It's hard to believe our sweet babies were born 3 months ago yesterday, exactly 3 months early from their official due date. In some ways, the time has gone by very quickly, but in other ways, it has been a long road! I know it has been a few weeks since I have posted, so here are the latest updates on both babies as well as a few pictures!
Cooper:
Cooper has now been home for 2 weeks and is doing great! Overall, he is a very laid back and happy baby and eating and sleeping like most newborns do. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that he really is a "newborn" and not a 3 month old! We are still feeding him every 3 hours around the clock, but hopefully soon we can stretch it out to every 4 hours...at least at nighttime for a few feedings! Last Thursday, he weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces. We go back to the pediatrician for a weight check tomorrow, and I am guessing he will be well over 8 pounds! He is a great snuggler and one of his favorite places to be is laying on his mommy or daddy's chest.
It has definitely been challenging figuring out a new schedule and routine that allows us to spend time down at the hospital with Kinley. Since the hospital has private rooms, Cooper is able to go with me when I go to visit his sister. We do not go everyday, but try to go 2-3 days during the workweek, and then on Saturdays and Sundays as well. So far, he does well in the car and is happy to hang out for a few hours at the hospital.
Caleb was very exited when we brought Cooper home. He is still going to "school" during the week which has been very good for both of us! As soon as he gets home, he runs in the house with his palms up saying "baby?", looking for Cooper. If Cooper and I are still at the hospital, he gets a little upset and sad! One of my favorite moments was this one that happened last week:
I was getting ready to take Caleb to school and was making sure we had everything together. I told Caleb to go get his "night night", which is what he calls blanket. He ran into his room and came back with his blanket. I grabbed Cooper, who was already loaded in the carseat and started to corral Caleb to the garage. Caleb stopped and looked up at me and said, "Night night!", I told him, "Sweetie, you have your night night." Again, he said more forcefully, "Night night!". I was starting to get confused, when he then ran into the nursery, grabbed one of Cooper's blankets, brought it back to me, and reached up to put it in Cooper's car seat, saying again with a satisfaction and a smile, "Night night"! Our sweet boy just wanted his brother to have his blanket too!
We are very happy with how well Caleb has adjusted to having a brother and how sweet he is to Cooper!
Here are a few pictures of Cooper:
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| Caleb loves his brother! |
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| Brian, Cooper, and our friend Dr. Mandy! |
If you've been reading this blog for a while, you've read about some of our favorite nurses. These wonderful ladies have become some of my favorite people and we are so grateful for them taking such wonderful care of our babies. Here are some pics of some of the best nurses I know!
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| Edelweiss, Yolanda, Sandy, and Bridget |
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| Edelweiss, Sandy, Bridget, and a mad Cooper! |
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| Sandy spending some quality time with Cooper before he heads home. |
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| Tina- Our favorite night nurse who saved Cooper's life! We love her! |
Kinley:
It has been very difficult not seeing Kinley every day, but I do feel better knowing that our fabulous nurses are taking good care of her when I can't be there. Kinley is making slow but steady progress. A few weeks ago, the ENT team came to consult with our team and did a scope of her throat and airway and discovered that her left vocal cord is paralyzed. This is a common complication from her PDA ligation surgery. The vocal cord nerve runs right next to where they ligated the duct in her heart. Most of the time, it will "resolve" on its own, but it can take up to 12 weeks. They will check her again in a few weeks to see how it looks. Unfortunately, this affects her ability to swallow, and therefore bottle feed. She is still attempting a few bottle feeds a day, but it will definitely take a little bit longer for her to master. Her feeding ability is the medical team's main concern right now. In addition to the vocal cord paralysis, her immature lungs are also hindering her feeding skills. She is able to eat, but gets tired very quickly. Right now, the plan is to give her a little bit longer to grow and get stronger. If she still doesn't show improvement in a few weeks, we will discuss other options. This could mean bringing her home on a feeding tube. We are praying that she will start showing some more progress soon!
Kinley is also still on a nasal cannula with a very tiny amount of oxygen. This week, or early next week, we may try to take it off for a while to see how she does on room air. Overall, she looks pretty good, but we are ready for her to get even better so she can join the rest of her family at home! Lately, we have noticed that she seems more comfortable and calm, and though she is still a little feisty, we don't see her "attitude" as much. Here are a few recent pictures of Kinley:
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| Posing for the camera! |
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| Big smile! |
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| Hangin' out in her Boppy. |
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Kinley and Megan, our sweet resident from September!
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I apologize for the long post, but wanted to catch everyone up! As always, thank you for your continued prayers, please keep them coming!
so glad you posted. I had wondered what was going on. So happy all is going better. I have no doubt that Kinley's vocal cords will fix itself and then eating will be easier for her. God bless you all -- prayers continuing.
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