Day 32

Today was such a pretty day!  Cool and sunny.  LOVE days like this.  Too bad I had the white balance set all weird on my camera so all the pictures I took don't look so great. 

Day 31

Fun in the bath after the 12 month well baby visit.  Three shots and a blood draw later, and things are all good.  23 pounds 13 ounces (again with the 13!) and 31.5 inches. 

Day 30

 Sharing mom's coconut bar... yum!!

Fun at daddy's work.

 My cypress trees.

 Napping in mama's giant recliner.

Zzzz...

Okay Day 30 -- you inspire me

I'm making a vow today to use my dslr for the next 10 days' worth of photos.  I think I'm going to start setting goals like this for my 365 project so I don't get stuck in a rut and to keep things interesting and challenging.  Better photos, here we come!! :)

Also, I think I may reinstate Tuesday Tidbits.  I'm pulling myself out of this funk!

So here's today's tidbit - it's more a memory than a tidbit but oh well.  I didn't learn to ride a bicycle until I was 8 or 9.  I knew all the other neighborhood kids could do it, so I was embarrassed to even try since I knew they'd laugh at me and tease me.  So, one night when my dad was still commuting to Houma and thus getting home very late, my mom stayed up late with me practicing riding it in the house.  I remember being so proud that I got it finally and then being so excited and staying up very late to be able to show my daddy that I could do it.  And then in the following week while riding my bike with my best friend Jo, he (or maybe his mom, I don't remember now) asked me why I was on my bike and not my scooter, and I remember telling them it was because my bike had had a flat tire.  The way Jo's mom smiled at me, I knew she knew the truth, and that was okay with me.  She kept my secret from the kids, and that's all I wanted. 

A Cohen Update and then some

I'm not in good spirits again, but instead of unloading on all of my kind listeners, I'm going to write some fun things about Cohen before I forget them.  :)  And some updates on the house and such.

I would say he's now a walker.  He pretty much opts to walk now instead of crawl.  He still is very wobbly, but getting better and better.  Just yesterday he was holding onto one of Nana's big chairs, let go, walked around the back, turned and walked around the side, then turned again and walked around to the front all without holding on!  He can also stand up from sitting without holding on to anything sometimes.

He's starting to play more on his own.  Not often, and not for long, but it's actually happening.  That makes me happy because now sometimes when I do laundry he's not clinging to my leg crying the entire time. 

When Cohen falls but doesn't get hurt, he pats the ground ever so softly as if saying, "Phew, I'm okay."  Haha.  It's so cute and I know I'll miss it when he stops doing that. 

He loves to cuddle soft things like stuffed animals, pillows, and blankets.  Sometimes even the couch.  He will stop what he's doing when he catches sight of something soft and go lay his head on it and cuddle.

He also *almost* has the hang of his push car we got him for his birthday.  He can get on and off of it all on his own.  He likes to beep the horn.  And he says "brrrrrr" while rocking back and forth on it. 

He has started climbing or at least trying to on everything.  Oh boy.

He's starting to sleep better.  Deeper and longer stretches without needing to nurse/cuddle.  I already miss it and it's not even gone yet. 




Scott and I are ready for another baby.  *gasp*  Just waiting on nature and AF to return.  Scott is so good to us.  Things have been crazy hectic around here lately, especially for him.  But he is so supportive of bedsharing and "extended" nursing and the way we parent.  And knows that another baby will just mean another body in our bed.  :D  And supportive of my Target habit.  Okay, well, he's at least understanding of that.  Speaking of, only necessities from now on out.  I got a little lax on the buying of things with Cohen's birthday around the corner.  Back on track now.  We've got more toys and clothes than we know what to do with, so no need for new stuff any time soon. 




The sheet rock is going up fairly quickly even though there's only a handful of guys working on it.  They better be great at finishing it as it doesn't look so hot right now. 

Scott and his dad put up some of the outside lights on the house over the weekend.  And finished up the wiring.  The porch lights/fans still need to go up.  Slowly but surely it's coming together.  Two more months maybe?  That seems like a long time but I know it'll pass quickly.



