2 Weeks Old

So this little man just got back from his 2 week check up and he did great. Even with the Hep B shot that made his face turn the same shade of red that mine did during labor. He also let out that silent scream, you know...the one that is followed by a very loud scream. Good times.

Overall he is doing very well and is a growing little peanut.

Weight: 8 lbs 8 oz - 50th % (birth weight was 7 lbs 13 oz)

Height: 21 1/4" - 75th-85th % (birth height was 19 1/2")

Head Circumference: 14 3/4" - 85th-95th %

He sneezes in 3's, just like Kirk. He sleeps most of the day and gets up twice a night for feedings, sometimes with 5 hour stretches of sleeping at night (only twice, but I will take it). His hair is just starting to lighten up a little. I love it when he goes slightly cross-eyed when looking at either of us.

He does NOT like sponge baths, or diaper changes that take longer than 20 seconds. Does not like his outfit being changed. He flutters his eyes open when sleeping and all you see is the whites of his eyes and it is slightly creepy...but still in a cute baby way ;)

He likes being free to move his legs and arms all over the place and will work his way out of a swaddle like a champ. He inch worms at night and we find him at the opposite end of the crib when he wakes up for feedings. He has slept in his crib in his room from the day he got home from the hospital and mostly naps in the living room. He LOVES being in his little lamb bassinet rocker, and just this week started getting a little cranky pants and likes to be held and walked around more than the first few weeks.

Stella is hanging in there with being a big sister. She does not really understand why she can't play with Cohen yet. She gets to lick his toes every now and then, but really she just wants him to be big already so they can be best friends. I don't think Cohen really knows that Stella exists...yet.

Overall, the last 2 weeks have been so great! He is really an easy baby (knock on wood) and we feel so blessed to have such an AMAZING baby. Cohen Joseph...you were totally worth the wait!

Cohen Joseph Snell

COHEN JOSEPH SNELL

Born Wednesday, May 15th 2013 at 1:05 pm

7 lbs 13 oz, 19 1/2 inches

Such a perfect little snugly peanut!

I had my 39 week appointment on Tuesday morning and I was just about 1 cm dilated and about 80% effaced. My OB told me she thought that he would come right around his due date, give or take a day either way...BUT that you never can really tell and things can change overnight. Well...they changed in less than 12 hours! Following the appointment I met Kirk and the parents for lunch at In-n-Out and then worked the rest of the day from home, had pizza for dinner with the twin and David and then hit the sack.

At 3:00 am I woke up having to go to the bathroom, not a big shock. On the way to the bathroom which is only about 10 steps from my bed I felt a little trickle of liquid and immediately thought, "oh man, I just peed my pants a little!" After going to the bathroom I realized...hmmm, is my bladder that bad?...as I kept trickling into the toilet. After about 45 minutes of being in denial that my water had broken I got back into bed and started googling "water breaking without contractions starting" - - - Most things I read said that water breaking before contractions starting happens in about 8%-10% of women and that it is not necessarily needed to go straight to the hospital. Since it was just a trickle and I really did not want to be induced or put on pitocin I just stayed put in bed reading. 

Fast forward to 4:20 am - GUSH! It was like a water balloon popped and it was official. No false alarm, woke Kirk up and it was go time. From there my contractions started and they were about 5-6 minutes apart and just felt like period cramps. I got into the shower and Kirk started prepping the guest bedroom door to be hung. (Side Note: We were NOT prepared for this baby to come early. I would say we had about 20% of his room, the house, and our mental capacities prepped properly). Thankfully for Wendy, David, The Parents and my mom, by the time we got home almost everything was done for us. God Bless Family when you are in a jam!

I did not have my hospital bag packed yet and since I kept trickling water after the shower and my contractions were getting more painful...and because Kirk was busy hanging doors I called the twin right before 6 am to come help me pack my bag. With help from her and calling the hospital to let them know we were on our way, we got to the hospital at 7:00 am. They checked me and I was 3 cm and contractions were 3-4 minutes apart so they admitted me and we were off.

