Plugged Milk Duct....

OMG!!! Yesterday afternoon my right breast started hurting like crazy and I started to notice that it was pretty hard on the right side near my armpit. I thought it was engorgement, so I started pumping and nursing every 2 hours religiously, that just made it hurt worse, but I didn't give up!!! lol

I emailed Jenny to see if she knew what it was and how I could make the pain stop. She emailed me back telling me that it sounded like I had a plugged milk duct. When I started reading about plugged milk ducts in my bible (The Nursing Mother's Companion by Kathleen Huggins) I learned that I had a plugged milk duct. Every thing I read (book and websites) told me to put a hot, wet compress on the hard part of my boob for 10 minutes before nursing and pumping.

So at 1:45 p.m. this afternoon I grabbed a cloth diaper and got it really hot with water. I sat down on the couch and put it on my hard boobie for ten minutes and then nursed Cooper for about 5 minutes (he only wanted to be calmed down and put to sleep) and then I pumped. From just the short nursing Cooper did I could tell that it had softened!! And then I pumped, and now the pain is completely gone and the hardness is gone as well!! YAY!! I am so happy my boobie doesn't hurt anymore!

The hardness is starting to come back a little now (it's been almost an hour) so I'm definitely going to continue to put the hot compress on for the next 24 hours. I want to make sure this problem is gone!!!

I keep hearing about nipple soothers. I guess they are ice packs for your nipples.. I have to get me some of these!!! My nipples are still pretty sore, and when Cooper (or the pump) first latches on it almost brings tears to my eyes. But it has actually gotten a little better the past couple weeks. I am definitely nursing/pumping through the pain though! That's the only way to make it go away!!! So I just emailed Paul and asked him to stop at Babies R Us on his way home from work to get some nipple soothers for me. I told him to ask someone that works there to help him find what he's looking for. Hopefully he'll find them!!!

Coopers starting to stir a little, so I'm outta here!!!

xoxoxo

Amanda

What I've learned so far...

Cooper is 2 weeks and 3 days old today. Here is what I’ve learned about my little man so far....

I’ve learned that during the day he only sleeps when you hold him. If you put him down he starts to cry. But at night he’ll sleep in his bassinet no problem.

I’ve learned that he doesn’t mind getting a bath as long as you stay away from his head. When you start to wash his hair, he starts to scream.

I’ve learned that he doesn’t like cold wipes... Thank goodness for wipe warmers!

I’ve learned that he only latches on with a nipple shield, and only when he’s in the mood to latch on.

I’ve learned that when he is done sucking on his pacifier he spits it out.

I’ve learned that if we feed him too much he WILL throw up all over you!

I’ve learned that if you do put a cold wipe on his bottom he WILL pee all over the place! LOL

I’ve learned that his poop sounds explosive. The really loud sounding poops usually produce the littlest about of poop, while the quiet ones fill up the diaper!!

I’ve learned that he likes to poop about 5 minutes AFTER we change his diaper.

I’ve learned that he doesn’t like his belly to be rubbed, that always makes him more fussy.

I’ve learned that if he is fussy with Daddy and I take him he settles right down.

I’ve learned what his "hungry" cry sounds like.

I’ve learned what his "Burp needed" cry sounds like.

I’ve learned what his "Hold me" cry sounds like.

I’ve learned that his smiles and grins are just gas or poop, but they are so cute!!

I’ve learned that putting him in his car seat automatically puts him to sleep.

I’ve learned that playing Nicklebacks "Rock star" calms him down every time when he is fussy. (I listened to this song all the time while pregnant with him).

I’ve learned that when Paul gets home from work I don’t get to hold Coop anymore, Daddy likes to hog him!!!

I’ve learned that Pebbles likes to keep an eye on Cooper. If Cooper cries in his crib, pack n play, or when you aren’t holding him, she will run to check on him.

I’ve learned that when he gets hungry he is hungry NOW, not in ten minutes!!

I’ve learned that sometimes stroking his cheek will calm him down, but not all the time, sometimes it just makes it worse.

I’ve learned that he likes to keep his arms by his face.