And speaking of two months... we have a wedding to go to in Texas in the middle of May, a wedding to go to two weeks later in Florida, and a car auction to go to a week after that in Oklahoma.  It's gonna crazy busy before things settle down and we can relax and enjoy our new house.  I'm not looking forward to all that car time.  There was talk of maybe flying to OK, but who knows.  We'd still need to rent a car once there since we'll be running the roads visiting all sorts of family up there. 



I tried getting rid of my dog Rowen (better known as Ro) recently, and that resulted in me working with a trainer instead.  She is really putting herself out of the way to do this for us, and I can't particularly say I'm thrilled.  I mean, I'm happy that I sounded desperate enough to warrant her help, but I don't have much faith that Ro is "fixable".  I know that he is if given enough time/work, I just don't know if I have that much in me to give to him.  I don't even poop by myself... usually I have a baby holding onto my legs, two cats fighting to get on my lap for affection, and a dog trying to sniff my crotch. (Sorry so graphic, but this happens every.single.time I try to go to the bathroom.)  I really just don't know how much more I can spread myself out.  (And remind me why I think adding another baby to our family is a good thing? Ha. I think babies are easier than pets.  Well, at least more rewarding.)  So, back to the point since I went off on a tangent, I don't particularly want to train him.  I don't know that I'll ever trust him around Cohen as he just seems so volatile to me.  I just want him gone.  But I don't think anyone will put up with his behavior when it thunders.  So, here we are--let's just hope this training thing works out for us. 



I'm lonely.  I miss all my art friends who now live all over the world.  I miss Scott having weekends off.  I love being able to stay home with Cohen, but I miss my job as a vet tech dearly. 
Okay, OK, OKAY I quit since I said this wasn't going to go there.

I did have a playdate with some of my old art school classmates on Friday.  All of our babies are within two months of age.  How cool?!  We had a good time, and I hope that we can get together again sometime soon.

Have a lovely afternoon while I try to do the same.

Day 29 of 365

Looking at books on mama's lap.

One more

Day 28 of 365

Napping before the birthday festivities begin.

Day 27 of 365

Logan can be sweet sometimes... He brought Cohen the garbage truck to play with in the sand pile. Baby Zoey was born last night so Logan and Tori are all excited about their baby sister. =)




Living room

Day 26 of 365

Playing in mama's cup of ice is a great way to make a boring walk through the house not so boring!

sheet rock!  it's a mess, and they are doing a sloppy job.  hopefully it comes out fine in the end.

Day 25 of 365

Birthday fun! Balloons and trucks are great fun! And his first hot rod!! Woo hoo!!

Newborn photos!

Cohen's hospital pictures.  He was so swollen from all the fluids they pumped into me.  I hated this whole experience.  I just wanted the photographer lady to leave us be, but Scott and my mom made me hold myself together to get these photos taken.  See the bruise on his little hand?  Breaks my heart.  They had to take his blood every four hours to check his glucose levels since he was such a big baby. 

 Checking in to the hospital with baby Cohen still in my belly!

 Cohen's debut! 

 Weight check!  Big boy!

Home at last!

Happy birthday baby boy!!

:-D so my babe is one. And here's his journey into the world.


Scott and I got to the hospital a little after midnight as directed. After checking in and getting settled into a room, the pitocin was started around 1:30am. I was about 2cm and 50% effaced at the beginning. I tried to sleep as much as I could, but it seemed like there was a nurse coming check on something every 10 minutes. A couple times in the night they came in and told me to reposition onto my side so Cohen could relax as his heart rate was all over the place.

At about 7:45am my dr came and checked me. I think I was about 4cm and 80%. She also broke my water by using only her fingers. My contractions were NEVER regular, so she said she thought it would be a while yet. She said she would be back to check on me in about two hours.

My parents and in-laws came to visit for a while, and were chatting amongst themselves in the room. I remember thinking I just wanted them to shut up and leave. Haha! At about 9:30 things were feeling more intense for me, and I wanted everyone but Scott out but didn't want to be rude, so I said I had to pee and they had to leave. Well, I tried to pee and nothing.

