Tuesday Morning

Hey folks, it's Chris again. We are at the NICU (again) and Cohen is looking good. He had some trouble yesterday with eating and breathing at the same time, mostly because he is getting really zealous for the food. We are doing a few bottles a day and the rest by tube still. Please keep praying that his eating and breathing continue on a good track. We heard from Dr. Rogers (Mister Rogers is what I keep thinking). He has spoken with the specialist in Germany and there is no new information as to what sort of diagnosis he might get. There is the possibility of doing some better x-rays to get more info. Right now we are operating under the assumption that we will probably get to bring Cohen home before we get a diagnosis (if we get one). We also met with an occupational therapist to learn a bit about how to develop Cohen's muscle tone, and how to teach him to breath better while eating. His main muscle issue is that they are the right size while his bones are short. This makes it very difficult for him to get the tension in them that is required for them to work. He is doing very well though. Well, that's it for now. I haven't loaded yesterday's pictures on the computer yet, so I will just give some later today if we find the time to upload them. Another quick prayer request...Cort has had a bad cold and double ear infection. Please pray for him to feel better, and for us not to pick up any sickness, as we would not be able to visit the NICU if that happens. Thanks - Chris & Emily

Monday Morning.

This is Kelley. I just received a phone call form Emily as she was walking to the NICU. That's right, walking from her car to the NICU. I think she is doing really well, let's continue to pray for her strength, healing, and restful sleep for both she and Chris. They got home OK yesterday, Chris gave Cort his bath and put him to bed, and according to Em's mom, it sounds like they slept OK last night.
Emily gave me a quick update on Cohen. He is doing really well. They are going to increase the number of bottles he takes. His respiration is still doing well. At this point, they believe that once he is able to take all of his feedings orally, Cohen will be able to come home. They are hoping to talk to the doctor again soon to learn more.
They are going to try to update the blog daily, keep praying, but if you don't hear anything, please know that no news is good news!

It's check-out time for mom & dad

Hey everyone...it's Chris here. I am making a guest appearance on the blog so Emily can eat her lunch. We are getting discharged today, so we will be starting to make lots of trips from home to the hospital to see Cohen...we'll figure out how that works here soon enough. Things have been really good. Cohen has eaten 2 bottles successfully, and Em will try to feed him herself at 1:00pm today. The plan right now is to feed him 1 to 2 bottles a day, nurse once, and tube feed the rest of the time to give him some rest. He is getting really active and looking all around just like any 4 day old would. We are so excited. No word from the geneticist yet, but we are hoping to hear some update in the near future. Thanks so much to everyone for all the support...we have been blessed with prayer, encouragement, food, cameras, and all sorts of other things! I am posting a few pictures, so enjoy! Chris & Emily

Continued Blessings

Good day for Cohen. Every time we go into the NICU we are amazed at how well he is doing. Each time we go it seems like something improves. Today we were able to try to nurse him, when they had originally said that he wasn't strong or stable enough. He hasn't caught onto it yet but we'll keep trying. They will let me try once a day. Just yesterday, we started to try some bottle feedings vs. tube. The most he took yesterday was 10-15cc's through the bottle and then we would have to do the remaining through the tube. Tonight we tried the bottle again and he drank the whole bottle in 10 minutes!!! Cort never ate that fast!!!! The bottle gets tried two times a day, nursing once, and then the other 5 feedings are done through the tube so that he can rest and have some feeds without having to work too hard. We will try to increase those to where they are all nursing or bottles before we bring him home.
We are scheduled to be discharged tomorrow so we are a bit nervous about all of that. I am very anxious to get home to Cort as I have hardly seen him at all since Wednesday night but am not at all sure how I am suppose to walk out of this hospital and leave Cohen in it.
We have not figured out what the days will look like with Cohen here in the NICU but we know we will figure out and praise God for this hurtle. What a wonderful thing to be figuring out!!!!!
Side note - had to take a little more than the Motrin this evening after being up so much today but am still super thankful about how well I have been able to get around. Getting to the NICU to be with Cohen would have been so much harder if I felt like I did when I was recovering with Cort.
We had such a good day today and got to spend a lot of time with Cohen. God is good and his love endures.

* Had new pics but blogger won't let me post them!!! I'll try in the morning

NICU update

We were just at the NICU and things continue to look good. We talked to the NICU doctors and they continue to be positive but proceeding with caution as we still have no answers or definite prognosis.
They are going to let me try to nurse him at his 4:00 feeding and see how he tolerates that. Yea!!! I don't think I mentioned that he was almost back up to his birth weight already last night - he 5 lbs and 4 oz. I expect that that could go down as we begin to stop the tube feedings but it's great that we get to start there.
They still aren't telling me when he can go home but they do talk about him going home. It seems that if he continues on the rate he is that it will be coming home in a matter of days to weeks vs. months but we'll see.
On another note, I am only taking motrin!!!! Praise God.

