Cooper and Coffee

So Paul left his half filled coffee cup on the end table this morning and Cooper found it about 45 minutes ago while Paul and I were in the dining room folding up boxes to set on the curb. I looked in the living room to check on him and saw that he was playing with a coffee cup. I didn't think anything of it because Paul often gives him a coffee cup to play with when he drinks coffee (so it distracts him from trying to get Paul's coffee). When I looked closer I saw that Cooper's hair was wet and so was the end table. Cooper was also licking something off the end table. When I went in to check I discovered that he was "drinking" the coffee.

Cooper is now in his jumperoo jumping like crazy. I'm trying to get him to burn off some of the caffeine before bed time (which, by the way, was 20 minutes ago) He's never jumped so much or so fast in that before.

So what are my chances of getting him in bed before midnight?!

I don't know if I should laugh or cry I think I'm mostly laughing. I'm sure the amount of coffee that he actually "drank" was very small... but still. He is WIDE awake. He's usually in meltdown mode by 7 if we haven't given him his bath and gotten him ready for bed.

We keep joking that he finally achieved his goal of getting Daddy's coffee... I don't think we'll be laughing when he's still awake at 3 a.m.

6 month check up

Yesterday was Coopers 6 month check up. He weighs 15 lbs and is 26 inches long. My boy is growing!

Anyone who knows me knows that we don't go to well baby visits. We're not vaxing so it's not necessary IMO, *I* don't need a doctor to tell me that my baby is growing just fine, getting big, doing what he's supposed to etc. when I can see this for myself. But I decided to do the 6 month check up just to see how much he weighs... literally that's all I wanted to know lol...

So as I was saying - 15 lbs and 26 inches long!!! WOW!!! He tripled his birth weight in 6 months! His weight puts him on the low end of percentage (10%) and his length is perfect (50%). I really don't give a crap about the percentages though. I can see that my baby is growing, thriving and developing just fine. And last I heard these percentages were based on white formula fed babies in the 1950's... yea that sums up every baby in the country... what a joke lol. (I don't know if this is 100% true or not, it's just what I've heard. So don't bombard me with emails calling me a liar please! If you've heard differently I am interested in hearing what you've heard)

Anyways, Cooper is doing great. Dr. Margolis wasn't concerned at all about his weight... he's a little chubbos with rolls anyways lol. He said we should try to get him to eat more solids (we're working on that) but isn't too concerned. He said we're doing everything right and to just keep feeding on demand and following his lead... which is what we've been doing all along!

We've been trying to get Cooper to eat some solids for the past week or so now; he could be more intersted in watching paint dry! LOL. He'll take a few bites (usually 5 or so), spit most of it back out, make the cutest funniest face, and then he's done lol. Which is fine with me. I know his body won't digest or absorb anything from the solids anyways so we're just going through the motions, trying to get him used to swallowing something other the milkies and getting him used to the spoon... so far it's not working lol.... but we'll keep trying!

Cooper has had baby rice (whole wheat organic of course lol) with milkies and avocado mashed up... He did okay with the rice the first night but after that wasn't interested, and he's not too fond of the avocado. We'll do the avocado tonight and then tomorrow we'll switch to carrots or sweet potatoes, haven't decided which one yet.

We are making all our own baby food... all organic of course! lol... So when I get ready to do the carrots I'll steam them, mash them up with a little coconut oil or milkies and give it to him that way... Must remember to ask Dr. Sandie about this today... When I do the sweet potatoes I'll bake them and then use coconut oil or milkies to smooth it out... we'll see which I do next... it'll most likely be carrots.

Anyways... moving on....

I called my Mother In Law (MIL) on the way home from the dr. to give her an update on C's weight and stuff and was met with a wonderful surprise! After telling her that he was only in the 10th% for weight and that I wasn't concerned and neither was the dr. she told me she wasn't concerned either. She said that Coop is obvioulsy a growing, strong, happy baby and there's nothing to worry about. Then she went on to tell me that she thinks I'm a wonderful mother and am doing a fabulous job with Cooper!!! It was great to hear that. I told her how much I appreciate her saying that to me. Thank you Fay!

I know I'm the *crazy* parent to a lot of people and I know that not everyone agrees with the way we parent, I am okay with that. I've come to admire the quirky looks I get from people in the stores when I'm wearing Coop or they realize he's in a cloth diaper. I know we're different then most parents, we are in the minority and I like it that way!!!

