Oh Happy Day!

Wouldn't you like to wake up to this every day??

End of March

Ever since Cooper has been born my family have been keeping updated through our blog! That gives me more desire to update this thing! Thanks to all of you who keep in touch through here :) I will try my best to keep it updated with exciting news and pictures.

Cooper's expression when Missy walked by

Now for an update! Things are starting to slow down...at least in my head and I feel a little less stressed. Let me outline the details:

Cooper napping after being outside in the BEAUTIFUL weather

House Hunting/Job:

Brady and I went house hunting this past weekend. We looked at 5 houses and we found one that we REALLY liked. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, stainless steel appliances, pantry, laundry room, large 2 car garage, fenced in back yard...basically everything we are looking for! However, the square footage was smaller than what we wanted and the living room was extremely small (we wouldn't be able to fit both couches in there). All the other houses were decent but needed some work (and a few needed a TON of work). After discussing it and trying to figure out our budget with still owning our townhome we decided to look for a rental unit. We want to save up enough money to put down a great down payment so that we can buy the house that we want. We also want to figure out what we're going to do with our current home (either rent it or sell it). So that's the plan for now. Brady starts his new job in Twin Falls on May 12th! He is excited and pretty nervous but I know he will do great! I also plan to find a nursing job once we get settled in. I would like to work a few days a month on the weekends...so we'll see how that goes. There is one current hospital in Twin and one under construction that won't open until 2011. So there should be plenty of opportunities for me-that is if I pass the NCLEX exam.

outside for the first time without being snuggled in the carseat

School:

I GRADUATE IN 10 DAYS!!! I have 4 more exams for nursing and of course other exams for other classes. Only 2 more class days and one weekend of studying/homework. I can't wait to be done and focus on taking the NCLEX.

Nap time with his bear and on his tummy-Look at those chubby cheeks

Our Son:

Cooper is feeling so much better! He is getting heavier and longer. He is growing out of his newborn clothes (yes, he is 6.5 weeks old and still fits into newborn). He just started cooing every once in awhile and it's so cute! He loves, loves, loves bath time. His little arms just extend completely out to the sides and his legs are straight and relaxed. He smiles up until the point we start scrubbing his little body (he doesn't like that part so much). He also is not so constipated. He went potty 3 days in a row - woohoo! We never thought we would be excited about having a poopy diaper but he is so much happier! He doesn't like to be held when he's tired anymore. He gets really fussy and wants to be put down to sleep AND he likes to be swaddled now. So when it comes to nap time or bed time we swaddle him and put him down in his crib he fusses for a few minutes and then sleeps! It's amazing but I miss cuddling with him when he's sleepy. We stayed at Travis and Alisha's house while we were in Twin and the first night he slept the entire night! We were pretty shocked and very happy...but the second night he didn't sleep at all. Then last night he slept ALL night long! From 8:30 to 9:00 waking up at 4 to eat. We are hoping that he will start being more consistent.

So that's all for now. Here's a cute little video for my mom (and anyone else)...don't mind my voice. I am fighting a terrible cold and sound really weird.

Moving on up

So the news is leaking out! We are officially moving out of Rexburg!! Brady had a few interviews with the same company he works for but for a supervisor position in Twin Falls. Everything went amazingly well and Brady accepted the offer. We just found out yesterday that we need to be in Twin by May 1st!! Talk about cRaZY fast! Now we need to figure out what we're going to do with our home here, find a home in Twin Falls, and figure everything else out in between. We are looking into purchasing a home and will be headed to Twin Falls to "house hunt" this weekend. That aside, I still have 2.5 weeks left of school, 6 clinical days at the hospital, a cranky baby, and the NCLEX left to take (and hopefully pass). Just when I thought things couldn't be any more stressful...something comes up and adds to the pile! But I am so proud of Brady and excited for the upcoming changes that will be going on in life. Yay for adulthood!

