Happy Birthday Bram (better late than never)

Bram Mac

 1 Year Old

Stats 

Weight   22lbs 9 oz (50%)

Height    28 1/2" (10%)

Head Circ  18 1/2" (70%)

Skills

-cruising like a champ but not walking yet
-babbling constant sounds but no words yet
-clapping
-dancing
-recognizing familiar people when asked to find "mommy, etc"
-you are still a great eater!
-you did a great job moving from the bottle to sippy cup!

Struggles

-still not saying mama or dada specially in regards to us (Dr. Natasha said not to worry hopefully that will come in the next few weeks)
-sleep overall is really good. You don't take very long naps but you are happy when you're awake so that is great! 

Letter from Mommy
My Sweet Little Bram,
   Happy First Birthday! We had such a great time celebrating your b-day. On July 4th (the day after your 1 st b-day) we had our family all come over for a party. We cooked out steaks and veggies and had a big birthday cake! You loved your cake! I'm not surprised because you love all food! I'll post pictures from your party down below. Everyone always talks about what a sweet boy you are and how you can make anyone smile. Your temperament is so pleasant and you are always happy to make a new friend. You are starting to get sad whenever mommy has to leave you in child watch at the Y or at church but every time I come back to get you a smile is on your face again! You and Titus are starting to play together more. Titus loves to practice his football moves on you. You're a tough boy to handle a big brother like T. I hope you and Titus always have a good relationship where you can laugh, fight, cry, and joke together. Daddy and I pray for you everyday. We pray that you grow to be a strong, Godly man; who knows God and loves God.

We love you Brammy.
Love,
 Mommy

Bram Mac 11 Months

Bram Mac 11 Months

STATS
Not sure (no doctor visit this month)

SKILLS
- You love to clap
- You greet everyone with a wave
- cruising all over the place
- speedster going up the stairs (mommy has to keep a close eye on you!)
- You are loving big boy food and are only taking a bottle at bedtime (still getting milk in sippy cup the rest of the day)
-sleeping great at nap time and at night!

STRUGGLES
- You are not babbling that often, but you can babble DA DA and MA MA. You don't use those sounds to request your daddy or mommy yet (but I'm sure we will be there soon!)
-There are not many struggles right now! PTL

Dear Bram,
    The month of June has been so fun with you. You love the water! You splash like a wild man in the tub and at the pool. As soon as I turn on the water for you bath your feet start kicking like crazy. It is fun to watch you and your big brother interact more. Your eyes light up when Titus talks to you. Sometimes in the car if you are sad I will ask Titus to try and make you laugh! He starts making all sorts of funny faces and noises and low and behold it almost always turns your tears into giggles. Your laugh is contagious. You really get laughing hard whenever mommy or daddy tickles your tummy. I love it. Your laugh always brightens my day.

I love you son,
 Mommy

Bram Mac 10 Months

Happy 10 Months Handsome Boy.

STATS
Weight 18 lbs (estimate)
Height ?????
Head Circ ??????

SKILLS
-You are CRAWLING!
-You can hold your self up along a table or couch
- You are sleeping great!
- You have been sick once since getting your tubes and you didn't get an ear infection! Good news!

STRUGGLES
-You have been sick a few times this month (but didn't get an ear infection!) When you are sick you just want mommy to hold you. That part is pretty sweet.
-You are crawling and getting into everything! :)
-You will eat anything that comes in your path (scares mommy)

Dear Brammy,
  Sweet boy. I'm so proud of you. You have had a great month. You were such a big boy when you got your tubes a few weeks ago. You were so patient and happy. We arrived at the hospital at 6am and had to wait until 7:15 for your surgery to start. You played quietly with mommy and daddy during that time. Everyone at the hospital was smitten by your sweet smile and chubby checks. You greeted the surgeon, nurses, and other doctors with your adorable smile. They loved you. Your surgery went great. It took about 15 minutes for them to put in your tubes. Mommy was pretty nervous the entire time. I paced the waiting room and your daddy teared up when your status on the "waiting room board" said IN SURGERY. We went right back to see you as soon as the doctor would let us. You wanted to nurse right away and were very disoriented. We got you home and you took the longest nap of your life (about 4 hours) and then woke up like nothing had ever happened. Your ears haven't bothered you since. Praise God. You have been doing great gaining weight since your 9 month check up. You have been taking two bottles a day and nursing twice a day. It seems to be working well for both of us. You love "big boy" food as well. You like to eat avocados, cheese, yogurt, all fruit, hummus, and most veggies. We went on your first trip to the beach this month. Your favorite part was definitely the sand. We love you sweet Bram. Happy 10 months.
Love,
Mommy

Happy 9 Months Bram

Happy 9 Months to this handsome face...

