Newborn Pictures.....

These are ONLY 5 months late.... I'm officially the worst blogger ever... but what do you expect with a new baby and wife responsibilites? ;)

June 3, 2013 ONE MONTH!

Our sweet little guy is one month old. They say time passes by SOO fast & it does... but at the same time I feel like he has been with us for way longer than a month. Many people have told me thats because I don't get any sleep. Which... I get a LITTLE sleep. Cohen has slept 5 1/2 hours at a time 3 different nights. The first time he did that I woke up every hour checking on him & I guess he was just pooped! The 2nd and 3rd time I enjoyed it quite a bit. Now hes back to every 2 hours... in fact, last night, it was every hour and a half. Although I wake up really sleepy its so worth it and I don't even mind when I look at his sweet little face.

This past month I have spent every second with my punkin & have loved every bit of it. Austin says he doesn't know how I do it when he screams, but all I want to do when he screams is make him feel better. There have been times when I have cried with him because there was just nothing I could do for him.

Fun facts about Cohen? He loves gripe water! If he is screaming and you give it to him he nom nom noms it up and it calms him down at least for a second. One day papa Mike gave him peppermint and ohhh he loved that too! He also loves car rides. As long as his belly is full he will pass right out in the car. I have used this to my advantage a time or two ;) He doesn't sleep a ton... it just depends. He hates having a wet diaper and will let you know. He LOVES to cuddle. He sleeps better when being held and he loves to sleep next to me in bed, but I try to put him in his bed (little bed right next to mine) for at least half the night. He noticed the ceiling fan at 3 weeks and since has been noticing many things... he even watches TV sometimes. He doesnt focus on faces very often, but every once in a while he will. He has yet to smile at me, but thats okay I'm going to keep trying! He still has lots of hair. He is still in newborn clothes! Little stinker. He is a little long for the body suits with feeties, but he wears newborn onsies and outfits. The last doctors visit at almost 4 weeks he weighed 8lb 11oz which is how much his daddy weighed when he was born! Cohens head is getting real big! He is still as gorgeous as ever. He whines and coos and its the sweetest thing ever. He definitely loves his momma! He is my world.

Breast feeding? Let me just say the most challenging thing of my life! The first week was the worst... the kid wouldn't eat! After going to a lactation specialist I got him to latch & eat, but he would eat for a second and then fuss so it took forever to fill his belly. I got to the point where I would pump him bottles for night time because it was just too exhausting at night. Well at about 3-4 weeks he finally decided to become a pro. Now we breast feed at night and its amazing! He pretty much breast feeds all the time unless we are going out then I will pump him a bottle because its more convenient if we aren't at home. I'm so happy that I stuck to it even through the difficult moments and I'm glad I can keep up with him. This little guy always wants to eat, I swear! He is finally getting some rolls on him. So cute. I'm so proud to say at a month old my baby has had nothing but breast milk.

This past mont has changed my life. I was so worried about so many things, but being a mom has come so naturally to me. I know he is my reason for living. I love him more than I could even imagine and he completes (for now) our family so well. He is such a little cutie toot and he is such a hit with everyone! We are so proud to call him ours.

Cohen Christopher Jeffries

Cohen Christopher Jeffries

May 3, 2013 12:01 pm

7lb 6oz 19.5 inches long

The entire week before giving birth I felt totally awesome. I did not feel like I would be having a baby anytime soon. I had energy (for the most part) & my body wasn't nearly as achy as it had been the past few months. We walked every night, but I knew he would come when he was ready. I decided most likely he would come when we induced. The day before induction Austin took off work and we had our last little outing. We went to the aquarium & to lunch. Then we went home to relax. Relaxing was the last thing on my mind, I was so anxious so I cleaned... we went to bed around 11, but I don't think I slept more than 30 minutes. Austin woke up at 2am shaking like crazy & really cold. GREAT! I thought it was just nerves so I covered him up with more blankets and we both tried to go back to sleep. I couldn't... I got up at 3:30 to take my shower. At that point I had some contractions, but they weren't strong or regular. I woke Austin up at about 3:50ish and he was feeling miserable :( He was having bad tummy problems. Keep in mind I have only seen Austin sick once in my life... so for him to be sick on the day of delivery was really awful! We loaded up our bags in the car (which we were so excited to pack full of cool things) we loaded babies diaper bag & his carseat. We were ready to go! We left the house at about 4:25.

