7 Months

Today is Cohen's 7 month birthday! Wow, has it really been seven months!? I know month birthdays aren't usually that big of milestones but to me, it is.

At 7 months:
- Weighed 13 lbs  8.5 oz at his last checkup
- Wearing a size 2 diaper
- Wearing 6 month clothes and still some 3 month pants (Cohen got the Rinehart short legs)
- "Talks" more and more every day and has also developed a fake cry
- Still sleeps around 11-12 hours at night
- Wears 1/4 L oxygen except for a few hour break that he is allowed during the day
- Can reach out and get toys that are nearby, chews on his hands always
- Won't go to sleep without his little music toy and a little giraffe blankie that he puts over his face
- Can roll from tummy to back and is working on back to tummy although he only gets about halfway
- Eats 6 oz from his bottle and eats peas!

As a general rule, I hardly take Cohen anywhere. Other than the doctor's office, he has only been a handful of places outside the house. If I do, he is always covered with his carseat cover so that no germs can get him. Yesterday, in celebration of his LAST eye exam, we went to Costco to pick up pictures and buy diapers. I didn't really even think anything of putting his carseat in the cart and his oxygen in the front part. As I went through the checkout the checker said "Oh no, what is wrong with it?" It took me a minute to realize he was talking about Cohen (who was covered, which is the only reason I can figure that he called him it) and pointing to his oxygen tank.

I gave him the quickest answer I could "Oh nothing, he was a preemie and he just needs a little extra oxygen". Inside I was screaming NOTHING!!! Nothing is wrong with him, he is perfect. I wanted to tell that funny little man that Cohen had spent 4 months in the hospital probably facing more than he ever would in his entire life. I wanted to tell him that for a baby born 15 weeks early, wearing oxygen was the least of Cohen's problems. I wanted to ask him if he knew how common surgery is in preemies and that Cohen never had to have any surgeries. He came really close to eye surgery and heart surgery to fix his PDA, but never ending up having either. I wanted to tell him that this little boy had relied on a breathing tube and machine to breathe for him for 2 months. Wearing oxygen is nothing. Going in to get his eyes checked is nothing. He truly is a little miracle. He is an incredible fighter for everything he has been through. And in our eyes, there is nothing wrong with him.

I came across this picture while I was printing out pictures for Cohen's baby book. It's one that I don't remember ever seeing. I showed it to Danny and he said "I don't remember him ever looking that bad". Honestly, it makes my heart hurt to see my little boy like this and to remember what he went through. But it also reminds me that even in the midst of it all, Cohen was always perfect to us. In a way I think that in the moment, God protected us from seeing how sick he was. God allowed us to see him for him, not necessarily how sick he was. He was perfect then and he is perfect now.

Happy 7 month birthday young master Cohen! You are an amazing little boy and we love you more than you will ever know!