Two Months

Two Months

Height: Find out at dr appt Friday

Weight: 10lbs 8oz


Sleep: You started extending your nighttime sleep a bit. We even got a few nights where you slept 6+ hours!  Nothing is consistent yet, and some nights you get up twice and some nights you only get up once. We started putting you to sleep in your crib in your own room at night around 5 weeks old. You were just too noisy of a sleeper and you really don't seem to mind having your own space. Naps are a crap shoot. Some days you take 1.5-2 hour naps and some days you refuse.  You are still napping in your Rock and Play.  We swaddle you at night, but leave you unswaddled for naps.

Eat: You eat about 28oz per day. Usually in 4oz bottles about every 3 hours during the day with one or two bottles at night (night is between 8pm and 7am).

Size: You are in a size one diaper and 0-3 month clothing. You switched out of newborn clothes around 5 weeks.

Activity: You love your activity mat and giggle every time the red bird mobile comes into your view. Your favorite game is "where is belly" and you giggle as we point out your cheeks, nose, mouth, ears, and belly. You're still not a fan of tummy time and can only tolerate it for about 5 minutes.

Likes/Dislikes: You love when Daddy comes home from work. You smile just hearing his voice. You tolerate your bouncy chair and barely tolerate your swing. You are starting to not like to be rocked in the glider during the day. You like to be rocked to sleep in it for nighttime, but during the day you prefer to be bounced by Mommy then rocked in your Rock and Play until you fall asleep. You don't really like your paci anymore and usually spit it out when we try to use it to soothe you.

Firsts: We are getting true laughs in response to things we say or do. We had your first blowout poop diaper...what a mess! We had our first overnight trip to Aunt Loni's house. You did very well, both in the car and overnight. I took you to the grocery store for the first time (by myself) and luckily you slept the whole time!

We started you on a nighttime routine that is working out well. We start at 7:30 giving you a bath then a bottle and book at 8pm.  Daddy read us Sherlock Holmes and now we are reading Ender's Game.  When it's Mommy's night to read you get nursery rhymes! Of course, you have no idea what we are saying, but after this week Mommy and Daddy will both be back to work so we want to get into the habit of you hearing our voices before bed. After your bottle/book we play instrumental Coldplay until you fall asleep.

Mommy, I'm gettin tired now!

You are still a fussy fuss-man in the evenings. Starting about 5pm until we start your bedtime routine you just won't nap and you fuss fuss fuss.  Mommy and Daddy sing silly songs to you and you respond well to loud music and big jiggly movements.  You like Lady Gaga (Born This Way, Edge of Glory, Bad Romance) and Adele (Rollin in the Deep, Rumor Has It).  I would love to take you for evening walks, but it's July in Georgia!

One Month Pics

We finally found a day when Colin was calm enough to take his one month pics!  I set up my makeshift studio and Nana helped me prop him up.  I saw this adorable chair and could not help myself!  He was so cute sitting in it and I can't wait until he starts reading and can sit in it with a book!

We are trying to get him on a better feeding/napping schedule now that he's 5 weeks and I think it's working. We definitely have fewer fussy days, but it's still a work in progress.

Thanks to digital photography, I can take one million pictures until I get a good one, and believe me I had to take about 150 to get these.  Is it bad that I like the outtakes almost as much as the good pics :) These literally made me LOL when I saw them! Click the picture to make it bigger so you can see his facial expressions. They're the best part!

Huh?

Smile like this, Mom?



I might be pooping!

This looks like a cry, but he was actually sneezing.

One Month

Holy cow, I can not believe its already been a month! The time is flying by so fast. Ward goes back to work in a week and I have no idea how that's gonna work!  I don't have his "offical" one month pics with his special shirt on yet because he's been a total fuss-bucket this week. I don't want a crying baby in the pictures :)  Here's what Colin's been up to (written to Colin for his baby book...I'm sure there are typos and misspelling everywhere...I'm a bit sleep deprived).

One Month Stats

Height: 21"

Weight: 8lbs 2oz (22nd percentile)



Your favorite naptime spot!

