Back from the Dr...

So I broke down and took Cole to the Dr. He has been very stuffy for the last week. When I called last week they told me to do the humidifier, elevate the bed, and saline drops to suck the boogies (which he absolutely loathes!!). So I did all this and he wasn't getting any better. If anything, he was getting worse. Monday he started coughing. Then yesterday he would only take about 3oz every 2-2.5 hrs. He normally pounds down 4oz every 2 hrs. Then this morning when I got him out of the crib to change him, he threw up everywhere. Jared and I got him cleaned up and I brought him to bed with me. He only would take 2oz!! Then when it was time to feed him again, he was acting like he was starving, but only took 2oz again. I took a HOT shower and put him in his bouncy seat in the bathroom with me to help clear his head a little. After I called the dr, I took him downstairs to eat again. He actually ate 4oz. I tried burping him and when I sat him up he threw up EVERYWHERE!!! All over him, me, the chair, boppy, floor.... you get the point!! I had to give him a bath. My poor baby:(

So when we got to the dr they weighed him and weighed a whopping 12.11 pds!! WOW! My little piggy:) When the dr got in he checked his ears, lungs, throat and then nose. Cole screamed and fought when he was trying to check his nose. He even made a comment that he bets I have fun using the bulb on his nose!! He kept saying how strong he was.... that's my boy:) Anyways, he told me how congested he was! His nose was very stuffy. Everything else looked great. The reason he was throwing up was because when he ate, he can't breath through his nose so he sucks in a lot of air... causing him to vomit:(

So off to Target I had to get pedialite. Hopefully this will thin out his formula, making it easier to digest. Keeping my fingers crossed he starts feeling better asap!! It wore him out... can you tell?

Hair, car, cousins, and sleep!!

So, when Cole was born he had hair all over his head. Not a lot but it was there. Over the past month I have noticed he has been losing it from the top to the back. I know babies loose their hair, but I always thought it was back to front since they lay on it and rub it off. Cole now has a patch that goes from ear to ear only covering the back of his head... and it keeps growing!! It's long enough I have to brush it because it goes crazy. Funny thing is, is it the SAME hair style as my dad!! I have photo proof I am not crazy. See:
Pretty funny, huh!!!

So anyways, Cole and I survived our first car trip alone together. Cole HATES his carseat! As soon as I put him in it he usually starts crying. By the time we get out of our neighborhood he is screaming! The scream that makes you want to cry!!This is what he normally looks like:

I hate it. He is slowly getting better, but I had to go to my soon to be sister in laws shower about an hour away. Jared was going to be at his brothers bachelor party and was gone overnight. I made sure he was well fed and half asleep and carefully put him in his car seat. He slept the whole way there. Thank you Jesus!! He did very well at the shower. It was hard because I am still not a fan of passing him around to lots of people, but I handed him off to one person who then handed him off:( Luckily he started getting hungry and I got him back. Again I fed him, rocked him, and carefully put him in his car seat. He slept the whole way back. Way to go baby!!

That night I had my sister and nephew over for a sleep over since Jared was going to be gone. April and Luke came over, we had pizza, hung out then off to bed! I slept horribly because Jared wasn't here. I am the one who gets up for every feeding at night since he works, but it is always nice having another person to help listen if I don't hear him. Every little noise made me run to him. I probably got about 4 hours of sleep and he only woke up twice during the night. That morning my sister got Cole and took him downstairs so I could sleep a little longer. My nephew, Luke, was so good with Cole. He helped feed and burp him. At one point after I woke up and Cole was crying, my little sensitive nephew got a little upset because it was a "sad story" as he told me. He was so sweet. He kept looking at him saying "Aww. Baby Cole is so cute." At one point we caught him giving Cole kisses. He is such a good big cousin!!

Last but not least. A few weeks ago I decided to get the seahorse I keep hearing about on thebump. It plays music and glows for 7 minutes (kinda like a glow worm). People swear that it helps their baby go to sleep and sleep through the night. I went out and found one, only problem is, is both stores I looked at only had pink. I didn't care!! If it helped him sleep it can be magenta for all I care. That same night I decided to start using a night light. I had been keeping a low light on so I could look in and see him. It was so hard for me to leave him that night, because I couldn't just look in and see him. He put himself to sleep the first night I used it and has done a great job since then. Still no sleeping through the night, but he sleeps for 3-4 hour stretches. I can handle that:) But one night I went in and found him like this:

Don't mind the cell phone quality. I for the life in me can't figure out how he ended up like this. I always put him in bed at the top left side and his sea horse up against the rail half way down. He is always squirmy at night, but how the heck did he move himself AND the seahorse to the middle of the bed???

Weight Check

I didn't do a weight update last week because... well there was nothing to update. But I am now down 37 pounds. Only 22 more to go to get to my pre pregnancy weight, and a whopping exactly 37 pounds to get to my goal weight!! I can do this, right??

A new week...