I’ve learned that he enjoys getting up at 2 a.m. and staying up for at least and hour and a half.

I’ve learned that he enjoys getting back up at 6:30 a.m. and stays up the rest of the day, unless you are holding him or he is in the car.

I’ve learned that we have to stop letting him sleep so much in the evenings because he doesn’t like going to bed if he does.

I’ve learned that he doesn’t really care for his swing all that much... But I think that’s just because he’s too small for it and it’s not comfy yet.

I’ve learned that the cat likes Coopers bottles.

I’ve learned that Pebbles like to sit next to me when I pump.

I’ve learned that he needs to burp at least twice or he will spit up.

I’ve learned that he poops about 10 minutes after he’s done eating.

I’ve learned that I don’t like the way his cries sound when he is really desperate for his bottle. It makes me feel like he’s starving.

I’ve learned that he does like to nap in his Boppy for short periods of time, only when he’s in the mood though.

I’ve learned that my life is not my own anymore, but that is perfectly fine with me.

I’ve learned that love is something you have at all times, not when it’s convenient.

I’ve learned that my heart does have room for more.

I look forward to learning more and more about my little man!!!!

On a lighter note...

So on a lighter note, Coops cord fell off Wednesday night!!! Woo hoo!!! We can now give him a real bath, which we will do tomorrow.

We went to the peditrician yesterday. Cooper now weighs 6 lbs and is 19.25 inches long!! He's a growing boy!!! My breast milk is definitely sustaining him, that's for sure!!!

Cooper latched on really good earlier tonight for about 20 minutes and has now been asleep for almost 2 hours after that!!! I pumped about an hour after he latched on and got less than an ounce out of the breast he was on... And 2 ounces out of the one he wasn't on... So he totally emptied the one breast!!! Yippee!!! He's getting better at latching on... of course we kinda tricked him. At first he wouldn't latch on (even with the shield), so we gave him a bottle right next to my breast, let him suck on that for a second (he was getting expressed breastmilk out of it), then pulled the bottle out of his mouth and stuck my shielded breast in!!! It totally worked!!! lol

He has been sleeping very peacefully since he emptied my booby!!! Such a cutie!!! We should go to bed, but he's been sleeping for a couple of hours now. As soon as we get to sleep he'll wake up!! I just know it! lol.... We should try though....

Here we go... wish us luck!!! LOL!!!

xoxoxoxo

Amanda

Hearing him cry is painful....

We are using the Dr. Browns bottles. Have you ever used them? I love them!!! But they do have a lot of parts - the bottle, straw, plug thingy, nipple, and ring...

Well we were getting ready to leave this morning and I was tending to Coop (diaper change, strapped in car seat, etc.) and Momma said she was getting a bottle ready to go in case he got hungry while we were gone. I didn't think anything of it, she knows how to put the bottles together and stuff. Well, we head out to Bath and Body Works, Kohls, Chiropractor and then head over to Wal-Mart for some grocery shopping.

On the way to Wal-Mart Coop starts getting fussy because he's getting hungry. So I said that when we got into Wal-Mart I would feed him. So we're in Wal-Mart and Coops crying a little, I take him out of his car seat and grab the bottle. As soon as it hits his mouth it starts leaking all over the place. Mom forgot to put the straw and plug in! I got really frustrated, she was starting to cry, and Coop was screaming at this point.

So back out to the car we go to head home. The whole way home Coop was screaming his head off. Mom as in the backseat with him trying to calm him down, but she was crying herself because she was sorry. So I had to listen to my poor baby scream his head off the whole way home. I was almost in tears. I'm whipping in and out of traffic (safely of course lol) trying to hurry home. It was the longest 10 minutes of my life.

I was so frustrated with Mom for forgetting to put the whole bottle together. I know she didn't do it on purpose, but it broke my heart to hear him cry like that. I mean he'd gotten a taste of the milk and I had to take it away. I felt horrible, like I was starving my kid. I know most of that was my hormones, but it was terrible. Of course he wasn't starving, he was just upset.

