What a difference 7 weeks makes

Coming home from the hospital:

7 weeks later:

7 Weeks Old

Since we were at my mom's house this week, the bear didn't make the photo session. We also had our first week where Cooper just wasn't quite into the picture taking...I tried after a nap:

then after his bath and got 1 good photo:

See...my kid does cry!

Road trip

Tuesday Cooper and I loaded up for a road trip to Nana and Papaw's house (my mom and step-dad). We didn't have much planned, other than visiting, showing Cooper off and taking a hot bath.

See, last year my mom and step-dad built a new house. They finished a week after I was grounded, meaning we were not able to visit until last weekend. Going from a small house with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms to a larger one (4 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms) is a big change. The comfort level has gone up tremendously but the entertainment level may have dropped. Take our last overnight trip as an example (my baby shower) and my mom, step-dad, Zeth, Lindsey, Adam, Maegan, Jett, me and Jason all had to get dressed for said shower in that 3 bedroom/2 bathroom house. This usually means that we take turns on showering all day and hair/make up is done in the dining room. No more of that! The best thing about the new house...I don't have to squat in the shower to rinse my hair.

The other plus about the new house - my mom's bathtub. My bathtub is 5' long. I'm 5'10"ish meaning I pretty well sit up in the tub. Hers is like 6' long. My mom is short and said the tub is really too long for her. Whatever! I decided to check it out for myself and took a good hot bath while she played with Cooper. I can definitely say that the tub is the perfect size. Probably for tall people, but who cares. :-)

Tuesday we stopped by my mom's office to show Cooper off to her clerk. Then Wednesday, we really did it up big - we stopped at the nail salon to see Aunt LaDonna...the insurance agency to see Aunt Carla and the optometrist to see Aunt Doris. We were all three worn out when we got home that afternoon. And I think we had a record day - 3 outfit changes due to diaper blowouts. Today when we changed into the second outfit of the day for the same reasons I decided that we're moving up to the 2's in diapers. I'll probably do a few 1's until I use them all - but only after he assures me that it will just be a wet one.

Finally

Finally, finally, finally I got Cooper's birth announcements in the mail. Only 1 week after my personal deadline (his 6 week birthday). What took so long? Well, first I couldn't decide on photos. Then I couldn't decide on a layout. THEN I couldn't decide where to order them from. And when they finally came in, I spent a week getting the addresses together and typing mailing labels**. And the real kicker - I lost a hard fight to the printer when trying to print the stupid labels.

But this weekend I finished stuffing, sticking and stamping all of them and dropped them in a mail box yesterday. And they are pretty cute, if I do say so myself. But I'm not adding a photo here until I know they've been received in the mail.

**yes, I did mailing labels. You try hand addressing a lot of freaking envelopes while taking care of a 6 week old baby. It's not even possible.

The Frog

Shortly before Cooper was born, Kelly told me I had to get one of these. She said that Eileen loved hers (as shown here) and just knew Cooper would too. So, on one of our 457 trips to Babies R Us before he got here, I picked one up. And then when his cord fell off I pulled that sucker out. Instant happiness.

Anytime we bathe Cooper we pull out the frog and he goes into a serene happy place...just waiting on us to finish what we're doing. As long as we keep the frog warm, he's happy.

So - as Kelly said to us, get one of these! So worth it if you have a baby on the way.

6 Weeks Old

Cooper's 6 week birthday on Wednesday brought on quite a bit of personality. We'd made our 2nd trip to Target for the week and when we got home I went to take his photo and got all sorts of smiles. He's definitely starting to recognize us and interact more...it's really rewarding after lots of cries and screams. Even more so after the soundless cry. That's when Cooper is really pissed. He scrunches his face in a scream, opens his mouth and turns beet red...but no sound comes out. He also quits breathing in this whole process. The first time it freaked us out, but my mom mentioned that we should blow in his face when he isn't breathing. Now that it works and startles him the whole process is actually a little funny. He'll scream 3-4 times, I blow in his face and then he calms down. A lot of drama.

On Tuesday I went for my 6 week postpartum check up. Everything looks great and I'm cleared to start working out again. Slowly. I told Dr. F that even if I wanted to jump right in...I haven't worked out in months. Besides recovering from major surgery, I'm probably horribly out of shape. She was also really impressed that I am nursing Cooper without giving him any supplemental formula. Not that I wouldn't do it, but based on his size and how much he apparently eats she can see where it could be a challenge. However, we're doing great. I haven't given him formula since the first week or two - and it's not stunting his growth!

By the way...the bear never stood a chance of being bigger than Cooper!

All smiles

This past weekend we took Cooper on his first trip to "the ranch" (as my friend Maegan calls it)...otherwise known as my mom's house. Last year my mom and step-dad built a beautiful new house and finished right after I was "grounded" by my doctor so we never got to see it completely finished. It's a big change considering our last trip home involved my mom, step-dad, step-brother, Lin & Adam, Maegan & Jett, and Jason & I all staying in a 3 bedroom house and trying to get dressed and out the door with 2 bathrooms!! It's quite a sight to see, trust me.

