Is it wrong to want one of these?
This is not Cooper, but the effect would be equally hilarious.
A mustache pacifier. How brilliant is that?
Two Weeks
Cooper’s two-week anniversary of breathing air is/was today, and it made for a very strange realization. It feels like we can’t possibly have had him for two weeks, and somehow at the same time it seems much longer than that.
I’m guessing that’s the effect of very odd and unpredictable sleep patterns.
Today we took Coop on his second-ever car ride to his second doctor checkup. We got to meet his pediatrician, and once again all of the news was good. All the baby parts checked out, he’s back up past his birth weight (10lb 6.5oz), and grown almost two inches.
Somewhere in the back of my head, scenes from Goo Goo Goliath came bubbling up. Man, that stork was a drunk.
Another part of the checkup was a bit of baby torture as his foot was pricked and a some blood was squeezed out for the second genetic screening test. The initial screen at the hospital came up negative (which in this case is a positive), so let’s hope this one does too. Although, apparently older dads pass on more genetic mutations to their kids, so who knows.
A toy train in space
Can’t wait until Cooper’s old enough to do stuff like this.
Week 1 Update
Technically, this post is a day late. Cooper’s been with us for a week as of yesterday morning, and quite honestly everything seems to be going great.
Yes, there have been some sleepless hours. While the little guy does like to sleep, and can go 3-4 hours at a stretch, he mostly likes to do that during the day. At night, he’s more prone to cluster feeding – once every hour or so – and keeps us on our toes. We’re trying to get some semblance of a schedule going, but right now it’s a pretty flexible thing. Basically he gets what he wants, when he wants.
The unfortunate part of the late-night hours is that past a certain point, I can’t help all that much. During the day, with bigger gaps between feedings, I can take him for a while, change diapers, get other things done and help out while Chris gets some rest. But at three am, when it’s basically back to back feedings… I’m kind of useless. I of course offer to help however I can, but there’s honestly not much I can accomplish. Not that it’s any great revelation, but it’s a distinct father’s frustration (and mother’s burden, I guess) that I don’t know if I’d been forewarned about.
The good news about all the feeding is that Coop’s gaining weight. For those who don’t know, babies can lose up to 10% of their weight after they’re born, but they’re expected to gain it back after two weeks. I’ve told myself I want to try and avoid the very odd and empty pride a lot of parents seem to have for very minor ‘accomplishments,’ but I’m kind of happy to say that my son’s back to birth weight in less than a week.
Yep, that’s my boy. Eats, sleeps and poops like a champ.
We have also been incredibly fortunate to have been fed throughout this week by a parade of friends, bringing us dinners nearly every night. Thanks to all of you for everything, and in particular thanks so much to Katie for organizing everything. It’s really, really awesome.
I think that’s it for now. Might have some video to post soon – who wants to see a diaper change? Huh? Huh?
Wait, come back.
Photos!
Apparently I should not plan when I will make posts and/or uploads, as we’re both still getting used to having the little guy home.
That said, here’s some more photos finally! These are largely in chronological order, starting in the OR and ending in his little portable crib at home.
