MommyBlog

Cooper is an addict.  A very adorable and sweet addict, but an addict all the same.  In the evenings, it’s all I can do to get five minutes without him crying so desperately for milk that you’d think I hadn’t fed him all day.  The trade-off is that he’s been sleeping 5 to 6 hour stretches, then another 2 hour stretch at night, so the binging is obviously worth it.  But these hours between 7 and 11 are tough on the old mama. 

This weekend, we decided to venture out of the house.  On Friday, we went downtown for sushi…

Cooper was a dream-boat and Kenny was so thrilled with a night out on the town that he was in his most charming comic form. 

On Saturday we headed out to my parent’s house for my Dad’s 62nd birthday party…

And today we made it to church not only all clean and dressed, but early.   Yeehaw.  Ah, but we make it look so easy, and the reality is that I have four loads of clean but unfolded laundry on the guest room bed, a full dirty clothes hamper, still at least 10 thank-you’s to get written and mailed for Cooper gifts we got that first week, two weeks worth of mail to open and bills to pay, dirty dishes in the sink, a dog who hasn’t been pet all day (and oh my, have we even fed him yet today?!?) and a husband who hasn’t had a kiss in days, much less a hug with both of my arms.

Ah, but I have managed to find time to nap… me and the exotic new man in my life…

Well, we found the camera.  After ransacking the house, making a list of theft possibilities (we’d had a cleaning service and two construction workers in the house on the day the camera disappeared), we finally thought to ask Kenny.  He said, “I know where it is,” then gave us a bunch of bogus locations.  But it did trigger us to look on his level, in some of his favorite spots.

We found the camera in one of the living room toy boxes, with 87 unauthorized photos, including about 15 like this:

Not his best angle, but it gave me the first belly laugh that hasn’t hurt in two weeks.

I also noticed in a few of the recent pictures of Cooper, he looks more like baby Kenny than I’d thought at first:

Can you guess who’s who?

Our household is beginning to resemble a little more of a circus, as Cooper and Kenny (and Casey and Dudley!) vie for attention.  But all is well… I still haven’t had to get up more than once a night so far.  Cooper certainly makes up for it by daytime feedings, though.  All in all, I’d say we’re experiencing a little bit of heaven.

Cooper’s still adorable and STILL only waking once a night.  Kenny is still a loveable rascal and I STILL don’t have time to write!  And we can’t find the camera… so no new pictures at the moment.

Hm… there’s a little baby doing an impressive impersonation of a woodpecker on my shoulder… guess that’s my cue…

Cooper has surfer dude hair.  It is so cool.  I think it’s my favorite feature about him so far.  When he first emerged from the womb, it was curly and sticky and looked like it had frosted tips.  Now it’s downy and some lays softly against his head and the rest sticks up and still has wild sun-bleached highlights.  Maybe I spent too much time in the salon when he was in vitro??

First, pictures…

It has been such a joy getting to know him over these past eight days.  He is a super-sleeper… since we’ve been home, he’s slept nearly every night just waking ONCE!  I am actually not a zombie.  (Ok, at least I’m no longer a zombie since weaning myself from the percocet…)  In the mornings, he is one mellow kid.  He wakes up with a stretch, nurses, dozes, nurses, dozes and generally just hangs out.  In the evenings, though, he does a complete turn-around and wants to nurse non-stop from about 4PM until we go to bed.  No kidding.  He’ll drink for a half hour, fall asleep for a few minutes and then wake up howling and doing the woodpecker, latching on to any bare skin he can find until I nurse him again.  But then he sleeps nearly all night, so who’s to complain?  It’s not like I’m going anywhere, right?

He’s a snuggler, too.  But he’s also the kind of baby you can put down for a while and he’s just content to look around and listen to what’s going on.  I know it’s still the honeymoon, but I’m hooked on this little guy.

Having a new baby in the house, with a post-surgery mamma, means lots of time with Daddy and the grandparents!

Casey and Kenny and Papa spent some time fishing on the dock yesterday…

…and they caught a record FIFTEEN (yes, that’s 15!) fish! 

Kenny is doing very well, considering that his whole world has been rocked!  He’s had a couple moments of whining and obvious jealousy, but has been mostly loving, patient and very curious.  I wonder what he’s thinking about all this.  I can tell that he’s a little wary.  And a little sad that the life he knew has changed for good.  I am too, in a little way.  For nearly three years, he and I have been bosum buddies.  We’ve talked, read, played, napped, cooked, giggled, danced and sung together - just the two of us (except weekends and after Casey gets home from work) - nearly every day of his life.  And that’s not going to be the same anymore.

