Welcome Home Cooper!

Cooper got to come home today for his one week birthday. The nurse called us about 9:30 to let us know that coming home was really going to happen. Before we could pick him up I had to go to my OB doctor to get a blood pressure check. My blood pressure was only 102 over 64 which the nurse said was excellent. On the downside, I've been having some shortness of breath and there was still protein in my urine so they want me to see my general practitioner so I can get my kidneys checked out. We'll find out more on Thursday when I have my appointment.

After my appointment we made a quick trip to Babies R Us to pick up some last minute supplies. Chris said we should enjoy it because it will probably be the last shopping trip we take together for quite a while. Then it was off to the hospital to pick up our little man. We got there about 11am and while Chris fed Cooper, Gloria, the nurse ran through all the discharge information with me. It feels kind of weird to have to sign papers in order to take you own child home. Once Gloria filled our goodie bag with diapers, wipes and a free gift from Similac it was time to put Cooper in his car seat. This is much more challenging than you might think, especially for rookies like us. Finally we figured out how to adjust the straps and we got Cooper all strapped in. Chris went to get the car while I took some last minute pictures with the nurse. Then they put Cooper on a cart and wheeled him to the front door. Talk about service.

We finally got home about 1:30pm and it was time to introduce Floyd to Cooper. Floyd was very excited to meet Cooper and couldn't get enough of him at first. It was pretty hard to keep him from licking him but we managed to restrict it to sniffing only.

My parents arrived around 3pm just in time for Coopers first feeding at home. The feeding went pretty well with Cooper eating a little over an ounce. My dad hadn't seen Cooper since the day he was born because he had to go out of town for work. He thought he looked a little bigger and fuller in face. It was good to get the perspective of someone who hadn't seen him in a while. Mom held Cooper for quite a while. We had to pry him out of her arms when it was time to eat dinner.

After mom and dad left Chris and I tried to take a nap while Cooper was sleeping, but of course being the rookies we are, we spent more time worrying about every sound he made and checking on him than sleeping. Cooper decided he was tired of sleeping and actually stayed awake for about 15-20 minutes. Then it was back to sleep until his next feeding about 7:40.

After his feeding, I set up the web cam so my brother - Eric, sister-in-law - Susan and Kaylee and Logan could get their first live look at Cooper. They thought he was adorable, of course.

Tomorrow, Cooper goes to the pediatrician for the first time. And that was our day so far. We're thrilled to have Cooper home so quickly. It's still hard to believe it's only been one week since he was born. Sometimes it feels like a lifetime ago because so much has happened. All we have to do now is make it through our first night on our own.