More Milestones...

This has been a big milestone week for Cooper.

Sunday night my parents came to visit and Steve and I took advantage of them being here to get away for a night as a couple. This was probably a bigger milestone for us than Cooper, but still a change for him. Lanesboro has a special place in our hearts as it is where we go to relax. This is also the place we went on our honeymoon and 1st anniversary. Lanesboro is cute little town about 45 minutes south of Rochester. The town is also down in a valley so cell phone use is pretty much nonexistent… a bit of a thought to comprehend when you are leaving your baby for the night for the first time. I couldn’t call every hour to check on him. He was in wonderful hands and the three of them did a great job! Cooper went down for Grandma and Papa around 7:30 and slept until 4am- wow, he doesn’t typically do that for us. He ate and played… and became a little fountain for Grandma. Steve and I had a nice night out and came back shortly after breakfast on Monday. I didn’t sleep as much as I thought I would. I wasn’t worried about Cooper, but I still kept waking up. While we missed our little guy, it was nice to reconnect as a couple… a lot of our conversation was about Cooper- but that’s okay- this is our life! Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Last night was also a night of a big milestone for Cooper. Last week his pediatrician gave us the okay to start cereal. After Steve and I had dinner, Steve picked Cooper up out of the swing he was in next to the table. Steve handed him the spoon and he tried to put it in his mouth… now keep in mind everything goes into his mouth at this point. But we thought we’d try the cereal. So I mixed ½ a tablespoon of rice cereal with 4 tablespoons of breast milk and he ate all of it! Thank you to everyone that gave us bibs, we are going to use them! Actually, he did a great job of getting it back in his mouth. Tonight filet mignon… no, not yet- have to wait for teeth and a tummy that can handle it. We’ll stick with cereal and breast milk for awhile.

Cooper is really starting to sleep longer at night. The night before last, I put Cooper down at 8:45pm and he slept until about 5am. Steve brought him to me in bed to nurse and then Cooper and I crashed again. I slept until a little before 7, but Coops continued to sleep while I got ready for work. Steve had a dentist appointment, so it worked out great that he was still sleepy. At 8am I knew Steve was about on his way home and I needed to head off to work, so I started to wake Cooper up and oh my the stretches and yawns… he just wasn’t quite ready to get up. He slept almost eleven hours which means I got about seven hours… that felt good! As I mentioned with our night away, just because Cooper sleeps, doesn’t mean we sleep all the way through. Both Steve and I get up to check on him to make sure he is okay. If only we could figure out how to make it happen every night. Last night he did great, but wanted to chat… and nurse at 2am and then was up again at 5am. As he continues to get older, I’m sure the longer nights are coming more frequently. It’s almost hard to remember the nights of getting up every two hours… well, I still remember them, but I’m very thankful we don’t have too many of them anymore.

After hitting two milestones, even though one was more for mom and dad than Cooper, we had quite the week. Cooper continues to change every day, just sometimes not major milestones.

Happy 4 months old, Cooper!

I know I just updated (feast or famine), but I thought I’d get a short note in today as Cooper is now four months old. The last four months… actually the last year has been incredibly amazing! Just five days from now it will be exactly a year ago that we saw his heartbeat for the first time! He was just 6 weeks and 5 days (in reality he was 4 weeks and 5 days) of being a little growing miracle. It had been one of the scariest days of my life in that I had thought I was losing him, but when we saw his heartbeat I think my heart started to beat faster than his. The picture from that ulrasound is the bottom one on the right side. Life is so very precious.

We survived Wednesday’s exam and shots. Cooper is now 2 feet long… he’s grown about 5 inches since birth and is now 12 pounds and 9 ounces- it could also be that he hadn’t pooped in two days! He’s still a little guy, but is staying pretty consistent on the growth chart. Cooper showed Dr. Alme his ability to chat. The shots were rough. Last time he cried very hard, but this time he screamed and then held his breath and then screamed each time he was stuck. The nurse was quick, but four shots are a lot. We cuddled as soon as he got dressed and he fell asleep. The rest of the night wasn’t too bad, except when Steve went to get groceries, Cooper just screamed for about 30 minutes. I couldn’t give him any more Tylenol and there just wasn’t anything I could do to console him. In desperation I was going to give him a bath. As soon as I put him in his crib and turned on the mobile he calmed down. So I took advantage of it and let his friends dance for him. We did give him a bath a little later and I think it helped sooth him. The fevers weren’t as bad this time. He stayed between 100.4-100.7, but didn’t go higher.

