Week 40 | Thursday: Testing, discovery and family

Cooper:
Thursday must have been a hard day for Cooper. It started at 7am when the pediatrician came in to take him for his circumcision and then he was given tests at least every hour throughout the rest of the day including testing for hearing, heart, jaundice, etc. All of which were perfect.

Cooper also discovered his hands today - grasping at our hands and his face. This prompted use of an embry board to trim and smooth down his tiny, but sharp! nails. 

Mommy:
With the help of medications I had a pretty good day. Although I did stay in bed a bit more today as my poor feet were swollen to what felt like twice their size.

Daddy and family:
Owen was able to have breakfast with Uncle Levi and aunt Jess before they headed back home. It was wonderful that they were able to be there for the birth and a couple of days. Thanks!

Papi and Nani helped us today by bringing some much needed supplies from home and were there to accept delivery of the chair we've been waiting on for the nursery. They, then spent the afternoon with us.

And Aunt Stacia and soon-to-be Uncle Trenton arrived Thursday evening. So wonderful to be surrounded by family and extra special for my sister to be able to be there.

Day 3 photos:

Week 40 | Wednesday: Falling in love

The first night with our new baby boy was easier than expected. Cooper slept very well, only getting up for our vital check every couple of hours. At about 2am Shelly, my night nurse came in to help me walk for the first time since the surgery as well as take out my catheter and get cleaned up. She was fantastic.  

I stayed up half of the rest of the night staring at Cooper - some of which was just being scared that he'd stop breathing or something and some of which was me just being in total awe of his beauty.

The day passed pretty quickly with cat naps off and on, feedings and diaper changes, various tests and vital checks for mommy and Cooper. 

This is the day that we fell completely in love.

A few Day 2 photos:

Week 40 | Tuesday: C-Section, delivery and meeting of Cooper

My wake-up time was 5:15am and it was a tough morning. I had a mixed bag of emotions including being tired, anxious, overwhelmed and scared. After getting dressed and loading the car up with all of our needed supplies and hospital bags we headed to the hospital. It was imperative to have Owen and my parents with me for support.

We arrived at OU Medical Center's Children's Hospital at 6am for check-in and completion of paperwork for admittance.

Next we were taken to our first room for monitoring and OR prep - this would be where we'd stay for the next one and a half hours although mom and dad left after about a half-hour to give us a bit of privacy. During this time I changed into a gown, was hooked up to baby monitors, received my IV (ouch!), gave blood for lab work, gave consent for anesthesioly and surgery, and was given my hospital bling (5 bracelets for ID'ng).

At about 7:35 it was time for me to go into the OR and time for Owen to change into his scrubs.

I was scared to death. 

My nurse walked me down to the OR. Once we passed the OR/surgical doors it was absolutely freezing. I figured this wasn't normal as the nurses and doctors were all a buzz about it. I walked into my room and there was about ten people busily preparing for my surgery - the amount of busy people, the intense cold, and the rows of sterile surgical instruments, all served to freak me out even more - especially since Owen wasn't there yet. 

They first sat me on the bed and covered me with heated blankets for the cold - but that didn't help my exposed backside where the spinal tap was about to be placed. I was shivering so intently that my teeth were actually chattering - I kept wondering if that shuddering was going to effect the spinal. My OB/GYN doctor and nurse sat with me holding my hands under the cover as I silently cried my eyes out. Looking back the tears were that of an overwhelming mixture of emotions none of which was more amazing to me that I'd be meeting my first baby soon.

I felt the local anesthetic prick and then they did the actual spinal. I actually felt the spinal a bit and it was painful and I gather that this wasn't normal because as soon as I said something three people repeated it to the anesthesiologist. After a little more local I was good to go. As soon as they finish a spinal they spin you around and lay you down very quickly so that the numbing medicine doesn't pool in your pelvic cavity - they idea is you want that stuff to spread as much as possible to make sure you don't feel a thing - which is much appreciated! 

Very quickly after I lied down things went numb from my lower chest to my toes. I felt some tugging and pulling but didn't realize they had already started the surgery. Soon after Owen was able to join me and I felt much better with him by my side. Owen later told me that he came in after they made the first incision of the skin and he was able to watch the entire rest of the surgery.

