Grandson Cooper has arrived
For the first time in my 51 years, I didn’t spend Thanksgiving day with my entire family; instead, I chose a different route. I spent this past Thanksgiving with my daughter and son-in-law, Sydney and Alex, in Lebanon, Ohio, which is not far from Cincinnati.
My first grandchild arrived on June 3. His name is Cooper Michael, and I’m in love with his sweet face and fat cheeks.
A few days later, I flew to Chicago to be with him and my daughter, Sydney, while her husband, Alex, went back to work. For those of you that are wondering, I left my ex-husband at home because I was tired of taking him everywhere. I figured he could get a flight on his own and that’d also give me more time with the grandson.
Sydney turned 28 this week, so it’s been awhile since I’ve had to deal with a newborn baby. I’d forgotten about all those late-night feedings and diaper changes. And since my normal bedtime is around 9:30 p.m., I wasn’t prepared to stay up with Cooper during the midnight shift, but I did.
Sydney and Alex finally confessed they’d been up with the baby for the past 48 hours straight without sleeping. The first words out of my mouth were, “What? Why didn’t you sleep while he was sleeping?” They told me they couldn’t because they were in awe of their bundle of joy and couldn’t take their eyes off him. I knew that wouldn’t last long, and told them I’d take the first shift so they could get some sleep. The only problem was my shift was from 12:30 to 4:30 a.m.
I held that sweet baby for the first hour without putting him down because I couldn’t get enough of him, either. I finally decided after he was fed and changed that I could lay him down in his bassinet and he’d be okay. That lasted about 45 minutes, and then I was holding him again, probably longer than I needed to but that’s what LaLa (Grandma) does.
Sydney got up about 4:30 a.m. and commended me on my grandmother duties like I was a pro. I laid down for a few hours, but I finally got up because “there’s no sleep for the wicked.” About 2 p.m. I told them I was going to try and rest and would be up to help with Cooper in a few hours.
I guess I was worn out because I didn’t wake up until 8 p.m. that night. LaLa had nearly six hours of sleep and then bragged to the new parents about it. They retaliated by telling me I would be on midnight shift again because I was so “well rested.”
Needless to say, my vacation was well spent with Cooper for the first two weeks of his life, and by the time I see him in-person again, he will be at least three months old or more. I’m hoping by the time I return, his parents won’t be broken.
