Spoon-fed

The adventure of life with a spoon has started for Cooper!  A few weeks ago, I started to get worried about him not gaining weight.  He eats really well and isn't fussy, but he just looked so skinny and didn't seem to be growing out of his 0-3 month clothing.  We had tried weighing with him on the scale and it seemed about the same each time.  One of the pharmacies in town rents out hospital baby scales, so I decided to spend the $7 and rent one for a week just to monitor Cooper's weight.  Well after getting it home and him weighing in at 11 lb, 3 ounces, I called our pediatrician, Dr. Hoffman.  The nurse had us come in the next morning for a weight check....and their scale confirmed that Cooper weighed 11.3 and hadn't even gained a pound in 6 weeks since his 2 month check-up (and remember that he was 8 lb, 1 ounce at birth--so not a small baby).  He had dropped from the 22% to 4%.  The nurse told us that Dr. Hoffman wanted us to start adding in rice cereal (mixed with breast milk) so that he could get some extra calories.  It seems like he is getting enough, but my milk isn't high in calories.  So for the past 2 weeks, Cooper has been enjoying rice cereal twice a day.  It took a few days to get the hang of it, but now he is doing great and seems to like it.  So even though I probably wouldn't have chosen to start him on the rice cereal now, it has been a pretty easy addition.

 

And here's a [not very good] picture to show you how mister's hair is coming in.  It's still pretty blonde, but every once in a while, it has a red tint to it. 

These next pictures are from the family pictures we got taken back at the end of October.  These are just a small portion of them and we absolutely love them!  Our friend Anna is an incredible photographer, so if you're ever needing pictures...check her out!

We will have a 4 month old next week! Crazy! I'll update soon after his appointment next week about how he is [hopefully] growing!

Cooper: 3 months

Confession: I really don’t mean to only post once a month for Cooper’s monthly update, but so far, that’s how it has been going.  I’ll try and get better.  Keyword: TRY

I’m sure this is going to be a phrase that I use for the rest of my life….”I can’t believe you are already <fill in the blank>.  So here we are at the end of November and I’m saying, “I can’t believe you are already 3 months old!”  We don’t go to the doctor for another month (whew…don’t have to worry about the next round of shots for a whole month), so I’m not exactly sure where we are on weight/length, but our guess from trying to weigh on the scale is maybe 11 ½-12 lbs.  He still seems pretty skinny and pretty long.  Coop is still in 0-3/3 month clothing, although we have a few one-piece outfits that are a little short in the legs.  He is also still wearing size one diapers.  He is on a great schedule- waking up in the morning about 8 and then feeding at 8, 11, 2, 5, 8 and then going down for the night.  He still wakes up once in the middle of the night (around 5 or 5:30), but after he eats and gets a quick diaper change, he goes right back down without a fuss!   I can’t believe that breastfeeding has gone so well.  He is a great eater- and takes a bottle great when I’ve needed to pump to be gone or for convenience out & about.  He normally stays awake for about 1 ½-2 hours and then naps the other 1-1 ½ hours.  Eat, play, sleep, repeat!  Coop is really content and a pretty smiley boy!  He will sometimes get a little fussy in the evening and just cat nap, but we’ve had major improvements in bath time, getting in the car seat, and taking naps in the crib.  Seriously, such a happy boy!  I love the mornings when I get to go in and wake up Cooper.  Although he seems a little confused when he first wakes up, it’s great to start the day with those sweet smiles.  He is still rolling consistently from his tummy to his back and a couple of days ago, he got up on his side and almost rolled from his back to his tummy!  He laughs and “talks” to us and has interest in toys that hang on his little play gym and yesterday, very directly looked at a toy on Eric’s lap, reached for it, and grasped it in his fingers.  We’ve tried sitting in the bumbo and while his neck is getting so strong, it’s hard for him to hold it all the way up while sitting there (so he was lounged back a little!)  And now for the pictures!

First family 5k

Giraffe for first Halloween

Hanging out with grandma on Thanksgiving

Cooper and cousin Clara playing

Cooper got to meet my college friends Brenna & Ashley

Big boy at bath time!

Snuggles with momma

Strong neck!

Sweet smiles

precious boy

 
Cooper, we love being your parents.  You are an added joy to our family!  We cherish these moments with you because we know you are growing so fast!

2 months old!

