Bo making a basket in his game

Last Saturday, Bo made a basket in his game. Here are some photos Grammy took of him dribbling up, shooting, the ball going through the net, and his reaction afterwards. He was very proud of himself as was the rest of the family there to watch. He really started to show a little initiative and aggression going after a few balls. He actually took 3 shots which in the previous 3 games he had no shots. He went after a rebound on the ground and dribbled toward the basket so we are very proud of him and hope he continues this in the upcoming practices and games.

I should also note that before the game Daddy did bribe him with a milkshake after the game if he scored. Bo of course took it further and said if I score two then we go to McDonalds. It is amazing how much effort he gives and concentration when there is a reward at the end.

Cooper two weeks old

Cooper is now 2 weeks old. Here are some pictures from the last few days finally at home. You can see a theme with these photos...sleep

Kids being silly

Emily is ready to go outside at school. They always go outside if it is above 10 so she always asks me if it is 10 outside.

Bo had a field trip to the science center. It was mostly in the planetarium to learn about the sun & planets but we had to walk over to the rest the place. We walked over the traffic bridge, watched an extra movie, had popcorn, and built the arch

And happy Valentine's Day. Bo got Emily roses made out of chocolate. Emily got bo a darth Vadar candy dispenser plus Emily picked out funny valentines for us. She is oour sweet baboo

Cooper playing with the siblings

Here are some pictures from last week (like the few days Cooper was home and the only day he opened his eyes).

Proud big brother and big sister

Emily reading a book to him. She has been looking forward to this for a long time.

The kids helping give Cooper his first bath at home.

Bo was happy to have his brother home. He built him a tower and wanted Cooper to knock it over.

Eye infection

Good news is Cooper's jaundice results went down on Weds so we didn't have to take him in to be checked anymore. The bad news is he woke up Thrusday morning with a puffy eye. It was just the left eye which was a little swollen. Mommy called the doctor's office and everyone thought it was a clogged tear duct so they told us to just massage it then watch it how it goes. Friday when he woke up there was yellow liquid coming out of the original eye with gross crusty spots and the right eye was starting to swell up too. Friday afternoon Mommy took him to see the pediatrician who prescribed an oral antibiotic and some cream that is supposed to go on the inside of his eyelid. That seems a little hard since we can't even open his eye to begin with. The doc also said if it isn't getting better and since it is so hard to treat a 10day old, we might have to take him into the hospital to get an IV of antibiotics.

Well, Saturday it was about the same and Cooper seemed to have a little stomach ache from the medicine so was a little uncomfortable during the night. That is rare for him since he hasn't had much trouble (=crying) since he has been home. We talked to the doc on the phone Saturday and she said if it is still puffy or oozing stuff in the morning then you need to go to the hospital. Sunday morning the left eye, original one, was definitely showing improvement but both were still oozing stuff. We debated on what to do but finally were cautious and took him in.

Mommy stayed with him two nights with help from Aunt Beth (thanks so much). As he got his doses of antibiotics and they monitored everything. Special thanks to the dumb ER doctor who didn't take a good culture and had trouble diagnosing what it was (can you say wild goose chase). When she admitted us to the hospital for overnight, we finally were able to talk to some people who knew what they were doing or maybe just simply cared.

They let us bring him home on Tuesday afternoon. His eyes were all cleared up but the swap and blood work hadn't come back with any to tell us for sure what it was. We came home with some antibiotics to take. He seems to be doing ok except for his stomach now is killing him because of all the meds. The doctor said this could be a side effect. He has trouble getting comfortable a lot unless he feeds which means he is either always feeding or crying. He will cry so much that he wears himself out to sleep then wakes up if you put him down. Hopefully this doesn't last long. Here is a weird position that worked tonight to get him to calm down.

Swimming lessons

This winter we did a couple sessions of swimming lessons. Bo was doing well making it to level 5 where he swam in the deep end practicing the FreeStyle, side stroke, and backstroke. He was working on doing these strokes, taking a breath and continuing without stopping. He was also working on diving where he is still working on not the dive turning into a belly flop.

Emily was on level 3. She wasn't nearly excited about swimming as Bo was. We focused on trying hard. Her favorite is definitely the back position where she can just float. She needs to work on getting the courage to jump off the platform all by herself as she refuses to do it now. She jumped of the side with the help of the instructor.

