Looking Back: First Months (1-3)

Continuing my series of "Looking Back" blog entries here is one about Colin's first months.

The picture below is when he was just a few days old!

My little guy.

Baby Colin

Not so happy with the parents.

Once we got our sweet little baby home, we were luckily able to fall into a routine before I had to get back to work. Thankfully. That accomplishment was pretty amazing, since I was only home for 6 weeks before going back. It is hard to keep the same routine for too long, since as the baby grows things change, which means things are constantly changing.  I think for first-time parents though we did pretty well!  We were able to recoup since we obeyed the doctor's orders and kept Colin away from public places for the first 4 weeks, (since it was winter and so many sickies out there). It was hard being couped up for that long, but it was worth it since we did not want sick strangers or friends breathing on our baby!  Yes, strangers love approaching babies!!

Colin slept a lot the first few weeks, but we had to wake him up every few hours to make sure he ate so that he would put the weight he lost back on.  One thing that made it a little difficult for us to sleep, was that he would only sleep when he was held.  I guess because he was so snug in the womb, being held felt the most comfortable for him.  Plus, he was a winter baby so it was really cold at the time.  After about a month he would sleep without being held and then when he was 3 months we finally moved him to his own room. This caused more lack of sleep the first week because we were so afraid we would not hear the little guy crying. 

*WARNING: Breastfeeding Paragraph...Skip if needed*

Mommy time!

Something that none of my friends/family with babies warned
me about was how much it hurt when your milk finally came!  Man that was pure agony! It was like having two over-sized cantaloupes about ready to burst.  So, uncomfortable. I can't even emphasize how uncomfortable. I will admit that breastfeeding was not something I ever really cared for. I know a lot of moms feel it is a bonding time, but me...not so much. I made it to the 3 month mark that my doctor recommended, but once that came I packed up my pump and never looked back.  Colin was already having to drink my milk and formula (soy) because he had such a big appetite! I know that they would like for you to breastfeed longer if possible, but making it to 3 months was more than some babies get and I was pumping at work (awkward) which was not the easiest thing to do, so I was actually losing my supply anyways.

*Safe Paragraph* 

Baby's first Christmas

My mom was planning on being there for the birth, but since Colin came a week early she was able to spend the week after with us.  It was great having someone around to let us rest a bit and who had so much "baby" experience.  Plus, I felt even better because she is a nurse.  She is my go to for any medical questions that I have. That is when the 3 hour time difference is good.  When I would call her at 2 a.m. my time; it was not so late for her. When she was here it was late November/early December, so we had an early Christmas with her.  Our first Christmas in VA was also Colin's first Christmas.  Obviously, he did not know what was going on but it was such a nice Christmas!  What a wonderful gift!

Such a little guy!

Colin was a very healthy baby.  He had some stomach issues when drinking regular formula but changing to soy cured that pretty quickly.  When he was older and we changed over to milk he still had to do soy for a while, but now he is fine with skim. The only other things we had to deal with (besides a few fevers and colds) were very minor; cradle cap (which I like to call "cradle crap") and a little baby acne.  We have been very fortunate so far...fingers-crossed. 

Little GQ

He was so small!  Crazy how big they get so fast!  Also, how much their looks can change.  Colin was a little tan thing with very dark hair; now he is fair-skinned and a blondie!  People love to comment on the contrast of our family's hair color.  Me, with dark brown (yes, honey it is dark brown, not black!), Will with red and Colin with blonde.  So different.   My older brother was a blonde and now has dark hair like me; so who knows what Colin's will be when he is older.

Sadly, sleep-deprivation can cause your memory to be a bit blurred.  It seems like the first 3, even 6 months went by so fast.  The picture to the right, is a rare one of Colin with a pacifier. Our boy was not a fan, which could be considered good or bad.  Mostly good, because now we do not have to break him of that habit.  At the time, it was not so good because we would have loved for it to help him sleep on certain occasions at 3 or 4 in the morning.  All is good though.

Bath time!

Colin has had a love/hate relationship with bath-time.  When he was really small and not able to be in a real bath, he was not a fan. Once he got into the big bathtub he loved to splash around and play with his toys. 

More to come.  There may be a chunk of time between each one and I went out of order and skipped my pregnancy one (don't worry it will eventually get done) but I am taking my time on these.  This one took me a few months.