yucky

i have a terrible cough and cold right now so that pretty much sucks. i am worried that i will be getting Cooper sick because i can't cough or sneeze comfortably or hold it in since it hurts my stomach so badly. so i end up just coughing all over the place and i'm sure germ droplets are landing all over him. I hope that my milk is keeping him healthy - hopefully.
He is doing really well though and getting quite plump. We went and had his 2nd blood test today and he didn't even cry - he was more annoyed with taking his warm socks off than he was with the pin prick in his heel.
Cash is really, really funny. His new thing as of this week is "lip synching". When a song comes on he'll mouth "words". Not really the right words but he just moves his mouth to make it look like he is singing.
Last night Addison and her little sisters came over so we had 5 kids ages 3 and under in the house and everyone did fine! We had take out and mostly Addie and Cash played together with his fire truck and coloring books. The babies ate and slept. It was a lot of fun to have our visitors.
Chandler and I have been having a really nice time together paling around. We don't get to do that a lot so when we have the chance it is really nice. we have long conversations about things other than our kids and do things together that we would normallly have to do alone - like go grocery shopping - sounds fun, i know!

my boys

the boys are doing really well. and really well together.
Cash is less enthusiastic about Cooper now - i guess little brother has lost his new toy smell - but he is still sweet and loving toward him. Cash is getting smarter by the day. We call him our little parrot because he repeats everything we say. He likes to do puzzles and continues to surprise me with how he can figure out where the pieces go. He is getting taller but not gaining any weight recently. Probably because he is too busy to ever sit down and actually eat a full meal. Cash never really stops moving or talking unless he is sleeping - it exhuasts us but its fun to watch him growing and learning at the same time.

Cooper is getting bigger every day. I get sad when i think about him getting so big so fast but i know there's a lot of fun stuff to come so its ok. He's getting pudgier and has quite a double chin. He is doing great in the eating department although he gets a lot of gas bubbles and he doesn't eat all at once. This effects his sleep a little and its hard for him to get comfortable at night sometimes. I think i remember this from Cash and it will get better so i'm not making a bigger deal out of it than this.

We went on a nice little walk today as a foursome and hope to continue to do so each day to get back into an active lifestyle.

Christmastime

We had a wonderful Christmas but i must say that i'm glad its over. We had Grammy, Grandma (louise) and Poppy (larry) in for Christmas. It was nice to have everyone here and celebrate with the boys. It was actually the first time that the boys - either one of them - have had their grandparents around for Christmas. We got lots of presents (too many) and it was pretty hard to keep Cash from opening all of them before Christmas morning. On Christmas eve we had Grandma Vegas over for dinner and Grammy made excellent Paella for everyone. After dinner we Skyped with Pop and Cash told him all about how he was excited for Santa to come. Cooper continues to behave himself. Christmas morning Cash woke up and we opened presents and had breakfast - the rest of the day was pretty lazy until we started cooking dinner. Cash got some great stuff - some of which we even put aside for later since he has far too much to play with now. His favorites so far are a fire engine book, ernie and elmo police station, bath toys, train set, and the dry erase easel. Cooper got a few new outfits but slept through most of Christmas.
Again, Grammy treated us to a wonderful holiday meal for dinner. We were able to talk to Pop again that night (Boxing day for Pop). Larry and Louise left on Saturday afternoon so we visited with them a little in the morning. Chandler took them (and Cash) out to lunch for Louise's birthday before they left. Grammy left today amidst a boatload of tears. Cash was not happy that she was leaving and it threw him into a tailspin for a while. He has slowly stopped asking where Grammy is throughout the day. Beside everyone being upset, only one tragic event came out of grammy leaving - we were weighing her suitcase and Chandler got his toe in the way and now has a really bad situation with his toenail. Hopefully he'll go to the doctor to get it removed or something.
Overall we had an awesome Christmas. We were so lucky grammy came to take care of us for so long and now we miss her but will get along fine as a family of 4.