Bo playing basketball

Last weekend, Bo had his first basketball game. He was very excited to play. He wanted Baby Pancake to come watch him but we said maybe next time.

Here is a video of him dribbling the ball up for the first play of the game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toJm2AutRs4

Jaundice and poop

We were scheduled to leave the hospital 2 days after the birth which would be late Saturday afternoon. We were all ready around 3pm and the family was back at the house already to celebrate Cooper's birthday. Mommy was discharged however Cooper hadn't pooped since he was born, the pediatrician wouldn't release us.

His color was ok and he had only lost 4% body weight since birth so that was great. Mommy's milk was coming in already so we thought things were going well. The doctor said we couldn't leave until he pooped. They did a suppository to help but nothing would work. They retested his jaundice levels and they were twice as high as the previous day. Finally, the house pediatrician did a check and finally released whatever was backing him up.

It was about 7:30pm by the time we left. They were ready for the birthday party.

The doc said we would need to make sure he pooped the next day or call. Also we had to come in Monday morning to get retested for jaundice level. Well, we are happy to report that he had 3 big blowouts from the time we came home until Monday morning. The jaundice tests Monday were a little high but within healthy range so no further action was needed. We go back Tuesday morning to be test to make sure he is moving in the right direction.

Here is a picture of Cooper on the way to the doctor all bundled up in his jacket for the baby seat. He has been sleeping quite a bit. The doctor says he is not allowed to go more than 3 hours during the day and 4 hours at night without eating.

The journey for Cooper

Well, the journey began on Thursday afternoon. Mommy called Daddy from work around 1:30 saying she didn't feel good and had cramps. She was going to go home. Daddy was ready and said to call if anything changed. About 2hrs later, she told me to meet at the hospital. Daddy picked up Emily on the way and Mommy & Beth had Bo already. Mommy thought we were going to be sent home but she was the only one.

Here is a picture of Emmy and Mommy comparing bellies waiting to be checked in.

She didn't want us to call anyone or alert anyone with a false alarm but Mommy was in a lot of pain. They came and measured her and she was a 6 with contractions happening every 3 to 4 minutes. Those cramps earlier weren't cramps. Then she started panicking that she wouldn't have time to get an epidural. The nurse caught the drift and made sure the anesthesiologist showed up in time. The doc broke her water so she was ready to go.

With contractions, Mommy was basically fully dilated but baby pancake head was turned the wrong way. The OB doc made Mommy change positions many times which last a couple of hours. He was very stubborn and kept turning his head so it wouldn't fit out the chute. After about an hour of pushing, he finally popped out and was declared a boy. Apparently, he pooped a little (by a little I mean a lot) while he was hanging out down there. It was a little messy but they still put her on Mommy's chest.

While they were busy taking care of Mommy, getting out the placenta (manually extraction), and stitching her up. We got all the vitals of Cooper. He was breathing a little hard at first because he has some liquid/amniotic fluid in his lungs. They sucked that out and he settled down.

It was pretty late like midnight by the time Mommy and Cooper were able to leave the delivery room. The kids were very excited to see if Baby Pancake came so were there Friday morning. When they arrived, pancake was at the nursery being checked by the pediatrician. They knew he came but still didn't know if he was a boy or a girl.

The kids went to get a snack and when they came back pancake was in his crib. They both thought he was a girl because he was wearing a hat. So Mommy told them it was a boy and Bo was very excited. "Boys rule, now!" and "I knew it." were his quotes. He was quick to want to touch him, tickle him, and even sing a song to him.

Emily on the other was not so excited. She quiet and immediately had a sad face. She started to cry because she wanted a girl. After that she really didn't want anything to do with Cooper.

Bo loved holding him, kissing him, and kept saying he is so cute.



Finally after a few hours, Emily warmed up to Cooper and was happy to be a big sister.

The kids did a great job at the hospital. They visited for about 4 hours. They have done well at home too wanting to help with things. They do wonder when he will play with them and start crawling. Just sleeping and eating all day is pretty boring. The time will come.

Presenting Cooper Francis

Cooper Francis was born Thursday evening 8:54pm. He weighed 8lbs. 10ounces and was 21 inches long.