Sleep: You sleep 12 hours a day total usually in 2 hours increments. You don't like to sleep in the morning or early afternoon and do the majority of your sleeping between 3pm and 5am. At night you sleep in your Rock & Play and during the day you sleep wherever you are (usually in your Boppy Napper which is your favorite spot). We are anxiously awaiting the day when you sleep more than 2.5 consecutive hours at night!

Daddy doing a middle of the night feeding

Eat: You eat about 22oz per day. Usually in 3oz bottles about every 3 hours. Sometimes you like to nibble and eat 1-2oz every 1-2 hours.

Size: You are still in newborn diapers and clothes though you are quickly growing out of them.

Play time!

Activity: You just started using your activity mat, but you are only amused for about 10 minutes. You are really good at tummy time and can hold your head up for about 15-20 seconds on your own.


Loves Wubbanub

Likes/Dislikes: You love sitting outside and sometimes when you are fussy all it takes is a trip to the patio to calm you down. You love to be held, particularly while we are standing and bouncing. You do not like your bouncy or your swing! We think you are just a little too small and your neck gets squished. We hope you start to like them soon so we have a place for you to sit while Mommy and Daddy get ready for work.

Firsts: You had your first bath which you very much disliked! We took you on your first outing at 2.5 weeks to Atlanta Bread Company for lunch with Nana and Papa. You were pretty good, but started getting fussy after Mommy shopped for too long! We also got your first smile and it makes my day everytime you smile at me :)

First outing to Columbus Park Crossing!

First Bath! 

I see you baby!

We like to sing to you and make up our own versions of songs.

Too Much Poopy in the Pants
(sang to the tune of 'Too Much Booty in the Pants')

Fuss-Man
(sang to the tune of 'Soul Man'. This one even has a dance)

No Sleep Till Nana
(Sang to the Beastie Boys 'No Sleep Till Brooklyn')

Napping together!

Nana has been a huge help and loves coming to watch you while Mommy and Daddy take a nap! We are very lucky to have her and she spoils you rotten.

Birth Annoucements

We FINALLY got around to doing birth annoucements. I took these pics with my newish fancy pants camera that I just started learning how to use. I did the card on Shutterfly.  Enjoy!

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Road Trip

Monday we took the first of many car trips to Scottish Rite in Atlanta to meet with the cleft palate team that will handle Colin's care and surgery. I was expecting a total disaster since we would be traveling 2 hours each way with an 8 day old baby. It wasn't that bad and the team seems great.

The first priority is making sure that his cleft palate isn't causing any feeding problems and preventing weight gain. They monitored him while feeding and said that everything looked good. They want us to increase the amount of milk we feed him and go in to the pediatrician for weekly weigh ins to make sure he is gaining enough. They will do a corrective surgery at 6-9 months and one of the things that could delay the surgery is his weight.

Things we learned on the trip:

1. Take the number of diapers you think you'll need and double it! I took 12 diapers for a 7 hours trip and we almost ran out. We never go through that many in that short time at home, but somehow we did.

2. Feed the baby right before you walk out the door. For some reason I thought we would be able to feed him in his car seat. No dice...fussy baby...gas station feeding.

3. Pumping on the road is awful! It's awkward, takes twice as long, and no matter how discrete I tried to be, I'm pretty sure I flashed at least one trucker.

4. A chauffeur is absolutely necessary! My mom drove us and there is NO WAY we would have been functional to drive considering we are still adjusting to our newborn sleep schedule.

Our next appointment is in July and we will actually meet with the surgeon and discuss the surgery in more detail. For now, we will focus on fattening up our little man so I'm off to pump some more of the good stuff!

Labor Day!

This is the story of how Colin Edward Boswell came into this world. Don't worry, there's not anything graphic.















I'd been having prodromal labor since Thursday May 24th. I was already 3cm dilated and was having a lot of contractions. The contractions were either intense and spaced far apart or medium intensity and coming every 10 minutes. My Dr said she expected him to come any day and we scheduled an induction for Monday May 28th if he wasn't here by then. I walked and bounced on yoga balls and kept hoping he would come on his own.



