The Adventures of the McDaniel's and McNugget

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

2 and 3 months old

Two months and three months has come and gone already! Cooper has been doing great and we are so blessed to have him in our lives. On Monday, April 30 he had his 2 month checkup and he weighed in at 11lbs 10ounces which is in the 80% percentile and is 22inches long which is in the 50th perecentile. He is a healthy little guy and we love every bit of him! He is cooing and smiling and starting to laugh...especially at mommy! Reid loves to spend the first few minutes early in the morning with him, I guess that is guy's time. He was sleeping through the night but over the last week has really started teething so he doesn't sleep as soundly and usually wakes up for a feeding. We have been swaddling him every night but he continually breaks loose so I think our nights of swaddling are coming to an end. Cooper loves being outside and seeing the leaves move and the feel the grass, but we have to be very careful since he is such a pale little guy. Since birth he has had a head full of hair but most recently it has been falling out like crazy. Although I am sad to see it go I am curious to see what color grows back in! Since the beginning of June we have to be careful leaving Cooper alone because he has mastered the art of inch worming himself around and he is so close to rolling onto his belly from his back. Since he was 3 weeks old he has been able to role from tummy to back which makes tummy time hard because when he is not wanting to be there he just turns. In just a few short months Cooper has changed our lives and we can't imagine what life would be like without him.
A little update on mommy and daddy:
Reid has finished another semester of classes and is spending his summer writing, writing and more writing. He will be going to Phoenix in July for a meeting and then will return and prepare to take his Comps. As for me I am happy to announce that April 23 I started a new job at University UMC and am SOOOOO happy! I work 830-330 and it gives me more time to spend with Cooper and Reid, plus I am in a much healthier situation. I am blessed to work with some amazing people and for a very special congregation that I have quickly come to love and call home.
We have planted our garden, and thankfully the rabbits have not gotten into the yard so we should have lots of produce starting in the next few weeks. Our hope is that we can make all of our own baby food, but we will see if it works out!

And now to catch you up on photos:

Mommy going back to work

learning to talk to mommy

One of my favorites! We were planting our garden and Cooper sat in the shade and I caught this series of photos

Daddy and Cooper at church

being a good boy for daddy

Cooper laughing at mommy

enjoying a baby Einstein video

Watching his first Nascar race

wearing one of cousin Braeden's outfits!

Cooper loves his blanket!

Mommy's new haircut!

hanging with daddy

Cousin Paege feeding Cooper

Camo cousins!

Cooper loves EVERYTHING in his mouth...thank you teething!

helping in the garden

enjoying the outside

grilling with daddy

Cooper's hair is falling out

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

1 Month Old

Wow, time has flown by! I can't believe Cooper is a month old already, seems like yesterday we just had him. We have been working on getting to know each other these few weeks, trying to figure out what each cry means. Cooper is a huge fan of sucking whether it be his bottle, hand, toy or pacifier. We attempted to breast feed but was not for either of us so we have gone straight to the bottle and he is eating between 2-3 ounces every 3.5-4 hours. We are still working on the naps during the day but normally he sleeps well at night. He wakes up usually two times to be fed and then goes back to sleep, although we have had a few nights where he didn't want to go right back down. Unfortantely, Cooper does not like to sleep flat on his back so we are not using the crib right now. We have bought a rock and sleep for the time being which allows him to sleep elevated. I think that he is struggling with a little reflux and that wakes him up when he is laying flat so this allows him to stay elevated while sleeping...it has been a life saver!

Now here are a few pictures from Cooper's first month of life...Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Cooper Eugene McDaniel has arrived

At my last doctor appointment on Feb 21 the midwife decided due to my severe hand nerve pain it was a good idea to go ahead and induce on Feb 27. I was excited and scared at the same time because it was all becoming real very very soon. On Feb 24 my parents came into town to help us prepare and be here to help out after he is home for a few days. On Feb 25 Reid had a school function that we attended and I began having contractions we were timing them about 10-12 minutes apart and thought that we may have Cooper before the scheduled induction. My older sister Alice came down to be here for his birth and help us out as well. Well the contractions died down and so Sunday evening we checked into the hospital and found that we were 4 cm and 80% effaced and we were set for induction to start at 5am Monday, Feb 27.
5am came and they started the pitocin and contractions began. The fetal monitor kept going in and out so they decided to break my water and put an internal monitor on him so at 10:14 my water was broken. By 11am my contractions were 2 1/2 minutes apart. At 12 I decided I couldn't deal with the pain and went for an epidural which I got at 1pm. By 3:25 I was 7cm and by 5:10 I was 10 cm but he was still high so we waited a while to see if he would move down. At 6:20 I began pushing but by 8:25 I had made very little progress and the doctor decided a C-Section was bed decision for Cooper and I. At 9:47pm Cooper Eugene McDaniel was born weighing in at 8lbs 2oz and measured 19.75 inches. At 12:55am I finally got to hold my precious angel for the first time, True Love! Although, I do not remember a lot from that day or the day after I thankfully had my sister keeping track of everything!

The first 24 hours I was confined to bed so Reid had to do the majority of the work. When it was time to feed he would change his diaper and then bring him to me then rock him to sleep. He was amazing!! I am truly blessed by Reid.