Smiles and Baby Talk

7 weeks old today! It's so hard to believe how much Colton has changed in the last 7 weeks. He went from a tiny, fragile little newborn to a chubby, smiley baby in the blink of an eye. He's weighing in at a whopping 14 lbs! At his one month check-up he was in the 95th percentile for height and the 97th for weight and 80th for head circumference. He's got quite the little pudge on his legs and arms now and a big ol' belly to go along with it!

Developmentally he seems to be moving right along hitting the major milestones. He's smiling and following us with his eyes. He definitely knows the difference between "strangers" and his mommy and daddy. He will hear sounds and turn to look and can hold his head up all by himself. He's still a bit wobbly but gets more and more control every day. He LOVES to stand on his feet and bounce and he puts all of his weight on his legs, you almost don't even have to hold him (if he had any balance, lol).

Ahhhh, sleep. The elusive sleep is the only thing we're still working on. As far as 7 week olds go he's doing very well. We have made 8 p.m. his official bedtime and it's worked out really well. We start the bath and bed routine around 7:15. We dim all the lights, give him a warm bath every night and then we change him, lather him up with lotion, swaddle him and Josh rocks him and gives him his final bottle at night. At our pediatrician's advice we give him a bottle of breast milk with about an ounce of formula and it definitely seems to be holding him over longer. Last night he went from 8 p.m. to 3:30 a.m.!! Josh got up and did the next bottle and when I woke up at 5 a.m. (more on that next) I realized I hadn't even gotten up to feed him at all during the night! That was a first for me. The 5 a.m. thing is something we're trying to figure out. For the last week or so he starts grunting and crying periodically from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. He lifts his little legs in the swaddle and passes gas during that time so it's obviously tummy trouble. The funny thing is that he never even opens his eyes. I have started taking my pillows and a blanket and sleeping on the floor next to the crib. I help him move his legs around and get the gas out and then lay down to sleep between his "episodes." He actually wakes up for the day around 8 a.m. If any moms have advice let me know! I think it's got to be the formula so I'm hoping that in a week's time it will work itself out as his tummy adjusts. If not, I may switch to an anti-gas version or just stop it all together.

Daytime is getting to be much more manageable and predictable. He naps in his crib now and it doesn't take us nearly as long to get him down. We're on a routine of napping after two hours of wakefulness which seems to work for both of us. He only naps about an hour but it gives me a chance to run around the house and get things done. He's also almost 8 weeks so we're taking him out a bit more. When he hits 8 weeks we'll be able to take him everywhere with us which is going to be such a relief for me. Target here I come!

Darby is doing well adjusting to him. He seems to like him but since we won't let him lick his head he's not all that interested right now. He loves to spend time with his daddy when Josh gets home from work and I try to walk him with the baby at least once a day. I can't wait until Colton is older and they can play together :-) Darby says he can't wait until Colton eats people food because he knows he'll get the droppings!!

Here is a new album of photos, I'm including a video with some smiles. It's the most amazing thing to peer into his crib and have him look back up at us and smile. I never knew it would feel this good! Oh, and many thanks to our friends at First Baptist of High Springs. Our Sunday School class has been amazing and brought us a homemade meal every Tuesday and Thursday starting January. I declined at first because I didn't want to put people out but I'm so glad they insisted. We get to visit with our friends and have a delicious meal and lunch for the next day. We are so blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives.

Lastly, I had my 6 week check-up last Thursday. Everything is great and I'm completely healthy and ready to return to full activity and exercise. I had gained a whopping 50 pounds with Colton (I do not recommend that!!) but dropped most of it so that was good. I know the last few won't come off as easily - since the scale hasn't budged recently - but once I'm able to get out with him more I think I'll be able to get it off. Even if I never do, it was worth every single pound to have my healthy little butterbean.

Hope everyone is well and having a great start to 2010!

Love,
Jenny

Colton First Two Months

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Something happened with my feed so if you are using a reader to check for updates you have to select to receive the link again on my page in order for it to be updated. If you're already getting the updates and it's working then you don't have to worry!

Colton's Nursery

I've finally (nearly) finished the nursery. It's still a work in progress as far as the small decor items. I need to figure out how I want to decorate his shelves and I also need to add a toy basket. Here are a few photos. The weather was bad outside so it doesn't look as bright and cheerful as it normally does but you get the picture.

