Silly Boy

I have to say, I fall more in love with Cole every day. Every day when I put him to bed, as I walk down the stairs, all I can think is how much I love him!! I miss him when he's sleeping, but don't get me wrong... he needs to sleep:) His little personality is coming out more and more. He cracks me up! Last night I gave him his binki. He was playing with it, then looked at me and put half of it is his mouth, half out. Then without using his hands he popped it back in the right way and looked and me and got a big smile like, "did you see my trick mom?" He is just silly!!

He is sitting up so well on his own. He has had a few fall over and bumps his head, but he shakes it off. He is playing so much more in the last week with actual toys. He loves this little radio that plays nursery rhymes. He will giggle at certain ones, and when we tell him to dance he starts bopping up and down. He loves his music.

I must say, he is all boy!! I swear he is going to break all his toys before we have another kid. He learned to sit up in his bouncy seat (so he is no longer allowed in that:). But before this, he would lay back and prop his feet up on the arch and pop it off. How on earth did he learn to do this? I don't think he has a gentle bone in his body!

I took him to the pedi last week because he started waking up crying really hard for 3 nights in a row and was really pulling at his ear. Thankfully it was absolutely nothing (just him being a booger:) but he weighed 21pds 14oz!! YIKES!! My "little" 5 month old is not so little anymore.

Now that's a silly face only a mama could love:)

He's so stinkin silly!!

I took a bunch of pics today, but I have seriously jammed our computer full! I can't put anymore on right now!! Jared had to buy an external hard drive to store our pics. Guess I didn't realize how many pictures I'm taking!

Water Baby

Cole has always loved the water. He loves his baths. As soon as I put him on his towel and strip him down he gets this HUGE grin and starts squirming around. Ok, so maybe he like to be naked too:) So I bought him a little baby pool for him to cool off in. At first he wasn't so sure about it. I think the water was too cold, so I put it in in the morning and let the super hot weather warm it up. He thought he was one cool dude in his pool.

Look at those rolls!!

Could you not just squeeze all that cuteness!!??

He was just kicking away

I wish I would have been told......

So I have compiled a list of things I wish people would have told me before I had a baby from friends and girls on thebump. There is a lot of TMI in here so be prepared. Oh, and don't let this stuff freak you out. What happens to one person, doesn't always happen to the other. I put my comments in italics next to some of the comments.

The first list is of things I wish someone would have told me before labor:

-I wish someone had told me about the horrible hormone crash after my first child. I feel like that is totally skimmed over. I remember just sobbing starting on about day 3 and having no idea why.

-How rough recovery would be. I had a c-section and I felt I really couldn't enjoy my DS until after a week or two because I was in so much pain.

-I wish someone would have told me how uncomfortable the last few months are. I had a really easy pregnancy and delivery but I was so uncomfortable that I couldn't stand it those last few months.

-I wish someone would have told me that every time I poop now, that I'd get another hemrhoid! (Not true for everyone of course. I never got hemmies)

-How hard breastfeeding would be, and how much of a failure I would feel like if it didn't work for me.

-Dont be surprised of how hard the first night will be after staying in the hospital. Stay an extra day in the hospital! If they say you are covered for 3-4 nights, stay 4!

-Also if you're in pain after delivery, get into the doc! i didn't recover for 3 months because the doc office told me i was fine but my freaking tear was open and HURT!!!

-Kind of what PP said but i didn't have a c-section but no one thinks about the after results of having a baby. That first night it was hard for me to get out of bed and I kept having to bc of all the fluids they pumped into me.

-Also (TMI) going to the bathroom (#2) was very difficult for me for the first few times afterward. Also, i suggest if they tear or get cut, pick up some tucks pad. Helped so much! (I personally had no problem. I actually had the opposite problem because I had diarrhea from the stool softners, so it was actually quite easy:) But TAKE THE STOOL SOFTENERS)

-PUMP, PUMP, PUMP. Now that DS doesn't BF anymore, I wish I had pumped like a mad woman those first few months when I was engorged between feedings.

