Being careful for Cooper

So as you all know Cooper had a rough start but is doing much better. We have received strict Dr.'s orders for the first year of Cooper's life that everyone who touches Cooper MUST wash their hands immediately prior to holding him. No strong perfumes or smelly lotions, no smoke (not good since we have all these fires in CA right now), and no oils. We were told to avoid church, grocery stores, malls, movie theatres, basically anywhere with a crowd because crowds are where you get sick. Cooper's lungs are doing better but they are fragile and we want to do everything we can to keep him a healthy boy! :) We hope you understand and want you to know that if you come to visit Cooper you will need to wash your hands. :) Turns out in doing some research that they actually make signs to put on your stroller that say this. I guess it's not only Cooper that has received these orders but most babies in general as their immune systems are still developing the first year of their life. Who knew?!
www.mytinyhands.com

Week 2

Cooper has had a good second week. He is getting his parents used to broken sleep and is eating lots and growing already.

He becomes a burrito boy at night....

Happy Baby...

Sprawled out....

Sleeping away...

We are Home!

Yesterday about noon we finally made it out of the hospital. Cooper was excited to be on his way home and on his second car ride. (His first was in the ambulance down to Sacramento). The night before we left we stayed in a self care room and got to have Cooper with us all the time. Here is a picture of the nurse and I helping give Cooper a bath.

On our way home! This is a classic Cooper face as we've come to know it.
Once we made it home we took our first stroller ride and loved it. :)
Napping away already but this time in real clothes not those drafy hospital shirts.

Check out Cooper's smile. This is his favorite spot - right on daddy's tummy.

Million Dollar Baby

Cooper has put new meaning to the million dollar baby. We are STILL in the hospital but hoping to go home tomorrow. I guess Cooper wants to tally up a nice bill for the insurance company. :)
Last night he lost weight and the doctor doesn't want to send Cooper home until he is showing a weight gain. The nurses think there was a mistake with his weight two nights ago which threw off everything, so we have to wait one more night to make sure he is ok with his weight. He is one skinny long little guy. Cooper has moved from the A room (most intensive care) to the C room, the F room and now we are rooming in with him in a self care room. We have our own room and the nurse just comes in once in awhile and checks to make sure we are ok.
He has his heart rate monitor and respiratory rate monitor but that's it. We can hold him as much as we want which has been nice since we missed about a week's worth of holding. :)
Yesterday he had to take a car seat test where he sits in his car seat with all of his leads on to see if his stats stay ok. He passed with flying colors. He also passed his hearing test and got a vaccine shot. He is just about ready to blow this joint. Hopefully tomorrow we are on our way home. Palmer misses up and wants to meet his new buddy.
Thank you again for all your comments, thoughts and prayers. We will keep you posted.

Cooper is getting Better!

No oxygen tubes, no nasal feeding tubes. His feedings are going up each time and he is feeling better! We hope to have him home in the next few days. His last dose of antibiotics will be this evening and then they can take his IV out of his arm. Doesn't he look happy?! :)

Cooper Update

Last night Cooper got to rest on his belly. The nurses turned him over on his tummy to rest and he slept like a dream. (Note: You can't let babies sleep on their bellies at home but since he is monitored with all sorts of things he can at the NICU). He has been getting fussier which they say is a good sign. Sick babies don't make much noise, babies that are feeling better start to cry a bit, like any normal baby would do, so we are happy he is crying! He has also gone up in his feedings. When we were with him this morning he was up to 40ml of milk. He has been receiving his feedings mostly through a tube in his nose. It has been hard for him to take the bottle and breathe at the same time. As soon as his feeding levels are up and he is tolerating it well they will take him off the TPN (liquid food) bag. Once the antibiotics are done (7-10 days worth) we should be able to hold him for the first time.
The doctor also has ordered some respiratory treatment which the nurses say he has been handling well. It is basically something that allows his air passages to open up a bit further so the meconium can continue working it's way out. He is learning how to suck on his pacifier too which is a good sign! Those are all the updates we have for today. We'll keep posting as Cooper progresses.

Thank you for your continued thoughts, messages, notes and calls.

Day 5

Little CJ had a stabilizing day. We didn't see a dramatic improvement in his recovery, but we also didn't take any steps back. Coop's oxygen levels continue to gradually get better as we are seeing the range shrink from 21% to 28% and it appears that he is not having to labor as much to breathe.

Our goal for today is to have the UAC (IV through the bellybutton) removed so we can finally get Cooper out of his bed and hold him. Our Day 4 highlight was attempting to bottle feed him. Lindsay and I were reminded that we are newbies to parenting, because it took us 30 minutes to get Cooper to drink 1 milliliter of milk while the RN had him chugging 9 milliliters in 3 minutes. We were humbled to say the least.

Late last night the RN on duty informed us that the Dr. ordered a 5 milliliter increase his feedings, so we are up to 15 milliliters every 3 hours. Somehow, I think this just upsets Cooper as a baby his size should be eating 100 milliliters in one feeding. The Dr. is still continuing the TPN feeding bag, so we are waiting to have this scaled back and milk feedings increased.

Thank you all for your positive thoughts and prayers. We are seeing tangible benefits of your efforts.

Little CJ Update

We checked in with the nurses this morning and Cooper had a good night. He still is getting 25% oxygen and has started small feedings through a tube into his tummy. They are hoping to take the line out of his belly button in the next day or so and after they do that we will be able to hold him for the first time. The x-rays are still showing cloudiness in his lungs and it will likely be that way for some more time. The meconium has to absorb through the lungs naturally and that takes time. He looks good - still laboring a bit with his breathing but is doing better. We'll keep you updated as we know more...

Cooper James Barr

Was born June 1 at 7:49 pm. He was a shocking 9 lbs 1 oz and 21 3/4inches long. I now realize that I married a woman made of steel as she had a natural birth with no medication. We all now know who wears the pants in the family! Cooper had some respiratory complications at birth as he inhaled a large amount of meconium. He was transferred to the neonatal ICU in Sacramento and has been making great strides in his recovering. He is now off the ventilator and our next hurdle is to get him to start eating. We hope to be going home in 7-10 days. Linds is doing fantastic and is recovering rather well. Updates to follow.

Cooper a few hours after birth...

Cooper in the NICU

He is getting oxygen and antibiotics right now...

The nurses already have given him a stuffed doggie to keep him company.

Our first family photo