boys and their chew toys...

2 Weeks

Cooper is now 2 weeks old! He went for his 2 week check-up today and here are his stats:
Head Circumference: 13 5/8 (10th percentile)
Length: 21 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 8 lbs. 2 oz. (25th percentile)

Lia was again pleased with his progress and reassured us that he is a healthy happy growing boy. As his stats show, he is definitely his father's child - tall and skinny!

My mom has been here with us all week and we were sad to see her leave today. We miss you already Nana!!

For Uncle Aaron

Uncle Aaron has been on a Medical Mission Trip to Russia for the past month. Cooper is very excited to meet him on Saturday. Hope you had a great trip Aaron!

First Week

So, Cooper is over a week old now (9 days to be exact). He has had 2 trips out and did great both times. We visited Panera and Babies R Us on Thursday and then went to Target today. He enjoyed Target so much that he fell asleep as we were strolling him around in his car seat in the buggy. I'll take that as a good sign.

Sean and I had a date night last night with some Olive Garden "To Go." I hated Olive Garden (normally my favorite) during my entire pregnancy so the breadsticks and alfredo sauce were extra good as I was munching them down yesterday. We followed it up with 1/2 of the movie Transformers. We stopped it about midnight when Cooper finally went to sleep with plans to finish it today. By the way...we have discovered and are enthusiastic customers of Netflix now. With the movie store near our house closed, and the closest one across town, we have fallen in love with the convenience of Netflix. For all of you who told us how great it was months ago, yes, you were right!

Pieces of Us

Mom stealing a few kisses
Reading with Dad
Boppy Time
I may look like my dad...
But I've got my mom's dimples

More Pictures as Requested

Dad helping with first sponge bath
Dad and Mom attempting the sponge bath
Cooper didn't like the bath very much
Nana was here to help
Frowny Face

Growing Already...

We went today for a weight check for Cooper at his Pediatrician's office (who happens to be our dear friend Lia). They like to do a weight check 2 days after leaving the hospital to make sure the babies are feeding adequately. As Sean said on an earlier post, Cooper has a voracious appetite and has been eating like a champ. He proved that today when the weight check revealed that he had already gained more than his birthweight. He was born at 7 lbs. 5 oz, was 7 lbs. even when we left the hospital, and today weighed in at 7 lbs. 6 oz. That means he has gained 6 oz in 2 days! Lia was more than pleased with his progress.

Also, feel free to give us a call between the hours of 1am and 4am (kidding!). One of us will probably be up. Cooper seems to think that these are prime daytime hours to hang out with mom and dad.

Welcome Home

We got to come home from the hospital today. What a great feeling! It is so nice to be home! The pictures attached are of us leaving the hospital and of meeting his big furry brother, who incidentally was wearing his Big Brother bandana.

Yesterday was quite a challenge. The nurses say that it is common on the day that boys are circumcised for them to be fussy. He was more fussy yesterday than the day before and had a really rough night last night. The ONLY way that he was soothed was to be nursing which was exhausting and the nurses finally placed him in a hold with me in the bed so that he could nurse and I could sleep. We just rotated from side to side all night in the bed.

All of that said, today has been WONDERFUL. He has slept SO much better - and without having to be held or nurse all of the time. Even if he is a night owl again tonight, I feel much better to help soothe him. I was able to get a couple of naps in today in my OWN BED which has done wonders for me. My mom is also here which is a huge blessing. The plan was that she was leaving today but we asked her to stick around for at least one more day and she gladly obliged. After all, she gets more time with her new grandson. So far she has done laundry, cooked dinner, and totally took apart and cleaned my stove (I never even knew the lid would lift up). Needless to say, she is a huge blessing and help to have around. Thanks for grandparents!

We also enjoyed a visit today from my sister, brother-in-law, niece, and dad who have been here since the birth but haven't gotten to visit with much. We look forward to seeing them again soon!

Welcome Cooper Levi Giese

Welcome to the world Cooper Levi Giese. He was born on April 11, 2008 at 08:41 AM weighing 7 lbs and 5.9 ounces and measuring 20 inches long. Delivery went well and mom and baby are doing fine. Cooper has been feeding well with a voracious appetite. He also had his first experience with the pediatrician and all his tests came back just fine. They even said he did really well during the circumsicion. He is the most handsome baby we have ever seen (no bias here, see the picture for yourself), and has sandy blond hair and blue eyes. Thank you to all the family and friends that have come by while we are in the hospital, all of us feel very loved. We are hoping to go home tomorrow (Sunday). Praise God for all his mighty works and his promises and for this very precious gift. James 1:17- "Every good and perfect gift is from above".

Progression

I went to the doctor today. Great News! I have progressed to 4 cm. and am 75% effaced. Labor has got to come soon! He said that I am the most dialated person in his practice - I'm not sure that is something to brag about. Sean and I felt very excited that at least we're seeing some progression. He said that labor won't be long once it comes so that is also a blessing - mom is just hoping that she makes it on time. He also officially wrote me out of work, meaning that I now have an official excuse to be home. He offered again to induce and I declined. He told me that I might be regretting my decision when real labor pains start. I probably will but I still want the experience. If I haven't had the baby by Monday, I have to go back so that they can perform a stress test on the baby to make sure that the womb is still supporting it. It's routine to do this a week after the due date. We'll keep you posted.

