COOPER UPDATE

Today we visited the cardiologist....love the cardiologist. Cooper is now 8lbs 2oz and he was very pleased with this. He said that Cooper's color was also very good. We found out that Cooper's next surgery is dependent upon his oxygen saturation level. He is currently at 83 which is low for a "normal" person but very acceptable for someone with Cooper's condition. At the point that his level drops to the low 70's, which it will do eventually, it will be time for another surgery. They have decided to use a donor valve to repair Cooper's heart. A donor valve will not grow as Cooper grows. Therefore, at the next surgery they will put in the biggest valve that his body can handle. When he outgrows that, they will replace it. They predict that after this next surgery, which will probably be when he is 6-12 months, he will have another surgery around 5 years of age and then he will have to have yet another when he is in his teens. Hopefully, they will be able to put a big enough valve in at his last surgery to sustain his growth from there on out. The times of surgery are all just guesses as it will depend greatly on his growth. At each time there will actually be two surgeries The first is the cardiac catheter which allows them to get a really good look inside at the heart and then the actual open heart surgery. As scary as this all sounds, I am just so thankful that they can do it. I know each surgery will tear Terry and I apart inside but we are just so astonished at what they can do. As we learn more and more about how the heart works and about Cooper's defects, I believe more and more that we are so lucky that he is here with us and doing so well. Every time he smiles at me I almost cry and thank God for letting me see that smile. We will see the cardiologist again in a month and now that I know what the indicator for surgery is, I will be praying that his oxygen saturation stays in the 80's!

NOT BIG ENOUGH?!!!

Well Cooper had another doctor's appointment and he is at 7lbs 12oz but they wanted him at 8lbs. They are wanting him to gain an ounce a day, which seems like a lot. After our appointment I had a talk with Cooper and it seems to have worked. He has ate like a pig ever since :) I am no longer breast feeding so we are switching to a high calorie formula which should help as well.

Work went well on Thursday but it was very hard leaving the kids. I know they are in good hands but I can't help but worry about them when I am not with them. Just like with Raelynn as Terry reminded me, we all adjusted and everything was fine!

Saturday Cassie came to visit. It was great seeing her and Cooper was happy to meet her! :) After that we went to the Pollards to watch the KU/MU game. That is always fun and Raelynn has a great time there. Unfortunately, Cooper had a little accident so he even got to take a bath while we were there. Thank goodness Jan is completely prepared for little ones :). Other than that we have been trying to stay in where it is warm!!!

QUICK UPDATE

This month is going by so fast. Cooper was up to 7lbs 7oz last Thursday and we see the doctor again tomorrow. His face is finally starting to fill out and his little legs don't look like toothpicks anymore. Everyone that sees him says "oh he is so tiny" but I think he is getting much bigger. It is sometimes hard to think that he is a little over 6 weeks though because he does look awful small when you think about it that way. He is getting more alert everyday. He is starting to smile a lot and loves to play peekaboo. Raelynn and he play a lot. She reads and sings to him every morning and he loves it. She wants to teach him to walk and color but I told her he wasn't quite ready for that yet. :) She has been so good!!! She makes me laugh so much everyday. I cannot believe the way she can reason and the questions she comes up with. She helps out so much around the house and when I tell her I am proud of something she has done, she tells me that she is proud of how good Cooper has been that day. It is so cute! I have taught her to play Memory, Go Fish and The Old Maid. As most of you know I have very little patience but teaching a 2 year old to play games has taught me all sorts of patience. At first I thought I was going to loose my mind but I am getting much better now. The truth is I find both of the kids amazing! They are so cute and smart....what else could I ask for :).
Tomorrow I am going into work for the afternoon and Lisa is watching the kids. I will miss them so much. I just hope they are as good for her as they are for me. Raelynn is excited to see Lisa again and she told me she would take care of Cooper so Lisa did not have to worry about him. I couldn't help but laugh!!! I am sure Lisa will have more help from her then she needs. It will be a good trial run for us all.
Terry is working like crazy and helping out when he is home. I do Cooper's 3am feeding then change my clothes and go to the gym and workout. I get home about 5:15am and go back to bed. Terry gets up at 6am and feeds Cooper and then gets Raelynn up about 6:30am. By 7 to 7:30am we are all up and at it. The schedule seems to be working really well and we'll just have to adjust a little when I go back to work full time. I had to quit breastfeeding so I could go back on my migraine medicine so that is one less thing we have to fit in. The evening schedule just makes me laugh. I never realized how many things you can fit into 4 hours....make dinner--feed Cooper--eat dinner-clean up dinner-give Raelynn a bath--give Cooper his meds--give Cooper a bath--get Raelynn a snack--read nighttime stories--put Raelynn to bed--feed Cooper--put Cooper to bed. In the middle of all that of course we have laundry, the phone, changing Cooper 300 times (hahaha) and who knows what else. I know....the same thing everyone else does but I had no idea it would be so hectic!!! It is great though and I could not be happier!
The next two weeks I am sure will fly by. We plan a trip back home on the 26th to see my Grandma and Aunt Barbara. We want them to meet Cooper and it has been some time since they have seen Raelynn. I will start back to work on Feb 1st. Then we will all settle into a new schedule. Then things should level out and be back to normal, at least back to our "normal".

