Michael Courage Bradrick

[itsnikki05]

Generally, a 35 weeker born spontaneously will do better than a C/S. The process of labour is important to get babies ready for life outside.

I always think giving children virtue names is asking for trouble-Perseverance and Constance will grow up to be flighty, Defender and Courage will grow up to be cowardly and Loyal will grow up to be two-faced. But them I'm one of those bitter, cynical ppl.

ETA-G-Con turned one about 2 weeks ago. Their getting closer together (the others are all about 15 months apart.) Their eldest is not yet 5. She's going to kill herself.

But-- my great grandmother's name was Grace. And the name suited her perfectly. :) (And I loved her so much I'm giving our future child, if it's a girl of course, the middle name Grace. :D)

[Wolfie]

It looks like the majority of the wires are EKG wires (the thin red, black, and white). The tubing on his right looks like IV tubing going to his right arm. The headband is eye protection--it looks like he's getting UV light treatment for his bilirubin, and babies need eye protection for that like you would going to a tanning bed (I think on the side it says "NeoSun"). I don't know what the wire ending in a silver sticky on his stomach and I'm not sure about the tube in his mouth, but I think it's probably a tube going down to his stomach? I don't think it's a breathing tube though.

They're probably using the EKG wires and another wire to monitor his breathing and heart rate, which is not uncommon in the NICU. They may have wanted the IV so they could give medication for controlling his blood sugar. Lots of babies get UV light treatment for high bilirubins. It does look like a lot is going on, but it doesn't look (to me anyway--but maybe some NICU nurses would know better) like anything worse than they've already stated is happening. A lot of it looks like extra monitoring or treatment for problems which will most likely be temporary (blood sugar will probably stabilize, bilirubin will probably drop).

I find this interesting, I was born at 34 weeks, but it was 30+ years ago, and since I was 6 lbs exactly, they just sent me home. I ended up coming in daily for treatments for a month or so, but otherwise I was at home. The care is so much different now, and I've seen it with friends' babies who were born over a month early now too.

[NurseNell]

I find this interesting, I was born at 34 weeks, but it was 30+ years ago, and since I was 6 lbs exactly, they just sent me home. I ended up coming in daily for treatments for a month or so, but otherwise I was at home. The care is so much different now, and I've seen it with friends' babies who were born over a month early now too.

I don't know how early my 35 y.o. son was born but at 2 1/2 weeks, when he was weighed for the first time he weighed 4 lbs 8 oz. He was born in a hospital but taken the same day to an orphanage. This was in Colombia. He did have amoebic dysentery but was otherwise healthy.

[snickerz]

Don't know if this was already posted, but it looks like Petey's raising Nazis.

[WonderingInWA]

LOL! I've seen that photo and hadn't thought about that until now. Whoa!

[darkplumaged]

The youngest boy looks just like Peter. Poor kid.

I assume that's their house in the background. I guess "painting the house" isn't part of the job description for truly manly men. :roll:

[IamCanadian]

But-- my great grandmother's name was Grace. And the name suited her perfectly. :) (And I loved her so much I'm giving our future child, if it's a girl of course, the middle name Grace. :D)

It's a total crapshoot. I don't think children should be given names until they are at least 30 and have found themselves.

Come to think of it, I once had a student whose first name was Jeanne d'Arc. I think she was fed up with people asking her if she had left her sword and body armour at home.

[WonderingInWA]

The youngest boy looks just like Peter. Poor kid.

I assume that's their house in the background. I guess "painting the house" isn't part of the job description for truly manly men. :roll:

Well, I believe they live in a drafty old house without a good source of heat because Petey has said before that they have had to heat water on the stove in order to get the kitchen warm in the morning, or something to that effect.

I guess when you're an asshat like him whose finest quality is banging his wife often enough to keep her pumping out babies every 12 months, you are too busy to work hard enough to buy a REAL house.

