Laryno-ma-what?

We are now at 9 weeks. Have I said that time flies? What did we ever do in our spare time? Peter’s parents left yesterday, and now we have word that Peter’s sister Christina might be able to come in August. Let’s keep our fingers crossed cause we would love for her to see her little nephew while he is still little. I know that every parent says this, but Cooper seems to grow and change by the day. He has totally lost the newborn look, and looks like an infant now. We had a second x-ray last week, which showed that he is, indeed, aspirating. We are now thickening his formula, and are just starting to get a few extra hours of sleep at night. Last night he ate at 6:00 pm, went to bed at 7:20, and we didn’t hear a peep until between 1 and 2 am. Then he ate again at 5:30. It is now 8:30 and I think I hear him right now waking up. Not a bad night! But back to the x-ray. We now are being referred to an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor because it is suspected that Cooper has Laryngomalacia. Basically he has a weak or floppy epiglottis, and so his trachea doesn’t get blocked off properly while he is eating and the airways themselves are kind of loose and floppy as well so they collapse in as he breathes in. Kind of scary, but Cooper is a trooper, and he is just as delightful as ever!

A Visit from Opa and Oma Claus

Our little man has made it to 2 months, and we are all still alive. We found out that the throw-up episode in the aforementioned blog (which came out of the mouth and the nose with great force) would soon be followed with many more similar episodes along with scary moments where Cooper would have difficulties breathing (typically during and just after eating) and even stop breathing for a few seconds at a time. Thoughts of allergies, asthma (since it is full force pollen season), and what would happen if he were allergic to Kayla (our first four-legged child) were racing through our heads. When described to the Pediatrician, she suspected reflux. An x-ray proved her correct and confirmed that our dude has severe reflux. Who knew that it takes 4 adults to hold down one tiny baby under an x-ray camera. So, Cooper gets his first medicine for his severe reflux. We’ve seen a small amount of improvement, but he is still having a lot of the same problems. Another x-ray on Tuesday of this coming week will show if he is aspirating into his lungs.

Other developments this month are increased support of his head which means that he can hold his head up in the car. This is, of course, thanks to the exercises that his mommy does with him everyday. And the best development of all, his first true smiles. The first ones occurred at about 6 ½ weeks. I had been trying for already a couple of weeks to get a smile out of him, and one morning just after a 6 AM feeding, he just cracked one on me and I just melted. I didn’t see another smile at me for about a week later, but he did give his dad a few grins in the meantime. Now at 8 weeks, we can typically get a few smiles a day at times when he is in a good mood. It’s a beautiful thing!

But the major updates are that Cooper’s Opa Wolfram and Oma Inge are here from Germany. They got their first look at Cooper after a long plane ride and it was a joy watching them hold their grandson for the first time. They have been here for 1 week so far and still will be here for another week. Cooper has graced them with several smiles this week in exchange for songs sung by Inge and some educational words from Wolfram. Oma and Opa brought lots of goodies, including some kisses and hugs from Peter’s sister, Christina, and Cooper’s first Lederhosen. Danke schoen!

A Hungry Man

Well, we have now managed to keep this guy alive for well over a month. I can’t believe how fast time is flying. We were forced to begin supplementing with formula since I was not producing quite enough food for Cooper on my own. After 3 ½ weeks, he let us know that he was just plain hungry. So, after exhausting all efforts and given the fact that our little man had only gained a few ounces since we left the hospital and was still nowhere near his birth weight, we knew it was time. I felt so guilty at the time and also felt some sort of failure. But our last doctor’s visit this week proved that we had made the right decision. Cooper weighed in at 8 lbs. 4 oz., an entire pound gain from last week. VICTORY! Now we are on to other stressors like finding some good childcare (such a depressing quest) and learning how to deal with our first major throw-up episode, which just so happened to occur in the car on the way to visit our first child care possibility. Way to go, Coop! You really know how to keep your mommy and papa on our toes! Not a moment’s rest around here, and I am learning to move at double the pace and master incredibly complex tasks one handed.

Top Ten List for Parents of a Newborn

We are now 3 weeks into parenthood, and finally finding a few moments to start our blog. This has been such a rollercoaster ride already, so I can’t imagine what the next years will be like. Where to start? I guess it would have to be the incredible moment of seeing, hearing, and holding your child for the first time . . . truly the most emotional moment of my life. After about 21 hours of labor, Cooper Joseph Claus entered the world and let us know that he was here with a hearty cry. Then immediately was quiet when he was placed in my arms. He knew me already! At 7 lbs. 13 oz., he proved us all wrong in thinking that we would have nothing less than a mammoth boy, and all fears of having an ugly baby and anything less than perfect were relieved. He is so beautiful and it is hard to believe that something so tiny can come from Peter and me. Bringing him home was quite terrifying, and I couldn’t help but say to Peter as we drove away from the hospital, “I can’t believe they let us leave with this thing. Don’t they know we have no idea what we are doing?” At 1 week, I proclaimed, “We’ve kept this guy alive for 7 whole days!” After 3 weeks, we are still trying to get the hang of breastfeeding, getting up at night, and constantly checking to make sure that our little guy is still breathing. Cooper has a way of wrinkling his forehead that makes him look like a wise old man, and I can’t help but think sometimes that he somehow knows that we have no idea what we are doing. But we do figure these things out, and he helps us out by being a really easy-going baby. Sleeps great (we wake him up in the night for feedings), cries only when he is hungry or wants to be held, and is easy to soothe.

What have I learned so far?

Amy’s top 10:
1. The boob solves just about anything, and if that doesn’t work, Mylicon and a warm blanket will likely do the trick.
2. The signature mommy move is the bounce. A baby just doesn’t like to be still.
3. Always be on guard when removing a little boy’s diaper. That fountain just always seems to find a way to squirt out!
4. Nothing is more delicious than the smell of a freshly bathed baby.
5. Nursing is the most rewarding and most stressful thing at the same time.
6. There’s no such thing as “sleep when the baby is sleeping.”
7. There is no room for modesty anymore when you have a newborn.
8. I love my husband dearly no matter what I may say, do, or think in this sleep deprived state! (And hopefully Peter has learned not to take anything from me personally right now!)
9. No one knows what a new mom needs and how to help more than another mother. (Brenda and Melissa, you are invaluable, and I couldn’t survive without you!)
10. I have the cutest baby in the world!