4 months old

Well, on Jan 11 Brannick will be 4 months old! He has come so far! On December 23 he had laser eye surgery because the blood vessels in his eyes were not forming correctly and if they hadn't have fixed it his retina would have detached and he would be blind. That could still happen, but this surgery was a step in the right direction. It has shown success so far but we will just have to wait and see what his eyes do when they are fully developed.
On January 3rd he had a diaphragm plication where they folded over and stitched his diaphragm down to his side so the lung can have room to fully expand and function. This was done because he has a paralyzed diaphragm on the right side and this will help him to be able to breathe on his own. He will most likely be extubated this week and breathing on his own! Then he will graduate to an open bed and get to wear clothes.
He has grown SO MUCH! To me, he looks HUGE!!! He weighs 3 lbs 12 oz now. He is a little michelin man. We have been able to hold him a lot more now. If I have the time, I can usually hold him every time I go. It is so wonderful and he responds so positively to each kangaroo care. I just love the little guy!

Brannick & Daddy:

Family Picture:

We had a great Christmas! My sister Jenny was here with her hubby Jesse from North Carolina. My grandma an grandpa from Cali came too. It was SO fun to have them here! We had so much fun. We got lots of fun pics of them with Brannick and we even got a 4 generation picture.

4 Generations:

Brannick & Uncle Jesse:

Brannick & Aunt Jenny:

Justin surprised me with a kitchen table and chairs for Christmas. We had been using my parents card table and old chairs. I LOVE it! He did a great job picking it out! I feel so grown up having my own table. I got him an ipod. He was always using mine and constantly asking if he could take it and my docking station to work so I got him his own and loaded all of his music onto it. I don't think he has put it down. We got a klik klack from my parents. It is an upscale futon. We wanted a futon for our spare room because we are often blessed with company and it is so much nicer than a blow-up-mattress. We were so blessed this year! Brannick got lots of cute things, especially from past parents of NICU babies. They left TONS of stuff by his crib.

He stole santas pants (but went shirtless to show off his muscles):

Christmas hat from Great Gramma

Hat from Santa and Socks from a nurse:


So far we have had a great year! Justin and I are both blessed with work. I am working hygiene at a dental office in North Ogden now about 2.5 days a week and Justin works so hard for our family at the flour mill. We are so happy and hoping that by April we can have Brannick home with us to stay.