3 Weeks! {and 1 day...}

Cooper turned 3 weeks old yesterday!! I failed to wish him a happy birthday, so HAPPY 3 WEEK BIRTHDAY, COOPER!!!

Today, Cooper is looking good. When K&J were there, he was wide awake and looking around!!
He is currently on antibiotics for his infection, which turned out to be pneumonia. He's a trooper, so after 10 days of the antibiotics he'll be good. :-)

His PDA has closed!! {this is GREAT!} A PDA is - patent ductus arteriosus... it is an extra blood vessel that connects a baby's aorta and pulmonary artery while the baby is in the womb. This connection allows blood to be pumped from the right side of the heart straight to the aorta, without stopping at the lungs for oxygen. This artery is usually gone before the baby is born; however is still present in most premature births.

With it still being present in Cooper, the increased flow of blood through the lungs can reduce blood flow to the rest of the body. This can damage other organs, especially the intestines and kidneys. Since it is closed, it should allow blood to flow to the lungs to become oxygenated.

In some preemies, surgery is required for this, so praise God that it has closed on its own!

Coop is still on the ventilator, but since the PDA has closed it raises his chances of getting back on the CPAP. Once he is off the antibiotics and up a few ounces... they will try him on the CPAP again!

Overall, the Dr. said Coop looked good!!

PRAYER REQUEST:

Pray that the infection goes away quickly, and Cooper can get stronger with his breathing.

Keep praying for K&J... strength... and that they also get plenty of rest.

Happy Fathers Day!!

I looked up the definition of "father" and it said - "a man who has begotten a child". Then I looked up "dad" and it said - "informal : a person's father"... But I am sure all of you can agree that it is so much more than that. Whether you are a father yourself or not... you have a dad, a man in your life who played that role or know one that is special to you. A father that raised you. Took care of you in your ups and downs... A dad that drove you to your first date... a dad that changed your poopy diapers, and embarrasses you with pictures years later.... The man that was your idol. Your hero... Your support and encourager. THAT is a dad. (and SO much more) Being a dad is so much more than just a definition.

Jason had his very first fathers day today! The GREAT news? He got to hold his son for the first time! Such a great fathers day gift! He also changed Cooper's poopy diaper and got his first "surprise" tinkle all over him!! I think Cooper was just trying to show his love for his daddy!!!

As for Coop's status - his breathing has improved. He does, however have an infection in his lungs. They believe it is a staph infection and he is already on antibiotics. They took a culture and should have the results back tomorrow to know for sure.

The blood transfusion seemed to help him. Karen said that he looked a lot better after it was done. The prayers are being heard!! Keep them coming!

OH! He has gained a little weight too... He is at 1 pound 8.7 ounces now!

Happy First fathers day of many to come, Chandler. You continue to blow me away with how proud you are and how much you have changed, and taken on this role like you were born to do it!! Love you man!

PRAYER REQUEST -

Pray for Cooper and his breathing to continue to improve - BIG TIME!  

Pray for his lungs to clear up and his infection to go away quickly.

Pray for K&J. They are tired and I can see that just by looking at them. They need rest and relaxation, but it is hard for them.

Pray for Chandler too. He is most likely going to be returning to work this week. (after breaking his collarbone 6 weeks ago.)

IN LOVE. {and 2 weeks old!!}

I remember when I was a kid, we would go on vacations each summer. We would go all over the United States, and even Canada once or twice. Our family had some great memories from these vacations but one memory I remember from each of them is getting ready to go. We would always drive to wherever we would go {YES! Even Canada} so usually we would leave VERY EARLY in the morning to get a good start on the drive. Well, I distinctly remember being so excited about leaving on vacation, I was usually packed and ready before we were even supposed to get up. I even remember sleeping in my jeans one time... The excitement as a child is like nothing else. Like Christmas Eve, and not being able to sleep... Or like your birthday party you've been planning for the last 364 days....
Well, I can only imagine that this day for Karen and Jason, and their excitement totally surpasses that childhood excitement.

Karen got to hold Cooper yesterday. For about an hour.
She said he was so tiny and his tiny little head fit in the palm of her hand. And the actual "getting him out of his isolete and to Karen" was hard, but once he was there...it was easy and sweet. She held him and she held his little hand.
They call this "Kangaroo Care" - in short it is used to help the mother/father and baby bond. It is known to help stabilize the babies heartbeat, body temperature and breathing. The amount of time for holding him will increase for K&J as time passes, and Cooper grows.

On other notes, Cooper is weighing in at 1.69 pounds (that's ABOVE his birth weight!!!) and as Jason puts it... he is "really packing on the ounces" He is eating more and more, I believe he is up to 14 ML's now, and lovin' it!
As for his breathing, he is back on the ventilator again. This is a small setback, but he was just having trouble adjusting to the CPAP. They think they are just going to give him a little bit more time to get a little bigger and they will try it again. (about 700 or 800 grams {or}1.9 + or - pounds) The CPAP was also blowing air into his body - which in turn was causing his belly to fill up and cause a reflux type reaction. He was throwing up his food a little because his tummy was so full of air. This is one reason they decided to switch him back to the breathing tube.
He does has D-STATS from time to time, but they usually get under control by themselves. Repositioning him, or putting a hand on him can also help. (D-STATS is Desaturation which is a decrease in the percentage of oxygen found in the circulating blood supply. In premature babies a saturation below 85 is considered below normal. In most babies, oxygen is adjusted to keep the oxygen saturation at 92-96%.)

Here is a sweet video of Cooper... He has the hiccups and if you look close, he smiles just a bit. I'd like to say it was at me... {his favorite aunt} ... but I wasn't there... Maybe he was thinking of me.....

SAVE THE DATE for July 6th. We are hosting a blood drive in Coopers name. It will be in the FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH of BURLESON parking lot from 11-7. All blood given will be put in Cooper's name. Blood type does not matter. SO GIVE for this sweet boy. As the date gets closer, I'll give more information.
PRAYER REQUEST:

Pray more for his breathing that he gets stronger, and when they try the CPAP again, it'll be for good. We want to say so long to that ventilator.

Pray for his reflux too that it doesn't get too bad.

Pray for K&J's strength...everyday. They need it, and comfort all summer.

I do not think that this has been said on, yet... and this certainly will not be the last time, but Thank you to each and every one of you that is sending prayers, thoughts and support. It is being felt by our entire family. Keep it coming....more and more.

Cooper Grayson

The story:
Sunday, May 29th at 24 weeks and 3 days pregnant; Karen started to have what she though were Braxton Hicks Contractions. Lightly, and a tad uncomfortable at first she went on with her day. Sunday night as the contractions started to get stronger and more uncomfortable she was up all night. When 6 AM came around Monday morning (Memorial Day) Karen called her O.B. and he instructed her to head to the hospital to make sure everything was okay.

When Karen and Jason arrived a an hour later that morning they found that they were in fact labor contractions and Karen was given medicine to stop the them and for safety precautions Karen was transferred to a hospital with state of the art NICU, since she was still early in her pregnancy. Shortly after the arrival there, Karen's water broke and the news that Baby Cooper would be joining us 4 months early was given. There was a lot of heartbreak, nervousness and worry with this news.

It was found that Karen had an infection in her amniotic fluid that caused her labor to start. It also caused her to have little to no fluid for baby.

After pitocin was started, several hours passed, and Karen and Jason had SO many prayers and visitors. We as a family are so truly blessed with an enormous support system. It is amazing...Really amazing.

Baby Cooper was born shortly after 9 PM weighing a whopping 1 pound 5.9 ounces and measuring 12.5 inches long.

The NICU team took him immediately and started to work on him. After 20 or so minutes they whisked him away to the NICU where the awesome folks there got him hooked up to everything to help him breathe, feed, and nourish himself.

The doctor gave good reports that he was breathing and had a regular heartbeat.

As of now, at 2 days old Cooper Grayson (more on his name later) is breathing on his own. He has a CPAP on and, as the doctor said "is doing remarkable"

I have to say that this is truly a difficult experience. Even from my view as the {favorite} aunt. BUT, the support, love and prayer is AMAZING. Facebook, texting, emails... it is simply amazing.
Thank you for your prayers... and your continued prayers.

Cooper, Jason and Karen will need them for many days to come.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above.” James 1:17

prayers for baby cooper
prayers for baby cooper