[WonderingInWA]

And Petey's latest post (at 2am his time) is this:

"Up through the night taking Kelly to feed little Michael Courage in the NICU I am again amazed at Gods amazing gift of motherhood. The dogged determination mixed with tender sacrificial love is so beautiful to see in action it takes my breath away. Thank you Lord Jesus for a wife who cherishes motherhood!"

He makes me sick.

[Sister Mozz]

Don't know if this was already posted, but it looks like Petey's raising Nazis.

Look at that youngest boy. Does he look big enough to have two younger siblings? :angry-steamingears: Argh!

[MamaJunebug]

Well, I believe they live in a drafty old house without a good source of heat because Petey has said before that they have had to heat water on the stove in order to get the kitchen warm in the morning, or something to that effect.

I guess when you're an asshat like him whose finest quality is banging his wife often enough to keep her pumping out babies every 12 months, you are too busy to work hard enough to buy a REAL house.

I remember the story as this: Kelly boils water on the stove every morning and carries it to the bathtub.

I distinctly remember photo of her with two boys, about 11 months pregnant, glowering on the deck of a very nice house they were considering for purchase. From the looks of that house (love the shims holding up the porch pillar farthest to the right), these dominionists are operating from a location on Tobacco Road. *ouch* I said it.

As for the little boys - TP, KD (like k.d. lang, androgynous singer) and LC (sounds like Elsie) - they had best continue to perfect their Windsor waves, since performing as p/t/d/ royalty is the only gig they're going to have. They'd get laughed off the playground at a zero-tolerance-for-bullying Amish school, with those names! :| Their otherwise dumbass parents are sly about doing everything possible to keep them in the fold.

As to Petey taking Kelly to NICU to nurse Corragio, what a bunch of swollen purple prose. Doug, his dojo, has taught him well in overblown epic poetry style. Blowhards.

[Mudgie]

Look at that youngest boy. Does he look big enough to have two younger siblings? :angry-steamingears: Argh!

They are obviously beautiful children but they should not be barefoot while riding a bicycle or wearing rain boots while doing so. They should also have helmets on, Especially the older child on the bicycle with training wheels considering he's clearly riding over uneven ground. Between this and the carseat issue in the video in the other thread I'd say they're pretty damn lax on child safety.

[frumperlicious]

MY youngest was a 35 weeker, my dates were fuzzy (I didn't get prenatal care until almost 6 months along, its a long story) and so she was actually born on her due date, but whoops- turns out that date was wrong. They can tell by certain things, not just size- she was hairy, and red, and somethign about her ears...I forget. Anywho. She was small, 5 pds, but not overly so, no time in NICU, just a longer hospital stay than normal. But that, combined with a earlier birth that went horribly awry and a miscarraige, made it clear I was done. I didn't want to risk an earlier preemie, generally they get earlier with each birth. It was my body saying "sorry hun, 2 is it for you".

I wish Kellie would listen to her body- it is saying the same thing. Those kids need a mother, Kellie.

[darkplumaged]

Well, I believe they live in a drafty old house without a good source of heat because Petey has said before that they have had to heat water on the stove in order to get the kitchen warm in the morning, or something to that effect.

I guess when you're an asshat like him whose finest quality is banging his wife often enough to keep her pumping out babies every 12 months, you are too busy to work hard enough to buy a REAL house.

Yes, yes. I had forgotten about that. What a provider that Petey is--only the best for his sturdy, self-sacrificing helpmeet and army of future BRADRICK members.

How does Peter make money, anyway? Does Dougie pay him to be his right-hand man (ahem)? Does Scott Brown throw him some sympathy money?

[gardenvarietycitizen]

MamaJunebug, as so often, you hit the nail on the head. Bayoneting in 2012?

Grenades I can sorta go with. But watching for IEDs would make far more sense, of he actually wanted them to be soldiers. As the IRA pointed out, the side with the explosives only needs to be lucky once, you need to be lucky all the time. But there are spotting techniques for IEDs, which are more useful for modern day warfare.