STATS
Weight 17lbs 10 oz (10%)
Height 26 1/2 inches (10%)
Head Circ 17 1/2 inches (25%)

SKILLS
-You are getting really close to crawling! I can tell you want to move really bad but for now you are just rocking away on all fours
-You make everyone smile
-using your pincher grasp to pick up food (and everything else small!! It terrifies me!)
-You are FINALLY sleeping through the night and taking 2 good naps a day!

STRUGGLES
-I had some problems with nursing on one side, so I weaned one side and was trying to only nurse you on one side. My supply is not doing the best job keeping up. At your 9 month check up the doctor told us that your weight and height have not increased enough over the past 3 months; therefore, I have to start supplementing with formula. I was pretty bummed, but the most important thing is to do what is best for you! So We are going to start giving you two bottles of formula a day and I will nurse you twice a day as well.
-You are still getting ear infections quite often so we have an appointment to see the ENT, hopefully they will put in tubes to help you from getting so many ear infections.

Bram Mac 6 Months

Happy 6 Months Bram Mac

Stats:

Length 25 3 /4 (50%)

Height 17.3 (50%)

Head Circ. 16 7/8 (25%)

Skills:

*Rolling over both ways
*Sitting up with some assistance 
*laughing often
*eating well
*getting length and consistency to his naps

Struggles:
*night time sleep (He was doing great and then with holiday travel and sickness he is back to waking up 2 or 3 times a night!) 
*teething!!! 

Dear Bram,
  We are so thankful to celebrate your first Christmas and New Years! It was such a joy to teach you and your brother about Jesus each night during our advent calendar time. We traveled to Texas on Christmas to visit Gigi and Grand daddy. You had a great time and did an awesome job on the airplane. You got to meet your great grandmother Charlotte and your pawpaw Tom for the first time over Christmas. What a joy to see four generations together. It has been fun to watch you develop a little personality this month. You are really starting to express happiness when you see someone you know, and you get a little feisty when you don't want to do something (your feisty is pretty mild though):)! You are such a blessing. 
I love you. 

Love, 

Mommy

Bram Mac 5 Months

Happy 5 Month Birthday Sweet Bram

Stats:
I have no idea what his height and weight are this month because we don't go to the doctor again until 6 months! There is no denying that his rolls are getting bigger and his clothes are getting tighter. :)

Skills:
*Rolling to his side
*sucking his thumb (I think that's a skill because he can self-soothe, I might regret this "skill" when I get his orthodontist bill in 10 years!)
*babbling
*Making others around him smile!
*sleeping most nights until about 4am, eats and then back bed until 6ish

Struggles:
*figuring out wake times between naps
*Starting to get upset about being in the carseat

Dear Bram,
  We are so thankful to celebrate your first holiday season! You bring us so much joy. Your first thanksgiving was great. You got to travel to Manhattan and spend time with all your extended family (a tradition that has been around for years and years), and you got to go to papa Mike's house. You were so adorable playing with your cousins and big brother. My favorite thing you are doing right now is laughing! I love to hear your laugh. Sometime we spend fifteen minutes or more just laughing at each other. You are such a joy. I praise the Lord for you.
Love,
Mommy

Bram Mac 4 Months

Bram Mac

Happy 4 Month Birthday Bram!

Stats:

Weight = 16. 15oz lbs (90%tile), two weeks before he went to Dr and was 17.1 lbs so he lost a little weight when he was sick (I don't think losing a few ounces is a big deal for this guy)

Height  = 25 1/2 (75%tile)

Head Circumference =  16 1/2 (25%)

Skills:
*Bram is getting really good at pulling his legs up under him while on his belly
*laughing and cooing
*babbling to mommy, daddy, and brother
*great head control
*sits up with mommy's help (pretty far from doing it on his own)
*can lay him down for nap while he is still asleep in his own crib, sleeps for about 45 mins at each nap

Struggles:
*Still eats two or three times at night, but I can't complain because it only takes about 10 mins and he is back to bed!
*I think he might be starting to teeth early. Titus had theeth by four months, and poor Bram seems like his are hurting. He is drooling and chewing on everything!

Sweet Bram,
  You are growing so fast! You are not my little newborn anymore. I love getting to spend so much time with you. It makes my heart so happy when you giggle or smile at me. When big brother takes his afternoon nap we usually get at least an hour of time just me and you before your nap. I cherish that time. It's special to have a few moments to just get to know you and focus all my attention on you. I love what a cuddle bug you are. Your eyes light up when you see your big brother! I can't wait to watch you two play together. You and daddy love to just look at each other and smile. Those are special moments. We love you sweet Bam bam (what T calls you).
Love you.

