6 Month Checkup

Ok - so I'm a little behind. Cooper's six month checkup actually happened a month ago on July 17. It went great. He is now in the 25th percentile for weight and height and 30th for head circumference. His length is 25 7/8" and he weighs 16lb 4oz. Dr. Jen started him on solid foods at this visit. We were hoping she would because it seemed like the little guy was never full. Cooper had to get more vaccinations which I was really apprehensive about since he cried so much after the last set. But this time he did really well. He cried, of course, but stopped before the nurse even left the room.

We started the solid food the next day with rice cereal. He made some funny faces at first but after a couple bites he was holding his mouth open like a baby bird waiting for the next spoonful. We also were able to go off the Neosure Preemie formula and start plain old Similac Advance. We were looking forward to this because of the cost of the Neosure. Our formula budget has gone from $45/week to $28/week.

The first night of solid foods was a rough one. We don't know if it was the cereal or the new formula but Cooper barely slept the entire night. He was only consoled if he was held. I finally got him to fall asleep about 2:30 and then a thunderstorm woke us both up! Chris took over after that so I was able to get a few hours of sleep before work. The next week or so were also pretty rough. He was eating the cereal really well and was up to 4 tbsp twice a day within a few days but his sleep schedule was getting worse. Before the cereal he was sleeping 10-12 hours every night. After the cereal he started waking up hungry once or twice a night. Maybe it was a growth spurt but it was an unwelcome change. After a week or so things started settling down and we were back on track.

Who are these people

Cooper is really getting expressive. He's been smiling a lot and does a really wide open grin that looks like he's laughing. We've been teasing him that he laughs like grammie...no sound comes our or if it does only dogs can hear it. He also seems to be a little ticklish. When you tickle his feet or tummy you almost always get a smile. He's also more vocal. When he is in his swing he makes all kinds of noises at the fishies. Chris jokes that he has named all four fish and is talking to them. I can't remember all the names but I think there is a Carl and a Terry. We also discovered this week that Cooper is big enough to sit on his Boppy pillow and he really likes it. He really seems to like sitting straight up so it will be nice when his neck muscles are strong enought to hold his head up so he will be able to sit easier. Here he is having some tummy time.


Cooper had another busy week. On Wednesday he got to meet Uncle Steve, Aunt Bonnie and his cousins, Stephanie and Greg. They drove up from Kentucky to watch Chris' other cousin, Gary, play in the state high school basketball tournament. Cooper and Aunt Bonnie really bonded. They've been keeping up with Cooper via the blog so it was like they were old friends before they even met.

Sunday, Uncle Eric, Aunt Susan and cousins, Kaylee and Logan came and stayed for a couple days. Kaylee and Logan were super excited to meet their new cousin. Although Logan was a little worried about what kind of tricks Uncle Chris may have already taught Cooper. Kaylee was quite the nanny. She held Cooper as often as she could and even fed him and helped with diaper changes. Grammie and Papa also stopped by for a little while on Sunday and Grammie came back on Monday because she was in town for a meeting. She had to get her bi-weekly Cooper fix. Chris and Logan had a good time teasing each other. Chris told him the story of the Corn Dog Man and how Eric could have been the corn dog king of Ohio and Kaylee the corn dog princess. It made sense at the time...I guess you had to be there.



Today we introduced Cooper to the neighborhood. The weather was super nice so we put Cooper in his stroller and Floyd on his leash and took a walk. It was only a couple of blocks but it was great to finally be outside again. Cooper was indifferent to the whole experience. We thought he would fall asleep but he stayed awake for the whole ride. Maybe we'll get Cooper some cool Baby Banz like Giacomo so he won't have to squint the whole time.

Two Months Old

Cooper turned two months old this week. Tuesday he went to the doctor for his two month checkup. He now weighs 9lbs.! Even Dr. Jen was surprised by that. So he is now on the weight chart in the fifth percentile. He still hasn't made the height chart but he's close. He also had to get his vaccinations which meant four shots! Two in each thigh plus a liquid vaccine that he drank. Needless to say he screamed the loudest I've ever heard and turned bright, bright red. He was pretty fussy the rest of the day. Every time we laid him down he would cry so I held him all night.

