One more comparison

What a difference 5 months makes!

New Room (and results of the vote)

Little B's new room is very nearly complete. A few things left to hang on the wall. We doubt he'll notice though.

Just to let everyone know (for those of you intensely following the UNC 2005 Championship frame placement vote), the picture is now safely hanging over the changing table. I don't think any amount of votes would have allowed me to win that debate, but I thank you all for helping out the cause!! At least we made it in the room!

New Life at Home

We brought Branson home from the hospital on Friday afternoon, which was right in the middle of a string of night shifts for Daddy Branson.  Although I am so happy to be out of that small space in the NICU where I spent every waking moment for the previous 17 days, I must admit I was a bit shocked with how challenging it is to take care of the little one without a professional nurse to help me!  (Praise God for those amazing nurses in the NICU.)  The extra steps of mixing up his special fortified breastmilk along with the cycle of nursing, bottle, then pumping--which takes at least 1.5 hours--along with the other responsibilities of taking care of a preemie are more than I anticipated!  But boy are we glad to have him home, and I am grateful for my two moms coming over the weekend and for help with dinners!


Caroline is doing ok with her new baby brother.  It is really tricky since she has a bad cold, and if he gets even a little cold we will be back in the hospital.  We are doing everything we can to keep her away from him (as well as me), but although she understands a lot it still hurts her feelings that she can't crawl in mommy's lap.  I can't wait for her to get well so I can give her some mommy love!


Little Branson is really sweet.  Rebecca Stevenson told me something about how tender and sweet baby boys are, and although I was suspicious at the time, now I see what she means!  He's up to 5 pounds 4 ounces today--a bag of sugar to love!  We're going to do a little photoshoot soon so we'll have some more pictures to post as soon as we can get to it.

It's hard to believe that just 3 weeks ago today I was so sick and being induced. It is truly a miracle that we are getting through this relatively unscathed. I just listened to a recording of the song 'Praise the King' that I sang in church with the choir that Sunday morning before getting called into the hospital. After what He's carried us through, the depth and vigor of my PRAISE takes a whole new meaning. I can't wait to sing it again!

Hope you guys are well, Cristy

Happy to be HOME!

We're home!!!

I am tiny in my car seat!

Great News!!

Little B is feeding and growing well. I was doing the 8am - 930pm hospital day for breastfeeding and going home at night, but on Tuesday morning I moved into the hospital to help him along. It has been really nice to have him in a different room (a 'sleeper room') where we can act like real parents, just within the reach of all the cords that keep him on his monitors.

They pulled his NG tube yesterday since feeding is going so well, and today he is up to 4 pounds 15 ounces!! That breastmilk is powerful stuff! Today was a big day as he got 2 immunizations and a circumcision. He slept through them--tough guy!

The GREAT NEWS is that if nothing unforeseen happens, we will get to take our son home tomorrow! AND my repeat liver tests just came back as normal! Praise the Lord for he is GOOD! It will be so nice to be back at home with Caroline and Little B. She will be so happy to meet him, although it will be a challenge to keep her germs away from the little guy.

Speaking of germs, please forgive me if we are a little extra cautious about germs in the house. The Flu and RSV season is here, and we need to keep little B safe. We will want to limit visitors at first, and I will be a bit strict about hand washing, staying away if you have a cold, and touching the baby. It's just that we know what will happen to him if he gets even a little virus, and the torture of being back in the hospital with all those crazy procedures and tests is more than I can bare to think about! Thank you for understanding a mother's instinct to protect him!

We praise God for all of you who are praying and caring for us in so many ways. Please continue to lift him up in prayer. We are so grateful for everything!

Love and peace to you,
Cristy

Sleeping peacefully

Branson's other crush: Nurse Jen

My first bath

Milk drunk

Branson's first crush: Nurse Julie

Your opinion

I think the above framed picture should go over the baby's crib. Cristy does not. Am I crazy? Let us know what you think to the right...

