Good Advice Taken

I've received several words of wisdom and little pieces of advice since my little guy was born. But the best piece of advice I have received came from Christine. In a conversation a couple of weeks ago she told me to cherish every moment. Then she told me about an experience she had recently and how it might have been the last time any of her children will wake her up in the middle of the night for a bad dream and how much she will miss those days. So I've been thinking lately about how I can really cherish every moment with Brody now. Well the other morning Brody was starting to get fussy as a result of his reflux. He really has a hard time getting comfortable sleeping on his back these days. He had been sleeping off and on for about an hour and now he was starting to whimper and cry. I picked him up to cuddle him and help him get comfortable again. As he fell asleep in my arms I had the option to lay him back in his crib so I could do somethings around the house or just hold him for awhile so he could really rest. With Christine's advice ringing in my ears, I sat down on the bed and snuggled with my little boy. It didn't take long for him to fall into a deep, peaceful sleep wrapped in his mother's love, and he slept for about two hours. While I sat there staring at my little boy I couldn't help but think of what a blessing it is to stay home with him. How lucky I am to be able to take of my son every minute of the day. I thought of the many times my mom took care of me over the years. (Thanks Mom!) How I loved having Vicks rubbed on my chest when I had a cold or sore throat, and I wondered if Brody would like the smell of Vicks. I dreamt about all the times I would get to tend to my sick little boy over the next several years. And I couldn't help but think of how someday my son would be miles and miles away serving a mission, or away at college, or even married with his own children and how I wouldn't be able to take care of him then. And I was so glad that at that moment I had nothing more pressing than sitting on the bed with my little baby and letting him know that his mother cared. And I cherished every minute of it!

Welcome to the Family, Brody!

Brody's official welcome to the family came on Monday. Last week the pulmonologist mentioned that reflux might be the cause of Brody's apnea. So Derek and I researched the signs of reflux in infants. It turns out that we could check yes on most of the symptoms. So we called the doctor back on Monday, told him what we had observed, and he wrote out a prescription. My baby is now taking a generic form of Zantac 4 times a day. I really like what Susan, one of our favorite nurses from the NICU said when we told her. "They outgrow that in time, grow up and develop it as an adult over worries." Sound familiar to anyone? Luckily Brody will grow out of his reflux by two years old. As for the rest of us... we'll be poppin' pills for the rest of our lives.

Super Brody

We have been continually amazed at how strong Brody's neck is. He lifts his neck up when he is laying on his stomach and when we hold him vertically he looks like a little turtle who is poking his head out of his shell and looks over our shoulder at this new world he is excited to discover. We tried to capture this little miracle as best as we could! Enjoy! Stay tuned for when he will be able to hold his own head up. (If he keeps this up we see it happening pretty soon.)

We need to get Mom and Brody back to church

Brody looks like he is switching religions in this picture (what are Mom and Brody actually doing while I'm at work) :) Actually the real story is that he pooped all over his back and dad needed to change him an give him a bath. Ari came and wrapped him up and we laughed afterwards at this sight!

Veteran's Day Weekend

Well, I was happy for this past weekend. School was cancelled on Tuesday for Veteran's Day and the school district decided to give us monday as well for a holiday, so needless to say...I HAD A GREAT FOUR DAY WEEKEND. I was able to spend a whole four days at home with my wife and son. Now your probably wondering what did we do with all the time together? Well I will let Brody show you exactly how we spent our long weekend...

Why it is so hard to be a Dad

This is Dad's first post to our family blog and it is dedicated to all those working fathers who can relate to this story. I was getting ready for work this morning and Ari was snuggled up sleeping in bed. Brody began to get a bit fussy so I went in and picked him up while I was waiting for my clothes to get out of the dryer. After a while, I noticed that I needed to put the petal to the metal if I wanted to make it to work on time so I told Ari to come and take him so I could finish getting ready. She simply said, "Put him in bed with me." I finished getting ready and was going to kiss my wife and son good-bye and head off for work when I beheld the scene that you all see in the picture. So there it is... Mom and Son all snuggled up, peacefully sleeping, and enjoying thier morning together while Dad has to drag himself off to a drudgery day at work. It is tough being the Dad sometimes but scenes like this makes work have a much better purpose.

If Walls Could Talk

After his bath and some milk, I put my boy in his crib for a nap. Then I go out to wash his bottles and eat some breakfast. Over the monitor I often hear soft babbles. When I go to check on Broderick, he is wide awake and talking to the wall.