Saturday, May 27, 2006:



 Saturday, May 27, 2006:

After going to the park with Gary and the kids in the morning and then to Target with them afterwards - I was starting to feel achey and just a bit sore. Contractions were not incredibly severe and not consistent, but I just felt "different" and so I called my doctor and he said to come to the hospital just to be sure (with my history of fast labors and all). Gary's Mom came to babysit Taylor and Ryan (they were napping by this point) and Gary and I headed to the hospital with our bags in hand (Gary was more nervous and frantic than me!). Around 12:30pm we were in triage at the hospital and they said I was dilated to a three! I was just only at a one the other day, so this was good news! They monitored the baby's heartbeat and my contractions, but unfortunately my contractions (I was having more and more by this point) were not getting picked up on the machines.

So they had Gary and me walk around the hospital for 45 minutes to see if I would dilate some more and/or have more consistent contractions:

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At 2pm we were back in triage and this time I was dilated to a four! Yay! BUT - my contractions were still not registering as severe/consistent enough (and because I was only 38 weeks they couldn't admit me/break my water unless I was having consistent contractions that registered on the machines -- "Gotta please the insurance companies" my doctor said). However, my doctor was still optimistic that the baby was on its way because I usually dilate VERY fast! (Oh, and by the way - my doctor was at the hospital all day as the on site doctor - how great is that?!) My doctor said to NOT go back home (because the triage nurse had stripped my membranes by this point)...but to go and walk around the nearby mall for awhile and time my contractions and if they became more consistent...then to come back to the hospital.

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So Gary and I went to the mall and did some shopping and eating (and it turned out to be quite a fun, impromptu date for us!) and then we went to Gary's office (see above picture) to walk some more (I was feeling silly having contractions in front of all the people at the mall!), but I never did do any walking. I rested on the couches inside instead and that's when my contractions started to get really painful (and by now they were 5-8 minutes apart). We decided to head back to the hospital before going home...just to be safe.

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They admitted me! It was around 6pm and my contractions were finally registering (because I was laying on my left side probably -- I should've been doing that the entire time!)!

We were on our way to having our baby!!!! I was still dilated to a four, but it was only a matter of time...

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At 7:30pm I got my IV (fluids and antibiotic for Strep B) and my Epidural. At 8:00pm my doctor broke my water. At 9:00 I was still only dilated to a four, but my contractions were getting much more frequent and pretty harsh apparently (but I felt nothing! YAY!). Still, my doctor ordered me some Pitocin to take intravenously - just to speed things up.

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Thumbs up to the Epidural! I'm smiling during labor! Unreal!

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 For the next hour or so Gary and I talked, watched Trading Spaces on TV, and visited with our awesome nurse, Jen. It was so surreal! I was in labor, but feeling NOTHING! It was like being on a vacation! This is absolutely nothing like my experiences with Taylor's birth or Ryan's birth! This was so great!

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Around 10pm I started to feel some pressure so just to be safe I had Gary get the nurse. She checked my cervix and I was dilated to a seven! About 10 minutes after that I had Gary get her again because I thought I was maybe feeling a little more pressure again...and she came to check me and I was fully dilated to a ten! The baby was coming! My doctor came into the room and everything was so calm. So surreal. They prepped everything, he told me to push...I pushed...and the baby's head was out! I gave 1/2 of another push -- and the shoulders were out! I could see the baby's head and I even said, "Oh my God! This is so fun!" and everybody (including me) had a good laugh at that. My doctor let me grab the baby under the armpits and take him out myself. Words can not describe what that moment was like for me. I put the baby on my chest and I said, "What is it?" and my doctor asked Gary to tell me. And just like I always dreamed that moment would be like - Gary said, "It's a boy!" to me. We both hugged and kissed and cried tears of joy. Wow! The baby (we still hadn't named him yet!) was born at 10:37pm. He was a bit blue when he came out and not taking in a good breath right away. Gary was nervous, but I had no idea - I was in complete euphoria. Everything was fine though - it was just a little scary for a second.

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Mommy and Baby meeting for the first time.

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Special thanks to our awesome nurse Jen!

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..and of course Dr. Immerman!

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Gary and I couldn't figure out what the baby's name should be. So while we waited a couple of hours until after the baby's first bath (in our room this time!) we tried out a few different names on him to see if they fit.

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Then after his bath we both agreed: Cooper Lee Menke. He just looked like a Cooper to us! We've liked the name Cooper for a long time. It was even on our "boy names" list when I was pregnant with Ryan! Lee is Gary's middle name and Gary's late Godfather's first name.

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Cooper's first bath and first diaper change

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Sunday, May 29, 2006:

Around 1:00am Cooper and I were both all cleaned up and so they wheeled us to the 4th floor where we would spend the next day or so recovering. We were all settled by 2:00am and we all went right to bed (Gary stayed, too). Cooper slept from 2:00am-6:00am! It was great!

We all got some much-needed rest! I woke up at 6am to feed him (he stayed with us - not in the nursery) and I was like a kid on Christmas morning. I was so excited and full of adrenaline and just so happy! I showered, ate breakfast, and then Gary, Cooper and I just relaxed and watched TV for awhile.

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Cooper and I kept getting our vitals taken throughout the morning and then Cooper got his hospital pictures taken. Unfortunately, he was asleep during all of that so I told the photographer to try again tomorrow - hoping we'd get some shots of Cooper with his eyes open.

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Sunday mid-morning the visitors began to arrive. Cooper's first visitors were Jill, Dan, Erin and Connor! Then in the early afternoon on Sunday other family members started to arrive. We had lots of visitors at once: Uncle Paul, Auntie Jen, Megan, Jack, Auntie Jolie, Leah, and Grandma Rose, Papa Mike. Taylor and Ryan arrived with them and there was so much commotion! Ryan was just excited to see everyone else but Gary, me and Cooper. He just was too overwhelmed (and too little!) to really grasp what was going on, I think. Taylor was soooo excited to see Cooper. She was chomping at the bit to get to the hospital all morning long, my Mom said. Cooper was mostly asleep during all of this. His temperature, however, was getting pretty low and so after awhile the nurse wanted him to be skin-to-skin with me  - so everyone left and then Gary, Cooper and I napped and took it easy the rest of the afternoon. Later on my parents came to visit, and then Angela came to visit and that was our last visitor for the night. Sunday night Cooper stayed in the nursery from 1am-6am and so Gary and I were able to get lots of sleep in that time.

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The visitors! 

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The excitement is too much for Papa Mike! HA!

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Gary, Matt and their babies!

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Monday, May 29th (Memorial Day): Going home!

"COOPER" is spelled out with plastic forks/knives/spoons in our front yard -- a treat from our crazy neighbors!

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Jolie, Matt and Leah came to visit us in the morning (and Jolie brought me some clothes and a hairdryer and stuff -- so nice!) and then Cooper and I took a nap while Gary went home to get the van. We were on our way home around 1:30pm. Taylor and Ryan were at home (with their Grandma Rose) and they were very eager for us to get home with the baby. Taylor couldn't wait to start helping with Cooper right away, but Ryan was a bit "indifferent" to the whole situation. Maybe it was the fact that he didn't feel well (he had a cold), or maybe he was feeling a bit resentful...but he just didn't want much to do with Gary, Cooper or me for quite awhile that day. Still, we got some cute pictures of the three kids:

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What an amazing and wonderful experience. Our cups absolutely "overfloweth!" Three beautiful, healthy children! We couldn't ask for anything more!

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