Merry Christmas!

Colin's first Christmas!  It was all about family this year, not opening gifts.  We flew down to Phoenix for the first "everyone there" McAlpine Christmas in a long time. It was the first time any of my siblings would meet Colin.  We had planned to drive, but the week  before with all of us being sick, we figured that flying was a better choice.  My parents were awesome and bought us tickets to visit, which was a huge deal for us because we really couldn't afford to buy the tickets ourselves.  Unfortunately, that meant that Squiggle wouldn't be able to spend the holiday with us.  :(  Both Matt & I were sad about that, but Squiggle got to go to Grandma & Grandpa's, which he loves.  Squiggle got a little vacation from us and the baby, so it was a small consolation for us knowing he was with his grandparents.

If you haven't been to Phoenix in the winter, it is so terrible...in the 60s during the day and 40s at night.  Oh so miserable.  No white Christmas there.  My parents live on a golf course, so there is lots of space out back.  Wildlife wanders around quite often and we even got to see a couple of coyotes.  They weren't too far away, but not so close that I went running into the house.  In fact, it was pretty cool to see.  That isn't something I would see at home.

Colin started Christmas morning with breakfast and then spending some time with Nana & Papa.  He loves just hanging out with them and laughing.  Mommy & Daddy got the gift of a little more sleep.  Woo-hoo!  We finally rolled out of bed around 9:00am.  I don't think I have been in bed that late in years.

Not only did Colin get his 2 front teeth for Christmas, but he also finally started to feel better. After being sick the week before and not eating much, he chose Christmas to start eating and making up for his weight loss.  He ate over 40 ounces for the day!  His usual is about 32 oz, so he is definitely on the mend.  Needless to say, this makes Mommy & Daddy both happy, but tired from the 2am feedings.

On Christmas night,  we all headed out to the hot tub including Colin.  He got to wear his swimsuit for the first time.  Since the water was over 100 degrees, he didn't get to hang out in the water too much, but he did get to sit on Mommy or Daddy's lap and got into the water for little bits at a time. We all had a lot of fun and just bonded as a family.

So, Colin got to spend plenty of time with his aunts and uncles. He was rarely on his own and usually someone was holding him or playing with him on the floor.  I'm so glad that he finally got the chance to meet them and vice versa.  He is a very special little boy and he has a great family to which he is a part.

Everyone has to have a nutty Uncle Bob--I have 2.  Colin is lucky to have just one.  Although, any more would be overload.  He has one nutty Uncle Bob.  I would add a picture, but he doesn't want any pictures of him published anywhere for fear that someone might find it (a little narcissistic paranoid going on).  I'm not sure who would be looking for him or a picture of him, but nonetheless, he doesn't want pictures of him anywhere.  I don't intend to let Colin spend any time alone with the him, so I won't worry about the insanity rubbing off on him.

Overall it was a fun trip and Colin did great!  He is an awesome traveler and hasn't had any problems flying so far.  I am so happy to have a tame baby (at least during the day!).

Secret Santa!

I did a Secret Santa gift exchange with my June 2011 Mommy group.  So much fun.  I made a few things for mine (and had a blast doing it).  Colin had so much fun opening his gifts!  I loved watching him, too.  I knew he wouldn't be opening  any gifts for Christmas, so I was excited that he actually got some gifts from Santa!  Thanks, Santa Tara!

yum...wrapping paper!

Wait, there is more than just the paper?

Look, Mommy...I can chew on this!

More paper!

Open it, Mommy!

Hmm, what do I play with first?

6 Months!

Colin had to hold off for his 6-month checkup for a week because of his respiratory infection, so we headed in when he was 6 months and 1.5 weeks.  Even with his illness and weight loss (about a 1/2 pound), he still is in the 80th+ percentile for weight and 90+ percentile for height.  He is a big boy!  He was way down on his weight shortly after birth, so I expect he will pick it up quickly again.

He did really well with his shots and only cried with the 2nd and 3rd.  As soon as I picked him up, he was calmed down and stopped crying.  As usual, he went crazy on the paper on the doctor's table.  He had fun tearing it apart and even spitting up on it.

Reason for Visit  Visit Type    6 month well child check  Office Visit

Vitals    Height  2' 4"(0.711 m)    Weight  19 lb 5.4 oz(8.771 kg)    Head Circumference  44cm

Diagnosis    ROUTINE MEDICAL EXAM <18 YRS

Immunization History as of 12/20/2011 Never Reviewed

DTAP/HIB/IPV 10/11/2011, 8/11/2011   Hep B <20 Yrs 8/11/2011, 6/10/2011   PNEUMOCOCCAL PREVNAR13 (PCV13) 10/11/2011, 8/11/2011   Rotavirus 10/11/2011, 8/11/2011

 

All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth

On top of being sick, Colin has been teething for 2 months.  I figured he would just be teething until his first birthday and then all of a sudden he would have a full set of teeth.  I might be exhausted and completely sleep deprived, but he would finally have teeth after a year.  It appears that Colin is getting his first Christmas gift a bit early--his two bottom teeth started cutting through!  Thank goodness!  My poor baby is in a bit less pain now.  I'm sure they are still bothering him, but not nearly as much as before.  This mommy is so happy to know that he feels better.

