Colin: 5 Months!

Dear Colin,

You are 5 months old!! Hard to believe that next month you will be half a year already. Time truly is going by so quickly.

You rolled back to belly over left shoulder on 10/5 and have been consistently going this way since! You've rolled to from your belly to back twice, but I don't think it was intentional since you haven't done it since then. Once in a while, you will roll to your belly in the middle of the night and we have to come in to roll you back over. Unfortunately, you don't generally go right back to sleep so it's been quite a process. You still aren't sleeping through the night.  Every night seems to be different - some nights you'll get up about midnight and 4am, other nights you'll wake up every 3 hours. Your momma is sure hoping you'll start getting some consistent nights soon.

We brought the jumperoo up from the basement and you seem to like it!! It's a completely different look at the world around you. You still like your play mat and bouncy seat, too, but you often roll over or try to roll out of the bouncy seat so they don't last long.

You LOVE to play "peek a boo" and sing "Patty Cake" or "Row, Row, Row Your Boat". We have found your ticklish spots - right at the bottom of your ribs. :-) . We can get some really good belly laughs from you.

Bath time is still a favorite. When I'm running your water and getting you ready, you are constantly kicking and smiling. I think you would lay in your tub forever if I let you. 

You are sitting up so well in your bumbo.

There are no teeth poking through yet, but you are a drooling machine! The top of your shirts are constantly soaked!

I wasn't planning to start you on baby food yet, but we gave you sweet potatoes for the 1st time on 10/23. You love sitting at the table with us and having a little snack!

You truly love people. You will smile and talk anytime someone is giving you attention.

Everyone that sees you tells us how much you look like your daddy!!

You went into the church nursery for the first time and did great. Since you are still nursing, you normally feed during the service but the timing worked out one Sunday so we gave it a try. They said you did great!

You are wearing size 2 diapers and size 6 months clothes.

Happy 5 month birthday, Colin!

Love,
Momma

Colin: 4 Month Dr. Appointment

Colin had his 4 month doctor appointment today. The appointment went pretty well.

Weight: 14lbs 2oz (23rd percentile)

Length: 25.92" (79th percentile)

Head: 42.6cm (76th percentile)

I mentioned to Dr. Rosa that Colin doesn't put weight on his legs. If you try to stand him up on your legs or the floor, he'll put his feet down but they don't bear any weight. She didn't see anything but sent us off for an x-ray just to be sure. We should hear from them in a couple days after the radiologist takes a look at it and gets back to their office.

We also talked about Colin's inconsistent nighttime sleep. She said that he is gaining weight fine and shouldn't need to wake in the middle of the night. She suggested only nursing him one time and if he wakes up other times to offer the pacifier or another way to soothe him. I'm not sure what we'll do...probably play it by ear.

Colin: 4 Months

Dear Colin,

You are FOUR months old on your Uncle Chad's Birthday! Time is going so quickly and you are getting so big.

We have been very busy with play dates and running errands that your daytime sleep hasn't been very consistent. (bad momma!) Unfortunately, I am pretty sure this is the reason that we haven't locked into a great nighttime sleep pattern. I'm sorry, baby, and am working on being better about this with you.

Thankfully, when you are awake you are pretty happy and love interacting with everyone around you. I love your smile and giggles!

You have rolled over...twice. You went from your back to your belly (over your right shoulder) on September 14 and again a few days later.  I haven't seen you do it again, but I'm trying. :-) You do great with tummy time staying there for a couple minutes and holding your head nice and high. 

You enjoy seeing everything around you and are sitting up really nice in the bumbo seat.

You are drooling like crazy!

You have the longest, fullest eyelashes and everyone who sees them comments on them. :-) 

You still LOVE your bathtime and get very excited when you hear the water running.

You are still nursing every 3 hours and taking a 7 ounce bottle for your 7pm feeding. When I was trying to figure out if you were up at night because you were hungry, momma's friend let me weigh you before and after a feeding. According to the scale, you were getting 4 ounces and weigh around 14 pounds! (We'll get your official stats at your well baby visit on Monday.)

You are still wearing size 1 diapers (except a size 2 overnight) and 3 month clothes. I've washed your 6 month clothes though because I have a feeling we'll be moving into them very quickly. We'll also be moving to size 2 diapers when we run out of these size ones.

Happy 4 month birthday!

Love,
Momma

Colin: Three Months!

Dear Colin,

You are getting so big. It seems like every day you are doing something new, and I am so happy that I get to be there to see it. We have been very busy - with playdates at parks, the zoo, the Children's Museum and just hanging out. 

We've had some great "conversations" with you lately! You definitely recognize your momma and daddy's voices. Your smiles are beautiful.

You are doing AWESOME at tummy time! I cannot believe how well and high you hold your head up.You haven't rolled over yet, but you have rolled to your side quite a few times. 

You love to lay on your playmat, sit in the bouncy seat and the swing! You take great naps in the swing, but I know we really need to start doing those in your crib.

Bath time is a favorite time of your day. You love the warm water and getting lotioned and swaddled up afterwards.

Sleep is still so variable. You've had lots of nights sleeping 8, 10, and even one night of 12 hours straight, but we also have nights where you've only gone 5-6 hours. Momma is hoping it gets more predictable soon. You are awake about 1.5 hours at every feeding during the day and still eating every three hours (7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm). We are still nursing except your 7pm feeding is a formula bottle. You are taking 6 ounces at that time.

