Cooper's 1st Thanksgiving

Last night we were worried that we might have to cancel our trip planned for today because just before bed Cooper projectile vomited what had to be nearly a day's worth of feedings - all over me (my chest, face, pillow, headboard, etc.). We weren't sure what was going on - perhaps another stomach bug or maybe one of he 2 new medications that he started earlier that day. After that he slept OK at first, one 3-hour stretch, one 2-hour stretch, followed by just 1-hour increments thereafter. I know, that doesn't sound OK but this is actually typical for him so we were just relieved that he didn't do something abnormal that might indicate further problems. He resumed eating after waking up from the first stretch of sleep so that was a good sign too.

We looked up the side effects of the two newest meds (which were prescribed Wednesday during a follow-up visit with the Pulmonologist when Cooper got his first RSV protection shot)and found that either one could be the culprit. We decided that if he continued to vomit during the night we'd stay home today. Thankfully, that didn't happen. So this morning we decided we'd wait til evening to give him his new once-daily antibiotic to see if it was the new inhaler med that he gets 3x/day that was making him sick.

We didn't do much advance planning for our trip so it took us a lot longer than usual to get ready, organized and out the door. But, once we headed out and got on the freeway, Cooper fell asleep and slept the entire way (just under 90 minutes). That's pretty good because 1-he doesn't usually nap that long, and 2-he doesn't care for the car, especially if there's traffic or when we stop at a stop sign or light.

Once we arrived at my sister-in-law's house Cooper was doted over by his grandmother, aunt and uncle. This was the first time for them to see him be so playful and smiley. Last time they say him was the tail end of his colicky stage ;0. We discovered he is fascinated by fish in a fish tank too - he stared and stared at the fish, following them with his eyes and his head. Too cute. Cooper's Uncle Bob held Cooper and said a beautiful prayer for Cooper's health and well being. It brought me to tears. Cooper's Aunt Dottie held and played with him, and also said a wonderful prayer for him. He is such a loved child and there are so many wonderful people praying for him - we're so blessed and grateful for that.

After our visit with everyone, Bob, his mom, Cooper and me headed out to go have a lovely dinner at the Irvine Marriott. We had noon reservations for a wonderful buffet. We made the right choice to go early because it was not crowded at all and we didn't have to wait in a single line to pile the yummy Thanksgiving treats onto our plates. I brought Cooper's baby bjorn carrier and wore him the entire time we were there. He was wonderful too. He watched with amazement every time I brought my fork to my mouth and he would lick his lips, signalling his curiosity in what I was having. I decided there would be no harm in letting him have a taste so I gave him a teensy taste of smashed up yams which he LOVED. I thought that was funny because yams are my favorite part of Thanksgiving. We cracked up as he worked hard to find more morsels of it by licking his lips repeatedly - for like 5 minutes! Later, I gave him a little taste of the apple pie filling and he was not impressed with that at all. So, yams - yes, apples - no. ;)

Once dinner was finished we headed over to my mother-in-law's cute apartment and watched Cooper dart his eyes around checking the place out. He's so alert and observant it's fun to watch him check everything out whenever we go somewhere new. He was talking up a storm too, showing his grandma that he can mimic mom and dad's sounds (sort of - he tries really hard anyway).

By the way, Cooper ended up spitting up and vomiting (not like the night before though thankfully) a few times throughout the day so we're concluding that it's the new inhaler treatment that is causing it so we'll call the doctor in the morning to let them know and see if there's something else we should try or if we should go back to the Pulmicort which we had been struggling with.

By late afternoon it was time to head back north. We were expecting Cooper to be cranky in the car since it had been a long day for him with lots of new things involved, but he only fussed for a minute or two and once we were on the freeway he fell asleep and AGAIN slept the entire way home! FABULOUS! The best part of that was I got to fall asleep and slept for about 45 minutes - yay!

We're so happy that Bob was home for Cooper's first Thanksgiving and that we got to spend it with family - this is the first time in Bob's airline career that he's had Thanksgiving off and before Cooper came along I would tag along with friends to their family or friends' Thanksgiving dinner. There couldn't be a more perfect year for Bob to have this day off - Cooper's very first Thanksgiving :). Happy Thanksgiving!!