Surrounded by family

Upgrade to a new "crib"

Graduating to the crib (another cp entry)

Great news! Our over-achiever child just graduated from the incubator! He is now sleeping soundly in one of those bassonets that they use for the term babies! Praise the Lord for He is GOOD. Now we've just got to work up to getting more from breastfeeding than from the tube. This apparently takes a while, so we need not let ourselves focus on the exact date of departure. BUT if all goes perfectly we might be able to take him home around Valentines day, which is less than 2 weeks away! (Please don't bring this part up to me since even mentioning a date sortof sets us up for disappointment if it takes longer.) So I'm going to keep doing the 8am-9pmish hosiptal thing to try to get 5 feeds in and then next week I'll probably move into the hospital for 3 nights or so. It will be hard not to be with Caroline (it already is!), but Branson, Sara (God bless that woman!) Becca, Courtney, and multiple sisters and brothers in Christ are giving her lots of special attention. I am grateful for that.

Anyway, that's the scoop for the day. I'll try to post a picture of him in his new bassonet at some point soon!

Love, Cristy

The boy can eat! (written by Cristy)

So here's the update: Little B weighed almost 4 lbs 8 oz today. I try to go up to the hospital by 8am and leave around 9pm in order to get all his feeds in. However I couldn't make it today. I went home for a little siesta around 4pm, and we came back around 7pm. Our strategy is to get him to take as much of his milk by breast or bottle with each feed, then what he doesn't finish they give him by NG tube. He did really well feeding this morning but by the afternoon he was too pooped so he got the rest of his feeds by NG tube. Overall we've been very encouraged by how he's doing with feeding. The goal is to get him to more than half feeds by bottle or breast before he can move from the incubator to his crib. If you know me and goal-setting, you probably know how obsessed I am with getting him up to the next level!

Several of you have requested more medical information about what happened to me. So far multiple specialists can't fully explain it as I had features of several different processes going on at once: severe preeclampsia with HELLP syndrome (Hemolysis (blood breakdown), Elevated Liver Enymes, Low Platelets - but my platelets were normal so I say I just had HELL!), cholestasis of pregnancy, and possibly Acute Fatty Liver of Pregnancy. My liver tests were rising so quickly that my doctors decided there was no choice but to deliver the baby. The delivery was peaceful, and I recall saying that I was delivering him into God's hands. What a little miracle he is!!

Thanks so much to everyone who sent their well wishes, cards, flowers, gifts, food, cheese, nursery decorating assistance, and babysitting. It's amazing how God is providing and caring for us through you! We are so grateful to Him for providing us with such an amazing community!

Superwoman

I wish I could take a picture of the scene before me.  Cristy is sitting in the NICU with Branson sleeping up on her chest, she's pumping milk for him, and text messaging and checking her email on her phone.  Normally I would tell her to put the phone down and rest, but the lactation specialist told us that she would pump more if she was distracted.  So, we'll let this one slide.  

But next time you see her, tell her to take it easy.  

Improving gradually

So, it's been quite a week. Branson is now officially one week old! (as of last night at 11pm) 

His stay in the NICU has been relatively free of complications. He's breathing on his own (no oxygen), keeping down almost all his food (babies spit up, it's normal), and has graduated up to his own little "condo".  The incubator pictured below looks like a step down, but it's actually a better place for him to live.  He can regulate his own temperature, and he's slightly more protected from all the bugs that live in the hospital. He's also been gaining weight like a champ. He's up to 2010 grams (he was born at 1963 grams).

We're really thankful that he's here at UNC.  It's a little weird to spend so much time at the same place that we work and not have any real clinical responsibilities other than taking care of this little guy.  But we've learned a lot about our home institution.  It's a fantastic place!  The nurses, residents, and attendings in the NICU are phenomenal.  What a blessing.

So, that's the scoop for the day.  I'll post another video and some pictures later today.

I get clothes now, too!

I am the Incubator!!

First smile!

Happy Mommy

Off the oxygen

Little B is finally free from the oxygen. Breathing just fine on his own today and doing a little better with feeding too.  It's amazing what a difference a day makes.  He looks so much stronger.  

