Braden had his six month cardiology appointment on Friday at the outreach clinic here in town. He weighed 17 lbs. 11 oz. The cardiologist listened to Braden's heart and thought it sounded great, no murmur. The lungs sounded good too, with even breathing on both sides. We asked to check the October x-ray from Children's to see if Braden's diaphragm had gone down. Though still elevated some, it is better than the last check. The good news is that it obviously is not interfering with activity or breathing.
The appointment went so well that the doctor feels Braden doesn't need another cardiology appointment until next year at this time. The pacemaker checks will continue more frequently, with call in checks every 2 months and actual clinic visits every 6 months. Except for the pacemaker, his heart is fully functioning. Praise the Lord for the good reports. We are so thrilled!
The holidays are coming up and we are looking forward to celebrating our blessings at Thanksgiving. We have so much to be grateful for. It will never cease to amaze us how different this year is from last. Life felt so fragile last year, and it is, but at least this year we feel we can breathe. We aren't watching Braden like a hawk. We are living again. It feels good. Thank you God.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Happy 1st Birthday!
Our baby boy turned one on Sunday, November 8. We can't believe a year has gone by since his birth and all the adventure his life has brought to ours! Our celebration included a bouncy castle to keep all the cousins busy and happy, a salad lunch balanced with yummy desserts and coffee, and a very chocolaty one year old boy who thoroughly enjoyed his first cupcake. It was a very joyful day for our family, immediate and extended, as we remembered how far the Lord has brought our little man in the course of the past year. We put out a photo album chronicling the journey. There were some tough pictures in there, post surgery heart-wrenchers. It is good to remember though because to look at him today, you'd never know. His chest scars are still quite significant of course, but looking better all the time.
Here are Braden's latest accomplishments:
Fake sneezing: He says "Ah Ah Ah, Ahmmm!"; Waving bye-bye "Bah"; Signing please and up; "Mamma"; Fastest TP Unroller in the West; Crawling up stairs and walking the furniture.
Here are Braden's latest accomplishments:
Fake sneezing: He says "Ah Ah Ah, Ahmmm!"; Waving bye-bye "Bah"; Signing please and up; "Mamma"; Fastest TP Unroller in the West; Crawling up stairs and walking the furniture.
The 12 month appointment went well with our pediatrician. Though still on the "mini" side in terms of weight, his length and head circumference actually are on the growth curve. Go Braden! Since little guy is so active and energetic, his weight is not a concern, it just appears to be normal "Braden".
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We are grateful to Jesus for walking along side of us on our journey over this past year; it has been harder than anything we have ever faced before, really stripped us down to the foundation of our faith. We've learned that we can trust Him even when we don't understand what He is doing or why. Because we know Jesus is in control, we look towards the future with hope. There is a feeling of anticipation as we consider the great things God will do in Braden's life and in the life of our family. God is good and He is faithful! Thank you Lord for Your miracles and for teaching us to trust You in ways we never knew we could.
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Enjoy the pictures of our wonderful son!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Pacemaker Check
Braden had his 6 month pacemaker check at Children's today. His pacer is still checked over the phone every other month, but we get to go to Seattle for these bi-yearly checks like we had today. It was strange to drive onto the property this morning; Darth and I experienced a flood of emotions. We had our middle daughter and Braden, the other two girls had colds and had to stay away with their germs (they shared them with Darth's mom instead!). After checking in, we had a delicious cafeteria breakfast and headed down a floor to wait. (The breakfast actually was great, there is a lot of variety to choose from. We just had to eat there SO MANY TIMES during the hospitalization that it has taken us a while to want to eat there again.) Sissy went to the sibling playroom and Braden, Darth, and I started off the series of appointments with a chest x-ray. So grateful for Children's. They are so geared for kids (obviously), that it was a relatively quick and not-too-upsetting experience for baby. We have had our share of x-rays with Braden so this time was much appreciated.
Next we went in for the vitals: weight, height, blood pressure. I think he was somewhere around 17 and a half pounds. It was in kilograms and I don't make that conversion in my head yet!
Now off to the exam room. We had an amazing tech do the speediest EKG ever. It was over before it began. Darth and I were watching her get out all the wires and both thought, "How is Braden going to do with this?" He has such busy hands now that we envisioned him pulling off the leads as fast as she placed them.
Another tech came in to do the pacer check: more leads, more holding still. Braden did great with this test too.
