Cooper Thomas Bryant....

He made it here yesterday morning at 8:50am weighing 8 lbs 14 oz and measuring 22 inches long. The c-section went fine and Cooper and I are doing great! I am recovering well. We love Cooper so much and we are so greatful to God for our little miracle!!

Our first family photo....


Looks like a Bryant boy....

All smiles for mom....

Proud parents....

22 inches long....

Sooner born and sooner bred....

OU baby....

Ready or not here he comes.......

We are walking out the door to the hospital.  My sister-in-law Annika welcomed Cooper into the world by the help of my nephew AJ.  I couldn't get the picture to post but Clay did so check it out.  My next post will be about our little boy!  Thank you all for the prayers and support!  God is great!  I can't wait to meet our little miracle.......   

We braved it....

We had our 39 week appointment with Dr. Wilks this afternoon.  I was scared to death about driving to Mercy but since it was the last appointment before the c-section we knew we needed to go.  Especially when Tammi called to make sure we were going because Dr. Wilks wanted to see me.  I have to say my husband did a great job of driving patiently and avoiding all the idiots.  Once I settled down we started making bets on what vehicles that would speed past us would end up in a ditch.  And a few did!  Here are a few pictures of our drive......

View of our house (of course it is blurry!  AHHHHH!)

One of the many stranded cars.....

Douglas Blvd....

Interstate...

Enough ice now back to the appointment.  Nothing has changed since last week.  Dr. Wilks did answer a ton of questions I had and told me exactly what to expect before, after, and during the c-section. (Elizabeth - thank you for telling me to ask her about my abs.  I would have had no idea!)   Clay tried to get her to just go ahead and take us over today and have him now but she didn't fall for that.  (Today was his grandpa Ford's birthday and it would have been really sentimental for Cooper to share that day.  Clay has been hoping for today for months.)  She clarified his breech position and I was correct in thinking that he was sideways.  She also commented on how big he is and thinks he will be 9 pounds.  I guess we'll find out in 58 hours!  

Last night Cooper was moving like crazy and I was admiring his movements in my belly.  I had my camera right next to me and I snapped a picture of him poking what I now know is his head out.  This may seem gross to you but it is a picture from my view down to my belly.  Obviously my belly is suppose to be round but you can see him bulging out on the left side.  I never get tired of feeling or watching him in my belly.  It is truly amazing........
We took this picture before we left.  After getting into our room for the appointment today I told Clay "that was the last time I will pee in a cup this pregnancy."  It seems like the pregnancy has gone by so fast........
This very well could be my last post before I am a mom.  We have the laptop, video camera, and camera packed and we will be posting pictures of our little boy as soon as we get a chance.  We know the blog world can't wait to meet him either!

Change in plans.......

Tammy, Dr. Wilks' nurse, called me this morning at 7:20am.  She told me that Dr. Wilks looked at my ultrasound last night and then called the ultrasound technician to verify what she saw.  Apparently Cooper is breech and she is going to have to take him by C-section.  I was completely shocked.  I never saw that coming.  I was confused because I watched yesterday where she was holding the wand (for a lack of the correct terminology) and what I was seeing on the screen.  She gave me no indication what so ever that he could be in a different position.  Tammy told me that the technician was not allowed to tell me he was breech but still you would think I would have some kind of motherly instinct to know that something wasn't right!   The only thing that makes sense to me is I know his feet are on the right side of my belly and his hiccups have been coming from my far left side so maybe he is sideways with his butt in the middle.  Tammy told me about the C-section and about how they would call later to get me scheduled.  I was so shocked (and I was on duty) that I didn't think or know what questions to ask her.  Since then I have been asked a thousand questions and I have that many to ask but that is really all that I know.  I also remember her mentioning that he is a big baby and it might have been hard for me to deliver him vaginally anyway.  Since then I keep hearing suggestions about what I should be doing to get him flipped and to be honest I am still grasping the fact that I am going to have to have a c-section that I can't think about what I could be doing.  I guess now I will start reading up on c-sections since I always seemed to skip that information.  My induction date was suppose to be next Thursday the 29th and Tammy told me she wanted to get me in ASAP but that would be the latest date since I already had it scheduled.  Then they called this afternoon to tell me that Friday the 30th was the first time they could get me in.  That is just 2 days before my due date.  So I guess Friday is the day.  I have an appointment with Dr. Wilks on Tuesday so I can bombard her with all of my questions then.    

