Don't start a blog 8 months pregnant
Right after Christmas I decided I really wanted to start a blog. I had a lovely little time figuring out what to call it, designing it, and writing my first handful of posts. I forgot to take into consideration the fact that I had just entered my eighth month of pregnancy. You see if I would've been thinking clearly, I would've recalled my first few mommy months back in 2010, and determined that keeping up with a blog would fall right off the radar once baby arrived. Today my little Cooper James is 11 weeks and 2 days old, and with much determination and a sliver of time, I'm here to blog on.
I'll admit to the nerdy fact that in the last 3 months I have often thought of what to write for this "returning" post. And in those moments in the middle of a sleepless night, or a drive to the grocery store, I came up with quite a few clever, funny, thought-provoking and tear-jerking ideas. Unfortunately I never got around to writing those posts. So here I am, not exactly sure what to archive after such a significant pause, but I will press on.
So I had a baby.
Little Coops was born on March 1st, 2012. It was a c-section delivery(at some point I'll write about why). It was a little odd walking casually into the hospital, checking in, and calmly climbing up onto the surgical table. Very different than the first time around. Can't say I'm a big fan of being awake while lying on a table being cut open. Maybe for some, no big deal, but for me it was definitely a frightening experience. However, thank the Lord, the fright was shortly followed by great relief and joy. Cooper was 8 pounds, 7 ounces. 20 inches long, and totally healthy. He made his entrance at 3:46 on a Thursday afternoon. After I got my glimpse of him over the curtain he was whisked away and held by daddy while they finished up with me. That part seemed to take FOREVER! All I wanted to do was go hold my baby! But what a strange and cool moment it was to be stuck lying face up, with happy tears sliding sideways down my face and into my ears as I looked up at those insanely bright surgical lights. I celebrated my gift with The Giver. A sweet moment between He and I.
And then I got to hold my sweet Cooper James.Every mommy knows how surreal and precious those first few moments are with your baby. Hello new little love. Such excitement, and such overwhelming...everything.
After 2 days in the hospital we headed home. For those of you who haven't had a c-section, it feels a little bit like you were in a really intense sword fight, and in the last few seconds your opponent sliced you in the middle. So after walking casually in to the hospital I was leaving extremely tired and in incredible pain if I tried to do anything that involved...the middle. Like walking, sitting down, bending, holding things, moving. They told me in the hospital it would be good for me to walk a little in the halls so I hobbled down one small hallway, pathetically gripping to the hand rail that had so graciously been installed in the maternity wing before I was holding my breath in pain and wondering if my guts were perhaps spilling out. So for the first couple of weeks I didn't do much of anything at all, other than take care of my babies and be EXTREMELY grateful for my amazing friends and family that did so much to help out.
Jump forward 11 weeks and 2 days. We love getting to know our new baby boy and having him as a part of our family! Jackson has been a great big brother. He makes sure I hear Cooper when he cries, and makes sure we won't leave him behind if we're going anywhere. He does not have the gentleness bug, or the watch where you're going bug, so we're keeping a close eye and helping him learn! But he is happy to have his little baby around.
Cooper is doing well. Healthy and growing. He's turning in to a little chunk, which I love! He smiles all the time, and is especially happy to coo and grin at his daddy! Poor little guy was welcomed home with a case of pink eye, but recovered quickly! Thankfully Jackson kept reminding me that his eyes were not pink, but blue, so I never got confused about that. At week 2 Cooper decided to sign up for Colic. He did it so beautifully he decided to stick with it, and now coming close to 3 months old he is beginning to wind down. So Nick and I have been spending our evenings, yes, EVERY evening, bouncing and swinging with a crying Cooper, anywhere from 1 to 3 hours. He is growing out of it, as the doctor told us he would.
Nick has been phenomenal help. He's been superdaddy waking up with Jackson, our early riser, so I can sleep a little longer. He's been giving Jackson his bath and putting him to bed EVERY night since I started this blog! He's only had a few melt-downs, all of which he's recovered from quite well : )
I am beginning to feel like I'm settling in to "mommy of 2". I learned when I had Jackson that I need to take my time adjusting to mommyhood, in every way. So this time around I wasn't frustrated that I had to lie down and rest after taking shower. Or that I got a little dizzy after my first trip to the grocery store. Or that I sobbed for an hour the first day I was alone with the 2 little boys. Just give it some time, I thought. And I can happily say now as Cooper approaches 12 weeks, I've figured out how to go to the store, clean the house, go the park and the beach and church, make dinner, etc, while also playing and laughing taking care of my two little adorable boys, and my one adorable husband. So in 12 weeks I have learned to do everything I was doing before, with a Cooper added in. Which is why today is the day writing a blog post seems appropriate. It's my next "normal life" to add in. Still yet to be mastered, among other things, is going out to eat and taking a significant walk with the boys in the jogger stroller (Coop is not a fan yet-he's made that clear). I'll keep you posted on these exciting developments! Now I have to go start making our dinner, BBQ Chicken pizza, before Cooper wakes up. He is sleeping sweetly in his swing. Nick is relaxing on the couch with a friends ipad. He's playing angry birds, yes. Jackson is racing cars down his giant bright orange race track that now lives in the no-mans land between the dining room and the living room.
I'll be back soon : )