The new place has 4 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms so we should make it places on time...right? Ha!

The weekend was spent mostly just hanging out and visiting with family, plus we were there to celebrate Zeth's birthday.

I've been telling Jason for weeks that Cooper is best in the morning after he eats. He's awake and happy and then takes a quick nap before another meal. I get nothing accomplished because I usually enjoy playing with him and capitalizing on the good mood. So Saturday Jason finally got to witness the good mood - and Cooper was all smiles!

Sunday turned out to be even better, for us at least. We woke up and I asked Jason what time it was. When he told me 8:45 I knew 1 of 2 things had happened. 1) someone had baby-napped Cooper or 2) he was still sleeping. Since I thought he'd be up around 7 I only really thought one of those had happened. Sure enough when we checked the monitor someone had stolen him from the pack-n-play. I went downstairs to find a full and baby - Aunt Sassy claimed she had heard him talking and went and picked him up. Jason and I were thankful for the extra hour of sleep!!

It's the end of the world!

No, not really but Armageddon was the only word that came to mind. Wednesday Cooper and I took Jason's truck to get inspected and have the oil changed. While there the guy behind the counter mentioned that our local Randall's was closing and everything was 50% off. I mean everything. I thought about diapers. Then wine. Then diapers and wine. Till he told me that he'd been over there earlier that day and the baby aisle was wiped clean and people were walking out with pallets of beer and wine. Plus, the parking lot was insane. I quickly decided it was not for us to check out.

Until last night when curiosity got the best of Jason and I and we stopped by on the way home. Armageddon was the word that came to mind. Or maybe a store being wiped out because a huge hurricane is in the Gulf. It was insane.

And we went in and bought coffee (Starbucks coffee 1/2 off!), batteries (we have a baby - everything calls for batteries), light bulbs and ice cream. Oh, and 2 magazines. At least the batteries would come in handy for a category 5 hurricane...

5 Weeks Old

Things are pretty uneventful for the 5 week post. No doctors visits to report on - thank goodness! We took the newborn insert out of the car seat this weekend - he was starting to look at little cramped. Jason calls it "fat man in a little coat." Cooper looked much more comfy after he had a little wiggle room. We did leave the insert that protects his head in since he doesn't have much control yet. Something we work on with modified tummy time. He's not big on tummy time on the floor so I recline back on the sofa and we to tummy time on my chest. Fortunately he must like it because we get about 15 minutes of play time before he's tired.

I also prop him in the corner of the sofa for a minute or two. Apparently he thought something was funny.

And that's about it. I'm throwing in a few more photos from this morning - just because he's cute.

And a photo after dinner Monday night with Aunt Sassy:

Is it possible?

Could one little onesie be good luck?

Cooper got two Cowboys onesies from Jason's friends...that looked too be a little large for use this season. Then he started putting on weight and they looked like they may have shrunk in the dryer a little. So for the game against the Saints a few weeks ago we tried it out. It was a little big but that was ok. Especially when the Cowboys won. It seemed that the December losing streak was broken.

So a week later we pulled the onesie out when they played the Redskins...and won again.

Then it was time for an important game vs. the Eagles. Jason's friend Brian flew down for the game and they headed to Dallas that Sunday morning. I put the onesie on before the big game...only to have it spit up on. And then when I went to change his diaper he managed to pee on it. Fortunately we have two, remember. And I honestly don't know which one is lucky - maybe it's just the kid. So we changed and the Cowboys managed a great game against the Eagles. And locked in a home game in the playoffs. Could we also break the losing playoffs streak?

Saturday morning the three of us loaded up and drove to Dallas for the game. Cooper and I hung out with Jess, Jason and Joe while my Jason went to the game. Right before kick-off we changed into the lucky onesie and crossed our fingers. A few hours later they had successfully beat the Eagles for the 3rd time in one season and won the first playoff game since the mid 90's.

The onesie is in the wash and will be ready for the game against the Vikings.

1 month

How the heck did we get to 1 month? I feel like time has flown - and I guess that I shouldn't be surprised. Everyone tells to you soak it in because time flies and they are grown before you know it. I know that's true. I think about friends who have kids and how they are suddenly toddlers...and not babies.

Just in the last week he looks like he's gotten so much bigger and is starting to get chunky. Cute chunky. I'm not being biased but he really didn't look like a 10lb baby at birth. You expect 10lbs to be all fat rolls and chubby cheeks but he was just a bigger baby - like a 3 month old baby. Now, though, some little fat rolls have showed up on his thighs. He makes eye contact with things (though I'm not always sure what it is) and figured out that he has a voice. He is still really content. I'm thankful that I can sit him under his playmat and play, but also fold clothes while we talk. And that the bouncer allows me time to take a shower. Don't get me wrong, these all have time limits and he lets me know when we hit those - then comes "mom time" where the only thing he wants is to sit on my lap or eat. Boy can he eat! Can't you tell?