Like I said before, Cooper is really starting to pay attention to the world around him. Here is a little video of his reaction to a raspberry.

Working for the Man

Sorry for the lapse in posts. Work and Cooper have been taking up a lot of time. Then when I did have time, Blogger put a block on my blog because they thought it was a spam blog. Things are resolved now so here's the scoop.

We survived my first week back to work. I think it was harder on Chris than it was on me. Cooper has decided he doesn't want to nap during the day unless he is being held. He used to sleep at least two hours between feedings but now it's twenty minute power naps. If he falls asleep in your arms and you put him in his crib he wakes up immediately. As soon as you pick him up he falls back asleep. It's been very hard for Chris to get anything done during the day because Cooper is demanding constant attention. It's more of the same once I get home and take over. He has a fussy period now during his 6pm feeding. He will cry for the bottle but as soon as you give it to him he spits it out and cries more. I've been trying to get him into a bedtime routine so after we struggle through the feeding I give him a sponge bath (unless it's Friday, then it's a real bath) and change his clothes. Then we play with his activity gym for a while. Although right now it's more lay than play. He usually just stares at the stuff. Then we read some books and if I'm lucky he falls asleep. Otherwise he stays up until his 9pm feeding.

Going back to work wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Knowing that Chris is taking care of Cooper gives me more piece of mind than if we were putting him in daycare. Since I get up at 6am to feed Cooper I get to the office at 7:45. This is a big change for me since pre-Cooper I didn't even get out of bed until 8am. It's odd to be the first car in the parking lot and lucky for me they didn't change the alarm code while I was out. I am swamped at work with a long list of issues that piled up while I was out. The good thing with being busy is it makes the day go fast. We are also working with some new technology for the next version of our product which is exciting.

Cooper is really starting to be aware of his surroundings. It seems like just this weekend he has started to notice things a lot more. When we put him in his swing he follows the fishes as they spin around above his head. Today I was holding him on my lap and making raspberry sounds. Each time I did it his eyes would widen and he would furrow his brow as if he was trying to figure out what that strange sound was. He is also starting to coo more often and can hold his head up for several seconds. It's very exciting to see these new developments.

Time's Up

My maternity leave will be over in a few hours. Tomorrow it's back to work. We've been trying to keep Cooper to a 12/3/6/9 feeding schedule but he has different ideas. Just when we think we're in charge he asserts his independence to prove how naive we are to think we could control him. Today he wanted to eat every two hours all morning and afternoon then he slept for five hours this evening. That's the longest he's ever slept in one stretch. So we don't know what's going on. Maybe he's having a growth spurt. The good thing is the five hour nap put him back on schedule.

Grammie and Papa visited on Saturday and they think he has grown. Not only has he put on weight but he seems to have gotten longer as well. We'll know for sure when he goes back for his two month checkup on March 6. Cooper and Grammie spent some quality time together. As you can see in the picture they had some really good conversations.

Cooper and I had another photo shoot the other day. I was playing around with his spiky hair again. It just cracks me up. I also took some pictures of him in the hat that Aunt Susan's friend sent for him.

New Look

You may have noticed the blog has a new look. It still needs a few tweaks but hopefully you like it. I didn't come up with the design but I did modify it to work with the latest version of Blogger.

I added Google Analytics to the blog about a month ago. It's a very cool way of tracking how many visitors the blog gets. We average 15 - 20 visits per day, which isn't bad. The coolest feature is the Geo Location and Geo Map Overlay. These show you what part of the world your visitors are from. I was surprised to see that we've had some international visitors from Canada, Australia and Argentina! We've had visits from all over the U.S. Most of them I can identify who I know in that state but we've had some visits from Utah, Rhode Island and Missouri that I don't know. So if you're a visitor who we may not know feel free to leave us a comment and let us know who you are and how you found us.

