7 Months Old!

 7 Months Old! Can't believe that this time one year ago we were getting ready for our big ultrasound to find out if Baby Williamson was a boy or a girl! We were so shocked to hear we were having a boy but now, I can't imagine it any other way :)

Sleep: Sleeping from around 8pm-6am. He is still taking a longer nap in the morning after his "big" breakfast and then a few shorter cat naps throughout the afternoon and evening. He sleeps mostly on his side but is content on his back and belly also!

Enjoying bedtime stories with Grandma and Grandpa

Eating: Cole nurses about a half hour after he wakes up; has fruit and a 4oz. pumped bottle of breastmilk around 8:30; fruit or veggie and a 5oz. pumped bottle of breastmilk around noon; a 5oz bottle of breastmilk around 3; a veggie and a fruit and nurses around 5:30; and nurses at 7:30 before bed. I have been pumping BARELY enough to supply Cole with his bottles for the next day while I'm at work. The doctor said I can up his food volume so that will alleviate some of my stress about making enough milk. Also, with school being out, I will be nursing more, hopefully keeping my supply up. I am hoping to give Cole breastmilk until he is one year old. I'm not sure how long I will actually nurse him, we shall see.

Cole's acid reflux has improved so much! I think part of it is the medicine he is on but also I am hopeful he is outgrowing it. The doctor told us it peaks at 6 months and then works its way down so hopefully it is on its way OUT! We now only have about 2 spit ups a day now instead of several after EVERY feeding, YAHOO!

Diaper Size: Still in size 3

Clothes Size: Cole is still in all 6-9 months clothes. His hand me down bathing suits are 12 months and fit well, they are a little loose in the tummy but still work! Have I mentioned how grateful I am for hand me downs? My friends have had some really stylin' boys the last few years and Cole and I are reaping the benefits! The boy seriously has enough plaid shorts to wear a different pair every day of the month (well maybe not that many, but close ) ;) He doesn't have to wear a bib AS much as he used to so I'm getting a chance to show of his cute shirts a little more. I still have a bib close by or burp cloth just in case, I'm not that brave yet!

Ok, Mommy, time to put the bouncy seat away, I'm a little too big for it! haha

Other Fun Facts:

*Cole came to meet my kiddos at school one afternoon. Kelly brought him over with 5 minutes to go in the school day. I wasn't sure what to expect from Cole or my students! They loved him and he loved them, of course. He smiled and played bashful while they smiled at him and one even told him a story (so cute)

*I celebrated my first mother's day this year! We had Mimi, both sets of grandparents over and Uncle Mike and Uncle Jimmy. It was a perfect day with lots of yummy food prepared by my WONDERFUL husband.

With the Great-Grandmothers :)

*Cole has been out shopping with me more lately, to the grocery store and Wal Mart mostly. Every single time we are in the checkout he flirts with the lady cashiers and they always comments on his beautiful eyes. I have a lady-killer on my hands :)

*Cole has transferred over to the "big-boy" carseat! When he went to the doctor for his 6 month check up I just knew he would be at least 22 pounds (our infant carseat's limit). Turns out he was still at 19. We switched him over to the big boy seat anyway in Daddy's truck. This way, when we visit the beach we don't have to deal with the infant carrier. I still have the big boy carseat in the attic I received at my baby shower. I am planning on putting it in my car once school is out. I don't want to worry about installing the big boy one in Miss Kelly's car. I was worried Cole wouldn't be comfy in his new seat, but he loved it!

*We took our first trip to the beach with Cole Memorial Day weekend! Dave and I were both pretty anxious, not knowing what to expect. We packed the night before and surprisingly, didn't have TOO much baby stuff. I know as he gets older we will need to pack more things (sand toys, baby pool, chair, etc.) From the minute we arrived till the second we pulled in the driveway Cole was a complete angel. He didn't fuss once, was happy as a clam, ate well, and even took a few beach naps! He sat in his bumbo and played with toys, watched his two girlfriends, and hung out with Grandma and Grandpa. We were there from around 10:30am until 5:30pm and he was a trooper! I made it through diaper changes and sunscreen applications without getting sand stuck to him everywhere. Still, I couldn't wait to give him a bath when we got home to scrub the sunscreen out of his hair and off his skin. He was asleep by 7:30 that night, skipping his last feeding of the day!

1st Beach Day

Beach Babies!!