I have to brag just a little bit - I'm 1.6lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight. I'm thrilled that it came off so quickly and that it makes my goals easier to obtain. The bigger issue is that I look nothing like I did 11 months ago. Jason thinks my hips and thighs are slimmer but the weight shifted up. To the belly area. I mean I did have a 10lb kid IN my belly so I guess I should not be surprised...but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I go back to my doc on the 19th and can't wait for her to release me so that I can go back to the gym. We've done some walks but it's been too cold to take Coop out too often. Hopefully that changes soon.

Also - how cute is he???

PS: Don't you think that onesie looks painted on? Yeah...it's a 3-6 month size.

Making a list

This week Jason went back to work and he took my personal chef with him. I've thoroughly enjoyed having someone to bring me breakfast while I'm nursing in the morning. We've taken the opportunity to sleep until Cooper wakes up and when he does he's starving. So I feed him right away and Jason would fix breakfast and coffee. This week...I've still taken advantage of sleeping until C wakes up, but then I wait on him to have breakfast before I get mine. I also realized how nice it is to have someone else in the house. Don't get me wrong - I have a great kid. He is mostly content and stays chilled out, but since I spend half of the day nursing him I try to use the other 1/2 to "get stuff done" and that's not as easy with a baby.

If there is one thing Jason hates to hear me say it's that I need to "get stuff done." It drives me crazy to see stuff that needs to be done - like laundry, or dusting, or general picking up of the house. I'd rather do it all and enjoy having nothing to do later. Though, really, is there ever nothing to do? For the last few weeks I've had help getting stuff done and managed pretty well. Till Sunday. My goal for Sunday was to clip coupons and make my grocery list. Monday afternoon it still wasn't done. Why you ask...this right here:

I'd feed him, he'd fall asleep, I'd go to move him so I could get up and...15 minutes later he was awake. We did this all afternoon Sunday and Monday. Then by the evening he was cranky because he was tired. Finally Monday afternoon I decided that I needed to change my strategy. When my mom was here she said that I needed to pick one thing to do each day. At the time that made sense. But then I started feeling better and thought "one...I can do 5." Sure, when you have help! So we're back to one. Well, actually two things. I've decided that each day I'm going to make a mental list to accomplish by the end of the day.

1. take care of Cooper - and enjoy it! Don't feel guilty to just sit on the sofa with him while he sleeps. ((this will take effort for me))

2. some sort of household thing - this week...I'm working on thank you notes from gifts for Cooper and his birth announcements.

3 Weeks Old

Since Wednesday was a little crazy I forgot to take his 3 week pic. But it ended up being a great opportunity to show off his new digs from some friends in Philly. I was so excited when this came in the mail and we had a great time showing Cooper off to some friends Thursday night for a quick visit.

I'm starting a petition

to have Wednesdays removed from the calendar. This past Wednesday we made our 3rd trip to see the pedi. That morning Jason was dressing Cooper and I noticed a brown spot on the burp cloth we were using to keep pee from getting on us and everything else when changing him. I thought it was obvious what it was, but the color was a little odd. Then Jason noticed 2 spots on his shirt. After further investigation we noticed that Cooper's belly button was oozing. The cord had fallen off on Christmas Day and everything seemed ok until Wednesday.

So we called the pedi and they told us to bring him in. If the wound was still open they would need to cauterize it and we wanted to make sure nothing was infected. In the end his belly button looked fine and we were told to let them know if it happens again, but it was really nothing to be concerned with. We also got to weigh him and he was up to a whopping 11lbs 5oz. That would hopefully explain the marathon eating sessions he did over the weekend and the beginning of the week.

We ended the day be celebrating with Cooper's first dinner out. We were supposed to meet my mom, step dad, Lin and Adam at Pappasito's but the wait was horrible. So we ended up next door at Cooper's mecca - Hooters. Fortunately he slept through the whole trip and never harassed the waitresses.

More Christmas

Christmas lasted for quite a while this year. The day after Christmas Lin, Adam, Maegan and Jett came over to see Cooper and celebrate with us. Jett hadn't met Cooper yet and we were all a little curious about how that would go. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the baby at first, but later on he warmed up long enough to hold him for all of 2 minutes. He also helped by opening Cooper's gifts and showing him how they worked.

Cooper managed to leave a mark with Maegan by crapping out of his diaper, up the back and on to her shirt. Thank goodness she's a mom because she managed to not freak out. In all honesty, that makes us even. I kept Jett once when he was almost a year old and he leaked out of his diaper onto the kitchen floor. When I picked him up to change him it got on my t-shirt. To top it off, he was sick at the time so it was really smelly.

I think once Cooper does more than eat and sleep he and Jett will be great buddies. At least, we hope so since they'll have to hang out a lot even if they don't want to. :-)

The next day Cooper's Godfather came for a visit. Brian & Abby were in Texas for Christmas and drove down for the day. I really give them props - it is a long drive from where Brian's parents live and I sure would not want to make it twice in one day. We all enjoyed the visit and can't wait to see them again in March when we Baptize Cooper.

THEN the following day Jason's parents and brother came for their Christmas. We had Christmas dinner again exchanged gifts. Cooper slept through the whole thing. He really got into the Christmas spirit this year.