On the Move!

In the last few days Cooper has mastered the art of using his arms and knees to crawl. Momma's cell phone was the key inspiration for him to improve his "army crawl." I always set him on the floor with my phone, a remote w/out batteries, and a few toys. Today he actually managed to make his very first phone call. I always lock my phone before I give him my phone which requires one to press the # and call key to unlock. Somehow while I was making a bottle, he unlocked my phone and conveniently held down the 2 key to call my mother. I went to swaddle him for his feeding and was acting ridiculous as usual when it's just him and me in the house, when I realized my phone said, "mom cell connected." Too crazy! Coop loves his Grandma so there's no doubt he purposely called her. Luckily it was her and not a doctor, or old friend I haven't talked to in years! Silly boy. There's never a dull day with him :)

NAM: Before and After

Here is a side-by-side view of how much Cooper's gap has come together. His palate gap was over 12mm wide and as of almost a month ago it is actually touching! 

     Left: 1 Day Old, Middle: 3 Months using NAM before Nasal Stent, Right: 1 Week Old

My Little Blondie 

 Front of palate finally touches!

       Last Stage of Cooper's NAM. It is shaved off as much as possible and no more acrylic can be added.

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

Cooper had his first trip the the pumpkin patch yesterday. We had a bit of a late start, but we enjoyed some delicious food and took a spin on the hayride with the company of his Cousin, Aunt, and Uncle. We sure did catch the attention of many children yesterday. I do know they are only children, but the looks on some of their faces just made me so upset. There was this young girl in line in front of us who literally did not take her eyes off Cooper the ENTIRE time. This was the first  time a little child has ever made me so uncomfortable. Usually children come right up and ask, "What happened?" or "What's wrong with his lip?" which I don't mind by any means. It is when they gawk that really disturbs me. But, I know it's all in parenting, 99% of the children that notice Coop in public usually are very polite and know not to stare too long.  Thank you to those of you who instill good manners in your children. I know parents of children who look a little different really appreciate it. This is just something that is part of having a cleft child I guess, and I would not change a thing!

Thank You Dr. Logan!

Cooper met his NEW pediatrician Friday Dr. Logan. He appears to be very nice and personable which is what any parent would look for in his/her child's doctor. Cooper's previous Dr. cancelled the last few appts. which certainly gave off the impression she had way too many patients and wasn't able to give the best care possible so I finally got my foot in the door at another Dr.'s office. My little boy now weighs 15lbs 2oz and is 26 3/4 inches at almost six months. He went from the 5% in weight to 12% and is now in a normal percentile for height.

September 26, 2010

We have yet another addition to our family! Baby Maddilynn Rose was born 7lbs 4oz in the afternoon. She is absolutely adorable with the fairest hair I've ever seen. That marks the last of six girls for their family. Cooper has another girl cousin with 7 total! He'll be welcoming a boy cousin due Thanksgiving Day. Aaron Derek-Deshan.

We also added to our Douglas family as well. Cooper got his very own puppy named Bella. She is a 6 week old black lab who loves nipping at his toes when he "swims" on the floor. He is trying to get down the whole crawling thing, but he arches his back, throws his arms and legs up, and flaps them around like he's swimming. Then he sticks his behind in the air, puts his head to the ground, and stands up to scoot around.

It's awesome! 

Must Vent...

What's That?!!!!

Friday Cooper was expected to see the pediatrician for his "4 month" well baby check up and shots. But yesterday while playing with him, I received a call from the pediatrician's office. "The Doctor will be out of office Friday. We'll have to push it back." That would be fine but it wasn't the first time I heard that! There are 3 or more Dr.'s at that office, I've had scheduled appts with 3 of them and just to my luck, each one has cancelled on me since August when Cooper WAS actually "4 months". Coop's main Dr. has just not shown up before and when she does it is literally 2 hours late BTW. The awesome thing about all this is that he will be 6 months by the time he gets his 4 month shots! That office can never hold a darn appt. for me. They all made such a big deal of Cooper's weight gain/progress to due to his upcoming surgery, yet they are taking in children with just slight coughs over my son! Argh. Oh yeah, Cooper's surgery will only be 3 weeks after his first ped. visit since he was 2 months old. Sorry Momma bear is not happy with them to say the least.

See Cooper's Upset Too!