*Cole also attended Charlie's 2nd Birthday party at Miss Kelly's house. He even relaxed in the pool! He didn't like it at all until his sunglasses were on. Once he had his shades on, he just laid back and relaxed :)

Cole was completely exhausted after a fun-filled weekend..

*Cole's last day with Miss Kelly was June 6th. We can't thank her enough for taking such good care of our little guy this school year. He's really going to miss her (Mr. Rudi, the boys, and the dogs too!)

*Towards the middle of Cole's 7 month, he started sitting up on his own :) More pics of that in the 8 month blog...

6 Months Old!!

Colton Ray is 6 months old! Half of a year! 

Dave and I can't believe how fast this time has gone! It is bittersweet to see how much Cole is growing and changing. It is already hard to remember him as a tiny (well, tiny for him) baby!

Sleep: Cole's sleeping patterns have changed up a bit this month. He is going to bed between 7:30-8:30 but waking up a couple of times throughout the night. Now that he is rolling over, he rolls to his belly and can't get himself back over to his back. This wakes him up and he can't get back to sleep on his own. I know I should just let him figure it out himself but I can't resist going in there and turning him over. Sometimes he goes back to sleep as soon as we turn him over and give him his pacifier. Other times, we have to pick him him up and rock him/pat his little butt. I have noticed that when he is in his sleep sack (a wearable blanket) or swaddled (with arms out) he doesn't move around as much, which is helping him sleep longer. He is also getting up earlier....like 5am-ish. This is doable on the week days b/c we have to get up at that time anyway but, Daddy and Mommy would like to sleep in till at least 6 on the weekend!

Snugglin' with my seahorse :)

Eating: Cole is till getting about three 6 oz. bottles of breast milk at the babysitter and nurses three times while he is home with me (once in the morning and twice in the evening). He also gets oatmeal before his 8:30 bottle and with his dinner. He usually has applesauce or sweet potatoes for lunch and recently tried green beans for the first time with his dinner oatmeal. I was worried because a couple mom-friends told me I should've tried veggies before applesauce and sweet potatoes. I wasn't even thinking about him not wanting veggies after trying the sweet stuff! We started with sweet potatoes and apples because that's what we had extras of in the house! Green beans aren't his favorite, and he doesn't "mmmmmm" his way through eating them, but he doesn't spit it back out either :) We also tried bananas but I noticed Cole got a rash afterward and spit-up more than usual the next day. Each time he spit up it also wreaked of bananas so we will wait a while before we try those again.

I also love squash! :)

Diaper Size: Size 3! With all those new solid foods, I am glad we have the bigger sized diaper ;)

Clothes Size: Cole is in all 6-9 months clothes and seems to have had a growth spurt! Some of the tops are already a little snug :( I used some of our leftover gift cards from our baby showers and bought Cole some summer clothes. He had some that were hand me downs but not quite enough in his size. Now I'm worried the shorts and summer tops I bought him that are 9 months aren't going to last until summer! I'm hoping I can get at least till mid-June. The summer stuff I got is so darn cute but he hasn't been able to wear most of it because the weather cooled back down. Hopefully he will get to sport his little plaid shorts sooner rather than later! I also stocked up on some new bibs with a coupon I had so he has some brightly colored non-stained bibs for now. He constantly has a bib on so I wanted them to look half-way decent.

New hair-do :)

Other Fun Facts:

*Cole's 5 month birthday was on my 29th birthday this year. It was also Easter Sunday. So, it was definitely a day for celebrating!

Honestly?!?! Could he get any cuter?!

Only the 2nd picture we have together as a family of 3, must take more of these!!!

*Cole's cheeks have been getting a little red and irritated lately, I think due to teething and being wet all the time. I try to lotion them up with aquaphor while he is sleeping and that seems to be helping. 

*Daddy had to take Cole to the doctor because of goopy eyes and a rash on his face. We are pretty sure the colorless rash was an allergic reaction to something (possibly the bananas?). Doc said he may have had a touch of pink-eye but, I'm not positive. His actual eye-balls were never pink, just the skin around his eyes which was from wiping the goop constantly from his eyes. He got some eye drops and the goop was gone in less than 48 hours.

