March 9, 2009

Cohen officially has cheeks! I walked into his room this morning and his little chubby little face greeted me…even with open eyes! Even his body is starting to fill out and I feel more comfortable handling him that I ever have. I guess that is what 4lbs 4oz will do for you!
Cohen is eating well, pooping normally, and growing appropriately. All good news! His reflux is still pretty bad…he even projectile spit up today. I inquired as to whether this was okay, and his doctor laughed at me and said it is perfectly normal for babies to spit up. Well, duh. As for the reflux, he should grow out of it by 6months, but we will be sent home with a prescription to help and will have to get a special foam reflux thingy for him to sleep on. I love all the “when he is discharged” talk!

The doctor did say that Cohen is borderline anemic. Meaning his hematocrit is now at 28. (Ideally it should be above 30). Some babies will continue to grow and thrive despite being anemic, and other babies will not do so well and require a blood transfusion. We are praying that Cohen will not become fully anemic and, despite his low hematocrit, will continue to gain and grow. I have read way too much case law about blood transfusion mishaps, and that is all I can think about when blood transfusion is in the talks. (I drove the doctor crazy on the antepartum unit when he was getting my consent for a possible transfusion, too) I thought the shot he was given this weekend was supposed to prevent this from happening, but apparently it is a three time a week shot that has positive effects over a long period, and not immediate results as I thought. He will have biweekly labs to check his hematocrit to make sure it doesn’t go below 24.

Cohen’s oxygen has been at 21% all day today! I think once oral feeds begin, we will work to get him off the nasal cannula completely. Overall, he is having minor de-sats around feeds and a couple A&Bs (though last night he had a crazy amount!) here and there, but generally is doing really well.

Grandma Cindy and Papa Rick picked up Carter this morning, and boy was Carter excited to see Papa Rick. Grandma Cindy visited with Cohen and even got to hold him. I hate having Carter so far away from us, but I know how much fun he has in Ellensburg and how loved he is and it makes it a lot easier to handle. He has only been gone since noon, and I am already ready to see him again and anticipating his excitement when he sees me. He does this new really excited shake thing…its rather adorable.So, another good day for Cohen. He even got to watch the inches of snow fall on Children’s Hospital. I told him we’d be moving to Texas soon…just kidding