September 2015

Cooper Charles finally arrived on September 20th. He was only a few days late... It is interesting that I have carried each baby longer than the previous one. We are so thrilled to add this sweet boy to our family!



Our nanny, Maddie, started with us the beginning of the month and it has been amazing. While I do feel guilty for not being the primary care giver during the day I also realize that I haven't been very fun for them lately. This gives them the focused attention that they need and I was able to get a few final things done before baby.



Betsy and Kevin were here the beginning of the month but I guess Cooper decided it was only fair to wait until my parents arrived instead since Betsy and Kevin got to be around for Connor's birth.

Aurora started school at Inspire and is loving it! We have yet to see any pushback from her about going to school in the morning and always seems happy, albeit very tired, when we pick her up. She has also started "big girl" ballet classes -- "no more tap for me Mama!"

 

-- Cooper at one week --

Cooper is doing amazing! He is proving to be a pretty relaxed guy. The first few days he was pretty grumpy, but he has since chilled out a little and is either eating, sleeping or just looking around at what is going on. He is sleeping quite a bit during the day (as most newborns do) and even sleeping reasonably well at night. He is giving us roughly 2 hour chunks of sleep mixed in with some awake time, but I'll take it!

Cooper Charles McCord

Welcome Cooper!

Finally on Sunday, September 20th, Cooper decided he was ready to join us. My parents had just gotten in Friday night and were very excited they had not missed the birth. It's pretty interesting that Aurora came the earliest and Cooper the latest. Although knowing Aurora and Connor's personalities it isn't that surprising ;)

I had a few random contractions throughout the evening that had a little more "bite" to them, but nothing I would even describe as early labor. They were more like the contractions I remember having the day before Aurora was born. It did make me think that things were getting closer though!

Around 8pm I decided to go upstairs and take a bath. I had 3 or 4 fairly intense contractions in the tub which were 5 minutes apart. Then I started to feel a little nauseous, so I got out and went to wake Matt up and tell him I was pretty sure Baby was on the way. He had crawled into bed and passed out when I got in the tub. I had a few more before he got up to call the midwives because they were pretty intense and not very far apart.

At 9:00 Matt brought the baby monitor downstairs to my mother and we were off to the birth center. My contractions were pretty intense through the car ride and I could feel them moving deeper into my pelvis so I figured things were probably moving along pretty quickly.

We got to the birth center around 9:20. I got out of the car but couldn't make it across the parking lot before throwing up everywhere... At least it wasn't in the car! Aubre, the midwife, came out and I remember her saying "I know you don't want to walk right now so let's not even think about it let's just get inside"

They checked me inside and said I was completely dilated so at this point they weren't going to bother trying to get my antibiotics started (I have been Beta Strep Positive with all three pregnancies). Then they let me get in the tub. I remember the intensity being so strong I wasn't even sure how to sit down in the tub but felt much better once I did. I think I started pushing right away and Cooper was born in maybe 3 or 4 good pushes. Even though the entire labor was faster than Connor's, I felt more in control for the actual birth.

Proud Big Sister Aurora

It was no surprise to me that out came a boy, but I think Matt was surprised again ;) Apparently Cooper was pretty blue when he came out but Aubre said that was pretty common and she didn't see anything to be concerned about. Even after the blue faded he was extremely pale for quite a long time though. After the birth Aubre left us to hang with Cooper so she could attend to another Mama. 

At some point the nurse came in to check Cooper out and take measurements. He was by far my biggest baby at 8 pounds and 21.5 inches long. We were at Mountain Midwifery until about 2am when they discharged us and sent us home. It was a crazy quick night but there isn't anywhere I would have rather been at the end of it than in my own bed with Matt and Cooper!

September 2014

September was mostly just settling in at preschool. Aurora has been having a very rough time with drop off so her amazing teacher, Miss Jennifer, suggested we come 10 minutes early to let Aurora settle in. It is still not perfect but there is no more kicking and screaming. I'll take that as a win.

Aurora and her buddy Gwen at Temple

Matt and I decided to look for a condo rental in the mountains this year. Aurora is going to be starting ski school and it is way to far to drive up and back in one day. A friend of mine has a cabin in Blue River (just south of Breckenridge) that they don't use very often so we went up for the weekend to check it out.

We also hit the mountains for Pete & Nicole's wedding. Miss Lauren came up to watch the kids so both Matt and I got to attend the wedding together! It was a beautiful wedding in Beaver Creek and so much fun.

Breckenridge

-- Connor at 10 Months --

You are pulling up and starting to cruise! Your sister says she can't wait until she can walk around with you :)

You are a pickier eater than your sister, but I think you are eating more volume than she did at this age.

We finally figured out that you have eczema which is causing the scaly patches of skin on your back and shoulders. We put a humidifier in your room and have stopped giving you a nightly bath which have both helped a ton.

2 naps a day -- one around 9:30 and the other around 2.

You are finally sleeping at night! You go down around 6:30, wake at 5 to eat and then go back to sleep until about 6:30. After a few night with Dada on duty you seemed to have decided that it isn't worth the trouble to wake up if you aren't going to get fed.