Improving!

We just met with Dr. Anderson (the neonatologist who is with Cohen this week). Yesterday late afternoon, he ordered for the CPAP to be removed (that was the little hat and tubes going into his nose). He was maintaining good oxygen saturation and doctor wanted to see how he reacted. They put in a nasal canula, and set his oxygen at 40%. He has done well for the most part, and only had one episode last night where he was struggling again to breathe. Up to this point he has just been on IV fluids. Dr. Anderson has ordered a feeding tube for him, which the nurse was about to put in as we were leaving. His respiration is staying above 70, which means he would have to work too hard to eat on his own, so that is why the feeding tube. We are hoping that he is digestive system does well with the feeding so we can hopefully move to regular feedings in the next few days.

Brad lifting up Cohen last night so nurse could change his bedding

Cohen's blood cultures have still not shown any growth of abnormal bacteria, which leads Dr. Anderson to believe it is definitely some sort of infection in his lungs; more than likely pneumonia. His EKG did reveal a muscular "some word I don't know" in between his ventricles, which is like a tiny hole in his heart. Doctor and nurses said it is very common in babies and should fix itself within a few months. We will be following up with a cardiologist in the coming months. The NICU staff feels like Cohen is moving in the right direction and will continue treating his symptoms based on the assumption it is an infection. He will definitely be on IV antibiotics through Friday.

My doctor said the earliest I will go home is tomorrow (Wednesday) depending on how I continue to do (fever, blood pressure, etc.). I have an amazing doctor who is a firm believer, and trusts his "boss" (aka the good Lord above) to send me home at the right time. Needless to say, we will probably be leaving the hospital without Cohen while he continues to heal in the NICU. The thought of this is very hard, just knowing what that means. I will never forget pulling out of the hospital without Nora, and the emptiness that we felt. I also remember thinking that she was in a safe place where people could take care of her, so that she could come home as soon as possible.

As I think about leaving again without our baby, it makes me think of some friends of ours who recently adopted a child from another country. This couple found out they would be parents to a beautiful little girl from a county in Africa. Due to the nature of this country's adoption laws, it is a two trip county. They flew to Africa and met their little girl for the first time (she at the time was less than a year old). Of course they soaked up every moment with their little girl memorizing her every feature and the little behaviors that belong to her. I followed them on their blog throughout their journey. The hardest one to read, was the one she had to write, where they had to leave their little girl and come back to the US. As I read it, I thought back to Nora and hard it was to leave; but then I thought about how much harder it was for them to leave their daughter in ANOTHER COUNTRY, not knowing when the flight to bring her home would be. They then had to wait several months (again due to legalities) to return to Africa to pick up their daughter to bring her home. I think about this couple because it reminds me to be thankful that our God has perfect timing. I am thankful that Cohen will be in a location that we can visit him often, and in a place where he is being looked after 24/7.

When Nora visited last night she was of course into everything. She desperately wants to push every button on my bed along with pull every cord (including the IV cords). Nora opened every drawer in the room, and picked up every tiny particle of trash on the floor and put it in the trash (this is one of her new favorite things to do); and we wonder why she keeps getting sick. There are seriously not even antibacterial hand wipes in the world to keep her hands clean. I cannot pick her up, and due to the pain of the incision I can't have her in the bed with me either for fear that she might kick me unintentionally. Her and Nonna are having a blast at home and she is staying in her normal routine which is exactly what we want for her.

I cannot thank you all enough for your prayers and sweet comments! It is so uplifting to know that Cohen has so many people who are praying for him; and I believe with all of my heart that those prayers are being answered. Thank you!  Will update tomorrow!

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."    -Philippians 4:6

Brad and I have been completely overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from our friends and families in the past few days. We truly appreciate every message, prayer, call, etc. We wanted to keep everyone up to date on Cohen's progress, and feel that keeping a temporary blog will be the best way to do that.

