CB x 2

Carter and Cooper

Everyone has been asking how Carter's done with the new addition of a baby brother.  I joked before I had Cooper that we were going to ruin Carter's life and I guess on some level, I really thought so.  But, I'm happy to report, we haven't.  At least I don't think so.

"Bayyybee" is the first thing Carter says in the morning.  He loves seeing his baby brother and has learned to gently soothe the baby by patting and saying "heyyyyy", just like mama.  I've been very surprised and very happy to see the transition happen.

I won't lie though, the first couple of weeks were tough.  Carter was almost angry in his actions.  Lots of "NO!", complete with slapping at us.  C was home from work the first week, but when he went back on week two, I implemented time out and Carter got more of what he really needed and wanted-- one on one time with me.  We had both missed it, I think.  Slowly but surely, my sweet boy returned.  Don't get me wrong, he's still runs balls to the wall while his eyes are open, but at least there's no anger-- just all boy.

As for me, I'm exhausted.  Not because the baby keeps me up, because he doesn't (hate me if you must).  It's more of having two boys all by myself.  Thank goodness the baby naps a lot during the day still.  And, I LIVE for Carter's nap time.  That is something that will not be missed!  It's really my only down time until bedtime.  It's my time to shower or get dinner together or nap (which I've done once but say I'm going to do every day).  C had to work a lot over the weekend and I got a taste of what my reality could be... I was so happy to have him home. I joke that there's no rest and recovery during this maternity leave... wait, that's not a joke. 

I have gained the utmost respect for a) single mother's who do it all, all the time and b) stay at home mom's.  I feel guilty for wanting a break- shouldn't I WANT to be with my kids all the time?  I won't go so far as to say I want to go back to work, because that would be a lie, but man.... help sure would be nice during the waking hours.

And, on another note, both boys were weighed yesterday.  Carter:  31lbs & 33.5" tall.  Cooper:  7lbs 15oz!  Whooooo for mama!

Cooper's Here!

So, a little over a week ago, I was bitching about being 40 weeks pregnant.  Not for long though.  Cooper Ryan arrived on September 02, 2010 (90210, for those of you playing along) at 1:20pm.  He was 7lbs 5oz and 19 inches of pure perfection. He wasn't even breech like he'd been the whole pregnancy... somehow he'd turned and I hadn't noticed.  Apparently, he got a big gulp of fluid in his lungs right before he came out and was having a little trouble "transitioning" to oxygen, so he had to spend several hours in the NICU for observation.  His breathing was very rapid, but he quickly go the hang of it.  When the nurse brought him to me (around 6pm), she said, "He's VERY awake and VERY hungry!"  He was already chewing on his little hands like a feign.  Lucky for me, he nursed like a champ from the word go and has NO signs of tongue tie.  Yayyyyy!  On Friday, they told me that he was Coombs positive, which meant that some of my blood (O+) and his blood (A+) had mixed so he had a touch of jaundice while his body filtered out my blood cells.  So, we had to do some photo-therapy, but only Friday night.  It was still a long night because he couldn't rest in there- no swaddling and no nursing, so a kind nurse gave us a pacifier which helped a ton. 

He is a completely different newborn than Carter was.  He actually sleeps and eats the way a typical newborn should-- a lot!  Carter was so hungry from not being able to nurse that he never rested.  Poor baby.  Cooper is, knock on wood, easy. 

Here are some pictures from the day. Yes, I put on makeup and fixed my hair before surgery.  I refused to look like poo on my big day.

40 weeks

What I really felt like

In surgery.  Very serious stuff.

Cooper Ryan - mind the modesty patch.

A little bili-light on those perfect piggies.

 

 

Look!  I haz BAY-BEE!

Pure perfection.  What a blessing!

Tomorrow, I'll be 40 weeks pregnant.

That is something I never thought I would say.  Ever.  Not with this pregnancy and not with Carter.  But, tomorrow, I will be 40 weeks pregnant with another breech baby boy.  Dejavu anyone? Holy mother of sweet baby Jesus on the cross. 

Tomorrow, I will give birth to a fuller-than-full term infant.  He'll probably wear 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers.  Not really.  No one is concerned about his size except his mother who is sick and tired of carrying him around.

I've already ranted via Twitter because I don't think anyone reads this anymore, but due to an insurance/scheduling/panic-inducing snafu, my previously scheduled c-section which was to have occurred on Monday, 8/30, was re-scheduled to tomorrow.  At a different hospital.  Nothing like waiting til the last minute, huh?  Yeah, that's what this baby said, too.

I had an NST (non-stress test) yesterday at my appointment and was pleased to see that I was contracting, but they weren't strong enough for me to feel.  Today, I can feel them, but they're irregular and usually correspond with the feeling of feet in my crotch.  So, I'm trying to stay off my feet as much as possible.  My poor son has watched entirely too much tv today and is currently dancing to Yo Gabba Gabba.  WHAT HAVE I DONE???

So, my plans for the evening include a decent home-cooked meal, finishing last-minute packing and getting a good night's sleep.  Then tomorrow, I will starve and have unquenchable thirst until after this sweet baby is forcibly removed from my body around noon.

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