HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Today Braedon is turning 5 years old. Wow! I love it. When I told him today was his birthday and he was 5, he counted down from 7. LOL!

Just a quick recap of 5 wonderful years... Braedon was born 7 weeks early. He had stopped growing 9 weeks early, but hung out with Mom for a few extra weeks before coming into the world. He was what is called an IUGR (Intrauterine Growth Retardation) baby. For some unknown reason, he simply stopped growing and it became dangerous for him to remain inside me.

So, very early on Thursday morning, we drove up to LDS Hospital to welcome him into the world. I can still remember his first little cry. That is a great sound. Because he was so early, the NICU team was there to immediately take him away and start to make sure he was breathing okay. Dean got to go see him while I just waited. That part wasn't too much fun for me.

As I was wheeled back to my room, they rolled me into the NICU to see and touch him. Boy was he tiny. I remember his dark hair and how beautiful and perfect he looked. They put him on my chest for a moment and then it was off to recoup and let him settle down. He was 3 pounds 4 ounces and 15 1/2 inches long.

Over the next few weeks, he stayed in the NICU to grow a little bigger before we could bring him home. We were very blessed he didn't require any surgery or anything additional. He was just, what is called, a feeder grower. Finally, we got to take him home. Dean happened to be in Vegas for work that day. CRAP! I called my good friend, JoAnn, and she helped me bring the little bundle home.

Braedon was such a joy for us. He hated loud noises and we had to practically whisper all the time. He would only listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Anything with a drum beat or guitar would make him scream. This made watching football incredibly difficult that year.

Dean blessed him in February and he continued to grow and be such a fun bundle of joy for us. Because he was a preemie, he was automatically enrolled in a neonatal follow-up program the Utah Department of Health does. Every so many months, we would go up to the U and see 4-6 different doctors. It was nice. We got his hearing checked, eyes checked, talked with a nutritionist several times, saw a pediatrician, and a few others I can't remember. It was while we were up there that we referred to DDI Vantage for additional early intervention.

Upon the DDI Vantage evaluation, I heard a phrase that would forever change my life. Sue, the evaluator, asked if Braedon had trouble making eye contact. That was a red flag for me. I knew enough about autism to know that is what she was asking about. After countless hours of research, more evaluations, and testing Braedon was diagnosed with Autism.

At first I was devastated, like any mother would be. I cried and cried and worried about what life would hold for my son. I lamented over the challenges he would face in life and the struggles he would endure. Over time, these feelings lessened. Thank goodness. I began to see how creative, brilliant, logically thinking, determined, and completely hilarious Braedon is. It's still hard, at times, but I have a very different view of what my son CAN and WILL become.

We enrolled Braedon in a private preschool for children with autism when he was 2, as well has had a speech therapist come over to our house a few times a month. He LOVED going to "school". The structured environment suited him just fine. He also loved having Sue come over to play games.

When Braedon was 3 he started school at the Carmen B. Pingree Center for Children with Autism. What a blessing this has been. In the past few years, he started talking. Not in complete sentences, YET. He communicates his wants and needs other then screaming. To watch him each day grow and develop has been a lot of fun.

We've had our share of struggles along the way and will in the future, but that doesn't matter so much to me. What matters is Braedon is loved, happy, healthy, strong, confident, and my 5 year old boy.