Okay, I'm outta here, I've written enough!

xoxoxo 

Amanda

We're still here

I know, I know I need to be better about posting. Sorry about that, but we are still here and everyone is doing great....

Cooper continues to get bigger day by day. I'm amazed at his growth and development. He's a baby now, no longer an infant, that's for sure.

He sat up once with very little support, it won't be long now until he is mobile. He rolls and scooches all over the living room, soon we will have to baby proof. There's a few things we'll most likely need to remove from the living room, and we definitely have to put up a few gates; the joys of owning a 3 story house with a basement. *snicker*

I have run out of storage space on the website so I can no longer add photos. I will figure out what to do about this and let everyone know what we decide... Our choices are stopping the site all together, starting a new site, deleting all the old photos to add new ones... we'll figure it out... 

Rolling with the changes

It has been brought to my attention that I haven't updated the blog in a while - Thanks Nicole! So here I am, attempting to update. Who knows how long this will take. As you can imagine I have TONS of free time now that Cooper is mobile.... (insert sarcastic voice here)

Yep, that's right, the Coop Man is on the move! On July 8th he rolled over for the first time on the floor; just one day shy of his 4 month birthday! He has been rolling over in his crib for about a month, but last Tuesday was the first time he rolled over on the floor and it scared the beejeezes outta him. I did not witness this miracle happening, nor did Paul, but I put him on his play mat on his tummy and went into the kitchen to wash bottles (fun times) when about 60 seconds later Cooper screamed like crazy. I of course ran like a mad women into the living room to see what was wrong and there he was on his play mat on his back crying and crying. I suspect that when he rolled from his tummy to his back he might have bumped his head on the floor, not sure though. I picked him up and comforted him and when I put him back down he promptly rolled over again. Now everytime we put him down he rolls over... I must remember to get this on video (I have it on my phone but it's not very good quality). 

This is a bittersweet milestone for me. It's exciting to see him progress so wonderfully but it's sad to see that he is well on his way to independence. I imagine that a lot of first time mother's struggle with the bittersweetness of milestones, but I'm not ready for him to do things on his own yet! I liked having to get up 50 billion times to roll him on his tummy/back when he wanted. I liked having to hand things to him. I liked having to hold things in his mouth so he could chew on them.I liked being the only thing he could see... I'm not joking either! I really did like doing those things. Now he can grab things himself and bring them to his mouth to chew on. The links are his favorite, he can knaw on those all day long. Everthing he gets a hold of goes straight to his mouth (I suspect he's teething - another milestone I am NOT ready for!). He has his full range of vision now and he notices everything! When I hold him now he doesn't just look at me, he's looking all over the place at the colors, objects, sounds, etc. 

I am not ready for my helpless infant to become a somewhat independent baby!! Complete with teeth and the ability to crawl... I'm just not ready for! It's not fair! lol At the same time it's exciting to see him thrive in the enviroment we have provided for him. I love that he can see the different colors in our house (and we always tell him what they are ). I love that he can roll over on his own, and everytime I see him do I get this huge feeling of pride (with a little sadness thrown in). I love seeing him bring things to his mouth, his hand eye coordination is improving. 

I am not ready for teeth though! Any way we can stop this from happening? I'm open for suggestions lol.

We finally ordered for our cloth diapers! We decided to get 12 BumGenius One Size diapers (giving us a total of 16 diapers). I wash diapers every other night so that's not bad. I would like to get more at some point though, but that will take time. I also mailed 10 receiving blankets to my mom so she could make them into cloth wipes for us. She cut them into 7x8 peices and sewed the edges so they don't fray on me. They should be here sometime this week!!! 

Coop has been in cloth diapers for almost a week now and he seems to like them. I know I'm liking them, and so it Paul. I have to believe they are more comfy then disposables for him. 

I am still pumping away here. Breast milk is doing good for him so we're not going to change that (plus formula kinda creeps me out, no offense to anyone who uses it). I weighed him on our bathroom scale the other day and he is currently at 13 lbs! Big boy! I gotta get the tape measure out and see how long he is. 

