Ooooh What a Night!

Well, we survived our first night. I think Cooper fared better than us rookies did. Things went pretty smoothly until about 1:30 am. Since Cooper is so skinny he doesn't have much of a rear end yet. This makes it very hard to get a diaper to stay on so he had a bit of blow out. I had washed all his clothes but didn't have time to fold them so there was a bit of a crisis trying to find another set of clothes to put him in. This is about the time the combination of hormones, tiredness and frustration hit me and I had a bit of a meltdown. I'm normally the type of person who likes to prepare for something new by doing research and reading for several weeks before taking the plunge. Well we all know that didn't happen this time. I'm also one of those people who thinks its easier just to do it yourself than to explain to someone else what you need done. Since I'm still not allowed to drive and my past couple trips to the store have almost ended with me passing out, it's been very frustrating to have other people do the shopping for baby things. Add all that together and you get a very messy me.

But things got better as the night went on. We had to have another wardrobe change at 3:30 am (and changing pad change and almost a PJ change for me) when Cooper decided to play fireman like so many baby boys do. By 6:30 am I was finally getting the hang of it. It goes something like this: Cry, Change Diaper, Feed, Cuddle, Sleep, Repeat every three hours. Cooper did really well eating 1 - 1 1/2 oz. each time. The glider chair Mamaw and Papaw gave us worked great for feeding and cuddling Cooper. Floyd kept jumping up on the footstool and looked like a drunken sailor trying to keep his balance as it glided back and forth.

Chris had an appointment for an appraisal at 9am so Cooper and I slept while he was gone. Then he went to the store to pick up some sleeping gowns and onesies that were smaller sizes to fit Cooper. We also had to get more bottles and receiving blankets to cut down on the amount of washing we had to do. I used last nights experience to reorganize the nursery and Coopers clothes so we'd be better prepared for tonight.

Cooper went to the pediatrician for the first time today and got an excellent review from the doctor. He now weighs 4 pounds 11 ounces, up 6 ounces since he was born. His head has also grown half an inch since he was born and is now 12 inches. His circ has healed nicely so we no longer need to put Vaseline on it with every diaper change. The doctor checked him out from head to toe and said everything looked great (and that he was adorable). She also helped answer some of our rookie questions, including the one about visitors. Several people have asked about visiting and, as much as I would love to show him off, the doctor has recommended that we wait until March before allowing too many outside visitors around him. She wants to see him again in a week and then after that he will be on a regular newborn checkup schedule.

Cooper played his first trick on mommy tonight. He started crying really hard and since I had just fed him an hour before I figured he wasn't hungry. When I picked him up I could smell that he had left me a present. What I didn't know was that it was the gift that keeps on giving. When I opened up his diaper I was greeted with his first really big poop. But as he kept on crying more kept coming out like a Play-Doh Fun Factory. Imagine my surprise to not only have my first really poopy diaper but to also have it seem to be the never-ending poopy diaper! I managed to clean him up without gagging (it was close there for a second) and get a fresh diaper on. He stopped crying and after a bit of snuggling was fast asleep again.

Floyd is adjusting really well. Yesterday he was very excited and curious and was constantly trying to get close to Cooper. Every time we went in Cooper's room he would be laying outside the door when we came out. Today he has adopted an attitude of quiet indifference and barely even stirs from underneath his blanket. Here's a picture of him hanging out with Chris and Coop. Maybe he and Daisy (Macy's dog) can form a support group.

I'll sign off now because I think my mommy adrenaline is wearing off. Time for some sleep for me - Chris gets the night shift tonight.