Merry Christmas

Bryce decided his Christmas gift to us would be abundant smiles! We are so excited to see him smiling more and more everyday, especially after that first smile wasn't repeated for almost a week! We were wondering if it was some sort of fluke.

Well, I've got proof this smile is no fluke and pure genuine. It's truly the best Christmas gift we could ever have asked for. Of course, we were entirely too shocked by months of the crazy unknown to think of asking for such a thing.

I'm so sorry that I haven't kept up with the blog better since we've been home. We were talking today and realized we've been home for six weeks now - how is that possible? But my New Year's resolution is to post more often. Writing this blog and reading your comments is without a doubt what has gotten me through the most trying time of my life. I need to respect that process. Plus I miss you guys!!

I hope everyone out there had a most wonderful Christmas. Just being home with Bryce has been the best Christmas ever and makes me wonder how much better they'll be every year as baby Bryce grows into our little boy and discovers the wonder of Christmas for himself. I can't wait to make that as special as possible for him. Children are after all the best part of Christmas.

Here's a parting Christmas gift from our family to yours...

Getting there...

A step in the right direction - no more oxygen during the day anymore! Yeah Bryce!

Follow up again in one month.

Grow baby grow - doctor's orders!
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Big Day Tomorrow

Friday night Bryce did an overnight pulse ox test to see how well he saturated his blood with oxygen on the 1/8th of a liter he is currently on as well as on no extra oxygen. It's hard to be sure how he did since it was overnight but every time I looked he seemed to be satting the same regardless of whether or not he was on the oxygen.

Well tomorrow we find out if he did well enough to come off of the oxygen. We sure do hope that he did. It feels like we're on a leash with him all of the time and the concentrator is very loud. We are careful not to complain too much because we realize how blessed we are to have brought such a healthy and happy baby home with us, especially considering his entrance into the world. But we can't help but hope to be rid of the minute oxygen he's on and have a free roaming baby!

Also tomorrow we begin physical therapy. Because Bryce's brain bleeds and need for steroids in the past make him more likely to develop Cerebral Palsy it is best for him to begin physical therapy as soon as possible. And so we shall, tomorrow.

I'm very excited to see if a professional will have any better luck at tummy time than I have had. We'll see.

I'll be sure to let you all know as soon as I do tomorrow so keep a look out and thanks for continuing to check in on us!

Much love!

Good morning, Mommy

Here's Bryce wearing his camo deer slippers this morning - and as you can see also seriously pondering the meaning of life. Gotta love him!
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Six Month Well Visit

Bryce had his six month well visit with the pediatrician yesterday morning and got a clean bill of health. Of course, he's really only at the development level of a two month old since he was four months early, but he had to have his six month shots regardless. Needless to say, that has not been fun. He's been pretty grumpy ever since and needed a couple doses of Tylenol for the immunization induced fever. Otherwise though, Bryce is doing fantastic.

The neurosurgery follow up visit last week went well. The CT scan showed what I felt confident it would, that Bryce's shunt is working well and his little head is healthy as can be right now. We'll have to go back in six months for a fast acquisition MRI and if everything still looks good then we'll switch to the annual check up with them. Bryce will have to follow up with them annually for the rest of his life but as long as we only have to make that trip once a year we'll be happy!

Sleep has been quite the challenge as of late. Bryce still needs extra calories and nutrition for his preemie catch up growth but unfortunately the nutrient and calorie dense formula is harder for him to digest. This means that despite the prescription laxative he's on pooping is not a regular occurrence and is usually quite an ordeal for poor baby Bryce.

On a happier note, Bryce showed me the first sign of a genuine smile on Sunday morning. We were lounging in bed and I was singing to him and he cracked a big smile at his momma. Needless to say, my heart melted and my eyes welled up. The truth is that with everything Bryce has been through and all the things he is so high risk for (Cerebral Palsy, developmental delays) there was never a guarantee that he'd smile. But what mom doesn't wish for this for her children? Every time Bryce does something that other parents often take for granted that their children will do I am encouraged to have more and more hope for Bryce's future.

If he can make it through everything he has already and still find it in him to smile then who knows what else is in his future.