My mom brought up a good point.  She said that this way  I know I won't encounter my two biggest fears.  Those being 1) being induced 2) hours of hard labor that end in an emergency c-section.  I have to say that I was not tightly holding on to the dream of delivering vaginally like some people do.  I just like to know what is going on and I am completely overwhelmed because I thought I was ready for any scenario and apparently I'm not.  I am a little nervous now about being able to breast feed and bond with him right after he is born.  I know the bottom line is that I am going to have a beautiful healthy baby boy no matter how I deliver.  I just need to focus on that.  

I have to say that this way God did answer my prayers (about the induction).  Now I will have to ask him for peace about the c-section.  Doesn't God have a funny way of answering prayers sometimes..........

8 lbs 12 oz

That is what the ultrasound said Cooper weighs today.  I'm not sure what to think!  I had the ultrasound at Mercy hospital and they had to send the results to my doctors office.  She said she would get the results this afternoon or tomorrow.  I was hoping to hear something from her today but we are approaching five o'clock so I guess it will be tomorrow.  I am really not sure why she wanted me to have the ultrasound.  Especially since we are already planning on inducing a week from today.  I know she wanted to do it to see how much he would weigh but I don't know if that means she would want to induce any earlier or not.  She told me the main thing she was checking was how much his weight had changed since the last ultrasound.  It has been three weeks and three days since the last ultrasound and he is 2 pounds 1 ounce larger.  That means he has been gaining at a rate of a little over 1/2 pound a week.  If he gained a 1/2 pound in the next week that would put him at 9 pounds 4 ounces next Thursday!!  And that is give or take a pound.  The ultrasound also had me at 40 weeks.  That is really close since I am just 10 days away from my due date.

He has hair!!  The technician was able to see it but Clay and I couldn't make it out.  We also saw his chubby cheeks again.  The pictures didn't come out great because he is so smushed in there!  We were able to see him a lot clearer on the ultrasound.  It is reassuring to know that he is doing great.  We can't believe he could be here a week from now.  

I am still nervous about the induction and praying that he will just come on his own in the next week and I won't have to worry about it.  Hopefully I will hear from Dr. Wilks soon so I will know what she is thinking.  We will keep you updated..... 

You've lost two pounds this week....

And I had lost one pound at my appointment last week.  Losing three pounds in two weeks how weird is that?  I actually feel like I have been more hungry the last few days than I have at all during my pregnancy.  Weird...

Today was my 38 week appointment and I was SO glad to see Dr. Wilks.  My body has not changed, still 90% effaced and dilated to a whopping 1cm.  Once again I set myself up for this so I was not shocked.  She did think that Cooper was big just by looking at me.  She said he measured right at 38 weeks but since he is dropped he technically should have measured less than that.  Another indication she thinks he is big.  She felt him and said if she was guessing she would say he's a good 8 pounds right now.  Then she told me that Dr. Wayman (the OB I saw last week) told a woman today she thought her baby was 7 pounds and at noon she delivered a 10 pound baby!!  Last week Dr. Wayman told me she though Cooper was 7 to 7 1/2 pounds!  Dr. Wilks is scheduling me an ultrasound for this week.  It was three weeks ago today that the ultrasound predicted he was already 6 pounds 11 ounces.  She said the ultrasound can be off a pound either way and she mainly wants to see how much the ultrasound would say that he has changed in the past three weeks.  She said she will know more after she gets those results.

