Appeldorn Adventures: Cohen Week 2 Update

Crazy to no longer title a post thinking about how far into my pregnancy I am. It is still settling in that the pregnancy is over and we are blessed with this time to be parents to Cohen. And this time has been truly AMAZING!! It has been better than I could ever have expected. I keep thinking that I am just on cloud 9 or something and soon enough it will wear off. I will enjoy this while it lasts though! I've talked to several friends/family that have more than one child and they seem to agree that you enjoy the experience so much more with a second child. The consensus has been that with the first everything is so new and different that you are aware of so much and expect and wait for things more. With the second you just sit back more and enjoy. I remember thinking with Sevea that I couldn't wait to watch her roll over or sit up or all of those milestones. Now with Cohen I just want time to stand still and never let him grow up. Case in point: We were enjoying dinner at the Zimmer household the other night. Grayson was enjoying his time in the jumperoo while we ate. He has really become a fan of this recently and it is just a joy to watch him love his time in there. I sat there thinking about how short of an amount of time 5 months is to when Cohen will be doing his thing in the jumperoo. We talked about how a standard first time parent response is, I can't wait until ___ will be doing that. Instead I was thinking how I didn't want Cohen to grow up that fast.

Relaxed is the term you could definitely use to describe this time as parents. And I wouldn't want it any other way. It has allowed for me to bond with Cohen in a way I never thought possible. It has allowed me to really soak up all the blessings that have been given to me with the birth of Cohen. I had mentioned before how everyone tells you that your heart will just grow with the birth of another child. It will happen. I was skeptical and thought I needed to make a conscious effort to love no matter the differences between Sevea and Cohen. I couldn't have been more wrong. Sevea has taught me how to love in a way I never knew possible before her. There was no stopping my heart from feeling anything less for Cohen. These two weeks have been beyond amazing even if it mainly consisted of feedings, pee/poop, and interrupted sleep.

A little about Cohen...we had a great appointment for his one week checkup. He went home at 6 lbs 14oz and after one week was back up to 7 lbs 2oz. I am very thankful that feedings have been going well. I know breastfeeding isn't always easy or successful for every mother so I am trying to relax and appreciate the whole process this time. Less stress this time and hopefully that will make this more of a success than the last time. We have been keeping him on pretty much a 2 hour feeding schedule during the day. His nights were no longer than 3 hours between feedings the first week but this week was pushed to 4 hours. Our doctor recommended controlling his feedings for the first two weeks or so. Being at the two week mark we'll start to give him more control at night but still try to keep feedings to no more than 3 hours apart during the day. The more we get in him during the day the less he needs at night which means more sleep for this momma :)

Height...he was born at 20 inches and at one week had grown 1/4 of an inch. We can say for the first time for one of our children we saw over 50% on the growth chart. He came in at 53%!!! We can't say he'll stay up there but it was fun to see :)

Big sister: Sevea has been great so far. I think it has been an easier transition for her since Auntie Angie and Brezlyn have been here to keep her having fun. Yet she has been patient when needed and loving as well. She has adjusted to the fact that her new sibling is a brother and most of the time gets his name right versus calling him Grayson. It seems as though she has transitioned to this new family just as nicely as Troy and I. For this we are very thankful!