Ava was so excited to have a new brother or sister (we didn't know which before the birth). Ali and Ava shopped together for clothes and toys for the baby. Ava asked a lot of questions about what the baby would eat, how they would be able to play together, if the baby would pull her hair, and if the baby would drool on her.
We're not sure exactly what Casey understood. He oftentimes went to the appointments with us and called himself a doctor. He heard the noise of the heartbeat during one appointment and heard a similar noise when they were taking Ali's blood pressure. He later told Ali, "Mommy, I love the baby in your tummy. And I love the baby in your arm too." Casey also went into some of our ultrasounds and often asked about the "orange baby" due to the color of the ultrasound pictures.
Brady has been in the NICU for 18 days and Ava has always been afraid to see him (children under 5 aren't able to visit the NICU right now, so Casey will need to wait until Brady comes home). A few days after Brady's birth, we tried to bring Ava into the NICU unit. She kept her eyes closed and said she was afraid of the bright lights, machines and loud noises.
As the lights, machines and noises have disappeared over time, we've tried many different techniques to get Ava comfortable with the NICU. We've placed her photo in Brady's crib and decorated his room with Ava's drawings. We've also shown her pictures and video of Brady almost daily to prove to her that it's not so scary anymore. We ask Ava every day to visit Brady and she keeps telling us she isn't ready. It breaks our hearts that a girl who was so excited to meet her brother is still afraid to do so.
This morning I sat down on the stairs and showed Ava and Casey some video I shot of Brady with my phone yesterday. I was holding Brady's head at arms-length with my left hand and shooting video with my right hand. Brady made a funny face, a strange noise, and spit up all over my clothes. Ava and Casey laughed hysterically. They made me play the video over and over again. After the fifth showing Ava said, "I want to see Brady today". I don't know if it was the humor or something else that no longer made the NICU seem so scary to her, but we were excited to introduce Ava to her brother today.
Ava was pretty tentative at first. Ali held Brady in a chair and Ava only wanted to sit in a chair next to him. Over time she began to stroke his hair and kiss his check. She read him a book and gave him some toys to hold. Eventually, Ava sat down in the same chair with me and Brady. A few minutes later she was holding Brady on her own with the biggest smile on her face.
Grandpa and Grandma Vollmer and Grandpa and Grandma Krebs also took turns holding Brady today. 18 days is a long time to wait to hold your brother or your grandchild for the first time, so today was a very special day.
It was also a special day for several other reasons.
We mentioned that when we left yesterday Brady was at 15.5 hours without breathing assistance and counting. Well, we're still counting. In fact, they also completely removed the pulse oximeter (testing the oxygen levels in his blood through a laser in his foot). They are very confident that Brady will continue to breathe on his own from now on.
We also learned that Brady had three bottle feedings last night over 50ml (at 9 p.m., 12 a.m., and 3 a.m.). The most he's ever had before was one. He's wide awake and feeding like crazy when while we're home in the middle of the night. He usually sleeps during the day and drinks small amounts (5ml nursing at 3 p.m.) while we're at the hospital with him. We hope we don't have a permanent night owl on our hands. :)
Ali gave Brady a full bath today in a larger tub we brought from home. Before we did this, the nurse removed the feeding tube that ran from his nose into his stomach. We also removed the three heart leads on his chest. This was the first time since minutes after his birth that Brady was completely free of all wires.
After the bath the nurse ran the feeding tube back down his nose and into his stomach. I've told you that we've been waiting for that lusty cry that babies make when they're truly angry. Well, we heard it for the first time (and I don't blame him...I would've made the same noise). It was so refreshing to hear a "normal" baby cry. Once the tube was all the way down, he calmed down immediately and turned back into that sweet baby we've gotten to know so well.
One of the doctors stopped by to talk to us before we left. He said they are very pleased by Brady's muscle tone, the strength of his neck, and how he is progressing. Our nurse at the time said she gets goosebumps whenever she thinks about how far Brady has come.
Brady is a miracle baby. He's defying all odds. He's getting stronger every day, and we're moving closer to the day when he can meet his big brother and come home to his family. We can't thank you enough for all of the words of encouragement and prayers for healing.
And Ava can't wait to hold her baby brother again tomorrow.
With love,
Tyler, Ali, Ava, Casey and Brady
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