Update on Cooper -- Three Weeks Old

Believe it or not, Cooper is three weeks today. So many of our friends have yet to see him. In some ways, it seems like time has stood still over the past few weeks. Given that it's cold & flu season, we're hesitant to take him around too many people right away. We'll probably start easing him into some outings over the next two weeks.

He had a check-up today. He's almost back up to his birth weight at nine pounds even. He has gained almost 2 inches in length (I guess it's not really height until you can stand under your own power.) I even had to adjust the position of the car seat straps to accommodate him. His check-up went well, but they had to take a lot of blood. I've never heard him cry so much. He had a pacifier in his mouth the whole time, so he ended up sounding like Chewbacca "talking." Not the roaring Chewie, but the "roah-roah-roah" soft-spoken one. Okay, okay. Next time, you try typing in Wookie.

The reason for the extra blood was a slight bump in his adrenal activity in his original lab work in the hospital. Dr. Stone said that was to be expected with the way Coop was struggling to breathe at birth. This is just to double check the numbers and ensure that everything is okay.

He's been allowing us a couple of three-hour stretches of sleep at night. Last night was an exception, as we totaled about 4 hours. He is still a little congested, so sleeping was a challenge. The kid is also eating us out of house and home. To think the NICU doc was worried about his "eating problem." I still harbor a deep desire to step on that little man. Need to repent of that one.

Savannah is very attached to him, and even began sobbing as we left for pre-school this morning. "I want my baby brother, she cried." We're still fighting her need to constantly touch him. It's funny; already she can tick him off faster than anyone. They already know how to behave like siblings. She simply touches his forehead or kisses his hand the wrong way, and he starts complaining. And she has already complained about the music from his bouncy seat interfering with her movies. Welcome to our future.