Smiles

Cooper shared with us this week his first smile.  Needless to say it made me grin like a school girl.

And these photos make me smile a lot!

This is what Elle does every time she sees Cooper.

Cooper

I'm sitting here, on a rainy day, snuggling with my 6 week old baby.  If you would have told me a year ago that this is what I would be doing, I would have thought "Yeah I wish".  But here I am! I am absolutely in heaven being at home with this cutie.

Jon and I tried for about 2 years to start a family.  It wasn't until last July when I decided to find a new doctor ( one that would actually DO SOMETHING ) that things happened.  And surprisingly we didn't even do anything.  I think for the first time in 2 years I had the confidence that it was going to happen.

In the beginning the pregnancy went very slow.  I was very nausea for the first 16 weeks.  Then right before Christmas I found out that I had gestational diabetes.  Finding out you have to completely change your diet the week before Christmas is no fun!  And not to mention having to prick your finger 4 times a day... it put a damper on my mood for a few weeks.  But then I got a hang of diet, I found foods I could eat, and the pricking of my finger stopped bothering me.  Not everyone with gestational diabetes is able to control it with diet and exercise, but thankfully I was able to. This allowed me to not have to take an medication, and in the end to have a healthy baby.

Next thing I know, it is April and my due date was April 20th.

This was me 3 days before Cooper was born.

On April 21st I went to the doctor to figure out what the plan was going to be.  I knew that they weren't going to let me go much longer than a week past my due date ( b/c of my gestational diabetes).  And to my dismay I hadn't dilated at all. I was really bummed.

Long story short, we decided to go that day to the hospital to begin the induction process.  

Jon and I ran around like crazy, getting our bags, straightening up the house one last time.  I couldn't believe we were going that day!!! I remember we went to lunch before we went the hospital and I remember thinking... this is our last meal as just Jon and I.  

I won't bore you with the details of the induction. But everything went according to plan, even a little better than planned... and Cooper was born at 8:43 PM April 22.  

Picture by... Andrea Dozier

It is completely cliche to say... but my world totally changed. I knew I would be in love with him, but I didn't know the extent of that love until I had him in my arms.

Best decision I made was having Andrea come the following day to take pictures. I will treasure these photos always.