Fritz laying in front of me while I was breathing through a contraction

Sunday morning I woke up at 6:30 am with a huge contraction. They were coming every 10 minutes, but mostly medium-low intensity. I hadn't slept well, so I laid down to take a nap around 8. I woke up at 10:00am with another huge painful contraction. 15 minutes later another and 15 minutes later another. They continued about every 10-12 minutes, but not all of them were as strong. I told Ward to slowly start getting his stuff together while I had a shower. We had to pack for the induction the next morning regardless.



Daddy driving us to the hospital.

By 2:00 contractions were every 5-6 minutes and really strong. I was doubling over and was yelling some expletives. After watching me endure a particularly bad one, Ward decided we were going to the hospital. I thought for sure it was too early and we'd be sent home. We checked in about 3:45pm and got the process started. I was still only at about 3-4 cm dilated which was depressing. About 5:00pm I decided to walk the halls to get things moving. I was constantly having to stop for excruciating contractions. Around 6:00pm my OB broke my water. Things picked up from there, quickly. Contractions were coming right on top of each other and I was screaming and shaking. The epidural was ordered and I got it around 7ish. Actually getting the epidural was nothing short of hell on earth, but once it kicked in it was instantly worth it! I was 5cm dilated.

I was shaking from the drugs and Ward read some random sports blogs to me to help me relax. I think I even fell asleep for a few minutes. The nurses came back around 8pm to check me and said I was still at 5cm, but they had a concern and wanted to call my dr. Dr came in around 9pm and confirmed what the nurse suspected. He was head down, but he was presenting face first (they could feel his nose and mouth when they checked me!). The dr said she would not advise normal delivery because while he wasn't a big baby per se, he was big for me and coming in a face first position would make a very long painful labor, delivery, and recovery. She was concerned about him not handling it well (and me not handling it well) so we decided to move forward with the c section.

They prepped me and took me to the OR. I was very freaked out, but trying to remain calm. I have a huge fear of needles and I was oddly relieved that I would not need any more needles since the epidural had already been placed. Ward had to wait in the hall during the prep and I didn't like being alone.

Meeting Colin for the first time!

In the OR they did the pinch test to make sure I was numb; I wasn't. They increased the dosage and I could still feel it. The anesthesiologist said he was going to max out the dosage and if I could still feel it they would have to knock me out. Well, I could still feel it! Within seconds they had the mask on me, no time to see Ward.

Next thing I knew, I was waking up in the recovery room. I was completely out of it, but I unconsciously put my hand on my stomach and realized it was flat. My baby wasn't in there anymore. A few minutes later Ward was able to come in and see me. He showed me some videos he took of Colin getting his bath and screenings. I was still shaking uncontrollably and was ready to see my baby. Luckily, I didn't have to wait too long before the nurse brought in our perfect little baby and we got to be together as a family.

I missed my baby's birth, but the reality is I'm not sure if I could have handled being awake for the procedure. I get freaked out by anything remotely related to blood, guts, and needles and might have had a total melt down during the csection. Recovery has been really painful and I couldn't even change a diaper for 24 hours, but it's getting better every day (thank you Vicodin).



Changing his first poopy diaper solo!

Colin is perfect and Ward is a rock star Daddy! We discovered Colin has a cleft pallet and will require surgery at 6-9 months to repair, but I'll post about that later.

Birth Stats: 

May 27, 2012  (his original due date!)

9:48pm

7lbs 3oz

20 inches long

Daddy's Boy

When Ward and I first started dating, we had very different methods for preparing for car trips. I would pack everything the night before except what I needed to get ready in the morning (and even those items were compiled and ready). I would fill up the car with gas the night before and get straight up that morning and leave town swiftly.

Ward *might* get out his suitcase the night before. He would get up in the morning, shower, and then sit down to watch tv or play on his computer until 15 minutes before we were scheduled to leave the house when he would start packing. The car would always be on empty and he wanted to stop for breakfast or coffee on out way out of town. When I would try to hurry him along he would say "but you said we were leaving at x time so I still have 20 minutes." This drove me absolutely crazy and we have since reached a compromise, but I started many a car trips frustrated in those early days.

Colin clearly takes after his Daddy in this area. I can picture him right now, chillin in the womb, playing with his toes saying "but you said I had until May 25th so I still have two days."

Still Going....