The cardiologist came in to debrief with us. Basically, all looks great. Braden's pacemaker battery is full, meaning that he isn't using up a lot of battery at this point. Good news because it puts battery replacement that much farther away on the horizon. The test results showed that he still has an underlying rate, but it is very slow, more like a sleeping rate than an activity one. This has shown up in the past and was confirmed again today. It is a comfort to know that even though he needs the pacemaker at this point, the heart could still beat without it. The communciation just isn't working from atrium to ventricle. Still praying . . . !
Thanks for all your continued support. God is still getting the glory from this little wonderful Braden boy! We are grateful for His blessings.
-Jenni & Darth
Next we went in for the vitals: weight, height, blood pressure. I think he was somewhere around 17 and a half pounds. It was in kilograms and I don't make that conversion in my head yet!
Now off to the exam room. We had an amazing tech do the speediest EKG ever. It was over before it began. Darth and I were watching her get out all the wires and both thought, "How is Braden going to do with this?" He has such busy hands now that we envisioned him pulling off the leads as fast as she placed them.
Another tech came in to do the pacer check: more leads, more holding still. Braden did great with this test too.
The cardiologist came in to debrief with us. Basically, all looks great. Braden's pacemaker battery is full, meaning that he isn't using up a lot of battery at this point. Good news because it puts battery replacement that much farther away on the horizon. The test results showed that he still has an underlying rate, but it is very slow, more like a sleeping rate than an activity one. This has shown up in the past and was confirmed again today. It is a comfort to know that even though he needs the pacemaker at this point, the heart could still beat without it. The communciation just isn't working from atrium to ventricle. Still praying . . . !
Thanks for all your continued support. God is still getting the glory from this little wonderful Braden boy! We are grateful for His blessings.
-Jenni & Darth
Friday, October 2, 2009
Fall News
We are living at full speed these days. Braden is enjoying going to all his sisters' soccer games and school events. Soon he will be more quarantined as the "buggies" and viruses start emerging. Since he is crawling and putting everything into his mouth, keeping him germ-free is a challenge. Braden did pick up a small cold, but has remained his happy-go-lucky self. He can be up at all hours of the night and still be sweet and active the next day. Can't say the same for mom and dad.
Braden has popped through both top teeth, with a sizable gap. It will likely resolve, but he has a slight hill-billy look. Very cute. He has also become very chatty with his adorable baby vocabulary. Just this week he started signing "please" during meal time. I think his "please" was to have another bite of mommy's ice cream birthday cake.
Pacemaker checks and routine well baby appointments are all the excitement Braden has had lately. We are definitely enjoying the normalcy. Braden has a pacer check at Childrens' Seattle on Monday. Please continue to pray with us for a miracle healing. We know God is able and are praying that He is willing. This pacemaker issue continues to stretch our faith in the trust department.
We aren't sure if Braden will qualify for the RSV shot again this year. He is doing so well it is not likely. We are just continuing to pray that the Lord will protect him this fall and winter from sickness. It is definitely more challenging to have a mobile baby stay germ free, a rather overwhelming undertaking. So glad we can take these concerns to Jesus. We are doing our part to keep exposure down, but we do have to keep living life as normally as possible. The fact is, he is going to get a hundred kisses daily from his sisters and there's not a lot we can do about that. The girls just can't help themselves. Oh, Braden is also giving kisses now, super wet and slobbery ones. Adorable!
Braden has popped through both top teeth, with a sizable gap. It will likely resolve, but he has a slight hill-billy look. Very cute. He has also become very chatty with his adorable baby vocabulary. Just this week he started signing "please" during meal time. I think his "please" was to have another bite of mommy's ice cream birthday cake.
Pacemaker checks and routine well baby appointments are all the excitement Braden has had lately. We are definitely enjoying the normalcy. Braden has a pacer check at Childrens' Seattle on Monday. Please continue to pray with us for a miracle healing. We know God is able and are praying that He is willing. This pacemaker issue continues to stretch our faith in the trust department.
