What a week!!

Wow!!! What a week it has been!! The steroids have worked like a charm!!! Within 3 doses we could tell a big difference. By Thursday his oxygen requirement had remained constantly around 30% so the doctors decided to turn him down on his vapotherm. Thursday they turned him from 6 to 5. They did a CO2 check and it remained low! So Friday they decided to turn him down again to a 4 and check his CO2 the following morning. It remained low again!! So with his CO2 and oxygen requirements remaining low, the doctors decided to try again. He is currently at a flow of 3 and requiring less than 40% oxygen. We are so happy!!

Since is flow is now lower, we get to try bottle feeding!! He has had 2 bottles previously and tolerated them beautifully! This time I got to hold him while feeding him. He did WONDERFUL! He kept his oxygen saturation up the whole time! It is a lot to do. He has to suck, swallow, and breathe, ALL at the same time. The first bottle on Saturday, he was separating the three things. I could feel him breathe after he sucked, and he lost a bit due to not swallowing. Today, he was doing it all at the same time, and he didn't waste a drop!! In fact, the doctor was so impressed, she is allowing 2 bottles a day; 1 per shift! We are so proud of our little guy!! We feel like are getting a bit closer to home!!

Last week when Cooper was not doing as well, was for God to tell the doctors what he needed. I knew that God knows what Cooper needs; he just needed to tell the doctors! I was so glad to get an answer just days after that prayer!! God is so good!! Now my prayer is for Cooper's lungs! This batch of steroids ends Monday night at 11pm. Sometimes there are setbacks when they end. We are praying that he has NO setbacks!! We are praying that the steroids had a lasting impact on his lungs and he is stronger!! We know our God can heal! We are praying for Cooper's health! I am SO BLESSED! Thanks to all our friends and family for your support! We love you all and CANNOT wait for you to meet our little blessing in person!!! Love you and keep praying for Cooper's lungs!!

It is working!!!

So my last post was about Cooper's set backs. He was turned up on his vapotherm from 4 to 5 and then 5 to 6 as well as his Co2 levels were going up. The doctors recommended a round of steroids to combat this problem. The last time Cooper was on this steroid he was ready to come off the ventilator after 2 days! So we were looking for big things, and we got them!! Within 3 doses Cooper was coming down on his oxygen needs. He was needing 78% at his highest and is now on 29%!!! His Co2 also came down from 88 to 59! We are very proud of our little guy! If he stays on this low level of oxygen, the doctors will most likely turn his vapotherm down some. We are gaining ground back!!

He is so precious and I am loving every moment I get to spend with him. He is getting older and has times when he is awake and wants to interact. He is 38 weeks gestational and 12 weeks old. So technically, he is not supposed to be here yet, but has been here for 12 weeks. Is that confusing to anyone else? It can boggle the mind... ANYWAY, he wakes up and is ready to play. I am new to this mommy thing and am thankful to the NICU nurses who help me figure out this stuff! They have put black and white designs in his crib for him to look at. They allowed us to bring his mobile from home for him to watch. They also allow him to have his musical seahorse in the crib with him. The coolest thing is that they are always looking for ways to engage him. They brought out a swing to try, but it was complicated and didn't have batteries. So we tried a bouncy seat. They allowed us to bring the one from home. It vibrates and bounces. It also gives him a change of scenery. He can sit up and look around instead of being in the crib all day. He is getting so big!! He now weighs 4 pounds and 10 ounces!!

Hope you enjoyed the update! Sorry it is so rambling!! LOL! Thanks so much for your prayers! God is so working in the life of this sweet boy! (And us too!!) Looking forward to all He has in store for us!

2 steps back...

