Kicking it

Cohen is five months old today! His last weight check put him at 11.5 lbs. His newest tricks are kicking and drooling. The increased leg movement makes bath time more fun(splish splash). He also has started to move around in the crib more. This morning he had somehow managed to turn himself 90 degrees in the crib.

Nancy and Neal came to visit over the new year and brought Cohen's most important piece of furniture, the crib!! Neal made the crib from an oak tree planted by Joel's great grandfather. It turned out beautiful and has a beautiful history to go with it. Joel and I painted a mural of a tree on the wall.

Cohen also experienced his first trip to the zoo over the holiday break. We went to the aquarium. Every baby item we own either has an ocean or a jungle theme, so I think he probably recognized some of aquatic life in the tanks. I can't wait to introduce him to the monkeys because between all of our books, clothes, and toys we have about 800 monkeys in the house, so I know they'll be quick friends.

I'll have the fish please

Cohen did the coolest thing tonight! He reached up to play with one of the toys on his playmat! The playmat has two fish and a mirror that hang down from an arc over his head. He reached up and grabbed the fish, touching and feeling it long enough for me to get Joel's attention. We both watched in awe as he explored it. This is the first time he has really grabbed for anything intentionally...so cool.

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!!

Liquid gold

Cohen is three months old today! He is doing great, doing all the usual baby things, mostly eating. Joel says he has his appetite, but I think he gets his insatiable hunger from the both of us. I have talked Joel and the doctor into letting me weigh Cohen on a weekly basis. This past weekend weigh-in put him at 7 lbs, 8 oz. Growin Cohen is also getting a lot stronger, showing more head control and even starting to arch his back. He is also responding more to our voices, which is really neat to watch.

Last week Nancy and Neal came to hang out with us for a few days. They got some quality time in with Cohen, even getting in on some early morning bottle feedings, which I know Joel appreciated. My parents have also been able to spend some time with Cohen lately. My dad and Christy came up this past weekend, while my mom usually comes every other Tuesday to hang out. My good friends Corena and Brian also visited this weekend.

We love having visitors, especially because we don't really take Cohen too many places in hopes we can keep him from getting sick. We have been waiting for the insurance company to approve Synagis for Cohen, a vaccine for RSV (our doc has referred to it as liquid gold). RSV, a common virus during cold and flu season, usually presents as a cold in healthy infants and adults, but for preemies it can be a much bigger deal. Several doctors have told us that if Cohen were to get RSV he would most likely end up back in the hospital. So we are being very vigilant about following doctors orders to protect Cohen from getting sick. So, no letting sick people near the baby, avoiding kids and even passive smoke. Unfortunately, this also means avoiding big crowds, which means that we won't be attending the many Thanksgiving get-togethers we normally do. This has been really tough for me to accept, because I want to share him and show him off to everyone. All in good time I know.

Since we're not going anywhere for Thanksgiving, we thought it would be fun to cook a bird here at home. I've never done this before and am excited to give it a go. Wish me luck:^)

I hope this update finds everyone happy and healthy. Happy Thanksgiving and Good Eats!

Estimated time of arrival

Today was Cohen’s estimated due date or as I sometimes refer to it, his estimated time of arrival. Joel keeps telling me the medical verbage is called estimated date of confinement (edc). I asked why confinement, and he guessed that it was because once baby comes the parents are confined to the house. Either way, it's crazy to think that I would have been 40 weeks pregnant this week.

Yesterday, we went back to the pediatrician for another weight check. He is up to 6 lbs, 8oz. Wow! That’s 13 ounces in 12 days (the doctors like to see growth of half an ounce to an ounce per day). Go Team Cohen! Needless to say the doctor was happy and we don’t have to go back until his four month well check.

Cohen’s growth was no surprise to me as evidenced by his now super-sized hands. The other day Joel and I had both noticed how big they had gotten seemingly overnight. I joked with the doctor that all 13 ounces went to his hands and he recommended that we get him a piano. I was thinking basketball but of course Cohen should have some say in this. He has also outgrown his ‘preemie’ sized clothing. Looking at those little outfits, it’s hard to believe he was ever that small, let alone a 2-lber at birth.

Cohen is now in the midst of a growth spurt and his abundant weight gain confirmed this theory. Now that Cohen is bigger and has the okay from the doctor to go more than three hours between eating, he wants to eat about every hour and a half, at least the past few days anyways. I was waiting for him to become more demanding about eating and my wish has come true (times ten). Thankfully, the increased feedings happen mostly during the day!

Now that we've reached his due date we will look to his corrected age for developmental milestones. His corrected age or adjusted age is based on the expected due date. It's calculated by subtracting the number of weeks he was born early from his chronological age. So, since Cohen was born 12 weeks early and he will be 12 weeks old on Saturday, he'll be zero weeks corrected this week. I know, sounds funny right? I guess that means it will be his 'Corrected Birthday' on Saturday. Hmmm, maybe we should celebrate with cake...and ice cream. Anyway, in four weeks, he'll be four weeks corrected age. So this means that hopefully Cohen will be smiling at us by Christmas!!! (when he's 6 weeks corrected age). Sounds like a Merry Christmas to me:^)

Scrubbed In

Joel, Cohen, and I spent Halloween night handing out candy and watching one of my favorite '80s movies, Silver Bullet. Cohen was a doctor for Halloween.

This past week has been busy for me. I've been writing papers, studying for quizzes and caring for Cohen. Joel has been working hard too. He started his pediatric rotation last week and has been working 12 hour days. Cohen had another doctors appointment to check weight last thursday. He was up four ounces in seven days, so the doctor was content. Each time we go to the doctor and "pass" the weight test we buy more time between doctors visits. So the next time we go will be next week which will be 11 days since our last visit.

It's been so nice out this past week that we were able to take Cohen outside!!! We went for a walk and had a chance to try out the new stroller. It is awesome! Thank you Len & Sammy! We can't wait to take it off road in the future.

Also, I am starting the process of trying to find a nanny/babysitter for next semester while I'm in class. I would like to keep Cohen out of daycare until spring time when flu/RSV season is over and this seems to be the answer. Feel free to contact me if you know anyone who may be interested. We are an equal opportunity employer:^)

Oh yeah, I've been so excited for election day and it's finally here. Voting always feels so good! The night isn't over yet, but it looks like things are headed in a new direction. YAY!!!