As for worrying about making the decision whether or not to induce, I don't have to worry about that anymore.  She made it for me.  She does not want me to go past then so next Thursday, January 29th, is the day unless he decides to come earlier.  That is only three days before my due date so it is not like she is taking him early.  I guess my worst fear right now is having a long labor and then him being so big they have to end up doing a C-section.  I think the bottom line is I just need to quit worrying about it!  

I had Clay take this picture today.  I need to start taking them more frequently since we don't know when the last one will be.  

Zero Zilch Nada....

That was the amount of change I had at my appointment on Tuesday.  Nothing has changed in a week.  I was prepared for that, I know I can be dilated to a 1 and 90% effaced for weeks.  I had quite a bit of cramping last weekend and I thought that might have made some difference.  I kept saying that I wanted to get to today before he came.  We have been taking labor and delivery classes on Monday night in Midwest City and we have two more left in January.  Tuesday night we took a Breastfeeding class and last night a Baby Care (Clay calls it how not to kill your baby class) at Mercy.  For those of you doing the math we did have three classes in a row this week!  I feel better that we went to each of those classes so now I am ready for him to make his big appearance.  We do have two more labor and delivery classes left but last Monday we went through breathing techniques and positions and thats really what I wanted to learn so if he came and we missed the last two it wouldn't be a big deal.  Obviously not because he would be here! Back to the appointment, I saw Dr. Wayman and I liked her.  Dr. Wilks is back in town now after tragically losing her brother-in-law.  Her family has been in our prayers.  It gives me peace of mind knowing she is back though.  

I have still been feeling pretty well.  I have been getting heartburn more frequently and I am still having a lot of painful pressure.  I have been fortunate that I am still sleeping just fine.  My legs and ankles are starting to swell a little at the end of the day.  I have been a lot more tired at night and trying to do a better job of sitting down during the day.  Our induction day is two weeks from today.  It is crazy knowing that Cooper could be here in two weeks at the very latest.   I am still debating the induction by the way.  Thank you to all of you who have shared positive stories with me.  I still want to discuss it with Dr. Wilks at my 38 week appointment on Monday.  Clay is keeping a calendar of dates with predictions of friends and families.  Feel free to add your vote to the calendar.  My friend Katie picked today and she lost, unless he comes in less than four hours anyway. 

I would like to wish a very happy birthday to my precious friend Brooke!  Love ya girl!

Call from my OB on Saturday?

I was very puzzled this morning to look at my phone as it was ringing and see on the caller ID "Dr. Wilks" calling.  It is amazing how many thoughts ran through my mind in the few seconds it took me to answer the phone.  It was Tammy, Dr Wilk's nurse.  Dr. Wilks had a sudden death in the family and is going to be out of town for a few days.  She was calling to let me know and also to reschedule my 37 week appointment that I had with her on Tuesday.  I had pre-scheduled all of my appointments for 3:30 and after so that I won't have to miss school.  She tried to get me to take Monday at 2:00 but we worked out Tuesday at 3:00.  At least I will just have to find someone to cover my class for the last twenty minutes of the day.  That is better than an hour and twenty minutes on Monday.  (One of the down falls of being a teacher is you can't just leave when you need to you always have to work it out to get it covered.  It also makes being gone hard.  You can't just call into work, you have to completely have the day laid out and for someone to walk in and teach.  I am saying all of this because I have been putting hours into getting my long term sub plans ready!)  Anyway, my appointment is at 3:00 on Tuesday with Dr. Wayman another OB in the Mercy practice.  I have to admit, I am glad it is with a woman and not a man.  There is nothing wrong with male OBs I just feel more comfortable with a woman.  Everyone keeps telling me that Cooper is going to come early.  Although I don't think he will be here in the next few days, it does kind of make me nervous that the dr I know and am comfortable with is out of town for a few days.  I got online and read a couple of reviews about Dr. Wayman and a few said she is C-section happy.  Who really knows though, everyone has their own opinion based on their own experiences.  I trust my dr and if that is who she is trusting me with while she is gone then I am fine with that.  I am trying to take more belly pictures as my pregnancy is coming close to the end.  Here are some pictures I took this week at 36 weeks.  I don't know why they are so blurry.  I am really getting frustrated with my camera!

