3 Weeks of Colton...

Ok, ok - I know I am very behind on uploading Colton pictures (for Mom and Connie, probably the only two people who really care).  However, I finally had time so here are a few from the past couple of weeks.

5 weeks old - comforting a slightly grumpy little guy.

As you can see, he was still grumpy.  I'm glad we finally got a good picture of his big pouty face, though!

6 weeks old - Aunt Grace came to visit!  So fun!

7 weeks old - getting so long, way bigger than his monkey pal.

...and looking super cute in one of his sweaters!  I'm so glad it's finally cool here!

So, that's about it!  

In some ways motherhood is becoming easier - we have a pretty good routine in place, Colton is usually not as fussy, I'm getting the hang of the constant feeding/diapering/holding deal.  In other ways, though, the longer I am a mom, the more difficult it's becoming.  Mainly I am realizing that being a "stay at home mom" is kind of a hard transition!  I'm still tired often and am often just stuck in the house.  With little change of scenery the feeding, diapering, playing, sleeping cycle gets old after awhile.  In some ways I just miss the freedom to go, do, and be spontaneous (if I ever was).

Don't get me wrong, I love having Colton here and most days enjoy it to the max.  I guess I'm just verbalizing that it's a big change.

And...abrupt ending.

Colton Videos...

Well, after about 3 hours of Ross working on this, we finally have two videos of Colton uploaded!  These are primarily to satisfy our families, who are desperate to see how he's growing, but anyone is welcome to check them out if you want! :)

Enjoy!

Colton "Talking"

Colton Stretching

A New Start

This past week has been full of extremes - great times and tough times!

Last Monday Colton had his doctor's appointment at which he got his second Hep-B shot.  From that night through Wednesday he literally screamed every moment that he wasn't eating or sleeping!  We tried to feed him extra, just in case he was hungry due to a growth spurt or something, we tried giving him gas medicine, we changed him tons of times...nothing helped!  Finally it hit me, maybe he was in pain from his shot.  So, one afternoon while I was changing his diaper I gently pressed on the area where he had the shot - and boy did he let me know it hurt!  He screamed a scream of pain and big alligator tears came streaming from his eyes.  So sad!  After Wednesday, Colton seemed to be doing much better - but I was exhausted!  It is amazing to me how two and a half hard days with a newborn can seem like an eternity and take such a physical toll.

On Thursday Colton and I both felt fine and Aunt Grace came for a visit!  Colton was so happy to meet her - he could really sense how much she loves babies. :)  Also on Thursday we started putting Colton on a "schedule."  Really it's just a daily routine - eat, play, sleep - in three hour chunks.  We don't hold tightly to a time for each activity but, instead, watch for his cues.  It seems to be working SO WELL!  I love having an idea of what my day will be like so that I can rest and still get things done, and Colton is responding really well.  He is napping better, is less fussy, and is smiling even more.  I can't believe I waited 6 weeks to put that into practice!

On a down note, though, on Friday I got another bad migraine that lasted to Sunday afternoon.  I literally did not get out of bed the whole time and could not even keep water down!  I get worried about that since I need calories and water for breast feeding so I am on the hunt to find a good solution for future migraines.  Also, I'm thankful it happened over a weekend so Ross was home all day to take care of Colton but I'm not sure what we would do if Ross was working!  More reason to find a solution...

The other fun thing this week is to see how Colton is developing.  He has started "talking" by making sweet baby coos.  He talks to me and Ross, he talks to his toys on his play-yard (which he finally acknowledges - another big development), and he talks to himself.  It's very cute.  I am going to try to get some video of it today or tomorrow so look for that in a future blog post.

That's about it - I'll be back soon with more pictures and, hopefully, some video!

This Week in Pictures

Many great things have happened this past week!  I have been getting tired of being at home 100% of the time and am enjoying getting out of the house more and spending time with our friends.  Below are pictures from just a few of the things we've done this week.

First, though, I want to update you on Colton's stats from his 1 month appointment (at 5.5-weeks-old).

WEIGHT: 10 pounds 3 ounces!  75th percentile.  I was so happy that he's growing so well!

HEIGHT: about 24 inches...he's so long he was off the growth chart!

HEAD: 39 centimenters, 75th percentile.

Now onto this week in pictures...

Aunt Jenn and Uncle Nate came to visit Colton!  It was such a fun time!

Our first trip back to church.  Colton looked so cute in his Polo outfit from Grandma!

We've been seeing more and more smiles!  The following is the chronological progression of this smile - from big to silly to "why the heck are you still acting stupid mommy?"

Before heading to our friend's Halloween party - Colton was a jack-o-latern, thanks to GiGi, and I was a frazzeled mom (only slightly exaggerated ;o)).

An afternoon at the park for UCF Cru's parents weekend gathering.