I also ordered an Ergo Baby Carrier... I LOOOOOVE it! Coop likes it a lot too, he usually falls asleep in it. hehe. It's so much more comfy then the Baby Bjorn and better for Coops spinal developement too. 

Let's see.... what else has been going on? Hmmmmm..... 

Right now Cooper is napping in his crib and Pebbles is laying behind the glider in his room and I of course am pumping. I can't really think of anything else right now so I'm gonna sign off! I hope everyone is doing good!

Love to all! xoxoxo

48 hours (long update)

(This is a mixed post - Scroll down towards the bottom for a Cooper update if that's all you want lol)

48 hours.... That's how long it took for them to turn our power back on....

We had a bad storm come through on Sunday. It was so weird. I was setting up our Wii(woo hoo I finally got one!) when the power went out and then all of a sudden the wind was bending the trees in half, it was raining sideways, lightening, and thundering like crazy. We grabbed Cooper, Pebbles, Mister, some clothes, candles, and flashlights and ran for the basement. Paul called his mom to see if she had heard anything and she said that it was really - sirens were going off, tornadoes had been spotted, and 500,000 ppl were without power. We were only in the basement about 15 minutes... the storm was so fast. It came on fast and left fast.

So we come back upstairs, fully expecting the power to come back on any minute... I was so upset because I was setting up my Wii and was all ready to play bowling when the power went out. Then I had to sit there for 48 hours and stare at the box before I could play it!!! Torture! lol

Paul didn't go to work on Mon and Tues. Mon was a horribly hot day to not have a/c. At one point it was 89* in our house, ugh!

I was so worried about the 400+oz. of breastmilk I had in the freezer... all my hard work at the pump gone.... NOPE!! My mother in law had power so we loaded it all up and took it to her house!!! I lost maybe 40oz (4 frozen bags and a few bottles in the fridge). We of course lost everything else in the fridge... but fortunately because it wasn't quite the middle of the month (just before pay day) we didn't have much.... mostly condiments lol.

I was still able to pump! My pump came with a battery pack and I used that... damn thing takes 8 AA batts though!! Fortunately all Coops baby toys take batteries so we had enough on hand... Did have to steal a few outta his jumperoo though. But I had to pump...

Tuesday wasn't so hot and when I came back from the Ortho at 545 we had power. It was such a great feeling to walk into the house and turn on the landing light!!!

Of course Cooper didn't even notice we didn't have power... he still got his meals when he was hungry, had his swing, play mat, clean diapers, etc... nothing changed for him!!!

Anyways! Now for updates!!!

Wii - As I mentioned, we got a Wii!!! On the way to the potluck on Sunday we stopped at Toys R Us (I called and they got a shipment in that morning) and I bought a Wii. I've been wanting one for a while and I finally talked Paul into it... If it wasn't for the stimulus check we wouldn't be able to get it... That's supposed to come next week btw.

Wii bowling is so much fun!! Paul and I have competitions every night (so far he's won all of them lol) but I'm getting better... I'm not very good at real bowling either, but I do much better at Wii bowling lol... I want to get Mario Galaxy this weekend.

Cooper is doing great!!! I can't believe how big he is getting, it's crazy! I don't know how much he weighs though (we don't go to the pediatrician), but I will weigh him on our scale this weekend to get a rough idea.

Sleeping - He is a fabulous sleeper!!! He usually falls asleep around 10. At midnight (after my last pump and before I go to bed) I change his diaper and feed him - he sleeps through this. He will then sleep until 630ish. At that time I bring him to bed with me and he goes right back to sleep... sometimes he's a little fussy when I bring him to bed with me so I get up and feed him and pump (we're up for about an hour)... If he doesn't eat at 630 he's up around 830 for food... If he did eat at 630 we can sometimes sleep till 11!!! It's great!!! Today he woke up at 6, I flipped him over on his tummy instead of bringing him to bed with me and he slept until 830. By 930 he was sleeping peacefully in his swing and I napped on the couch until 11. He loves sleeping in his swing during the day now.

Tummy Sleeping - Cooper loves to sleep on his tummy. At first I was worried about it, but not anymore. He has such GREAT head control and I've never seen him face down before, he always has his face to the side. I'm still hesitant to let him sleep all night like this, but am okay with it in the mornings for a few hours while I'm sleeping. And of course during the day for naps is fine.