Updates

Thanks so much to everyone who has called or e-mailed wondering how we are doing. We're good. The baby is officially two days late today. I have been having some contractions since yesterday and have touched base with my doctor about it. His comment was that my body is probably "gearing up" for real labor. His general rule is to not go to the hospital until they are 5 minutes apart for at least an hour, which they haven't been.

I did go to work today, but declared it my last day. It's just time. I'm exhausted from not sleeping and not feeling all that great with contractions a few times an hour. I have really mixed emotions about it all. On one hand I feel guilty for leaving my students and colleagues in the hands of a stranger when I technically don't HAVE to be out yet. I also like I'm being lazy or something while I send Sean off to work each day and I'm just sitting and waiting for the baby to arrive. Note: This has nothing to do with Sean, as always, he's completely supportive - but I feel that way anyway. Everyone has reassured me that it is more than ok for me to take some time to rest and am amazed that I have worked past my due date, but these ugly thoughts creep in anyway.

We have also made the decision that I am going to stay home next year which I am excited about but I also have a sort of sadness at the thought of my teaching career coming to an end for an extended period of time. I've wanted to teach since I was five and have strived for that goal ever since. Now I'm kindof putting an end to it indefinitely. I feel very satisfied and successful in my profession and am going to miss that feeling. The thought keeps going through my head: Will I be as successful when and if I ever go back? It was an odd feeling today.

Sean is doing exceptionally well these days. He turned in his final copy of his thesis on Monday and except for a few hours left of his clinical rotation, he is cleared for graduation. I feel like I have a different husband. You could literally see the weight lifted from his shoulders on Monday afternoon. We have had great times each evening walking (come on baby!) and talking together. We haven't gotten to do this so much and it's great to "have him back." We also celebrated with a visit to Village Tavern for dinner on Monday night - yum!

Speaking of yummy - Parker had quite a treat today. I left a bag of jelly beans on the coffee table last night that I had been snacking on. The entire bag was gone today (there were about 1/4 left) when I got home from work. Silly dog! - at least it's not the carpet that he ate this time! Note to self: Be more careful what you leave on the coffee table.

Tarheels and Skybus

Sad news...

For those of you who know my husband well, you know what an avid Tarheel basketball fan that he is. This season, he has been especially engrossed - I'm not sure if it started because he is actually a Tarheel student or because they have had an incredible season. Anyway, he has been glued to the TV for each and every game wearing his "lucky" Carolina shirt and drinking from his "lucky" Carolina glass. I say "lucky" because he has become incredibly superstitious this season. The only times that he did not wear his shirt and drink from his glass during the games, the Tarheels lost - so having these things are a MUST in his mind. It is because of HIM that they are winning, you know ;) . I'm surprised his shirt doesn't have holes in it from all the times it has been washed in one season.

For those of you who have actually watched a game with my husband, you know what a treat that it is. He paces the living room constantly while giving advice, clapping, cheering and participating like he is on the first row of the stands. All was well last night. He had his lucky shirt, his glass was filled with sweet tea... and his beloved Tarheels fell from grace. They lost their final four game to the Kansas City Jayhawks in a horrible game. The crushed look on Sean's face in the final minutes (after they had narrowed their point difference to four) only to lose by much more than that (I'm not sure of the actual final score) mimicked the look of coach Roy Williams on TV. The shock, the dismay, the disappointment, the ultimate defeat... Sean's face said it all. Alas there is hope, Tyler Hansbrough still has a senior year, but to Sean the mourning must continue for another day.

In other sad news (sorry for the gloomy post!) our favorite airline, Skybus, has ceased operations. We LOVE Skybus as do many of our friends. Cheap flights from Greensboro (how convenient!) to places that we would love to visit. This is how we went to California last year, and to Boston, and we had a flight scheduled for Florida for the Giese family reunion in July. I got a message today that our flight had been cancelled and Skybus has ceased all operations yesterday! What a bummer!

Due Date is tomorrow for the baby... maybe this kid is not a Tarheel fan and was just waiting for no more games... At least having the baby would give Sean something to look forward to tomorrow night instead of the championship game! We're crossing our fingers! All prayers for a baby soon are welcome! Mom and Dad were feeling sorry for me and decided to come visit this weekend. It is always so good to see them! Mom and I walked and walked and walked. I was hoping that the baby would get the hint and come before they had to leave. They assured me that it was ok and that they could turn around and come back at any time. I just love my parents!

We gave in....

So, I (Christal) have recently found the joys in reading blogs from our friends. Yes, even though we live only minutes apart, it is interesting to keep up with the day to day goings on of their lives reading their thoughts and feelings. So... I tend to share the pictures and writings with Sean who sees my joy in reading these blogs. He has been asking for a while when I'm going to create a blog for us. Therefore... here we are... giving in... entering the blogging world.

News so far... there is no news. No, we still haven't had the baby. We have officially made it past April Fool's Day (not that there's anything wrong with an April Fool's Day celebration, but it wasn't our first choice) and Aaron's (Sean's brother's) birthday.

I am hoping to not have to go back to school on Monday, April 7th from spring break. Upon sharing this with my doctor yesterday, he asked me about two different dates to induce. I declined opting for the belief that God will make the baby come on its own. I admit that I'm getting a bit anxious - okay, a lot anxious. I'm ready for the baby to come and am getting a bit restless in waiting. I'm not really sleeping - not sure if that's from being anxious/excited or from being uncomfortable. Nevertheless, we will be sure to let you know when baby Giese arrives.