6 Month Photos!

Colin went in on Thursday to get his 6 month photos done.  Unfortunately, the system was down, so I couldn't look at the pictures until later.  We had already scheduled for the birthday buddies to go in together on Saturday, so we went again.  Saturday was hellish since it is so close to Christmas, but we withstood the 1.5 hour wait.  The boys also did great and all the pictures turned out amazing!  Unfortunately, shortly after this Colin started to show more symptoms of his respiratory infection.

Sick, Sick, Sick

Really, another cold?  Two months in daycare and a couple of colds for Mommy, 2 for baby plus a virus.  Now Daddy is sick.  I seemed to have been the one who got the brunt of it.  I was out sick on Monday, tried to go to work on Wednesday and had to go home, and went home sick again on Friday.  All I have wanted to do is sleep.  Plus, I got a migraine on Thursday to top it all off. 

On Saturday, Colin just didn't seem to be doing well, so I called the dr and got an after-hours (weekend) appointment at the clinic.  He was wheezing a bit and his breathing was rapid.  So, in we went around 3:30pm. 

The doctor tried to take a listen to his lungs, but there was too much junk clogging his nose, so the nurse had to come in and suction his snot.  The kid HATES that more than just about anything.  It took Matt & I to hold him still while the nurse suctioned his nose.  Lots of crap came out, so it was good.  I have been having a heck of a time doing it at home since he cries and thrashes so much.

The doctor heard some wheezing, so he had a breathing treatment done and gave up a prescription for albuterol to do 2-3x/day.  My poor baby boy.  He actually did really well with the breather and didn't cry much.  He was exhausted, so I think he just had given up a bit and decided to go with it.

For the night he went to bed in his room in his swing.  Matt and I went to bed at 8:30pm (holy crap! that is early) and around 11:30pm woke up to Little Man's crying.  I went and got him to find he was really HOT.  I took his temp and it was 103.6, so he got a dose of Tylenol followed by a breathing treatment.  He slept the rest of the night in our bed.  It was the bed of sickies.  Me blowing my nose, Matt coughing, and a baby with a fever.  Aren't we awesome?

Babies Should Be Born With A Mouth Full of Teeth

Seriously, this teething thing is miserable.  I feel so bad for my poor baby.  I can tell he is in pain, but there is nothing I can do for him.  He hates his pacifier now I'm sure because it hurts his gums.  In turn, he won't go to sleep because he doesn't have his pacifier to calm him down.  It just stinks.  I was at my wits end yesterday trying to get him to take a nap.  He would scream every time I held him to cuddle him to sleep.  Plus, if I even got near his mouth with the pacifier, he cried harder and tried to clamp his mouth shut--at the same time.  I finally gave up and said I needed to take a shower, so in his bouncer he went while I took a shower.  He seemed content enough and didn't make much noise while I was in the shower.  When I opened the curtain when I was done, I figured out why...the little one was all tuckered out and fast asleep.

I thought the nap would last a while, but alas, it was only 15 minutes.  He woke up smiling, so I was happy.  That was pretty much how the day went...he refused to nap, so I found ways to make him sleep (yay for car ride!) and he woke up with a smile.  We did get to play for a bit and he laughed and laughed. 

Here is a good tip...don't call Daddy to let him hear baby laugh and leave a voicemail without saying something first.  Matt thought I was crying or dying or something because I didn't say anything and just was making baby laugh.  Well, on speakerphone at a foot away, it didn't sound as much like laughing as in person.  Matt was about to hang up on the voicemail and call when I finally said something and then he focused on hearing the laugh and not trying to figure out if we were both alive.  Lesson learned.

The Red Wings were in town playing the Sharks and we, of course, had tickets.  Colin has already attended 2 games and done great, so we hoped the same would happen last night.  No such luck.  He was fine and happy until he started to get sleepy.  No pacifier, no sleep.  I finally had to go out to the concourse and walk him around.  He passed out fairly quickly, so I thought it would be safe to return to my seat.  It was fine until the dumba*& behind us decided to start taunting the Red Wings' goalie.  So, Jerkface, he can't hear you, but my baby can!  All you did was wake my baby and make him start crying again.  Thankyouverymuch.  You can suck it!  We ended up leaving after the 2nd period.  I know, I took a baby to a hockey game and should expect loud noise.  Hey, he had noise-canceling headphones that do great, but when the guy behind us keeps screaming, they don't work forever.  Headphones only block out so much noise.  Oh, well...the Red Wings lost miserably, so it was better we left early anyway.

So, Little Man is miserable.  His teeth are right under the skin, but not popping out just yet.  I am sure it is torture for him because it sure is for me.  Please, please, please, teeth, just break through the skin!