Sweet Cooper is now two months old!  It's hard to believe.  I think the first month of life went so fast...but life has slowed down a bit as we are now in a routine.  He has changed so much over the last month.  There were 3 things that the doctor wanted Coop to be able to do by his appointment, which were smiling, cooing, and tracking with his eyes.  And thankfully, Cooper has mastered all of those.  Now we just have to practice rolling over, laughing out loud, bringing our hands together, and reaching for things before our 4 month appointment. 

2 months stats:
10 lbs, 8 ounces -- 22nd percentile
23 1/4 inches long -- 62nd percentile
and head circumference is "a hair over average"
So the doctor said that Cooper is long, slender, and very healthy!

He is still a great sleeper!  We definitely have more awake time, but it's hit and miss about when that awake time is going to be.  A typical day starts around 8:00am (unless we need to be somewhere) and then he feeds at 11, 2, 5, 8, and then again around 9 or 9:30 and go down for the night.  Naps really are random.  Sometimes he will sleep for two hours and sometimes he just cat naps for 20 minutes.  He still loves to be held during the day, but we have recently discovered that he also loves the swing and will many times just fall asleep in it (thanks Underwoods).  Most times after he eats and has a diaper change, he is pretty content to just lay on a blanket.  We've also had a few naps in his crib on his tummy.  Don't worry, we've had the video monitor on, kept a pretty close eye, and his neck control is also getting stronger and he can easily turn from side to side.  At night, we swaddle and he usually goes down pretty fast.  And thankfully, bath time has improved tremendously!  He is wearing 0-3 months clothes and size 1 diapers. 

2 months old!

Doesn't always love the modeling gig ;)

We also had the privilege to dedicate Cooper at our church last weekend.  We know that we can't do anything to save to him, but we can help foster his growth and teach him about the Lord.  It has been our prayer since we found out that we were pregnant that our child would grow in knowledge of the Lord and make a decision to give his heart to Jesus, following Him all the days of Cooper's life.  We commit to pray for him and share with him the Gospel.  During a luncheon the day before the dedication service, our pastor made the comment that the best thing we can do for our child(ren) is to have a healthy marriage.  Can I get an AMEN?!

Family picture for baby dedication

My guys!

All the visitors: grandparents and Uncle Pat

And just some other random pictures of our favorite little guy!  We love you Cooper!

We love that cute smile

Seriously. Stop it!

catching flies

we caught the pout on the monitor

starting to love sucking on our fist

So much hair in his little mullet...but thinning more on top

Thanks for reading all about me!

great-grandparent day

Saturday was a special day as Cooper got to meet all three of his great-grandparents.  We decided on the spur-of-the-moment to make the trip to Marshfield on Saturday for our nephew Drew's birthday.  We left on Friday and stopped in Rolla to spend the night so Cooper could spend some time with my parents.  Friday also happened to be my grandpa's 83rd birthday.  My grandpa and I have a very special relationship.  We grew up on the family farm, so there was only half a mile between our houses and we spent a lot of time at my grandparents house.  I always make the claim that I am his favorite :)  It was very exciting for Cooper to meet him.  Even though he won't remember, it was a very special moment to me.  Based on Papaw's alertness and smiles, it was a special moment for him too. 

[Side note:  Cooper also got to meet his great-aunt and uncle Brenda and David and cousins Rob and Christy, but we didn't get any pictures of that :( ]

Eric's grandparents traveled with his parents to Marshfield for Drew's birthday party on Saturday.  Our last minute trip was a surprise to Eric's grandparents, and we could tell that they were excited as Eric's grandma was up the second we walked through the door trying to get her hands on Cooper!

We are lucky to have three of our grandparents still alive, and are so glad that they got to meet Cooper and that those moments were captured in pictures.

Cooper is here!

In case you haven't noticed (from the pictures and fb posts), Cooper is here!  After 32 hours of being in the hospital, he decided to grace us with his presence... 37 minutes before his due date.  It's funny how after you have a baby, it is so much more interesting to hear other women's labor stories and experiences.  I now have a better understanding of the verbage and can empathize in many ways.  And let me tell you, God is so faithful, gracious, and took care of us during the entire experience (not that I doubted He would).  Cooper was born at 11:23pm on Saturday, August 25th, weighing 8 lbs, 1 ounce and 20 inches long.  He had a little bit of a rough start, but is extremely healthy!  We're thankful that he is eating, sleeping, and relieving himself very well!  I think that's all you can really ask for from a newborn.  We had our appointment with the pediatrician at 2 1/2 weeks, and he weighed in at 8 lbs,  5 ounces (which he left the hospital at 7lbs, 13 ounces) and so he was very pleased that he had gained back his birth weight and above!  So now for some pictures--

Our first family photo. I know I look rough--and yes, I felt like I looked.

