Tuesday, July 14th Update

Cooper is one week old!

Today we received the results from Cooper's ultrasound last night. He has experienced some brain bleeding and swelling. This is pretty normal for premies and Cooper was at a higher risk due to his transport from IMC to Primary's, and because of the trauma from surgery. The brain bleeds are correlated with some developmental problems, but there is no present cause for major concern. Medically, there is nothing that can be done about the bleeds except to monitor them and see what happens. Cooper will be receiving weekly head ultrasounds for the foreseeable future. A neurologist is also being added to his team of doctors.

He's been doing awesome with his breathing, and they decided to try taking him off of the oscillator today and put him on the oxygen prongs (in his nose). Unfortunately sweet Coop didn't want to breath on his own (he was still getting oxygen, not suffocating or anything) and was only breathing 5 times per minute. This wasn't sufficient for him to stay on the oxygen prongs, so they placed the intubation tube back in his throat, and instead switched him to a lower grade conventional ventilator. Moving in the right direction! They will try to remove the tracheal intubation tube again in a few days after he is stronger. They also started doses of caffeine to help stimulate his nervous system, and they will continue the caffeine over the next few days.

The sweetest milestone of the day was hearing him cry for the first time. Coop has had the intubation tube since birth, and it presses against his vocal cords so we haven't heard any sounds from him. When they initially removed the intubation, we heard the softest, sweetest little cry.

Cooper was finally measured, and is 13.84 inches long! He also gained an ounce since yesterday, and now weighs about 2 lbs 6 oz.  Cooper had a really good day, and actually hasn't been on morphine (for pain from his surgery) for over a day. He hasn't shown any signs of pain, and is definitely a tough little man!

This weekend we will be fasting specifically for the bleeding and swelling in Cooper's brain to heal. We know that Heavenly Father is mindful of Cooper and that He can provide miracles on his behalf.