**His stats at that appointment were 19 pounds 9 ounces and 27 inches long!**

*Cole is really enjoying the jumperoo he has at his babysitter's house and he also has one at Gigi and Pops' house. Daddy did not want us to register for one for our house because we don't have very much room. However, he changed his mind after seeing how much Cole loves it and how much extra time it gives Mommy and Daddy to get things done. Needless to say, I have been bringing it home every weekend! I will also be bringing it home for the summer! Thanks to my friend Amy for letting us use it at Kelly's and at our house! We have the jumperoo that hangs from the doorway, but it just isn't the same :/

*Cole is really starting to notice dogs. He sees three dogs everyday at Miss Kelly's and enjoys Tucker and Abby and Sophie at his grandparents' houses. He never paid much attention to them before but we are starting to notice him get excited when they walk by and even laugh at them :) He also has started to reach for them if they are close by. Thankfully, all the dogs are very friendly and love Cole as much as he loves them!

*We got to spend time with Amy, Brian, and Reese the last weekend of April. Amy is my cousin who had a baby boy 2 months prior to Cole's birthday. We have always been close and now Cole and Reese will be buddies. Dave and I visited them in their beautiful new house and had a great time catching up! Cole and Reese noticed each other and checked each other out but no real interaction yet. Cole enjoyed Reese's exersaucer, toys, and doggie :)

*Cole was baptized on April 29th at Elkton United Methodist Church, where Dave and I were married. It was a wonderful church service and Cole did great! I have been anxious for weeks worrying that he would spit-up all over the pastor or worse, have a blow-out through his little white suit. Dave's mom was nice enough to save Dave's christening suit and give it to Cole to wear. I'm glad we scheduled the baptism when we did because he wouldn't have fit in it much longer! Gigi, Pops, and Mimi threw a wonderful little lunch in honor of Cole and the house, yard, and pool area looked just perfect. Thankfully, the weather cleared up and it was a great day to spend outside enjoying each other's company. The entire day was very special spent with family. We are truly blessed to have such a sweet boy to love and care for!

5 Months Old!

Cole will be 6 months old in 1 week and I'm just getting around to writing his 5 month post!!! What in the world did I do with all the time I had BEFORE becoming a mother?!

A lot has happened the past two months, hope I can remember it all!

Sleep: Cole is still sleeping in his crib and sleeping well!! He goes to bed between 8-8:30 and sleeps until around 6 a.m. Naps aren't very regular at home. He is still taking lots of cat naps during the day for Dave and I which can make it tricky to get anything done around the house!

Eating: Cole is still nursing and taking bottles of pumped breast milk. At his four month check-up we had his diaper tested for allergies because of his excessive spit-up. Sure enough he is allergic to (most-likely) dairy. I've had to cut out all milk, cheese, and yogurt which was super hard at first but is getting easier. At a follow-up appointment, there was no blood found in his dirty diaper so what I am doing is working. He also started on prevacid for acid reflux which has helped his spit-up. Some days are better than others, but it seems less often and less volume. At 21 weeks, he started oatmeal cereal and hasn't slowed down since :)

Diaper Size: Size 2 and 3.

Clothes Size: Wearing 3-6 month outfits and some 6-9 months.

Other Fun Facts:

*Cole is rolling over some, from back to belly.

*Laughing more often and it is ADORABLE! Below is a video of Cole laughing at Dave and one of him laughing at our neighbor Jaime :)

*Stats after 4 month appointment:25.7 inches long (75th percentile) and 17.06 pounds(85th percentile)

More pics for you to enjoy:

Little Leprechaun!

Found my toes!

First Taste of Solid Food!

After meeting with the doctor, she gave us the go ahead to start Cole on rice or oatmeal cereal once a day. We started with oatmeal this weekend and after a little hesitation at first, he really enjoyed it! In fact, the second day he "mmmed" the whole way through. Daddy and I were not prepared for the mess that comes along with solid food! There was oatmeal everywhere! Here are some pics and video from the experience :)

What is this stuff!?

4 Months Old!

I say it every month but, how has 4 months passed already!? Cole is growing and changing everyday and getting cuter by the second!

Sleep: Cole is sleeping in his crib now!! Mommy cried the first night but, we survived! He is still sleeping all night and is also still being swaddled. He has been breaking his arms out by the middle of the night and stretching them over his head; so, we tried to put him down without the swaddle. He would be sound asleep in my arms but the minute I laid him down he'd wake up and smile and gurgle at me! :) I repeated the routine 4 or 5 times and he still didn't say asleep. Needless to say, we are still using the swaddle, only at night. He is asleep around 9 p.m. and is sleeping till around 6 a.m.

