Relaxing on Hershey's Bed

Not only does Brandon like to relax on Hershey, he also likes to relax on Hershey's bed. He has been walking over to Hershey's bed all weekend and then he lies down on it and smiles. He also has been continuing to lie on Hershey all weekend and give Hershey hugs all weekend. His favorite part of Hershey to lie on is Hershey's tail.

We had a busy weekend. We went out to breakfast on Friday with Debbie, Rich, Ben, Zack, and Stu's parents. We then went to Stu's parents' house to hang out and eat dinner. Yestersay they all came to our house for breakfast and then we went out to dinner last night at Pete and Elda's which has the best pizza. This morning Stu, Brandon, and I went to Home Depot and Wegman's and then relaxed this afternoon. Stu's parents came over for dinner to help us finish some of our Thanksgiving leftovers.

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving. My parents, inlaws, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, nephews, and sister-in-laws parents came to our house for Thanksgiving. It was nice seeing everyone. Brandon had a lot of fun playing with his cousins.

I have a lot to be thankful for this year. At the top of my list is Brandon. I am so thankful for how well he is doing. He continues to amaze me all of the time.

Best Friends

Brandon LOVES Hershey. His new favorite thing is to lie on Hershey and relax and most of the time Hershey lets him. The other cute thing Brandon was doing tonight was when I was reading him a touch and feel book about kittens. On the first page there is a kitten that is fuzzy to touch. Everytime I read the book and Brandon saw that page he put his face on the kitten sideways. It was so cute.

Brandon is starting to finally sleep better again so I am assuming his ear is starting to feel better. Last night I did have to go into his room one time. He woke up hysterical but then found his pacifier and tried to go back to sleep on his own. He cried on and off every so often and then about a half hour later was hysterical again and just couldn't calm himself. The two nights before that I didn't need to go into his room. He did wake up once both nights crying but found a pacifier and went back to sleep on his own.

Another Ear Infection and Nebulizer Treatments

Brandon has his second ear infection and is also on the nebulizer again for a cough. 1 1/2 weeks ago he started waking up at night hysterical. This is not at all like him. He has been sleeping through the night since August. I thought he was having night terrors because he would wake up suddenly and start crying a cry that I had never heard and jumping up and down in his crib holding onto the rail. A week after that started, this past Sunday, Brandon got a runny nose. Monday it continued to be runny. Monday night Brandon kept waking up crying hysterically. I only had 3 1/2 hours of sleep all night because all he wanted was to be held. I had to go to work on Tuesday morning since I didn't set up my classroom. I took a half sick day in the afternoon so that I could bring Brandon to the pediatrician. It turns out he has an ear infection again in his left ear which is the same ear that was infected a few weeks ago. He is on augmentin this time which is a stronger medicine. He also needs nebulizer treatments again with xopenex since he started coughing and is wheezing some. Despite all of this Brandon continues to be happy for the most part and playful.

Prematurity Awareness Day

November 17th is designated by the March of Dimes as Prematurity Awareness Day. Preemie moms are asked to blog about their experiences with prematurity and how it has affected our lives.

Brandon was born 14 weeks early on July 5, 2008 at 26 weeks, 1 day gestation. He weighed 1 pound, 14 ounces and was 13 inches long. Prior to my sac rupturing at 19 1/2 weeks with Brandon's twin sister and delivering her a week later at 20 1/2 weeks I had never known anyone who had a preemie. I also never knew that a baby wasn't considered viable until 24 weeks (although many babies born at 23 weeks are living now).

Having a premature baby has changed my life in many ways. I have learned about so many things that I never thought I would know about. I am not the same person that I was before I had Brandon. I don't take the small things for granted anymore. I have met many other preemie moms and have formed some amazing friendships from it.

Brandon has been a fighter since day 1. He came out crying and fighting for his life. He spent 12 weeks in the NICU and the day he came home was the happiest day in my life. I have not once taken Brandon's life for granted. Brandon truly is my hero. He has been through so much in the 16 months that he has been alive. More than anyone should have to go through in a lifetime. Even though he has been through so much he is a very happy, smiley baby. I went out to dinner a few nights ago with some other preemie moms and one mom who I was with summed it up well with what she said about her preemie son. He is always smiling because he is happy to be alive. I believe the same thing about Brandon. I think the reason he is so smiley is because he is happy to just be alive.

One group that I have learned a lot about since Brandon was born is the March of Dimes. If it were not for the March of Dimes Brandon would not be where he is today. Visit the March of Dimes website and see how you can help.

More Professional Pictures

Holiday Pictures

Stu and I brought Brandon to Sears yesterday to get his holiday pictures taken. I usually take him to Kiddie Kandids at Babies R' Us but I wanted to try someplace different this time since I didn't like the holiday backgrounds at Kiddie Kandids as much as I usually do. The photographer at Sears did a good job. The only problem was we couldn't get Brandon to stand in any pictures. He kept wanting to walk when we tried to get a standing picture. He did cooperate for sitting pictures at least. Here are some of the pictures. I will post more later.

In other news, Brandon has only been drinking from a sippy cup since Friday. I never thought the day would come when he stopped drinking from a bottle and instead drank from a sippy cup. In the past he has always chewed on the spout but he suddenly started drinking so I took away the bottles.