We arrived the hospital and got admitted at 4:53 am! So early, but I was ready. I was so beyond nervous having no idea what to expect. We waited in our room until about 5:45 for the nurse & I guess there were two of us getting induced at the same time so thats why I had to wait..oh well. Well she put my IV in and it was SO TERRIBLE!! She hurt me so bad :( I was trying to stay calm and then I felt blood trickling down my hand & I started to cry. Why are these nurses so bad at IV's?! Well anyways. Then she flushed the blood through and said she would be back with the pitocin. They started the pitocin at a little after 6am, but I'm pretty sure I was already in labor. She checked me and I was dilated to a 4. At this point Austin gave me a letter he wrote to me & I BAWLED MY EYES OUT!! I knew at that point this was going to be the most emotional day of my life. Geez I love that man so much!! Well, luckily shift changed at 7am and I got a new nurse who was absolutely the most amazing lady! At first I wasn't sure, but my gosh she was awesome. She told me my doctor would be in to break my water when she did rounds. Nurse kept coming back asking me if I was ready for the epidural, but I wanted to feel some pain first. The contrations really weren't that bad unless I stood up to pee and then they were strong, but nothing like what I've heard. Finally my nurse came in and said "She will be by to break your water soon, you might want to get the epdirual now" I was SO scared of the epidural, but I agreed. The lady who did my epidural got there quick & Austin had to leave :( He wasn't too happy & I wanted him to hold my hands. Well they got me into position and my awesome nurse held my hand! They told me I'd feel a poke and burning, but all I felt was the poke-not bad at all! They she did what she had to do and I was done. They told me I would be itchy & OH MY GOSH I WAS SO ITCHY!! That was the worst part of my whole labor was the itching. Right when the epidural lady left my doctor walked in to break my water. That was the craziest feeling! I felt and heard a GUSH. Then nurse put a catheter in me & luckily I couldn't really feel it. The weird thing was I could still feel & move my legs. This was around 9:30ish when she broke my water and I was still a 4. About 30 minutes later the nurse said I was a stretchy 5 & was sure we would have a baby soon! Also at this point I had to get benydril for my itching, I knew it would make me sleepy, but I wasn't expecting a baby THAT soon. Well I was wrong!! At this point my mom, aunt, Austins parents, & Austin were in the room with me. I started to feel a lot of pressure with each contraction so I called my nurse in the room. She said "I knew you'd be calling me soon! Those are some strong contractions" She checked me and I was sure I was at about an 8. To my surprise she said "You're there! Lets have a baby!!" OH MY GOSH! I couldn't take it all in, it happened so dang fast. Well she called my doctor and my doctor had 4 patients left to see. About 5 mintues later the nurse called the doctor again and said "Sorry this baby is coming fast you need to come" So luckily my doctor came & it was push time!! Let me tell you, pushing was OUT OF THIS WORLD! At first I was scared to push too hard for a few reasons, & I knew my face looked so stupid, but finally I just knew I had to push with all my might. I started pushing at 11:30am. With each push I had to push 3 times for 10 second each... I felt like every blood vessle in my head was bursting! Austin was such a sweetie, he was rubbing my head and arm telling me "Good job babe you're doing so good!" I never said a word through the whole process, although it was hard it was so incredibly peacful & I loved it. Finally my doctor turned around and got her little tray ready so I knew I was at the end. She came back and said "Okay, I gave you a break, now you really have to push!" While she was getting her table ready I remember telling Austin "This is so painful" He asked me what it felt like and I said welll.... like a head is coming out of my vagina ;) Anywho, one last set of pushes... the hardest pushes of my life and I heard his tiny little sounds... I LOST IT! Started to cry immediately. One more set of pushing and baby was out!! Baby Cohen was born at 12:01 pm. He started to cry and it was the most beautiful sound ever. Austin cut his cord and then they handed him to me. All I could do was look at his beautiful face and cry. I looked over at Austin and he had tears in his eyes. I can say for certain that was the most beautiful moment of my entire life. After a minute the nurse took baby to clean him up and weigh him. Austin got the camera to take pictures and went over to be with baby.

