Wednesday, August 19th Update

There were no major changes today, but Cooper did great!  The doctors increased his feedings by one milliliter, and he tolerated the extra feed well.  They also weaned his oxygen a bit down to one liter, and he is still doing wonderfully and exceeding expectations when it comes to his breathing.
Chloe got to hold Cooper again today, and he seems to be getting continually stronger.  When we first started holding him we would be lucky if he made it an hour before he had to be put back into his isolette. Today she held him for almost two and a half hours, and for the first two hours he didn't even get fussy.  He just likes to relax in his mom's arms and appreciates the opportunity to escape his dome for a few hours each day.  As much as it benefits him and he seems to enjoy it, getting to hold him each day means the world to Chloe.
As of late, Cooper has been growing like crazy.  Each night when they weigh him he will make huge gains in weight and the nurse will look at us and say something like, "Wow that's a big jump!  He'll probably lose a little weight tomorrow or stay about the same."  Well if there is one thing that Cooper likes to do it is stick it to the man, so he keeps on deciding to grow!  He is now almost 3 lbs. 9 oz.  Which is huge compared to where he was even a week ago.  And it shows; just look at those cheeks!
Tonight, after we had just finished his evening cares, Cooper started feeling pretty tired.  A wonderful thing about babies getting tired is they often start to grin big foolish smiles just before they doze off.  It was the cutest thing that has happened, ever.  His little smirk was killing us, and fortunately we were able to snap a few pictures.  Hopefully you enjoy them as much as we do!
-Taylor