5 months old! How did that happen so fast?!

Colton turned 5 months old this week! Seems like he was just born and now he is rolling over (tummy to back AND back to tummy-that is new for this week) and loves to stand up (with help of course)! He had his 4 month old check up last week (a little off I know) and he is 16 lbs and 26 inches! Growing like a weed! 75th percentile on weight and 90th on height. We still have some breastfeeding issues at times, like all weekend he wanted to yell at me and pop on and off, but what the problem was, I don't have a clue, but apparently he is getting enough to eat! We plan to start introducing solids around Christmas. He also had his shots at that visit and did okay intially but then was fussy,crying and only could be calm if nursing or sleeping on me. So I obviously had to stay at home that day. :-)

The biggest issue recently has been sleeping problems. Poor thing rarely naps longer than 30 minutes at a time, 2-3 times a day. He had gone back to sleeping 7-8 hours a night, but since his shots last week he has been up 2ce a night (about every 3 hours) and wants to eat again and not just 15 minutes like in the past, we are up for at least 30 minutes, if not longer! The other issues associated with this is that he will fall asleep at night after nursing, be out cold, but when he is put down he wakes up so upset and can't go back to sleep unless he is held a little and gets a pacifier. Sometimes I have to give him the pacifier in the middle of the night too, but not always. My problem with the pacifier is that I don't want him to have to rely forever on it to get to sleep, he needs to learn to fall asleep on his own. He usually takes the pacifier at daycare for naps or if he freaks out in the car (which has bene happening a lot lately-"Don't strap me down in here! I want to be free!"). The good thing is that he spits the pacifier out after he falls asleep usually and doesn't really have to have it if he rouses later and after working at the pediatric dental office, I know that a pacifier is easier to get rid of than a thumb or finger a child sucks on! It is frustrating, though, to try to soothe him to sleep on his own.

Reading before bed:

I LOVE bathtime!!

Aside from the fun day after shots, we have been having fun lately. Got to see almost all the family on Thanksgiving. Brigette's aunt/uncle from FL visited as well as Brigette's dad's cousinsLast week we bundled Colton up and walked with him in our town Christmas parade (giving out information on foster/adoptive parenting). Justin said at least 2 people took Colton's picture because he was so cute! And of course, he is! Tricked my mother into helping too, she just thought we were going to watch the parade. We are so blessed with Colton. He was so good and just watching everything at the parade, then was even a doll when we went to dinner afterwards (after a short nap too).

Gobble til you wobble!!

At the Thanksgiving dinner table in my bumbo/high chair

All bundled up for the parade:

Last Friday was Justin's birthday so we all took the day off. Colton had his pictures taken and we went to lunch and did some Christmas shopping. Colton took a 2 hour nap after the photo session so I told the photographer we'll have to come there at least once a week now so we can have some more of that!! Here are some of the proofs from http://www.stylizedportraiture.com/ He had several fun hats to take pictures in and he is also laying on an awesome quilt that his great-aunt Diane made for him in one of the pictures (along with his first cowboy boots from Betty and Lonnie)!

Random other pictures:

I love to eat my hands and anything else I can get my hands on. I'm a drool factory.

If that wasn't enough pictures for you, here are some more:

http://picasaweb.google.com/bloveinchrist/5Months?authkey=Gv1sRgCNCZ-u_Y77CTMQ&feat=directlink

I walked in the living room and found Colton just chatting away at the ceiling fan and had to shoot a little video to share:

Weird stuff

Post Pregnancy Hair Loss?!!

I had never heard of such a thing but after raking the carpet at home and seeing what looked like small dead animals in the sink after brushing my hair or taking a shower, I decided to do a quick internet search to see if I had some crazy illness or something. While it isn't as bad as the picture above, it is still A LOT of hair. It is on everything in the house, all over my clothes and everytime I touch my hair some comes out in my hand. Doesn't help that my hair is really long also!

