

The next thing I know mommy's standing next to my crib. I'm usually awake by the time she comes in, but I don't need to cry because she's right there (monitors work wonders, especially video monitors). She gets me up, changes my diaper, then I get to eat again. After that we sit in the rocker in my room and she lets me look out my window. It's dark at 6:00 a.m., but if we sit there awhile, I can start to see things outside. Then she lies me in my crib again and disappears somewhere for awhile. I amuse myself looking at my bear, my wallpaper border, anything to pass the time.

Back in she comes, with clothes on instead of "pj's" and her hair brushed, scoops me up, and downstairs we go where she lets me watch the Christmas tree lights while she takes care of my dog. She says it takes about half an hour, but that's when they go for a walk too, which is most mornings. She'll have to figure out something else to amuse me after the tree's gone. She may be ready for that, because some mornings she puts me in front of the TV and I watch a Baby Einstein DVD for 20 minutes or so. My favorite so far is Mozart, but the Beethoven one is pretty good too.

So that's my story of sleeping through the night, and the routine mommy and daddy have going for all of us. It works for me, and I get enough uninterrupted sleep that I'm good for the day, with about 3 naps. All this playing is exhausting ya know. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!!

Now This Is Cool

2006-12-13T14:40:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to get through to mommy and daddy that I'm bored as all get out lying here watching my mobile day after day. I mean really, I'll be 3 months old next week. Ok, they got me these cool Baby Einstein DVDs so now I can sit in my bouncer and watch one of those in the morning. I like em ok, but they're not long enough. And I can only sit in front of the Christmas tree for so long, smiling at the lights.

Whoa, did I get a surprise yesterday. I finally got through to them. My activity mat arrived and I'm pumped for it. I cried a bit at first - didn't want them to know how excited I was. Sadly though, I couldn't stop from drooling at all the cool stuff on that thing. There's even this thing that helps me get out my frustrations and strengthens my legs at the same time. I heard them call it a kick plate or something. All I know is that if I kick it hard some really cool sounds happen that make me laugh. Mommy seems to like hearing me laugh, so as long as I'm having fun I'll keep that up for her.

My only problem is that I'm so interested in everything that I get tired, but I don't feel like sleeping during the day - something good might happen while I'm snoozing. But the parents are insisting I nap during the day, so I pretend to be sleeping. I'm really thinking about all the pictures I saw in my books. I don't know what any of them are, but the colors are so bright now. Wow, did you know that if you smile at something that the parents will continue to let you look at it longer? I found that out when we went out to see the neighborhood holiday lights. Now those are colors.

More of my clothes have disappeared. I've heard mommy say something about a baby recycling box, and that I'm too big to wear them now. I don't get it. I like some of those clothes. Oh well, different ones show up to replace them. Ahh, I'm sleepy - better have a nap.

My Shots and More

2006-11-28T13:57:00.000-08:00

I'm not real happy right now. Yesterday mommy and daddy took me in what they call "rain" to the doctor. Doctor? All I know is that I don't like these doctor people. They wear white coats, and while sometimes they're nice, sometimes they hurt me, like yesterday, and they made mommy cry - I cried too.

I'm just over 2 months old, and it was time for my first set of vaccinations. They tell me those things are for my own good, but from where I was lying on that cold table, I've got my doubts. Four sharp pricks in my hips were more than enough for me, two in each one. Dangit that hurt. I cried a lot, screaming might be a more accurate description. They also stuck some liquid stuff down my throat - it tasted gross. I spit some out - I wonder if they noticed.

And this doctor stuck cold metal objects up my nose, in my ears and mouth, shone a bright light in my eyes. Nope, I don't like these doctors one bit. They told mommy and daddy that I weigh 12 pounds and 5 ounces, that I measure 24 inches long, and that my head circumference is 18 inches. They seemed happy, so I guess those must be pretty good numbers.

Then this person put me on my tummy and left me there. What did she think I was gonna do, lie there like a dork with my face on the paper covering that table? No, not me. I raised my head high and kept it there. Hey, they've got some pretty cool pictures on the walls I could look at. Why keep my head down and miss all that? I fooled em all - I rolled over onto my back. I don't think I should be doing that yet, because the doctor was quite surprised, but I've been doing it for weeks now. I can only roll one way, but hey, it's better than lying on my tummy, especially right after my food..blech.