-It IS ok if breastfeeding doesn't work out for you. It is not for everyone! (I pumped for the first month and supplemented with formula. The formula now-a-days is so close to breast milk. Don't be discouraged!!)

-PPD (Postpartum Depression) is real and very difficult to deal with!

-Tucks pads are awesome. For swelling/pain, and for wiping your butt. Try using regular toilet paper when you have hemorrhoids...not happening. Peri bottles are wonderful too. (I loved the peri bottles!!)

- You will have hormone swings. Which means lots of crying for no reason.

-I never sweated so much in my life. We had to change the bed sheets daily because I would wake up literally in a pool of sweat.

-Let the nurses do everything in the hospital. You need to recover too.

-PP periods. I only breastfeed but when on the mini pill at 6 weeks postpartum, and started my period at 7 weeks.

-That you can tear internally, and your doctor can have both her hands up your vagina at once sewing you back together.

-The blood the first time you get up. My god, the amount of blood.

-I wish someone would have told me how normal it is to feel alone in the beginning. I felt that despite having DH around, I still had to do everything and like no one else understood what I was going through.

-Take home extra pads and disposable undies and the peri bottle from the hospital. The pads are so much better than store bought ones and the undies can just get thrown away.

-The swelling that comes after a vaginal delivery down there. I told my husband I knew what it was like to have balls haha. To help with the swelling: take a hospital pad and cut the top, pull slightly apart and fill with ice. Amazing!

-Witch hazel pads are a-maz-ing!! Put them in the fridge so they are cold. Best.feeling.ever! (SOOOOO true!!)

-It takes quite a few days sometimes for you milk to come up but don't give up.

-Set tiny weekly goals of breastfeeding if necessary. that's what I did and I've almost made it 4 months now (pumping only, but at least he's getting my milk).



Here are some "I wish I would have been told these things before I brought my baby home!"

-I thought that when the cord stump fell off there would be a perfect little bellybutton, instead DS's was scabbed over and would slightly bleed every couple days for like over a week.

-Sometimes babies cry for no reason. I didn't know this, and my ped. told me that they need a way to destress, and this is it

-Sometimes babies are just done being held/around others. My daughter lets us know when she needs her alone time. As soon as we put her in her swing and leave the room, she's happy, but if she sees us, she screams. Takes after her momma like that. :-)

-To take people up on their offers to help! Whether it be before or after baby. I had many many friends and family offer to come stay with my daughter so I could catch a couple hours of sleep.

-Also, it's ok to let the house work go a little, but for me, doing to dishes or vacuuming was a nice break from the eat/sleep/cry/change diapers routine. =]

-Swaddle your baby!! It helps with their reflexes during the night so they don't wake themselves up!

-Don't rock your baby to sleep every night!! Put them down drowsy no matter how sweet and precious they look. Teaching them how to self soothe will keep you from lots of looooong nights in the future.

-Don't listen to all the advise people give you! Every baby is different so what worked for them, just might not work for you.

-Trust your mama instincts. They are almost always right.

-It's normal at first to worry about things happening to your baby!!

-It is ok to ask anyone and everyone to wash/sanitize their hands before holding the baby. If they get sick, YOU are the one who has to help them and deal with them:(

-If they have baby acne, wash their face with a warm wash cloth twice a day. It will clear up within a week. (This is so true!!!)

-Don't hesitate to call the Dr. That is what they are there for. I seriously called the nurses line once a week for the first two months. They were always nice, and in the end it gave me a peace of mind! They are used to new mom's!!


I'm sure I've missed some things, so if there is something I missed add it to my list:)

5 months old

My baby is 5 months old!! He is becoming such a little boy:) He seriously cracks me up doing something silly every day. I love watching him explore and learn new things. It's amazing watching a baby see everything for the first time.

At 5 months bubba can:
Roll from his tummy to back (he doesn't always like to, though)
Roll from his back to tummy
We started him on solids and he now loves carrots and bananas
He reaches for things
He reached for me
He is very intrigued by our "big people" food:)
He loves to stand on us
Loves jumping in his jumperoo and door way jumper
Loves eating his feet:)
Is wearing 6-9month clothes and 9-12 in some outfits (not many, though)
Starting to sleep good:)
Sitting on his own for about 15 seconds, with a boppy behind him for almost a minute


He is growing sooooo fast. It makes me sad that my little baby is becoming so independent, but happy he is becoming such a big boy:)

Sleep training...