Of course no post is complete without a picture of my boys. Cooper and I felt Chris had been asleep way too long so I had Cooper wake him up. His method was quite effective.

Hands Down

Cooper gave Chris a good laugh this morning. After his 3am feeding Cooper was wide awake so Chris was rocking him to get him to go back to sleep. Cooper brought his left hand up to his face and seemed shocked it was there. Every time he would bring it closer to his face he would look scared like it was some unknown beast. After a few minutes he brought his other hand up, took one look at it and put it in his mouth. So apparently there has been some kind of falling out between Cooper and his left hand but at least he still gets along with the right. Maybe there was a fight of some sort between the two. That could explain some of the mysterious screams we here coming from his room.

Here's a picture of Cooper's punk rock hair. I couldn't help having some fun with it after his bath the other day. People pay a lot of money for a hair do like this. Cooper's lucky his forms a natural faux hawk. It looks better in person. His wispy hair is kind of hard to capture in the picture plus the flash washed him out a bit. While I was dressing Cooper after the bath I decided baby clothes should take a lesson from strippers and showgirls and be tear away. They definitely should not involve going over the head. Poor Cooper probably wishes I would have played with dolls more when I was a kid so I would be better at dressing him.

Here's a tip for new parents...take a picture of each gift you receive with your digital camera. Then upload them to a site like Flickr and tag them with gift and put who gave it to you in the description. I've been writing thank you notes and this has really helped me out. It also helped me when I decided to return some things. The bonus is you will have a nice archive that might outlast the gift.

Cooper is Zero!

Today is my official due date - 5 weeks and 1 day after Cooper was born. So Cooper's adjusted age is now zero. Preemies have two birthdays - their legal birthday, which is the day they were born and their developmental birthday, which is the day they were supposed to be born (the due date). Doctors track a preemie's developmental milestones like rolling over, sitting up, sleeping through the night etc. by this adjusted age. Not all things are delayed though, like eating and familiarity with language and objects. Cooper seems to be developing quite well. Every day he seems more alert and makes lots of fun faces. When you say his name he will usually turn his head towards your voice. He also seems to be soothed by the sound of running water. I'm not sure if this is intentional or just a Pavlov response since the sound of running water to him usually means we are preparing a bottle to feed him.

The odd thing about today is back in December I kept telling Chris that since the winter had been so mild that we would probably have a big snow storm when the baby was due. Well today we have about 6 inches of snow, freezing rain and a snow emergency. Proof of woman's intuition - you be the judge.

And in case you just can't get enough, here's some live action Cooper...

On the Grid

Cooper received his Social Security card in the mail today so he is now officially on the grid where the man can start to keep him down. He's been pretty fussy the last couple days. We're not sure if it's gas, acid reflux or a bad attitude. It tends to happen right after he eats so we're thinking gas or reflux. Eric and Susan swear by Mylicon so we've been adding it to his formula hoping it will break up the bubbles. Every day it seems like he is more and more alert. He focuses on your face when you talk to him and has been staying awake longer and longer. Yesterday he was awake most of the time between 1pm to 10pm. We even had tummy time for a few minutes. I laid him on his stomach and he practiced lifting his head and kicking his feet. Let's just hope the screaming is a passing phase.

WARNING: Gratuitous cuteness...

One Month Checkup

Cooper had his one month checkup today. He now weighs 6lbs 9oz which is great. Dr. Jen said they like for them to gain between 1/2 - 1 oz per day and Cooper is gaining 1 1/2. He's still not on the growth chart but is getting close. He hasn't grown much in length, only a quarter of an inch but she is not too worried about that since growth charts are somewhat inaccurate. There is also some dispute over his birth length. When he was first born they said he was 18 1/2 but a few days later in the NICU they measured him at 17 1/2. That's why the doc isn't too worried about the length. It's hard to get an accurate measurement on squirmy little guys. Cooper is also starting to focus on your face and track objects. When you talk to him he turns towards you and pays attention. These are good developmental signs. Cooper's biggest issue right now is gas. Yesterday he would scream until he let go a big toot. This happened over and over most of the night. Dr. Jen said it could be an isolated incident or a lot of babies start to get fussy in the evenings around 4-6 weeks. That or he has some reflux. We're hoping it's just a passing thing and he will be back to his calm self today. All in all Dr. Jen is very happy with how Cooper is doing. She said he is doing great and that he is very cute (I bet she says that about all the babies but I didn't disagree).