When we got home he got his bottle and settled down as soon as it touched his lips. That was all he wanted... And I couldn't give it to him for those 10-15 minutes... UGH! It was just so hard to hear him like that and not be able to do anything.

Coop latched on!!!

Cooper latched on tonight! It was great. Of course it was with the nipple sheild, but I'll take what I can get!! He wa on the breast fir about 10 minutes and was totally getting milk. I am just so happy!!!

I can't wait for his cord to fall off - it is so disgusting! And it's smelly. It looks like it's about half way off. It's all gooey where its already off... I wonder if thats normal?

Apparently Coop has a clogged tear duct. His left eye has this gooey yellow discharge. We keep having to ckean his eye. When he sleeps for a few hours his eye is all matted shut and we have to rest a we cotton ball on it so he can open it and we can ckean it. I called the Ped. and he said to just keep an eye on it and if it gets worse to bring him in... otherwise we have an apt. Thursday afternoon.

I was pooped on today! We're talking projectile, shooting poop. It was so funny. I was putting Desitin on and had his bottom raised a little and all this poop shot out!!! It got all over my shirt, pants the carpet, and pack n play!!! lol

Paul is really sick. Hes been sick since we came home from the hospital. Gotta love hospitals huh?! lol. I think it's a really bad cold. At first his throat was sore, but that's gone. Now he just has a realllllly runny nose and watery eyes, I'm wondering if maybe it's allergies now... Hmmmm... Hopefully he feels better soon....

So it's midnight and here I sit watching Coopy in his swing while I'm hooked up to the pump! lol... I totally feel like a cow being milked, but it's totally worth it!! I'm actually starting to get a supply of milk, I'm about 6 ounces ahead of Coop... he usually eats 2 ounces in a feeding every 2-4 hours. So yippeee!!! I'm hoping he'll fall asleep in his swing and we can go to bed... But so far no such luck. He's just chilling and watching the toys above his head, and making the cutest sounds!!! lol... Looks like he might be dozing a little... we'll see!!!

Anyways, I'm gonna get off here... Think my boobies are empty!! Looks like I got about 2.5 ounces this time... Woohoo!!! lol

xoxoxo

Amanda

Happy One Week Birthday Coopy!!!

One week ago today Cooper was born! Wow! We were up with him at 6:15 this morning and it was great to say "One week ago we held him for the first time ever. One week ago we heard his amazing cry. One week ago I kissed his cheek for the first time." It truly is amazing.

We are constantly amazed at how strong out Coop is. On day one he was already holding his head up! The pediatrician was shocked by this, but then explained that he was so strong because I didn't have any pain meds during labor and delivery. That felt great to hear him say! To know that atleast that was one thing in our birth plan that I stuck to and it made our Coopy stronger! It's great to feel him kick his little legs (and not from the inside out! lol). Even his cry is amazing to us.

Paul is such a proud daddy! On Friday Momma and I were at Babies R Us longer then we expected and didn't realize it was after 4 already before we got in the car to come home. So I called Paul and asked him where he was and of course he was almost home. He was so excited to get home to see and hold Coop that I felt bad telling him that we wouldn't be home for a lil while because we were stuck in traffic. He was just so excited about coming home from work to see Coop. But as soon as we made it home Paul scooped him outta his car seat and held him almost all night. Paul is just so happy. I love seeing him being the doting/proud poppa that he is. He changes his diaper all the time, loves feeding him, and just cuddling with him. It's great!

We had our last meeting with Jenny. It was kinda sad, but we've promised to keep in touch and she said she would invite us for dinner one night in a couple weeks. We talked about our birth and I've decided that I'm going to make some formal complaints. There is a law in the state on MI about Informed Consent on any procedure done. Before the doctors do ANYTHING they have to present the procedure to the person and tell them what other options there are. There were a couple of things that happened during our birth that I still haven't been told about from a doctor... such as internal fetal monitorin. No one has told me they did this, but of course Jenny saw them do it, and I felt the cord taped to my leg. They also deep suctioned Coop after he was born without permission or consent. I'm alsot really upset that the cord was clamped and cut before it stopped pulsing. That was something that totally could have waited! So I am definitely going to file a complaint with the hospital and doctors office. I doubt anything will happen with the complaint to the dr.s office since Dr. McBride (the dr. that delivered Coop) is the founding doctor of the practice and my complaint will go to him. I'm sure it will go straight in the trash. But I am also going to talk to the midwife (not Carol - the one on call when I went in), probably LouAnn or Kathy about Carols demeanor and attitude, about how she did the IFM without my knowledge and still hasn't told me, etc.

