Tuesday, December 20, 2011

6 Week Update

It is hard to believe little Cole is 6 weeks old!!! It is even harder to believe my maternity leave is over in 2 short weeks. However, I am so thankful that I am able to stay out for two additional weeks-they will just be unpaid : /

This week, Cole and Mommy had our first outings alone! Last Friday, we had to run into Walgreens before heading to Lewes for dinner at Grammie and Grandpa's house. Cole did  great!!! He was well-behaved at Grammie and Grandpa's so it was a wonderful visit :) Cole has started smiling more and more when spoken to, which is just heart-melting! He enjoyed watching his Daddy and Uncles decorate the Christmas tree. 

This Monday Cole had his first stay with Miss Kelly, his daycare provider for this school year. She watched him for two hours while I stopped into school to have lunch and a Secret Santa exchange with my teammates. I thought I would be a nervous wreck leaving him for the first time. However, with the exception of a few tears when I pulled away, I did better than expected. Cole was fine with Miss Kelly and was quite the little piggy, drinking BOTH bottles that I left! He slept the whole way home and even through a trip to Food Lion. By the time all of our errands were finished, Mommy was exhausted from being out and about most of the day-I'm not used to this these days. 
Daddy was worn out from working in the wind all day, Cole was worn out from his big day out with Mommy! :)


Today, on Cole's six week birthday, I decided to try out Cole napping in his crib for the first time. He takes short cat naps all day long so he only lasted in there 20 minutes but hey, that is a start. The whole time he was in there, I pretty much stared at the video monitor, haha. I feel like a crazy person staring at the screen 2 inches from my face trying to see if his chest is rising and falling! How am I going to stand him sleeping in there all night!!! : / Tonight we are having dinner at Uncle Mike's, so we will have another adventure out. We also have a big holiday weekend planned and will update with plenty of pictures next week I'm sure! Dave, Cole, and I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and safe travels!
Daddy thinks this outfit looks like a "Mrs. Claus" shirt, but I don't, I couldn't resist putting him in it!!!

Also couldn't resist snapping a pic of his Phillies socks :)

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

5 Weeks Old!

Cole met a lot of family members and family friends this week and had his first sleepover!! We stayed at Gigi and Pops' House for the first time this past weekend. We first visited with the Wilkinson side of the family at Aunt Donna's house. We were so excited to show Cole off to everyone! He got a chance to meet his great-great-grandmother, Nannie, and his new cousin Reese, who is 2 months older. It was so great seeing everyone and Cole was on his best behavior! He slept the entire time we were there (this is not the norm). He was even sleepy during his feeding times (this is definitely not the norm). He also got to meet Mom-Mom, his great-grandmother, and lots of other family members this weekend. 
 
Meeting friends and family :)
the 2 great-grandmothers

The Men

The Women
Then and Now :)

The new Daddys
Baby Reese!

Worn out from partying!



















Cole did a great job sleeping at Gigi and Pops' house and a pretty good job during the long car ride there and home. The trip is about an hour and 45 minutes. Both ways, he slept for all but about 20 minutes of the trip, then he was hungry and not happy. But, luckily we didn't have much farther to go.
I received Cole's Christmas card outfit in the mail Saturday and am hoping to do a photo shoot sometime this week so I can get the cards in the mail. I ordered the outfit off of etsy.com and it was handmade by a nice lady in Canada so it took a while to get here! I'm glad I didn't go ahead and order it BEFORE he was born because I'm sure I would have ordered too small of a size! He wore a 3-6 month outfit this past weekend and it was only a tiny bit too big for him!
Abby loves Baby Cole


We decorated Cole's first Christmas tree this week. I can't wait to see how he reacts to the lights as he becomes more alert everyday. He loves looking at our ceiling fan and light so I'm sure he'll love the lights on the tree! :) 
Tail end of a smile...do you see the slight dimple!? :)  

Making a funny face but, only pic I could get with the tree...so far

Sunday, December 11, 2011

One Month Old!!!!

Can't believe my baby boy is one month old already!!! Where did the time go??  Let's see, here is the rundown:
Sleep: Cole is a great sleeper at night! Once we put him down he can usually go up to 5 and a 1/2 to 6 hours without waking to feed. There were a few weeks where the doctor wanted us to wake him every three hours because he was not up to birth weight. This killed me!!! I hated my alarm going off and rolling over to see him sound asleep and having to wake him!!! However, it got him back up to his birth weight. Dave and I discussed it and we decided now that he is at his appropriate weight, we are letting him (and me) sleep more. We are aiming to wake him every 4 and a 1/2 to 5 hours although sometimes my snooze button gets hit and its a tad longer :/. He doesn't seem to mind though! After his long stretch of sleep at night, he usually goes another 3-4 hours and then I'm up for the day. He usually falls fast asleep after his "first" feeding of the day. If I was smart I would use this time to shower and get myself ready. However, I usually keep snuggling him and end up dozing off myself or I use the time to scarf down breakfast and catch up on dishes.

During the day and early evening, Cole fights sleep like no other. He doesn't like to miss anything that is going on (much like his Mother :)) He will be just yawning away and eyes rolled in the back of his head one second and the next screaming. Once he is swaddled and a pacifier in, he falls right to sleep! He naps anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes, we don't have a schedule yet!! All in due time!


