Now Introducing...

The precious new addition to our family, Cooper Robert Smits. After a three week wait in the resort/hotel/hospital Sarah started to go into labor last night at 7:30 p.m. eastern time. It was my night to be home with Will, while Marilyn (Sarah's Mom) stayed at the hospital. Sarah called at about 11 to let me know that I needed to come back to the hospital because she was having contractions about every two minutes. I got to the hospital and was only there for ten minutes when they made the call to go ahead with the C-Section. After scrubbing up I got to be with Sarah through the entire procedure and birth.

And at 1:37 am on Sunday August 3rd, 2008 we welcomed Cooper into the world. He shocked us in many ways. First, Sarah had it in her head that we were going to have a baby girl and out pops a fully equipped little boy. Second, we were thinking that he would be a tiny little baby but God was watching over us and blessed us with a 5lb 10 oz baby that was 18 3/4 in long. Third, we were told that baby boys have the hardest time with breathing at that early of an age and Cooper did his best to show them that he isn't a "Wimpy Little White Boy." He was breathing well enough that they were able to show him to Sarah a second time before taking him to the NICU.

In the NICU, they did not have to put him on a ventilator, even though for a little while it appeared he was laboring hard enough that it would be a necessity. He ended up being put on a CPAP which stands for Continuous Positive Air Pressure and helps to keep his lungs inflated so that he wont have to work hard to breath. Since then he has been taken off of the CPAP and is now just on a machine that provides the lungs with moisture. Basically, he is doing great.

His mom is also doing great. The nurse last night dubbed her Super Mom because with in two hours of coming out of the c-section she had pumped once and made the trip up to see Cooper, where she was able to hold him for the first time. A huge answer to prayer for us because that was a struggle thinking we would not get to hold the little guy for a while.

We have visited him several times since and also got to spend time holding him this afternoon. After an eventful evening it was nice to have a somewhat quiet day. His big brother is loving it that he can see "his baby" now and Cooper actually held Will's finger today, to which Will responded by saying "he loves me, he loves his big brother." Will has been so cute with him and wants to visit him all the time and he wants to bring him a present for his birthday. Brings a huge smile to our faces and warms our hearts to see that side of our little boy.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers as we have gone through this journey. I will do my best to keep everyone updated while Sarah recuperates and I hope that you enjoy the pictures of our new edition.