Things are going great with Momma being here. Sometimes I get a little frustrated, but not too bad. She's a great help with the cleaning and helping with Coop.

My milk has definitely come in but Coopy still won't latch on. He latched on for a couple seconds yesterday but that's it. I keep trying though! I refuse to give up! But we are pumping and bottle feeding. We figure bottled breast milk is better than none! So I'm pumping every couple of hours and keeping up with Coops feedings. He hasn't had formula since Wednesday!!! Yippee!!! I don't like Coop on formula - his poop stinks, he spits up like crazy, and it doesn't seem to make him happy. With breast milk there is no odor to his poop, he doesn't spit up, and it totally satisfies him!!! We have to take our pump back on Tuesday (it's rented from the hospital) so I'm going to buy one when I return it. I have a prescription from the doctor for a breast pump, so I'm going to call the insurance company tomorrow to see if it's covered... If so we won't have to pay as much. If not we'll still get one of course. I want to get one from the hospital. They have the discontinued ones for like 100 bucks off.... They are perfect pumps, but older models. They told me I can use all my attachments and still buy the parts necessary for it, so anything we can do to save money!!!

The only time Cooper cries is when he's hungry, or we're changing his diaper. And we got the crying during diaper changes under control with a wipes warmer!! I totally recommend wipe warmers to everyone!!! They make baby so much happier! No one likes a cold wet thing touching their bottom, especially not a baby!

Oh yea, I almost forgot... We bought a video camera yesterday!! We were going to get it for our two year anniversay next month, but Paul got his bonus on Friday so we decided to get it early! It's so much fun. I'm still learning how to use it, but I love it! It's a Sony HandyCam and pretty easy to use for the most part... Of course I'm sure there's a ton of features and functions that I have yet to discover.

I took the cutest vidoe of Paul playing with Cooper today. Check it out a here. It's so cute!!

Well, Coopy is sleeping so I should try to go get some sleep. He sleeps really good. He'll get up around 11ish, 2ish, and 6ish and that's it!!! It's great!!! So off to bed I go!!

I love being a Mommy - it's the most amazing thing in the world!!!

xoxoxo

Amanda!!!

Cooper Alexander!!!

Cooper Alexander was born on March 9th at 6:15 a.m. I was only in labor for 2.5 hours!! It was truly amazing.

I'm going to try to make this a quick post because it's 3:15 a.m. and Cooper just fell asleep (which means I should be sleeping lol).

I woke up at 3:37 a.m. Sunday March 9th needing to pee. So I got out of bed and went to the bathroom. While I was on the toilet I felt this weird pressure and when I wiped I saw my HUGE mucus plug (apparently I'd only lost a very small part in the shower Friday). I couldn't believe how big it was, it was crazy! I called for Paul and showed him, we decided that we should try to get some more sleep because it could be any time now.

As soon as we got back into bed I started having contractions a minute apart, lasting a minute each. They were so intense and crazy and hurt like Hell. It made me feel like I had to pee all the time, so painful. I was sitting on the toilet screaming in pain while a bath was running for me and Paul was in the bedroom calling the midwife and Jenny. I was taking my gown off to get into the tub when he came in and said we were leaving for the hospital, the midwife said to bring me in immediately, and Jenny was already on her way!

How scary! This was it, we were going to be parents in less than 2 hours (of course we didn't know it would happen so quickly).

