Brandon University

My dad found a college called Brandon University. I think he said it is in Canada. Of course, he had to get Brandon a shirt from there since it has Brandon's name in the school's name.

Playing in the Exersaucer

We set Brandon's exersaucer up last weekend. He seems to like it so far...especially the toys on it that light up.

Pulminologist Appointment and Eating Bananas

Brandon had his pulminologist appointment this morning. Dr. Sembrano said he looks great. His oxygen sats were 100%. I asked Dr. Sembrano about Brandon flying on a plane in June for Brian and Laura's wedding and he said that would be fine. I also asked about him going to Yosemite since we have been talking about going there after the wedding and there is a higher elevation so I was not sure how he would be but Dr. Sembrano said it would not be a problem since his oxygen saturations have been good. I also asked when RSV season ends. I knew it was April but I was not sure if it was the beginning or end of April. He said March is the last month that Brandon will get his RSV shot unless there winds up being reported cases. So basically the beginning of April is the end of RSV season. After that I will be able to take Brandon out in public Dr. Sembrano said. He will still be susceptible to other sicknesses that are out there so I will still have to be careful but we won't be under house arrest anymore.

Brandon weighed 13 pounds, 8 ounces at the appointment. He got his RSV shot and screamed. He really hates getting them. After the appointment we went to the NICU to visit some of his nurses. We went to the special care area and one of the nurses was feeding a baby who was so small. Brandon started off smaller than the baby we saw. You forget how small they once were.

We set up Brandon's high chair yesterday. It is actually a seat that goes onto one of your chairs to make it a high chair. We fed him in it yesterday for the first time. He is doing better each day with eating. He seems to be starting to get the hang of it. Tonight we gave him oatmeal and bananas. He loved the bananas. We feed him until he starts to cry and then we stop. Right now the amount of food he is getting should not replace a bottle. It is just to introduce foods to him. Eventually it will start to replace some of his bottles.

First Attempt at Cereal

We gave Brandon oatmeal last night for the first time. He wasn't too sure what he thought about it. He kept making faces. I think more cereal was on his bib and face then he actually got in his mouth. We will try again tonight.

Playdate With Logan

Brandon and I went to Becky's house yesterday so that Brandon and Logan could have a playdate and exchange holiday presents. We bought Logan the same sweater that Brandon was wearing yesterday so Becky put him in it when she opened it and we took pictures of the two boys in their matching sweaters. Brandon is in the blue sweater and Logan is in the green sweater.

All Smiles

Brandon woke up from his nap this morning and saw me and immediately started smiling. His smile really melts my heart.

March for Babies Sign In

I accidentally had the March for Babies sign in badge so people were not able to actually access our team. I have now corrected the problem. If you click on the March for Babies badge on the left of the screen it will bring you to our team information.

Ready for the Steelers Game

March for Babies

This year Stu, Brandon, and I will be participating in the March of Dimes, March for Babies walk.

The March of Dimes mission is to make healthy, full-term birth a reality for all babies. Research funded by the March of Dimes had a direct impact on Brandon's survival. Two drugs administered to him (steroid shots before birth and surfactant after birth) were developed during research funded by the March of Dimes.

We ask that you consider supporting us in this walk. You are all invited to walk with us and join "Team Brando" and/or donate to our team's fundraising efforts. To do this, all you have to do is click on the side of the screen.

The March for Babies will be on April 26th at 10:30 in Belmar. We look forward to helping to support this wonderful organization.

Visit to Grandma and Grandpa Jacobs' House

We went to my parents house yesterday to see them, Brian, and Laura. We also got to meet Laura's brother and sister-in-law since they were visiting from California for the weekend. Brandon seemed to enjoy his visit. He was all smiles for his daddy when we were there. Grandma did a good job catching some of his smiles on camera.

Smiles and another cute picture

I finally got Brandon smiling on camera. He smiles at me and then I go to take his picture and he gets so serious when he sees the camera. I put the camera in my hand today and put it down so he couldn't see it and when he smiled I quickly took a picture. That is why they came out a little blurry. Hopefully he will start to cooperate when he sees the camera so I can get some good pictures of his smiles.

6 Month Well Visit

Brandon had his 6 month well visit at the pediatrician today. He weighs 13 pounds and is 24 3/4 inches. He finally made it onto the regular growth chart for his length but is only in the 5th percentile. It is still great that he finally made it onto the regular growth chart. Dr. Kerensky was very happy with how well Brandon is doing. He wants me to wait until the appointment next month to really start solids but said that I could play around with cereal if I want to. He wants him to still get most of his calories from formula and is afraid that won't happen if I start him on solids now. He only should be 3 months old so it really is not a big deal. Brandon has a little thrush in his mouth. Dr. Kerensky prescribed something for me to put on Brandon's tongue to help with it. I am a little annoyed because when he was having his bottle issues I brought him to the pediatrician because someone from a preemie message board that I am part of said it sounded like thrush to her and the pediatricians that we saw said it was not thrush. We didn't see Dr. Kerensky because we just saw the pediatricians that were working on the days that I took him. Brandon had his flu shot today, his last rotavirus, and two other injections. He was not a happy camper. When we got home Brandon passed out for several hours. I took a picture of him when he woke up but you can see how tired he looks.

Some Pictures From Today

Hanging Out in Mommy and Daddy's Room

Eating Great Again

I don't know what finally helped Brandon but he is back to eating great again without screaming. His first two bottles yesterday were not great, he screamed throughout them, but then he drank the whole next bottle and then the next three after that without screaming and has continued to drink the whole bottle today without screaming. He hadn't gone to the bathroom in 3 1/2 days and finally went yesterday morning so I don't know if when he gets backed up he screams because his stomach hurts. It is also possible that the prevacid finally kicked in or I switched him back to neosure formula and he likes that better than the carnation good start formula.

