Cooper's Birth Story

We had a baby!  My labor started about 11:45 pm on Wednesday, the 7th, which was my due date.  I'm glad he came on time, because my mom came up here so she could help me with the baby and we wanted for her to have as much time with him as she could.  She arrived on the 3rd, so we didn't have to wait too long for Cooper to arrive!

39 weeks, 5 days pregnant...Tuesday 5/6/2014

I started having contractions at 11:45 Wednesday night (5/7/14) .  At first, I thought it was just the baby stretching, but they became more frequent, so I called my doctor.  She told me when I had 3 contractions in 10 minutes to call back, and she would tell me to go to the hospital at that point.  It was about 4:30 in the morning before the contractions reached that point, so we called and then headed to the hospital.  The nurses brought me back into the delivery room, and the Dr. came in to check me.  I was dilated less than 1, but was having regular and painful contractions, so she ordered the epidural for me.  Oh, thank GOD for epidurals.  She also ordered pitocin to help me dilate more.  They did an ultrasound because I had a little bleeding, and said the baby looked to be about 8 and a half pounds, but that the ultrasound could be off by a pound in either direction.  We had anticipated Cooper being about 8 and  half pounds, so that was no news for me.

Around 6:30 AM, the anesthesiologist came in to give me the epidural.  I was so tired, because I hadn't slept at all the night before since I was having contractions.  The epidural allowed me to sleep off and on for most of the day.  My mom and Marc were there with me in the delivery room.  Marc was sleeping on the tile floor...I knew my labor wasn't progressing quickly at all, so after the Dr. came to check me again and I was still dilated to 1, I sent Marc home to sleep and check on Max & Pixie.  The Dr. didn't come back in for about 6 hours, and when she checked me the next time, I was finally making progress and was dilated to 5cm.  This was about 4:30 PM, so Mom called Marc and told him to go ahead and make his way back to the hospital.  My Epidural was wearing off and I was feeling every contraction again, so the anesthesiologist came back in and added a little bit to make me comfortable.  The Dr. came back an hour later, and I was dilated to 10 cm.  She told me to ring my call bell when I felt like I had to push.  By 10 minutes to 6, I called in the delivery team and was ready to have this baby!!

I pushed about 12 times and at 6:07 pm they placed a huge baby on my chest!! I couldn't believe how long he was...I mean, I know Marc and I are both quite tall, but it was still a surprise.  Cooper had to have been so balled up inside of me, because he took up the entire table where the nurse was weighing him!

9lb, 8.5oz, 22.5inches.  Welcome, Cooper!

He weighed 9 pounds, 8.5 ounces and was 22.5 inches long.  He was nice and pink and all filled out.  he truly didn't look like a newborn!  He has blonde hair and his eyes are currently blue (I hope they stay that way!).  He has my fingers, Marc's nose, ears, eyebrows and toes.  He is adorable and we just love him to pieces!!!

The nurses took Cooper to the nursery while 2 doctors worked on me.  I was bleeding a lot and they were working to get that stopped. Thankfully, they were able to do so pretty quickly so there were no real complications.  The hospital was SO busy with babies being born that I had to wait in the delivery room for 3 hours before they had a regular room ready for me.  I didn't get to see or hold Cooper at all during that time.  In fact, I didn't get to hold him prior to them taking him to the nursery because of the aforementioned bleeding.  I wanted to see MY baby!  Finally, around 10 pm, I got to my room and they brought my gorgeous baby boy to me.  I cried.  It surprised me how quickly you can love this little person so completely.

Happy tears!

I can't believe I grew him! :)

Sweet baby boy

We stayed in the hospital 2 nights and came home on Saturday the 10th at about noon.  It's been a transition for sure, but I can't imagine our lives without him.  My mom was the biggest help, I would've been lost had she not been able to come up for the 4 weeks she was here.  I really didn't want her to leave, but she has a job and a dog who need her too.  Bummer.  ;)

First car ride.  

Wore my Giants gear for Dad!

Now, I'm trying to get him on a schedule.  He sleeps about 3-3.5 hours at a time, so it's not terrible.  I am nursing him, so I get up and take care of business.  He is a very happy and content baby.  He goes right back to sleep after his nighttime feedings, which is truly a blessing.  The sleep stretches are getting longer, I think in a few more weeks he will be sleeping about 5 hours at a time, which is not too shabby!

We had newborn photos taken of him when he was a week old.  We used Jennifer Sirris at Storybook Portraits.  She is amazing to work with; so calm and patient with the babies!  She took the pics right in our living room!  I can't wait to work with her again in the future when Cooper has pictures taken.

Go Hogs!

I have my momma's fingers

Little football

Kisses!

3 generations

One very proud Grandma!

Pouty face

Baby feet!

With Dad's uniform

With Uncle Justin's photo and Dog Tags.  Cooper Justin's namesake & guardian angel

love his sweet baby face

Future Arkansas Razorback!

Cute Koala 

Sweet sleepy baby

So peaceful in Black & white!

I love all of the pictures she took so much, I didn't post every one of them, but a lot of them.

I'm glad to have a place to write everything so I don't forget!  As I get a routine set, I should be able to update more regularly.

Have a great week!
Cheers,
Kelli