My doctor asked me to push to get the placenta out and nothing happened so she said it just wasn't ready & stiched up my episiotomy. The whole time I was watching my baby & was so happy he was 7lb 6oz... PERFECT!! After she was done stiching me up she asked me to push again... nothing happened. She then pushed on my tummy & still nothing happened. Then she asked me to push while she pulled the cord & the cord snapped... "Oh shit" is what she said & I knew it wasn't good. I looked over and saw the nurse hand Austin our gorgeous baby boy, such a beautiful sight! He brought him over to me and I just watched both of them while my doctor stuck her hand up in there trying to get my placenta out. She finally determined it was not coming out & told me we were going to have to do surgery. That means no golden hour for me and my baby & I would be leaving my family. The doctor left to get prepped & the nurse told us I would be back in 45 minutes. When transport came to get me she told Austin he could come, but the nurse said "Well he's not feeling well" & Austin said "yeah I better not" WHAT!??!! I was so angry. I kissed my husband & my son goodbye and they took me away. Literally the worst moments of my life. When I got down to the OR a guy started asking me all these questions & I told myself I have to stay strong for my son, I'm a mom now and he needs me to be strong. The man then told me they were going to put my completely under... WHAT!? Ugh. Then everyone around me kept saying they couldn't find my signed papers & I heard my doctor say "Well I sure hope she isn't hemoraging!" I then started to pray and pray and pray for my life & that I would make it back to be with my son & my family. I knew God had given me everything I ever wanted and I just didn't think it was fair for me to lose it all now. I needed to get back to my boys, I prayed so hard! When they started to prep me I started to bawl my eyes out. I was all alone and so afraid. The last thing I remember is a guy taking my bra off and then I woke up. HOURS LATER! When I woke up it was about 2:30pm & my throat hurt so bad from the tube they put down it. Then I looked over & they were putting blood into me. They told me I hemmoraged during surgery so I needed blood. I now had 2 IV's, one in each arm. They tried to put the blood into my original IV & it hurt so bad! I remember shaking my head saying no no please no so they put the blood into the other IV. I told the nurse to please tell my husband I'm okay, because I knew he had to be worried. Then I told her I needed to get to my baby. She was so sweet & told me as soon as they put both bags of blood in I could see my son. I kept falling in and out of sleep because of the anesthesia. Finally I watched the last of the blood empty & then she had to put one more bag of fluid to flush it through. She then called post partum & the nurse said I needed to be there for 30 more mintues & they had to check my uterus. When they pushed on me I felt blood just flow, it was so terrible. Finally after they had cleaned me up & 30 minutes had past transport took me up to see my baby. The first person I saw was my mom & we both just bawled. Then they wheeled me into my room and Austin was asleep on the floor (poor guy!) He jumped up and hugged me & then he went to get our baby. 4.5 hours after I delivered my son I finally got to hold him and be with him. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen!! Unfortunately at this point Austin was SO sick & the nurse said he better go home to avoid getting baby sick. His lovely momma decided to stay with me & I was SO upset he had to leave. I felt so awful & wanted my family together. A few hours later I got up to pee & OH MY! I almost passed out and threw up at the same time & peeing was the most painful thing. UGH. It was so terrible. Luckily the dizziness got better. Vicki stayed with me until midnight & then my mom came. I wanted the baby in the room with me & he had to be for feeding since I was breast feeding (or trying to) It was a long night & I didn't get any sleep because baby was awake almost all night. So I put him in bed with me and we finally slept for about an hour.