How far along: 39 weeks

Total weight gain: 27 pounds

Food craving: Everything! I am ravenously hungry all the time. I inhale my food when I sit down to eat these days. I’m such a cliché.

Cankles, Stretch Marks, Waddling: By the end of the day I have cankles, by the morning they are gone. It’s good I guess because they aren’t always fatty mcfat, but they are swelling up just about every day. I’m always waddling and *knock on wood* no stretch marks yet.

What I’m looking forward to: I think is a given at this point, but meeting our baby!

Milestones: Colin’s estimated weight based on ultrasound on 5/7 was 6lbs and 13oz. In the beginning I was worried about having a 4lb baby, but now I’m worried about having an 8 pounder!

Best moment this week: Finding out that I’m 3 cm dilated and 75% effaced as of Monday. I’m ready to get this show on the road, but Colin is taking his dear sweet time. I’ve been having lots of practice contractions and I hope that all this prep work will translate to a slightly shorter labor. Fingers crossed!

When you are pregnant, you tend to get asked the same questions over and over again (often by complete strangers). Here are the answers to the most frequency asked questions:

     Yes, I am walking and bouncing on my yoga ball (as much as I can while working 40 hours a week)
     No, I will not take castor oil or any other laxative
     Yes, I will get the epidural but I will *try* to wait until I am 6 cm dilated
     No, I will not schedule an induction prior to my due date
     No, I’m not taking any leave before the baby comes
     No, I’m not worried about my water breaking at work

If I’m still pregnant at this time next week, I’ll be one cranky pregzilla! I was very depressed on Monday when I had to get up and get ready for work. I thought for sure when I left last Friday that I wouldn’t be coming back for a while. I had medium intensity contractions about 10 minutes apart most of the day Sunday, but they eventually stopped. Over the week this week they are medium-to-high intensity and every 2 hours or so.

Come on, Colin! The world is waiting to meet you.

Dear Colin

We wrote this for his baby book, but I thought I'd share.

Dear Colin,

Today, May 14, 2012, we are anxiously awaiting your arrival. We’ve planned and prepared and now we wait with wonder. What color hair will you have? Will it be blond when you are young like your father’s, or will you be bald until toddlerhood like your mother? Will you have the same hazel eyes we have, or will you surprise us with brown or blue?

What will your personality be like? Will you be a planner like your mother or prefer last minute preparations like your dad? Will you be an introvert like your parents or talk a mile a minute to strangers everywhere you go? Only time will tell.

We’ve waited a long time for you to arrive, so we can wait a few more days. We will miss feeling you kick in mommy’s tummy and waking up in the middle of the night feeling the dance party you are having at 4am. You are very active and Mommy will sometimes play with your feet when you stick them out. Your big ‘brother and sister’ know something special is going on and like to protect mommy’s tummy by laying on it. Sometimes you even kick them back!

We can’t wait to see what the future holds, but for now we must be patient. Just know that you are already loved and wanted and have a family that will do anything for you.

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

The Countdown

Today I have 20 days left until my due date. Luckily, since I'm such an awesome planner :), we are in the stage of doing the things we'd like to get done before Colin arrives. All the "have to" get done things are completed like installing car seats, washing and putting away baby things, and packing diaper bags. If he came today, we'd be good to go!

This week we all got hair cuts (even the dogs) so we aren't overdue during the brand new baby period where we don't want to leave the house. We filed our leave paperwork with our employer cause Mommy & Daddy still need to get paid. And I started an online photography course to try to figure out how to actually use my fancy pants camera to take beautiful pictures of our little family.

Last, but certainly not least, my Mom moves to Columbus today! I'm so excited to have her close by and help with Colin. Even Mommies need their Mommy and I am very fortunate that my Mom is able to do this for us.

I've been having lots of Braxton Hicks and cramping this week and I should find out at my appointment on Monday if Colin is any closer to arriving. Babies in my family tend to come early, but knowing me I'll be the odd man out still waddling around at 40 weeks! I have a list of things to do to keep me occupied and I'd probably go crazy with anticipation if I didn't have work distracting me.

And now, a photo. Because what's a blog post without a photo!

36 Weeks

Okay, so I'm really behind on the belly pics, but we have SUPER busy getting the last minute stuff done before Colin makes his debut.

