COOPER RYNE HITSMAN
06.12.12 4:38p.m. 6lbs6oz 19.25in
On 06.12.12 @ 7a.m. I was getting ready for work + my water broke. I was 36w6d + at this time was not feeling any contractions, so you can imagine my shock! I called Nick, who had just gotten downtown to work not more than 30 mins before that + so he had to head back out to NW Ankeny to pick me up + then we headed back downtown to Methodist to check-in! I was thankful that this did not happen at work -- because it really is a mess! I was also thankful that Nick was in town. He hadn't even been home for a full 48 hours before my water broke + he was planning on leaving town on the 13th for a work conference in Chicago -- pending the doctor appt we had on the 12th to see if I was progressing at all. Well, I was definitely progressing! Poor Nick did have to miss an Iowa Cubs game the afternoon of the 12th + an actual Chicago Cubs game the night of the 13th. Oh, well -- we think Cooper was well worth it!
Hospital Story:
We arrived at Methodist by 8a.m. + they sent us to the waiting room so they could get a room ready. I thought this was odd, but we didn't make a stink because I wasn't in pain . . . YET! After 15 mins or so we were taken to a very tiny room that I assumed was a monitoring room -- I was hooked up to a machine to monitor my contractions + Coopers heart rate. Well - we then found out that this could possibly be our delivery room because the hospital was FULL. They ended up delivering 24 babies within a 24 hour time frame (midnight - midnight) on 06.12. How crazy is that!? Anyways - we were fortunate to switch to a much larger delivery room after being there for a couple hours.
My progression was slow -- I only walked into the hospital dilated at 1.5cm + so after a couple hours they decided to put me on pitocin to get things moving . . . they continued to check and by 2:30p.m. I was finally at a 3. Nick + I figured this was going to be a long labor. They checked again around 3:30p.m. and I was an 8 - HOLY COW, that went fast! Well, not more than 30 mins later around 4p.m., I was a 10! It was time to push - we waited for the OB doctor to arrive and 25 mins later we had our healthy little man, Cooper!
I should back up to around 12:45p.m. on the 12th . . . I was finally starting to feel the contractions + couldn't handle the pain. I did ask for an epidural + things were much better for me. When it was time to push, I was starting to feel them again, but not terrible at all.
The Name:
When we originally started talking about names we always said Ryne would be the first name. It's Nick's middle name + it's from Ryne Sandberg who played for the Chicago Cubs -- believe he was MVP in 1984. Nick's dad, Denny, was a HUGE Cubs fan + Nick has been all of his life as well. However . . . we slowly decided to use Ryne as the middle name + think of a different first name. The name Cooper has come from a couple different areas for us -- I've always liked it since I once asked a super cute family, years ago, in a restaurant what their 3 little boys' names were + one was Cooper. The Baseball Hall of Fame is located in Cooperstown, NY (how fitting for us!) AND one last silly reason I like Cooper is because I like Anderson Cooper + he was just in DSM for the IA Caucus at the end of last year. Plus Cooper was the ONLY boy name Nick really liked.
Thank you to all who have sent gifts, flowers, food + congratulations our way this past week! It's been truly overwhelming + we are so thankful for all the friends + family that we have!
Enjoy some photos from the day of Cooper's birth and more . . . a couple early ones might look a little gross to individuals who haven't had a baby, so I'm sorry! I couldn't not share though - it's such an amazing feeling + I could definitely do this all over again!
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| Dr. Kaufman with Cooper right after delivery! She was awesome! |
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| Right after delivery - laying Cooper on my chest |
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| Weighing in at 6lbs6oz |
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| Daddy gets to hold Cooper for the first time |
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| First family photo after delivery |
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| Nick calling family to tell them about Cooper |
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| Aunt Lisa + Cooper |
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| Grandma Martens with her two grandsons: Noah + Cooper |
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| Aunt Megan, Cousin Noah + Cooper |
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| Grandma Jane + Cooper |
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| Cousin Zella + Cooper |
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| Grandpa + Grandma Martens with their two grandsons - Noah + Cooper |
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| Daddy + Cooper |
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| Coop's footprints in his baby book! |
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| First bath |
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| Aunt Cari + Cooper |
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| Mom Aunt Cari Grandma Martens + Cooper |
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| Grandma Martens + Cooper |
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| Daddy with his Ryne Sandberg shirt on, holding Cooper |
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| Family photo before leaving the hospital |
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| Coopers buddy, Niles Nedved! |
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Cooper + Niles
Can you believe these two are only 5 months apart? |
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| Niles + Cooper |
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| Getting some sun to get rid of the jaundice |
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| Nick's first fathers day! Love! |
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| Happy Fathers Day! |
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| All of us were tired after the first family walk! Mom + Cooper slept for 1.5hrs! |
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| Such a happy little guy! |