I told them I did not want drugs of any kind and once I got into my room and the pain started getting worse, they checked me again and I was 5 cm. An hour later I was 7 cm and that is when it got VERY painful. I lost the ability to breath quietly through my contractions like I had been doing up until then. I thought briefly in my head about getting an epidural, but the fact that things were moving quickly and because it was already so painful, my brain rationalized that I could totally do it drug free, but that it was just going to suck! And it did! I had a very similar experience to Wendy's labor in the fact that my body started to push on it's own before it was time to push...which can cause internal damage. So the majority of the contractions (some of which lasted 3-4 minutes) I was yelling "No, No, No, No!"...basically yelling at my own body to stop pushing. Wendy and Kirk took great care of me by putting pressure on my legs and back during contractions, keeping cold wash clothes on my forehead and neck, forcing me to drink water so I would not have to get an IV and NOT being cheerleaders. I know that encouragement helps a lot of people, but not me. I wanted as much silence as possible. 

I progressed very painfully to 8 cm, then to 9 cm...then it was time to push! Once I was given the "ok" to push, things got much less painful and seemed to go a lot faster. I pushed for about 35 minutes and he was out. (with a little help from a snip from the doc...yikes!) But I did not care about the snip since I wanted him out so bad and he came out the push after the snip.

God Bless childbirth...he was here! All gooey and awesome!

 When they put him on my chest to get him cleaned off I was a little out of it. I think if I would have had drugs and numb below the waist I would have had a more emotional experience "meeting" him, but they were delivery the placenta, stitching me, and all that jazz so I was VERY distracted and not really able to feel that bonding with him until later when I did some skin to skin time.

Kirk had told me he did not want to cut the cord (he gets a little woozy around blood and stuff), but as you can see from the pic below, he did cut the cord. This is how that happened...

Dr. M: "Ok dad, ready to cut the cord?"

Julie: "Oh, he does not want to cut the cord, my sister or mom can do it."

Dr. M: "Excuse me? Dad (Kirk), your wife just pushed your baby into this world with no drugs, here are the scissors."

Kirk: (Takes the scissors, cuts the cord with a smirk at the doctor)

Good times!

He had a bit of a cone head and a little road rash, but was pretty much perfection. Being 6 days early and almost 8 lbs, I became grateful very quickly that he came when he did. He got an 8, then 9 on his apgar (same as Karis got, and the same as Kirk got when he was born).

Kirk held him first and he was SO ALERT! he just stayed awake and stared at Kirk and reacted to the sound of his voice. It was the sweetest thing ever and I am so glad they got that time together...while I was being manhandled by what felt like a massage gone bad on my fundus by the doctor. Speaking of the doctor, it was not my OB because she was not on call that day...but it was the same doctor that delivered Karis, which was awesome because I knew how great she was! Both my nurse Penny and Dr, Mendelsohn were great and exactly what I needed to get through this birth successfully!

We moved down to a smaller room and off of the labor and delivery floor, which was bittersweet. They are smaller rooms and bathrooms, but at least it was VERY quiet! 

Our first family portrait!

Who was in the delivery room? Kirk, Wendy, my mom, Kirk's mom (my dad was in the waiting room)
First Visitors: Robin (Kirk's sister), Mariah, David & Karis
Nurses: Sonita and April - who were both amazing!
Length of Stay: Checked in 7 am on Weds, discharged at 11:00 am on Friday

39 Weeks...32 Years Old

I am 39 weeks and the baby is apparently the size of a watermelon. I freaked out when I read that...then I went to another website and it specified "think mini watermelon"...then I felt a little better! I had my weekly appointment this afternoon and all went well. I have gained a total of 31 lbs which is not too bad considering I feel like I am hungrier now than I have been the entire pregnancy. 

I am FINALLY 1 cm dilated which was great to hear, 80% effaced and she said his head is "nice and low." Not that anyone really knows, but all estimations point to him coming on or a little later than his due date (May 21st). The twin went into labor on Karis' due date...so maybe I will be super twin like and the same thing will happen to me. OR...maybe I will be late and have to be induced. Not sure, but I definitely do not think he is coming early. 

I still feel really good and am averaging 6-8 hours of sleep each night only getting up one time (if at all) to go to the bathroom. Knock on wood, but only a few very small stretch marks so far. Nothing I am too bummed about, but I am holding my breath for the last week+ hoping that they don't start creeping in.

Cravings: Smores Dryer's Ice Cream, apple sauce, water

Oh...and I also turned 32 on the 8th! Kirk and David planned a girls night out for the twin and me to celebrate our awesomeness with some of our favorite ladies. We went out to a super good dinner, where we sat at the chef's table overlooking the kitchen and ate a ton of food, moved to the patio for dessert and stayed up way past our old lady bedtime! It was very mellow and I loved it.