Family Pictures

These are our first "official" family pictures. Krysten's mother took them today. Little Cole is just over 3 weeks old and doing very well. We love him.

I'm hooome!

Well, we finally did it. We finally went and picked up a cordless baby. We really like the mobility it provides.

Thursday night Cole was eating really well on his own so the nurse decided to let him eat what he could on his own and see how he did without being tube fed. Then later that night he pulled out the tube on his own so the nurse decided he was committed to the cause too and didn't put the tube back in. He continued to eat almost as much as they wanted to see and did continue to gain weight so they put him in a room with his parents, without help or monitors, and we proved capable of caring for him so, today we brought him home. He now weighs 5lbs 6 oz and is getting stronger every day. We're so glad to be a step further in this journey and feel so very fortunate that our little Cole is such a go-getter.

Getting so big I need a new bed!

This is Cole's isolette that has been his home since the day he was born...

but today he's got a new big boy bed- they switched him because he was making such good progress, gaining weight like a champ. He's at 5 pounds 3 ounces now and they felt he was ready to regulate his own temperature. He has impressed us with how well is he doing and once we get him eating everything from a bottle and not the tube he can come home so please keep him in your prayers and we truly appreciate all that have been offered thus far. We know we are not just lucky, but have experienced first-hand such tender miracles with our little boy.

My mom came for a visit this weekend so she could see Cole in person and we enjoyed spending time with her. Cole loved being held and spoiled by Grandma. He even surprized her with a special treat- she got to watch as a innocent diaper change by his parents turned into a projectile tragedy with Jared taking the hit - now that made her laugh!


Father-son bonding time. Here Cole is staring down his daddy as he gives bottle feeding a try. He's not going to let Jared out of his sight- he's got to show him who's really the boss!

Cole's nurse, Kami, likes him so much she made him a cute name tag for his crib. Here he is today looking as cute as ever!

More Cole

Cole

These top photos are the most recent of little Cole. Tonight when we arrived to see him he was wide awake and very alert and active. He has spent alot of time just sleeping, which is a very good thing, but it was also really neat to see him awake. It continues to amaze me how much better he continues to look after short periods of time.

We've been really busy these last few days and it has been hard to find time to do anything but stare at, hold, care for, and love our little Cole. I don't see our attention shifting to anything else very soon.

As you can see in the pictures, he still has one big obstacle to overcome before he can go home. He is currently being fed through a tube that goes up his nose and down his throat. He needs to learn how to eat on his own. The reflexes to suck don't develop until 36-37 weeks in the pregnancy, so he is just now approaching that time. Unfortunately they say that while girls learn rather quickly, little boys prefer to just let you pour their food in and aren't as interested in doing it on their own. That struck a little guilt in his daddy, who still prefers to be fed rather than feeding himself. He may never grow out of that one either.

To give a report on the past couple days: Krysten got to come home last night so now we both run back and forth to the hospital and home. We changed his little diaper and Krysten gave him a bath last night. He was pretty alert and awake the whole time so we got to see him with his eyes open quite a bit. I am very pleased to see he has Krysten's eyes.



Here's another good look at him. He was on a biliblanket (the glowing blue light behind him) to help reduce his bilirubin levels so he doesn't get jaundice too bad. They were anticipating he would get a little jaundice because of his black eye. Today his bilirubin levels were lower so he is off the light and they'll keep an eye on it.


He also got his IV out because he is recieving full feedings now and doing so very well. Premature babies lose a little weight after birth and they like for them to be back above their birth weight within 2 weeks and our little guy is already there. He only lost weight one day and has continually gained since. He continues with a pattern of "doing amazingly well, way better than expected" to use the Pediatrician's own words. We love hearing reports like that.

Our Little Family

Krysten got to go to the nursery today and hold little Cole.


We'll keep him.

Hello Little Man

I need to post some newer pictures of our baby boy already. About the time I was posting the last pictures they were taking him off oxygen so you can see his little face now.


In this one you can see our little warrior earned himself a black eye


I was amazed today at how much better he continued to look after only a few hours between visits. Krysten hasn't been able to see him yet other than a couple brief moments in the delivery room, but she'll get to go see him tomorrow. But I was fortunate to spend lots of time today just watching him. I couldn't believe how much he looked like Krysten and I both! I realize that probably sounds stupid, he's OUR baby, but to look at him and see the resemblance to each of us was awesome. I just stared at him each time I went to see him. Tonight I even got to sit and watch his first bath and diaper changing. (keyword - watch) Krysten gave me a hard time for watching and not doing, but I was right there asking questions and learning, so it counts. I even got to hold him for the first time as the nurse changed his bedding. Wow, after such a difficult, heartbreaking, worrysome time we've had, today was rewarding beyond description.