We got to the hospital and they checked me, I was 7 cm dilated. They wheeled me down the hall and checked me again (maybe 5 minutes between the two checks) and I was 9 cms. At this point things get a little fuzzy for me. I remember my midwife saying she was going to break my water, and really not wanting/liking her doing that. But she did. I remember them putting in and IV, and an OBGYN coming in. My natural birth had gone from intervention free to lots of interventions that I didn't want in a matter of seconds. The next thing I knew, there was a man standing at the foot of the bed (OBGYN) telling me that he was going to use the vacuum to help deliver my baby. That Coops heart rate was dropping rapidly with every contraction and we needed to get him out quickly. I was not happy about this, but pushed when he told me to and tried to do everything he said.

They did use the vacuum to deliver Cooper. I remember the dr telling me to push for 10 seconds 3 times per contraction. So everytime I had a contraction I would start pushing and count in my head... I always seemed to get to 10 before he did! I would be at ten and ready to release my push and he'd still be counting 6, 7, 8. I hated that! lol

Next I heard him say they were going to give me an episiotomy. I told him no. And Jenny was telling him that I didn't want one either... I am so pissed that he did one. It was totally not necessary. He said he was going to do it to place the vacuum - but didn't do it until Coops head was coming out... It was totally not necessary - just something he wanted to do to make it easier on him... So pissed over that one.

I did deliver Cooper without any pain medications!!! I am so glad that I was able to stick to that, with my birth plan totally going out the window, that's the one thing I can say I did!!!

I also remember at one point looking around the room and there were literally 20 people there - most of them just standing around ...

Oh yea, I forgot. On the drive to the hospital I remember hearing the song "Lonesome Loser" by Little River Band on the radio. Lol! Now that song will always remind me of that morning.

I was literally falling asleep between contractions/pushes in the hospital. It was amazing. Between contractions was wonderful... even if it was just for a minute. I would totally relax, close my eyes, and start to fall asleep. And then I would feel another contraction and instinct to push took over... Pushing felt really good!!

As soon as Coop was born they said "It's a boy!" I actually aske "are you sure?" LOL! Paul was crying saying "Coopers here, he made it, we have our little boy!" It was amazing to hear him say that, to hear how proud he was and happy.

They placed Coop on my belly and Paul cut the cord (remember how he was afraid to do this lol).
Things went from there. They left Coop on me for about 5 minutes and then came and took him to do whatever the hell it was they thought couldn't wait. The whole time Dr. was pushing on my tummy trying to deliver the placenta (which felt weird... it kinda plopped out). Then he sewed me up. The whole time I was yelling at them to bring my baby back to me. At one point I told Paul to just pick him up and bring him back. Eventually he came back!

Coop latched onto the breast pretty quickly, but only for a few seconds. And we've been having nursing problems ever since... But that's another post...

It's now 3:30 a.m. I should get to bed... Coops totally asleep and looking like a gorgeous angel!!!

We are so happy and everyone is doing great!!!

xoxoxo

Amanda

Come on down....

PLEASE, Baby! Please come out! lol

Since my last post my contractions haven't gotten any stronger or closer together. I've had a couple 5 minutes apart, but then they are 8 minutes apart, 15 minutes apart, 25 minutes... you get the idea. Nothing to major... And nothing really painful.

I just swept the floors, I'm hoping being active will start things back up again! lol

Paul and I took a nap around 2 and slept for about an hour. It was nice, but I still feel really tired and worn out. Right now Paul is not home. He took the movies back to Blockbuster, and went to Kroger for a couple things. I told him it would be fine since things definitely don't seem to be progressing as I had hoped.....

I was really hoping to have this kid today!!! Or at least this weekend. But now I'm not so sure if that's going to happen. I'm starting to think my labor last night was brought on by LouAnn checking me at my appointment yesterday... RATS! lol...

But Carol (the midwife on call last night) reassures me that it will be verrry soon... within the week. That's what they keep saying "We'll have a baby soon, within the week for sure"... UGH! I just wish someone could tell me exactly when. It's so frustrating just sitting around waiting. And I'm afraid to go anywhere. I don't want to go into labor in the car or store! lol...

We've arranged for Metro Cars to bring Momma to our house tomorrow from the airport. Since the airport is an hour drive we decided we probably shouldn't be trekking that far from home with the way things were going last night. Lol... We are still planning on going to Fay and Jerry's tomorrow, but if I'm having contractions then we won't go... We'll just have to play it by ear and see.

