Christmas

What a hectic first Christmas! I'm sort of glad it is over. We spent 3 days leading up to Christmas time in Children's Hospital as Grace had a UTI. I'm glad we live in a city with such great medical care. Our time in the hospital wasn't bad. Grace was actually in a good mood there overall....I think she really liked the bright hospital lights. I actually miss her sweet her little face as we walked up and down the the hallways of the hospital. I'm thankful I was permitted to take her out of the hospital room. I would put her in the wrap and we would walk around :-)

James's parents were able to come in for Christmas. I'm glad that Grace has grandparents that love her very much....and even some great grandmas. We had my family over for Christmas Eve...spent most of Christmas day just hanging out at the house with James's parents...and then went over my grandma's in the evening for a bit.

We had to make a tough decision while in the hospital. Some circumstances changed with James's job and I am now going back to work. I was very much looking forward to being a stay at home mom. I'm trying not to think too much about going back to work. But, as I have less than a week now until I'm going back...I guess I'll need to think about it soon. James will stay home with Grace while I go to work during the day and he'll be working in the evenings at a part time job. I'm thankful that I have a husband who is a great father to our daughter....but I'm going to miss Grace very much.

I will be able to update this a bit more now that I'll be at work though and sitting in front of a computer again all day :-)

I have no idea why, but I can't seem to add any photos here....so you'll have to wait on holiday photos!

Christmas Time!

The holidays have been a little rough the past couple of years while we were wondering if we'd ever have a child. Every year I would wonder if the next year I would be pregnant atleast. Well, this year we have our Grace :-) and that is so special. Here she is meeting Santa for the first time....she was really into it.

No Sleep

I promise one day I'll actually update this regularly. Unfortunately, Grace does not sleep at night and my days are a fog of trying to keep the Cooper household running...my amazing husband is gone working 16 hours a day to support us....and so during the week, it's all me.
Our computer is in the basement...and I don't come down here too often to get on it.

So....some quick updates. Grace seems to have some acid reflux. We started her on medication Friday evening for it...hopefully she'll feel better soon and be more willing to sleep soon. They weighed her at the pediatrician's office and she's up to 9 lbs 6 oz. Wow. The doctor said she is doing great. She was one month old yesterday. We also made it to our first church service as a family yesterday. Grace slept through most of it, but I think she liked it :-) We also visited Santa this weekend...Grace slept through that as well. And we got Christmas photos done....she was awake and had her diva moments through that one.

I'm struggling a bit. I've never been one that did well on little sleep...nor do I like napping. So, life's a struggle at the moment. Grace is a bit high maintenance. But, we'll make it through.

Grace is here!!!

Well, with a newborn it's quite difficult to get to the basement to type on the computer. So, sorry for the lack of updating!

But, Grace is here!! It was a bit of a scary journey. Inductions are no fun and I'll save the icky details, but I will call it a bit traumatic. In the end I was in labor for 17 hours (well, from the time contractions started regularly) and we ended up with a c-section. Grace's heart rate began to drop into the 60s (a normal heart rate would be about 120-180) and I was rushed into the OR. James was amazing throughout it. He's truly the best husband and I know it was a scary experience for him as well. Grace had some blood sugar issues after birth, but those were quickly resolved as well.

We are so in love with our Grace. We are overwhelmed by God's gift to us. After 5 years of infertility, it's hard for us to wrap our mind around that we are now parents. I think I look at her and cry daily....but hopefully that will stop before she's old enough to be embarrassed by it. Here are some photos of our amazing gift from God.

A couple of updates

Well, I noticed it has been a while since I last wrote. I guess there have been some things going on, but mostly just the same stuff.

Grace is now considered full term. So she could arrive any day! And also should not need any medical assistance if born now. That is a comfort to know :-)

At my 36w growth scan, she was 6lbs 8 oz which puts her in the 71st percentile. The doctors are very happy with her size and also with my gestational diabetes control and health in general. Inductions can only be scheduled one week in advance at the hospital I am having Grace at; so it is not officially scheduled yet, but it should be on 11/5 per my last ob appointment. I'm hoping she goes on her own before then.