So last week I dealt with tummy problems and vomit. I thought this week would be a breeze. On Monday and Tuesday I believe we were going through the lovely 6 week growth spurt. He ate almost every 1.5 - 2 hrs. and slept all day!! Then yesterday evening we noticed he was really fussy. He has had somewhat of a stuffy nose for about a week, but he seemed really nasely (is that a word) last night. And he kept sneezing. Like 10 sneezes in a row!!

I thought it would be hard to put him to bed because he was so fussy, but he went down fairly easily. I had gone out and got a humidifier and used it for the first time last night. I thought this would do the trick. About 45 minutes after we put him down he starts screaming. Screaming like he was being attacked. Jared and I ran out of bed and into his room. He was inconsolable. It broke my heart. I told Jared to go back to bed so he wouldn't be a zombie at work and I took him downstairs to rock. I realized it had been 2 hrs since he ate so I quickly fixed him a bottle. This calmed him down, but he sounded so stuffed up:( He was snoring and everything.

I took him back to bed and cranked the humidifier. He did well the rest of the night with his normal feedings every 3 hrs. This morning he woke up still stuffy. I brought him to bed where he slept on me for about 2 hours (I LOVE when he snuggles with me in the morning). Then screaming began again. I fed him and he slept...and snored.

I think he has allergies. Tree pollen here has been the worst it has been in like 20 years (this is what the news claims). I took his temp rectally. I don't know who this scared more, me or him. He did fine, my hand shook the whole time. 99.3... normal. So I called the Dr. They seriously probably think I am crazy. I am to give him saline drops, suck his boogies out, vaporize his room 24/7, and elevate his mattress at at 30 degree angle. Hopefully this is the worse he gets.

So I see lots of snuggling and fussing in my future for today. As of right now I have him propped in his swing. He is out for the count... wait a minute. The second I typed that he started fussing. So the fun begins. Suggestions would be great:)

Hair cut!! Whoop whoop!!

I chopped my hair. For those who know me, shouldn't be surprised. I am ALWAYS changing my hair. When I got pregnant I let my natural color come out and I grew it out. Well, growing it out for me. The problem is, is my hair is naturally curly so when it got long it was impossible to straighten and look good. Most of the time it was pulled back in a pony tail. I felt like such a slob, but I knew with a newborn that would be easiest. Last week I decided I wanted my hair short again. I love my hair short and have pretty much always had it short. It was the longest it has been in probably over 15 years!! I love it and am so glad I cut it, it makes me feel so much better about myself. If I can't be skinny again, then I might as well have my hair back. As my niece said, "Kiki, you are starting to look like your old self!!"

Easter weekend...this is how curly is it.

Easter weekend again, this is how I normally wore it.

The hair cut (I notice I have a baby attached to my arm in every pic of me...)

What do ya think??

What a week (TMI - Vomit )

Seriously, I think I might have the cutest kid ever. I always catch myself staring at him thinking "Wow... we helped make this little guy!!" I still can't believe I have a baby, he is my son! He really is awesome, I must say.

Last week was a pretty rough week. Cole has always, let's say enjoyed eating... A LOT!! He has been taking 4oz every 2 hours during the day and 4oz every 3-4 hrs at night. He sucks the bottle dry. So I called the pedi (which they probably have my file already pulled for as much as I call in) to ask if I am starving my kid. You would think I was by the way he cries when it is time to eat and sucks his bottle dry once I give it to him.

So, they told me to up his bottle to 5oz. The first day I did it I was sitting there half asleep feeding him at night. I sat him up to burp him and a fountain of formula pours out of his mouth. It was like something from the exorcist. It went all over him, me, the night stand and somehow splattered onto the wall. So, puke soaked I go wake Jared up to help me so I could clean myself and Cole up. Weird thing is, is he didn't make a sound. Didn't cry, nothing!!! He was still so hungry after I got him cleaned up. I fed him the rest of the bottle and carefully put him into bed. I barely slept worrying he would do it again.

The next day we he was fine and I continued giving him 5oz but he never took the full amount. I put him to bed and went in for a midnight feeding. Again I set him up and shabaam!! More projectile vomit. I thought I was slick and caught it in his burp clothe till I stood up and realized he got more on me than anywhere else. Oh the joy of motherhood.

So here I am, first time mommy freaking out. Monday went by and he was fine, then Tuesday came. Poor baby!! If he wasn't eating or sleeping he was crying. It made me have a better respect for those with colicky babies!!! Nothing helped:( So that night in desperation I went to babies r us (by myself while daddy held down the fort) in search of new bottles to help with gas bubbles and the vomit. I also picked up gripe water, which I have heard so many good things about. The bottles were awesome (props to Dr.Brown bottles) but I only bought 3 since they were flippin $17 for 3. So those are his night time bottles.