Pebbles had a panic attack earlier... Not sure what's going on with that. We were just laying in bed together and she came running up and curled up on me and then couldn't breath. I hate it when that happens... It makes me not want to leave her even more...

In my last post I was worried about getting Momma from the airport tomorrow, but since we've taken care of that I now have a new worry... Pebbles! If I go to the hospital no one is here to take care of her and we don't want to leave her alone for 24 hours in the house... There's no way she can hold her potty that long of course, but I know she doesn't like being alone sometimes and gets really nervous thinking we aren't coming back. I would just feel much better having Momma here with her while we're in the hospital.... At least most of the time.

It's a catch 22... I want to go into labor so bad right now, but I don't. UGH!!!!!!! So frustrating....

I can't help but wonder - if we hadn't stopped labor last night would we have a baby now?!?! Guess we'll never know....

Labor Pains....

Last night was definitely an interesting one.

First of all it started off with us buying a new vaccum cleaner (a Kirby) which we absolutely love btw! lol... Not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but we are definitely glad we made the purchase.

After we bought the vaccum we went to Mels to see Janelle and the baby. While we were there I was having a lot of contractions, but nothing painful. Around 11ish I had a couple of painful ones, but that was it. On the way home however they got pretty painful. I couldn't talk through them, and just wanted to lay down. And they were 5 minutes apart and lasting 45-60 seconds! WOO HOO!!

So we got home around midnight, with me still contracting at 5min/45secs. Around 130 we called the Doula because they had been going strong for over an hour, and were quite painful. She recommended that I call my midwife. So we did. The midwife wanted to see if we could get the contractions to stop so we could sleep! Sounds like a plan to me! So the midwife told me to drink a lot of water and lay on my side. And if that didn't work to take a bath. So I called Jenny back and told her what the midwife said.

I drank two bottles of water and layed on my side... That didn't help any. So then we decided to try the bath. Paul ran me a nice hot bath, turned on my relaxation music, and put me in the tub... This seemed to help a little. The contractions were less intense and became 7 minuts apart lasting about a minute. I called the midwife back and told her this. She was happy that they were able to slow down a little and told us to try to get some rest... By this time its around 3 a.m.

At 330 I decided to get out of the tub. I was really nervous about getting out of the tub because I thought the contractions would get more intense and back to 5 minutes.... And I was right!!! But I got outta the tub and into bed. Contractions started coming in at 5 minutes and lasting about 45 seconds and were quite painful.

I don't know how, or when, but eventually I fell asleep!! And of course so did Paul... He was already snoring between contractions. lol I woke up at 530 and was like "OMG they stopped, I'm sleeping!!" I got so excited that I was able to sleep, but I had to pee reallllly bad. I was afraid that if I got up they would come right back and we'd be up for several hours trying to get them to stop again. But I went pee, and yea they came back, but only 2 contractions and I fell right back to sleep!!!

We both just woke up around 930! It was great to be able to sleep since we were both so exhausted. Paul was really freaking out because he was so tired and didn't want to be up for so long... He was afraid that he wouldn't be any help later when I really needed him. He was pretty supportive once he calmed down a little though and was trying to help me relax and breath through the contractions. But he was totally freaking out! lol... But was so sweet. I was having some back pain with my contractions (hope that's not a sign of back labor... yikes) and he would put pressure on my back for me. While I was having contractions in the tub he would pour water over my belly. He rubbed the bridge of my nose (his way to get me to relax)... it was very sweet

When we first got home from Mels he went into cleaning mode!!! lol... Now mind you, our house was not messy because we've been making sure to keep it spotless in case I do go into labor... but he just started cleaning. He was doing the dishes, vaccumed the floors (which we had just shampooed earlier that day! lol), did some laundry, etc.!!! LOL it was so funny. He was totally freaking out on me.

