About Our Date Night...

My in-laws were graciously willing to watch our 3 big kids for an entire day and night (and then another day) and Brian and I made plans to go to my doctor for my 6 week check up, eat a delicious dinner at a local Italian restaurant and watch the last Harry Potter movie in our hotel room. I haven't been feeling well for the past couple of weeks and I thought I had started my first cycle after having Cohen (TMI? sorry...)but it was getting too heavy and gross. I went to my six week check up and after an exam and ultrasound, found out that my uterus was still extremely thick and there looked to be some blood or tissue stuck in the top of it. I had to go to the hospital (again) for emergency surgery. I was listed as a D&C, possible Uterine Artery Embolization, possible Hysterectomy. I have a very un-fun history of bleeding after a baby (after I had Brooklyn I hemorrhaged and spent a week in the ICU, needing 16 units of blood transfused) so they didn't know what all I would require.

The D&C went well. The doctor said he pulled out a lot of tissue, but we won't know what is was until next Monday during my follow up. We didn't have to do anything else and the only thing that hurt when I woke up from the general anesthesia was my throat from the breathing tube. I was discharged from the recovery room and Brian and I grabbed Carrabba's to-go and headed for the hotel (it was non refundable, and what better place to rest?). We still watched Harry Potter and had a nice, low key night just hanging out. I am now sick from the surgery... my sore throat never got better and turned into what I think is a sinus infection, but as far as the scary bleeding is concerned, I am doing much, much better. Leave it to us to make a quick trip to the hospital for surgery in the middle of our date night, lol :) What can we do but laugh?

Our sweet Coco bean is doing amazingly right now. She is on full feeds and they are decreasing the amount of time she takes her feedings over. Hopefully soon she will be able to try a bottle soon. She is over 3 lb 11 oz, now! I can't believe how big she is getting. You can definitely tell; her little cheeks are chunking up. She is less than one ounce away from doubling her birth weight and has become so kissable.

She was moved to the third floor, lower risk unit. She is allowed to wear clothes now and Mommy got her some cute new onesies from babies r us. Girls really are fun to shop for; it's been a while since I've had a baby girl and I guess I forgot. Everything is so precious. Cohen is still breathing on her own, too.

She had her first eye exam today. It is very common for preemies (90 % of micro preemies) to have something called ROP, which can cause them to be sight impaired or even blind. Cohen does have ROP and while it is still in stage 1- it is on the more severe end of stage one. She will be having weekly eye exams to make sure it isn't getting worse. If it does get worse, she will need treatments to try to lessen the chances of vision problems. Right now, there is a less than 20% chance that she will have serious vision issues. We will be praying for her little eyes to heal.

She should get her first "tub" (little tiny bucket) bath soon. I will be sure to get pictures and post them once we do. I should still only be 32 weeks pregnant, so it is truly fascinating to watch her grow and develop as if she were still in my womb. God has been glorified through my pregnancy and her little life, and there is truly nothing more that we could want. Thank you for continued prayers and support. We love you all.

Our Little Three Pound Porker

Coco bean will be six weeks old on Saturday. It's hard to believe. She has had a really great week. She now weighs 3 lbs 5 oz. 1500 grams; which is a big deal because now she gets to wear clothes! I only have one (adorable) preemie outfit, but I am going to stop by babies r us on my way home tonight to find her some more. 1500 grams also means we get to swaddle and hold her for 30 minutes, 2 times a day. I am holding her as I type this.

Cohen is now eating just over an ounce every 3 hours, which is the max for her size. She is tolerating it well so far, but we are still holding our breath a little because she has had tummy issues.

Her breathing has been great. She is on 2 liters with her nasal canula. That just means she isn't requiring that much help. She is doing all of her breathing on her own. Our little coco has quite a fondness for her fingers. She claws her face trying to get them in her mouth to suck. It's pretty funny. We gave her the paci tonight and she went to town on it.

The whole Day clan has had a good week so far. I've been happy with the amount of time I've been able to spend with her, and I think Brian is too. I have my 6 week apt tomorrow and Brian is taking the day off so we can relax. My in laws are taking the kids for the whole day AND night! We are going to hang out with Cohen and have a nice date and sleep an entire night, uninterrupted in a hotel ;). I cannot wait!

Thanks for keeping up with us. I'll post pictures of coco bean in her outfit as soon as she wears it. Have a great night!

-Chelce

A Whole Pound Bigger!

My sweet little coco bean weighs 2 lbs 15 oz today. She was 1 lb 14.7 oz at birth. Putting on a whole pound makes quite a difference for our little peanut. I'm up here with her now, just staring at her. She is doing pretty well; a few ups and down, which are to be expected. She is on a nasal canula right now. I love the canula because her little face doesn't get all swollen. She really is getting more beautiful everyday.