24 Hours

Cohen has been off of his oxygen and air tubes for 24 hours!!! Yea!! We were able to bottle feed him a little again this morning and he took about 10CC's and we did the rest through the tube. We are still just sort of waiting for more news. I think it will be a few days before we really have anymore answers or ideas as to what the immediate future hold.
Cohen's great grandparents are coming today so that will be fun!
I'll try to let you know more info as the day goes on. It looks like Chris and I will most likely be going home tomorrow. Chris ran home today to see Cort so that will be good. I am not looking forward to how it will feel to leave Cohen here.
Off to feed Cohen in the NICU. Check in later. Em

Doing Well

Sorry that you guys had to wait so long until this afternoon to get an update on us. We don't have it together enough to post and sort of fell short getting someone to post an update.
Cohen remained off of his oxygen all day. Chris and I were even able to give him a bath and get him dressed. We are just in awe at each moment and each little thing we get to experience with him. Praising God!!!
Please continue to pray for Cohen and his health. The doctors aren't really telling us much more at this point. We don't know how long he will be in the NICU. They have drawn blood and will test for thanatophoric dysplasia to rule it out but we don't know when we will get those results. Pray that his lungs continue to be strong enough to support his growing body.
Going to get some rest. We'll try to be better about keeping you up to date.

Chris and Emily

Friday 3:40 PM

This is Kelley updating from the hospital. I just spent some time with Emily, and she is doing really well. Her pain is pretty well managed. She is sore, her blood pressure is still up, and she's still swollen, but she's doing well. It is apparently normal for the b/p to stay up for 48 hours. Praise God, she is able to sit up and hold Cohen without passing out!

Cohen had nose tubes in last night with just room air, no oxygen. At 7 AM this morning, they took off the tubes and they have remained off so far. He is breathing all on his own!He is taking a little more food: 30 - 40 cc's every 3 hours (a combination of formula and colostrum). He is being fed through a very small tube in his mouth. Emily and Chris are currently in the NICU with him getting ready to watch the nurses give him a bath and dress him for the first time. Hopefully, the geneticist and the skeletal dysplasia expert in Germany are having a conference call today about Cohen.

I'm not sure all of Cohen's birth stats have been posted. He was 5 lbs - 6.7 oz, 16 1/4" long, and his head was 12 1/4". He has quite a bit of dark hair and has a ton of McGowan in him.

Several people have been asking about meals. I will be organizing them after they come home.

Keep Praying and Amazing Joy

We are rejoicing and believe that our God is going to give Cohen a long healthy life! Following the good news from the geneticist, Emily and Chris were able to meet with the NICU doctor who advised them to proceed with a little more caution. As Cohen was born early, and is currently requiring some extra oxygen, we must continue to pray that the same God who has performed this miracle will see Cohen through this fragile time in his life - that his lungs will continue to mature. Praise our wonderful God. Please continue to petition Him for Cohen's health. -Kelley

Here is a picture of Chris and Emily sharing the news with us:

Here is a picture of their family rejoicing:

Psalm 126:1 -3

When the Lord brough back the captive ones of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with joyful shouting; Then they said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them." The Lord has done great things for us; We are glad.

We need a nursery!

Chris and Emily just met with the geneticist, genetic counselor and her OB. They just came out to the waiting room and shared the following with us all, "We need a nursery!" Praise God, Praise God, Praise God!
All of the x-rays and tests still show the same "fatal" rib condition, but the doctors are amazed that he is surviving on his own. The geneticist told them to make an appointment with him in MAY! The doctors asked for permission to send a picture of Cohen to the author of the text book on skeletal dysplasias who lives in Germany - the doctors are baffled. We know it is God! We still need to pray for his strength to breathe and remember that he's still in the NICU. They are going to run an echo on his heart before they transfer him. We don't know yet many details about schedule or what will come next, but for now we are thrilled and crying tears of joy.
Emily is doing much better since the change of meds. She has been able to get out of bed and is sitting much more comfortably in the wheel chair. She and Chris are now in the NICU with Cohen.

More Cohen Pictures

Here are a couple new pictures of Cohen. Emily is currently in the NICU with Cohen. This is a huge praise. She really is not feeling very well because of some of her meds, but they are changing them, and hopefully this will alleviate her discomfort. -Kelley

Cohen doing well this morning

Good morning everyone!  We have so much to be thankful for--God is GOOD!  I received a second hand report about the McGowans this morning and wanted to give a quick update-then I think Kelley or another friend will post as info comes in since they are at the hospital with the McGowans.  

Early this morning, about 4 a.m., Cohen gave everyone a bit of a scare with some trouble breathing, but they gave him some oxygen and he improved and as of now he isn't needing the oxygen anymore and is breathing on his own again!  Continue to pray that God would give Cohen LIFE.

Apparently Chris was able to be with Cohen quite a bit last night, but Emily couldn't be with him because they aren't able to wheel her bed into the NICU-doesn't that stink? So, as you are praying for Cohen and for God to work a miracle in his body, PLEASE pray that He would do the same in Emily's body...that her incision pain would be alleviated, that she would have indescribable strength and comfort so that she can spend time with her baby!  Please pray for Chris as he is leading his family during this time.