So we are up now. The midwife called to check on me and she said we're pretty much having a baby verrrry soon. I called Jenny back and let her know we were able to sleep (obvioulsy she figured this one out when we never called her back after 4 a.m. lol)

I was afraid to get out of bed! Afraid the contractions would start again. But I was hungry so I ventured downstairs. The contactions have started again, but they are really far apart and not as painful as they were last night. On one hand I don't want the contractions to start up again, because we don't have anyone to watch Pebbles while we're in the hospital and if I go into the hospital later today then we won't be able to pick Momma up from the airport tomorrow. On the other hand I'm excited about having the baby and want to walk around and do a lot so I know contractions come back! lol So we'll see what happens today....

Stay tuned!!!

2 cm dilated - 50% effaced!!!

Let me start by saying that I lost my mucous plug in the shower this morning!! Woo hoo!!! It was exciting to see that at least something was happening as far as the baby is concerned.

So I had my midwife appointment today. When I told her that I lost my mucous plug she decided to check to see if I was dilated. And come to find out I am currently 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced (cervix thinning). Woo hoo!!! Super exciting!

I am having some mild cramps and very mild contractions. The contractions don't hurt at all, they just make my tummy feel reallllly tight for about 45 seconds and then it's gone. But I've been having these since early December. The cramps are new though!

The midwife said that it sounds like I'm going to have this baby very soon... Possibly this weekend!!! And definitely by next weekend!!! Wow! That's a scary thought, this time next week I could be a mommy!!!

So it looks like this baby is coming out!!! And here I was thinking it never would. Lol

Also, she said that they wouldn't let me go past 42 weeks (I am currently 39 weeks). If I haven't had the baby by 41 weeks (March 21st - Aunt Capris birthday) they will do an ultrasound to make sure everything is okay, and scrape my cervix to try to start labor naturally. At 42 weeks though they will put me in the hospital and induce me with Pitocin. The midwife doubts any of this will happen, she seems pretty certain that baby will be born by next weekend!

Come on baby!!!!

Baby Name Meanings...

So I've been doing my research on what our baby names mean... And it's quite interesting. Names apparently have different meanings under different origins, and some have different meanings with different spellings.... We're picking and choosing the meanings we like the most!

Our names are -

Lyla Arabella for a girl
Cooper Alexander for a boy

So here's what I've found -

Lyla - French meaning "From the Island"
Lila - Persian meaning "Dark Haired Beauty", Sanskirt meaning "Divine Play", and Swahili meaning "Good"

Of course we like the "Dark Haired Beauty" meaning the most, so that's what we're going with... But still using Lyla as the spelling! lol. It's pronounced the same, just spelled differently

Arabella - English meaning "Beautiful Lion", Dutch meaning "Beautiful", German meaning "Eagle Heroine"

Of course we like the "Beautiful" meaning the most, so we're sticking with that! lol

Cooper - English meaning "Barrel Maker"

We're not too thrilled with the meaning "Barrel Maker" for Cooper, but that's the only meaning I can find for it... So guess we have to go with that!

Alexander - Greek meaning "Defender of Men"

We like the Greek meaning for Alexander.

So we have a "Beautiful Dark Haired Beauty" and a Denfender of Men Barrel Maker" LOL

Gotta love it!!!

1 week 4 days until my due date!!!

I don't really have much to say, but I wanted to do a post so the few readers I do have don't think I'm out having the baby... I can assure you that when I do go into labor I will post on here (and babycenter) since I will be laboring at home with my Doula until transition.

I have been having a few more contractions then normal, but they still don't hurt and aren't even uncomfy... Just kinda happen. I wish something would happen!!! Everytime I go to the bathroom I check to see if I've lost my mucous plug (or even part of it) and, nope nothing yet... UGH!

I'm trying to come with terms to the fact that the baby could stay in there for another week or two... I guess really the baby could stay in there up to another 3 weeks... But I really hope that's not the case, but NOTHING seems to be happening, so I'm working on being okay with that. Lol. Just let things happen naturally and stop trying so hard to get the kid out... Especially after reading CF Husbands blog, I should enjoy the time I have with the baby in my womb as I get to carry full term...