We aren't sure if Braden will qualify for the RSV shot again this year. He is doing so well it is not likely. We are just continuing to pray that the Lord will protect him this fall and winter from sickness. It is definitely more challenging to have a mobile baby stay germ free, a rather overwhelming undertaking. So glad we can take these concerns to Jesus. We are doing our part to keep exposure down, but we do have to keep living life as normally as possible. The fact is, he is going to get a hundred kisses daily from his sisters and there's not a lot we can do about that. The girls just can't help themselves. Oh, Braden is also giving kisses now, super wet and slobbery ones. Adorable!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
SUMMER RECAP
Braden is turning 10 months old in just days---so much to report! He started crawling several weeks ago and is super proud of himself. FREEDOM!!!! He is eating finger foods and enjoys them much better than yucky baby food. Currently Braden weighs somewhere between 16-17 pounds, continuing to be on the small side weight-wise, but comes in more on the average side in the length category. Just this past week, he has been pulling himself up on EVERYTHING, actually getting "stuck" standing in his crib, crying, because he should actually be sleeping. "How do I get down?!" Teeth! The bottom two are in and the top ones should be breaking through any time. "The better to bite you with, my dear . . . "
Personality wise, Braden is still a happy camper, quick to smile and laugh, very content and mellow. He is such an easy baby. Right now we are working with him on sleeping through the night and he is showing great tenacity for how long he will fight to wear us down. We are confident he will get it, but we miss sleep. At least I think we do . . . I seem to remember feeling rested at some point in my life . . .
A sad first to report: Braden got his first bee sting several weeks ago. He was in his stroller and all we can figure out is the bee landed on the stroller tray and Braden grabbed it. The bee was gone, but the stinger still in. SAD!!!! No allergic reaction though, thankfully. His finger got pretty swollen, but even with the discomfort I was amazed at how he "took it like a (little) man". What a trooper!
This summer Braden went to the beach, the water park, the water slides, both grandparents' houses, Orcas Island, my brother's wedding, a petting farm, and Leavenworth. It was a "let's stay close to home and do little short trips" kind of summer. We enjoyed celebrating life together as a family of six, all the while being especially thankful for our healthy, thriving baby boy.
As we approach the fall, we are gearing up for how to keep the family and specifically little guy healthy. Looking forward to those flu shots . . . A scoop of ice cream for every shot seems to work as a great motivator for little girls. It works better than "let's do it for Braden", though that will come into play. Baskin Robbins anyone?! We hate being paranoid about germs but it is a definite reality with all the fun bugs going around. This is an area where we have to do our best and just trust the Lord with every day. Some things we can control and some we can't, but we do have to LIVE LIFE and not be completely house bound! This would be an area to pray for our family and especially Braden: a healthy fall and winter, spring for that matter too!
Thank you for your continued prayers, well wishes, and interest in Braden progress. We are amazed by our miracle baby and our amazing, loving God. His mercies to our family still awe us. Concerns for the future all filter through the Lord's faithfulness of the past. He was with us then, and will be with us today and tomorrow. It is good to live with that peace of mind.
-Jenni and family
Personality wise, Braden is still a happy camper, quick to smile and laugh, very content and mellow. He is such an easy baby. Right now we are working with him on sleeping through the night and he is showing great tenacity for how long he will fight to wear us down. We are confident he will get it, but we miss sleep. At least I think we do . . . I seem to remember feeling rested at some point in my life . . .
A sad first to report: Braden got his first bee sting several weeks ago. He was in his stroller and all we can figure out is the bee landed on the stroller tray and Braden grabbed it. The bee was gone, but the stinger still in. SAD!!!! No allergic reaction though, thankfully. His finger got pretty swollen, but even with the discomfort I was amazed at how he "took it like a (little) man". What a trooper!
This summer Braden went to the beach, the water park, the water slides, both grandparents' houses, Orcas Island, my brother's wedding, a petting farm, and Leavenworth. It was a "let's stay close to home and do little short trips" kind of summer. We enjoyed celebrating life together as a family of six, all the while being especially thankful for our healthy, thriving baby boy.
As we approach the fall, we are gearing up for how to keep the family and specifically little guy healthy. Looking forward to those flu shots . . . A scoop of ice cream for every shot seems to work as a great motivator for little girls. It works better than "let's do it for Braden", though that will come into play. Baskin Robbins anyone?! We hate being paranoid about germs but it is a definite reality with all the fun bugs going around. This is an area where we have to do our best and just trust the Lord with every day. Some things we can control and some we can't, but we do have to LIVE LIFE and not be completely house bound! This would be an area to pray for our family and especially Braden: a healthy fall and winter, spring for that matter too!
Thank you for your continued prayers, well wishes, and interest in Braden progress. We are amazed by our miracle baby and our amazing, loving God. His mercies to our family still awe us. Concerns for the future all filter through the Lord's faithfulness of the past. He was with us then, and will be with us today and tomorrow. It is good to live with that peace of mind.
-Jenni and family
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Summertime!
Okay, so most of you have realized that Braden must be doing well and we are back to our crazy, busy "normal", since there are NO blog entries for the entire month of June! And you are correct. Braden is doing just wonderful. He now weighs over 14 pounds, is sitting up, clapping, blowing raspberries, and working on a very interesting crawl. It involves hiking his bottom into the air, while his head and chest are down and scooping forward on his face. (?) We will be working on that. He is eating simple foods, his favorites being sweet potatoes, peas with olive oil (recommended by the pediatrician for extra calories), and pureed fruits. Braden will turn 8 months old on the eighth of this month. He is finally into 6-9 month clothes! His next appointment is a phone-in pacer check, which happens every two months. He doesn't see the cardiologist again until November. Wow!
The girls are out of school for summer break and the house is very noisy these days. Braden's naps aren't as long due to the constant action. He is well entertained however. I can't believe the sisters haven't developed major bald patches on the sides of their heads. He pulls our handfuls of hair all the time. Thankfully they have hair to spare, but the vacuum is getting a work out.
This is an interesting season for us. It was just one year ago that we found out about Braden's heart defects and our world changed forever. We are feeling rather emotional---emotions of gratitude, and yet at the same time, remembering is bringing back emotions we were feeling then but were too in shock to deal with.
Today we can say we have a beautiful little boy who is a miracle. He is the happiest little guy, it just amazes us how joyful he is. Our girls have grown so much over the past year as well, and the power of prayer has really been cemented into their little minds. They know Jesus healed their brother.
We have been taking oodles of pictures but are not organized enough to manage to post them, so feel free to check out Braden's latest photo shoot, with cameo appearances of the Creek girls, http://www.mkcphotography.phanfare.com/. Thank you for your continued interest in our son and your prayers for him and our family. We serve a mighty God and anything is possible with Him.
Warmly,
Jenni and family
The girls are out of school for summer break and the house is very noisy these days. Braden's naps aren't as long due to the constant action. He is well entertained however. I can't believe the sisters haven't developed major bald patches on the sides of their heads. He pulls our handfuls of hair all the time. Thankfully they have hair to spare, but the vacuum is getting a work out.
This is an interesting season for us. It was just one year ago that we found out about Braden's heart defects and our world changed forever. We are feeling rather emotional---emotions of gratitude, and yet at the same time, remembering is bringing back emotions we were feeling then but were too in shock to deal with.
Today we can say we have a beautiful little boy who is a miracle. He is the happiest little guy, it just amazes us how joyful he is. Our girls have grown so much over the past year as well, and the power of prayer has really been cemented into their little minds. They know Jesus healed their brother.
We have been taking oodles of pictures but are not organized enough to manage to post them, so feel free to check out Braden's latest photo shoot, with cameo appearances of the Creek girls, http://www.mkcphotography.phanfare.com/. Thank you for your continued interest in our son and your prayers for him and our family. We serve a mighty God and anything is possible with Him.
Warmly,
Jenni and family
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
More Good News
On Thursday May 21, Braden had another physical therapy session. The PT was very impressed with how well he was doing with his fine and gross motor development. Braden is sitting independently now, doing amazingly well with balance, toppling over periodically when reaching for a toy. During the appointment the PT said that skill, sitting without support, puts baby Braden right at age-appropriate development, even a bit ahead! (I hadn't even realized he could balance by himself until the girls had pointed it out to me a few days earlier. Way to go mom!) Braden doesn't have to see the PT every month now. She will just check in, see if we have any concerns, and then take it from there. (happy sigh...)
Braden has been off heart meds for nearly two weeks. He had an appointment today for a non-heart related issue, but I asked the pediatrician to check for any concerns that might show a negative reaction to being off the diuretics. None! His weight was 13 lbs. 4 oz. We go back in a month for another check, but other than that it looks like our calendar won't be full of doctor appointments anymore. No tears shed on that point. We are quickly approaching the end of the school year and all the fun and busyness that follows. We treasure every day. God is good.
Braden has been off heart meds for nearly two weeks. He had an appointment today for a non-heart related issue, but I asked the pediatrician to check for any concerns that might show a negative reaction to being off the diuretics. None! His weight was 13 lbs. 4 oz. We go back in a month for another check, but other than that it looks like our calendar won't be full of doctor appointments anymore. No tears shed on that point. We are quickly approaching the end of the school year and all the fun and busyness that follows. We treasure every day. God is good.
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