6 Month Pictures!

Last week Taylor's oldest sister and her three kids were in town, visiting from Ohio. This was the first time all six of the Kordsiemon grandkids had been together, so we decided to document the occasion with some pictures! 

I had been wanting to get some professional pictures of Cooper taken this month for his half-birthday, and we were able to snap a few at the end of the shoot with all the kids. Cooper was being so sweet and we got some good pictures!

The cute Kordsiemon grandkids :) 3 new babes born last year!

January Updates

At Cooper's 6 month well check with his pediatrician, he weighed 11 pounds 14 ounces, and is 23.5 inches long. He is not on the charts yet in height and weight for a 6 month old, but his head was in the 4th percentile. :) However, Cooper is on his own growing curve and doing well, and our pediatrician thinks that within the next 6 - 12 months Cooper will be caught up in size for his actual age!

6 month check up!

Our pediatrician was impressed with how well Cooper is doing developmentally (rolling, cooing, grabbing, etc) and said that he is definitely on the right track. Our doctor also gave us the go ahead to start introducing solids to Cooper, and so far Cooper has liked his rice cereal. :)

Last week Cooper had another follow-up appointment with his nephrologist at Primary's, and it went really well! We have continued to take Cooper in every other week to his ped for the last few months to monitor his blood pressure, and since Cooper's last nephrology appointment his blood pressure has been normal at every check. The doctor decreased his blood pressure from .8ml to .6ml twice a day, and we now only have to get his blood pressure checked once a month, instead of every other week. They will have us come back in three months, and at that point they will do a kidney ultrasound to see if the fluid that was there prior to coming home from the NICU has diminished. All in all, everything went well, and while Cooper is still dealing with some high blood pressure, it has been very manageable with medication and thus far hasn't presented any other issues! Hopefully within the next few months he will grow out of the hypertension. 

Nephrology appointment

A few days ago Cooper received his third dose of Synagis, the RSV prevention shot. He was up to 12 pounds 6 ounces at his appointment on Thursday!

Synagis appointment

Trying solids for the first time

6 months!

Cooper turned 6 months old (and 26 weeks) last week! His adjusted age is 3 months. As of yesterday he weighed 11 pounds 12.5 ounces. He has his six month check-up later this week and we'll see if he is on the charts yet for his age (not likely). :)

Here are a few quick updates about 6 month old Cooper!

• Now wears size 2 diapers
• Still mostly wearing size 0-3 clothes, but also some 3-6 month sizes
• Loves his play mat
• Great at grabbing link/chain toys and rattles
• Neck is very strong
• Rolling over from stomach to back since the beginning of December
• Recognizes familiar faces, especially Taylor and me, and smiles when he sees us!
• Loves talking and babbling
• Recently discovered his hands and loves chewing on his fingers, also starting to put everything in his mouth
• Frequently laughs out loud!
• Drinks about 23-26 ounces each day
• Still taking medication for high blood pressure
• Usually sleeps about 6-7 hours, has a small bottle, and then sleeps for another 4 hours

We have made it through a good chunk of RSV season without Cooper getting sick, which we're so grateful for! Cooper has received two doses of Synagis (the $2,000 RSV prevention shot) and will receive another few shots before the end of winter. I have turned into a little bit of a crazy germaphobe... you should see my Lysol collection. Thanks to our visitors who happily wash and sanitize their hands without complaint. :)

Cooper is the sweetest baby and we can hardly believe he's been in the world for half a year! His sweet personality brings us so much happiness. Thus far his development seems to be right on track for his adjusted age, which we are very grateful for. He is high-risk for cerebral palsy because of the brain bleeding he experienced, but we continue to pray that he will grow and develop normally.

2015

Without a doubt, 2015 was the most challenging year of my life. I was stretched and refined in so many ways, and looking back I think I was in "survival" mode for most of the year. Taylor and I found out we were expecting on February 3rd, and shortly after the nausea and first trimester sickness began. I was in my last semester of school taking 18 credits and working over 20 hours a week, and it was all I could do to stay afloat. After the first trimester ended the nausea ended, but I was still pretty exhausted and slept as much as I could. :) My second trimester went by pretty quickly between graduation and working full-time, and then, before I had a chance to experience my third trimester, Cooper came at 26 weeks.

If I could take away the pain and challenges Cooper faced (and the lingering effects) during his time in the NICU I definitely would. However, I'm so grateful for the hard lessons his time there taught Taylor and me. I have never prayed so much or felt closer to my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I have never felt so much love and support from so many people like I did while Cooper was in the NICU. Taylor and I witnessed miracles daily surrounding our tiny baby. Each day brought hard challenges to overcome, and I cried every single night when I had to leave the hospital without my baby. But I am sooo grateful that on October 10th, after 14 long weeks, Cooper was healthy enough to come home.

One of my favorite hymns is Because I Have Been Given Much. This year I want to serve others the way so many served my family during our greatest time of need. 2016 promises to be an exciting year with Taylor graduating from BYU this summer and beginning law school in the fall! The future is bright, and we are grateful for the many adventures and memories ahead.