Cooper Update Day 9

There is not much new to report. Cooper is still having some episodes of oxygen de-saturation, but he is taking full feedings and is back to his birth weight of 4 lbs, 15 oz. I am trying to be at the hospital as much as possible to nurse him. He eats every 3 1/2 - 4 hours. It is a juggling act as I never know exactly what time he will feed each day. So far I have been able to be up there for most of the day time feedings (going home or running errands during the 1 1/2 - 2 hour break in between) and then the nurses give him bottles at night... 

Holding his paci in place 

Sleeping

Stretching out his legs

Cooper in his bed

I was able to see Cooper get a bath for the first time this evening (not his first bath - just my first time to see it). He was not a fan...

Here he is getting his hair brushed.

And snuggled up afterwards ready to eat.

We have told Anne that only grown-ups are allowed to see Cooper at the hospital. When I was leaving to go up there today she told me tomorrow she was going with me to see Cooper because tomorrow she would be a big kid! I wish that were true :-) I'm ready to have my family all together!

Cooper Update Day 8

Cooper continues to eat great. I was able to be at the hospital and nurse him for three of his feedings today. Unfortunately, he had numerous de-saturations in his oxygen levels. They tend to cluster together. The doctor thinks it is being caused by a "floppy airway" - because he is only 35 weeks he is not strong enough yet to protect his airway. While he may have reflux, the Dr said that is not what is causing the de-sats and she is not concerned with it. The "floppy airway" causes him to have a decrease in is oxygen saturation sometimes depending on his position. They have told us this is something that will fix itself as he grows - they expect within the next two weeks. So we still watch and wait. Thank you for your continued prayers!

One Week Birthday!

How cute are those dimples above?! 

It is hard to believe Cooper is one week old today. On one hand time is flying by, but on the other I feel like he has been here forever :-) It is weird that Anne and Bob have not met him yet though (you have to be 15 years old to be allowed in the NICU). I feel like I am living two separate lives. One where I have a newborn and then my old life where I have a 16 month old and 3 year old. My day to day with Anne and Bob has not really changed. I am still taking them to school, gymnastics, to the park, etc. - except now I am pumping round the clock and sneaking off to visit my new baby.

Cooper was snuggled up sound asleep like this when I arrived to see him today. Precious!

He is quite the wiggle worm. Physical therapy came to check on him today and he was squirming around so much they said there was no need for them to follow-up. He has been discharged from their services. Yay!

I started not feeling well today and was having several of the high blood pressure symptoms my doctor had told me to look out for. So, after feeding Cooper his afternoon bottle I went by the Doctor's office and had them check it. It was pretty high. Never a good sign when the nurse gets someone else to come double check it. They decided to up my blood pressure medicine dose and I am hopeful that will do the trick moving forward. I was feeling pretty down when I left and decided to swing back by the NICU to see Cooper one more time quickly before heading home. When I arrived the nurse told me the Doctor approved my request to start nursing him and I could do so at the next feeding. So glad I went back by! It was just the news I needed. It felt Heaven sent. I love moments like that.

Just like with my other two, nursing went as smooth as could be. I was pleasantly surprised. I figured after being only on the bottle there would be more of a transition time with Cooper. I am so glad he is a good eater!

 I love his milk coma smiles. I could just eat him up! Those dimples. sigh.

My sister-in-law had Anne for the afternoon. She loves being with her cousins! and it was a big help since I ended up being at the hospital for 8 hours total today. whew. 

Cooper was still receiving oxygen today, but I have been told they are going to take him off of it tomorrow and see how he does. Pray for no more de-saturations in his oxygen levels! Also pray that my blood pressure stays in check. Thank you!

Cooper Update 5.8.13

Cooper was able to have his IV removed last night as well as his feeding tube. YAY! He is now getting all of his nutrients from his bottles of breast milk. He is doing great sucking them right down. They have been able to increase the amount he takes every day! Unfortunately, the de-saturations in his oxygen level continues. The nurses have noticed that he will have a cluster of these after feedings so they think it might be caused by reflux. Apparently all preemies have some level of reflux so they do not want to treat the reflux until he is 37 weeks old to see if he out grows it first. He was put on a low-flow of oxygen this morning to help him stop having the de-sats. In the meantime we wait and watch his progress. This news means he will probably be in the NICU for at least two more weeks as we wait... 

That's how I feel about this news too Cooper!

Cooper Update 5.7.13

I headed to the NICU first thing this morning and was able to give Cooper his bottle and hold him for about 30 minutes. He did great taking his bottle! Unfortunately, yesterday morning he had two feedings in a row where he struggled to finish his bottle, so that earned him the feeding tube down the nose. They don't want to risk him losing any weight. So yesterday afternoon they started alternating one feeding by bottle and then one feeding by feeding tube. He has done great today with the bottle and is already back to receiving it at every feeding, but they have not removed the tube yet just in case it is still needed. They turned off the IV after his feeding this afternoon and I am hopeful that they will remove it from his head during his bath tonight. He is also completely off the bilirubin lights today. Yay for progress!!!

My main prayer request today is that Cooper is able to maintain his oxygen saturation levels. Although he is breathing on his own, he has had at least one episode every day where he quits breathing for a few seconds (long enough for the alarm to go off) and his oxygen level drops below 88. He always starts breathing again on his own, but he has to go an entire week with out this happening before he can go home. This is typical of premie's - the nurse said they just sometimes forget to breathe. I don't want to bring home a baby who is not breathing, but I am ready to get this little guy home!!! The back and forth between the NICU and home is tiring... Thank you for your continued prayers!

Cooper Update 5.6.13

Cooper continues to improve. He has been under the bilirubin lights for the last day and a half to treat a mild case of jaundice so I have not been able to hold him, but he has made improvements so they let him come out from under the lights while I was there this morning and hold him!

He continues to get some of his supplements through an IV. Unfortunately, they had to remove the one he had in his hand because it was leaking and put it in his head. Poor C! The nurse assured me it does not bother him. :-(

He slept soundly in my arms and then when we put him back in his bed he was wide awake for about 5 minutes kicking and squirming everywhere. So fun to see those eyes wide open. Here he is below just a kicking away!

The nurse told me they are going to move him out from under the big biliruben lights this afternoon and put him in the next step which is a swaddle blanket with the lights under the blanket. This will let him be able to take the mask off and actually look around the room when he is awake. This will also take him out from under the heating lamp, so hopefully he will not have any issues keeping his body temperature up. Keep praying!

Baby Cooper is here!

After being in the hospital a week on bed rest, the Doctor came by and told me Wednesday evening that they would run more tests the next day to see if my levels they were monitoring were higher and if so, that we would induce Friday morning. So, we called our parents and starting making plans assuming we would be having a baby in a day and a half. Well, the next morning my blood pressure remained very high. Dr. Przybysz came by at 10am and told me she was not waiting around for the other test results. It was time to have a baby! They were going to induce immediately. Will had gone home to help with the children that morning so I was there alone. I started making phone calls letting everyone know of the new plan. An hour later the process had begun! They broke my water around 11 am. Here we are waiting on the pitocin to kick in...

They gave me Magnesium through an IV during labor to prevent seizures (they were a concern because of my high blood pressure/pre-eclampsia). The medicine made me feel awful - similar to the flu. The actual labor was easy.

 James "Cooper" Pringle was born at 4:20pm weighing 4lbs 15oz and was 18" long.

Because I was only 34 weeks along they had a team from the NICU in the room during the birth ready to take him. Luckily, he came out breathing on his own, so I was allowed to hold him for 30 minutes before they took him to the NICU to be monitored.

We were so relieved and thankful that he was almost 5 lbs and breathing on his own!

I had to remain on the Magnesium for 24 hours after his birth which meant I also had to remain on bedrest. Therefore I could not go to the NICU and visit Cooper. It was a long 24 hours. The medicine made me feel miserable. Here I am seeing him for the first time 24 hours later. I burst into tears when I saw him (which is part of why I look so bad). It was such an emotional moment. I was dying to hold him!

Sleeping soundly

He is so tiny (especially compared to big brother Bob who is 27 lbs). I have a big smile on my face here because they let me hold him!

After 11 days in the hospital, they were able to get my blood pressure under control with medicine and I was allowed to come home. Cooper continues to remain in the the NICU. He is still breathing on his own, but has had a few moments where he "forgets" to breathe for several seconds (this is typical of premies). Luckily he remembers quickly, but he cannot come home until he has not done this for a week. So each time it happens we start over at day one count down... He started taking feedings by bottle yesterday and has already been able to increase the amount. Please continue to pray for his progress. He is doing great for being born at 34 weeks, but he has several milestones to meet before he can come home to us!

Check back for updates on Cooper. I am going to attempt to post updates of his progress regularly.