I also wondered about the sniper in the foxhole. Must have made it a bit tough for him or her (there have been some excellent female snipers). Snipers nowadays are often in urban warfare situations and at any rate tend to need high, defensible positions. Low isn't good, because it throws off your aim and makes it hard to see threats coming and defend yourself.

I'm not surprised in the slightest, actually.

Most of the jingoistic war-glorifying types in the US (particularly the overtly religious ones) like to draw most if not all of their imagery from WW2. That was the last war that people think of as a "good war," where the heroic US went and saved Europe's ass and single-handedly saved the world from Hitler, and then magnanimously rebuilt it afterwards, because we're just such great people all around.

It happened back in the "good old days," there was a draft so everyone shared in it, there was sacrificing at home[1] (collecting metal! Victory gardens!), romantic letters to the front. It was fought by the "greatest generation" who nobly grew up during the Depression and know what work is and have good "family values" and trust God and the rest, and like true heroes didn't talk much about the war afterwards. Movies made about it were largely rose-colored-lens hero pics. WW2 veterans all believed in the war and were all absolutely good guys.

Sometimes they'll talk about the Korean war, that one was a good fight against the evil Commies, but coming right after WW2 it often tends to get forgotten. Now that so much time has passed though and WW2 veterans are harder to come by, some of the "oldest veteran here" people will be Korean war veterans. But... there's talk of atrocities in that war that have made the news (No-gun ri, for one), so sometimes it gets murky. Plus technically it's not over.

But the next big one after that is Vietnam, and for whatever reason the image there is just very different. It was an official loss, for starters (that's probably the main thing), and brings back images of the countercultural movements, and the 60's, they don't want to bring up the 60's and the idea of soldiers themselves protesting the war, plus there's the drugs imagery, it just doesn't work as well. Plus of course there are various atrocities that made the news and the whole thing was and remains just much more controversial. It just doesn't have that "everyone involved was absolutely a heroic good guy" feel to it. The main movies about it are negative - "Apocalpyse Now" for mere starters.

Wars after that one have not had the draft so it's just not the same. They're controversial, for one, too modern so there's politics involved, and many people feel disconnected from the whole thing because there's not a draft and the economy has changed (worldwide) so the whole "sacrifice" image isn't there. If they dressed the kids up in modern camouflage (computer-generated bit patterns of tan and grey!) and had them using sensors to detect IEDs or flying drones, the romantic image just isn't there and they might have to think about the actual wars currently going on, and again, that's way too political.

Why yes, I am VERY cynical about all this...

[1] though yeah, compared to anywhere the war actually was fought on, it's hardly comparable - probably another reason it gets remembered more fondly here

[Kathryn31]

I hope Kelly receives some help from her family (and his). Young children are difficult and with that many so close together I can't imagine how she will even take a shower let alone run the house to his liking. Sad.

[WonderingInWA]

BTW, Cabbage, oh, sorry, COURAGE, was 5 weeks early.

[NurseNell]

When we moved from NJ to upstate NY in 1950 my parents had to boil water in order to have warm water for a bath. They did that for 3 months. I was 5 1/2, my brother 4 1/2, and my other brother 2 1/2. It was a pain in the ass for my mother. After 3 months we were out of our cousin's house and in our own with hot running water. It wasn't that unusual in 1950 to have to do this. But 2012? :? Give me a break. And Kelly has 2 more kids than my Mom had. Wasn't Kelly raised in a pretty nice home too? It sure looks it in the photos I've seen. If she's not depressed I want whatever she's taking but I'd be depressed as all get out. She needs at least a break from childbearing, if not an end all together.

[ElphabaGalinda]

And Petey's latest post (at 2am his time) is this:

"Up through the night taking Kelly to feed little Michael Courage in the NICU I am again amazed at Gods amazing gift of motherhood. The dogged determination mixed with tender sacrificial love is so beautiful to see in action it takes my breath away. Thank you Lord Jesus for a wife who cherishes motherhood!"

