The Drive:
We are home! What a trip this was! On the way out we weren't sure what to expect. It was tough to get everything prepared and the car packed, but we left the house at 4:00 am as planned. The first day was super long and every time we stopped to feed Cooper it took about an hour. The first day ended up being about13 hours long. We stayed at a Best Western, since they were the only place that took pets. However the pet rooms were also smoking rooms. Stinky and Gross. We were supposed to get free breakfast, but since we left at 3:30 am we didn't get any.
The second day of the drive on the way to Denver was much quicker at 11 hours. It still took awhile to feed Cooper, but we knew what to expect so it was a lot better. We stayed at a Comfort Suites in Golden, and it was super luxury compared to the Best Western. Chris got Hops for us for dinner (our favorite restaurant in Denver) and we were able to enjoy the free breakfast the next morning.
On the way back to California we left Denver at 4:30 am and arrived at our expected midway (or so) point at 3:00 pm. We stayed at another Comfort Suites and had chinese for dinner and again missed the free breakfast since we left at 3:00 am. We made it home by 11 am during the second day. The shorter days were because Cooper has learned how to eat more efficiently. Instead of taking 15-20 min on each side, he now takes 8-10 min on each side.
Drive time to Denver: ~15 hours
Drive time to CA: ~14.5 hours
Funny thing...we ate Burger King breakfast almost every morning during the drives--it seems to be the only fast food restaurant on the drive between CA and Denver.
Scout loved the car ride and the hotel stays. She also loves Cooper. In the early morning hours (when it is still dark) of our drive today, she decided to do some cuddling with Cooper. Around 3:30 am (30 minutes into the drive) I heard Cooper groan a bit, but didn't turn around to check on him because he got quiet (I check on him all the time!!). Well after about 45 min of driving, he really started getting upset, but Chris and I were thinking that we should have at least another 45 min of driving before he wants to eat.
So I reach back to feel his little cheek to calm him and see if he is hungry yet. What I felt was not my baby's soft cheek...I was nearly repulsed because it was furry! I thought what the heck is on Cooper that is so furry or do I just suddenly have a furry baby?!?! I turn around and Scout is curled up, sitting on top of Cooper and completely covering him up in the carseat!!!!! She looked ridiculous!!
She weighs twice as much as he does and is nearly double his size!! Poor Cooper had Scout sitting on him for nearly 45 min while Chris and I drove down the road chatting and listening to music. It was funny and not so funny at the same time.
I began to triple check on Cooper and saw Scout try to crawl up on him again during the road trip. On the next stop we put a pillow between Scout and Cooper which seemed to take care of the problem.
The visit:
We had a really great time in Denver. The hardest part was sharing our baby all the time. We had grown accustomed to just having him all to ourselves, and it was sort of tough to hand him over to everyone all day, every day. It was also tough to know that he needs something and then have to ask for him back when the person doesn't realize what he needs. It is amazing to us that we have learned his needs and cues so quickly. All in all we are so glad Cooper has so many people who love him so much and want to hold him and shower him with that love.
My brother graduated high school (Congrats Larry!!) on Friday. It was tough to get up and get there on time. We got up at 5:30 am and barely made it to the graduation on time at 9 am. Crazy how much more time a baby adds to a morning routine. Granted we also had the dog and had to drive her across town to my sister's house. At the graduation we got to visit with my mom, step-dad, dad, and siblings.
After graduation we went to Chris' mom's and grandma's to stay for a few days. We went to the graduation party that evening and had a really great time. Over the weekend several people came to see us which was really great.
Then we stayed with Mikael and Che the rest of the visit. Maile was adorable the entire time and could really hold her own when it came to Scout. She also seemed to be curious about Cooper and kept calling him 'baby'. She even gave him a few kisses! The only time she seemed to get jealous was when Nana (Mikael's mom) held Cooper. I had no idea an 11 month old understood jealousy!
Tons of people made it over to say hi...many of them came on the weekend. All in all the visit with everyone was wonderful. We didn't do our normal running around and instead followed a normal daily routine. We loved it and can't wait to move back.
Chris shot lots of video and will put together another video soon. I will post pictures over the next few days. We also got Cooper's one month old pictures and family pictures taken. Che was our photographer and the photos are fantastic!! Thanks Che!!! (There were so many great ones, but I only posted a couple here.)
(Family Picture 5/08)
(1 month, 1.5 wks old, in Mommy and Daddy's arms)
(1 month, 1.5 wks old, with Daddy)
Cooper Updates:
This kid grows like a weed!! We used 1.5 packs of NB size diapers, two packs of size 1 and one pack of size 2. We are now using size 2/3! We can't believe it. Che says Maile is only in a size 3 and she is 11 months old!! They aren't exactly the same size, but Cooper will likely catch up to her soon!
(Maile, 11 months, and Cooper, almost 6 weeks, with Che)
Cooper has grown out of 0-3 month clothing. We are now in 3-6 month and 6-9 month clothing, depending on the brand (Gerber and Baby Gap tend to run small, while Carter's tends to run a little more true to size). I have about 5 outfits he needs to wear in the next week or he won't ever get to wear them!
He is smiling at us and cooing quite a bit. He also sort of squeals when he smiles and is really excited. I love it!
It looks like he might be sleeping through the night sooner rather than later. He has been going to bed around 9 or 10 pm. When he wakes up at 2:30/3 am for feeding, he only stays up maybe 10 minutes and always has a dry diaper. I think he might drop this feeding soon and just wake up at 5:30/6 am.
We are also going to start a bedtime routine with him. We learned a lot from what Mikael and Che do with Maile, so we want to start something similar with Cooper. Especially since he has started this new whining/crying thing when he gets tired. He gets really fussy and shows similar cues to hunger, but does a lot of face rubbing on us.
We've found that it's best to swaddle him and lay him down when he gets tired. He coos for about 15 minutes, but falls asleep on his own. If we try to rock him, hold him, bounce him, pat him or sing to him to get him to fall asleep, it only prolongs the whining and crying. I learned this the hard way right before we left Denver to come home. After 2 hours of whining, fussing and crying I reached my breaking point. So I swaddled him and laid him down. Within 10 minutes, we were both asleep.