Apparently, while pregnant your body holds on to everything, including your hair. So even though we normally shed hair on a daily basis, you do not while pregnant. Then, about 4 months after pregnancy, when your hormones are leveling out, you start to lose ALL the hair you should have lost during pregnancy, plus whatever you would lose normally. Now, I have really think hair anyhow, so it is not noticable that I am losing hair but I have read about lots of women who get bald patches!! The good news is that the hair loss eventually subsides and goes back to normal. Until then, make sure you wear socks around my house or you might get creeped out by an attacking wild hair!

I joke that I could make a coat with all the hair I have lost, and did find some items on the internet that were knitted with human hair, but they were pretty icky so I decided to leave that image off. :-)

On a better note, Colton is doing super and is super adorable. :-) He still is congested and still coughing some. Can't give him anything really so just hoping it works out soon. Brigette has been a single parent this week while Justin and family went hunting in Texas. She rarely made it to daycare on time in the morning (usually she feeds Colton before work and puts him back to bed and Justin takes him) but oh well. More time with Mummy!! Brigette's mother also helped out a lot and picked him up early 2 days so he would not be there for so long and he certainly enjoyed that! Brigette surely is appreciative that Justin is such a good Poppa and it will be so wonderful when he is home again!

Fun new stuff!!

Justin and Colton helped Brigette hand out some foster care/adoption recruitment items among the UGA tailgaters last weekend. We all had a good time!!

Colton is changing and doing amazing things every day!! He is really holding his head up well now and talks and laughs all the time! Something funny happened twice last week. When he gets up in the middle of the night to eat and I change his diaper, I try not to 'engage' him and rile him up so he understands that this is not play time, eat and go back to sleep. Well, twice last week he started talking while on the changing pad, and then giggling, and I couldn't help but smile back and of course that set him off and he started cracking up and was so loud he woke up Justin in the other room and he had to come see what was going on! Course then we both had to try to contain our laughter at Colton's sweet giggles. Makes getting up at 3 am more fun!

The sleeping men in my life...(actually Justin is faking it).

SO ADORABLE!! Look at that sweet, content face!!

Watching the fire with Poppa is just so much fun!!

Enough with the camera Mum!!

Random Halloween outfits...had one for every day of the week plus some!

He had 3 awesome "mummy" outfits to wear.

Milestones!!

Colton has been holding his head up well since birth, but of course was more of a bobble-head. Like I said earlier, he has been doing great with head control the past month or so and can really do some good tummy time now. And is super adorable while at it as well! Last week, however, Colton rolled over!! He did it twice in a row and it was super fun for all of us! Hasn't really done it since, but if we roll him almost all the way on his stomach he will kick back onto his back. Got it on video the second time he rolled over on his own. The video is too dark to share here, but I'll see what I can do about editing it to post.

Working those little legs...

On my way over...

Just started sitting up with the aid of his bumbo seat

Lots of fun every day!! We are so blessed!!

Happy Halloween!!

Could he be any cuter?! The hat makes it perfect! Will be wearing that long after the holiday is gone. He can be biker baby.



Here is his Horsey costume, which he can totally wear this winter to keep warm and be super cute!

I can't wait til he can go trick or treating!! Hope your Halloween is "spook"tacular!

Sick Baby!

Poor thing! After three days of daycare, Colton got a stomach virus. Poor thing was throwing up everything he ate right afterwards all over him and Brigette (and the couch, floor, bed). He got over it pretty quickly and we did not have to give him pedialite or anything. Unfortunately, then Brigette got it and then Justin. Was a bad weekend. I hope we got it worse than he did because we were so totally wiped out by it. Thankfully that was the weekend Brigette had furlough on Friday when he got sick and we were able to get in to see the doctor and Brigette was also off on Monday for Columbus day so he got some extra attention all weekend.


Unfortunately, Tuesday morning we had to take Colton to the pediatric ER in another town because we were worried he might have RSV-a respitory infection. Poor baby's breathing was so labored his pediatrican listened to him over the phone and wanted us to take him in. Course, by the time we got there, it wasn't nearly as bad and they decided his lungs were clear and he just had a cold. :-P We had to elevate his bed some and he has a hard time breathing at night mostly, but it has gotten better. Main problem is when he wakes up to eat a night and then falls asleep. When I try to put him down in bed he tends to startle and then gets choked up and gets upset. May be another week or so before he is over the congestion.


