The Klog: Cooper's First Halloween

Can you believe that Cooper is already 5 weeks old? It seems like time is just flying by and I really wish it would slow down! Life with a new baby has been absolutely exhausting, but wonderful at the same time! I knew that I wouldn't be getting a lot of sleep, but I really had no idea what it meant to be so worn out and still have to function (going back to work is going to be an experience!). Cooper is still not sleeping through the night consistently and he is still wanting to eat every two hours, but he's healthy! I took him to the doctor's office this past Monday to check his weight and he is up to 10 pounds 8 ounces!

Just to keep you updated, when Cooper was born he was tongue tied. This basically meant that his frenulum (the little piece of skin under your tongue that connects it to your mouth) was extended all the way out to almost the end of his tongue. Because of this, Cooper couldn't really stick out his tongue or lift it very far up. This also caused him to have some problems breast feeding so I had to use a nipple shield. Every lactation nurse we consulted was very concerned about the tongue tiedness, but the pediatricians didn't really seem to be. After finally meeting with a wonderful lactation consultant, we decided to see a specialist about it. So, at three weeks we took Cooper to an ear, nose and throat specialist, who could see how far extended his frenulum was without having to really examine Cooper's mouth. He recommended that we go ahead and get his tongue clipped. After talking to him about it, there were really no cons to having it done right then. If we waited, it would be a more invasive surgery and he could possibly develop speech problems. We agreed to have it done and the doctor did it right then with us in the room! They numbed his little mouth with a topical cream, then took some scissors and went snip snip, and it was all done. Cooper's mouth barely even bled! To be honest, I think the whole process was harder on me than it was on him :) Now that his tongue is fixed, we've been re-learning how to breast feed. I think we've just about got it figured out. Now I just need to figure out how to get him to eat every 2 1/2 to 3 hours instead of every 1 1/2 to 2 hours :)

Last night was Cooper's first Halloween and he was the cutest monkey that you've ever seen! We took him over to the Russell's house where he got to show off his cuteness to them and the Hartman's. After that, we went to Tara Addington Darland's parent's house and then went home. Cooper slept the whole time :) Enjoy the pictures below!