The pictures will do the talking to summarize our first weeks at home...
Love this little collage of some snapshots of our first day at home including Cooper loaded in his car seat and ready to go, cuddles with mommy, lounging in his new Rock 'n Play, and a very doting big brother. The day really did go quite well. Of course there were some tears shed by each of the kiddos, but overall the day was fairly calm, laid back, and peaceful. No complaints from this mama!
Little Cooper lounging in his bouncy seat. He's yet to decide if he's very fond of this seat. His preference is to be held and cuddled, but he'll tolerate the bouncy chair for awhile if it's right after a nap and having his belly full.
I love this picture because it completely reminds me of a similar picture of MJ standing next to Charlotte laying on her changing table as a newborn. It's posted on the right hand side of the blog. His pride just beams! He really is a great big brother.
The first thing MJ does when he wakes is come check on Cooper, and the first thing he does when he gets home from preschool is come inquire about Cooper. I took this pic when we'd just been hope a couple days. MJ came in from preschool, and came up to my room and asked to hold Cooper. It just happened to be perfect timing. He sat and held him for a good ten minutes, and we had a great conversation. It was a really special moment I'll remember with my two little boys.
All three babes asleep for the night...phew! This was night one at home. I call this SUCCESS!
It doesn't get much better than this...my little angel lying on my chest.
Cooper had his first sponge bath on our second night at home. He seemed to enjoy it for the most part meaning he didn't scream his head off the entire time...just a little. ;) I always love bathing my babies..getting them all clean, dressed in warm, cozy pj's and smelling delicious!
Mema and Papa came to visit after we'd been home for a couple days. They arrived on Friday evening, and if you couldn't tell by the pics, MJ and Charlotte were quite wound up and excited to play with them. There were LOTS of cuddles and tickles for all three! That next day, Saturday, Mema and Papa took MJ and Charlotte out for a couple hours and went to Jumpin' Janes for some much needed playtime. Then, we enjoyed a nice dinner here at home together that night and some more cuddles with the little ones, before we called it a night, and they headed back to Missouri the next morning.
Little Miss Charlotte has adjusted much better than I'd expected. I must give her credit. Besides being baffled those first few days as to why I couldn't lift her, she then seemed to catch on, and not really mind a bit after that. Gigi was here to do lots of the picking up and cuddling of Charlotte which was such a huge help! Charlotte liked to peek in on her baby brother and see what all those little noises were all about. She was very curious, but very good. So far, no roughness really at all from her (which is a bit surprising). She loves to go see baby Cooper when she gets up in the morning. She doesn't like when he cries, and she'll usually say "baby cry" and run to him to check on him. She's been so cute to watch. Really for her, life has gone on and she pretty much goes with the flow. I must admit she's gotten to watch a lot more TV. I use it as a crutch many times when I need to nurse Cooper and keep her busy and contained for a bit. Her and Dora are now BFF's.
So, of course, the famous question I'm asked now is "How is life with 3?" Just like whether you have one child or eight (not that I'd know), there are good days and challenging days. I've had my fair share of stressed out moments feeling like just getting them all out into the van is like an all day event. For the most part though, the transition from two to three, has been GREAT! It's certainly not rainbows and butterflies all the time, but I feel like it's been much less of a shock to my system as it was transitioning from one to two. I'm not sure why really, but I know many other moms who feel the same way. I don't feel like it really changed life or our daily routine too much. It added a bit more responsibility, made my arms a bit more full, but added even more love and warmth to our family. It's already suddenly hard to imagine life before Cooper. It's so magical how that happens. If you couldn't tell, he's got a big brother and big sister who are quite smitten...
As a side note, I had these big brother/big sister shirts all prepped and ready to go for the day of Cooper's arrival. I had their outfits laid out for my mom to dress them in that morning, and she lovingly obliged. In my mind of course, I imagined MJ and Charlotte meeting their newest sibling, and having a cute picture of them loving on him. As with life, my picture perfect plan went out the window when Cooper was taken to the NICU. There was no chance for the kids to gaze at him while wearing their cute new shirts, much less take a picture. I love how sometimes those life moments put us in check and remind us what's really important!
After we'd been home a few days though, we dressed the kiddos in those shirts again and tried to take some pictures. Of course once again, I had the idea of them all piled together smiling at Cooper for that picture perfect moment. Charlotte wanted nothing to do with it though, Cooper began fussing, etc. etc.... but guess what, I just snapped pics of them interacting with him normally, and these pictures will always probably be even more special. I love how they turned out in the end.
This is one of my absolute faves. I bought MJ this VTech kid's digital camera (thank you $10 deal on a garage sale site) , and gave it to him the night before Cooper's birth in his Big Brother gift bag. He loved it! My hope was that he could use it that day at the hospital taking pictures of Cooper, but again, of course that didn't work out. MJ never really complained though. He found PLENTY of things to take pictures of over the next few days while we were in the hospital. My mom and dad said he'd take pictures of everything around the house. Once we got home though, he was excited to begin taking pictures of Cooper. It really was so cute to watch him. Never once did he ask us to take his picture with it. He was always taking pictures of other, most often Cooper, and then sharing them with us.
In case you can't read these shirts they say, "I love my Pop Pop", and each of the kiddos has one. They were an online deal that mom and I saw online and she ordered them, because really....how can you not? Too funny!! Even Cooper is wearing one! We had to take this picture of all three of them together with Pop Pop and GiGi. This was taken shortly before mom and dad left to head back home. Tears were shed, as it really was hard to say goodbye.
I am, and will be, forever grateful for my mom and dad's help throughout those few weeks. Being in the hospital, and then really focusing on Cooper's issues, definitely took my attention away from MJ and Charlotte. I never once had to worry though because I knew they were getting so much love and attention here at home from Gigi and PopPop. They kept the kiddos in a routine, kept our house up, and took turns visiting Cooper and I at the hospital as well. My dad had to leave to return home, and back to work, the day before we came home from the hospital. He then came back right before Halloween to spend a couple more days with us before returning home for good with mom. There are no words for all my mom did for us those few weeks. Bringing home a new baby is such an exciting time, but let's be real...it's really tiring, emotional, and physically demanding. Recovering from a csection complicates a bit more even. She was great....cleaning, laundry (ohhh, the laundry), cooking, baby holding, toddler cuddling, disciplining, baking, and all while looking out for my needs and feelings. There are some things only a mom can do, and she just knows....
This was Mat giving Cooper his first bottle. Charlotte was our tough cookie when it came to bottles. Besides a few in the very beginning, she never would take a bottle, and I nursed her the entire first year without much of a break ever. With my future work schedule and lesson learned from the past, we were determined to get Cooper a bit more flexible with taking a bottle. So far, so good. He's getting a couple a week and never putting up a fuss at all. Hopefully it keeps up!
Mat has also been such a huge blessing to me this first month at home! He really takes the reigns as far as the bigger kids go. We each kind of have our roles...I do most all the newborn care, and he keeps the bigger ones happy. It works well for us. I love watching him with the kids and seeing the relationships he's formed with them. He's had to step up more around the house and done so without complaint. I couldn't do it without him!
