5:00 pm: OK, so I promised to write every week ... and it's now been over a month. I guess I underestimated the burden of being a dad. It's not a heavy burden, I just don't seem to have much free time. When I get home from work, I want to spend as much time as possible with Cooper. And he sure wants attention.

So, what's been happening? Well, Cooper seems to be growing (we had to increase the size of his diapers, anyway!). He's going to the doctor for a check-up this week, so we'll get the official report then. As for sleep, well, there's still not a ton of that. Cooper generally gets up three times per night, and always wakes up at 5-5:30. Lynne has been great about encouraging me to go back to sleep. I try to contribute by changing him before he eats, but mostly take her up on her offer. That way, I'm not quite as grumpy at work.

Cooper has had lots of company. His grandparents adore him and have visited a bunch of times. Cooper even had a sleep-over with Lynne at the Magee's camp in Maine. They all went to see the Tall Ships in Portland last Thursday.

1:55 pm: It's been a pretty quiet weekend. My parents, Lynne's sister Donna, with Cooper's cousins Courtney and Colby, and 'auntie' Sherry visited yesterday (check out the First Weekend album). We spent a little while out in the yard - which Cooper seemed to really enjoy. He was quite alert and looking all around.

Our friends and family have been too generous in their Cooper gift-giving. He is assembling an amazing collection of dapper clothing. Cooper is practicing his signature for the thank-you notes ...

The past couple of nights have been easier, sleep-wise (the devil child has left ... for now). He wakes up crying every couple of hours to eat, with a few moments or two in-between, but nothing like the hell-raising the other night.

Off to some yard work. Oh yeah, before I forget,Happy Birthday, Joey (Joey's my godson and a great guy ...)

9:27 pm: Someone stole my son last night, and replaced him with the devil child. Cooper slept very little. When he was awake, he cried. No, screamed. That meant that Lynne and I took turns trying to settle him down. Since she has the hard job of feeding him, I took the times when he woke, but it still was too soon for another meal. I got to watch the sun come up this morning. Gotta admit it was kind of cool to do that and hold my son in my arms.

Now I know what all the parents at work meant when they joked about sleep deprivation. Fortunately, it's my birthday today, so Lynne let me sleep very late this morning and entertained Cooper downstairs.

Yesterday was check-out day for Cooper at the hospital. I felt incredibly protective of him and Lynne as we walked through the packed hospital lobby and packed him into the car. As we waited for the valet to bring up the car, a shabby-looking, smelly guy (I think, sadly, homeless) strolled up and parked himself near us. I instinctively moved between him and Cooper's crib, and felt myself tense up to attack him if he moved toward our baby. At first, I wasn't conscious of doing it and then felt a bit silly.

Then, driving home, I found myself paying closer attention to my driving,and being more conservative, than I have since I got my license (long, long ago).

10:44 pm: My cousin Jen is Lynne & Cooper's nurse tonight (by the way, Jen is the star of one of the other web sites on 'goofster.com', Jen & Kasey's Carribean Wedding). This is good because we're getting extra special attention. We even had a 1-on-1 discharge meeting, rather than having to attend a group session with all the other parents. That way, I could ask my stupid questions without fear of shaming myself. We're hoping to leave late tomorrow afternoon.

Cooper is resting comfortably in his crib next to Lynne's bed. He's had a busy evening. He got his Hepatitis vaccination (this made him quite mad) and has had lots of visitors.

Even before I'd finished writing my afternoon posting, Cooper's first visitors arrived, his grandparents ...

We had a really nice visit with them and the rest of Cooper's new admirers through the early evening. Cooper seemed to love all the attention and, especially, all the hugging. Check out the Newborn Pics section for photos of everyone who visited (except for Irv and Kasey, who declined to hold Cooper just yet).

One of the coolest parts of the evening was when Cooper's cousin, Colby, gave him a gift: a baseball that Colby hit for a home run last night when his mom told him that Cooper had been born. Colby told his parents that he was going to get a hit for Cooper. He did, and it was a four-bagger. Isn't that an excellent story?

2:58 pm: Everyone's still exhausted, but there's much to do. Cooper has had a check-up (everything is A-OK), a hearing screening (he passed, but we already knew he would because he gets startled by people coming into the room, the phone and other noises) and the walks we've taken together around the maternity ward (gotta check out the competition). No visitors so far.

Mostly, we have been holding Cooper, gazing at him and talking about the wonder of being a family together.

1:30 am: I'm laying on the floor in our hospital room to connect to the phone line and avoid disturbing Lynne and Cooper, who're both exhausted. What an experience the past 20 hours has been! After the epidural, Lynne made great progress. By 5:00 she was fully dilated, the baby's head was down and it was time to push. Except for a couple of breathers, Lynne pushed until 6:08, when our new son arrived. Yes, I cried.

After Cooper and Lynne got cleaned up and settled, we spent some time alone with our new baby. After he had his first meal (Lynne is breast-feeding), we began making phone calls to family & friends. Later, Cooper got his first bath and we got something to eat.

Check out some of the pictures from Cooper Ross Bulens' first evening of life in the Newborn Pictures section.

3:56 pm: "You've been doing a great job, but I'm strongly encouraging you to get an epidural." That's what we heard from the doctor at 2:00. Lynne had been doing an amazing job staying focused through 6+ hours of contractions. The doctors are just concerned about the remainder of the labor ... especially if they have to manipulate the baby to help it out.

So Lynne got the epidural she feared. But it has quickly paid off as her contractions get stronger - with far less pain. She's at 8-9 cm, so hopefully, we're in the home stretch.

11:57 am: Steady contractions. The doctors broke Lynne's (or is it the baby's?) water at 9:20. I've been trying to keep busy massaging Lynne's feet and back. She says it helps, but I wonder if she's simply humoring me.

The staff keeps wondering if I'm writing a book, or trying to get work done. Keeping them amused, anyhow. Mostly,they're just happy that we don't have the TV on - which they say happens more often then not. Daytime soap operas and talk shows must be an effective distraction.

6:55 am: Lynne just got hooked up to the IV with Pitosin. Time for labor and (hopefully) the big event. It's shift change at 7:00, so none of the nurses and doctors are getting too friendly. Lots of joking about the size of the baby. Is this bonding by the staff, or did we breed a mutant?

Last night, my cousin Jen stopped by to say goodnight. She works on the post-partum floor here at the hospital. It wasn't the most restful night for either of us (I must have one of those dwarf-sized fold-out chairs at home), but at least we got a few hours of sleep for the big day ahead.