Happy Birthday Braden!

The Journey...

On Tuesday, November 4th, our doctors decided to send us to Seattle. They wanted to perform daily NST's (Non Stess Tests) on Braden to make sure his heart was handling the contractions well. So we had a couple of hours to pack things up and head out of town. The University of Washington was expecting us Tuesday night for the first test. Everything was going well, then on Saturday morning, Jenni's water broke. We checked in at labor and delivery and after many hours we welcomed Braden into the world at 6:38 PM. His weight was 7.2 oz. and his length measured 19 1/2 ''. He is absolutely beautiful. Jenni was able to hold him for a little bit before he was sent to NICU. Once there, Braden was prepped for transfer to Seattle Children's Hospital. After we had a chance to say goodbye, I followed Braden down to the ambulance. It left at 8:30 PM and I followed later after the Husky football traffic died down. I was able to spend some time in Braden's room at Children's.

Jenni was amazing, I have such a respect for mothers!

- Darth

Note from Jenni:

What a crazy time! It was not convenient to pack up and leave mid-week like we did. We threw our things together in a matter of hours and headed to the UW on election night of all times. Our girls have been completely off schedule for days, but are showing their skill at being flexible. We do not regret pulling them from school to be with us, except occasionally when they are whining or bickering with each other!

Some really good things to report:

• We were in the Seattle area early! We were supposed to drive over on Saturday for a Sunday inducement, but my water broke on Saturday. Thank you Lord for taking care of those details.
• Braden only had to be on Prostaglandin for a short while. This means his blood is getting the oxygen it needs without Braden having to be on that medicine and experiencing its side-effects.
• Braden has been nursing and taking bottles with pumped milk or formula!
• He will be transferred out of NICU today (11/11) to go to the floor because he is doing so well. Unless there are complications, he will remain there until surgery.
• Our housing issues are settled and the big sisters are getting used to their new home away from home.
• We have had wonderful help from family, with childcare, laundry, grocery shopping. We could not have done this without them.
• We have felt the Lord's peace every step on the way and know people are praying.

We love and appreciate you!

Jenni