One week old and quite the welcome from our neighborhood friends

On Saturday, Cooper turned one week old. It's hard to believe it's been a week since we welcomed him into this world which was made all the brighter by his arrival.

It's been quite a week, filled with joy and challenges alike. We adore our little Cooper and are enjoying watching him adjust to his new environment outside of my belly. It amazes us every day the things he does, considering we're still nearly a month away from his due date. He makes the funniest faces - Bob calls them is "fish faces" - and he's getting stronger by the day. When we burp him he manages to pick up his head, turn it and lay it on our hands so his cheek is in the palm of my hand and then tries to fall back asleep - mid-burping! Cracks me up every time. The main challenge has been sleep deprivation - we're not accustomed to sleeping in just one-two hour intervals and then functioning efficiently while awake. Cooper is a great sleeper most of the time but the challenge is that it takes so long to feed him, change him, wash and organize supplies, etc. that by the time the tasks are completed it's time to start all over again. But, we're creating a system that we're settling into slowly but surely. Bob has been very hands-on which is so great, and having my parents here to help out with the dog, meals, and things like that has been a huge relief. Sometimes I worry how I'll be able to manage things when my folks are back in CT and Bob is back to work but everyone reminds me that there's never been a challenge in my life that I didn't conquer and that this will be no exception. One day, one week at a time.

This past weekend he received his first sponge bath. He didn't enjoy it as much as Bob, my mom, and me did. Cooper doesn't enjoy being naked - he gets that from his mommy. He screeched his way through the very short but efficient bath which consisted of just a warm wet wash cloth wipe down, head to toe (excluding his umbilical cord stump, of course). He *did* enjoy the warm plush towel wrap immediately following the bath - who wouldn't?!

Sunday evening we were treated to an amazing outpouring of support, love and generosity in the form of a baby shower for Cooper, thrown by our neighborhood friends. Bob and I have been so incredibly touched and grateful for the amazing support these special friends have shown us throughout my challenging pregnancy and continue to show as everyone welcomes our newest member of the neighborhood. The party was absolutely wonderful. An evening backyard soiree at Clare's house at the end of the cul-de-sac. Everyone brought yummy food, refreshing beverages, and delicious desserts, and super special and incredibly generous gifts for Cooper.

It was so wonderful to get out of the house and enjoy a social visit - my first social outing since early February prior to going on bed rest. We brought Cooper along and he spent the entire time sleeping in his carrier/stroller. Dr.Mike preapproved his participation as long as there wouldn't be a bunch of other children there and we didn't pass the baby around. I think Cooper did a fine job of staying asleep so it was hard to imagine wanting to pick him up and disturb him. Toward the end of the party Bob picked him up and carried him around so everyone could get a good look at him and it was fun to watch Bob beam with pride and look so natural carrying his son.

Bob and I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of our neighborhood friends for giving us such a special shower and welcoming party for Cooper. We had an amazing time and, once again, we are so happy that we chose this house on this street - there couldn't be a better place in the world to be than right here amongst all these wonderful friends whom we truly cherish.

My mom took some photographs at the party so I'll try to download them to my pc and post them a bit later. For now, it's time to feed our little guy.