We left you with a babysitter (your cousin Kali) for the first time a couple weeks ago. She said you were happy, but you were still awake when we got home. It seems like the hardest part about nights is getting you to go down for the first time. When you wake up to eat in the middle of the night, you do so well going right back to sleep.

You're wearing size 1 diapers and size 0-3 months clothes although I'm sure we'll be moving up to the next size very soon. We weighed you at home last night, and you were just over 13 pounds. 

Happy three month birthday, Colin!!

Love,
Momma

Colin: 2 Month Dr. Appointment

Colin had his 2 month doctor appointment today. We couldn't get into our pediatrician so we saw the nurse practitioner who we really like. She said Colin looked great!

 

Weight: 12lbs 1oz (45th percentile)

Height: 24 inches (88th percentile)

I'm guessing he'll pass his brother right up in height and weight, but only time will tell. (Drake was 12lbs 9oz at his 4 month appointment!)

He had an oral vaccine and three shots...poor little guy. Our next visit is at 4 months.

Colin: 2 Months!

Dear Colin,

You are two months old!!


You are on a good schedule now eating every three hours at 7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, and 7pm. Your awake time is typically 1-1.5 hours and if you have slept and eaten well, you are a really happy baby. You slept in a borrowed Rock 'n Play in your room until about 7.5 weeks when we had to transition you to the crib. You will consistently give us 5-6 hours straight, but we've had a few nights of 7 hours and even one night when you slept 8 hours and last night you slept 8.5 hours!! Of course, since you are going down around 7pm, that means you're up about 3:30am. :-)

Most of your naps are in the swing if we're home or you're great at napping in the carseat when we are on the go. You will lay on the playmat or sit in the bouncer for short periods of time, but you like a change of scenery. If we've been home all day and are fussing, you instantly quiet down when we go outside.

Tummy time is going well. You will usually lay there for a while. When you are up on our shoulders, you are great at holding your head up! 

The clogged tear ducts are both cleared up and cradle cap has come and gone. Yeah!

You're wearing size 1 diapers and size 3 months clothes. Your doctor's appointment is tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure you are over 12 pounds - such a big boy!

We love to see you smiling at us and our family and friends who talk to you! Your big smile is so precious!

Happy two month birthday, Colin!!

Love,
Momma

Colin: One Month!

Dear Colin,

You are ONE month old!! The time has gone quickly and you are getting so big already.

You are a great eater and love to nurse. You are eating every 2.5-3 hours depending on your sleep, and we've started giving you a bottle for your last feeding of the night (4 ounces). Sometimes nursing is the only thing we can do to calm you down when you aren't happy. You will take a pacifer, but only if you aren't too upset.

We're still getting into a good sleep routine. You have had stretches of up to 5.5 hours between feedings at night but not all that consistent. When you first came home, we let you sleep wherever you were happy, including on the couch, but now you are sleeping in the rock & play in your room. Once we get some consistency, we'll move you to your crib.

You have started focusing more on us and things around you which is so neat to see.

You are not a big fan of baths.

You like your swing, and you almost always fall asleep in the car.

You had your first trip to Freeport last weekend. We went to Grandma and Grandpa Williams' for the Ag Breakfast and then a get-together at Krape Park so family and friends could meet you.
 
You are wearing newborn size diapers and mostly newborn size clothes although some 3 month clothes fit.

You still have your blue eyes. Your hair is a light brown and pretty thin right now.

Happy one month birthday, Colin!

I love you!
Momma

Colin: Two Weeks Old

We took Colin back to the doctor on Thursday for a weight/jaundice check and were really happy with the results! He weighed in at 7lbs 15.5oz (up 4oz) and his jaundice was down to 12.6!!!

On Wednesday and Thursday night, this is pretty much how Colin slept...on the couch on a blanket. It's the only place we could get him to sleep for any amount of time and we were going with it. This, of course, meant I was sleeping on the couch, too, but I didn't care as long as I got a little sleep.

My sister and nephew came to visit and meet Colin this weekend. We ventured out to the mall for dinner on Friday night and Colin had an awesome night sleeping! We got him to sleep in his pack & play that night. I think we're finally figuring out what he likes...laying on blankets and propped up a little bit. He also seems to want to cluster feed in the evening. After all of this, he went from 11pm - 2:45am and went back down after nursing until 5:30am! Yay for 3 straight hours of sleep!

I was so glad he slept well because we had a busy day planned for Saturday.

On Saturday night, Colin's umbilical stump fell off! Yea! Now, we're just waiting on the plasti-bell to go so we can take a bath.

After sleeping pretty much all day, I was concerned about Colin sleeping at night. He was fussy for a little while but once he fell asleep around midnight, he slept until just after 4am! woo hoo! He probably would have slept longer, but I picked him up to feed him. He went back down about 5am and then I got him up to feed about 8:15am.

 brotherly love

We just hung out at the house on Sunday. A girl that used to work with Jason and came over to attempt some pictures, but Colin wasn't being a very good subject. Of course, after she left and we were outside having popsicles, he was snoozing right away. He slept great again Sunday night - going down around 11pm, up about 2:30am and then again at 6am. I'm just hoping he'll keep this up. I can handle this schedule. lol!

Monday was spent at home again and his plasti-bell came off! Who knew that that could be so exciting? This momma's excited because it means that we can do a real bath!

Today, we had Colin's 2-week doctor's appointment. He was up to 8lbs 8oz (4 ounces over his birth weight) and 21 1/2 inches long (grew 1 1/2 inches)! Dr. Rosa was very happy with how he is doing and said we can stop supplementing...yeah! 

We also had a visit from Tori who loved snuggling with Colin: