Baby Coen Parks McFerson (The backstory)

NOTE: This is Jayd, Coen's father. I will be using this space to document my own thoughts/experiences and to easily relay information to family members. It's tough to keep everybody informed, so it's time to leverage the web. If there is anything too personal, detailed, or discouraging in here, I apologize. It's very difficult for my wife (Tauni) and I to go through this personally and also keep everybody informed. This just seems like the easiest way to go. Also, this becomes a natural journal for Coen to have in later years.

Obviously there is no time for pretty formatting right now, so I apologize for that.

Find the link to pictures on the right side-bar.

Please keep praying for our little boy and all the sick kids in NICU.

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EMAIL SENT TO FAMILY, MORNING Thursday, January 04, 2007

Family,

Hello everybody. First off, thank you very much for your calls and especially your prayers yesterday. We really appreciate it.

Baby Coen is now almost 12 hours old. Here is the report:

Name: Coen Parks McFerson (Coen is pronounced like "Cohen").
Birth Time: 10:29 PM, Wednesday, January 3rd, 2007
Birth Weight: 7 pounds 8.3 ounces
Length: Not sure yet, but the guess was about 20" (He looks long to me)
Shoe size: His feet are nearly as large as his dad's (size 13).

Tauni is doing great. She had some very tough labor, lasting nearly 12 hours (active labor). The nurses were preparing the room for the c-section when Coen finally came to town. It was as if no progress had been made for hours and then he finally just came. The end was really quick. Every push/contraction felt like the last 10 seconds of a big sports game. We were supporting and encouraging Tauni as much as we could. Tauni's strength of will was amazing.

Tauni's spirits are very high, but her body is tired. She looks great and will recover fine. It will obviously just take a little time. She's a very happy new mom now and sleeping soundly after witnessing the progress of her baby this morning.

Coen had a very tough entry into this world. At delivery, he didn't quite take the first few strong breaths that you want your baby to take. The APGAR (sp?) scores were lower than desired and he was rushed off to the NICU. Just before he left, Tauni was able to hold her baby for a few moments.

As of last night, Tauni was exhausted and we were a little discouraged.

About two hours after his birth, I was able to give Coen a quick blessing in which I felt impressed that he would be alright. Before this, the Neo-Natalogist MD had told us that he was already "100% better" than when he had spoken with us earlier (it's incredibly hard to see an extra doctor walk into your delivery room 30 minutes after they've whisked your baby away).

As of this morning, Coen is doing so much better. He is off oxygen and breathing regularly on his own. He has a small IV running into his umbilical cord area to provide him some nutrition as they do not want to feed him yet. They want to keep as much load as possible off his young body so that his heart and lungs can be the focus. As such, they will not feed him much for the first few days. After that time, they want to witness his taking and passing food before he can go home. Realistically, he will probably be in the NICU for a week at minimum.

The doctors reassure us that there are no abnormal signs in his appearance, bloodwork, or behavior. His chin is resessed a little more than average, but the Neo-Natalogist is saying that his chin/jaw will bounce book (in months, perhaps a few years). He obviously gets that trait from his dad. He also has some conehead from the rough ride out. That will self-correct as the blood settles and his head shapes.

Hopefully this doesn't sound downbeat or discouraging. He has a few bumps from the ride, but the truth is that he's improving at a great pace right now and we can't wait to have him healthy enough to take him home. He has a very cute little face. He definitely didn't inherit Dad's nose.

We love you all and really appreciate your prayers. Please keep them coming. We know they work.

We love our baby.

Jayd

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For the curious, Coen is a first name that I found on an internet baby name list one night shortly after we'd moved to Austin. We were cooped up in a hotel passing the time by trying to come up with a baby name. This name was found just a few days after we learned of his gender.

I primarily liked Coen because of the sound of the name. To be honest, I just thought it sounded cool. Kayla quickly said "yeah, like Cohen from the OC". Although Seth Cohen was not the inspiration, it's fine by me. Tauni quickly embraced the name and has never looked back. Seeing him now, the name just fits.

The actual spelling of Coen is German and means "brave". I feel like he's already living up to his name after that long ride last night and he's gonna have to be a trooper for the next little while.

Parks is the last name of an ancestor on Tauni's side who was an early settler in Canada. His story reminds me of somebody like George DuWatt (sp?) from our side.

McFerson is from my last name. Just in case you were wondering.

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EMAIL SENT TO TAUNI’S FAMILY, AFTERNOON, THURSDAY JANUARY 4^TH, 2007

Family,

For those of you that have not heard, Tauni and Jayd's baby boy Coen Parks McFerson was born last night (January 3rd, 2007) at 10:29 PM in the Seton Medical Center in Austin Texas.

Backstory: Coen was originally due on Christmas Day 2006. By the day of this actual birth, he was 9 days past due. Unfortunately, Tauni had not significantly dilated/effaced leading up to this birth. As such, and because the baby appeared to be getting too big, the doctor decided to induce Tauni to get the baby out.

