Happy 3 Months Big Guy!!!

 Here's we go.... Check out his amazing growth!!

Oh, and by the way, Cooper was off all oxygen for 7 whole hours yesterday! AMAZING! He will be wireless before long! Oh, and he's 6 pounds 14.1 ounces!

DAY 1 

 1 MONTH

 2 MONTHS

 3 MONTHS

And of course, Happy 3 months to Cooper's best friend, M!!

PRAYERS REQUEST:

KEEP PRAYING for Cooper's feeding to get better. They are not giving him a bottle right now, so pray that he is 100% READY when that time comes!

JUST PICTURES...

and a brief update... BUT FIRST, Pictures...

I love it when little baby butts are in the air!

Ahhhhhhh!

First time enjoying a swing!

Look at that cuteness!

SO SO much hair!

He's already a Mav's fan!

Lastly, remember this precious picture? The ice cream bowl hat...that was WAY too big...?

Well, the hat doesn't quite fit anymore....

As for an update... Coop's breathing is great! His oxygen is as low as it can go. The nurses try to take him completely off once or twice a day, but Coop doesn't like that much... So for now he is still on it...

His feedings have gotten a little hairy. They found that he aspirates his milk when drinking from a bottle. So they have halted the bottle feed for now. They think they will give him a couple of weeks to try and grow more and mature before trying the bottle again.

He weighs 6 pounds 13 ounces! Just about to big for those tiny preemie clothes.

And, he's still really cute, and loves his {favorite} aunt, Katy.

His friend, M got to move rooms! She is getting close to being Coopers neighbor again. I'm sure they miss each other... they've been together since birth! She is still gaining weight well and doing better with feedings and spit ups.

She still is on the vent, so prayers that she gets her breathing stronger.

PRAYER REQUEST:

Pray for Coops feedings. More ups and downs here... {they never seem to end} - he has to be able to drink and digest exclusively from a bottle. This is holding him back from going home. Pray big that when they try the bottle again, he he does it like a champ.

Keep K&J in your prayers. Its been almost 3 months of visiting Coop in the NICU on a daily basis {several times a day} - they are getting anxious to get their little guy home and they need prayers for patience and comfort.

Your prayers are so important right now to get Coop strong enough to go home!!! Keep them coming!

SWeet Cooper

Cooper is still just truckin' along.

He is currently (as of last night 6 pounds 6 ounces and breathing at 24%. Last night while Karen was holding him, his little nasal cannula was out of his nose almost the whole time... {which means he was breathing on his own!!} Pray that he can become "wireless" soon!

Looks like right now his biggest hurdle is eating. He seems to have a bit of reflux, and that is holding him back from eating well.

Sorry, just an update today, I promise to post pictures next time.

PRAYER REQUEST:

Update on Miss M... She's moved rooms! (great thing!) and they have already increased her food to 13 ML's! She's over 5 pounds and will soon move to a big girl crib!

She is still breathing on the vent, so say big prayers that she can get stronger breathing and that the doctors can figure out her breathing issues.

Pray for Coop and his feedings. This is one big thing holding him back from going home. He seems to be spitting up more the past few days, and so he really needs to get that under control.

Pray too for J&K. Both are working and that minimizes their time with sweet cooper. IT was 8:30 before Karen got to see Coop last night. I know this is hard for them.

Pray that Coop gets to come home soon! Karen's due date was September 16th, which s just about 3 weeks away..... Lets hope and pray that Coop gets to go home when he was supposed to!

and, We've got a 6 pounder!

YES FOLKS!! You read that right! Cooper weighs 6 pounds 1.9 ounces.Isn't God just amazing!?

He is still doing great! And he is progressing like he should! He is still breathing at 26% {like a champ} and eating 55ML's at a time.

He had a test on his kidneys {I forgot what it was called} - BUT he passed!! And His eyes were tested again for ROP {see glossary} and it has not changed, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

He is in a room now where babies actually go home on a regular basis! Keep praying that this happens soon! {and that he is ready soon!}

And of course, pictures...

I mean seriously... how cute is this kid??? Even with his triple chin... He seems to be a favorite in the NICU! Some nurses come to visit him just to be able to hug on him a second.

PRAYER REQUEST:

Baby M has reached 5 pounds!!{this is GREAT considering she didn't eat for a LONG time!} She had a rough night last night and had some trouble breathing - and could possibly have an infection. So keep baby M and her mom and dad in your prayers. That little girl needs to be reunited with Coop again. They miss each other.

Pray that Coop gets better and stronger at breathing and eating... and that his coming home date is approaching!

Pray for Karen as school starts next week and she will be more limited as to when she can visit Coop.

Pray for J&K that they get plenty of rest and relaxation.

ALMOST WHAT!!??

COOPER IS ALMOST 6 POUNDS!!! Can you believe it? Last night he was 5 pounds 14.2 ounces! WOW!!!

Otherwise he is doing great! He is taking his bottles well. I think he is up to 54 ML's and taking it ALL! He is still breathing on the nasal cannula at 26 %... We want this to be at 21% and soon! The sooner, the better!

