Happy March!

I can hardly believe that March is here! I have been looking forward to March for a loooong time... it's the last month of RSV season in Utah, and hopefully soon we'll be able to kick our cabin fever and Cooper will be able to be out in public. We have been so blessed that Cooper has remained healthy (no colds or anything!) since coming home from the NICU. We have done our part to keep him mostly home and not exposed to any crowds or sick people, and I know that Heavenly Father has blessed Cooper tremendously and kept him healthy. Just a few more weeks and then Cooper can finally go to places like church and be around other children. :)

I just wanted to give a quick update on Cooper... his weight gain has slowed down from where we would like it to be. Recently Cooper had two weeks where it was very difficult to get him to take his bottle to eat. Usually after distracting him or walking around with him he would take it and be fine, but there were two days where it was nearly impossible to get him to eat, and I was ready to take him in to get an NG tube again. Miraculously (I mean that literally), Cooper woke up after those two days and has taken his bottle fine since then, so no tube feedings! Taylor and I are doing our best to not push Cooper to eat more than he wants to or make eating a negative experience, because that can cause oral aversions (which I was sure was happening when he was refusing to eat). Cooper is definitely hydrated and eating enough to grow at a slower rate, but we're hoping to see him want to eat more so he will grow faster/better. :)

Despite these two difficult weeks, Cooper is doing so well and continues to impress us developmentally! At our Neonatal Follow-Up Clinic appointment a few weeks ago, two moms/babies that were in the NICU with Cooper were also at the clinic. One of the babies was actually briefly in the bed space next to Cooper and was also a 26 weeker. Both of these babies are still on oxygen, and I was again reminded of how lucky and blessed Cooper is to be doing so well respiratory wise. Many babies born at his gestational age can be on oxygen until their first birthday, but Cooper has been so fortunate to not need oxygen since before he was discharged from the NICU!  Cooper faced many difficult obstacles in the first 3 months of his life, but with his fighting spirit, blessings from a loving Heavenly Father, and the faith and prayers of so many people he has overcome many challenges and Taylor and I feel so abundantly blessed.

We are looking forward to conquering RSV season and moving into a more "normal" chapter with Cooper. Happy March!!