When morning rolled around the nurse was there bright & early to get little man for his circumcision. I had to call Austin because he needed to be there with me for such a big event! (I was very nervous about it!) They took baby for a few hours & when they brought him back they said everything went well. I got to meet his Pediatrician and I really liked him! Austin finally got there to be with me around noon. It was another long day, I couldn't really sleep because I just wanted to enjoy my baby. Austin still wasn't feeling the greatest, but he stayed all day with me & decided to stay the night. At about 2am my hand was on fire! I called the nurse in and my IV had almost slipped out and the fluid had infultrated into my hand so it was so extremely swolen. GREAT! Just what I needed! They were still giving my antibiotics because due to what happened I was at a high risk for infection. Therefor they need to put a new IV in. Well that didn't work out too well! The first girl who tried couldn't get the IV catheter in so she sent someone else in... she failed too... the next girl blew out my vein. Finally a nurse came in and inspected my arms for about 30 mintues to find the right vein. First try.. she failed. 5 fails & I was barely holding it together... when would the nonsense end!? Well she FINALLY was able to get the IV started & that was finally over. It was now about 5am & Austin was in so much pain so he called his mom and she came & he left. I cried :( I tried to sleep & when I woke up I cried more. All I wanted was Austin and I wanted to go home. My doctor came in around 11 & said I got to go home!!! YAY! Best news ever. She gave me a hug & I got a picture of her with baby boy. I called Austin & he was so happy too. 2 nights apart was PLENTY! He came up to the hospital & now all we had to wait for was the pediatrician to release Cohen. He didn't get there till about 4ish so we waited & waited, but that was okay because I knew we'd be home soon. He finally released him & the nurse taught us all we needed to know about baths, belly button care, & wee wee care. We loaded up our precious baby boy & headed home!!

Date Night!

So on April 12th we went on our last date night! It was SUCH an amazing night, couldn't have asked for anything better. We went downtown and ate at an awesome little cafe that played the best music (Kings of Leon, who could beat that!?) The atmosphere of downtown Tulsa is just so awesome and we don't go there very often. Then we went to the Cain's (a concert hall) and watched Granger Smith! We know the drummer of the band, Dusty, so we got free tickets & got to meet and hang out with the band after the show. The music was great & the company was even better. It was such a cool experience, we had a great time! Oh and baby Cohen loved it too, after the show he was jumping all over the place. Its definite that he loves music just like hims momma. :)

38 Weeks

How far along? 38 Weeks

Total weight gain: 42 & I'm not gaining a pound more! ;)

Maternity clothes? Yep

Stretch marks? Only on my legs... meh

Sleep: So tired all the time, babe has sucked the life out of me

Miss Anything? No

Best moment this week: Baby is 7 pounds!! Got to see his pouty face :)

Movement: Yes, but he's getting cramped in there

Food cravings: Fruit

Anything making you queasy or sick: Meh

Gender: BOY!! :)

Name: Cohen Christopher

Labor Signs: I have contractions, but they aren't regular & I'm dilated to a 3!

Symptoms: Lots

Belly Button in or out? Out & you can see it through my shirts lol

Wedding rings on or off? ON :)

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy

Looking forward to: Our baby being born ANY DAY!

Well I'm so excited that I'm dilated to a 3, but the doctor said it could still be two weeks. I'm getting induced on the morning of May 3rd & since I'm dilating nicely she said I won't have to come in the night before- I'll just come in that morning and start the Pitocin and bam.. have this cute baby! I couldn't be more excited. I'm also pretty terrified! Not only do I have no idea what to expect out of labor and all the pain & birthing a human, but Austin and I will forever be responsible for this tiny precious little creature. Our lives are about to change in the biggest best way possible and I can't help but be a little frightened. Austin has finally decided he's excited, but I think he's nervous too.