So since Cole has been sleeping horribly, we decided something had to be done. Since he was a few days away from 5 months and it was the weekend, we decided to start Friday night. We decided to go with the ferber method. Basically, you put them to bed drowsy (which we never do) and let them cry. The first night you check on them 3, 5, 7, and 10 minutes, then if they wake up throughout the night you wait and check on them. It was the hardest thing ever!! He went down fine without a peep at 8pm. At 10, he woke up screaming. He never does this, so I went in and picked him up to make sure he was ok then put him back down awake. He cried for about 25 minutes. I cried even harder. I hated listening to my baby cry and not be able to console him. He woke up again 11 and cried for another 30 minutes. Again, I cried harder:( But once he fell asleep, he slept up almost 8am... in his crib!!! He usually always wakes up and we have to put him in the swing around 5 or 6am.

So Saturday, he cried for an hour. 60 minutes... oh my goodness. Talk about anxiety. I finally had to go outside where I couldn't hear him. It was horrible. I had Jared run the timing and tell me when I could go soothe him. As soon as he said I could go, I sprinted into his room and wiped his little tears away. This has to be the hardest thing I have done since having him. But again, once he fell asleep, he woke up a few times throughout the night. I went in at 3am, changed his diaper and reswaddled him (this was the only time I got him up) and put him back in his crib. I expected more screaming because he was wide awake, but he put himself back to sleep without a peep and slept until 7:30am ... in his crib again:) YAY!

Sunday night, he cried for 20 minutes and was up about 5 times during the night. I made the mistake of going in as soon as I heard him cry and put the binki back in his mouth. We ended up putting him in his swing around 6am, but he slept until 8:30am!!

Then Monday night, he cried for 5 minutes and we only heard a few noises throughout the night, but I never went in. He slept in his crib until 6am, then I put him in his swing where he slept until 8am. Last night, he never cried when I put him down (but he was already half asleep from his bottle). I didn't hear a peep from him until 5am!!! WOW!! I let his fuss/talk for 10 minutes, went in and reswaddled and changed him, then put him back in his crib. He was wide awake, but I never heard anything from him! He was up about an hour later, I let him fuss for 10 min, went in and "shh" him, and he slept in his crib until 7:15.

I hate to jinx myself, but I think we are seeing progress. I always said I would never let him cry it out, but nothing else worked. We haven't been following the ferber method to a "t" but we are working on it. Now naps are a different story, we are trying to put him in the crib, but he doesn't last long. Once I read more about naps, I will start implementing a plan. But for now, we are happy with the results we have. If you read this whole thing... good for you:) I wanted to write it all out, so I could remember how it went for future reference;) So *cheers* to good sleep!

Go baby Cole!! Keep it up!!

Yum!!

So Cole has been refusing his bottle lately. He usually takes about 40 some oz a day and has gone to about 24 oz. I called the pedi and they said it could be teething, but he is still young. I think it is teething this time. Poor baby is miserable. Just as his sleep was getting better... he now is up a lot and refusing to take a bottle at night. He would only sleep in bed with me last night (which I am not a fan of, but you got to do what you got to do). He has a low grade fever, drooling like crazy, EVERYTHING is in his mouth, and he keeps pulling his ear. So it's either and ear infection or teething. I'm giving it until tomorrow until I call the pedi.

Back to what I was saying:) They gave me the go ahead to start more solids since he will be 5 months on Sunday. That way he gets a little more on his tummy. So we started with carrots. My chump a lump loved them!! I thought it would take a while for him to get used to them. He gave quite a few good shivers, but could have cared less what he was eating!

Yummy carrots

First bite


Whoa!! Not what he was expecting:)


I decided Jared should get a good smell of the carrots


So he got my leg back... Fun times:)
*and yes, I truly am that pale:)*


And after all was said and done, he was a happy boy!

Wordless Wednesday