We also recently attended a baby shower thrown for us by James's clown group. It was so nice of them. I've only met most of them once. They are all very excited for Grace and were very generous in their gifts and time to have a shower.

Speaking of generous gifts, Grace has received more homemade blankets than any other baby I've ever heard of. It's crazy. We so appreciate the time and love people have put into our daughter already. We've received 3 quilts (James's cousin, a former coworker of mine, and one of the clowns--all made amazing quilts) and we've received knit/crocheted blankets from--James's great grandmother (who made extra ones before she past away for future grandchildren), my aunt, a lady who is at the bus stop with James sometimes, and one of James's coworkers. My aunt also made Grace 2 hats, booties, and a sweater. They are all so special to receive. I keep telling my self to take photos of these to post, so...hopefully I'll do that soon.

I'm headed into week 2 of not working. It's nice so far. I'm very tired, so it's nice not to use up all of my energy at work, but then part of me feels like I have enough energy to work, but then I have to remind myself that I only have any energy because I'm not waking up at 6am, going on an hour commute on a bus and walking, and working 8 hour days.....

Well, let's pray that Grace comes quickly and remains healthy. We thank God daily for our miracle baby :-) Who ever thought I'd be 9 months pregnant!! Not me.
And, prayers for my perseverance as I try to get all of the last minute stuff together and the house cleaned for Grace...and for my amazing husband working 2 job and not complaining once.

so busy

Life has gotten a bit busier. I guess James working 2 jobs and me having 3 medical appointments a week will do that to you. My work has also been crazy busy. I am trying to leave instruction manuals and organize everything that I do in a way that others will be able to do it easily in my absence....that is a full time job in itself, but then more work keeps pouring in. It's like the students knew I was down to my final weeks and decided to make it interesting. But, this upcoming week is my last week! I am praying that I'll be able to leave things organized.

All of Grace's appointments have been going well. They are a little time consuming, but it's so nice to get to hear her heart beat 3 times a week--and 2 of those times are for atleast 45 minutes. I am always happy for the reassurances that all is well.
This upcoming Friday we have our next growth ultra sound and meet again with the maternal fetal medicine specialist. We are excited to hear what he has to say and also very interested in how big Ms. Grace has gotten. I'm thinking she's going to be around 7lbs at this point.

I have contracted a bit of a cold. It sort of stinks because I was already feeling a bit rundown and tired....and now I'm very rundown and very tired. I'm hoping it passes soon. Getting into a comfortable sleep position is near impossible at this point as well too...and my hips hurt. But, I'm so excited to be having Grace soon and feel so blessed that God gave us this miracle pregnancy...so when you reflect on it, it's hard to complain :-) I am looking forward to a couple of weeks or relaxation and some little things that need to be done to prepare for Grace's arrival.

God is good!

Another weekend gone...

With James working 2 jobs now (both Monday thru Friday), our weekends are filled with to do list items and trying to get some sleep. I'm so thankful to have a husband dedicated to our family who would take a second job to help support us though! Grace and I are blessed :-)

We did get some reorganizing done...and some shopping done. We finally got a mattress for Grace's crib. I was waiting for a good coupon or sale and a good coupon came along which wasn't good until this weekend. I'm not sure why crib mattresses have such a weird price range. Either they are cheap or pricey---not really an in between set. We had previously purchased a somewhat inexpensive one that had good reviews, but it was too small for our crib (even though it claimed to be standard crib size) so we had to return it. So, we finally got to put our crib bedding on! It makes the room look so much more complete :-) The bedding, I also had a coupon for and we made a trip to babies r us to get the one from our registry. Then when we were walking to the back of the store to the bedding section, we walked by a clearance section--and there was my bedding! They were selling the one they had on display. So I opened the package and went through all of the pieces--all accounted for, no stains or damage... So, between the clearance price and my coupon, I got quite the good deal.