How far along: 36 Weeks

Total weight gain: 24 pounds total

Food craving: Sweets!  I never have a sweet tooth and now all I want is peanut butter eggs, chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, and cupcakes.

Cankles, Stretch Marks, Waddling: My left ankle started to swell up a little last week, but luckily it went back down.  I'm definitely waddling :)  Knock on wood, no stretch marks yet. I really don't know how much more my skin can stretch before I start to get them though.

What I’m looking forward to:  Meeting Colin!  The showers were the last big thing before baby. At this point we are just playing the waiting game. I have my last ultrasound next Monday and they should be able to guesstimate birth weight and see if my body has started preparing for labor. Braxton Hicks have been awful the last week.

Milestones: Getting kicked in the ribs by my small boy! Also, I now have to take a stool with me around the house to do things like blow dry my hair and put on my make-up.  Increasing my body weight by about 25% takes it's toll on my knees and heels of my feet.

Best moment this week: Getting Mom set with her new apartment!  She's officially a Columbus resident. Her furniture doesn't come until this weekend, but we are one step to being closer to ready.

There's not much left for us to do to get ready and that's a good feeling. I started packing the hospital bags and we've pre-registered at the hosptials. We've been stocking up on food and stuff for the dogs so we don't have to worry about those things in the first few weeks with our new baby.

Physically, I'm getting really uncomfortable. It's getting hotter and I'm getting bigger.  Colin is getting huge! I feel his movements so much and he's taking up a lot of the space in my expanding tummy. He likes to be active after dinner and when I lay down to sleep. When I get up to use the bathroom at 3am he likes to have a mini dance party. I like it though because it confirms that he's doing okay. I like to play with his feet and poke back at him.

We are full term on Friday and I'm very excited to get to that point. I feel like he can come anytime after that and we'll be okay. Of course work would prefer if he stay in a few more weeks!

April Showers

We had 3 baby showers last week!  The outpouring of love and generosity from co-workers, friends, and family was amazing.  Ward and I are introverts and tend to keep small circles, we just feel more comfortable in smaller gatherings, so we weren't expecting the response we got from our showers.

I don't have any pictures from the first two, but my sister, sister-from-another-mister, and mom threw us a wonderful shower Saturday April 14th. As usual, they went over the top with decorations and super cute handmade stuff from pinterest. We had several people drive in as far as 4 hours to attend.  We are the luckiest parents-to-be! 

Baby Shower Photo Bomb!

I kept the pictures small so they wouldn't take a million years to load, but if you click the picture you can see it bigger.



Adorable diaper cake & cupcakes made by Future Grandma!

Handmade banner from Aunt Loni & Pooh from the Grandparents

More handmade decorations from Aunt Loni



Built in beer holder?

The Hostesses

Future Grandparents

Aunt Maggie

Ward's Family

Varner Family

The girls! As much as we could get them to stay still.

Boys looking super excited!

Brad and Damien who were in from Arizona.

I wish I knew what present he was opening!

Lots of cutie pie baby stuff!

Watching all the action

The Loot!  Of course I had to lay it all out and take a picture.

Nesting

We have been nesting pretty hard the last few weeks. We completely redid our back patio and went over board with cleaning and prepping. We've been talking about what to do with our back yard since we moved in and could never really decide or pull the trigger on anything. Magically a few weeks ago we decided what we wanted to do and hired a contractor.

I love spending time outside, but it gets crazy hot and I end up cutting my time short. Not to mention that I can't drag Ward out there after April! With Colin arriving during some pretty warm weather, I wanted a comfortable shaded outdoor living space. I love the idea of sitting on the porch with him during my leave, and once he gets older while he plays.

We extended the porch, added an overhang with a ceiling fan, and got some new comfy furniture. I love the way it turned out.


The contractor finished Friday and left a bit of a mess. We spent Sat pressure washing and scrubbing then spent Sun assembling the new furniture. We've had a crazy busy week of working, preparing our house for a baby shower, and taking baby classes. It's finally caught up with me and I am pretty miserable today. I hope a few days off my feet will do the trick because I need Colin to cook for AT LEAST 3 more weeks.