First ride in the stroller--he loves the carseat, stroller, Moby wrap, and Bjorn backpack

Sweet boy sleeping...which we swaddle him at night (and not typically in the day)

Bri came and took some newborn pictures. Can't get enough of him!!

He stayed awake and so content during his photo shoot

Dad got to feed the first bottle! I don't pump much, but he has taken 4 bottles now.

And now, since I'm almost 5 weeks behind in posting anything, we have a one month old!  So some updates (and things for me to remember later): We think he weighs between 9-9 1/2 lbs.  He usually wakes up to feed once during the night and then around 6am.  We're figuring out that he doesn't love to lay on his back all the time (when he is awake)--so we don't have the baby that just lays on a blanket during the day.  He like to be held and does usually pretty well in the bouncy seat.  I went to an infant massage class earlier in the week and he actually did really well with being on his tummy, so we might have a boy that enjoys tummy time when we get to that....and might become a tummy sleeper like his momma.  We have taken two trips out of town and he has done great with the car rides.  He has slept most of the time and then even if he is awake in the car, just hangs out pretty content.  Cooper isn't really a fan of bath time.  Today was actually the first time he didn't scream and cry through the entire bath--we're making progress :)  He is still wearing newborn diapers and newborn/0-3 months clothes...although some of his newborn clothes are starting to get too small in length.  He has been to church twice, out to restaurants, a few trips to the store, and over to friends' house.  He enjoys the stroller and has done really well on our walks.  Here are a few pictures I snapped when we took one month pictures on Tuesday.

One month old!

We're still doing sponge baths--we can do them quicker and today we had no crying!

We love you, Cooper Owen, and are so thankful for you!  One of the nurses in the hospital said, "So I hear that you had leukemia ... I guess the chemo didn't kill off your eggs!" This is exactly what my oncologist said to me too, which is just a reminder that Cooper is a gift from God.  And can I also say how much I love my husband.  I knew he was going to be a great daddy, but it's even more than I imagined.  I love our little family of three!

Coop's nursery

The days of Eric & Kelly Barb, the couple, are slowly winding down...and we are preparing (as much as we know how) to become a family of three.  I have now moved to weekly doctor appointments and everything is still going great.  We talked with our doctor yesterday about signs of labor, when to go to the hospital, and just got to ask her some questions about "how will we know?"  It's funny because I get asked all the time if I have had any contractions, lost my mucous plug, or if the baby has dropped.  And generally my answer is, "I don't think so- but I don't know what any of that feels like..."  We do have a small bit of progress though, because as of yesterday, I was dilated to "almost a 1" :)  I know that I could hang out there for weeks though.

I can't believe the summer is winding down.  Classes start back at SEMO on August 20th.  We have had a busy and really great summer: Summer Missions Orientation, Super Summer, two baby showers, time with family and friends, a trip to southeast Kansas, Campus Missionary Training, buying a new car, taking a couple of classes at the hospital, and getting the nursery ready for Cooper's arrival.  So do you want to see pictures?  I think we have all the necessities and all the things we don't need too.

We decided to piece together our own baby quilt.  (It is actually completely finished now and ready to be picked up!)  It was the inspiration that we built the room around for color.  I wanted something bright and fun--and to stay away from pastels or strictly blue and green.  The fabric is Alphabet Soup Boy by Riley Blake designs.

Here is the dresser that we got from an antique store and Eric painted.  I love the color!  He also updated the hardware.  We got the prints on the wall from Etsy and the dresser is also acting as the changing table.  In the next few pictures, you will see our new comfy swivel glider, Ikea spice racks turned into bookshelves, Ikea curtains, and homemade artwork.

Cooper also has his own rocking chair, that was made by some friends of Eric's from his hometown.

And then we have the crib, name on the wall, and storage unit with shelves, drawer, and laundry basket.  We haven't gotten everything put away, so the shelves and crib are currently acting as the catch-all.

I hope that helps you get a feel for the room!  I didn't have a great way to take pictures besides going around from wall to wall.   We're excited for our little man to arrive and be able to put all this stuff to use.  Who knew such a little thing could have so much stuff?!