We have had a rough week. Since he has been sick he seems to want to eat longer (possible growth spurt) and even though he is not napping well during the day, he gets up more often at night than he had been. Last night he went down at 10:30, was up 1:30-3, then up 4:30-5, then again at 5:45 just like he hadn't eaten at all!! Mummy is very tired today.


Not sure we can blame the sickness on the daycare as no other children were out before or after Colton with the stomach virus or colds, so maybe Brigette is bringing germs home from work, although none of her co-workers have been sick either....? Hopefully we can go a little longer without another illness.


Will post Halloween outfit pictures very soon!

Back to work :-(

Brigette returned to work on 9/30. Too bad we didn't win the lottery so she could stay home (course we would have to actually play the lottery for that even be a possibility) with Colton. Her mom stayed with Colton the first three days to help get him use to bottles and such and he did really well. He even took NAPS for his grandmother! The first time Brigette nursed him after a day of bottles they had a hard time, some crying and such (as the bottles are instant gratification) but have been pretty good since then.

Friday was also a check up and first round of shots for Colton. Poor thing, he definitely took back the sweet smile he gave the nurse when she poked him 3 times! Nothing was as bad as drawing blood for the jaundice tests, so Brigette didn't get too upset and nursed him at the doctor's office, he fell asleep and he slept on the way to Nana's so I thought he would be good. Unfortunately for Nana and Great Auntie Judy, that didn't last and he had on and off crying sessions of up to 15 mins straight and got them upset too. I left work early to get him and he calmed some and did pretty good the rest of the night. Sometimes only Mummy (and some snuggle time nursing) will do.


Colton is now 13 lbs. 11 oz and 24.5 inches! 75th percentile on height/weight. 25th on head circumference...poor flat baby-always-on-back head. All good per the doctor! She was impressed with his activity and chatty banter. :o)

Monday 10/5 (the day after our 7 year wedding anniversary!) was the first day of actual daycare. Brigette had to wake Colton up to nurse before she left for work (he has been sleeping pretty good at night, usually 6-8+ hrs and I have to wake him up to nurse after 8 hrs) and then Justin took him, his cloth diapers, bottles, breastmilk, and diaper pail to the daycare about 9 am. I only called one time and they stated he was doing great and was super sweet and he even took a short nap for them!! I know he is well cared for at this daycare but we are both very sad to leave him, but at least we can truly enjoy spending time with him when he is home! Brigette has been furloughed at work once a month and probably twice a month next year. It is awful BUT the bright side is that Colton won't have to go to daycare on those days and we can spend more time together...so we are making the best of a rotton situation. At least there were not layoffs...yet.

For those who wonder, I have been pumping at work and it has been going very well. I live in cubicle land so I cannot pump in my office but my supervisor is only in my county 1-2 times a month, so I am able to use her office and can hook up my computer while there and not have to be on break while I pump, so that has been great. Hopefully things will continue to go well in that area.

We have been trying to get back into a routine for exercising again and made it up Stone Mountain after 3 months of not going. I knew I HAD to make it all the way since I was able to do it 9 months pregnant! :-) It was a beautiful day and we are SO glad that fall is finally coming to GA so we can enjoy some time outside with Colton! He hasn't made the trip up yet (needs to really be able to hold his head up well to be in the backpack) but enjoys stroller rides with his Nana and his parents in the cooler weather.

Lifting head! In the last week or so, all of a sudden, Colton has been trying to sit up! Course he can't but that doesn't stop him from trying! When I lean him up on his boppy pillow and hold his hands he will pull himself up to almost a sitting position and hold up his head! He has held his head up pretty good for a long time, but now is not so much of a bobble head. This also means he tries to pull up all the time, so he tries to leap out of your arms if you aren't paying attention as well as try to get out of the car seat. :-) It is very exciting!!

