Happy Mother's Day

Brady had an appointment with his pediatrician on Wednesday.

Dr. Tim gave him his two month vaccinations (one oral and four shots in the leg). They wanted Brady to take Tylenol to help prevent any seizures. Ali said Brady barely cried (maybe he has a high pain tolerance from everything he has endured over the past 10 weeks).

Brady now weighs 13 pounds, 6 ounces and is 24 inches long. Dr. Tim increased his daily feeding amount to 900 ml. Ali and I will need to work hard to get him that amount every day. Brady usually takes between 800-850 ml, so we might need to start giving him a bolus feed with his tube during the day. Brady's new feeding tube seems to be working well.

Dr. Tim was very pleased that Brady was showing signs of a normal two-month-old. Brady's neck is strong. He is following movement with his eyes. He is smiling and cooing. He really enjoys being held and is becoming more aware of his surroundings. Here's a quick video of Brady smiling and cooing: http://youtu.be/4eHEIFa5KCQ

Dr. Tim said we might start on solid foods a little earlier than most babies, because it's thicker than milk and easier for Brady to eat.

The one concern Dr. Tim had was the muscle tone in Brady's legs. Brady was a little stiff during his evaluation. Dr. Tim is hopeful that Brady's upcoming therapy will be preventative for any physical limitations.

Dr. Tim is setting up another swallow study at the U of M and a visit with a neurologist there as well. We will have another appointment with Dr. Tim in one month.

On Tuesday, the school district's occupational therapist will come to work with Brady. On Wednesday, the home care nurse will be coming to evaluate Brady. One week from Tuesday we will start with Gillette Children's Hospital therapy as well.

We had a fun and busy weekend as a family. We had a track meet and birthday party on Saturday. We spent time at both grandparents' houses on Sunday.

Today was a special day to say thank you to my wife, mother, and mother-in-law for all of the sacrifices they have made over the past ten weeks. We hope all of you had a wonderful Mother's Day as well.

With love,

Tyler, Ali, Ava, Casey and Brady