New Discoveries

Isaac is now 8 weeks old. It is amazing how much more alert and active he is now. He has started smiling much more and purposely. He has been smiling since about week 5, but it is more frequent these days. He is making more sounds....grunts and coos.

It's hard to catch his full smile with the camera.

Isaac is just kicked back and relaxing! There's that smile again.

He has started batting at objects, focusing on voices and faces, and staring at lights. He has been getting in his bouncer, and he loves the vibration. He has also been playing more on his activity mat.

Isaac is staring, not sure if he wants to play or not.

Isaac sure does kick a lot! He has some strong little legs!

Isaac is playing on his activity mat. He has been able to pull the bumble bee to get the music to play.

Now that his incision on his belly is healed, he likes to lay on his stomach. He discovered that he can roll from his belly to his back.

Enjoying a little Tummy Time.

We cannot believe how much he is growing. He has moved on to a new size of diapers and is able to wear many of his 0-3 month outfits now (he was just wearing newborn clothes). He looks so long and his fingers look twice the size they were. His hair is completely out of our control. It is so long! The front and back parts of his hair are laying down now, but the hair directly on top of his head is just crazy! We still cannot tell what color his eyes are going to be.

Good view of Isaac's "Rock Star" hair!

Isaac was knocking down the frog and enjoying it! This was the first time he really played. Another good view of his wild hair.

Isaac had enough play for the day. He was ready for his favorite hobby...sleeping!

Time flies, and Isaac is growing so quickly. He is constantly discovering new things and learning. We are excited to see what his little personality will be like!

Isaac on his first shopping outing with Gran and Mommy. It's no surprise that this was at Babies R' Us. Issac loves sitting in the Big Boy chair! Where's Isaac??? Sweet boy! He's so peaceful when he's sleeping.

Like Father...Like Son

Isaac is now 6 weeks old, which is so hard to believe. As many of you know, we have had a difficult past few weeks. We thought Isaac was really struggling with reflux. His symptoms and fussiness progressively got worse. We had a very difficult time getting him to calm down (and now we see why). He started projectile vomiting after every feeding. He could not even keep Pedialyte down. We went to the doctor in town, and he sent us to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital for further testing. As it turned out, Isaac was diagnosed with pyloric stenosis. This is basically when the pyloric sphincter closes down causing the milk to not be able to pass from the stomach to the intestines. Therefore, his little belly was very tight and distended until he started vomitting. We just thought he was really hungry and having a growth spurt, because his belly was really getting big. Pyloric stenosis is mostly seen in first-born males. While at Vandy, Isaac lost 1 pound in 24 hours and was getting very dehydrated since he was not able to keep anything in his system. The hospital staff attempted 14 times to get an IV in him on Sunday night (the night he was admitted) to get Isaac hydrated. However, his veins were so small from dehydration that they were unsuccessful. It was really hard to watch Isaac have to go through that, getting stuck so many times. He was hurting and starving (as he could not keep food down for 2-3 days). Finally, an anasthesiologist was able to get a successful IV in the next day (in his foot) so that Isaac could get more hydrated prior to surgery. Isaac ended up having surgery on 8-18-08 (at 5 weeks of age). Adam also had pyloric stenosis as an infant and had surgery at 3 weeks of age. He and his father have matching scars on their bellies. Adam turned out okay, so that is encouraging. It has been a tough few weeks, but it seems that things are getting some better. He is now able to eat and is continuing to grow. We went to the pediatrician yesterday and he now weighs 10 pounds 7 ounces. We are so thankful! His primary problem now is that his bowels seem to function slowly, which makes Isaac very uncomfortable and has been causing him not to sleep very soundly (therefore, mom and dad have not slept well either). Even though we have had little sleep and a rough few weeks, things are getting much better. We are so glad that his problem is one that was fixable. We did not want little Isaac to have surgery, but at least now he will not have to worry about taking medications or getting treatment for this problem the rest of his life. We feel very blessed.

Isaac in the hospital.

Isaac in his hospital crib.

Isaac looking at his Daddy (before his surgery).