We got several inches of snow yesterday and the temperature has been below zero with the wind chill so we bundled Cooper up in order to take him out. I had to take a picture becaue he looked so cute. He didn't seem to mind the extra layers (once I got them on) and slept during most of the trip. The worst part was undressing and redressing him at the doctor's office. He's not real cooperative when it comes to putting his arms through the sleeve. Usually he bends his arm at the elbow and clenches it tight which makes it very difficult to get his shirts on.

One Month Old

Cooper is four weeks old today. Time is sure going fast. He's an eating, sleeping and Pampers filling machine. This week he moved up from preemie size diapers to newborn size. Yesterday he was sleeping and out of no where let out a blood curdling scream. It scared Floyd and I half to death. When we got to his room he was crying and had actual tears. This was the first time he had tears and it broke my heart. The weird thing is there didn't seem to be anything wrong with him. Chris and I theorize that he gets the night terrors. Sometimes he will scream and when we check on him he is sleeping like nothing happened. Maybe it's just his way of testing the emergency response system known as mom and dad.

Here's a picture of the boys watching the Super Bowl...


Here's the One Month Football vs. Cooper comparison...


As promised, here's Cooper with the Mini Cooper Grammie and Papa got him...


I had to get a picture of Cooper's Stretch Armstrong legs. If he keeps eating like he has been he won't have them much longer.


Floyd got in on the photo shoot showing that he is much bigger than Cooper and the football...


Floyd is still not so sure about Cooper...


This one proves that even dogs can take a bad picture...

Growth Spurt!?!

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. The sleep deprivation is bringing me down plus I've started working a few hours a week. I don't know how Chris does it. He pulls the night shift the majority of nights. I did it once this week and am still recovering. Of course even before Cooper was born, he often stayed up until 3 or 4 in the morning. I guess it's a good thing that our sleeping patterns are the opposite of each other.

Cooper seems to be going through a growth spurt. He is averaging 2.5 to 3 ounces every feeding. During his evening feeding tonight he was ravenous! He ate 3 ounces like it was nothing and still wanted more. He ended up eating 4 ounces total! Just in the last day or so he looks bigger. His face is filling out and he's starting to get rolls on his arms and wrists. His legs are still a little scrawny but are starting to lose that Stretch Armstrong look. His head also looks bigger. I measured it last night and it is now 13". It was 11 1/2" when he was born. He goes to the doctor on Wednesday for his one month checkup. We're estimating he will be over six pounds by then. The month as flown by.

I went back to the doctor this week and am now considered recovered from the preeclampsia. My blood pressure is back to normal so I no longer have to take the blood pressure meds. My kidneys are also back to normal since my last test turned up negative for protein. I am feeling better too. I think the hormones are leveling off because I'm no longer experiencing hot flashes and crying fits.

Cooper got to meet his Uncle Eric on Friday. They seemed to hit it off. Eric had a hard time believing how small Cooper is.

Aunt Carole also stopped by to visit with Eric and Cooper (sorry Eric, I think it was more for Cooper). She brought some funny shirts that she thought would fit Cooper's personality.

Since Cooper's cousins, Kaylee and Logan, won't be able to visit until March they sent some posters they drew to welcome Cooper home with Eric. They are complete with pictures of Floyd and Cooper.

They also sent some clothes and the book "If you give a moose a muffin". I read it to Cooper tonight and he seemed to enjoy it. It put him right to sleep but he did give a little smile at the end.