I had a dream where I had Cohen and it was so real. He had the most beautiful blue eyes like daddy & this is the weird part... I asked the nurse if it was May 3rd (coincidentally the day I'm getting induced) and she said "No, it's April 24th" SOOO we are all kind of thinking he MAY arrive on the 24th.. we'll see!! On the 24th I'll be one day shy of 39 weeks... so basically 39 weeks. That sounds perfect to me. He will be all cooked and ready. Also the doctor said Cohen is about 7lbs but the ultrasound could be off a pound, she said she would have guessed him to be around 6 1/2 at 38 weeks so I'm hoping he is on the smaller end of the spectrum. I have this weird fear that he won't fit into any of his adorable newborn clothes I've bought him. I already took the tags off and washed everything, so I'm just super paranoid! Crazy mommy... I know!

Lame computer is not letting me upload a picture... but I have more to post later! :)

36 weeks 22 birthday & baby shower!

First of all... I'm dilated to 1 cm! That was just about the best news ever that the process has started, I know it could still be weeks, but I'm still excited! :) Thursday April 4th was my 22nd birthday! It was a great day, Vicki (momma in law) took me to get my toes done & my finger painted. It was so relaxing. After that Austin came home from work & I got to open my present. A video camera! Woohoo. I told him thats all I really wanted because I want to video this babe A LOT! It's such a nice one, he did good! That night we went to dinner at PF Changs with Austins parents & my momma. It was sooo good & the company was perfect. :) It's crazy to think I'm already 22, I feel like I just turned 21! At dinner I was having contractions and I was kind of worried, but luckily they stopped. No baby on my birthday!

Sunday April 7th was my baby shower, it was nothing short of amazing! It was Dr. Seuss themed and so cute. I almost cried when I got there and saw everything people had put together for me and Cohen. We got a ton of amazing stuff including clothes, blankies, DIAPERS, wipies, A TRAVEL SYSTEM CARSEAT!!!, a pack & play, laundry hamper, literally everything we needed, & my momma got me a Vera Bradley diaper bag!! I am obsessed with Vera Bradley stuff and I needed something girly for me since Cohen is obviously not going to be girly. I had a lot of fun & this baby is already so loved! The evening after my shower me and Austin stayed up until midnight organizing ALL of his stuff & I washed all of his little clothes & blankies. We are officially 100% ready for this babe!

35 Weeks!

How far along? 35 Weeks

Total weight gain: 35 pounds

Maternity clothes? Yep & Austins shirts

Stretch marks? Developed a few small ones the last week

Sleep: I'm always tired, but sleep horribly

Miss Anything? Sure, but all worth it for my babe

Best moment this week: We got to see him today & he is over 5 pounds!

Movement: Yes all day he's pushing up against me

Food cravings: Grapes! I ate a whole pound in two days.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Meh

Gender: BOY!! :)

Name: Cohen Christopher

Labor Signs: I have contractions at night, but they aren't regular

Symptoms: Lots

Belly Button in or out? Out

Wedding rings on or off? ON :)

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy

Looking forward to: 5 weeks (ONE MONTH) & our baby will be here :)

Baby Cohen weighs 5lb4oz & is looking perfect! Today on the ultrasound we could clearly see his face (I know we've done the 3d, but it was cool getting to see his face so clear on a regular ultrasound) He's defintely got my nose, but we already knew that. He's so cute & it looks like he has big lips too! I can't believe how big he is, but I can sure feel it. He's always pushing up against me all day & he is kind of starting to hurt me. I am starting to have heartburn, mostly at night. I crave grapes and they are causing the heartburn, but I eat them anyways. I have contractions at night, small crampy tight tummy, but they aren't regular- usually just when I wake up to pee. I now go to the Dr EVERY WEEK & get checked to see if I've dilated. Wow, our son will be here soon! :)