Porbrecito

So many changes. First, the weight check. Cohen is up to 10 lbs! You may be wondering when I will stop reporting Cohen's weight, especially now that he's not a super tiny baby anymore. I don't know. You see, I love checking his weight. It's a weekly affirmation that breastfeeding IS working. It's not always easy. In fact, for me breastfeeding has been hard work. A full time job sometimes. Currently, I'm struggling with supply issues and an infection, but I'm not giving up yet. For me, it's still worth it.

The most exciting thing that has developed is that Cohen has started tracking! Last week, I noticed that he was making some serious eye contact with me while nursing. After one of our 4am feedings I got him to follow me as I moved my head from side to side. He did it again later that morning when we were both more awake and Joel was there to see it too. It is the neatest trick ever! I can tell he is on the verge of smiling too, a real social smile rather than just a reflex. Sometimes I think he is smiling in response to my silliness, but then I think it's just a coincidence. Either way, it's coming soon:^)

In other, not so fun news, Cohen is getting sick. Joel came home with a cold last week which was probably inevitable working at a children's clinic. Yesterday, Cohen was very fussy and I noticed a difference from his usual nasal sounds. Now you can hear the mucous in the back of his throat and he has been spitting up mucous too. Poor baby. Fortunately, he is still eating well and has been less fussy last night and today. Obviously, Cohen got sick a lot sooner than we wanted and a lot sooner that I expected. Right now, I'm hoping and praying that it won't get any worse.

The good thing about Joel working at the children's clinic is that he's bringing home all types of wonderful medical knowledge about kids health and even some behavioral stuff too. This past week Joel has been working with Cohen's pediatrician. He is a great educator to the families he works with and to the medical students that rotate there. We really like him. Joel has a couple more days there and then his pediatric "final" on friday. After that he will have two weeks off!! YAY!

I finished my last paper on monday. I am so glad to have this semester behind me. I wasn't sure how difficult school would be with everything that has happened. But I did it! And now it's OVER! At least for a few weeks anyways.

Cheers to the holidays!

Baby man hands

The countdown to the end of the semester is on. I have two papers, one "quiz," one final, and one journal assignment coming up in the next two weeks. I will be so excited when this semester is over. Joel will have a break soon too, he will have a few weeks off before he starts his family practice rotation in January.

So the turkey was a success! A friend recommended Alton Brown's recipe for brining the turkey. It took a little extra work but made for a good tasting bird. My mom joined us for the big meal and we had a wonderful day.

Cohen was approved for the Synagis shot last week so we went to Children's Hospital for the appointment. Once we got the shot we had to wait in the room for half an hour to make sure that Cohen didn't have a reaction. The nurses were swooning over Cohen and of course I reveled in all the compliments. When we were finished, I thought about breaking into the NICU to show off Growing Cohen, but stopped myself thinking maybe we should wait until a NICU reunion.

Cohen is now up to 8lbs, 4oz and his hands have grown again. They seem to grow first and then his body catches up. It reminds me of Porter when he was a pup. His paws were so big he was practically tripping over them until his body caught up. Cohen's collection of noises are also starting to expand, cooing and talking more often. He has also calmed down during diaper changes. He used to scream tortuously with every diaper change, hungry or not. At one point I thought he might have some kind of pain down there and I had even mentioned it to the pediatrician. But now he just looks around and sometimes lets out some happy noises. Apparently, he is feeling like he might just live through the changing of the diaper and this makes it a more peaceful experience for Joel and I. Happy, peaceful babies are the best!!