A shower was held for Cooper this weekend and it was lovely. THanks to all who came and shower the CHandlers with SO much love!! ANd thank you for all of the continued prayers!! Keep them coming EVERYDAY!
I think thats about it... A few pics...

OH!! First... Do you remember THIS picture??? Those tiny rings were bracelets on Cooper's arm...

Well, I took this next picture last night.... same rings, same baby...same arm..... 2 months later....

 And here is a sweet picture of Coop and his mama... He loves to cuddle with her!

PRAYER REQUEST:

Keep praying for Coop and his breathing. It still needs to get stronger before he can go home. He also will occasionally have A's & B's (See glossary at the top) - pray that they don't think their ugly nose in Coop's business.
Pray also for his feedings to get stronger. This is also something that as to happen before he goes home. (bottle feeding and nursing)

Pray for Karen as she returns to work this week. (as a teacher) That she can adjust to the new schedule and being away from Coop too.

Keep Coops friend M in your prayers too. She is doing good at taking in milk and starting to digest it well. She is starting to maintain her body temp (YAY!) but still needs prayers for her breathing. They are still trying to figure out if there is a blockage in her airway.

We have a 5 pounder!

My favorite aunt status might be dropping a bit because I haven't been updating the blog as often as I should.....

Nah...

But, I do apologize for the lack of updates. Cooper is still doing great, and being the trooper that we have all grown to know and love.
He has made it to 5 pounds!!! Today's weight was 5 pounds 4.3 ounces!!!
He takes several bottles a day and does good with them. He is currently taking 46 ML's at each feeding! {no wonder he is packing on the ounces!}
He has attempted nursing a few times and is getting the hang of it. He needs a bit more work at THAT, but he is getting to be a pro at the bottles.
He did get to be held by his grandma, and of course he loved it!

oh, and I got to help him to his bed... I may have taken a few extra minutes to get him there...

Here are a few pictures for your pleasure!

PRAYER REQUEST:

Cooper's friend, M still needs our prayers. {and her parents}. She is having trouble getting her breathing down and last I heard they were going to
check to see if there was something blocking her airway. They have been giving her milk, and she did have her first dirty diaper!!! Just pray that she can get that breathing under control.
She also has a little infection, and that doesn't help either.
Since you are in the NICU so often, you get to know the folks around you and become close to them. I barely know M and her parents, but I just love that little baby girl and I want her to get better quick!
Pray that Cooper can get his feeding down! This is one thing that he has to do before going home. He has to be feeding exclusively from a bottle - and doing it like a champ.Pray he gets it, and that he can also start to get
the hang of nursing.
School is about to start for Karen, and she needs prayers for that. Strength for her as she returns to work, and won't be able to see Coop as often.
Continued prayers for both K&J for strength, patience and love.

Cooper the Trooper

Cooper is just truckin' along. He is doing really good, and just keeps growing. He actually FITS into preemie clothes now, and I imagine that he won't for long at the rate he is going.
He has has a pretty special week. Not only did he get to meet some of his extended family, but he got to meet his great-grandmother {my dad's mom} - AND his nana and papa got to hold him...
Here are a few pictures of his week...

The nurses gave him a Mohawk!

 

Coop currently weighs 4 pounds 12.8 ounces and is eating well . He takes about 3 or 4 bottles a day and most of the time he will take all or most of it. It seems he is getting better at it by the day. He may even try to nurse soon!

He also had his 2 month shots this week. {YAY!} they think that he might have not felt great after them because he was having a few episodes of A's & B'a {Apnea's and Bradycardias}. I have not heard today, but they expected them to subside quickly.

PRAYER REQUEST:

Keep praying for Cooper's friend, M. She was having a little trouble getting her breathing down after her surgery, but it looks as though things are looking up for her. I did hear that she had a little poopy {YAY!!!} and they have started her back on milk to see if she will tolerate it. Keep her and her mama and daddy in your prayers.

Keep praying that Coop continues to improve. Pray that the A's and B's will stop and Coop feels better after his shots. He needs to also get better at feeding from a bottle. And of course that he stays well.

"did i mention he was cute?"

that was the text update I got from Karen today.... "He's awesome and cute"

I am so excited to be able to keep posting good news! Cooper is doing great and keeps on being the trooper that he is!

He is up to 4 pounds 9.3 ounces, and eating well from a bottle. He has moved into a big boy bed, and is still doing great on the nasal cannula!! I tell you, he is just amazing!

A few pictures for your viewing pleasure...

That last picture, he is smiling at his favorite aunt! {ME... kendra....} :-)

PRAYER REQUEST:

Coopers friend, M as I mentioned before had her surgery. She is still currently on the vent, but they are slowly weening her off. She will probably be on it another day or two, then they will try the CPAP. They are also going to check and see if her PDA (that extra vessel) has closed. Pray her breathing gets stronger, her PDA is closed and that when they do try to give her food again, that she will accept it well.

Keep praying for Coop and that he continues to get stronger. Pray for his bottle feeding that it improves everyday!

Keep praying for K&J too. Although things are good, they are still tired. Their life is home to hospital to home... They don't have a lot of free time and I know they are weary and tired.