Babyhawk - I am finally breaking down and getting one of these... Baby Bjorn just doesn't cut it... it's cheap, and hurts my shoulders like crazy! Plus Baby Bjorns aren't good for babies spine, legs, hips, etc.... For those of you who don't know a BabyHawk is a front carrier. When I decided to get a better carrier it was a toss between the Ergo and theBabyHawk. I decided on the BabyHawk because of it's portability... the BH can fold up and fit into your purse... and Ergo doesn't. There is a slight learning curve with a BabyHawkthough as it's a tie carrier, but it looks quite easy. I will be ordering for this over the weekend and it should be here in about a month (it takes so long because they are custom made). BabyHawk and Ergo both hold a baby/toddler up to 40 lbs!!! I can't wait for this!!!

On being a Mommy - Everyone always tells you how exhausting being a mom is, and that's true... but it's also wonderfully fun! When people ask me how I'm liking it get a huge smile and exclaim "I'm having sooo much fun". Most of the time they smile, sometimes I get a crazy look, and sometimes they look at me like they think I'm lieing... I'm not! Being a mom is the most exhausting, exciting, fabulous job I have ever had and I wouldn't give any of it back!

I love holding my little man. I love looking into his eyes. I love seeing his smile first thing in the morning and all throughout the day. I love watching in laugh and smile at his play mat toys. I love watching him sleep in his swing...

My favorite part of the day with him is when I put him to bed. I carry him upstairs (He's sound asleep), change his diaper, and sit in the glider and feed him. While he's eating he makes these little sucking noises and sometimes grunts (like he does when he's tired). Now he's getting big enough that his legs hang over my legs when sitting in the glider. I can remember when I would hold him and his head would be at my elbow with his feet in my hands!!! Not anymore :( He's growing up so fast, this is bittersweet... I love seeing him grow and change, but I am torn between wanting him to stay this size forever and wanting to see him grow up to see what kind of man he will be.

I sit there feeding him thinking about all the wonderful adventures yet to come... teething, rolling over, crawling, walking, giggling, all the hugs and kisses he will give me, starting solids, school, friends, girlfriends (or boyfriend, no pressure either way! lol), graduation, college, marriage, grand kids... it's so amazing and so sad!!! I also think about the first time he pushes me away from a hug, the first time he doesn't want me to tuck him in at night, the first time he wants me to drop him off around the corner so his friends don't see me, the first time he lies to me... Saddening, but so exciting...

Well I'm almost milked out here (I'm pumping) and it's almost time to go to bed so off I go... to put my little man to bed!!

G'night world!!!

Got Milk?

I just froze over 35 ounces of milk!! We are seriously going to have to get a deep freezer to hold all the milk I've been freezing... Plus milk lasts longer in a deep freezer then a reg. freezer. In a reg freezer you can only keep it for 3 months in a deep freezer you can keep it for 6-12 months.

I have finally found the silver lining to Cooper not latching on. If Cooper was latching and nursing regularly I wouldn't have a freezer full of milk, I wouldn't be able to donate milk to a baby who's mommy passed away (which I am doing weekly btw). I am happy that I am able to have such an abundant milk supply, more then enough for Cooper.

Last week was a rough pumping week though. Last Monday I noticed I was getting blisters on my nipples. Once the blisters popped they turned into sores and man did it hurt to pump!! But I pumped through it. I just turned the speed and suction down and seem to be doing much better. I'll keep my pump on a lower setting for a while and see if I can do better with that. Man it hurt like hell to pump though!!!

Right now I am pumping away and Cooper is laying in my lap... he certainly is a cutie.

We are doing good here. Cooper has decided that he is more comfy sleeping on his side, so he does. It sure it cute. He'll be rolling over by Monday. I just know one day I'm going to lay him on his play mat and go pee and when I come back he'll have rolled over.

He sucks on his hands like crazy. It makes the cutest noise when he does though... He doesn't suck his thumb or fingers but rather his fist, his knuckles mostly.