Cash's new interests

Cash is really into his little brother. its cute and great that he is embracing Cooper instead of rejecting him. He asks about him first thing when he wakes up - usually Cooper is in the bed with me and Cash will come in and snuggle for a few minutes before he gets ready for school which is really nice. He loves to watch me change Cooper's diaper and when he sees me lay him in the pack and play he drops everything and scrambles for a chair to drag over and stand on to watch me change the diaper. He is so curious about everything and asks so many questions. which is also good because he is learning so much. He can walk me through Cooper's diaper change and hand me wipes and tell me, "legs up" and hand me a clean diaper.
He's also really interested in how Cooper eats and wants to see mommy's bobbies. He likes to sit right next to me when i feed Cooper and i can just see his wheels spinning.
Cash's vocabulary is just amazing and he can speak in complete sentences. He now knows a lot of animal sounds and is starting to work on the alphabet.
We had a really rough time getting Cash to sleep tonight and lately the bedtime routine has been hit or miss with Cash settling into sleep easily. Cash cried for mommy and daddy for over an hour tonight and Chandler and I both spent time in Cash's bed trying to get him to go to sleep. Eventually he fell asleep but i'm not sure why he was fighting it so hard. maybe he was overly tired.
Tomorrow is his last day of school for the week and we will share lots of fun family time together over the next few days with Grammy, Grandma and Poppy.

check up

cooper went for a check up today. He did very well and the doctor is really happy with how he is doing. Cooper's weight was a bit of a mystery...he was weighed at first and came in at 8lb 5oz, which is 1oz less than he weighed 5 days ago. Dr. Goebel was surprised by this because she said he looked like he had put on a little weight, not lost an ounce. so we fed him and reweighed and he was a whopping 8lb 9oz. Now, he probably didn't put on 4oz from one feeding and we surmised that the first weight was wrong. He measured 21 inches as well. All in all a very healthy little boy. Dr checked his circumcision and it is healing really well and we can stop putting the neosporin on it after tomorrow. Also, his belly button fell off on 12/21. She cleaned it out and we can start giving him baths tomorrow night. The best news of all is that his little testicle has come down, it is still high but it has dropped and just needs to settle into its new home. this is actually a really good thing because if little boys' testicles don't drop by the time they are 2 they go in and get them surgically because they can turn cancerous - and if they don't come down by then they are probably "defective" anyway.
I'm going to start keeping track of Coopers eating and sleeping a little more. I have just had him on me since he was born without noticing how much, long or when he was eating. Now that he is healthy and gaining weight easily I think i'd like to keep track of when he is eating so we can plan some things around that.
I also went to the doctor today because i have had some pain and swelling around my incision and i'm not sure if that is normal or not. my doctor doesn't think i have any infection but i need to keep a close eye on it and if anything changes i need to call right away.

Cooper - day 6

Cooper went in for a check up today and to get circumsized. He is doing very well. He is back to his birth weight, plus some (8lb, 6oz). His measurements, temperature, color all look good and he seems to be very healthy. His left testical has been located and is on its way! we'll just keep checking it to make sure it comes down. His heart still murmers but it hasn't changed - so that's good. His little surgery went well. he hardly cried and recovered quickly.
We are getting used to having a new baby at home and might venture out of the house next week. I'm in no hurry since it is cold season and we don't need any of that around here.
I'm also recoving well - i think. I still get sore if i don't keep up with my medicine but i took a nap and slept on my side today which was good because yesterday that hurt too much to do.

There aren't too many differences between newborn Cash and newborn Cooper. I think they'll have very similar personalities but only time will tell. Here are a few of the differences that they do have:
Cooper has more hair and its darker than Cash's was. Although Cash had more hair on his back and shoulders than Cooper does.
Cooper eats well but he doesn't eat all at once like Cash did. Cash would suck down his entire meal in one sitting. Cooper eats in 2 or 3 sessions. He'll eat, back off, burp, squirm and then want to eat again.
Nursing hurts more with Cooper. I never had blisteres or bleeding with Cash. Its probably because Cooper started eating sooner and and more often than Cash did. I didn't have a chance to "ease" into it.
Cooper also had no jaundice whereas Cash did.
Cash was born with very blue eyes - they barely changed color at all. Cooper has very dark grey eyes.