Well, prior to Isaac's surgery, we had visits to both sets of grandparents houses to visit with family. Isaac even attended 2 birthday parties...one was his grandad Cletus's birthday and the other was his cousin Christopher's first birthday party. We had lots of fun! Isaac loves being outside, so he really enjoyed being at the park for Christopher's birthday. He slept most of the time and was very relaxed. Isaac also really loves being held. So, needless to say, he gets lots of love and attention when visiting family. We are so glad he has such wonderful grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins.

Isaac went to Greenville to celebrate his Grandad's birthday!

Cousin Christopher is 1!!! He seemed to enjoy his birthday cake!

Mommy and Isaac enjoying the outdoors at Christopher's birthday party.

Isaac has even had a few visits from our friends from Memphis (the Collier's and the Oppenheimer's). Our friends Nathan and Laura came from Memphis to visit baby Isaac.

Nathan is looking quite comfortable holding our little guy!

Joel and Heather Collier, also friends from Memphis (now living in Mississippi), came to visit our little man. They brought their son, Luke. Adam and I cannot believe how big Luke is because it seems like not long ago he was Isaac's size. Heather has the special touch as Isaac looks very comfortable in her arms!

We cannot wait for each of you to see him again, as he is growing quickly. He is becoming more and more alert, especially since his surgery. He is starting to really focus on faces and lights. He seems to recognize his Mommy and Daddy's voices, and has even started smiling at us. He has such a cute smile!!! The name Isaac means "he will laugh," so we are hoping that now that he is healthy again and starting to feel better, that we will smile and laugh a lot. It was so difficult watching our little one go through such a difficult time of pain and discomfort. We pray that God will continue to help him heal and that all his body systems will be back to normal soon. We love Isaac and are just amazed by his progress each day! (We are also praying for a little more sleep).

Isaac is home and doing better since his surgery.

Our Blessing

Well, Isaac is now over two weeks old. It has definitely been an adjustment having our little guy at home, but he has already been such a blessing to us! We are getting to know Isaac...his cries, his face expressions, and his actions. He is a really good baby. Our primary struggle has been that Isaac seems to have reflux. This has made our after feeding time difficult at times.

Below are some pics of Isaac practicing his motor skills.

Our little Superman is doing some sit-ups.
(Uncle Eric and Aunt Stephanie gave him his outfit).

Our little Superman is learning how to fly!

Being parents is wonderful, but definitely a lot of work. When we first brought Isaac home, we were definitely those over reactive new parents. It was difficult not knowing what is normal and what is not. We have so much to learn, but are feeling more comfortable in the our new role as parents. We want to teach him everything we know, show him love in all we do, and most importantly, teach him of God's love. Being pregnant and then becoming a mother has been the most wonderful experience of my life. It reinforces to me that God is in total control, and that babies are such miracles. Being a mother gives me a new purpose for my life.

Since Isaac has been home, his grandparents have really helped out in so many ways. We are not sure what we would have done without them. They all love him so much. Isaac is fortunate to have such loving and caring grandparents!

Isaac has had many first experiences such as... first bath (which he did not enjoy very much; although, he liked having his hair washed), first book read to him, first smile (which is probably due to gas), first church service, and first trip out of town (to grandparent's house). Isaac really loves being walked around, riding in a car, and taken outside (this is especially helpful when he is fussy). We have found that he loves music, especially his daddy's guitar playing and singing. It is amazing to see Isaac change daily. He is becoming more and more alert. He is so precious and we love him so much. We do not want to take even one day for granted! God has truly blessed us with our baby Isaac! We are so thankful for him!

Daddy reading and Isaac intently listening.

His first bath (he did not like being cold, but loved getting hair washed).

Isaac is not sure what to think about these creatures in his room.

Sweet Isaac sleeping soundly... his favorite pasttime.

His other pastime... being held!

He is such a blessing straight from God!

There will be more to come on the blog as Isaac continues to grow.

New Beginnings

Introducing.....ISAAC COATS.

The first entry. We look forward to the new blog. The main reason for starting a blog?.... Isaac Glenn Coats was born on 07/12/08 and is such a blessing from God! He was 7lbs 5oz. and was 20.5 inches long. He has a head full of dark hair and is so precious to us!!! We are so excited that he is finally here!

Isaac in the hospital.

Home at last!!!

Isaac all bundled up and ready to face the world.

Isaac is cozy in his new home!

We shall see how often this blog will be updated. Stay tuned!