He definitely is getting big. He's pretty much outgrown all of his newborn clothes and few 0-3 months but 3-6 is still big on him.

hehe Coopers farting!!! hehehe

Pooper Cooper is back...

with a vengeance!! LOL

Cooper finally pooped today for the first time since Saturday night. That makes 5 days without pooping. 120 hours. 7200 minutes. 432000 seconds... without pooping!!! LOL

And it was messaaaay!! LOL Came out both legs, out the back, and the front!! Got on his outfit and covered his poor pee pee. His whole diapered area was completely covered in poop. And it was all sticky and gooey... I seriously should have taken a picture just to show him when he's like 15. Lol

Go Cooper!!! Woo hoo.... Let the countdown begin to the next poop....

How many days will it be?

1...2...3...4...5...days???

PS- I also ordered for the Happy Heiney One Size Diaper and the KangaBaby One Size Diaper. From all the reviews I've read they are supposed to be less bulky then the BumGenius. Let's hope so!!! LOL Hopefully they'll be here by Monday. 

Who wants rice?

Cooper had his first taste of baby rice last night (organic of course! lol). He really seemd to like it. Of course, he didn't know how the whole spoon thing worked, but he did very well. I pretty much had to pour the rice in his mouth while he was crying. But when he got a taste of it he was sooo into it, smacking his mouth and swallowing all the rice... Hardly made a mess at all. There was no thrust reflex with him pushing the spoon out. 

It was so cute because he's used to the bottle or boob where it's a conitnuous flow of food, and with the spoon he wasn't getting that. So between spoonfuls he was screaming, wanting more! LOL It was so cute. 

I was hoping the rice would help sleep longer, but it didn't really... Altho he did sleep better, no grunting every 5 minutes (he's my lil grunter lol). He slept from 11 till 4 and then from 515 until 6, 615 until almost 1030!!! I'm very well rested today! LOL I actually woke up at 930 wanting to get up but since he was sleeping on my hip I layed in bed until he woke up. 

When he gets up at 6 I usually bring him into bed with me and feed him until he falls asleep... He usually grunts every couple of minutes which means I have to put the paci back in, rock him, and shhhh him back to sleep (about 5 seconds). It's just easier to do when he's in bed with me. 

So after he had his bottle at 6ish I put him over my hip (I was laying on my side) and burped him, we ended up falling asleep that way! LOL... He loves sleeping on his tummy. He kinda slid off my hip and onto the body pillow I always curl up with. I wish Paul would have been home to take a picture because it was so cute to see him lay there half way on the pillow and half way on my hip on his tummy. We were verrrry comfy! 

I gotta go, it's almost time to get ready to go to the Chiropractor. Just wanted to do an update about his first feeding!!! 

xoxoxo 

Amanda and Cooper

I've come to realize...

Since having Cooper I've come to realize that... 

-I've come to realize that I'm never sleeping longer then 4 hours at a time again.
-I've come to realize that I'm going to late for everything no matter how much planning I do to be on time.
-I've come to realize that I hate pumping so much.
-I've come to realize that Cooper is getting bigger everyday.
-I've come to realize that Cooper changes every time I wake up.
-I've come to realize that we don't "travel" light anymore.
-I've come to realize that we can't leave the house without diapers, wipes, pacifiers, bottles, nipple shield, breast pump and all accessories, diaper cream, a clean outfit for Cooper, a clean shirt for me, burp cloths, blankets, and toys... And that's just for a trip to Kroger!
-I've come to realize that I will never watch a television show all the way through again. Thank goodness for DVR's!!
-I've come to realize that eating is something I do when I can, not because I want to. 
-I've come to realize that cleaning is over rated, I don't need a clean house to be happy.
-I've come to realize that the shower starting is like an alarm clock for Cooper.
-I've come to realize that I will never shave my legs again.
-I've come to realize that we're lucky if we have clean clothes to wear because who has time for laundry.
-I've come to realize that life doesn't get any better then this! 
-I've come to realize that I enjoy every second of having Cooper in my life! 
-I've come to realize that I don't mind all the "disrupts" to my life... I don't even consider then disrupts, more like blessings!! 
-I've come to realize Cooper is my life, and he always will be, but I still need to take care of myself and my husband. 
-I've come to realize that my husband is a wonderful man - so helpful and amazing! 
-I've come to realize that I can't imagine how single mothers do it. 
-I've come to realize that crying in the middle of the night with Cooper is perfectly normal and fine! 
-I've come to realize that when Cooper's eyes are closed he's not really asleep because when we open the door, or get comfy in bed, he wakes up and starts crying. 
-I've come to realize that A&D ointment is a godsend! 
-I've come to realize that Pampers totally suck - Donating one vaccine for every package of Pampers bought, yea I'm not supporting that!
-I've come to realize that no matter what outfit Cooper is in, even if it's just a onesie, he is totally adorable!
-I've come to realize that Cooper is the light of my life!
-I've come to realize that even though he's only been here 6 weeks it feels like he's always been in my life.
-I've come to realize that I can't imagine my life without Cooper in it. 
-I've come to realize that baths have a natural calming effect on babies. 
-I've come to realize that when Cooper is hungry he means NOW, not in 10 minutes when the bottle is warm.
-I've come to realize that I can't drive when Cooper is crying, I have to pull over and feed him, burp him, change his diapers... whatever he needs. 
-I've come to realize that Cooper crying pulls at my heart strings. 
-I've come to realize that I will do whatever I have to do to calm Cooper down when he's upset. 
-I've come to realize that Cooper likes to have some kind of background noise on when he sleeps (fan, sound machine, whatever).
-I've come to realize that Pebbles is okay with Coopers arrival. 
-I've come to realize that baby stuff is expensive. 
-I've come to realize that we always need baby stuff. 
-I've come to realize that schedules and routine aren't an option to an infant... we do what he wants when he wants. 
-I've come to realize that I love my son with all my heart!!!!