We're going home today

we are excited to be going home today. I'm glad we stayed an extra night but i think we're all ready to be home and get settled back into our regular routine. Cash and Grammy are also probably ready to have us home too.
The pediatrician came in this morning and checked Cooper out. She was happy with how well he was doing. She saw very little jaundice and didnt even order a test for him before he went home. We'll go to the office on Friday for some measurements and to have the circumcision done. The nurse came in a little while later and did the billirubin test anyway and he only scored 8 which is really good for 3 days old. He is eating well and having lots of wet and dirty diapers so he's doing exactly what he should be doing.
My doctor will come and check me around noon and then the nurse will take my staples out so we can go home.

Cooper & Cash Update

Cooper saw a cardiologist today who took him and did an ultrasound on his heart. He said that he does have a heart murmur but it is very small - so small they would never even do anything about it - and that 95% of the time these types of things repair themselves. We'll go see him in about a month to check it again.
He's done a good job eating today and hopefully tomorrow he'll get some milk out of the deal.

My bigger concern is Cash. He's about at the end of his rope with all this. His parents have been gone for days now, his routine has been anything but and he's had a house full of grandparents. I am worried about how he is handling all this but he's a pretty resilient little boy so I think once things return to normal he will be better than before - because he's a big brother now!

I'm doing fine also and will go home around lunchtime tomorrow.

Cooper Day 2-3

Cooper is doing really well. he is still eating well and making wet and dirty diapers. there is no sign of jandice which is awesome but its also subject to change rather quickly. We saw Dr. Goebel this morning and she was concerned that Cooper's left testicle hasn't come down yet. She said it was right at the top of the canal and might come down on its own but if it doesn't she'll go in and get it. The bigger concern was a heart murmur. She heard something but doesn't know if it is something that is permanent or just a transition from a in-utero heart to a "life on the outside" heart. The cardiologist will come to see us in a little while.
Cooper's blood test came back and our blood types are not fighting each other since he is a positive and I am a negative. He has a little diaper rash and stuff nose but that's normal baby stuff and I can handle it no problem.
A doctor from my drs office came to see me last night and told me i could take the IV out and take a shower. When i took my shower i was able to remove the dressing from my abdomen. That hurt since it was 2 huge, very sticky bands. I am now covered in residue.
Chandler has taken awesome, awesome care of me and i couldn't have done this without him and he'd like you do know: "My husband is the greatest man I've ever known and I hope I can someday be half the man that he is." that doesn't make any sense but he typed that on my computer.

Cooper is here!

Today is Cooper's birthday. He's a super cute bundle of joy and we're getting to know each other right now. Here is my account of the day.

The surgery was changed from noon to 9:30 so we had a bit of an early wake up call this morning. We got up at about 6am and got dressed and ready to go. out the door by 7:15 and to the hospital by 7:30 to check in. Everything wen't quickly after we got there. It was super quiet up on the labor and delivery floor so that was nice and we got a lot of attention. I got dressed in my gown and hooked up to monitors, gave blood, answered a ton of questions and then waited for the time to pass. Mom stayed home with Cash until the Martins arrived to take over. She got to the hospital at about 9am. Only one guest was allowed in the operating room so unfortunately she had to stay in the room and just wait. (which is probably better after you read the rest of this story).