Cristy's mom and sister were here most of the day to help out around the house.  I took Caroline to Little Gym this morning so she could burn off a little pent up energy.  I can't wait for her to actually see Branson in person, but that won't be for several weeks.  Until then, he just keeps "giving" her presents (two stuffed animals so far) so that she'll be really happy to have him around in a few weeks.  

Thanks to everyone for all the beautiful flowers.  They're at home now and really making the house smell oh-so-fresh.

Blue Lights

Not long now

We're leaving the hospital in a few short hours.  The team rounded this morning and gave us the all clear.  Unfortunately, little B will still be hanging out in the NICU for a few more weeks.  We're going to spend some time with him this morning before heading home.  

I plan to keep the blog updated regularly on his progress.  I'll keep adding pictures and video as I get them, so please check back if you're interested.  

Thanks again to everyone!  I couldn't even begin to name all the people that have been so kind to us this last week.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  

Now it's my turn....

Hallelujah!!!  Praise the Lord!  This is Cristy here, and I'm back in the land of the living.  I am filled with praise and thankfulness that God has and is carrying us through this.  I can't thank you enough for your prayers and support....it's like baby Branson got a little bit fatter with every prayer!  It is such a miracle that he weighed over 4 pounds!  Truly amazing.

I am feeling so much better.  We are thrilled that little B is doing well and that we will be going home tomorrow.  It will be hard to leave him here in the hospital but it will be good to be home. Now we've just got to focus on full recovery of my liver, successful pumping of breastmilk, and continued prayer that Branson has an uneventful first few weeks of life in the NICU.  Please pray for his health, my endurance, and a full, speedy recovery of my body so I can be a good mommy.  And pray that our family will continue to be strengthened in the Lord that we might be strong witnesses to the power of God.  Praise the King!!!

Split Pea Soup

Good stuff. The fact that Cristy is eating split pea soup is amazing. She's back to eating semi-regular food, walking around on her own, and feeling 1000% better.

We woke up this morning after moving to our new room. The OB team rounded and gave us good news about her lab results. Still slowly trending down. We are so thankful for that. Hopefully she'll be discharged tomorrow morning, as planned.

We had a good time with Branson this morning. Cristy got to hold him again for about an hour. The NICU team rounded on him and gave us more encouraging news. He has looked great since landing in the NICU. Still, a NICU course can be long with several ups and downs along the way. I had a great conversation with a friend who has a set of twins born at 29 weeks who are still in the NICU. They're getting along great, but it hasn't been without a few scares.

We had a nice visit this morning from Nat Stine and Dave Ward, two pastors from our church. Good prayers. Good times. Good friends. Thanks.

Getting better all the time...

Cristy is feeling much better now.  We've been moved off of Labor & Delivery to a "normal" hospital bed.  No more magnesium. She already feels much, much better than before. Some of the lab work that they are following is also improving. Feels like we're finally seeing a healthy Cristy again.  I'm very thankful for that.  

She actually got to hold little Branson before we changed rooms. He's still in the NICU, but he is doing great.  We'll start feeding him tomorrow.  He's off the CPAP device to support his airway and just getting a little extra oxygen when he needs it.  

We're looking forward to seeing Caroline again tomorrow. Unfortunately, she's too young to go to the NICU so she'll have to wait a few weeks to see Branson.  

Thanks for all the flowers, cards, and offers for meals.  We will definitely take you up on it.  Hopefully Cristy will be getting out of the hospital on Friday.  We'll keep updating the website!  Add it to your feed reader or you can subscribe for email updates.  (If you don't use Google Reader for checking RSS feeds or news websites regularly then you're missing out.)

Thanks and good night!

3 hours to go

It's 8pm.  Only three more hours on magnesium.  Go Cristy go!!  Fight fight fight!!

Meanwhile, little Branson and I are going to watch UNC beat up on Miami.  I'm sure they'll have the game on in the NICU.  He's a huge fan and might raise a stink (in so many ways) if he can't see the game. 