Background:

I called the doctor on Saturday, July 28 and he wanted me to report in to the hospital just to get checked out. I was having some low abdominal pain (associated with previous cesarean scar) and contractions about 10 minutes apart. So we left Nora with her Nonna (my mom) and headed to the hospital. When we got here they put us in a room to our shock and said that Dr. was just going to go ahead and do a cesarean and get Cohen out. We were in SHOCK! We thought we were just coming in to get checked out and then head back home. The next thing we know we are in an operating room about to meet our little man. He came out with no problems weighing 7 lbs., 12 oz., 20 inches long. Much larger than we could have ever expected at 37 weeks.

Dr. Vick said that my previous uterine scar had gotten extremely thin and it was a good thing we went ahead with the delivery because the scar could not have withstood many more contractions. So praise God that we were able to avoid that obstacle.

This was the first time we ever had a baby in the room with us (Nora went straight to the NICU and stayed there) so Brad and I were so overjoyed at getting to have him in the room with us. He wasn't eating great, but he was sleeping a lot....we felt like we had hit the jackpot with the whole sleeping thing! Sunday morning the pediatrician came by an said he looked great and would be able to go home with use when I got discharged. Literally, 15 minutes later he called us from the nursery and said that Cohen had taken a blue tone and his oxygen saturation was reading low.

At that point, they took him up to the NICU and began to do lab work and try to assess what was going on. They immediately put him on oxygen which made it much easier for him to breathe.

24 hours later....what we know and don't know now

Cohen was given a CPAP which looks like a little hat and tubes into his nose. This is giving him oxygen and keeping the pressure in his longs constant ultimately making it easier for him to breathe. He is on two different antibiotics via an IV in his head. He has a line coming out of his umbilical cord allowing for the nurses to do lab work and control his gas. They drew blood when he first went down to test for bacteria that could be present in him. They did an X-ray as well which showed some "wetness" in his lungs. An EKG was done to check his heart, which initially looks good, but we will get more information today about it. At this point, not enough information has come back from the tests to know exactly what is wrong and causing the breathing problems. The neonatologist we spoke with yesterday feels that it is an infection (possibly pneumonia) in his lungs. We are getting ready to meet with the doctor in a few hours so hopefully he will be able to give use more information.

Of course, everyone keeps asking us when will he get to come home....we do not know. We know after our experience with Nora that, that is not a question to ask at this point. We want Cohen home, when he is healthy and it is safe for him to come home. Nora has not gotten to see her brother yet, and as expected she is not allowed in the NICU. Brad is staying with me at the hospital while my mom keeps Nora at home. Nora is still going to school every day, just to make it easier on her and keep her in her routine. She comes to see us once Nonna picks her up.

I contracted some type of bug and ran a fever with body aches and pains (in addition to the ones from the c-section) and will be in the hospital at least one extra day in order to ensure that it is gone by the time I leave. Dr is expecting to discharge me on Wednesday.

Several  people have asked about visiting us in the hospital....we truly appreciate the thought but are honestly not up for visitors at this time. Since Cohen is in the NICU I am having to pump every 2-3 hours. Between doing that, trying to rest, a ton of medicine (antibiotics, blood pressure medicine, etc.), visiting Cohen in the NICU, meeting with his doctors, my frequent mommy moments (i.e. crying episodes) etc. we are staying pretty busy here. As soon as we get home and get our little man home, we would LOVE to have visitors!

I tried to explain how I feel to Brad this morning....I feel this huge separation between my heart and my brain at this time. In my brain, I KNOW that Cohen will get better and is in a safe place. I know that our family can get through this and we will all be healed and get home soon enough. I know I have been through this before with Nora, and I know that it will end. My heart however is another story. My heart tells me to grab my son and hold him until it is all better. My heart doesn't want to leave his side for a second. My heart hurts because we are not at home to put Nora to sleep. I know the Lord's hand is on our family and His hands are the safest place to be.

If we don't respond or haven't responded to a message or voice mail, please understand it is not because we do not appreciate you checking on us. We are just trying to focus on Nora and our visits with her and our visits with Cohen. Please do not take it as us ignoring you....we are hoping this blog will keep everyone updated about what is going on.

We want to thank you all again for your support! We do ask for continued prayers for our little man and his healing as it continues.