I have spent the last two days off from work. The first to take care of my sick little guy (just a cold, no worries), and the second to attend to appointments. One of which was having my temporary crown put in...BLECH. The other was to take Brady to his 2 month appointment. My little man isn't so little anymore. He's weighing in at 11 pounds 3 ounces and is now 22 inches long! That's 5 pounds and 4 inches he's added since birth!

I came into work today to find out that my department had a meeting and I was to be left out of it to answer any client calls that came in. I have officially become the "red-headed step child" of my department. They changed the name on my phone to show up as Heather now (my replacement), they got rid of my business cards on my desk, and I was lucky to even have a desk to come back to since they put Heather here just before my return. I am slowly being erased from my position, and I know I should be happy, but it's not fun to be left out of everything. I'm still here everyday, I still get all my work done, I'm still getting a paycheck, so why is it so hard to still include me in the daily activities?

Patrick is currently headed to MI for the weekend to take Cody to live with my Mom. The poor dog has been severly neglected by me since Brady came, but I couldn't help but bawl my eyes out last night as I said my "goodbye" to him. He's only going to be with her for the time we're in San Diego but for the last 5 years I have rarely ever been away from that dog. He has been the thing that I've come home to for years. He kept me company many lonely nights while Patrick was away. He kept me warm on the cold nights when I had to sleep alone. I know this is the best decision for us, but it's so hard to think about him not being around for a while.

There is still so much to do to get ready for this move and I can barely drum up the energy to do anything. I'm so exhausted I can't keep my eyes open at night. Brady and I are going to relax all weekend long. It's cold out and I don't want to take him anywhere!

22 days until we're out of VA...thank GOD!

A New Life...

I've been severely lacking in time and opportunity to come and update this blog, which, along with housecleaning, is at the bottom of my list of priorities these days. My precious free time is now reserved for cuddling with my little man after a long day of work.

Since my last post, life has changed dramatically. On November 14th, I woke up feeling a ton of pressure in my "nether regions" and called the doctor to see what was up. They had me come in to monitor me for a little while and found I was still having irregular contractions. The nurse practioner advised that they would be surprised if I made it another week. I then asked her if I should call my Mom to tell her to get here, and she replied "OH YEAH! As soon as possible!".

Mom arrived later that night and we spent the next two days running errands and keeping me off my feet. My doctor appointment on Thursday that week showed that I was still dialating and was 100% effaced. Dr. Cox stripped my membranes to help the process along since I was defintely going soon. By 9:20 the next morning, November 17th, I was having full blown contractions every 4 - 7 minutes. I thought it was strange that I felt them all in my back -- and later learned the true meaning of BACK LABOR.

We arrived at the hospital around noon and I was convinced they were going to send me home. I thought for sure I was going to be that woman that ended up going to L&D 18 times before she really was in labor. After monitoring me for about fifteen minutes, the nurse came in and said, "We're not picking up any ctx on the monitor." I said, "Well, than what am I feeling???" She moved the belt to the other side and continued to monitor me. After another 15 minutes she came in and said "Yup, you're in labor." No kidding, eh?

I made it through the contractions without any drugs for the majority of my labor, but after she broke my water they got much worse. I was drug free for 11 of my 12 hours of labor - which I'll likely never do again! My labor was all in my back and it hurt like nothing I've ever experienced. However, I was able to "enjoy" about 45 minutes of the epidural before I started pushing. After pushing through 4 contractions, a total of 15 minutes, Brady Thomas Coppo was born! They whisked him immediately over to the NICU nurses who were waiting for him, but after checking him out they determined they were not needed. Daddy got to hold him first and then he was given to me. At that moment, I looked into my child's eyes and felt the most intense, deep, and profound love a person could ever imagine.

He weighed in at 6 pounds, 4 ounces and was 18 inches long. He was such a tiny little guy, and I just knew I wanted to hold onto him forever. He was covered in muck, had a mild rash looking thing on his body - but he was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on. By the time he arrived in our suite that night, he was cleaned up and wide eyed. I spent the first night in the hospital listening to him make the most amazing noises as he slept. I wasn't sure if these were good noises, so I worried at first -- and then when he stopped making them, I worried that something was wrong.

I love being a Mommy, and while the first few weeks were hard (including another hospital stay as a result of him having a choking episode), it has gotten much easier. He now smiles, coos and laughs at me. I stopped breastfeeding because something in my milk was not agreeing with him, and he's been completely happy and content ever since. I don't regret my decision to stop either because I quickly learned that I would sever my arm with a dull knife in order to make this child happy.

So - that's it for now. We have our move quickly approaching, and while I waste time here at work I may be able to update more. As of today I only have 22 days left until work is done (14 actual work days thanks to our trip to NY this weekend).