Since putting on a little weight, Cooper hasn’t rolled over as much as he did a couple of months ago, but last night during “tummy time” he rolled over three times. I think he is just about to roll from back to tummy, too. When he is on his tummy he has a look of frustration that he can’t get his arms and legs under him to move. He does a “Super Cooper” by lifting his arms and legs off the ground like he’s ready for take-off. He is also pulling his dangling toys to make the music play.

It’s supposed to rain for the next several days, but we can hope to get out for a walk or two this weekend. This has already been an icky year for severe weather, so I picked up a new alarm clock that has a NOAA radio. It's amazing what being a mommy will do to you- you'll do anything to protect your child. I just want to be as prepared as possible with Cooper being down the hall (not really that far, but far enough). We have had tornados north and south of us, but most stuff is fizzeling out before it gets to us.

Grandma and Papa O’C are coming on Sunday to pick up Lacy. We may take advantage of having them here and go out Sunday night.

Have a great weekend!

So now I give him to the LORD...

1 Samuel 1:27-28 I prayed for this child, and the LORD has
granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD.

We had Cooper baptized On May 18th. Grandma and Grandpa O’Connell, Grandma and Grandpa Hull, my sister and family, and Steve’s sister and fiancé all came. It was an exciting weekend. Cooper wasn’t short on being given attention and being held. He did a great job during the baptism. He likes having his hair washed, so I wasn’t too concerned, but the time of the baptism was just about naptime, so you never know. He watched Pastor Jeff pretty closely. Cooper wore the outfit Steve wore when he was baptized- pretty neat... and it fit just right! Coops is very blessed to have family that will make sure he is upheld in his spiritual life. Our church family thinks he is pretty neat, too. It definitely takes us longer to get out after church as so many want to see him. Steve and I know God has blessed us with this special boy and we give him to the Lord.

I so badly want to keep this better updated for those of you that are reading it and as a keepsake for Cooper… and me to look back on. What can I say, I’m a new mommy. Things just don’t always happen the way you plan. The days feel short. Sleep feels short. Where has time gone? Cooper will be four months old on Friday. I feel like just a short while ago I was carrying him.

So what is Cooper doing?… Oh, where to begin. Since my last post (a month ago), we have put away the bassinet. Cooper does a great job of sleeping in his crib at night. We have had more nights of him sleeping longer… and then he regresses a bit, and then sleeps longer again. I’d say many nights of the week he will sleep from 10pm until 4:30 or 5am. Not bad. He isn’t always a restful sleeper as I often find him in a different position then when I put him down. We’ve also found limbs sticking out between the crib slats, but bumper pads aren’t recommended anymore.

Cooper is becoming so much more interactive. He is a little chatter box and he can be so expressive with his eyes and facial expressions. He has also found out that he controls the volume of his voice and he can be quite loud at times. I can’t wait for him to tell me what he is trying to say. I think Cooper has started to discover textures. I’ve found him “scratching” the posts of his dangling toy mat and his shirts. He is also grabbing stuffed animals, blankets, and of course anything that can go into his mouth. He likes to look at the baby in the mirror, too. Coops is on the verge of giggling. He makes a little laugh sound when he is excited. There is nothing better than when he gets excited when he sees me. After I get home from work, his eyes will catch mine and he just lights up… my heart melts. Oh, this is so much fun. But he is growing up too fast!

Well, tomorrow is another big day of shots and a well-baby exam. Last time he ran a bit of a temp after the shots, but hopefully he does well with these. If not, we will have the Tylenol and soothing bathes ready. Momma is prepared for plenty of cuddle time.

Until next time… take care!