May 27th

Hello everyone-

Cohen is having a good week, the nurse came Tuesday and weighed him. He was 10 lbs. 7 ounces this week! Amazing! She was so impressed!

The nurse that visits us is from Nurses for Newborns. It is a non-profit organization that visits many preemies, multiples, and some special needs babies. It has been a great blessing to us so far. Our nurse, Christen (how could you not love her =) is a former PICU nurse at Vanderbilt. She is really knowledgeable and sweet. She is great with the G tube, so that has been a good resource for us. She also weighs him every week, and saves us a weekly trip to our pediatrician. She will continue to visit for several months, but it will start to be bi-weekly soon, then monthly.

We have been doing more nebulizer treatments this week that normal, since he does seem a little more congested. So far, so good----he LOVES the treatments. I took some pictures during it last night I will post soon. The mask still looks so huge on his little face.

I also realized last night that June 9th, our next Vandy appointments, are in just over a week. I have shoved the thought of Cohen being casted again to the back of my mind. I dread him having cast (s). I keep telling myself it will be fine, he will never remember any of this. Thank Goodness!

Well-----everyone has been asking me what I am doing about work. I have been incredibly fortunate to have had the school year off since November, when I was originally put on bed rest. Justin and I have been talking about this non-stop for weeks now, trying to figure out what the best thing to do is. I carry the insurance, so that has been our big issue. I have made 100 phone calls in the last 2 weeks trying to get things worked out in the best interest of Cohen, and all of us.

The challenge for us has been Cohen's care if I do return to work. Our ENT told us he thought he should be kept out of daycare/mothers day out situations for at least 2 years. We completely agree with him-we don't want to take any chances on compromising his health. That being said, we haven't had success in finding in-home care for him, so as of now, I am not returning to work this school year.

It is bittersweet. I want and feel a need to stay home with Cohen for at least his first year. I think I can meet his needs better than anyone else can. I do think by next summer, when Cohen is 18 months old, we will know more about what his specific/special needs are, if any. I then will decide rather to go back to school or continue to stay home. In the meantime, I am also going to do an online program and add a couple more teaching endorsements to my license.

I know I am like a broken record, but I do love my job and school. Many of my closest friends are also my co-workers. I will miss all of you! I will ovcourse be at school plenty, with Calee being there. Speaking of Calee, she is having a little bit of a hard time with me not coming back. She is used to me being right next door, being able to hop over and talk to me anytime. I know she understands, but it is still a change for her. Calee is such a trooper, I am so thankful for her sweet spirit and attitude through all of this.

I have a HUGE respect for stay-at-home moms. I just have never really been one. I took one school year off when we moved here from Lebanon, but I worked as a sub and had Granny and Granddaddy to care for then. I am sure I will love it, it's just going to be an adjustment! I have already started making a daily schedule for Ames and Cohen. Ames will go to MDO on Tuesdays and Thursdays, then stay home with us the other days. I am planning music, art, bible, fitness and reading times so far. Hopefully they will have a good, long NAP time as well. (I will need it =) Calee is going to help me start all this during the summer, she is going to be the art teacher. (I can just see her, sitting at the table trying to get Ames and Cohen to cooperate for art projects)

Once we made the "final" decision,  Justin's only question was, "so if you stay home, you'll cook every night, right?"

Please pray for us as we start this new chapter. I am excited, but nervous. Thank you for the ongoing support and love for our family. We love you all.