At about 8:03 Owen told me they saw a head and then I heard some baby cries and cooes and at 8:04 Cooper Richard Hein was born.

My doctor put Cooper over the curtain and I just stared in awe - it took my doctor asking me if I wanted to touch him for it to become real. So, I got to touch his little hand and then they took him to a station to my left for all of the tests, weighing, etc. They announced his time of birth, his weight of 7 pounds 10 ounces and his length of 21 inches. 

About this time I started feeling really tight in my chest like I couldn't breathe. The anesthesiologist gave me some extra oxygen and they gave Cooper to Owen to hold. They left soon after to go to recovery and told me I would be joining them in about 10 minutes. It was more like 25 minutes but soon enough I was wheeled into recovery and was able to hold my sweet baby boy.

During recovery Cooper breastfed, was given his first bath, had his first picture taken, and got his first visitors of Nani, Papi, Levi and Jess - all one at a time.

After a few hours in recovery we were taken to our room where we'd stay for the next few days. The suite we stayed in had been completely renovated and was really warm and comfortable with wood floors, a great view and plenty of room.

The rest of the day we all took turns loving on Cooper, taking photos and visiting.

2/22/11 was a great day. The best of Owen and I's thirty years.

Here are a few photos from Day 1:

Mommy, Cooper and the stuffed bear Uncle Levi and Aunt Jess brought Cooper.

Mommy and Cooper in recovery.

Nani holding Cooper.

Mommy and Cooper - one of his first 3 pictures.

Papi holding Cooper.

 

Daddy giving Cooper his first pacifier.

One of Cooper's first pictures.

Cooper with his Uncle Levi and Aunt Jess.

Our first family photo.

One of Cooper's first pictures.

Week 40 | Monday: Doc appointment & scheduled C-section

Monday, February 21: Today we had our 40 week doctor's appointment at 8:30am. We started the appointment with all of the standards: blood pressure and weight for mom and heartrate and position for baby.

Next, our doctor checked for dilation and effacement and that was the first indicator that things may not be progressing along, naturally, as well as we would like. She then tried to determine his position in the pelvic cavity and wasn't able to pinpoint if he was down into position so she did an ultrasound. The ultrasound picture showed us that baby was doing perfect (8 of 8) but that he was very highly positioned. From just these two factors the doctor determined that Cooper may not be dropped because the pelvic cavity's too small for him to be able to. This coupled with a family history, my small frame, a bit of high blood pressure, and the unprogressing cervix and our doctor reluctantly made the recommendation for us to have a C-section.  Our doctor explained that she very rarely makes this recommendation but there were so many factors that it just didn't look promising that we'd be able to have him naturally.

After a thorough explanation of our options we made the decision to move forward with her recommendation. Our next question was when and she said "how's Wednesday?" We knew it was obviously going to happen soon but Wednesday?... well, was Wednesday - as in two days away! After this conversation and because of the high blood pressure she wanted us to take some labs taken and told us to be prepared for a possible Tuesday C-section! 

So, after a full lab work-up and an hour later of giving work and our families a heads-up our doctor called and first reassured us that baby was doing great but that she'd like to do the C-section Tuesday morning at 7:30am. This was all happening very quickly! So, Owen and I both finished up a few tasks and he picked me back up around lunch to head home. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon not only letting it sink in but getting prepared which meant cleaning the house, finishing packing the hospital bags, completing a list of work tasks and picking up my parents from the airport.

We got to bed that night around 10:30pm both very excited and looking forward to the journey we were about to begin.

As expected it was a rough night of sleep for me so I got up around 2am and finished up some work-related tasks until about 4:30pm. My alarm was set to go off at 5:15am so for the next 45 minutes I dozed on and off. At

5:15am the best day of our lives will begin...

Week 39: Final week before expected due date!

This week is Feb. 14-21 - the due date is Feb. 22!

We're getting close to the due date!

Monday: At this week's doctor's appointment baby's heartbeat was at 150 and doc feels like he is about 7 pounds. It's so cool that by a couple of quick placements of my doctor's hands she can determine position and approximate weight. I was also checked for any dilation and there has been no progress made in that department - looks like Cooper is comfortable just where he is!

Tuesday: At this week's TFCU client meeting I was greeted by cupcakes and roses from the marketing team. They also gave us a check for Cooper's first SaveAbles account. So thoughtful and sweet - thanks guys!

