A Year in the Life of...Justin

I'm not sure why it took me so long to write Justin's post. Maybe it's because I kept hoping he'd slow down and just be a baby for a while! He's not even 8 months old yet - and he just started cruising along the furniture. He's been sitting up on his own, crawling, and pulling to a stand since 5 months! It's funny - with Jake, I wanted him to grow up as fast as he could, but he took his own sweet time. Justin, I wanted to keep as my little baby forever - and here he is, as independent as can be!

So we all know my pregnancy with Justin wasn't the best - but it sure was better than my pregnancy with Jake. The bedrest wasn't easy - especially with another child that needed my time and attention - but I didn't see any other option. It did seem harder this time around though - physically it took more of a toll on me. By the time his due date rolled around I was MORE than ready to meet this little man. Never did I imagine he'd be past date!

His original due date was April 9 - and we all hoped he'd be born April 7 to follow in my family's pattern of being born on the birthdate of other family members. Jake was born on his Great Aunt Linda Sue's birthday - and we hoped Justin would be born on Dana's AND my grandfather's birthday. (Obviously, all we really cared was that he was healthy!) Well, the 7th came and went...the 9th came and went... and when my doctors wouldn't discuss induction till I was past 42 weeks, I was ready to cry! So I proceeded to spend many hours walking the mall, eating spicy foods, and drinking red raspberry leaf tea. To no avail. I had gone in for a visit on Friday the 13th, and while I was in the office, I started having contractions. Nothing major, but they sent me to the hospital for monitoring. Where I waited...for 3 hours...

At 8pm, they sent me home - seeing as I hadn't progressed any, and L&D was full, there wasn't the need to keep me. So I swung by McDonald's to grab dinner and headed home. No sooner did I sit on the couch that things started getting a wee bit more intense. By 9, I figured this was the real deal. By 10, I called the doctor. I called my mom to watch Jake, attempted to take a shower, and threw my bag together. By 1045, there was NO WAY I could wait till my mom got here - so I called the neighbor - and we headed to the hospital. Steve was so funny - he was so giddy and excited! The contractions were right on top of each other - I was out of my mind! Everyone says the second one comes fast, but I had no idea how fast...

So we get to the hospital - and I'm up in L&D right away. The nurse tells me the doc is busy in a C-section at the moment, but she'd check with him to see if he wanted her to get started with my intake. She comes back a few minutes later - to find that I'm already 7cm dilated! I've never seen nurses move so fast!! By midnight I've got 3 people running around me to get me into a room. By 1am, I'm in the throes of labor - and was just told there's no time for any anesthetic. Let me tell you - they make drugs for a reason!! But through it all, I somehow managed to gather enough moxie to do what I needed to do - and at 216am on April 14th, Justin Louis Cohoon was born.

Since then, it's been a whirlwind of new things. Justin seems to take so much joy in the little things. Give him a spatula and a shiny metal mixing bowl, and he's good to go! He's so much bigger than Jake was at this point - at almost 8 months, he wears 12 month clothes! He's got the biggest, widest, happiest eyes - and a cheesy little smile that melts your heart. And he is absolutely in love with his big brother. Right now, Jake is singing "10 little monkeys" and Justin is cracking up. Earlier today, Justin was trying to chase Jake up the stairs. I come out of the bathroom to find Jake at the top, and Justin 5 steps up!!

Unfortunately, Justin has a pretty nasty case of reflux. Jake had it as well, but no where near as bad as Justin. After a few months of an unhappy baby, Justin was put on a special hypoallergenic formula. Thankfully, our insurance covers it (after a wee bit of prodding from me) - and it has made all the difference in his little tummy. Between the formula, his medications (Axid and adult-strength Mylanta) he's done quite well. Solids have been a bit of a challenge for us, but we're getting there. So far he can tolerate applesauce, pears, and rice chex/rice krispies. And seeing as eating is one of his main hobbies, I don't doubt he'll be a competetive eater.

There are times when I look at him and want to keep him a little baby forever. But those times are outweighed by the excitement I feel when I think of the person he's going to be.