He is still napping great at daycare, sometimes sleeping two hours at a time mid-morning! He is still being snuggled by Miss Kelly while he sleeps ;)

Eating: Cole is still eating like a champ, eating about every 2-2.5 hours. He used to take 4 bottles during the day while I was at work, but now he is only taking 3. He is still drinking about 5.5 ounces of breast milk. He is still spitting up a ton. I contacted the doctor again with my concerns and she said to try 2 teaspoons rice cereal per 2 ounces in his bottle. I have been reluctant to do so, because I have read and heard a lot of negative things about it. I tried only 1 teaspoon of rice cereal first and it didn't help the spit-up at all. He also seemed very fussy after each bottle with rice. Then, we tried oatmeal because we heard it was easier on the tummy. We have been using it for about a week now and it might be helping a TINY bit. I wanted to make sure we at least tried it before his doctor's appointment next week so I could tell her we at least tried it and then maybe we can come up with a new game plan. I am just so worried his throat/esophagus is raw from so much spit-up, but he's such a HAPPY spitter!

Diaper Size: Still size 2, but I recently bought 3's with some coupons we had.

Clothes Size: Cole is still wearing 3-6 month outfits, I thought for sure he'd be out of them by now!

Other Fun Facts:

*Cole is really holding his head up a lot now! All of a sudden one night during tummy time he just lifted up like a little turtle and there has been no turning back! He even keeps his head up without looking for his fist to insert into his mouth!

*Cole is still pretty obsessed with his hands or any other thing he can put in his mouth, burp cloth, bib, Mommy's sleeve, stuffed toy.... He is also a slobber machine! I'm thinking he is teething!!!

Blowin' bubbles!

*Cole has started to laugh a little. The first report of a "belly laugh" was at Miss Kelly's house. Dave and I have tried pretty much every night since trying to get one, but no success, just a ton of HUGE smiles.  He also laughed at our neighbor Jaime several times and Dave and I finally got to hear it, what a sweet sound! I'm anticipating more in the coming month!

*Cole "officially" rolled over on March 6th. I say "officially" because he technically did it at Miss Kelly's first, but she didn't see it, and if it doesn't happen in front of me, it doesn't happen, haha. She is on strict orders not to tell me about any of his milestones if they happen at her house first. What happens at Miss Kelly's stays at Miss Kelly's. I absolutely hate knowing that I missed his first laugh and first roll while I was at work :( Anyway, on March 6th, we had Cole laying on a towel on his belly, naked (trying to air out a diaper rash situation). He rolled over not once, but TWICE! Dave and I were both right there to see it and Mimi too! Of course, I had to skype Gigi and Pops because his naked-self was just too cute and he rolled over again, so they got to see it too!

*Cole had his first golf-cart ride last weekend at Gigi and Pops. I knew it was just a matter of time before Pops had a golf-cart to take Cole on! Dave helped Pops clean it up and as soon as the sun came out, they were off. Cole enjoyed it, until the sun was in his eyes. Good thing Aunt Crystal and Lexi got him some shades! :)

*Aunt Kitty and Uncle Bobby were kind enough to buy Cole an exersaucer to keep at Gigi and Pops' house! We tried it out while we were visiting and Cole is just a tad too short for it yet but, we can tell he's going to log some time in there this summer bouncing and playing! :)

Cole had to wear his racing suit for Uncle Bobby! :)

Check out these toys! :)

Still hanging on to that patch of dark hair in the back I was born with!

* While we were visiting Gigi and Pops I decided to break out Dad's baby book to check out some pictures. Several people have said they think Cole resembles my Dad, I didn't see it. As we opened the first page of the baby book, our jaws dropped! Cole is the spitting image of Dad as a baby! It is CRAZY! Pops was already BEYOND proud of his grandson, now you can only imagine how tickled he is!

Some other pictures from our visit:

Abby hanging with Cole and I in Pops' garage :)

She slept with us every night, she is so sweet!

Cole and Mom-Mom

* We go for Cole's 4 month check-up and shots :( next week. I will post his official stats then. I can't wait to see how much he weighs. I also really want to find some answers about his spit-up habits and am wondering when she will suggest introducing foods! 

More pics for you to enjoy:

Still has that one dimple!

Found him like this one morning, thought it was funny!

Too Cool on my 4 month birthday walk!