Grammie and Papa were also here today. They brought Cooper a Valentine's Day card and his very own Mini Cooper. I'm hoping to get some good pictures of mini Cooper with his Mini Cooper tomorrow when he (and I) are more awake.

Three Weeks Old

Cooper is three weeks old today. He celebrated by being awake most of the day. He wasn't really fussy, just awake. He is continuing to eat like a champ. He's starting to eat minimum two ounces sometimes more at each feeding. He's also becoming a bit more demanding. Chris and I think his grandparents ruined him over the weekend. Grandma Debbie held him all night Friday and then Grammie Cathy and Grandpa Tom held him the whole time they were here on Sunday. Now he wants to be held all the time. Tonight we gave Cooper his first big boy bath. He didn't scream and flail as much as I thought he would but he wasn't exactly thrilled either. He did leave a nice surprise at the end. He made the phrase "turd in the punch bowl" a reality. Chris and I have been trying to sing to Cooper but sadly most of the songs we know are TV theme songs. So far he seems to like Green Acres, Cheers and The Facts of Life. Chris has also been singing him King of the Road (from the Swingers soundtrack). I guess we need to learn some lullabies.

Grammie and Grandpa Tom came down Sunday and brought the dust ruffle and quilt that Grammie made for Cooper's crib. I'm going to make some clips to hang the quilt on the wall until Cooper is big enough to use it. I'll post some pictures once I get that done. Grammie also brought some preemie size clothes she found. Grandpa Tom finally got to hold Cooper for the first time. The last time they visited Grandpa was afraid he had a cold and didn't want to give it to Cooper. But this time he passed the germ test and he and Cooper were the best of friends. They already have plans to go ice fishing next year. Cooper may change his mind when his cousin Logan fills him in on the requirements of a first time ice fisherman.

The Small Things...

It's amazing how small things can make the biggest difference. We started out with a Fisher Price Sound and Lights baby monitor and were surprised and annoyed by the amount of static it produced. The closer it was to any electronic device the worse the static got. You all know we're big geeks so we have lots of electronic devices so the static was constant. It also eats through batteries like there's no tomorrow and plugging in the AC adapter actually increased the static! So I bought an Evenflo Whisper Connect on Thursday because it got good reviews on Amazon. It took two seconds after plugging it in to realize it was no better, maybe even worse. Chris bought a Graco iDigital yesterday and after we let it charge for 16 hours as directed we both gave a giddy sigh of relief at how static free it was! Yes, we were actually celebrating a baby monitor and how relaxing it was to not be surrounded by the constant static and white noise. An added bonus is the batteries are rechargable. Take that Energizer and thank you Graco!

Cooper got a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Gambill last night. Grandma held Cooper the majority of the time they were here. We had to pry him from her arms so she could eat dinner.

Every day we are amazed at what an eating machine Cooper has become. More often than not he's only going two hours between feedings. It's hard to believe that less than two weeks ago they thought he would have to be tube fed. Yet another small blessing.

Two Weeks Later

It's two weeks today that I was released from the hospital. Sometimes it feels like a year, other times it feels like yesterday. This week I'm finally starting to feel like my old self. I've got energy. I can see my feet. I have ankles again. I can even wear my wedding ring. Better yet my bruises are healing so I don't look like a heroin addict anymore.

I went to my doctor again today and she is pleased with how my blood pressure is decreasing so she has lowered the dosage of the blood pressure medicine again. This is good because the medicine makes me very sleepy and if there is one thing I don't need is to feel sleepier than I already am. If things continue to go well she might take me off the BP medicine completely at my appointment next week. They also took blood and urine so they could run more labs. I've never had a problem with needles but I found myself flinching today when they took blood. While I was in the hospital, the preeclampsia made all my blood vessels constrict so they had a very hard time finding veins when they needed to do IVs or blood tests. A single test usually took at least two sticks. The worst was the IVs. My initial IV took three tries and those big needles really hurt! Hospital policy says they have to change the IV every three days to prevent infection. The Sunday before I delivered they tried to put in a new IV but gave up after two tries. So my initial IV ended up staying in five days instead of three.