I really have enjoyed being pregnant, had an extremely easy pregnancy, and know that I will miss being pregnant after I have the baby. I'm just ready to meet my little one!! I want to know if it's a boy or girl, I want to watch Lyla/Cooper sleep, I want to count Lyla's/Cooper's fingers and toes, smell his/her sweet smell, snuggle up with him/her, breastfeed... Yep, I'm actually looking foward to breastfeeding... I can't wait!! I'm just so excited...

And believe it or not I'm actually looking foward to labor and delivery. I find it very exciting... I mean the end result is meeting Cooper/Lyla!! Amazing, truly amazing.

We were supposed to get a big snow/ice storm last night... Something like 3-5 inches, so Paul decided to work from home today... well of course we've only got MAYBE 1/2 inch!!! And tonight we're supposed to get 5-8 inches of snow. I don't know if he'll work from home tomorrow too or not, probably not... he has to go to work at some point. lol... It's supposed to start snowing at like 4 this afternoon and continue until 7 a.m. tomorrow... Hopefully I'll be able to make my Chiro appointment and hit Babies R Us. If it's too bad though I'll call and reschedule my appointment for another day (like I did last week).

I've got to go to Babies R Us tomorrow though. I still have to get a breast pump (for engorgement only) and my 15% coupon expires either tomorrow or Thursday... I'll have to check. So maybe it's Thursday... If I can't make it tomorrow hopefully the coupon is good until Thursday and I can make it then... we'll see.....

So today I guess I'll just putz around the house cleaning and doing laundry... Maybe today I'll finally give Pebbles a B-A-T-H (shhh don't tell her! lol).

Well I'm outta here... Gonna get some laundry done!!!!

Girl Name Battle is Over!!!

I am proud to announce that our "girl name battle" is now over!!! Yippee!!

I have been throwing girl names out to Paul since we found out we were pregnant, and he has shot down ALMOST every name I've said. Paul is great at word association, and every name I would give him he would have something funny/sarcastic to say about it. A few examples -

Arabella - They'll call her air head
Belle/Bella - Ding Dong Ding Dong (Sound of a bell)
Lyla - Reminds him of Lila Quatermaine from General Hospital
Stella - Reminds him of this chic he went to high school with. Apparently she wore rose colored glasses and was pretty wild. Lol
Willow - A tree.
Scarlett - Scarlett Fever.

Those are just a few examples!!! lol

Now let me remind you of our boy name and tell you what his word association is with that....

Our boy name is.... Cooper Alexander. We have had this boy name picked out since BEFORE we even got pregnant. So this was a no brainer. His association for that is "Cooper the Pooper Scooper"...

Does anyone see anything wrong with that picture?!?! He's okay with "Cooper the Pooper Scooper", but not okay with "Air Head", "Lila Quatermaine", "Scarlett fever"?!?!!? lol

So anyways, we're sitting at Paul's parents house talking about how we don't have a girl name picked out. Since we don't know the sex of our very stubborn, legs closed tight baby it is very important to me to have a name for both sexes.

Anyways, so we're sitting there and I'm throwing out names. Paul's mom is all into it and stuff, and of course Paul's coming up with funny crap to say about each name (gotta love him lol). And we're saying funny names like Gertrude, Octavia, Florence (no offense to anyone with these names, they just aren't our style!). And I keep going back to Lyla...

Well, long story short I WON THE GIRL NAME BATTLE!!!!! Of course! Anyone who knows me and my husband knew that in the end I would!!! lol...

Our girl name is.... drum roll please....

Lyla Arabella

So not only did I win the girl name battle, but I won using BOTH of the names that were at the top of my list!!! I'm good, I know it!! Can I get a Woot Woot?!!? Lol...

I feel much better now, knowing we have a girl name picked out and are both happy with it!! Paul's mom was really excited about it too. I don't think my family will take to the name so quickly, but they'll get over it!! lol. It's our kid, we'll name it what we want!!!

So that's my entry for today. I just had to blog about this because it's so exciting to finally have that battle over!!!

Oh, and we didn't have sex. Paul was freaked out, and I was too tired... Maybe later... Doubt it though! lol... I'm thinking about going to the mall tomorrow to walk, so maybe that'll work!! Wish me luck!!!