our baby's belly

I realized I never updated everyone on what ended up happening with Cooper's belly problems. We went to the doctor 5 days after the one appointment where we realized he wasn't gaining any weight. The doctor put him on Nutramigen formula, which is formula that has the protein broken down further than most so it's easier on the baby's digestive system. Doctor Watson wanted to wait over the weekend to see if he would stop projectile vomiting. So, we waited over the weekend and didn't see any changes. I made an appointment and then surprise, surprise he wasn't projectile vomiting after every feeding. We still went and Cooper had gained 4 ounces! YAY!! Since he gained weight over the weekend we decided to not do any further testing. BUT the formula that we were using is $25.00 for an 8oz can. So we wanted to see if there was anything else we could use. Now we are using a soy based formula and that seems to be even better than the Nutramigen. He still spits up and has his grumpy moments but things are slowly getting better!

Now I know how everyone likes pictures...especially my family that lives far away. Here are the only recent pictures.

napping on his boppy because of a stuffy nose and spit up

Napping on Dad because it's the only way he'd stop crying. So cute though-he looks pretty comfy!

I will be sure to take more pictures! Sorry Mom :)

Blessing

This weekend Brady had the opportunity to bless Cooper at church. It was an amazing blessing and I am so proud of them both! Cooper was awake and didn't even make a peep through the whole thing!! Some special people that attended the blessing were Grandpa Ellis, Uncle Spencer, Brandon Gates, Nate Peck, Kyle Cooke, Rob Harvey, and Bishop Stone. We were sad that Great Grandpa Ellis, Uncle Derek, and Tagg Petersen were unable to be there.

Here are a few pictures that were taken after the blessing...

he wasn't very happy after church.

Aunt Kayla made his blessing outfit!

Grandpa and Grandma Ellis

The family

3 Generations...there are 4 with Great Grandpa Ellis

Mom and Dad

Cooper is 1 Month Old!!

4 weeks ago today we were loving on our little boy who was only a few hours old. It's amazing how fast time flies! Yesterday, as mentioned in the previous post, we had a 1 month check up. Things are not going as well as we all would hope. Cooper weighs 8 pounds (he was 7.4 pounds when he was born) and measured 21 inches long. The weight gain is a "slight concern" as our doctor put it. We have gone through several different types of formulas and nothing seems to settle his tummy enough. He continues to throw up after every feeding (and it's not just the spit up that every baby has...it's the projectile vomiting that you see on funniest home videos). So we are on our last option for formula to see if this works. If not, we are going to do a GI study to see what's going on when he eats. The doctor thinks it's a condition where part of his intestine is narrowed. If that's the case Cooper would have surgery to open it up a bit. We're hoping that this formula will end up working for him so we don't have to put him through surgery, but so far it doesn't seem to change anything. He is also on reflux medication and Gripe Water for colic. It's a frustrating time in our home and we hope to get our little man feeling better so that maybe he will stop throwing up. He is still fussy at night but he is pretty GREAT during the day! I have more pictures that I think are absolutely adorable!

His sad face that he makes all the time

Relaxing that neck of his during tummy time

Don't be fooled...he was unhappy but I just LOVE his little legs!

One of my FAVORITE pictures so far! He just loves his Bumbo chair! He looks like a big boy sitting in it!

The sweet life with a 1 month old!

Cooper still seems to amaze us with how fast he is changing and growing up!

-His neck is getting stronger and can hold his head up when we burp him. He continues to LOVE his milk and chug it as if we have been starving him.

-He is starting to enjoy his baths! This last time I slowly put him in the tub and his got the biggest smile on his face. Throughout the bath his arms were extended out to his sides and was wiggling his fingers in the water. I wish I could have taken a picture! He was so adorable!

-He is starting to not want to take his binkie! Maybe we won't have to break him of that habit when he's older!! However, it's frustrating when he's crying.

-He wears at least two different outfits a day! He's also starting to enjoy getting his diaper changed, which is great because it happens way too often!