After my appointment I stopped by my office to visit with everyone and talk to my boss about my maternity leave. It was great to see everyone and be in a world that does not revolve around bottles and diapers. I have less vacation than I thought but my company is being very understanding about the whole situation and is working with me to come up with a plan that works for both of us.

It took the hospital less than a week to send us our first bill. My first trip to Labor and Delivery, that lasted about three hours, cost $1,199. My stay on the High Risk floor plus Cooper's delivery was a whopping $13,237! Cooper's one day in the well baby nursery was $2,938.15. We still haven't received the bill for the NICU. So our grand total so far is $17,374.15. Of course that's what the hospital bills the insurance company. We still don't know what our share of that is yet.

Cooper is still doing great. There is no other way to describe him than as an eating machine. I had the night shift last night and he was up every two hours, instead of the usual three, wanting to be fed. Chris is able to get him to take two ounces almost every time. I can usually get him to take at least 1.5 ounces. I really need to get a video of Cooper eating because it is quite a process. He gets very impatient when you take away the bottle to wipe his face or burp him and flails his arms and raises his head. Tomorrow I plan on giving Cooper his first big boy bath. Hopefully we'll have some video of that too.

Two Weeks Old

Cooper turned two weeks old yesterday and he's been home from the hospital for one week. His cord also fell off last night so he now has a belly button. And on top of all that he got to spend some quality time with his Grammie last night when she stayed with us because she had a meeting in Columbus today. A pretty eventful day for a little guy.

Today we went to the pediatrician. Cooper weighed 5lbs 4oz! That's 9oz in one week and almost a pound since birth! The pediatrican said he is doing awesome. He is having a little problem with constipation because of the high calorie formula so the doctor recomended putting a half ounce of apple juice in his formula twice a day. We feel sorry for the little guy because some of those marbles he's been passing have to hurt on the way out. Hopefully the apple juice will help even things out., His next visit is in two weeks for his one month checkup.

We've been receiving lots of cards and packages from friends and family. Thanks for thinking of us everyone. Thank you notes are on my "To Do" list. Since we named Cooper, my dad has said all he can picture is a little kid in diapers and cowboy boots. Well, Cooper now has his first pair of boots. They came in the mail today from my Aunt Karen and Uncle Paul. They're still a little big but if he keeps gaining weight like he has been he'll be wearing them in no time.

Floyd is getting used to having Cooper around. Today he looked like he was listening to the baby monitor in case Cooper called him.

Fourth and Goal

I don't have a lot to report today but I didn't want to let down my loyal readers. I know Mamaw and Papaw are expecting something to read after their coffee.

Cooper seems to be having more awake time lately. Today he was awake for at least half an hour. Partly because I gave him another sponge bath and I think it stressed him out a little. It stressed me out too. Half way through the bath he decided to do his Play-Doh Fun Factory impression again! This kid just doesn't like being clean I guess. It looks like his cord should fall off anytime now. It's just barely hanging on there. Grandma Debbie can expect it in the mail soon after.

I also tried to take some pictures of Cooper today with a football. The goal is to periodically take pictures of him with the football so we can see how he grows over time. He wasn't overly cooperative because right as I would take the picture he would push the football out of the way! Maybe he's a sports prodigy (or maybe he just wiggles a lot).

It may not look like it but he is starting to gain some weight and fill out a bit. Chris and Aunt Carole decided his knees look like a Stretch Armstrong doll the way they have the extra skin around them.

This is an up close and personal shot. I hope all that hair falls off his back before bathing suit season.

Is it a full moon tonight? He's going to hate me when he's about sixteen and sees this picture but I just had to document the fact that he's finally starting to get a rear end.

Back on the night shift

Cooper had another good night. Chris seems to have mastered the feeding. After two nights on the night shift he was pretty worn out. Luckily I am feeling much better today so I have taken over baby duty for the weekend. Cooper doesn't seem to like my feeding technique as well as Chris' because he doesn't eat as much when I do it.