After that was all over mommy and daddy got me dressed, loaded me into my car seat and back out into this rain stuff that gets me wet, and into the car. When we got home I was so happy to lie in my spare bed and sleep. But holy cow, when I woke up a couple of hours later I was hurting bad, my hips felt hot, and I heard mommy freaking out that they were red too. She put some warm cloths on both hips and that felt a little better. Then she put some great tasting stuff in my mouth (Tylenol infant drops - grape flavor). In not too long, I was feeling so much better and fell asleep.

I had a great evening. Lots of good food, although I must admit that this formula stuff they're giving me is getting kind of boring. But I'm hungry and that's all they seem to have available, so I'll eat it. The only part I don't like about this food thing is that just as I'm really getting into it they sit me up and whack me on the back, then rub my back until I burp. I'm figuring out fast that the quicker I do this burping thing, the quicker I get my food back. I don't mind sitting there awhile though because I can see stuff from different angles than usual, and those shadows are real cool at nght.

After swinging awhile, and daddy holding me, time for another diaper change. Haha, I had a big surprise in there for them, and just as they were cleaning that up, I let loose with a high pressured stream that made mommy scream. I got her whole shirt soaked before she moved, then I aimed for the carpet, and hit a spot about two feet away. I only know that because daddy was walking around in his socks later and stepped in it. I was laughing to myself. He looked like he was dancing on hot coals. They should know I'm a little boy and not to slip up on holding that cloth over me during a diaper change.

Then off I went to my bedroom. I love my bedroom, especially my bear and "Shamu". They're stuffed animals that one day I'll be old enough to actually play with. For now they're propped up beside my crib and changing table and about all I get to do is look at them. That's ok though, because while I'm looking at them mommy and daddy talk in funny voices. That makes me smile, and that seems to make them happy, so I'll go along with it.

Today I had more pain, but mommy gave me those drops again this morning and I was fine. I tried crying again this afternoon, but she wouldn't give me more drops, so I guess I can't get away with that stunt too often. I heard that doctor say when I go back again next time (I have to go back there again?) they'll take about giving me some solid food. I don't know what that is, but it's got to be better than drinking all this formula stuff.

It's nearly time for more food, so I'm outta here.

Nearly Two Months

2006-11-14T13:33:00.000-08:00

Surprise - thought I'd post again as we approach Braeden's 2-month-old birthday on Tuesday. This is Braeden's new home. Future posts will be written from Braeden's point of view - as far as I'll be able to tell.

I know, where does the time go?He's doing great, growing like a weed - 12 pounds, 24 inches (approximately), sleeping 6 hours at night now. His hair is what cracks us up, and gets plenty of comments from people we see on our outings. It's dark brown with a bit of a wave to it, very long and continuing to grow (it goes over the tips of his ears now), and goes in absolutely every direction possible, standing straight up in the front. A neighbor asked me just this morning if we were "spiking" his hair - nope, it does that all on its own.He's a great little guy - he still only cries when he's hungry, needs a diaper change, or has gas. He was a bit fussy last week, but those few days were it.

He loves his bath. We had to move from the bathroom sink to the baby bathtub due to a size problem - he wouldn't fit anymore. His swing is his favorite thing - he can take or leave the bouncer. He also loves tummy time, smiling when he rolls over onto his back, not too impressed when I roll him onto his tummy again. But that's ok, he rolls onto his back again pretty quickly..hehe. As long as he does his head exercises first, I'm a pushover, and let him keep doing it until he gets bored.

Aunt Y. came for a visit earlier this week. She brought us the last of the breast milk, and returned the pump to us (we rented it from the hospital). What an wonderful lady. To pump at no charge at all was the best gift she could have given us. She told us she'd do it for 6 weeks, ended up doing it for 8 weeks. She and I were both in tears before she left. While we know we're going to have plenty of future contact, this was kind of like the real end of our surrogacy journey. She was very happy to see Braeden doing so well, and we're already planning a visit to the IVF clinic where it all started after the holidays, so the staff and doctors there can meet the little man who all their efforts blessed us with.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, and I'll post from time to time with more updates.