Cooper is 4 months old!  Wow, I can hardly believe it's been that long already.   His official 4 month well baby visit is next week but, unofficially he is 8lbs 3.5oz.  We recently purchased a baby scale so we could do weekly weights at home.  As I talked about in the last post we have been struggeling with Cooper's reflux and getting him to gain weight.  With his reflux being so severe we have pretty much abandoned the bottle and have been concentrating on keeping as much food in his stomach as we can.  On June 16th Cooper will have surgery to have a stomach tube (G-Tube) put in and have a laparoscopic nissen fundaplication.  The laparoscopic nissen fundaplication is taking part of the stomach and wrapping it around the esophagus.  This will make the opening from the stomach to the esophagus smaller and keep the acid in the stomach from coming up.  Having this done should make a huge difference with his reflux and hopefully make him much more comfortable.  The reflux causes coughing, gagging and makes him very uncomfortable sometimes.  The G-tube will be much more comfortable for him than the nasal tube (NG-Tube) and is a long term solution since we foresee continuing feeding issues.  It will also be nice to not have to worry about his loose tube and weekly changings.  These changes should help Cooper gain weight and make him more comfortable which will give him the best chance at feeding orally.  He will be in the hospital for 2 to 3 days following surgery.  I'm a little nervous about juggling everything (the kids) and Cooper being in the hospital overnight, but I know everything will work itself out. 

Cooper has had his hearing tested and he has moderate hearing loss in both ears.  The doctors believe ear drums are present in both ears, however are covered by bone.  Basically, his ear canals "dead-end" at hiWe are extremely happy that Cooper has hearing, this is definitely an answer to our prayers.  We are in the process of getting a bone conduction hearing aid for him, and I have been busy making calls to see what is and isn't covered through our many insurances.  We are so glad he will be able to hear his sisters talk and sing to him.  I can't believe how much we took for granted before Cooper.

In general we as a family are doing good.  The girls ADORE Cooper.  Leila loves to hold Cooper and I'm amazed at how gentle Tess is with Cooper.  Tess is 18 months old and as we all know 18 month olds are notorious for biting, hitting and pulling hair.  Tess is always trying to get Leila but she has nothing but kisses and rubs for Cooper.  Darrel and I recently celebrated our 11 year wedding anniversary and 17 years together as a couple.  As a couple and a family we are constantly growing and learning.  Sometimes things get tough but I know God has good things in store for us.

Keep the faith.

Kalani

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