WHAT WILL 2008 BRING!!!!

Well the new year has began and it is definitely a "new" year. We started the new year over at Tom and Jan's. It was our first outing with two kids and boy how the second one makes a difference. I forgot Cooper's milk and medicine, but we were only 30 minutes late and for us that is pretty good. So shortly after arriving to Tom and Jan's Terry had to return home to retrieve the forgotten items. He did so with sigh but a smile on his face! We had a great time and Raelynn even stayed up to see the new year in. This made for a very grumpy little girl on New Year's Day, but she has finally got caught up on her sleep and is back to her sweet but ornery ways. Thursday we had another doctor's appointment for Cooper and he is up to 7lbs 1oz. Dr. Kelley was very pleased with his progress and so was I. Saturday, the kids and I went out to get groceries and run a few other errands. I had planned on this taking a couple hours and we would be back home. Who was I kidding? After loading and unloading two kids and just the constant struggle to keep little Miss Raelynn focused on what and where we were going I was exhausted. After the third stop I called Terry and let him know I would be going to the grocery store alone after he got off work and came home to stay with the kids. He laughed and said, "that is assuming I come home". I did not laugh but reassured him that I would hunt him down if he did not come home. This is all in good humor but it is really quite different having two :) The crazy thing is, when we are home this job seems way to easy. Raelynn and Cooper are both so good. We play games, put puzzles together and read a lot, but they also let me get things done. It is only when we venture out that I feel like things are chaos!
Today was a little rough. My migraines are back! It started about 7 am and that meant Dad had to take over. As I lay with my head covered from the light and completely detached from what was going on around me I could not help but notice that my daughter never stops. I guess because I am just like her, I never notice that the girl never sits down or stops talking. She just gos and gos. If I could have laughed I would have because listening to Terry keep up with her and continually answer her questions and satisfy her demands was hysterical. He had everything under control and made sure that both were fed and having fun. When I finally came back to life about 2 pm Raelynn informed me that I needed some soup to make my head feel better! She will make such a good mom some day. So I guess my wishful thinking that the migraines were gone was just that, wishful thinking!
So tomorrow Raelynn is back to school and therefore, Cooper and I will have the morning to ourselves. I love being home with my kids but I really am starting to miss work again. I like having my life too busy and right now I am just finding things to make myself busy. I know I will cry when I have to leave them at Lisa's and I will miss them terribly but I also know that it just makes me appreciate the time we have together even more. I really do love and appreciate everything in my life from the kids to Terry to my job. I am really lucky!!!