We have always known that life in the NICU is a roller coaster. Sometimes you take 2 steps forward to end up 1 step back. Well our little Cooper has had a little set back. This past Sunday they tested his CO2 levels and they were high. They decided to give him 24 hours and retest. The second set of tests also showed high Co2 levels, but his PH was low which showed that his body was compensating. Another round of tests was ordered for the following day. Tuesday morning the labs were drawn and revealed a high CO2 and a high PH...So the doctors decided to turn the vapotherm up from 4 to 5 liters and retest in 24 hours. Wednesday morning's test revealed a higher CO2 level and his vapotherm was turned up again to 6. He started out on 5. We have not been to 6 before, so this is a new area. Thursday's labs revealed a CO2 that was a little lower so they kept him on 6 and are retesting on Saturday morning.

I am a little bummed. We were looking like he was coming home soon. Now we are back further than we started. I should NOT complain!! We have had a wonderful and fairly easy NICU experience when compared to others, but it is hard. I am SO looking forward to the day where I don't have to shower, dry my hair, get dressed, and drive for 45 minutes to see my son! All I will have to do is walk into the next room...

I guess this is harder for me now because we were told originally to shoot for the due date. My due date was March 1st. As we are nearing this date, I am getting more anxious to have him home. This was by NO MEANS a guarantee, but we were hoping! We are just disappointed in his little setback. I hope I don't sound like a brat!! LOL! I am SO PROUD of our son and all he has accomplished! What an amazing little guy and a HUGE blessing! I am just ready to get him home!! So I guess I am asking for specific prayers to help him breathe better.

He is quite the charmer!! He has the NICU nurses wrapped around his little fingers! So he is quite comfortable!! I am too, They are wonderful and I am learning a lot! I wonder what I will do with all this information when we leave......Thanks for your prayers!! Thanks for letting me vent a little! I have tried to keep this blog positive but still be real! Love you all!

Getting closer...

Well, it has been a while since my last blog and A LOT has happened. Cooper now weighs 4 pounds 4 ounces. He is still on flow of 4 on the vapotherm and his oxygen is still a bit high. So we got the weight covered but still have to come off the vapotherm and learn to suck a bottle, then he can come home!!

We are getting ready for him at the house. We FINALLY got the nursery painted. It looks great! It is light blue with a navy blue stripe going horizontally around the room, true Titans colors! I have to thank my parents for all their help! The stripe proved harder than I imagined; it had to be straight (obviously!) and in the center of the wall. It took longer to tape the walls than to paint the 8" stripe! I can't wait to get him home so he can enjoy it!

Since Cooper is so big, he got a new bed! He is now in a crib instead of an isolet (closed in box). We were so excited for this big change! He had a little trouble keeping his temperature up the first day out of the box, but has since figured it out! This change means that he gets to wear clothes all the time!! He is SO cute!! We also got to bring his mobile from home. It is a sports themed mobile (of course) with a soccer ball, basketball, football, baseball, and a red ball with a star on it. When we put it up and turned it on, he just stared at it! He stayed awake for the longest time watching it! It was so funny! We thought we were going to have to take it down so he would get some sleep! Kevin makes sure that the football is visable to Cooper at all times!

Cooper is pretty resourceful. He has figured out how to work his feeding tube up out of his mouth. It is taped to his face so he is not pulling it out from the outside. The reason for telling you this, is that we had a brave nurse on Sunday that asked the doctor if she could try a bottle. His flow has been too high on the vapotherm to try it before (it is still too high to try it regularly). The doctor allowed her to try the bottle. He LOVED it! I was so proud! She held him sitting up in his bed and put the bottle in his mouth. He has been sucking a pacifier for weeks now. He drank that bottle in less than 10 minutes. He even burped around the bottle and kept going! It was so precious!! He kept his oxygen saturation up the whole bottle! I was so proud of our sweet little guy! We asked today if he was going to get to try bottles and they said every once in a while. Hopefully we will get to try again soon!!

What an amazing few weeks we have had! Our little guy is growing so fast! Every day is such a blessing! I fall more in love with him every day!! Even if he has pooped on me TWICE! (while changing him!)

About the pictures--the first one is his cutest outfit. When we put it on him, he acted like a cat with socks on! He was like "what now?" The "prince Cooper" crown is protecting an IV which was used to get blood. The last one barely catches the mobile with him in the crib.