Halloween and Bath Time

Michelle couldn't wait to give Braeden his first bath at home.  He had been sleeping pretty well in the morning and the rest of us were ready for the day, so after his mid-day nap Michelle got Braeden ready for his bath.  Drew was so excited and ready to be a big helper in the process.

Drew couldn't wait to use the sponge scrubber we got while Drew was in the NICU.  Don't worry we hadn't used it before.  Michelle gave him his bath on his main body and then let Drew help out with the head and hair.  He was being so gentle and Braeden didn't cry at all.

Drew loves to brush his teeth and has been doing very well.  Michelle surprised him and bought him an electric tooth brush with Tigger on it.  We want to make sure his baby teeth stay clean and in his mouth as long as possible.

Drew is the best big brother.  He loves to give kisses to Braeden and is being very gentle with him.

Tina came to our house after work and surprised Drew with her crazy costume.  Drew wasn't sure who she was and was a little hesitant to be by her.  We then got Drew dressed up again to go Trick or Treating in our neighborhood.  We added a black nose and freckles on his face to make him more real.  You know the puppy that walks on two legs and has a face coming out of its mouth.  Michelle's parents also dropped by and were nice enough to watch Braeden while Tina, Michelle, Drew, and I went around the block.

Our first stop was one of our neighbors across the street.  Barbara and her family were the first people we met before we even purchased our house.  They had a box on the table that you would knock on and a hand would come out and give you your candy.  Drew didn't want to knock on the box and he didn't want to take the candy from the hand.  I had to do it all.  It might not have been the best place to start.  Drew just stared at it and wouldn't move even when we wanted to go on.  He warmed up to the idea after a few houses then got tired of walking so I would have to carry him from house to house and then put him down to knock on the door.  He loved all of the decorations and even started walking into peoples houses when they opened the door.  After a half hour he was done and so were we.  I didn't want to carry him anymore.

We returned home with all of his candy and I snuck a piece or two for myself and enjoyed.  Michelle then went on to show her parents and Tina how Braeden has been giving himself hickeys on his arm.  They both showed up on the same day.  He must have been extra hungry.  We gotta watch out for this kid.

We had a fun second Halloween with Drew.  He will get the hang of it by next year and we will have even more fun with both Drew and Braeden participating, but I will make sure and bring a stroller in case either one of them gets tired.

Trunk or Treat

Michelle has been trying to take advantage of the time that Braeden sleeps so she can get a little rest herself.  I thought it was cute to see them both asleep so I decided to take a picture of them without her knowing.  I then took a few more during the day of Braeden in the natural light to improve my photography skills.

My sister Rachael and cousin Amy came over for a quick visit.  Rachael had seen Braeden the day he was born, but then had to go out of town for work till last night. 

Michelle was feeling pretty good by the late afternoon so we decided to take the kids, Nettie, and Aubrey to Dy and Brett's ward Trunk or Treat.  We bought this cute monster outfit for Braeden to wear.  We didn't plan on bringing him out except to feed during the festivities, but we wanted him to participate in having a costume.  Michelle's dad bought a cute puppy costume for Drew at COSTCO.  The first time he tried it on he loved it, but then when we got to the actual party he didn't want to put it on.

They had a soup potluck for the dinner portion of the event.  There were a lot of chiles entered into the chile contest and then a bunch of other soups to try.  I had three different bowls.  It was so good, or I was just hungry.  When the dinner was over it was time to get the kids ready.  I had to force the costume on Drew knowing he might cry for a few moments, but then would be back to normal.  We tried to get a picture of all three kids (Braeden was with his mom eating) sitting nicely together in their costumes, but they wouldn't sit still.  Luckily the parade was about to start.

Drew was getting tired and had a hard time getting the hang of the trick or treating, but everyone thought he was cute and even if he wouldn't talk they still gave him candy.  We almost finished all of the cars, but then he was ready to be done.  We let him hang out in the car and eat a little candy.  Dy and Brett decorated the back of their car with some fun decorations and the girls passed out a lot of candy to the kids.

