Braden Meets His Great Grandmother

Braden is meeting his great grandmother ( sorry mom) for the first time! My mom was so excited to finally see him, and he slept through it all. He kept mom up till 3am so he was catching up on his beauty sleep! Braden is up to 7 lbs now and that is hard to believe. I can't believe Thanksgiving is almost here. We have a lot to be thankful for esp our baby. Dan lost his job about 4 weeks ago and has been unable to find another job. It is getting really frustrating because everyday he sends his resume out or fills out an application and nothing! He has applied for 37 jobs so far and only 7 have said his resume was forwarded to the hiring manager. It's so hard to not be angry that this happened or be depressed it happened. I know that when God closes one door he opens another but come on already! This is getting ridiculous. Oh well, please pray for us that we can get through this and Dan can and will find a job (at least with benefits, hello! do you know Whitney and I?? We can't go to long without insurance)

Being Grandparents Rock!!!

As you can tell Dan and I finally got to hold our first grandchild, Braden Riley! It was soo amazing to hold such a precious gift and to know he is a part of you. Braden finally came home on Friday so mom and dad decided to spend a few days alone with him before letting others come and see him.. Although this is a good idea, I think grandparents should have been able to come and see him first. But I respect mom and dads wishes and held out till Sunday. He looks so different from the way he looked in the hospital. I don't know maybe it was because I was finally up close and personal that I saw how adorable he is. I still think he looks like his great grandfather with a little Branden thrown in there! He has decided to give mom and dad a hard time and likes to stay awake at night and sleep all day! Haven't we all been through that phase? I told mom I was available for night duty if she needs me! So Braden slept the whole time we were there, even with passing him from Dan to myself! I remember those first few weeks. You are so tired it is hard to put one foot in front of the other. I really want to be there and help the new parents in any way but I'm not sure what the boundaries are. When I had my kids I welcomed any and all help those first few weeks and I was glad to have my mother, Dan's mom Marie and my Granny to help me and let me get a few hours of precious sleep. So I don't know what else to do except keep offering my help and hope that they will let me help . I really want to be a good mother-in-law and a great grandmother. But where are the boundaries? I don't want to be pushy or overbearing. There really should be a class or a book one can read on how to do this grandparenting and mother-in-law thing! Anyway, if someone really reads this blog I invite you to give me some advice on this subject. I'm curious as to what people think makes a great grammy and a good mother- in-law!

One Week Later Update

Wow! What a difference a week makes! Our little baby is doing awesome. He is now taking a bottle and mom and dad finally get to hold their little boy. Unfortunaly grandparents have to wait til he comes home :( but I get to go into the nicu and see him! If everything continues to progress we are hoping he will be able to come home the end of the week or early next week. Yesterday was his one week birthday and I went to see him. He was awake (finally!) and was very curious about the world around him. He seemed to be mesmerized by his mommy's face, it was awesome to watch the two bonding. This was the first time I was able to see his eyes open. Everyone says he looks like Branden but I'm not sure. I have to give thanks to Arlington Memorial Hospital's NICU, they run a tight ship but are always there to answer questions or help mom and dad with the care of their baby. Of course Whitney and Laura are patiently waiting till he comes home so they can see him. Whitney has given me strict orders that when she comes home for the Thanksgiving holidays the very first stop has to be and Branden's and Sharla's! We are so thankful that a bad situation has turned out good and that mommy and baby are doing great!

Braden Has Arrived!!!

Our family proudly announces the birth of Braden Riley Elkins! He was born at 12:46am Tuesday Nov. 4th. Braden weighed in at 6lbs 7oz and 19 inches long. Braden decided to make his appearance 4 weeks early. His birth was a little scary and there were complications that causes Sharla to have to have an emergency c-section. But thankfully mom and baby are doing fine. Braden is in the nicu because of his early arrival and he needed a little support breathing. (that is the breathing machine you see around his head and his nose. We are so thankfully that angels were watching over that little boy and his mom. If they had waited any longer this would not have turned out good! We don't know how long Braden will be in the nicu so please keep mom and baby in your prayers. Hopefully I will have better pics to post soon along with an update.