The First Little Jaredite Warrior

Well, today is the day. The Dr. came in this morning and said it is time to get the little guy out. So they went and got him this morning by c-section. He weighed 4 lbs 9 oz and is 17.5 inches long. He started crying shortly after arrival and within an hour or so was breathing on his own and "doing remarkably well for how early he is" to quote the Dr. Also while they were checking him out and getting him hooked up to the oxygen and monitors the Dr. told me, "He fought us the entire time, he's a very strong little guy." Krysten is also doing great and we feel so relieved and blessed to have things going so well after such a struggle. Our little Jaredite warrior, Cole Matthew, has proven to be a strong, unflinching, little fighter. We are so very grateful and proud.

Here we are getting started.


Don't be fooled by his size or all those tubes and monitors. He is strong.


Show everyone how strong you are little man.

The Battle Rages On

For over a week now Krysten and our little man have continued to defy the odds and have bought the little guy more much needed time with his mother. Her condition is progressing but not as rapidly as expected. It has been such a long, difficult week to keep watching and waiting for things to get worse. Krysten remains a P.O.W. of the hospital continuing her strict bedrest though she hasn't had to be hooked to the IV or monitors like before. At the beginning she was being monitored constantly with her blood pressure being checked every half hour. Since she has been so steady and slow with the progression of her condition they are only doing non stress tests and blood pressure readings every four hours or so, with other tests to check for damage to her kidneys and liver. They're also doing an ultrasound a week to get a good look at the baby.

Anyone who knows Krysten knows that asking her to remain on strict bedrest in the hospital for over a week now is torture. It would be torture for anyone but poor Krysten is the most active, hardworking, busiest little thing I know. She loves to stay busy on multiple tasks. So the bedrest might as well be waterboarding.

So we'll continue to worry and wait for the day when our little guy must be delivered and pray hard that he'll be well. I never realized the heartache people feel when their world is flipped upside down. My compassion and sympathy for others has grown so much recently. I've blissfully lived in ignorance most of my life. I hope we can experience the growth and learning we need to from this experience cause I don't want to have to re-take this test. We thank each of you for your prayers and concern for us. It means alot to know we are loved and prayed for.

My Little Warriors

For those who haven't yet heard about the scariest week I've ever lived, this past week has been it. Monday night/ tuesday morning Krysten woke up in the middle of the night with unusual chest pains. She got up and checked her blood pressure which she has been monitoring because it was high at her last appointment. Her blood pressure was really high so she called the hospital because the Dr.'s office was obviously closed. They told us to come in and upon arrival they started doing a few tests.

They quickly labeled her high risk and sent us to labor and delivery. They told us she has a condition called preclamsia and began explaining what that is. Her body is having a reaction to being pregnant(the placenta is the culprit) and it causes high blood pressure and can be very dangerous to her and the baby. It can quickly damage and shut down organs with small blood vessels. For her that means kidneys and liver, for the baby that means placenta. The cause is being pregnant, so the solution is to no longer be pregnant aka deliver our little guy six weeks before he is due.

Delivering our little man six weeks early isn't ideal but there comes a point where he is safer on the outside than the inside. The mother will quickly recover once the placenta is delivered so its a matter of crossing the line when mother and baby are no longer safe. Luckily, in five days we have not yet crossed that line. Krysten has been in the hospital on strict bedrest hooked to an IV and monitors.

Tuesday and Wednesday were very intense, frightening days. My dad and I gave Krysten a blessing Tuesday and all of the family has been praying hard everyday. Throughout the week my two little warriors have managed to surprise doctors and nurses with how well they are doing. Krysten has felt fine the entire time(the chest pains stopped not long after we were admitted)and has been much stronger under pressure than I, and our little man hasn't even flinched. He has been rock solid. Not a single sign of trouble from him. His daddy however, has been fit to be tied. Never have I been so afraid as this week as I HELPLESSly watched and waited. At one point I asked if they could run down to the veteranarian and get me a horse sedative.

This morning we met with the Dr., as we do every morning, to hear the verdict on the latest tests. He is pleasantly surprised to see that Krysten and baby continue to be stable and are showing signs of improvement which he says is almost unheard of with this condition. Usually you give the baby as much time as you can afford before the condition progresses and you have to deliver. Her blood pressure is down and if other tests show improvement tomorrow we will get to continue strict bedrest at home. As far as how much more time our little man gets before his arrival, that is the answer we won't have until he is here. The greatest challenge of this entire experience has been taking it one day at a time without any idea of what tomorrow will bring. But my spirits are lifting as we are being blessed with miracles and as I watch my two little warriors show me what tough is.