Sunday Updates!

First things first, here is the update on Cole. Dr. Whitsett (who is the Chief of the Neonatology and the Director of the Perinatal Institute at Cincinnati Children's) was making rounds today and talked to us. He said Cole is doing great and he "looks terrific." He said that the bacteria he has is serious if not treated, but Cole has been on antibiotics from the start and he is going to be just fine. He will have to be on antibiotics for probably 3 weeks, but as soon as he is eating enough food, he will get a pick line (like a port) to replace his I.V. and then he can go home. At that point, a nurse would come to the house and give him his antibiotics. So, after some insecurities yesterday, we have gained a lot of confidence about how well Cole is doing and we are excited about the positive feedback we have continually received about him.

I have posted some new pictures from today (Sunday) and you can see them below this post. In these pictures you can see a few things. Most prominent on Cole is his feeding tube. It looks worse than it really is, but the good news is that they might take it out soon. He is eating very well and they haven't needed to give him any food via the feeding tube.

Cole was greeted with a present from his cousin Logan, which is his little Curious George doll that can be seen below. Aunt Kristen came and visited on Sunday and even got to hold Cole. Chad, Amy, Logan and Avery visited one last time before they went back to Nashville. They immediately jumped into bed with their Aunt Gi-Gi when they arrived. Even though Logan and Avery are not allowed in the Special Care Unit, they were able to see their cousin from outisde the glass doors. Logan was very upset that he couldn't come in and see Cole, so Aunt Gi-Gi had to go out and console him.

Pictures from Sunday!

Click on the Pictures to enlarge them for better viewing.

Saturday - Day 3, I think?!?!

Well, we are winding down another day here at the hospital. It's very hard to actually put a time frame around this whole ordeal! We are now working on 3 hour increments as we start a regular feeding schedule with Cole.

I had to leave Friday night around 9pm so I could get home and get some sleep in preparation for my Master's Degree Comprehensive Exam. The exam was from 8am until 12:30pm. Whew, glad that is over, luckily it is pass fail! Neetie Stojakovich spent the night with Megan and then Paw-Paw joined them in morning along with Grandma and Grandpa Baughman. Aunt Amy and Uncle Chad were here as well, all keeping vigil with Megan as they ran more tests on Cole. Unfortunately, he has a gram 1 negative rod bacteria. We have no idea what this means (we aren't doctors), but it looks like Cole is going to have to stay in the hospital a total of 10-14 days. We are very sad about this:( We are so ready to take him home and enjoy him and start our new family. But, he has to get better and he has to get antibiotics, so the hospital is the best place for him. He has a small feeding tube in his nose because they are trying to ween him off his I.V., so there is one more wire to navigate when holding and feeding him. However, having said all that, he is doing very well. He has been through a lot of stress and trauma and everyone is impressed with how strong he is and how he is responding to feeding and everything else.

Megan is due to be released tomorrow, but we will probably stay here most of the day. After that, we will probably be spending most of our days here at the hospital and our evenings at home. I have posted a couple more pics of mom and dad holding baby Cole!! Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers! Stay tuned for more info!

Day 2

Today has been much more normal than yesterday, but still busy! It's 6:15 now and we have a few visitors today. Grandma and Grandpa Baughman arrived at about 9:30 and finally got to see their first grandchild. They were super excited, but I had already warned Cole that Grandpa Baughman was coming and to keep an eye on him; you never know what Ol' Reid will do! We got a surprise visit from some of Megan's relatives, which was awesome! Her Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Don, along with her cousin Marissa, arrived and promptly got a chance to see Cole. They only stayed for about an hour and we are so grateful that they drove so far to see us! Cole mostly sleeps, so not too many people get a chance to hold him, but Aunt Phyllis and Grandma and Grandpa Baughman were able to hold him.

Around lunch time, Lyndsey and Kyle Ballenger arrived and we had some laughs; it was great to see the both of them! In the afternoon, Kate R. visited for the 2nd time and Neetie and Paw-Paw Stojakovich arrived. We also received a surprise visit from Dave Robinson, the Head Minister at White Oak Christian. What an awesome gift to have him come and pray with Cole, Mom, Dad, and Grandma Baughman! Danielle and Steph dropped in around dinner time. Danielle was able to offer a ton of advice (she works at the neo-natal care unit at Good Sam) and Steph was able to take some notes as she and her husband Tony are expecting their 1st child! As they were leaving (which happened while writing this post) Amy Fitz arrived to visit!

Holy Surprise!! Chad, Amy, Logan, & Avery Stojakovich JUST arrived, unexpectedly, from Nashville!! YEA!!!

As I finish this post, Cole is doing well and he is supposed to start his first ooportunity to feed at 8pm tonight. Unfortunately, he has to stay until at least Wednesday as they have discovered a bacteria in his blood work. It's not anything major, they just want to take care of him and make sure they kill that bacteria with antibiotics. Physically he is great, responding to sound and light and noises. He is pooping and peeing, yawning, sneezing, and doing baby things. He looks and sounds great, but mostly he just sleeps, which is great for him as he recovers from his traumatic events. I have included some pics below. Thanks to all of you for keeping Cole and Mom Baughman in your prayers, they are definitely working! See you all next time and feel free to leave comments here on the blog!

Cole Vincent Baughman

We are back!! It has been a long and tiresome, yet very rewarding 36 hours. We are going to get some much needed rest after this post. Megan decided he was too long and thin to be a Blake. Cole was the best fit according to her. I was truly ok with whatever she decided, so Cole Vincent it is. (Vincent is a family name on Megan's side) Mommy is not happy that he has to stay in the Special Care Unit, but they are taking creat care of him and he looks great! All his vitals are awesome and he is resting and getting strong. Megan is recovering nicely after the C-Section; she had to be in a wheel cheer the first 2 trips to see Cole, but she will walk down to see him in the morning.

To clarify my earlier post when I was a bit frazzled, he was 7lbs 11oz. when he was born at 10:21 am. We are so grateful to everyone who has called, texted, emailed, or those of you have simply kept us in your prayers. I have included some newer pics of the little guy. I have some short video of him as well, so I will try and get that posted at some point too! Thanks again and stay tuned for more on the life and times of Cole Vincent and the adventure his mommy and daddy have now officially embarked on!

Ok, it has been a hectic and even scary morning, but all is well now. Baby Boy Baughman came out at 10:21 via c-section. He wass 21" long at 7'11". Mom is recovering from a heavy dosage of anesthetic. She has not seen him yet and therefore he does not have name yet. He is in the Special Care Unit and is doing very well. His first 15-25 minutes were pretty scary. He needed a little kick start to get him breathing and responsive, so after about 15 minutes in the O.R., they were finally able to move him to the Special Care Unit. Dr. Ward (the pedeatrician) and all the nurses in the O.R. did an OUTSTANDING job of getting him breathing and waking him up! It was a stressful and traumatic experrience for him and his mommy, so they are both recovering nicely.

Neetie and Paw-Paw were able to see him and they were both very impressed with his looks and response to them! Where his length and big hands and big feet (according to Bettie, his nurse) came from, none of us know!

On a side note, I am losing my current laptop to Glen Este football, so hopefully I can get megan's laptop connected to the internet. I will continue to update if possible!

C-Section!

Megan tried real hard for 4 hours, but he was turned sideways and would not cooperate with the doctors when they tried to turn him. We are headed to the O.R. in minutes! She was a trooper, but he was stubborn. Hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come!! See back here when we return with the little guy!