Brandon slept through the night again last night. He had a bottle at 10:30 and then went to sleep and slept until 5:00 this morning.

Happy Birthday Mommy

Hi everyone! My mommy's birthday was yesterday. She celebrated by taking me to the pediatrician since I was still giving her a hard time drinking my bottles. I was drinking one or two ounces and then screaming when she tried to give me more even though I was still hungry. The pediatrician thinks it is still my reflux that is bothering me. She said she really can't do anything for it since I am already on maximum levels of reflux medications. Hopefully the prevacid will kick in soon so my reflux doesn't bother me as much. The pediatrician asked my mommy to give me a bottle when I was there so she could see the screaming that I do but I was a good boy and drank my bottle without crying.

After the pediatrician I had physical therapy. The physical therapist was very happy with the progress that I am making. I am starting to turn my head to the left more on my own. She said she will start seeing me every two weeks since I am doing so well.

Grandma and Grandpa Newman came over for dinner last night for mommy's birthday. They ate Olive Garden to go with mommy and daddy.

For mommy's birthday present I slept last night from my 10:00 bottle until 4:30. Becky talked to my mommy yesterday and said that she had been swaddling Logan with his arms in and he had been sleeping through the night so mommy decided to try this and it worked well.

Love Brandon

Cardiologist Appointment

Brandon's cardiologist appointment went well today. His EKG was good and his ASD closed. He still has the VSD but the doctor said it is smaller. She said it should still close on its own. If she was at all concerned that it wouldn't he would have had the surgery to close it already. He doesn't need to go back for another 6 months. Brandon weighs 12 pounds, 8 ounces.

I spoke to the GI specialist the other day because Brandon has been screaming after the first ounce during each bottle. Feeding him has been pretty difficult lately because of the screaming. I am not sure if it is his reflux or something else that is bothering him. The GI specialist told me to start giving him prevacid but to also keep him on the zantac. This way it will give the prevacid time to kick in. Then he will remove the zantac. He said if the prevacid does not make a difference then the screaming could be a behavioral thing. The bottle issues started a month ago then seemed to get better for a few days but lately have been bad again. I was talking to the cardiologist and she said that it could have initially been his reflux but that he can have a fear of his bottles now because it used to hurt when he had them. We go to the pediatrician next week for his 6 month appointment so I will talk to him then and see what he says. I want to know how to get him past his fear if that is what is going on.

Playing With Keys

Wee Bundle

My birthday present from my parents came in the mail today a few days early. They got me a wee bundle which is a doll that is the same length and weight that Brandon was when he was born. I can't believe how small he was. Now that he has grown so much I forgot how small he once really was. Here is a picture of Brandon and the wee bundle.

Rolling Over

I finally caught Brandon rolling from his tummy to his back today on video. He did it four times in a row and then did it again later in the day when I put him on his tummy.

Brandon with his giraffe

6 Months Old

Brandon is 6 months old today. I don't have a current weight and length on him. He goes to the cardiologist on Thursday so he will be weighed and measured then. I will post after that to let everyone know how big he is. I am guessing he is between 12 and 13 pounds. I have just started to pack up a lot of his 0-3 month clothes because they are too short on him and dressing him in his 3-6 month clothes which are actually fitting pretty nicely.

Brandon has been sleeping in his crib since New Year's Eve. He doesn't seem to mind it but he has been up more throughout the night than when he was in his bassinet. I am sure it is him adjusting to being in a different room and a different thing to sleep. Last night I heard him making noises in the middle of the night. He was talking to himself for a good half hour, happy as can be. He was waving his arms and kicking his legs. He managed to wiggle himself down to the bottom of his crib but he didn't seem to mind. His crib is at an incline because of his reflux so it is not too hard for him to wiggle himself down.

Brandon is drinking bottles that are made of half carnation good start formula and half neosure. He is doing really well on the carnation formula. I will probably switch him all the way once I see what he weighs on Thursday. Neosure is a preemie formula but since he has been gaining weight nicely I was told he didn't need to be on it anymore. A lot of babies on my preemie message board that I am part of have had stomach issues on the neosure and have been much better since being off.

Brandon has really found his hands this month. He is constantly putting them in his mouth and trying really hard to get his thumb into his mouth which he has not quite mastered yet. He also loves to play on his play gym and grabs the toys on it when he is playing. He has managed to roll from his tummy to his back 4 times so far and does great on his tummy when he tolerates tummy time. He really lifts his head well.

Looking Cool and a Smile Caught on Camera Finally

Happy Birthday Stu

Stu's birthday was yesterday. We spent the day relaxing and his parents came over with dinner and cake last night. Brandon was being a little cranky when I was trying to get a picture of him with Stu. Earlier in the day Brandon had fun playing with his stuffed dog from our friends Melissa and Dave. He smiles all of the time at Stu but refuses to smile for the camera.

First night in crib

Brandon and I both survived his first night sleeping in his crib. It actually went a lot better than I thought it would. I put him in his crib after his bottle at 10:30. He woke up at 2:30 for a bottle and I put him in the crib again after that and he slept until 6:45. When he sleeps in his bassinet he wakes up between 5 and 5:30 so he slept later in his crib. I have a video monitor so I was able to see Brandon when I wanted to. The picture is how he looked when he woke up this morning. He managed to turn himself sideways.