I am hopelessly in love with Cooper.  I will write the next post all about him, and post lots more pictures.  But I needed to just write about my little guy Kenny for a quiet minute.  He’ll always be my first little boy.

 (Kenny, 6 days old)

So far so good.  Cooper and I came home Wednesday at lunchtime.  He is a great little sleeper (so far!) and a pretty vigorous eater, too.  Kenny is happy to have him home to stay…

… and Casey is already prepping him on rooting for the home team.

I’m having some wicked side effects from the surgery, namely horrid headaches and overall swelling.  In fact, I left for my delivery at the hospital at 131 pounds, and came home 135!  Yuk.  It happened when I had Kenny, too, but right now I wish they’d invent something to just wring the water out of me. 

Ah, but the joy is incomparible.  I can hardly believe we have another son!!  Welcome home, Cooper!

Cooper George

10:05 am.

8 lbs. 3 oz!

Hallelujah! Pictures to come!

All healthy! All well!

Updating via blackberry

We are on today for a 10:15am! Kristajana looks cute in her little smock.

By Casey

Kristjana was up most of the night with contractions.  Not only was I certain that the baby would be born today, Saturday, we were both pretty sure she was going into full blown labor (not the partial stuff she has been dealing with for 6 weeks).  The way my wife was breathing and by her crazy contortions Kristjana looked like a pretzel playing twister trying to get in a comfortable position last night. 

Not succeeding, Kristjana walked the downstairs for 3 hours from 3 till 6am.  I did the only thing I could think of; sleep with Dudley in our bed.  I needed to be wide awake to take care of the family today.

Contractions stopped about 6 am.

This morning at 8:45 we checked in with the OB ward.  They said they were wall to wall with women in labor (woa!) and our wonderful doc told us to call back at Noon.

We decided to be very 2005 and went to the mall to attempt to “walk the baby out.”  At 11:30 we received word from our doc that the OB ward had gotten busier.  “Call tomorrow at 7:30am.”  Ugh!

Krisjtana had not been allowed to eat or drink all day so that call unleashed her to do so.  It also unleashed some pent up emotions. After lunch and even more contractions we tried the walkAMall thing again.  No go.  Kenny and Kristjana were breaking down physically (and possibly mentally) after all the false starts.

So we are back home.  It is nap time and we’ll try this again at 7:30am tomorrow.  Through this mild disappointment I can’t help think about a teenage girl and her young husband 2000 years ago, with literally no place to go. 

• They had a cold barn without any help. 
• We have a cool air-conditioned house with ultra modern medicine and staff awaiting us. 
• Their baby still rules the universe. He is the King.
• Our baby is still in his Momma’s womb, fearfully and wonderfully made by the King himself.
• Their baby is all loving and powerful.
• Our baby is helpless and tomorrow as we hold him/her for the first time. 

K and K are upstairs reading Green Eggs and Ham.  A classic.

God is good.

Casey

First off, thanks to my sweet and gracious hubby for the guest posts over the last few days.  I needed a break!

So.  I’m having a c-section after all.

You see, on my birthday Wednesday, Casey found the detailed journaling he did of the night Kenny was born, and printed it out, thinking that we’d have fun reading it together as we prepare for the birth of this little Baboo.  Oh my, I am so glad he did!  It turns out that what I had remembered about my labor leading up to the unplanned c-section was not entirely accurate: I actually got to 4 centimeters after about 18 hours of labor, and was given the epidural (I thought I had never progressed beyond 2!).  At that point, the doctor on call also broke my water.  Another 2 and and a half hours passed, and I was only at 5.  After four more hours, I was still at 5, running a fever, and my cervix was swollen.  The doctor offered to give me pitocin, saying that in my case it may not work, and offered the alternative of a c-section.  I apparently asked her what she would do if she were me, and she said, “section,” so we did!  A little different story than the simpler one I’d remembered in my drugged up state!

Thursday I called my OB and told him what we found.  He said, “Hm.  This changes things.”  Then said that my success ratio was going to be more like 50/50, as opposed to 75% or so… and asked if I wanted to go ahead and schedule surgery.

Yes.

Unfortunately, there are NO c-section spots left for the next week.  So, this incredible man has offered to deliver the baby either tomorrow, when he’s on call at the hospital, or Sunday, on his day off.  Wow.  I have to call at 9 am tomorrow and see how full the Labor&Delivery ward is, and then will either go in right away, or wait until Sunday morning at 9.  Crazy.

I’ll keep you all posted!