One month ago today...

One month ago today we were in the hospital holding our beautiful newborn baby!!! Today he is a bouncing baby boy, weighing over 7 lbs!!! Wow!! Things change so fast, I can't believe it's already been a month, but at the same time it seems like life has been this way forever, like I have had this gorgeous baby boy in my arms my whole life... I guess in a way I have, he has been in my heart my whole life!

In one month he has gone from 5 lbs to over 7. He has started latching on a little better, not every feeding, but much better then he was. He is sleeping in his room all by himself, like a big boy! lol. He is holding his head up so well and starting to really grasp things and hold on to them. He has gotten used to his diaper changes, but he still doesn't like his clothes being changed! lol. He went for his first walk yesterday.

We think he had his first social smile yesterday! It was amazing. Paul has 70's music on andShake Your Groove Thing by Peaches and Herb was on. Paul had Coops arms and was "dancing" with him and we were both singing and he made this huge smile!!! He hasn't done it since, but that's the biggest smile we've seen!! It was definitely different from his "gassy" smiles!!! So exciting!!! I can't wait to hear his laugh, I think a babies laugh is the most amazing sound in the world, and I can't wait to hear my babies laugh!!!

Paul went back to work today. I was pretty nervous about this at first, but so far it's going great. Cooper went to bed at 9 last night and slept until 2. We went back to bed at 3ish and he got up at 430 (this was a new one! lol) and didn't go back to sleep till after 6, but then slept until 9! I was happy to sleep in until 9! Right now he's napping in his boppy, but he'll be ready for a bottle within 30 minutes most likely, which means I need to go wash bottles!!! Fun times!

I love my lil man more and more everyday!!!

He sleeps... in the nursery

Sunday night we put Cooper in his nursery for the first time. I was extremely nervous about this and was seriously ready to change my mind. But Paul reassured me that he would be okay, I could go in and check on him whenever I want, and he would even wake me up if he woke up so I could go check on him... I must have went and checked on him 10 times, and of course he was fine! lol 
 
He actually seemed to like his nursery better then he likes the bassinet! He slept better, didn't fuss as much, didn't grunt as much, and fell right to sleep. We have a sound maker in there and it also prjects images onto the ceiling. We have the sound set to "rain" because he likes the sound of running water, and the images on the ceiling are fish and stuff (of course lol). Thanks to Fay for this wonderful gadget!!! 

So far the nursery is working out smashingly! He slept in there last night as well. We go up around 430 to feed him and put him back in the crib awake (we couldn't do that in the bassinet, but can with the crib), he fell asleep on his own, but then grunted until about 8 a.m. until Paul got up with him. It was so funny to hear him grunt for so long... but he was sound asleep!! Everytime we went in to check on him he was out like a light. 

He hasn't slept through the night again since last Thursday, but he's getting better. 