It was a great evening a fun way to help celebrate Halloween in a safe way.  I'm sure we will still go around our neighborhood on the real day, but what's wrong with going twice to get twice the candy.

Braeden's Progress

Braeden had his appointment to check his bilirubin and weight today.  We were hoping that his levels would be down enough and that he had gained a little weight back from the hospital.  He had gone down from 6lbs 13oz on Monday to 6lbs 2oz on Wednesday in the hospital and they said if he lost any more weight they would have to have us supplement some of his breast feeding with fortified formula.  We stop at the lab station to have his blood taken first and he didn't even cry.  We then got to the office and the worst part of the visit was the rectal thermometer.

His weight had gone up by almost a half a pound at 6lbs 9oz.  He is a growing boy.  That is no surprise since Michelle thinks he eats all the time.  Dr. Templeman did a few more checks on him and then told us he would give us a call with the results of his bilirubin test as well as the course of action we would need to take.

Once we got home we spent some time with the two boys.  Drew warmed up a little more with Braeden and even asked if he could hold him.  Not so much with words, but with his hands.

The doctor's nurse called and said they still wanted Braeden to be on his Bili Lights till at least Sunday and then if we felt he looked better we could return the lights, but if not he recommended we make an appointment and have his levels checked again.  Here he is on the bed which was installed on my nightstand.

The Bili bed also came with a Bili blanket that you can use when Michelle is feeding him, but Drew thought it was more fun to play with.  I have to admit I thought it was fun also.  It would be like a really expensive night light or lamp.

Bringing Baby Home

Day 4 - Final Day
This last  night in the hospital was the best.  We were hardly bothered at all until morning rounds.  Dr. Brown said that Michelle's incision looked really good, but because of some low grade fevers she was having each evening for about an hour, she wanted her to stay till 6pm to make sure it didn't come back.  We then went and visited the nursery to see Drew.  Our normal pediatrician wasn't in today so a colleague of his was taking his patients for the day.  They were still waiting on his bilirubin results, but they thought he would be OK to go home today.  His bilirubin results came back slightly high again and they said they would send us home with a light bed and we would check his levels on Friday as well as his weight.

After breakfast I headed home to take as much stuff as I could that we no longer needed at the hospital and to turn off our sprinkler system and get it ready for winter since it is suppose to snow soon.  As I was on my way back I got a call from Glenn saying that he was bringing his mother over to see Braeden at that very moment.  After a quick visit and a few pictures they had to get going and Michelle and I enjoyed the last few hours we had left in the hospital.  I made sure everything was put away and packed up so we wouldn't waste any time.

With an hour left before we could leave we got Braeden ready for the journey home.  We bought this outfit especially for this day.  We hoped it wouldn't be too small, but it fit just right.  It might only fit him for a few weeks, but it was worth the money.

I need to find the pictures I took of Drew the day we took him home so I can compare their sizes in the car-seat. 

At five minutes past 6pm we were out the door and ready to get on our way home.  After driving off we remembered that we had some food I had bought that day in the fridge at the hospital.  We hadn't gotten very far so I turned around and quickly snagged the bag.

Michelle's other grandparents hadn't been able to see Braeden yet because of their health so she was bound to stop at their place before we went home.  Grandma Woolley was so happy to be able to hold Braeden.  She loves all of her grand and great grandchildren.  Grandpa Woolley was pulling out of his neighborhood when we arrived, but we were lucky to be able to stop on the street and give him a look.  He gave me a slug on the shoulder and said I had done well with this one.

We were interested to see how Drew would react this time to the baby.  He was hesitant the  first day he met him and I think he still was today.  He didn't mind holding Braeden, but after a few seconds he was done.  He then began to crawl around the house like a baby, maybe in protest to our decision to have another child.

Drew is such a little stinker, but he is so cute we will keep him around and try to work out his issues.  I know he will be a great big brother and I hope that the two of them will be the best of friends.

By the end of the visit we were ready to be home.  We could no longer take the confined space of the hospital room, Michelle was tired of the hospital food, and I was tired of eating in the cafeteria.  We just wanted to be in our own home, with our own beds, and our own stuff as one family back together again.  We will see how Drew does these next couple of days.