Random video for your enjoyment. Or just mine!

Fun with Baby, Beach, and Bottles!!

We went on our first road trip with Colton to Anna Marie Island on the Gulf with my parents and brother. My aunt has a house close to the beach on an inlet and allowed us to borrow it for the week.

The trip down turned out great because we left really late and so it was bedtime for Colton and he slept until we got settled into our hotel in Valdosta (about a 4 hour trip)

The next day we met up with Brigette's parents and brother at a family friend's house. Colton tries, but cannot fight a nap in the car after about 30 mins. usually, so we were good. We then headed over to my aunt's house for dinner and met up with several cousins and other aunts/uncles (my mom is one of 10!). It was great to see everyone again and introduce them to Colton. He did great being passed around to everyone and despite taking 2 hours to go to sleep, he did fine overnight also.

We went on over to the Gulf of Mexico for a week near the beach and it was a great time. Fishing off the dock, swimming pool (was really too cold for Colton to get in when he could be in the shade and try out his super cute bathing suit/swim diaper), and just relaxing. Was great to have some extra folks to help out with Colton and Justin and I even got to go fishing in the Gulf with my uncle for a few hours, which was awesome!!

Beach

We took Colton to the beach one day, although kept him out of the sun. The beach was HOT but pretty empty, which worked well for nursing. :-) Nice breeze off the ocean. Colton could only take it for about 2 hours but did chill in his homemade cabana for a little while.

We also took him to watch the sunset and also put his feet in the ocean at dusk one night. He really seemed to enjoy it!!

Bottles

Colton will be starting daycare in October and Justin and Brigette are very sad but know that is what we have to do. The place we have chosen is very close to home and very nice, highly recommended, but we both hate the idea of not being with him all the time and 'strangers' caring for him. ANYHOW, child is breastfed exculsively and we have had some disasters trying to give him a bottle before (flow was way too fast for him--choking) so we spent some time on this trip trying out bottles. Brigette got these no-drip nipples to use so he could only get milk when he sucked and would therefore not really choke. But he HATED those so we tried another early stage nipple and he didn't really like it but took it and we think that will work for him at daycare. Brigette had to hide while he took the bottles from Justin and her mom so Colton would know other people give him bottles when I am not there but I will nurse him when I am around. We will have trial run next week for the first 3 days I'm back at work when my mom will come to our house and keep him before he goes to a full week at daycare. Hopefully I can keep pumping while at work to be able to provide enough milk for him during the day. Too much info? Sorry. :-)

Colton got to meet his Uncle Eric and 'Uncle' Clark finally on this trip and he loved them, of course!! It was a great time but Brigette and Justin sured missed their annual trip to Yellowstone in the fall. The beach just didn't do the same thing for them, but we were glad to have a new adventure with Colton!

7 weeks! Where has the time gone?!

I can't believe Colton is already 7 weeks old, but at the same time seems like he has been with us forever! Last week he started smiling at us and giggling some (and not just when falling asleep or passing gas, although that still happens!) which is SO adorable!!





Tummy Time:

I call Colton my giant tiny baby as he is still so little but also seems huge each week! He is now 11 lbs. 11 oz!! Guess he isn't starving, despite latch issues! He is about 22 inches long now too. He is likely going to be a tall boy!

He is losing his baby hair and has some lighter hair coming in. Here is a good shot of the fun hair he currently has after I took off his shirt.

Our newest issue is that Colton has no interest in taking naps at all. Unless it is on me, which is very productive. He fights SO hard to stay awake, he smacks himself in the face until he wakes up good, it is crazy! He gets about 2 15-30 minute naps a day at this point, not counting the fact that he usually snoozes through nursing. Poor thing is SO tired! But not cranky, he is such a good natured baby! I will say that once I finally get him to sleep at night he is sleeping 4-6 hours and then goes another 3-4 before getting up for the day. So that is keeping me semi-sane. No naps means I get little done during the day, but the dishes and laundry eventually get finished, piece by piece.

Here is a cute video of Justin tickling his feet.