We wheeled into the operating room and Chandler had to stay outside so I could get my spinal. I really didn't like the procedures at this new hospital because it was all so different than the last time - which was a really good experience. So the anesthesiologist set me up on the bed and told me the gameplan and then i had to get the actual needle in my back. I didn't remember this hurting so bad. He shot me and i jumped about a mile in the air but he hit the right spot and i was getting numb fast. I laid down on the bed and they continued the set up. I got an oxygen mask and then things started to go downhill fast. Chandler wasn't in the room and i started to panic a little because i was having a bit of a hard time breathing through the mask and was starting to get nauseus. I asked the anesthesiologist to take the mask off and he put a tube in my nose instead. That was better but i was still feeling sick. The spinal makes it hard to cough and get sick so you just have to wait for the vomit to come up instead of coughing it up. So eventually it came up and i got sick a bit. I also got medication for the nausea and started to feel better quickly. Chandler came in and so did the doctors. A fun surprise was that both Dr.s Roberts showed up to deliver Cooper! that was cool because they are such good people. We got started knowing that there was going to be a little extra work on my scar which was a keloid. Cooper came out at 9:49am. Dr. Lisa was pretty concerned because my lower uterine segment was extremely thin and she recognized that i had probably been contracting for a couple weeks. She said, "we should have done this last week" and I agreed! I guess the risk was that i could have ruptured and hemoraged but thankfully i didn't. They had a lot of work to do getting my uterus put back together since it was so thin and used a lot of tools and even something that was compared to spackle! They repaired my scar and finally got me put back together after an hour.
I was wheeled back to my room and waited for Cooper to come back from the nursery. He was getting washed up, checked, monitored, warmed up and vaccinated. We reunited after a while and it was pretty sweet.
Cooper has taken to nursing very well and we didn't have any problems getting him in the mood (with Cash we had to harass him a lot). He has had a lot of dirty and wet diapers so we know the plumbing is working. He sleeps a lot but that is to be expected.

I never really bought into it but now i really think Cash is smarter than me! Or at least is way more aware of things than I think. For the past few days he's been all about Chandler. I can't help him in any way. He only wants Chandler/Daddy to do things for him. And now he is asking for Greg at daycare instead of Sylvia. When we say, "are you ready to go to Sylvia's" he says, "No, Greg's". Last night he woke up and i went to put him back to sleep and he screamed for his daddy. I could be covered in candy and i think he'd still want a man to take care of him. I hate to read too much into this but i'm pretty sure he's feeling a bit betrayed by me and female figures in general because we bring new babies into the world!

Cash's weekend

Poor Cash didn't get to see Santa Claus this weekend. He's really a fan of the big guy. Talks about him a lot. I don't really think he knows about the presents part but recognizes the figure. We went to see Santa at Bass Pro Shops of all places because we heard he was the best in town. Well, not being part of the "scene" we didn't realize it was Rodeo weekend until we got there and the wait was over 2 hours. It was so crowded I immediately began to sweat. So we left and decided to try the same place we went last year. Just a mile or so down the road at the outdoor mall. We weren't even half way there and nap time struck and Cash was out. So we turned around and headed home with the thought that we might head back out after naptime. It was pretty late by the time Cash woke up and I had been busy and was now the tired one. And, Cash had stopped asking to find Santa Claus so we thought it was ok to skip it but now we don't know when we will have the chance to get to see him. Hopefully Grammy might want to make a special trip with one little boy to go see Santa while she is here.

For a little background - Cash pees a lot at night. We put special thick nighttime diapers on him and for the most part they keep him dry. But boy do they hold a lot and get HUGE when he wets them all night. Last night he must have had too much to drink before bed - actually, i know he did because he was having a lot of fun drinking juice out of a cup with no lid - and he wet the bed big time. He woke up at 4am screaming because his bed, blanket, pajamas, everything was wet. Daddy was nice enough to change him and lay in the trundle with him until I got up at 5 to take over. Changing the bed sheets was not a fun task and the mattress is SO much bigger than the crib mattress. Cash fell back asleep about 5:45am and slept until 7 when i woke him up because i took his blanket away to throw it in the wash - it stunk so bad! I guess this is something to look forward to when he starts potty training and we definitely need to have a cut off time for fluids. And, if he does happen to wet the bed I am NOT going to tell the whole school - no matter how old he is!!!

