Our 2-Month Old

Coop was two months on Friday! How did we celebrate you ask? By traumatizing our sweet child with shots.

People tell you how bad the first round of shots are for the parents, but I could not have imagined just HOW bad it would be. Cooper had a great 2-month appointment, flirting with the nurse, kicking his legs - happy as a clam.
But then...BOOM! The ultimate betrayal! Our nice nurse told me that she needed to get a second nurse to help  administer the shots. "Okay," I said, unsure of why two nurses were needed for a human that was 40 days old and just shy of 12 pounds. In they both came and had me stand at his head and hold both of his arms. He was smiling and cooing, looking at me with those big brown eyes that said "I love you mom, and totally trust you!"  And then...it happened. Nurse 1 counted to three and at that both nurses stuck him at the same time in either leg, total shots = 5! He looked at me with a face full of betrayal, turned beet red, and than the screaming began.

All's well that ends well, and I know vaccinations are a necessary means to a healthy end. But in that moment as my eyes welled with tears, I wanted to take all his pain away from him and put it onto me; it hurt me so bad to see him hurt! It's amazing how much you can love a person - definitely unlike any other love that I've ever known. As he grows of course I know he will experience pain throughout his life, both physical and emotional, but I hope to the good Lord above that it will be minimal. My prayer for him is simple: Health and Happiness. And for now, as long as I stay away from the pediatricians office, I think this can be accomplished.

Happy Monday!

 

Monday's Miracle

Our little man has reached his first milestone...he is one month! Life has changed so much since our sweet baby entered our world. First of all, we had to figure out this "how to raise a newborn” thing. Second, our sleep and social habits have changed; from dinner at 9 to gotta be home by 7. And ultimately, life just means so much more now that Cooper is in it. One thing that surprised me as a first time mama is how being Cooper’s mom came so naturally. It seems like we’ve known each other all along but only recently got to meet. God is good.

I thought I’d share some random things I've learned about first-time mama-hood:

1). All that stuff people tell you about laundry…is true. You do laundry, every day.

2). Your body is not your own for the first few weeks. That’s all I’ll say about that, but ladies, mentally prepare!!

3). Baby poop stains clothes, and babies often poop right after the bath. Soak immediately. It’s gross.

4). When putting on diapers it is very important to make sure that squiggly part that surrounds the legs are un-tucked from the diaper. Ladies, tell your husbands. Bad things happen. See the aforementioned.

5). Swaddling is amazing! People tell you this too, but wow, it’s so true. It’s the only way Cooper can sleep on his back.

6). You will use all the blankets you get. I was worried they would just go to waste but oh contraire! We have one upstairs in his nursery, one in our room, one in his swing, one by his Pac-in-Play and one by his bouncer. And yes, we use all these pieces of baby “apparatus.”

7). Worrying multiplies. Times like a hundred. When you feed your baby late at night and there are no distractions like TV, email, or people for that matter, you have a lot of time to think. These are the times I find myself worrying about his future, praying that he will have a happy life, hoping that Jeff and I can be good parents and teach him how to be a kind person, along with all he needs to know to succeed in life. No pressure, right? Yes, he is only 4-weeks old and I’m already worrying about these things. Welcome to mama-hood.

8). You think your baby is the cutest baby ever and you think everyone else thinks so too. When we were at the hospital and the nurses would bring Cooper in from the nursery, I would tell each new nurse that came on shift to just look for the really cute baby. No ID tag needed - just grab the cute one. Like none of the other babies in the nursery were cute. I still believe that and if you don't, I don't want to hear it. I mean, look at this face:

Cooper Patrick was born 6 days late (I could write a whole other post about that experience) on Monday, February 20th. Wide-eyed and arms swinging, he truly was our Monday Miracle, and quickly has become our entire world.