On Tuesday night (1/2/07), Tauni and Jayd checked into the hospital and Tauni was given an IV drip to soften the cervix and hopefully dilate it in preparation for delivery. As of Wednesday morning (1/3/07), things had progressed, but not signicantly. At 7:15 AM, further drugs were given to slowly induce labor (contractions). As of 9 AM, small contractions began (Tauni has experienced a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions through her pregnancy) which escalated until about 11 AM, when Tauni went into "active labor".

For 4 1/2 hours, Tauni had escalating and painful contractions that really took it out of her. She was incredibly strong and yet worn down from the contractions. At 3:30 PM, she received a half-dose of an epidural to ease some of the pain. This gave her a nice window of relaxation. Tauni then shut the epidural off for about two hours to receive some feeling back in her legs and prepare for the final push of labor. A small dose was then readministered to take the edge off. However, Tauni was still able to feel her legs and the pain of the contractions, which enabled her to push through them.

As of about 7:30 PM, she was finally fully dilated and ready to push. Soon into this process, it was realized that baby Coen was facing upward (OP), as opposed to a baby traditionally facing down for descent. This caused a huge increase in pain for Tauni and made the situation much more difficult. Jayd and Sherry (Tauni's mom) did what they could to encourage Tauni, but this was obviously on her. Sherry helped to keep Tauni going when she saw the crown of Coen's head and we wheeled a mirror around for Tauni to see it as well. With each contraction/push, we were all helping to prop her up and maximize her energy for the push.

Around 10:00 PM, the doctor and nurse were starting to give up hope on Coen coming around the pelvic bone. All fetal monitors were very positive so we were encouraged to keep going, they were just worried about tiring the baby out. Unknown to us, a room was prepared for a C-section, just in case.

Very little progress was being made and unfortunately little Coen was not coming around the pelvic bone. Then, miraculously to us, he came. The doctor was called in quickly and within minutes Coen was out. He had turned his body, thus allowing himself to make the final push. He was quickly put on Tauni's chest but then whisked away. Unfortunately, Coen experienced a lot of stress through this process and was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) immediately following birth.

Coen had a very tough entry into this world. At delivery, he didn't quite take the first few strong breaths that you want your baby to take and he was worn out and stressed by the long process.

Tauni had some very tough labor (12 hours worth) but she is now doing great. Her spirits are very high, but her body is tired. She looks great and will recover fine. It will obviously just take a little time. She's a very happy new mom now. Although she is understandly frustrated about not being able to have and cuddle her baby boy at this time, she is still able to visit him regularly. All through the pregnancy, she spoke with Coen as he lived in her belly. Tauni was very diligent about this and it is now paying off. He responds so quickly to her voice and looking up at her with a sense of knowing his mom. It's amazing how he recognizes his mother's voice and loves her touch.

As of last night, Tauni was exhausted and we were a little discouraged.

About two hours after his birth, I was able to give Coen a quick blessing in which I felt impressed that he would be alright. Before this, the Neo-Natalogist MD had told us that he was already "100% better" than when he had spoken with us earlier (it's incredibly hard to see an extra doctor walk into your delivery room 30 minutes after they've whisked your baby away).

As of this morning, Coen is doing so much better. He is off oxygen and breathing regularly on his own. He has a small IV running into his umbilical cord area to provide him some nutrition, as they do not want to feed him yet. They want to keep as much load as possible off his young body so that his heart and lungs can be the focus. As such, they will not feed him much for the first few days. After that time, they want to witness his taking and passing food before he can go home. Realistically, he will probably be in the NICU for a week at minimum.

The doctors reassure us that there are no abnormal signs in his appearance, bloodwork, or behavior. His chin is resessed a little more than average, but the Neo-Natalogist is saying that his chin/jaw will bounce book (in months, perhaps a few years). He obviously gets that trait from his dad. He also has some conehead from the rough ride out. That will self-correct as the blood settles and his head shapes.

Hopefully this doesn't sound downbeat or discouraging. He has a few bumps from the ride, but the truth is that he's improving at a great pace right now and we can't wait to have him healthy enough to take him home. He has a very cute little face. He definitely didn't inherit Dad's nose.

We love you all and really appreciate your prayers. Please keep them coming. We know they work. Coen has already improved so significantly over the past almost 24 hours and we just want to see this progress continue.

We love our baby.

Jayd
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Pictures: http://www.twotonsoflove.com/pics/babycoen/

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EMAIL SENT AFTERNOON, Thursday, January 04, 2007

5:30 PM --

We just came back from seeing Coen and he was very alert. He had his eyes about 1/2 peeled for 30+ minutes, just staring at his mom. Tauni has been so good about talking to him and comforting him. It's amazing to see how he responds to her. You can tell that Coen recognizes Tauni's voice and loves her touch.

The doctors are running a precautionary MRI tonight per the request of the pediatric neurologist. I pushed the doctor (same guy from last night, slightly Jewish looking man) and he told me that "Things could be a lot worse (with his head) and we would still expect a positive outcome. There is nothing in his behavior today that indicates any reason for concern. We just want to be sure." I'm thrilled that they will be doing an MRI but we may not know the results for 24+ hours. If everything turns out normal, it will be great to have that peace of mind.

Fortunately, I've also reconfirmed that our insurance is covering everything, so that is always great to know.

From the front lines... Coen just keeps getting better. :)