-He loves his Dad. It's so cute to see him smile when Brady talks to him

Well, today we have a 1 month check up. I will be sure to post information from then. Until then...enjoy these few pictures!

I LOVE my bouncer!

Seriously...it's the best thing in the world! (besides my bottle)

I do not like it when my hat covers my eyes...but sometimes I just deal with it and sleep

My binkie is awesome!

I LOVE my Mom and all her kisses! Lately, I REALLY like to grab the shiny things on her face that she calls "glasses"

Things are changing...

One thing that parents have in common is FATIGUE. Of course being a nursing student I know the general definition of fatigue. However, I decided to actually look it up. It says: extreme tiredness, typically resulting from mental or physical exertion or illness. You may be thinking "of course she's exhausted...she has a 3 week old baby!" or "duh, you're crazy having a baby in the middle of the semester!" And honestly, I am thinking the exact same thing. Now, Brady and I have been working very hard to get Cooper on a schedule. Everything seemed to be going okay after the first week home. Cooper was going to be alright and only waking up twice! Amazing is what we were thinking but of course our goal is to get a full night sleep for the 3 of us. Then the real fun began! Not only was Cooper NOT sleeping...he was screaming ALL night long and pretty fussy ALL day long. After 2 days of trying everything we could think of we decided to put my nursing books into good use and search out what was going on with our child (and we did this at 2:30 am while Cooper is still crying bloody murder). After about 3 minutes of looking things up we immediately thought colic. The constant rumbling in his tummy, the gas that he has been passing, the gulping of his milk, and the projectile vomiting that he has lead us to the conclusion of colic. So the rest of the night we held Cooper until he calmed down and put him back in his bed. This continued into late morning and the first thing I did was head to Wal-Mart to purchase different bottles. I ended up getting the bottles with the bags to let out all the air! The bottles have seemed to make a HUGE difference. All day yesterday Cooper was a happy baby! He smiled all the time, was calm, only fussed a few times, and slept for a full 7 hours from 10:00 to 5:00!! YES! So overall, hopefully things will continue to get better and our baby boy will be a little bit more comfortable and enjoy life.

life

It has been 2 weeks and 5 days since Cooper was born. It amazes me how fast time has gone by and makes me sad to see the changes in Cooper since then. Jumping into parenthood has been a whirlwind of emotions! Most of the time I am in la la land cuddling him and staring at him...however, the late night screaming tests my patience. Brady and I are slowly figuring out the needs and wants of our little man. He has the cutest personality already and we love him more than we ever imagined!! Below is a few fun facts about Cooper:

-he is FURY! He has hair on his head (meaning it covers his entire forehead and a little on his cheeks), he has side burns that grow past his ears, shoulders, ears and back.

-he has 4 different kind of smiles and smiles ALL the time

-he giggles in his sleep

-he can hold his head up pretty well and the doctor said he is very strong

-he can spread all of his toes and his big toe is like a thumb!

-he loves to have his head and feet rubbed. It's the only thing that will calm him down in the middle of the night

-he gets VERY frustrated!! He definitely takes after me with this...when things aren't perfect he starts swinging his arms everywhere!

-his hands are his best friends.

-He is always playing with them and they are constantly up by his face

-he found his thumb...without the binkie we would have a thumb sucker :(

-he hates baths but LOVES running water. Standing near the sink with the water running is what we do when we're desperate for him to stop crying.

-he is going to win the milk gallon contest someday. The boy can really chug his milk!

-his eyes are turning dark so we're thinking they're going to be brown

-his hair is curly when it's wet

-he rolled over from his belly to his back the first time we put him on his belly

-he can pass gas better than any other baby I have ever heard

I COULD GO ON FOREVER! So I will stop here.

Well, things have been wonderful and interesting! I am healing well and feeling great. Brady is such a wonderful father and has helped out soo much! Transitioning to life with a baby would be so difficult without his support and help.

Life is perfect