He makes me sick.

This makes me worry that they're going to keep going and going, have a kid every year, until Kelly and/or a future baby dies in childbirth. And judging by this Peter would call that a beautiful thing. Having a kid every year without even giving your body a break does not necessarily mean one cherishes motherhood. There's much more to motherhood than birthing babies.

[WonderingInWA]

When we moved from NJ to upstate NY in 1950 my parents had to boil water in order to have warm water for a bath. They did that for 3 months. I was 5 1/2, my brother 4 1/2, and my other brother 2 1/2. It was a pain in the ass for my mother. After 3 months we were out of our cousin's house and in our own with hot running water. It wasn't that unusual in 1950 to have to do this. But 2012? :? Give me a break. And Kelly has 2 more kids than my Mom had. Wasn't Kelly raised in a pretty nice home too? It sure looks it in the photos I've seen. If she's not depressed I want whatever she's taking but I'd be depressed as all get out. She needs at least a break from childbearing, if not an end all together.

Kelly was raised in a barn. No, really. But it's a renovated barn -- big and well decorated (if you like that very busy look, which I don't, but her mother seems to spend a lot of time making all the walls look very, very busy with mismatched plates and tea cups and such -- like a little museum) and they hold a lot of their ministry conferences and other large gatherings there. I think Kelly is something like 27 and I think they have only been in the barn for maybe 10 years, so I don't know where she/they lived prior to that.

In any even, they should not be living in a house without a water heater. Peter is a douche canoe. I'm sure they look at it as earning some type of scouting badge, but if she's raising his kids and pumping a new one out every year, she deserves to live in the finest palace he can afford. With hot water. And no drafts. Honestly, the photos I have seen of the interior of their home make it look nice, well-decorated, etc. I don't know how she does it with 4 kids running around (and now a 5th one coming home).

But, I don't feel sorry for her one bit. She knew what she was getting herself into.

[easternabeille]

Sorry to sound like an idiot but could someone please post a link to Peter Bradrick's blog? I searched for it on the main list and couldn't find one. When I googled him I only found his 'business' site. Thanks!

[WonderingInWA]

Sorry to sound like an idiot but could someone please post a link to Peter Bradrick's blog? I searched for it on the main list and couldn't find one. When I googled him I only found his 'business' site. Thanks!

He doesn't have a blog. He's on FB though. He's got about a million FB friends so it's likely you could request him as a friend and he'd grant it. Then you can see his stupid posts.

[justlurking]

In any even, they should not be living in a house without a water heater. Peter is a douche canoe. I'm sure they look at it as earning some type of scouting badge, but if she's raising his kids and pumping a new one out every year, she deserves to live in the finest palace he can afford. With hot water. And no drafts. Honestly, the photos I have seen of the interior of their home make it look nice, well-decorated, etc. I don't know how she does it with 4 kids running around (and now a 5th one coming home).

But, I don't feel sorry for her one bit. She knew what she was getting herself into.

Where the photos you saw of the interior of their house these: flickr.com/photos/40962693@N05/

If so, I believe on another thread it was determined that they did not move into that nice house, but instead moved into a place that was a little more within Peter's price range (i.e. drafty, fixer-upper, with a small hot water tank that was inadequate to meet the needs of their growing brood). I'm sure Kelly probably IS living in the finest palace that Peter can afford. Even though he makes an over-inflated salary doing his thing with NCFIC, I'm sure it's not even close to the amount of money he would need to comfortably support a family of 6 (now 7). I'm sure that it's probably also hard for them to save money having a child each year---especially as they probably don't have insurance and pay for everything out of pocket. Courage's NICU bill will probably eat up most of any money they may have been able to save up after the cost of Geneva's birth (and Kelly's life flight emergency). There probably won't be any new water heater this year...

[debrand]

sorry. for some reason, it looks like my full comment is not showing up in my post

[treemom]

Do they participate in Scamaritan Ministries?