All was well until Thursday when I was feeding him in the morning and once again his formula decided it wanted to show back up... all over daddy's favorite chair. Oops:/ So I called the pedi AGAIN:) That's what they are there for, right?? Basically they figured he is a little piggy. He is eating too fast and getting too much air and bubbles in. I swear I don't starve my kid!

So we started him on gas drops, which I found out that if you give them too much it loosens things up a bit much. They do seem to work, though. So last week was a week of learning. He was still all smiles at the end and we both survived. Friday we went with my friend and her kids to the park. His first visit to the park:) Here are some more pictures. I can't seem to get enough pictures of his cuteness.

Bath time

His baby legs

First trip to the park
How can I ever say no to this face??

1 month.. already!!

My baby turned a month last Thursday!! I can't believe he is a month already. I love him so much and never realized how much you could love a little person:) He has changed us in so many ways. Good, of course!! I went and got his pics taken but only bought 2 ... I was so proud of my self control! He did so good. I can't believe he smiled for his 1 month pics, but what can I say? I have a happy baby boy! I've also seen this survey I've been meaning to do, but just now getting around to it.

• How far along were you when you had your baby? 40 weeks 6 days
• How long was labor? Almost 12 hours
  
• Total weight gain: Ready for it... around 55pds!! (can't believe I just admitted it)
  
• Total weight loss since: About 30 pds
  
• Back into your own clothes yet? I wish!!! I am still in my maternity clothes. I tried on my pre-preg "fat" jeans and I still have a while before they fit. *sigh*
  
• Did you get stretch marks? A few on my side. I actually got stretch marks on my belly AFTER I had Cole. What's up with that?
  
• Did you deliver vaginally or by c-section? Vaginally.
• Best moment this week: Oh his little smiles for sure!! They make me melt every time!
  
• What I miss about being pregnant: Feeling him moving inside me and being able to protect him from everything:)
  
• How big is baby: He has to be over 10pds. Last appt at 2 weeks he was 9pds 5oz.
• Baby's temperament? He really is a good baby!! This week he has been more fussy, but that is abnormal. He definitely lets us know when his diaper is dirty or he is hungry!!
  
• What I am looking forward to: Cole getting his own personality! I can't wait to see how he acts and reacts to everything!!

Now time for some of the cutest one month pics:

Let the weight loss begin

So... I kinda gained more than enough weight when I was pregnant. Anyone who knows me, knows I am not the healthiest eater. That's the under statement of the year:) I am a very picky eater, so I know what I like and that's all I eat. Well, while I was pregnant I had to eat every hour or two the entire pregnancy to keep from getting sick.

So now that Cole is here and is a month old... let the weight loss begin. I must say, I've already lost close to 30 pounds. With that said I have about 30 or more, more to go:/ That says a lot for what I gained. But hey, I have a healthy boy!!

I've NEVER had to go on a diet, or really work out so this is a whole new world to me. I can tell you right now, I can't eat healthy. So what is going to help me is eating in moderation. Yup... I plan on eating like I do, just in moderation. I will let you know how that goes. Since I am still not completely healed I can't work out yet. But when I can I plan on using my mom's treadmill and eliptical. She will get some quality time with her grandson and I will get some quality time working off what I'm eating and hopefully toning. So here is my very last pregnant pic and a pic of where I am...

Holy Cow!! This was taken the morning I went to get induced.

This is exactly 1 month postpartum (down 30)

People keep saying I look good for just having a baby a month ago, but I don't feel that way at all. So I am going to use my blog to vent about my weight loss and as a goal to losing my weight. So if you don't want to read about it, skip over my weight posts:) Here is what I looked like and strive to look like by mid summer. It's my lovely pre-pregnancy weight. Oh how I miss all MY clothes!!

Look...you can actually see my collar bone and cheek bones:)

This was taken September 08

This is the weight I want to eventually get to... wow we were both skinny here!

Phew!!

Life is totally flipped upside down side since having little Cole. I thought I would have all this free time when he slept. HAHA!! That's funny to think:) He really is such a good baby. When he sleeps, though, I either try to catch a quick nap or am cleaning something in the house. We finally started taking him out and I can drive again so that gives us more to do. I never realized how much you have to plan your outtings around his feeding. Seriously, it is crazy. I have to think, ok will he be hungry and screaming his head off in the middle of the store starving? If so, then I have to wait to go out until I've fed him. That's hard to do when I have an appointment, but luckily we've only had to worry about that once.

My little man has begun smiling!! I LOVE it. He is so stinking cute. He gave me some non-gas smiles as early as 3 weeks old! But now he smiles back at me. It's so sweet. He smiles most after he wakes up from a good nap. I took him to get his pictures taken the day he turned 1 month (yes I know... he is already one whole month old:( and we got some cute pictures of him smiling.

Since I am sure he will wake up from his nap any second, I better post some oh so cute pics of our little man! Enjoy....

I took these when he was 2 wks old

Easter

And finally one with him smirking:) I can't wait to get one of his big smiles on camera!!