Countdown

I'm not sure where to start this blog. I've done all i can do to prepare for Cooper's arrival. The huge "to-do" list is all crossed off. Everything is washed, I went to the grocery store, the car seat has been sanitized but not installed (ok, i guess i still have a few things to do) but i don't know if it has totally sunk in that i'm having another baby this weekend. Maybe because it is on the weekend it seems like just another errand - like go to Sam's Club, go have a baby, etc. I feel entirely too relaxed about the whole thing. Maybe it is because i don't remember everything that comes with having a baby. Or maybe because i've done it before. I am a little stressed about Cash's reaction to the whole thing but i keep that pretty repressed because i don't like to imprint my stress and fear on him - i know he can sense it. He's actually been very cool and even started bringing me Cooper's blankie and laying it on my belly. Every now and again he still runs into his old room to get something but then comes right out and goes into the big boy room. But that's no big deal because Cooper wont be in there for 3 more months. He helped me clean up the car seat and thoroughly enjoyed sitting in it and buckling his baby in there - then he sat on top of his baby (hopefully that wont happen when there is a real baby). I guess the biggest thing i have going right now is work - how sad. I'm trying to wrap up as much as possible but even that is under control. Christmas could pose a problem but i've done a bit of shopping and ordered other things online so not really.
I guess i'll just enjoy this feeling...but if you think of anything I may need to do send me an email!

Cash really loves Christmas lights. He especially loves our blow up Santa Clause in the front yard. tonight we took him to the park where they have a few miles of a drive through Christmas light display. He loved it and the best part was the North Pole Fire Station where we saw fire trucks, ladders and firefighters all made out of Christmas lights.

Cash is starting to tell me when he has to poop. That's pretty cool. Up until now it has been after the fact but he has actually been saying poop or pee before he's actually dirty or wet. I try to praise him a lot when he tells me so he'll get warm fuzzies about starting to potty train.

Today I caught Cash reading. it was really cool. we read a book this morning about a duck and a goose trying to find their pumpkin. It goes, is the pumpkin under the water duck? No. Is the pumpkin in the tree goose. No. etc, etc. After we finished reading i went on and folded laundry and a i hear Cash talking so i go to see what's going on. He was saying, "in the water? No., in the tree? No." it was pretty amazing.

He's doing great in his bed. Naps and bedtime are both falling into a great routine and an added bonus has come with it. Each night we go through the entire family tree and say Night, Night to everyone. Now at the end he says, love you mommy, love you daddy - its really cute.

The only problem we're having with Cash right now is that he hates to take a bath. Really he hates to get his bottom wet. He'll get in the bathtub but he will stand the whole time and asks to put his diaper back on. I can't figure out what is wrong because he doesn't have a rash. I wonder if his bottom is just really sensitive for some reason. I'll start using some different lotion on his butt and see if that makes any difference. Meanwhile he is getting really dirty!

dreams

my dreams are so strange and i should have been writing them down because they would make for some interesting interpretations but the last week has been beyond strange.
Among others...
I had a dream (my first dream about actually having Cooper) that i gave birth to Cooper and he was a little plastic baby doll.
I had a dream that my work was getting shot up by the Columbine shooters and everyone was hiding in a stairwell which seemed like a terrible idea when we had 5 million square feet to hide in.
And strangest of all, last night i had probably 4 or 5 different dream cycles - each broken up by a potty break - and in each one i was riding around on a donkey. It didn't matter if i was at the park playing or at the mall shopping or at work, each time i was sitting on a donkey. I wonder if i was headed to the Inn?

37 weeks

This is farther than i got with Cash so its all unchartered territory at this point! I feel enormous and pretty sure i look that way too. my pelvic region hurts really bad and I can even hear it cracking when i walk which is pretty gross. My cervix is really soft and I only have a little bit left. Everything is good though. Now i just have to get things wrapped up at work which is impossible because its more dysfunctional than ever around here. But i'm leaving regardless so i hope they have a plan! I am now thinking of the grocery list that i need to prepare for my family while i'm unable to run around. It is so different having a new baby when you already have one. The things you worry about are so different. Its basically with the first you worried about nothing and with the 2nd you worry about the 1st.
Don't forget to pick up yogurt and juice or it will be an unpleasent couple of days!

last one

ok, this is the last post i'll make about Cash's sleeping but i want to document this for the future - don't read further if you are annoyed. He slept again for a full night and woke up so happy. We went into his room about 7:15 and he was sitting in his bed and said to us "BIG BOY BED" when we entered. He is obviously pretty proud of himself. He also talks about sleeping in his big boy bed from the second Chandler picks him up in the evenings.

Ahhhhhh

Cash did a great job last night. He slept in his bed from 7:30pm - 7:00am. We are all well rested now.