Wednesday: Owen and I went to get my military ID replaced today (from when it was stolen on Christmas Day). After receiving my completed ID I realized that it probably isn't the best of ideas to get a new picture/ID when 9 months pregnant. I might look just a little puffy! 

Thursday: Thursday evening was eventful as I had some hard contractions throughout the evening. These felt different than the ones I've had since December. They were stronger and I couldn't help cry through a couple of them - but maybe that was just on account of the story about Jacee on American Idol!

Friday: Friday morning I started having those same contractions again. I had to make a tough decision on whether to make the trek into work as it was going to take a lot of effort as I was also extremely sore from Thursday. I determined that if labor was immenent, even in the next couple of days it would be good to get a few things complete at the office - so I made it happen!

I worked from the office a half day and spent a bit cleaning off my desk, packing my snacks and refrigerator food and completed a few more hand-offs of accounts to my fellow coworkers... you know just in case. Hopefully this didn't jinx us!  

Saturday: The annual Addy awards was on Saturday. Originally we decided not to go because it was so close to the due date but as of Thursday we made the call to attend. It was a great night although we might be expecting a few more of those puffy photos!

Week 38: Nursery completion, poker shower

This week (Feb. 7 - Feb. 14) baby is about 6.8 pounds and evidently the size of a leek (seriously, who decides that my baby is the size of a leek?).

Mom and Dad: Wednesday we had another snowstorm that kept us cooped in the house again for the day. I worked a full-day from home but what great timing for me to be able to work in pajamas! The rest of the work week went pretty smoothly and quickly for us.

On Friday Owen and I completed our project for Cooper's name over the crib. We purchased the letters at My Baby Sam, and the ribbon and the corduroy tacks at Hobby Lobby:

We also finally received our bedding from Target which was delayed a few times due to the snowstorms: 

  
I displayed a few final accessories like this cute glass turquoise bird:

And, I had Owen switch up the placement of the furniture a bit to provide a little more height balance in the room and it made a big difference. Next to the crib we've placed the small dresser that will double as our changing table. Our tall dresser is against the opposite wall. And the little nightstand is centered on the back wall and will serve as a little table next to the glider that is on its way.

Speaking of that glider - we still are missing just a few elements including this glider we've ordered from Babies R Us which should arrive next week. We're planning on placing this in the left-hand corner of the room. A note about this glider - it was MADE for me. My feet actually touch the floor and it's the perfect depth and the perfect height for my 5 foot 2 inch frame!:

On Saturday I started the day with a much needed massage and final pre-baby hair appointment. Then Owen and I headed into town to pick up food and supplies for the poker shower that we decided to throw at the last minute.

We invited friends over for a fun night complete with tacos...

and poker with a buy-in of diapers...

Our sweet friends not only showed up with what was equivalent to about 900 diapers they also showered us with other gifts like a huge box of wipes, baby clothes and baby bath accessories and supplies. Thanks friends! Now if you only could all take turns changing those diapers we would be set!

Week 37: Full-term, snowstorm, sleepless nights

We are now officially full-term! This realization that labor could start at any time has put me on an emotional rollercoaster.

This rollercoaster keeps me up at all hours of the night because of mini anxiety attacks not to mention all of the symptoms that accompany my ninth month (none worse than restless legs). But the beautiful thing is that much of the anxiety is just butterflies for the anticipation of meeting our baby.

To lighten things up let's talk veggie/fruit of the week! Cooper weighs about 6 and one third pounds and measures about 19 inches. He's evidently as long as a swiss chard.

I took off work on Monday to complete some errands and then we had a record-setting snow storm that put us out of the office for Tuesday and Wednesday. Owen was also out on Thursday and because of more snow and temperatures I left a bit early on Friday. So, this work week went by very quickly.

On Thursday our good friends Chris and Meredith Cooper had their second baby by emergency c-section at 31 weeks along. Colleen Susan Cooper was born 3.50 pounds. We think sweet Colleen and Cooper will be great friends some day.

Throughout the week Owen's been adding layers of varnish, then Friday he added hardware and Saturday we were able to move the furniture into the nursery!

And now the part I've been waiting for... the finalization of the nursery organization. Check back next week to see pictures!