Rainbow Baby Celebration

Eh, we're still working on a name :)

A friend and fellow blogger, Beth, and I have been talking for awhile about a rainbow baby meet up. Plans are being made for a celebration in early December so we wanted to invite all rainbow baby parents to the party. I'm speaking for myself but I know the friends that I've made in blogging world in the baby loss community have been a Godsend. You guys have helped me through some of my darkest days while mourning Lily and kept me going through my very high-risk pregnancy with Cooper. There are so many of you that I would love to give a real hug to versus our virtual ((hugs))

Of course, (and, I'm sure Beth would agree) that this is open to all baby loss parents but I understand that for some that it may be difficult to be around others that have gone on to have rainbow babies.

You can email me at lilysmommy8308@yahoo.com for more information. Also, please let me know which blog that you're from so as to make sure that we don't have any *outsiders* (aka the crazy anon commenters, etc) into our community anymore than they already are...

I'm excited at the possiblity of hugging some of you mommies (and, having a glass of wine and some chocolate, too!) and being able to meet these adorable rainbow babies!

Cooper's first Fouth of July weekend!

We took Cooper to the same Fourth of July parade that I've gone to since 1987! We live an hour and a half away so you know I gotta love this parade to get up at 6 AM, get us all ready and be there by 9 AM! It was a lot of fun and the parade was made extra special by the newest parade attendee :) We also went to a pool party and hung out at a local park on our 3 day weekend...it was a great weekend and I was sad when we all went to bed last night that it was over!

Having a good time on the swings!

Cooper and Daddy in the pool

Too cool for shades :)

Cooper with his nana...he's really into his flag :)

8 months!

Dear Super Cooper :)

You are 8 months old today! You've also had a very exciting week! You got your first tooth yesterday and it is the cutest tooth I've ever seen if I say so myself! You're rolling all the time now! You also had your first late night out to see your first fireworks last night!

I also bought you some birthday presents today...I know your birthday is 4 months away but mommy couldn't help herself (which is what I'm going to use as an excuse when I show daddy what I bought you!).

I love you, sweet boy! You make me proud everyday to be your mommy!

My love for eternity~

Mommy

I mentioned in a post about Cooper's delays and how he had only turned from back to tummy once...well, on Tuesday a light bulb went off and he is flipping over everytime I turn around! God love him though because he rolls to his tummy then gets mad because he wants to be on his back again so we have quite a game going on now! He rolls to his tummy, gets mad, mommy rolls him back to his back, he rolls to his tummy...you get the picture but I will do this all day long because it's progress!

Also, I wanted to add that he did a phenomenal job at therapy yesterday and his PT commented on Cooper using muscles in his trunk that he wasn't using last week...God is great!

I caught a quick video this morning with my new Flip recorder that my hubby gave me yesterday! The sweetie said that he wanted to give me a surprise for being such a good mommy...I love that man!

Rainbow Babies

Every Sunday, our preacher shows a different pic that he has taken on his various travels and today he showed us a picture of a Rainbow Eucalyptus tree (note: this is not his actual pic but a image that I googled to show all of you). The word "rainbow" means so much to me now, much more than before I had my sweet, Cooper...I hear "rainbow" now and I immediately think of a rainbow baby...

To those that aren't a member of the babyloss community (Thank God, if you aren't because this club sucks), a rainbow baby is a baby born after a pregnancy loss or infant death. A rainbow is a symbol of the good things to come after a storm.

I thought of the rainbow babies that I've *seen* born over the last two years. I've watched entire pregnancies unfold before me with women that I've never met in real-life. I've done my happy dance at pregnancy announcements and I've waited with baited breath as I stalked blogs for birth announcements. I've read weekly pregnancy updates and I've prayed when there have been pregnancy concerns. I honestly think of and pray for each and everyone of you as you go through your rainbow baby pregnancies...I adore each rainbow baby in their own unique way and celebrate and oogle over baby photos...

I said a special prayer in church today for those of you that are longing for a rainbow baby, currently pregnant with a rainbow baby, and for those that have been blessed to meet your rainbow baby already. We will always miss our precious ones that were taken home way before we were ready for them to go...and, always wonder why we couldn't have them both (our angel baby and our rainbow baby)...We will always see parts of our angel baby in their brother or sister...I honestly look down at Cooper sometimes and he looks just like Lily...and, at those times, I feel the grace of God because he allows me to see parts of her everyday...

For me, my rainbow baby has given my heart new hope and new love. My heart misses and loves my Lily but I know that I will see her again....which is a promise that I cling to everyday...

Give your rainbow babies a kiss and a hug from me today :)

8 AM blood draw

I had to take Cooper to do his blood draw this morning and my thinking was the earlier the better to get it over with and on with our day...and, MAYBE we would both still be in the mood for our weekly playdate...

Ugh, not so much...I took him to a lab in a local children's hospital thinking that they would be more baby friendly and was delighted when the recepitionist asked me if I would like for Coop to have some numbing cream, I couldn't get "YES" out quick enough. So, they put the numbing cream on both arms and kept the cream in place by two huge stickers. The numbing cream took 30 minutes to be effective so we went back to the waiting room to watch cartoons (me not him ;)) and wait our turn. We finally go back to the room and the tech (I don't actually think she was a nurse) proceeds to RIP off the stickers...now, I know, with some things that it's better to be quick which actually makes it less painful..but, sister did it so ruthlessly that it was all I could do to not RIP her hair out. Cooper proceeded to flip out! He screamed the whole time and I think the numbing cream was an afterthought because the poor baby's arms were bright red from having the stickers ripped off! She didn't even use his other arm (thank goodness) but it took forever for the redness to go away...She drew 7 viles of blood and he screamed the entire time! Again, from the stickers not the actual sticking!

So, needless to say, we are skipping our weekly playgroup today...we came home and I fed him and he is currently in the second hour of a morning nap...poor thing was EXHAUSTED from the screaming which was difficult for me and I was so happy that my hubby came with me because he's good at keeping me in check when my momma bear tendencies creep out!

Now, the official waiting game begins...

Neuro Update

We went to the neurology appointment yesterday and he agrees with the hypotonia diagnosis. So, the next step is getting blood work done (which I have to take him to the hospital for that tomorrow) to rule out any genetic stuff. My hubby is actually adopted so we have no family history on him which would be really helpful right now (oh, how different adoption laws are now!). A MRI will be done in 7 weeks after he gets all of the bloodwork results in and he has time to analyze them because evidentally different genetic tests take longer than others to be completed.

The bright side was that the neuro was very impressed with Cooper's fine motor skills and his cognitive and social skills. His biggest concerns (as are the PT and ped's) is his no trunk balance and his inability to bear weight on his legs. I LOVED this neuro though and so did Coop! This neuro would play him with him like Coop was his grandchild! He's such an awesome doctor!

I'm trying to remain positive and thank you to those that left personal stories of babies that you've known with hypotonia! Each story brought a little more hope to my heart.