cooper (1 month old)

Wow! I can't even begin to understand how fast this month has gone by. I feel like time is literally just flying by and I don't think I like it. It is so cool to see Coop growing and changing but I feel like it is going too fast. This past month has been so incredible. There have definitely been some tough times but overall this is so amazing. Seeing this little guy that we created grow and change is so cool. He is the perfect combination of James and I. He has James' cheeks, ears, & eyes and he has my nose, lips, finger, & toes. His hair is actually from both of us! We both had lots of dark hair when we were born, so it will be to see how it changes as he gets older. He is perfect in every single way! 

Cooper @ 1 month
{9/27/13}

Weight: 10lb 13oz That is right... over 2 pounds since birth! It is actually 2lbs in 2 weeks. Our little chunky but is a growing boy for sure!! Like most newborns he lost weight by the time we left the hospital but by two weeks old he had gained it back and now has gained lots more!! 

Sleeping: This past month has had its ups and downs in the sleep department. The first night at home was horrible! We were up all night and by the next morning we looked and felt like zombies. We soon realized sleeping in our bedroom was too hard and it was much easier to stay up with him. We stayed in the living room for 2 weeks and soon realized Cooper only liked to sleep on top of us. If we put him in the basinet or pack n play he would wake up every hour and if we put him on top of us he would sleep 3 to 4 hours. So as you can probably guess we chose sleep! I have always said I would never let my child sleep in bed with me but I guess the joke was on me! Cooper has been in bed with us since week 2! Now a days he sleeps 4 to 5 hours at a time. We normally feed him around 9:00-10:00, 2:00, and 5:30-6 and I am totally okay with that. I have talked to some friends that their babies wake up every two hours so I feel pretty blessed with his sleeping habits. 

Eating: Man oh man this is a very sour subject for us. From day one we have had problems. I had planned to exclusively breast feed for at least 6 weeks and then once I got a job go to morning and night feeding and formula during the day. Well since the beginning Cooper has had stomach issues. This boy has gas like a grown man. At first we thought it was my diet so I literally cut out everything, I was pretty much only eating cheerios (without milk), chicken breast (without seasoning), and wheat-thins. It sucked but I felt it would be so worth it once Cooper's gas issues went away but that never happened. He continued to have lots of gas and lots of crying spells. I could just see the pain in his eyes and it broke my heart. And on top of that Cooper had jaundice. The doctor wanted us to put him in the sunlight and give him sugar water and start supplementing to get as much fluid as possible to get him to use the bathroom more and flush the jaundice out. That was a really hard decision for me. I so badly wanted to only nurse him at first but I knew my babies health needed to come before my personal needs. I decided that as long as I could still nurse him that meant he was getting all the good things he needed from me so we chose to supplement until the jaundice was gone. It took a lot longer than expected to get the jaundice out of his system and with all of his belly issues it has been a nightmare. It has been a month of trial and error and just trying to figure out what would work with his system. 

So as of this weekend we have decided to give him formula during the day and I nurse him at night. His belly issues have gotten better because we put Karo Syrup in his bottles. Letting go of my dreams of exclusively breastfeeding was so hard and I still struggle with it but I just try to tell myself it is fine. He has already gotten so many beneficial things from the time I have been nursing him. He has obviously done well with the formula by his 2lb gain so I am happy to finally getting this pain to go away. Let's just hope it continues to work!

Liking: This little guy is a cuddle bug!! He loves being held and just rocking and being loved on. It is absolutely the sweetest thing and melts my heart. He loves hanging out in his swing, bouncer, and boppy. He loves being swaddled. Loves the carseat and really loves riding in the car. And most of all loves his mommy and daddy ;)

Disliking: he hates bath time, like really hates it! He screams the entire time. He hates tummy time unless it is on our chest. He doesn't like getting his diaper changed or changing his clothes.

new mom @ 1 month

I am doing really great! Motherhood is everything I could have imagined plus so much more. I am loving every minute of having Cooper in my life. I think the hardest part of being a mom is being confident in my decisions. I just want to do everything right and sometimes I have to remind myself that no one is perfect and every new mom makes mistakes. Lack of sleep is surprisingly not affecting me as much as I thought it would. It seems like my body has just adjusted to my new sleep schedule. I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight but my body is no where near being back to normal. After having an 8lb 11 oz baby I didn't have much more to lose so the weight came off way easier than I could have imagined, so I guess I am grateful for that but these stretch marks and body changes will take some getting used to. 

A couple weeks ago I was offered a 4th grade teaching position at my dream school. I was beyond excited to finally be a real teacher and especially at such a great school that is literally 2 seconds from our house but the thought of leaving little man is terrifying. We never thought I would get a job after the school year already started so in my mind I figured I would just be a SAHM until an opening became available so when this opportunity arose so quickly after Coop being born it was a shock. It is something I can't pass up for so many reasons. Having a job will take a lot of stress off of James financially, it will allow us to provide Cooper with all of his needs (and most of his wants), and it will allow me to follow my dreams of being a teacher. Cooper will be going to my aunt's mom's house where she is an in-home sitter for 2 other kids. She is great with kids and I know he will love it there but I will miss him so much! I guess weekends will have a whole new meaning now! Being this little boy's mother is the best gift I could have ever been given and I am thanking God every single day for it.

new dad @ 1 month

James is doing a fantastic job at being a dad. He had pretty much no experience with babies before Cooper was born so he was terrified to say the least about having our own little one, but you would never know it now a days. Actually within the first 24 hours he became a natural at it. He is a pro a swaddling!! He is such a hands-on dad and loves Cooper so much. It is truly amazing to see the love this man has for our son. He was able to spend the first week at home with us and it was such a special time for our family. We were able to spend lots of time bonding and becoming a family of 3. Now that James is back at work things are a little different. He works all day and then when he gets home he hurries to wash his hands and grabs Coop as soon as he can!! He spends the entire night playing, cuddling, feeding, and changing little man. He is such a great dad, it just melts my heart!