Paul goes back to work tomorrow... I'm not looking foward to doing everything on my own again. it's been great having Paul here the last 5 days, he's such a wonderful help and I truly appreciate him. He changes diapers, feeds Cooper, cleans up, did laundry, putzed around outside yesterday, takes Pebbles out all the time, etc... It's great! I'm going to miss him! lol 

We are going to go for a walk today. It's a pretty nice day today, supposed to be around 61!! woo hoo!! I think spring is on it's way... but it's supposed to go back down into the 40s later this week, and be rainy for the rest of the week. So when Coop wakes up from his nap we're going for a walk. 

Well, I'm gonna try to get some lunch before he wakes up. 

xoxoxo 

Amanda, Paul, and Cooper

And he sleeps....

Cooper slept 7 hours on Thursday night!!! I'm sure it was a total fluke, but it was great to get 7 straight hours of sleep. I had so much energy yesterday and felt great! Of course when I woke up after not pumping or nursing for 7 hours, I was totally engorged!!! But I pumped (got over 7 ounces) and the engorgement went away. 

Did you know we had kitchen counters? Counter tops that aren't cluttered with papers, bills, baby stuff, pet stuff, etc. etc. etc.!!! It's great to see sparkling counter tops again! Haven't seen them since March 9th! lol 

Last night Cooper slept from midnight until 230 and 330 until 730. So that wasn't too bad, 7 hours, just broken up a little. 

I weighed Cooper the other day and he weighs a little over 7 pounds!!! He's a growin boy. Of course I don't know how accurate this is because it wasn't on a baby scale, we used out bathroom scale. I weighed myself without Cooper, and then weighed myself with Cooper and it went up 7 pounds. We have a pediatrician appointment on April 21 so we'll find out exactly how big he is then. 

Cooper has been holding his head up since he was a couple of hours old, but now he's starting to get better control of it. Now when he lifts his head it doesn't flop back down or to the side. He can hold his head up and look at you, or look around the room. It's amazing. 

He's getting much better at tummy time as well, still doesn't like it very much, but he's getting better. 

We went to Barnes and Noble yesterday and got a couple books. One is on baby signing... we are totally going to do this with Cooper. The benefits are amazing - higher IQ, speaking sooner and with a larger vocabulary, speaking complex sentences soonger, less frustration in the "terrible twos" because they can communicate much better what they want/need, etc. It's great! So we're totally going to do it! 

The other book is about teaching your baby to read! Yep, you read that right! So we're going to give that a go as well. Can't wait to see if it works! 

Right now Coopy is laying in his boppy, looking worried just like his daddy usually does. He takes after Paul so much, he is such a worrier! He has that wrinkled forehead, eyebrows furrowed, shoulders tight and raised... Just like Paul does when he's worried. Lol... Like father, like son! 

We are going to Old Navy today to get me some clothes. I've come to the conclusion that these last 10 pounds aren't just going to fall off in the middle of the night, and I only have 1 pair of comfy pants that still fit, and only a couple shirts... My boobs are bigger then they were before pregnancy, so my large shirts are really tight, which makes it hard for nursing or pumping. So we're going clothes shopping today. Plus I've also heard that my preprego clothes may never fit me again because my hips are wider after giving birth... So time for a new wardrobe!!! Woo hoo!! I don't know whether to be excited about the shopping trip or not! On one hand I'm getting new clothes and can spend money (a favorite past time LOL), but on the other hand I have to try on clothes, which means I will find out what size I really am... Can't hide in my sweats and maternity jeans forever!!! Yikes!

Mom was supposed to leave today but she had to leave on Tuesday. Andy had a heart attack on Sunday night and Tuesday was the earliest flight we could get for her. Andy is doing well from what I understand and should be at home actually. So since Mom left early, Paul took Friday off. He also has Monday and Tuesday off. So that gives us a nice, long 5 day weekend to spend as a family. And it's supposed to be a nice weekend... it's the 60's I believe!!! 

We can't wait for Spring weather. Can't wait to take Cooper for a walk through the neighborhood. Can't wait to take Cooper to the park and walk the trails. Can't wait to just sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. 

Paul just sat Cooper up in his Boppy. I took pictures and will post them in a minute...it's so cute. 

Well, it's Coopers bath time and then off to Old Navy for some serious retail therapy!!!

I hope everyone is doing well!!! 

Love, 

Amanda, Paul, and Coopy!!!