The crib was a gift from Nana and Papa Highlander and the rocking chair was the same used to rock Josh's daddy as a baby. Papa refinished it for us and we're so honored to have it in Colton's nursery. We also have a beautiful rocking horse from Grammy, she stained that one herself. The big stuffed Darby was a gift from Grammy and Grampy Wills and it seems that puppy dogs have taken over... Darby doesn't quite understand why he's not allowed in the room if all the other dogs are!

The wall quote was something that I had seen and immediately knew it had to be in his room. I remember my dad singing an old Loggins and Messina song called House on Pooh Corner. The quote had special meaning because of that and also because we want all of those things for Colton. We always want him to remember how special he is and that he is a gift from God and can do anything he sets his mind to, no matter what. As Grammy always told me, "can't" is not a word in our vocabulary (neither is "ain't" but that's another story :-) ).

The monogram was another special touch from the same company we got the wall quote from. Just in case he forgets his name (or we do, ha ha) we decided to include that. Kidding, kidding, we just liked the look of it.

With a few minor touches we think the room will be able to grow with him as he gets older. The furniture is designed to convert into a full bed so he'll have the set for quite some time.

xxxooo

Nursery Pics

Four Weeks Old Today

It's hard to believe that it's been four weeks already since Colton was born. It's really flown by! Colton now weighs a whopping 11 lbs 8 oz (according to the home scale) which is pretty amazing. At his last check-up he weighed 10 lbs 2 oz and now only a little over a week later he has put on a whole pound. He's already in size 1 diapers and wearing 3 month old clothes! Amazing how quickly they grow. His personality is definitely starting to develop. He loves to look at fans on the ceiling and of course lights. He especially loves his reflection in the mirror. The diaper changing pad is on our dresser next to the mirror and it's the best distraction for him. When he gets fussy about his diaper being changed we'll just direct his attention to his reflection and it's amazing to watch him quiet down while he checks himself out.

We're on a pretty good routine right now. We break the day up into 3 hour increments as much as possible. We eat, play and then sleep and then start all over again. Only problem is that he loves the 3 hour routine so much he decided to keep it up through the night. I used to get the occasional four hour block but not lately. That's okay though, I like the predictably of the routine we're on and when he's ready he will sleep a little longer and we'll at least have our day time routine in place.

Right now Cotlon stays in our bedroom in his pack and play bassinet but tonight will be his first night in the nursery. We're going to keep him in his pack and play for a while until he's used to the new room and until we're ready to put him in the bigger crib. We weren't planning on moving him just yet but we have a the loudest sleeper on the planet! He will make noises for about an hour (grunts, coughs, sneezes) after he goes down to sleep. He's sound asleep and he doesn't cry when you put him down but it's impossible for us to sleep with all the noise! The plan is for Josh to sleep in the guest room near the nursery and I'll sleep in our bedroom with the monitor for at least a little while until we're ready to leave him alone in the nursery. Unfortunately it's on the opposite end of the house so it's going to be an adjustment for us.

Yesterday Josh and I had our first date since Colton's birth. We went to see a matinee, the movie The Blind Side. LOVED the movie, if you haven't seen it you definitely should, especially if you're a fan of college football. Our good friends Krista and Kerrie took over for us. Krista has two little boys of her own so she was an old pro and we felt totally comfortable leaving him with her, we knew he was in good hands. After the movie we enjoyed pizza and beer with Krista, her husband Jason, their two boys Evan and Drew and Kerrie (Kerrie is my old roommate). It was a great day and so good to get out and feel a little more normal again. We're looking forward to Colton turning 8 weeks when we can take him out on the town with us.

This next week should be pretty busy. We have our post partum luncheon, doctors appointment and some visitors! We have a wonderful Sunday School class (which we really look forward to getting back to) and they are going to start bringing us dinners on Tuesdays and Thursdays. What a wonderful treat and VERY much appreciated. I've been cooking occasionally but dinners are the hardest. I'm always really tired by night time and have such a mish mash of food in the house that it's hard to put a meal together. We are so lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives who care so much about us and little Colton!

We wish everyone the best for the New Year. We look forward to seeing everyone in 2010 and reconnecting with old friends that we haven't seen in a while!

Here are some photos and videos of Colton during his first few weeks. The videos aren't all that exciting but I know the grandparents will want to see them so I've included them :-)

New Colton Pics

Love,
Jenny