I'm struggling right now with the amount of time I am able to be up here. Brian came last night after work, so I haven't seen her since Tuesday morning. I am struggling with mom guilt. I wish I could be here every moment of every day, but I have three more beautiful children at home that I take have to/ want to take care of, too. I can really use prayers for that if you are up for it. I know Brian had a tough time, too. We can both use prayers :)

Cohen is tolerating her feeds pretty well. She had a little blood in her tummy yesterday, but they think it was because the feeding tube was irritating the lining of her stomach. She has been ok since then. She also got her fifth blood transfusion today. I'm hoping we will be past needing them pretty soon. Brian was able to hold her this past weekend. It was very special. I got some great pictures, but they are on the computer at home. I will post them soon. Coco bean is also a MONTH old! It is hard to even believe. She's still got a couple of months here, but I am starting to get excited about her being home with us.

If you could also be in prayer for a friend of mine-- her baby girl was born weighing 1 lb 10 oz, just two weeks after Cohen. We go to church together and her sweet girl is just down the hall from Coco. Baby Chloe is also doing well, but can definitely still use the prayers. Thanks again and I will update again, soon :)

Chelce

Wires

I've had the song "Wires" by Athlete stuck in my head for a few days. I downloaded it to my itunes a few years ago when it was the theme music of one of those gory discovery health shows I like. I just learned a few days ago that the song was written by the lead singer who had a baby in the NICU. It probably isn't everyone's taste, but I like it.

Cohen is doing great. I am sitting here looking at her right now, with all of her wires connected to her. She is getting cuter. I feel like she is starting to look like a Day kid. She is breathing completely on her own now. She is still on the CPAP, but she is doing well on it.

Her enormous CPAP

More good news: her infection seems to be gone. They finished one antibiotic today and will be finishing another in a couple of days. They also started her feeds today; I am most nervous about this. She has had a tough time with her feeds (blood in bowel movements and swollen intestines), we need lots of prayers specifically for this. They are going to move very slowly this time. She is getting .9 ml's every three hours to begin, it will continue to be increased over time if she does well.

This picture was taken when they were readjusting her CPAP- you can see her sweet face

I was able to kangaroo with her, again, yesterday. It is so nice feeling her warmth against my chest. It helps me to feel like her mom. What's crazy to me is that her little movements remind me of when she was inside my belly. She will give a little kick or a push and I will remember that she should still be inside of me, 30 weeks along today growing happily. 

The other day I got a video of her sucking on a preemie pacifier for the first time. You get a pretty good gauge for her size from the video

A quick detour from Coco bean. We took the kids trick or treating and they had a ton of fun. Here are some pictures. We have a Princess Leia, a Yoda and a transformer. 

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween and thank you for keeping up with us!

Cohen is so busy.

I'm so overjoyed to see my daughter today!  It's still a generally uncomfortable feeling to have to make a 25 minute drive to a hospital to see your own daughter, but this is how it goes.  The last time I was up here was Sunday and Coco was still using the ventilator.  So, this morning is the first time I've seen her with the nasal canula.  I must say, I prefer seeing her use this than any other form of oxygen assistance - because I can see her beautiful face more clearly.  It's also great because the nasal canula is the mechanism that uses the least amount of support for breathing that she can get, which means she is doing really well breathing on her own.


Last night, Coco had her second PICC line inserted (peripherally inserted central catheter). This is superior to using an I.V. because the I.V. line has to be replaced constantly, whereas the PICC line can stay much longer.  Since she was taken off her feedings as a preventative measure, she is receiving nutrients intravenously and the PICC line is super to this end.

PICC line visible here

The doctor greeted me this morning and let me know that Cohen is doing "really well."  She had a brief apnea episode last night but the doctor feels like it was more a response to the sedation she was given for the PICC line procedure than her simply forgetting to breath.  They gave her another drug to reverse the relaxing sensation of the sedation to get her breathing again and it seems to have worked.  


When I was sitting here with her this morning her oxygen levels did fall the most I've ever seen (from 83 to 33 in a matter of seconds when it typically fluctuates no more than 10 numbers), and the respiratory tech had to come in and assess her.  As it turns out, her canula had a plug in it and she needed to have her mouth suctioned and her nostrils flushed.  That seems to have helped significantly, although it wasn't pleasant for Dad to watch.  Coco bean did not appreciate all of the activity.

Nurses replacing Cohen's canula

The other good news from the Doctor this morning was that Cohen's spinal fluid culture and blood cultures are still negative.  So, she does NOT have meningitis and she seems to be responding very well to how they've treated her thus far.  At this point, infections happen - or so we're told.  We'd obviously prefer for those infections to have a minimal effect on her at worst and avoid the more severe infections that can happen (NEC, meningitis, etc.).  So far, we've been blessed beyond measure with her progress and are so grateful for God's grace with our precious Cohen.   

I'm really excited to be back up here with Chelce, so we can spend more time with Coco bean together.  Please continue to pray for Cohen's development, the doctors, nurses and caregivers and our family.  A HUGE "Thank you" to the great network of people who have kept us in your prayers over the last few months.  We could not do this without so much support.

Love you all.

Brian 

PS - As I'm finishing this blog entry, the Doctor came in and let me know they're going to put Cohen back on the CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure).  She is working a little too hard to breathe right now so they're going to give her a little break.  And so goes life in the NICU.  You can't finish a blog entry before something changes : )