Little hands

I got the chance to hold Branson for about 45 minutes earlier today.  They encourage "kangaroo kare" in the NICU.  (I don't know if care is spelled with a "k" but it seems like it should be.)  This is where a family member has regular skin to skin contact with the baby, allowing him to feel the warmth, get used to the rise and fall of my chest, and feel my heartbeat and breath.  There are actually studies showing this to be beneficial to babies' health.  So I got an excuse to go snuggle for a little while.

He's still doing well.  He needs a little extra oxygen from time to time, but overall we're very pleased with his progress.

Cristy's not doing quite as well.  I don't know exactly what is going on.  I still attribute how she feels to the magnesium, so hopefully by tomorrow things will be looking up.  She's just really tired, nauseous, and overall feeling like crap.  We're trying to give her lots of love and attention.  I'm sure she'd love to see her friends, but with the way she's feeling I don't think it's a good idea to have any visitors just yet.  Please continue to pray for her.

Praise

Branson's still doing great this morning.  He's off oxygen.  I sat in with the NICU team on their rounds this morning.  He was a pretty boring case (which is very good).  There's not much that they need to do right now except continue to give him nutrition a little bit at a time.  

 

Cristy's doing okay today as well.  She's still not close to 100%.  Her liver function tests have been out of whack for the last few days.  They still haven't really come down to normal levels yet, so please continue to pray for her recovery.  My expectation is that she will start feeling better after the magnesium is turned off.  

All in all, we are joyous and thankful that Branson is as healthy as he is right now.  What a blessing that he is almost 4 1/2 pounds!  All your prayers have really paid off.  

Look at all that hair!

Touchdown!

Well, we couldn't have asked for a better situation than we had tonight.  Cristy's labor progressed along steadily.  She wasn't in too much pain.  And when we were ready to have the baby she was clutch.  Honestly, she acted like she'd done this once before.

When Branson was delivered he pretty much started crying right away.  This is in stark contrast to Caroline who gave us nearly a full minute of silence after she was born.  She isn't quiet anymore.

The NICU team did a great job looking after him immediately.  He pinked up and started peeing all over everything.  (That's my boy!)  Cristy had a chance to hold him right away.  Then he was off to the NICU for a little extra TLC. 

Cristy's still worn out from the whole affair.  They're going to keep her on magnesium until tomorrow night just as a precaution to prevent complications from preeclampsia.  It makes her feel like crap, but it's the right thing to do.  After that I expect her to start feeling much better.

Thanks again to everyone for all your prayers over the last few days.  We are so thankful for his and Cristy's health right now.  Please continue to pray that he would have an uneventful course in the hospital and we would be able to bring him home healthy very soon.  

Love my mommy...

Born 11:09pm, 1/22/08, 4 lbs 5 oz, healthy!

Getting a little closer now

Water is broken now. Baby looks great on the monitor. We're all
getting ready.

"I can't wait to see my little brother!!"

Tuesday evening

Cristy is doing well.  Tomorrow morning she'll be 32 weeks pregnant.  However, at the rate we're going I doubt she'll still be pregnant tomorrow morning.  Due to some complications, her doctors have decided that we need to go ahead and deliver for her safety and the safety of Baby Branson.  

The good news is that the baby looks great.  She's in the middle of induction right now.  At this rate, I imagine there will be some good news within the next few hours!

The difficult thing is that he'll only be 32 weeks at delivery, which means his little lungs and other organs won't be quite as developed as we would like.  But he's been getting some medicine that will help speed up the maturation process so he'll be ready to fight when the time comes.  Even still, we predict a good 4 weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  This is one of the best NICU's in the country so we're very confident that he'll be in good hands.   As soon as we have pictures of him, we'll share.  Until then please enjoy some selections from UNC's defeat of Dook in football back in November!

Baby Branson is almost here

We created this to keep everyone informed about what is going on with Cristy and Baby Branson (or Little Branson, as the blog title suggests).  I'll try to keep it updated as things go along.  Please feel free to email Cristy or me.  We have so much appreciated everyone's concern, prayers, and well wishes.