Bram 3 Months

Bram Mac
3 Months

Stats:
weight 15.5 lbs
length not sure
head circumference not sure

Skills:
*Bram rolled over from tummy to back for the first time on Oct. 1st
*sitting in Bumbo! Holding head up
*sleeping longer stretches at night! :)
*coo's and smiles a lot
*putting on weight also seems to be a strength for this chubby little man
*sleeping in his crib!

Struggles
*trying to figure out a routine. I want him to be well rested but we also NEED to get out of the house. Trying to find a good balance

Bram,
You are a sweet boy. It's so fun to smile at you and see you smile back. You're growing so fast! I can't believe it was only 2 1/2 months ago that you were in the NICU. You have changed so much! Your big brother loves hugging, kissing, and squeezing you. Lately he's been trying to lick your head. We've been explaining to him that licking isn't the best way to express his love for you! :) Titus loves to tell everyone, "MY new baby brother". He's very proud of you and so are mommy and daddy.
Love you.

Some pictures of you from the last month

Bram 2 Months

Bram 2 Months

Stats:
weight 14 lbs, 97% percentile (He's a chunk!)
length 22 3/4, 50% percentile
head circumference 15 1/2, 25% percentile

Skills:
*Bram started smiling around the 8 week mark
*good head control
*sweet sweet temperament
*can pull legs up under him
*turn head from side to side while on tummy

Struggles
*sleep- wants to be held! I don't blame him I love cuddling as well, but it does make it tough to get sleep in our house! Just this week he started going to bed in his bassinet with a good routine around 9:30pm! Great progress! After that it is all over the place.
*keeping him safe from his big brother! Titus loves him so much that he wants to squeeze, lick, and step on him! :)

We love you Bram Mac. 

Introducing Bram Mac Marasco

Surprise...My water broke
Our sweet little Bram was born on July 3rd 2012 at 2:48am. Bram's arrival caught us by surprise when I went to see our Midwife and found out that my water had a slow leak. This meant that Bram had to be induced that day. Matt and I left the doctor's office, dropped Titus of at a friend's house, went home to pack a bag, and were at the hospital within about an hour! We were nervous since I was only 35 weeks and 5 days pregnant, but we were also excited to meet our new little guy.

Whoa...Labor Time
 They started the pitocin at around 1pm and labor was slow most of the day. Around 7pm the contractions started getting to the "oh my" point. Matt and I were trying to go through labor without an epidural, if possible. From 7pm to 10pm things went really well with labor. The contractions were painful but we were getting through them. Matt was a great support and we were enjoying working together to help me handle the pain. Around 10pm things got way more INTENSE. The pain was well....the wrath of God. Honest. But we tried to keep working through it. Around midnight I starting begging Matt to get our wonderful nurse and ask her to call in the epidural! (Side note: We couldn't have been more blessed to have a wonderful midwife and a great labor and delivery nurse. Rachel and Lindsay are both truly God sends. Rachel, has delivered both of our boys. Matt and I couldn't be more thankful for the way she was has walked with our family over the past 3 years (since I got pregnant with T)! She goes above and beyond in every way. She is so loving and helpful. Lindsay was such a great help through labor. She was so helpful in giving advice for handling the pain and so encouraging. We praise God that she was our nurse that night.)
I finally did get an epidural at 2am, right after I got it Lindsay checked and I was dilated 10 cm! No wonder the pain was so intense...I was in transition (a labor term that basically means the roughest part of  labor!) The epidural got me through the pushing part of labor

Just chilling waiting for the pain to kick in

Pain had finally kicked in, for some reason I'm excited about the pain at this point...means baby is coming soon...about an hour later I didn't look this happy about the pain!

Unexpected Route
 Before I started pushing we learned that because our baby not quite 36 weeks they would have to have the NICU staff at the delivery just in case. We were all hopeful that baby boy would come and everything would be fine but they needed to be there as a precaution. There was the obvious risk that his lungs wouldn't be ready to breath without mama's help. So two pushes later, sweet Bram was out! (Though we hadn't named him yet!) There was also a chance they might have to transfer him to the NICU at Children's Mercy because the NICU at St. Luke's was full. As soon as we heard that we started asking some people to pray. When they put Bram on my chest it was obvious that he was struggling to breath on his own. After what seemed like seconds (was probably longer), the staff from the NICU took Bram off my chest and started the processing of admitting him into their care. Thanks to answered prayer Bram was able to be admitted to the NICU at St. Luke's and was not transferred. Matt went with Bram to help with that while Rachel and Lindsay stayed with me until I could go down and see Bram.

Not the best picture thanks to bili lights!  BUT one of the first pictures of Bram

 TO BE Continued...
More on our journey in the NICU later

(side note: I'm sharing all this a month later on here because I was convicted last night about how important it is for me to write our story (before I forget!!). I think it's important to keep track of the story of our family so that our boys can look back and read it some day and even share it with their kids.)