A Lot Can Happen In A Month...

It's been a month since our lives have turned upside down- for the better! I can't believe it! It seems like yesterday that we were in the hospital; I can remember everything so fondly...I finally broke down and watched the video of the birth the other day. My mom filmed it and let me tell you, she got the money shot. It was so amazing. I'm not sure that the boys will ever want to see the video in their lifetimes, but I will definitely cherish both videos that I have of my little miracles!!

Zach is doing well. He is a puker, just like Coop. The doctor says its reflux, others speculate that he's over eating, that my let down is too fast, etc, etc. I think part of his problem is that he has so much gas to push out that he ends up throwing all of his food up! Whatever the cause, it's more of an annoyance at this point rather than a health concern. These are his weight stats: birth- 8 lbs, leaving the hospital- 7.9, one week after birth 7.2 and finally, today he is 9.7! Whoa! I'm so surprised! With all of the milk that comes out of him, I would never have guessed that he has put on almost 2 pounds in a month! Breastfeeding is so intense b/c you don't know how much they are getting, if they are getting the good hind milk, when they are still hungry and when they just want to suck, etc. I have been crazed about weighing him every chance I get b/c I have been paranoid that he's not getting enough. But, I don't think I'll have to worry about that any time soon! He continues to be a sweet baby. He has already rolled over from his tummy to his back, he is starting to smile and even laughed today! He is so strong (maybe even stronger than his brother) and has been holding his head up since birth, but has the strongest ab and leg muscles ever! Cooper might have a competitor in the midst!

Cooper continues to be hilarious! He loves to kiss the baby and put the baby's pacifier in the baby's mouth. His vocabulary continues to grow- David and I stopped counting his words at 100. He can already count to 10, say his ABC's and can tell you which letters are which and which numbers are which! His little sentences and mocking of what we say is hysterical. He told his Paw Paw that he wanted 'pancakes and coffee' for dinner one night. He always wants to help us cook in the kitchen, "I cook, I cook Mommy". Last night we had two interesting things happen. All of a sudden he became very interested in exploring his 'orafaces' when changing his diaper. I'm hoping this is a developmental phase and that it will pass quickly- eww! Then, I just happened to turn around in the bathroom in time to see him taking his toothbrush out of the toilet and begin to put it in his mouth. I just about croaked. I guess he thought it was his own miniature sink for his own personal use! Again, eww. I'm sure there are more lovely events to experience with little boys but these two will last me a while.

We are trying really hard to be just as attentive to both boys. It seems as though Zach loves human contact and really likes to be carried in our arms or in the carrier. I think it makes his tummy feel better too. David's summer is ending this week. He is sad and so am I. It has been so nice having him home this time around. It was the best extended 'vacation' that we have both had in a long time. In a few weeks Cooper will start a new daycare. I will be looking at returning to work in September and life will change AGAIN!

Zach Part Two

Zach was born exactly four weeks ago today. I cannot believe it has gone by so fast! I have been loving having him sleep on my chest, stay awake more often and begin to try to find his voice. He is such a sweetie. We are taking him to a chiropractor on Monday to see about alleviating his throwing up problem. I had heard about this before, taking babies to chiropractors to compensate for the intense birth process, and after talking with folks in Athens whose babies had benefited from this, I was convinced we needed to at least try. For instance, the chiropractor herself has a baby that puked as much as Zach. She said that her treatments on him have cut his puking by 50-75 percent. Another mommy had a baby who could latch on to nurse on one side only; after some therapy, he latched on perfectly. So, I will keep you posted. Below are some pics that our friend Kelly took with their fancy camera at about two and half weeks old.

Introducing Zachary Wells (a.k.a. the Longest Post Ever)

We're baaaaack.....I am now finding time to get back into the world of blogging. Zachary is chilling out in his swing (thank goodness for the swing) and will probably need one more feeding before we all go down for the night. I haven't posted since I was in labor, so I'll fill you in on the events of the last three weeks.

I started in labor on Thursday morning with contractions; they went away by late morning, but I knew something was up! Friday morning I woke up with contractions and knew this was it!! I labored at home until we finally decided we needed to go to the doctor for a check to see just how far along I was. We arrived at the doctor's office around 1:30 or 2:00, the np checked me and had a 'look' on her face. She said I was about 4 cm and that he was 'very low'; so much so that she touched his head! We went down to get hooked up to the monitor and she asked me how much my first child weighed. I told her 7.10 and she laughed- she said she predicted that this one would be much bigger!!! Anyway, she told us we could either go on to hospital or go back home; she didn't seem too thrilled with us going back home. I think she was pretty sure the little one was going to come fast! So, David and I talked it over and we went on to the hospital.

We probably got settled in at the hospital around 3:00 PM; the doctor broke my water around 4:30 (by the way, best feeling ever! It was such a relief to get rid of the pressure!). Contractions started coming almost one right after the other. I finally told the nurse that I needed to push, that he was coming out whether she liked it or not- she literally checked me and held her hand there while she called for the doctor on the phone- she was holding him in! By the time the doctor arrived, I pushed about three times and Zachary was here! The doctor put him on my chest, David cut the cord and all was well! He weighed in at eight pounds even and 21 inches.

The last few weeks have been good; he is such a sweet baby. He sleeps ALL the time and wants to nurse ALL the time! He likes to cuddle and spent every night until this past Sunday in our bed with us. We moved him to the swing and he loves it. He is nursing about every two hours and can go about four hours at night. David has been such a GOOD dad; he helps with Cooper and diapers and the cooking. It's great having him home (even though I'm sure he looks forward to his MWF class in the afternoons!). Having a toddler and an infant is HARD! Everyone said it would be and they were not lying. It's difficult to nurse a baby all of the time and still be able to play and interact with the toddler. It's getting better though. Our main goal right now is to get Zachary to gain weight (he is a puker; I thought we had put that behind us with Cooper, but I guess not!) which he is doing well. We go to the mommy/baby nursing group on Mondays. We try to walk every day and we try to keep Cooper under control!

Cooper loves to kiss the baby and point out all of his body parts (nose, eyes, etc). He also likes to tell us when the baby is crying, 'Baby cayenne'. Other than checking on him about twice a day, he doesn't really pay attention to Zach. It will be fun to watch the two of them grow up together. I'm already planning summer birthday party themes in my head! Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure!