Braden's Progress

Today was a great day for our little Braden! (The picture above is from today before he got all of the tubes taken out). He got to come off of the respirator and get the chest tube taken out!!! He is now breathing on his own, but they still have him on oxygen because they didn't want to take everything away at once. He is slightly jaundice so he is under a light but that should be able to be taken off tomorrow. The tube that was going into his bellybutton was also able to be removed today! They started feeding him small amounts today through his feeding tube instead of just IV fluids. The best part of all - Brian got to hold his baby boy for the very first time today!!!

We are SO incredibly thankful to God for answering prayers. We are still taking one day at a time but are so thrilled about the progress. Thank you to EVERYONE who is praying for our family. Your prayers mean more than any words I could ever express!

And to not leave our little princess out of the limelight...here is a picture of our Minnie Mouse from this evening. We went to a local church's fall festival and Mersadie had a blast. I have plenty more pictures to share - just too much to do tonight - so I'll post them later. Isn't she just precious?

Our Boy - Braden Christopher is here!

Brian and I got the surprise of our lives this Tuesday evening, October 27th with Braden Christopher Moore joining our family exactly 6 weeks early. On Sunday afternoon after having lunch with our church staff and missionary friends, we were walking out of the restaurant and my water broke. We were in SHOCK to say the least. After a whirlwind of events and getting Mersadie taken care of, we went to the hospital where they confirmed, sure enough, that my water had indeed broken. There they informed me that I would be in the hospital until Braden was born, which would not be more than 9 days.

On Tuesday morning, when I still had not gone into active labor on my own, the high risk OB came in and highly suggested that we schedule a c-section to reduce the risk of infection for myself and Braden. I had already been given the 2 steroid shots for Braden's lungs to develop. With reluctancy we went ahead and scheduled the c-section for that evening at 7 p.m. (Reluctant because I REALLY wanted to try and deliver naturally this time around after having a c-section with Sadie). We knew this was the best choice though.

At about 4 or 4:30 Tuesday afternoon I started having contractions so fast, painful and close together that we called the doctor into my room. She checked me for progression and to my surprise, I was 2 cm dilated and 100% effaced. They decided to let me progress naturally and see where it led. Well...it led right to more and stronger contractions, A LOT of pain, an epidural (THANK YOU GOD) and after about 30 minutes of pushing - our handsome son Braden Christopher was born at 8:25 p.m. - 5 lb 14 oz. - 18 3/4 inches long. - BIG guy for 6 weeks premature!

Braden is still in the NICU because he is not breathing well on his own. Things have been so up and down. The worst being him going through a collapsed lung on Wednesday evening. The doctors got him stabilized and he is on a respirator. It will be a fairly long road to recovery, but things are looking up. He is breathing 70% on his own and they say he is getting better. The next thing he will need to do after breathing on his own 100% is to learn how to suck so he can eat. Then they will make sure that he is regulating his own body temperature. After all of those things are successful, our boy will be able to come home to meet his big sister.
Thank you for your prayers and concern as we go through what is the biggest trial of our lives so far.