This is the only bare belly picture I have taken.  I don't like taking them now, but I know I will want to go back and look at them later when I want to reflect back on the pregnancy.  
We purchased a video camera a few weeks ago in preparation for Cooper's arrival.  Clay has been playing with it and he created an awesome slideshow of my nephew.  Check it out!

In closing, Cooper's room is as ready as it is going to get!  I am waiting on my mom to put a finishing touch on the valance.  Once I get it up I will post some nursery pictures.  I am oh so gingerly reminding my mom to get it done for me.  Stay tuned....

pregnancy update & a new sister-in-law

Yesterday we went for my 36 week appointment with Dr. Wilks.  I am dilated 1 cm and 90% effaced.  I didn't have much of a reaction because I didn't think it was a big deal.  I know I could stay that way for weeks and nothing happen!  She said it was good though that I had progressed from last week.  She said that he has "dropped" and the horrible pelvic pressure (I feel like he is stabbing me with a knife when I am standing) and the back pain I am now having with the Braxton Hicks are all signs of my body getting ready for labor.  The pelvic pressure is really the worst symptom I have.  I am very fortunate that I am still able to sleep and I can go right back to sleep after waking up to go to the bathroom.  She said she wanted to schedule an induction date for the last week in January because he is big.  That would only be a few days before my due date.  I am still not sure if I want to use it or not, right now I am leaning towards not.  She said it is easier to schedule a date and have the hospital booked rather than needing a date and there not being a slot open.  I agreed to that.  As for the induction, I'm still not sold and I will have to see how the next two weeks play out.  

Clay and I started labor and delivery class last night.  It is from 6:30-9:30 ever Monday night in January.  It wasn't too bad.  It was hard to sit there for three hours, but I feel like its worth it.  I knew quite a bit of what she was talking about but I learned some new things also.  Next week we are going to work on visual and breathing techniques to use during labor and I don't know anything about that.  

Now for some exciting news my brother-in-law, Cole, got engaged this weekend.  (No my brother Todd is not engaged.  I was wondering how many of you from Hinton would scroll here first to see if it was him!)  If you will remember from here,  Jessica has practically been a member of the family but now it is official. They have been dating for 5 years.  It was about time he proposed!  They have not set a date but they are throwing around the option of next March.  We are all very excited for them!  Congratulations Cole and Jessica!  

Maybe next time he'll think before he speaks...

Everyone needs to see this. It's a funny music video from preachers' wives to their husbands. Ironically, Clay is preaching tomorrow...

Thanks for sharing this Susan!!

Wow it is 2009 already.....

Well it is January 1st and I am officially due one month from today.  Ever since my last post I have heard many stories about babies coming at 36, 37, 38, or 39 weeks.  I know that everyone is different and I just need to be ready for anytime.  We actually packed Cooper's bag tonight!

35 weeks - I look like I was up until 2am.  

Every year Eastside, the church where we attend and Clay is the youth minister, joins with the Ridgecrest and Del City congregations for an end of the year devotional the last Wednesday night in December.  Since it fell on New Years this year, our youth groups combined together for a New Years Eve bash.  The evening was filled with dodgeball....

rolling up his sleeves, this is serious.....

ouch that one hurt....

I watched and hid dodgeballs under my shirt.  Can't you tell?

Played war with nerf guns......

The kids also played foosball, pool, and had a few wiis set up.  Right after the ball dropped we had a short devotional.  What a way to start out the year!  I hope that you have a blessed 2009!  It sure will be a life changing year for the Bryant family..........