How time flies!

It has been two and half weeks since Cooper was born and it feels like a year ago, and yesterday, all at once.

In non-baby news, two of my friends got engaged in the last two weeks. So exciting!

Cooper is thriving on a steady diet of hilariously over-produced breast milk. My let-down reflex (what allows to milk to come out of the boob) is very easily stimulated, so I have been spending the last two weeks with soft cloth diapers stuffed into my bra. Yesterday I took unclipped a bra cup to feed him and squirted Matt in the chest on the couch- very funny. I soak through a cloth diaper or spitup rag about every two hours, which is about as often as Cooper needs his diaper changed, so needless to say we are doing a lot of laundry.

My bust has finally leveled out at a functional size (36C; one band size and two cup sizes bigger than a year ago). I seem to have a sore plugged duct right now that developed last night, but other than that I am having a very successful time with feeding and I'm really happy with my ability to feed our little guy. I've read that warm compresses and extra feeding will clear most plugged ducts in a day or two, so I'm not too worried. A friend of mine also suggested stuffing my bra with cabbage leaves, which could add a nice touch of bizzareness to my day.

Cooper's weight continues to be a source of amused pride for us. He was born at 8lb 13oz, dropped to 8lb 5oz at four days old (very normal) and as of yesterday at his two week well baby check he already weighed 9lb 14oz. Wow! He is a normal height so he's just, umm... well adapted to the harsh Montana winters.

My father (Grandpa G) seemed most pleased with Cooper's giant feet during my parents' visit. Cooper's feet really do look above average size, and he also has big hands. As the Grandpa G family tendency is to have rather small hands and feet, I'm guessing these big hands and feet are either a Grandma's G (the F family), or a Rad-family trait. Given that Cooper's only blood-related uncle is 6'4", well, perhaps we are growing a stout Olympian swimmer!

Cooper's baby acne is very mild and I'm happy that his little cheeks are looking more clear than a few days ago. He and I had a simultaneous breakout early last week, caused by the same thing (hormone withdrawal) and it cleared up at about the same time. Great! Better for photos!

His sleeping is doing about as well as you can hope for a newborn- he sleeps in 2 to 3 hour stints most nights and typically falls back asleep after each feeding without too much fuss. For a while he was sleeping in 4 hour stretches, but in retrospect Matt and I realized that this was the same time that I was taking a prescription that made me sleepy for my heinous full-body rash ... so that is suspicious that it made him drowsy too. Now that I am not taking it, we are working on a 3 hour schedule. Functional yet tiring.

The rash, geeez... A few days after I delivered I had a rash on my belly and thighs that looked kinda like another attack of PUPPPs, the dreaded pregnancy rash. So I took some benadryl and this other anti-itch thing that I forget the name of. That kept it in check for a few days. Until, that is, the rash suddenly spread to cover virtually my entire body. This prompted me to get it looked at by a dermatologist who took the rash much, much more seriously then I thought he would. Contrary to the belief that this was another random attack of PUPPPs, the dermatologist tended towards a systemic allergic reaction to either the Keflex (for my fun abscess) or ibuprofen (for post-partum swelling and pain). So now I'm finishing up a 7 day course of Prednisone to keep me from going into anaphylactic shock (yea!) and have been told to never take Keflex again. And to not take ibuprofen for at least another month or two, just in case.

I still itch really badly in a few places (mostly my knees, which is odd) but the rash is almost gone. I feel bad subjecting little Cooper to the constant barrage of different chemicals but I also know that he would not benefit from a mom in the hospital from respiratory failure. So I'm doing what I can to space his feedings from the drugs and drink lots of extra water.

The pediatrician was very impressed with Cooper's abdominal and leg muscle tone- she said he is in outstanding shape for his age. We are really happy with his alertness during the day, eye contact, funny baby noises, and his ability to lift and control his head seems pretty advanced for his age. His smiles are still random and fleeting but they make us so happy! I don't care if it is gas, it is a smile and he's my baby.

Thankfully, Cooper is sleeping soundly in his crib at night and doesn't demand to be held and sung to 24/7. He is a rather dramatic guy- you'd think his toenails were being pulled off each time we change his diaper- but he almost always calms back down quickly and has yet to get really badly upset without cause. The one time he seemed to be screaming endlessly for no reason turned out to be a serious stomach upset- after what seemed like an eternity of horrible screeching and freaking out, the little guy spewed a nearly unimaginable amount of milk all over my face, bra, chest, and all the way down my back. And then he was calm. And Matt and I felt like idiots for not burping him better. It seems to me like parenthood is just one long "amateur hour" after another.