Then things get blurry.

My blood pressure started going crazy and Cohen's heart rate kept dropping, so my nurse said she was going to check me and put a monitor on his head. She said I was at about 6-7cm and 90% and I remember being so disappointed because things were really intense and I wanted to do this without an epidural. I asked her for some pain meds to take the edge off and she said she couldn't give me anything because of his dropping heart rate. (I wish she would have just told me I was in transition!) this was about 9:45.

I remember getting through contractions by exhaling really hard while holding Scott's hand. They didn't really hurt exactly, it was just overwhelmingly intense. I kept thinking, I'll either have this baby or die, but either way it'll be over soon. (isn't that awful?!)

Then, something amazing happened. My body knew just what to do. My uterus started pushing! My slightly panicking nurse looked in between my legs and got on her walkie talkie and requested backup and doctor NOW as this baby is coming!!

Then the room filled with nurses. I remember looking all around my bed and seeing a face everywhere I turned. One nurse in particular kept telling me not to push, and I remember telling her, "I'm not!!"

My doctor walked (ran, rather) into my room and as she was scrubbing down, people were suiting her up. She got to me and finally they said I could push. They counted through the pushes, all THREE of them. At 10:03am Cohen was officially born weighing 8 pounds and 14.3 ounces. He was 20 inches long. My doctor put him straight away on my belly and Scott cut the cord. She told scott she was going to give him a pair of gloves the next time i came to her pregnant because we won't make it to the hospital if my water breaks that went so quickly!! Then they took Cohen over to be checked out, weighed, etc but all in the same room. My dr told me I had brush burn pretty much everywhere, and there were two small places she wanted to stitch up. My god that was awful. Before she was finished, Cohen was placed back in my arms (well, on my chest as I remember clenching the bed rails in pain from the suturing) and he was wanting to nurse! He was rooting! Just like I read he would be! I was amazed! As soon as my privates were done being mauled, I nursed for the very first time. He latched right away, although looking back, it was probably a terrible latch at first, but we got through it.

I think I'll spare the rest of the hospital stay as it wasn't all too pleasant, although he did get to room in with me. Our hospital has recently become "baby friendly," so that was really nice. We got discharged the next afternoon thankfully.

I was sore for weeks. Literally. And weeks. And weeks. Recovery was so hard on me. I think I'll spare those details as well. Labor and delivery were a breeze compared to recovery for me.

Anywho, sometime today I will post newborn photos of my babe. There really is no other love like that for your child. <3

happy first birthday my little monkey butt!! We love you more than anything! =)

Day 24 of 365

Look at those wings!! :) And those arms getting tan, even with using sunscreen. He's also getting in another bottom tooth and is constantly rubbing his tongue on it. He's got his two bottom and officially his two top ones are completely broken through his gums.


Last year at this time I was trying to nap and remain calm since we were to go to the hospital for me to be induced at midnight. I remember trying to nap for hours, and when I finally fell asleep, my father-in-law decided to start cutting the grass and woke me up. He didn't know I was napping. I remember checking and rechecking my bags and the car making sure I had everything. And talking to the dogs about it all.

I totally didn't know what was in store for me, but I knew it would be amazing. :) I haven't been let down yet.

Day 23 of 365

First time at the park. He was way more interested in the tire mulch than in the playground equipment.

Today was my due date a year ago. I went to the doctor and got an u/s to check and make sure things were okay. Everything was, except he was measuring 8 pounds 9 ounces so they scared me into being induced because they said he was getting too big for me to deliver. Ahh, if only I knew then what I know now. So, I let them schedule me to go in to be induced the next night.

Stay tuned tomorrow and the next day for my birthing experiences. :)

Tub in the master bath.




Tub/shower in the hall bath.




Sheet rock in the living and dining rooms.

Day 22 of 365

Panting like the doggies. Today has been not so good. I'm overwhelmed and in poor spirits. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Perfect Sunday

Napping on the bed while mama and daddy figure out the tile for around the tub.








Mmmm... Nothing like a good snowball on a hot day!






Angry kitty.





:)