Eating: Cole is an eating machine!!! I plan for him eating every two hours during the day, however, its more like every hour and a half to every hour and 45 minutes. When the boy is hungry, there is no satisfying him unless he is eating!!! Instead of a certain schedule, I am basically just feeding him on demand, especially while he was trying to get back up to birth weight. During weeks 2-3 I was nursing on the left side and pumping the right while my right side healed up a bit. This gave us a chance to stock up on some milk in the fridge and freezer. After I healed, I started nursing on both sides again. Now, I'm pumping an average of 3 times a day. In the morning, he usually only nurses off of one side, so I pump the other. When Dave gets home from work he feeds Cole a bottle and I pump both sides. In the middle of the night Cole seems to only nurse one side as well, so I pump the other. I get anywhere from 1.5 to 3 ounces on one side, it depends on the time of day. I'm a bit anxious to figure out a pumping schedule before I have to go back to work. I'm not sure when I will have time to pump since he is nursing all the time! However, I need to stock up the fridge and freezer!

Diaper Size: Cole is wearing a size 1 diaper. We just gave up the newborns during week 3, they were getting very snug! Now we just fold down the top of the size ones, even though we probably don't need to since his umbilical cord is gone! He gets his diaper changed after every feeding and sometimes more than that! I have gotten peed on and so has the wall during a few diaper changes but Daddy has been safe!

Clothes Size: Cole pretty much skipped the newborn size. He wears all 0-3 months stuff. There are a few pairs of newborn pants he can fit into though. Most of our clothes are Carter's brand and their 0-3 months has fit well. Some other off brands in 0-3 are too tight in the shoulders and are a CHALLENGE to get off and on so even though they are ADORABLE, I've given up on them. We also gave up on the Gerber 0-3 months onesies! They are incredibly tight! Our favorite onesies are the Faded Glory brand from Walmart because they are nice and loose around the head so it makes them easy to get on and off. We are changing clothes a lot lately because Cole has had quite a bit of spit up! It seems as though the second I get his arms through a shirt, he spits up and I have to change him again! Some days I go through 4 shirts in a matter of 10 minutes! I never knew we'd be doing so much laundry! His and ours because not only do his clothes get spit up on but ours too!

Other Fun Facts:
* At Cole's last doctor's appointment (around 3 weeks old) he was up to 10 pounds 13 ounces (1 ounce less than birth weight).

*At birth, Cole had a slight heart murmur, which the doctor's didn't seem worried about (however, Mommy and Daddy were!). Before we left the hospital he had an EKG and the results were sent to AI Dupont. Our pediatrician reviewed the results with us and said it was nothing to worry about (I can't remember exactly what type of valve opening she said he had). At our last appointment (around 3 weeks) she said she couldn't hear the murmur anymore!! :) We will continue to ask about it at his future appointments though, just to be sure!

*Cole is most alert after his second feeding of the day, however, this can vary. This is when we usually do tummy time. He doesn't seem to mind it too much!


*Like I said previously, he has been spitting up frequently. Some days its after every feeding, others its only a few times a day. The pediatrician says it is normal and as long as he's gaining weight, we shouldn't worry about it yet. It is a hassle though because we go through so many clothes, bibs, burp cloths, and changing pad covers! It also frustrates me because I feel like all the time I spent nursing is wasted because he loses everything he ate! I've been reading a lot about it and I'm wondering if I have a fast let down and he is getting too much milk at first. I'm also trying to keep him upright for at least 15 minutes after he eats and getting a few good burps out of him (which is impossible sometimes)!
* Cole seems to enjoy bath time! Daddy has been the primary bath giver, and does a great job with it. We are still mostly doing baths with a squirt bottle on a towel like in the hospital. We have used the big tub once but it was kind of awkward to use (I think because we are so used to the other way).

*Mommy and Daddy are slowly adjusting to parenting life! With Dave back to work, Cole and I have been by ourselves during the day. We don't have much of a schedule yet, so some days are smoother than others! Some days I am showered and the house is straightened when Dave gets home, other days I am still in pajamas and the house looks like a tornado hit it! Poor Dave has been very tired when he gets home from work. Although he doesn't have to get up to feed Cole during the night, I know it still wakes him up when I have to get up. I try my best to be quiet but sometimes he still wakes up. I usually try to take a quick nap with Cole in the afternoons, that is when I am the most tired. I still haven't ventured out on my own with Cole! I've been out a few times on my own while Dave has Daddy/Baby time and it has definitely felt weird! I'm sure it will feel even more odd when I am out on my own with Cole!

 




Wednesday, December 7, 2011

4 Week Update

4 Week Update:
Mommy had her first doctor's appointment since Cole's birth on Tuesday! Everything went great, incision is wonderful, and I've lost 35 pounds! Granted, 11 of those pounds were Cole himself! But, I'll take what I can get! I'm back into pre-pregnancy pants and tops but my tummy doesn't look like it used to! I'll get there though!
I'll post more on Cole in my one-month update!!!
Here are some pics from this week:
Check out the slippers!

Love those lips & the sweater!!!
Too tired for my pacifier!
smilin' at the ceiling fan
milk coma!
such a big boy looking at my play mat!