Here is Debby's and Sam's reaction to our baby news.

Just ignore the post date on these. I'm trying to play catch up and get on the blogging bandwagon again. :)

Here I am 9.5 months pregnant with Cooper.

Cooper is here!!! Our little man came into the world on a very stormy Monday night after a breezy (being sarcastic here) 24ish hr labor. He was born on June 27^th 2011 at 9:02 pm. At Forsyth Hospital in Winston-Salem N.C. He weighed in at 8 lbs 1 oz and was 21” long, and was just beautiful. I had had on and off labor for about a week and was oh so ready for things to start for real. He was 4 days over due and I had a bottle of caster oil calling my name. I didn’t use it but had it on hand just in case things got completely unbearable. Then Sunday afternoon I was having the same on off contractions when Andrew suggested we take a car ride. Being in the car always seemed to start things going a little stronger. When things didn’t seem to really be progressing very fast we decided to head to bed and see if we couldn’t get some much needed sleep. I laid there for about an hour and the contractions started to come a little stronger and more regular. So I got up and went down stairs to bounce on my yoga ball and watch our local travel channel. I hadn’t really eaten anything that day because of tummy troubles so I thought I had better try and down something before things got too far. I only got a quarter of a cup of raisen bran down. Had I known what was ahead I would have forced myself to eat a four course meal right then. Not eating or sleeping for two days straight I think was my down fall. After a few hours of bouncing I got Andrew up and said that we were getting closer. We got everything in the car and then gave it a couple more hours just to be sure nothing was stopping. Then around 2 A.M. off to the hospital we went. When the nurse was checking us to see if they would be admitting us or sending us home she asked if this was our first and then let us know that they usually send first timers home at least 3 or 4 times before they will admit you. I was being so quiet during contractions that I don’t think she thought that I was really in labor. Then when she checked she said “Oh, you are at a 4!” Yay! I thought great we will have this baby by lunch time. Hee…hee… Then after 14 hours of hall walking and swaying with Andrew rubbing my back I was at an 8. But I stayed at an 8 for about three hours. Andrew by the way was totally amazing throughout the whole thing. I told him if the whole lawyer thing doesn’t work out he should consider being a doula. He said not in his worst nightmares. So by this time We were both sooo exausted and sooo hungry (because they wouldn’t let me eat ANYTHING once we were admitted) that I started passing out in between contractions. My body had had it. So I gave in to the epidural. Well actually my pain levels were so high because I had been in transition for so long that they gave me a spinal first so that there would be immediate pain relief and then the epidural and then broke my water. Then Andrew and I fell right to sleep. After about an hour the  Dr. came in and checked me and I was STILL at an 8 then he said that something was going to have to happen soon and If nothing had happened within an hour that we were going to have to talk about the possibility of a c-section. So as soon as he left I asked the nurse and Andrew to help me move onto my side. We did a couple of side flips and I said a few prayers then after about an hour when one of the nurses checked me she said “we’re ready to go, she’s at a 10” Thank goodness!!! Then we got a new nurse (we went through three shift changes of nurses and Dr.s) and did a few practice pushes. She thought things might go quicker if we waited for the tiny bit of the epidural left to die off and shoot up a little pitocin. So everything that I didn’t want to have happen excepting c-section, happened. But all that really mattered was that he was here and healthy. So we waited a tad and then she told Andrew to grab a leg. I don’t think Andrew thought he would have to be so involved. I really couldn’t have done it without him. Then after about an hour and a half of pushing and throwing up strawberry kiwi propel every push, to the soundtrack of the most amazing thunder outside our little Cooper arrived. The Dr. put him right onto my chest and immediately I was completely overcome with the most intense love. I had never experienced anything like that feeling. I mean I love Andrew that way but that feeling was built up over time. Nothing could have prepared me for that all at once you would do anything and I mean anything for this little person that you seriously just met two seconds ago. He was beautiful. He was so alert, he gave just a few hearty little cries and then just sat checking out the world while snuggling mom and holding dad’s hand. The first thing Andrew said was “look at those hands!” He had really big hands and feet. The feet he has grown into, his hands still look pretty big. He also had these deep creases in between his eye brows that looked like deep frown lines. I thought that they were just from being squished in utero but turns out he scowls a lot and tends to look pretty serious. Everyone always comments on his serious little grumpy face. But he makes up for it with the cutest smiles that stretch across his whole face. After an hour of just staring at him Andrew and I were so hungry that he decided to brave the storm and ran out and got burger king never did a burger taste so good. We were both starving. The next couple of days in the hospital were a blur of Dr’s and nurses in and out of our room at all hours.  We were happy to get home and finally get some rest. Then Nana (Andrew’s mom Debby) came on  week 2. It was wonderful having her. She Cooked awesome food, took Cooper when I needed naps, and gave great mom and medical advice (We had a nasty nasty battle with thrush both him and I that I won’t go into) we were sad to see her go. Coop is really strong for a baby. I have not been surprised though, I could feel that while he doing his exercising in my belly. On his two week, that’s right I said two week birthday he started rolling over from his belly to his back. At first I thought that he had just somehow fallen over because of how I set him but after doing it 6 more times we knew it was legit. 

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So sweet...

Birth announcement