Monday Mah Jongg

I had to go to Clarksdale to get Leffe from my parents. She had been there for 2 weeks while we were in Colorado! She was VERY excited to see me and never left my side the entire time I was there (including bathroom visits). She was making sure I was not going to leave her again. Anyway, I decided to go on a Monday so I could play Mah Jongg with my mom's group. They always need subs and seem to love seeing Cooper. It was entertaining as always, and I won $1.80! Yay! We taught Sara Shelby to play, which is great because the group is getting some more permanent, young blood!

Colorado

We had a great time in Colorado! Brad got to ski on Monday. Nancy and I did some shopping that day and we got a sled! Tuesday afternoon, after Cooper ate and was napping, Brad and I spent about an hour sledding! It was really fun!

We saw the Fisher's Saturday and they got him a present of bath toys, which you can see that he loved!

Before we left, I got Cooper a warm mouse outfit that he wore in the snow. It was absolutely precious on him (though I think one day he will see the photos and be embarrassed!).

Colorado

Well, the flying itself went pretty well. It was the layover that was terrible. He was supposed to be asleep and instead was in a loud, brightly lit airport. By the time we made it onto the plane, he was wailing. But once they turned the cabin lights off, he was OUT! And he slept the entire plane ride to Colorado.

It took little Cooper (and me) a few days to adjust to the altitude. He was throwing up twice a day until today. I got a little sick the second night here as well. But all is well now.

It is freezing here today! Up until now it has been in the 40's and 50's. Today, I don't think it will get above freezing. We also got a few inches of snow last night and I think more is headed this way later in the week after we have left. Brad skiied yesterday and had a great time with his dad. Cooper, Nancy, and I did some shopping. We got a sled at a thrift store that we are going to try out this afternoon.

I'm in the office area of the Schneider's house and if you could see the view from here, you would be insanely jealous! It's hard to type and not just stare!!

Fear of Flying

Tomorrow, Brad, Cooper, and I leave for Colorado. I am terrified of flying with Cooper. I'm afraid I will leave something, I'm afraid he will cry the whole time, I'm afraid the altitude change will cause him pain, I'm afraid TSA won't let me take something I need, etc. I'm just freaked out in general. I know, in my logical mind, that people fly with babies all the time and that babies live in high altitudes, but Cooper comes with his own set of challenges. He refuses to take a pacifier (he actually gags on it), so I'm going to have to feed him as we're taking off and landing. I'm worried about his lungs up in the mountains. I'm especially worried I'm going to forget something and we're nowhere near a large town with lots of baby supplies.

You know what, it will probably be fine!

Mississippi

On Sunday, I came to Clarksdale. Brad is working twelve 12 hour shifts in 13 days, 7 of them being overnight shifts, so I decided to visit the parents. They were very excited to see their grandson and grandpuppy. Today, I went to Oxford and looked at a wedding venue with Madeline and Semmes. Very matron-of-honor of me, I think. Cooper was cooed over, loved on, and held by way too many people, though. In what is a rare thing for him, he was really fussy tonight while going to bed and cried every time I put him down for at least half an hour. I'm SO glad he doesn't do that every night! I don't know how people deal with their infants that cry a lot! It is the most heart-breaking sound!

Tomorrow, we're going to the cemetary to see some relatives and Friday we're going to Corneile's house, so she can finally meet Cooper! She will have known 4 generations of my family and is one amazing lady! Monday I'm playing Mah Jong with mom and her firends then I'm heading back to Arkansas on Tuesday.

Yesterday

So Cooper and I took a second trip to the doctor in 2 days yesterday. When Cooper got up yesterday morning he was HOT. Really hot. We fed him and put him back to sleep. He was still feeling hot when he got up at nine, he didn't eat well at 10, and when I changed his diaper I saw some blood in his urine. His temperature was 101.9. I called Brad and he told me to bring him in.

They did a urine culture on him and another chest x-ray (still not sure about that one) and he was sent home without any real answers. Considering I live with a pediatrician, this is very frustrating. Their best guess is he had a bad reaction to the vaccines, but they didn't really have a good explanation for the blood.

His fever broke sometime last night, and he seems in a better mood today, so hopefully he is fine and just had a weird reaction to the shots.

Brief History

Cooper was born 4 weeks early. Before that, I went into pre-term labor at 31 weeks. It is thought that after 31 weeks, Cooper's growth slowed down significantly. When he was born, he looked a little funny. He was very swollen from being in the birth canal for so long, he wasn't breathing well, and they thought they detected a heart murmur (thank God they were wrong about that one). He spent 11 days in the NICU. Since then, we have seen a plethora of doctors.

He has seen:

Audiology (he has hearing issues)

ENT (laryngomalacia)

Ophthalmology (his eyes turn in like his mama's did)

Physical Therapy (he has too much tone in his upper legs)

Radiology (he has had a swallow study and 3 chest x-rays)

Genetics (too complicated to explain here)

He has also been to the ER, had ENT surgery, been in the PICU (Pediatric ICU), and been admitted to the hospital for pneumonia. Today, even though he got a great report, we are going to have to see a pulmonologist (to make sure he doesn't have chronic lung issues) and a cranial/ facial specialist (the back of his head is getting a little flat because he is not rolling or sitting up yet). Boo!

Cooper- 6 months

Cooper had his 6 month check up and shots today. He HATED the shots. Worse though was the thyroid test. They had to do a heel stick. He had already had the shots and had just passed out in my arms. You could tell he was having a good dream because he was giggling and smiling while sleeping. Then came the heel stick. It was awful. He cried the whole time and got red in the face and was hot and sweaty. It was terrible.

The doctor gave him a good report though. She was concerned that he had too much tone in his upper legs (basically, his hamstrings were too strong). I have been doing exercises with him and she said that, much to her surprise, his tone was much better and he is getting more flexible. Yay!

Recently, he has started grinning when he sees me. This is a big deal for me. Just having him smile at me really makes my day. He did it in front of the doctor and she was just as happy as I was. Premature babies with developmental issues often just don't develop. Cooper, however show his development may be, is progressing. In addition to recognizing and responding to me, he is working on sitting up, he has great hand to mouth control, he is putting his hands at the midline, he is lifting his head and shoulders up more when on his stomach, looking around at his surroundings, etc. However, he's still not rolling over or reaching for things. He'll get there!

Anyway, he is over 13 pounds now and 24 inches! Such a big baby!!