I needed a prescription refilled so Aunt Carole came over and drove me to Target and the grocery store so Chris could rest. It was nice to get out of the house and do something other than go to the doctor's office. One of the things I bought was a thermometer for Cooper's room. It seemed to me that it was too cold in there and my mother's instinct was correct because it was only 64 degrees. So maybe I'm not as paranoid as I think. Aunt Carole hung out with us for a while and gave Cooper a baby massage. Mostly she found his ticklish spots (the underarms are a real hot spot).

I forgot to mention yesterday that I got my test results back from the doctor. I still have protein in my urine in the 100s. The doctor said this could persist for a couple months. I'm supposed to check my blood pressure twice a day and come back in next Thursday for more lab work. I'm feeling better now that I am taking less medicine and I seem to be getting my old energy back. Hopefully I'll find out next week if I can drive again.

Feeed Meee!

Cooper's appetite seems to have kicked into overdrive. He's getting more agressive now when he eats, raising his head toward the bottle and flailing his arms when you take it away. Chris has had to take over all of Cooper's care until we're sure I'm not contagious and boy did he give him a workout last night. He seems to be eating a lot more and when he wasn't eating last night he was fussing. Chris said he was only happy unless he had his hand or a bottle in his mouth. He tried the pacifier but it would fall out when Cooper fell asleep then he would cry again. Needless to say Chris was very tired and a little cranky by morning.

The good side of the constant eating is Cooper really seems to be filling out. Just overnight it seems like his face is getting fuller and his legs aren't as scrawny. In preparation for another restless night I put together his bouncy seat and swing this afternoon in the hope that they may help calm him if he is fussy again. Cooper pulled a nice prank on Chris today when he pooped through three diapers in a matter of minutes and then peed on himself and Chris! We laughed the other day at Babies R Us when we saw what looked like an athletic cup that was designed to protect you from this problem. It doesn't seem like such a silly idea now.

Two Steps Forward...One Step Back

Cooper continues to do well. He is eating great especially now that our technique is getting better. Luckily we get a chance to practice frequently. I took the night shift again last night. Everything went well except for one wardrobe/sheet change. I think it was Chris' payback for making him change a poopy diaper. Chris didn't quite get his diaper on tight enough so the next time Cooper peed it went all over his shirt, blanket and sheet. I'm still not very good at putting a shirt over the head and arms of a very squirmy infant.

Cooper seems to be having longer awake periods, usually after he eats. I read him all the Sandra Boynton books that grammie bought him yesterday. I'm not sure if he enjoys it yet but I did. Chris and I have been worried that we aren't paying enough attention to him because we try to put him in his crib when he is sleeping and he is pretty much always sleeping!! Chris called in an expert, his grandma, who raised five kids. She told him there are two types of babies, good babies and bad babies. She said we have a good baby and we should be thankful for it. I also asked my doctor and the NICU nurse when they called to check on us and they have assured us that it is normal.

It's been a week since I was released from the hospital. The bruises from all the various IVs and blood tests have almost healed and I seem to be getting stronger. I've been able to shower with out being totally exhausted afterward. I went to my regular doctor today to have my BP and Kidneys checked. The took more urine (it seems like all I ever talk about anymore is pee) to test the kidney function and adjusted my BP medicine. My BP was only 102 over 77 which could explain some of my light headedness and that's why they have lowered my dose of medcine. The step back is I also may have picked up an intestinal virus. I guess the norovirus has been going around town (that's the same one they get on cruise ships). So now I'm supposed to stay away from Cooper as much as possible so I don't give it to him. The doctor put me on a bland diet and said it should work it's way through in about 3 days.

Since I'm supposed to stay away from Coop I don't have any new pictures today but here's a cute one of Chris and Cooper making faces at each other. Chris is a really great dad. He picked out this night light for Cooper's room. It projects star constellations on the walls and ceiling.