5 Months today!

Hey...I'm 5 Months!

The last 5 months have gone by so quickly.  I just can't believe that we are already into the holiday season.  Last year I was just hoping and praying that this year we would have our baby home and healthy.  Now, here we are...Colin is a happy, healthy, and perfect little boy!  My days off this week have been awesome!  He has been so happy.  He is definitely feeling better and even though he hates the amoxicillan, he takes it and responds well to it.  I am so happy to have him smiling and not crying all the time.

Buppppp.......

 

For fun today, I decided to plop him in a box I got from woot.  He seemed to really like just chillin in the box, so I let him sit there for a while.  If I could just make it a little softer, I think it would probably be the perfect spot for him. :)

Hey Gorilla, how's it going?

Mom, I'm in my box right now

You put what in your washer?

I cloth diaper.  Yes, that means he poops into cloth that needs to be cleaned.  How do I clean it?  I put it in the washer.  No, I do not rinse it first.  Yes, it comes out clean.  No, my washer is not poopy.  Formula (or breastmilk) poo is completely water soluble.  That means it rinses off completely and just runs out in the water. 

Here is my wash routine:

1. Cold wash/rinse no detergent
2. Hot wash/cold rinse w/ Tiny Bubbles Detergent & Calgon Water softener
3. 2 extra cold rinses

Seriously, they come out clean.  My co-worker is completely disgusted by this.  Why?  I asked what he did when his kids had pooplosions and baby poo got on their clothes (he has 4 boys).  He claims he threw them out.  Then he revised it and said they rinsed them out first.  Whatever...it all goes down the drain.  It isn't disgusting.  Plus, I use bleach in my washer every so often, so I am sure it is all gone.

I hate disposables.  I give them to daycare to use and use them when we go on trips, but otherwise they are not allowed in my house.  I hate their smell, I hate the amount of trash they make, and I hate that they leak so much more often. 

So, I am a cloth diapering mama.  My baby has a big fluffy butt.  I buy cloth diapers, I make cloth diapers.  He looks adorable in his diaper.  I don't mind the laundry even when it does get a little overwhelming.  It is truly one of the best parenting decisions that I think I have made.

On the upside, my co-worker did say that Colin is a really cute baby--Gerber Baby cute.  Yeah, I know.  He is the CUTEST BABY EVER!  Sorry to all the other moms out there, but I know mine is the cutest, you will just have to accept 2nd cutest. :)

Five Month Pictures

5 Months!

Colin's 5 Month pictures overlapped with getting our family Christmas pictures.  I wanted to do them in December, but I need to get Christmas cards done sooner, so I moved them up to November. 

I'm amazed to see how much he really is getting bigger each month.  I see him everyday, so I don't notice it until we put it into perspective.  He sits up more now and the "Squiggle stand-in" looks so much smaller now.  We actually had a difficult time getting him in the right position because he is so much taller and doesn't fit as well into the pillows they have set up.  He can almost sit up on his own, but not quite yet.  I think as soon as he can sit up on his own it will be a little easier.  He does have pretty much the same smile from month to month, though.  He loves to have his mouth open and rarely just gives a little smile.  It really is truly adorable--not that I am biased or anything.

Happy Thanksgiving card

To continue on with our holiday cards for all the fall/winter holidays, I put Colin in a Turkey costume for some Thanksgiving cards.  Both Matt & I busted up laughing as we got him dressed, but he looked so darn cute that it was worth it!  Someday he might not be happy with me for dressing him up as a turkey, but for now he doesn't know the difference and just looks adorable.  Seriously, I think I must be a little bit of an overzealous, crazy mommy, but honestly, I don't care.  Colin may be our only child and I want to do all kinds of fun things with him.  So, he is my little Turkey this month!

Our Family

Christmas!

He really is starting to grow up more.  He laughed at the photographer during the photo shoot, which is a first for him.  He always smiles, but the laughs are new.  The same photographer has done it since 3 months, so he is getting to know Colin.  He commented on how much he is growing and changing.  I think the photographer (Roy) might actually like seeing us every month and not just for the $$. :)  Okay, I might be wrong about that, but we do have fun and he is a nice guy.  I just hope that he is there for next month's photos because he always does such a nice job!  In December I am going to get Colin in all his Christmas gear and do them of him alone.  I am excited for those because I know that he is going to look adorable!  We have some fun ideas for him.

Sharks on the Power Play!

Our first regular season hockey game was on Saturday vs. the Nashville Predators.  After a long week with a sick baby, I wasn't much in the mood, but I hate to miss a good hockey game.  So, we checked baby's temperature before we got ready to leave and all seemed well.  Off we went...

Sharkie Attack!

As we walked into the Pavilion, we saw Sharkie right away.  Cool!  Time for Colin to get his first picture with a shark!  We had to chase him down a little, but we got one.  Sharkie "walked away" with Colin after the picture, which made Matt's heart stop a bit, but he was just joking around for a second.  Colin was returned to Daddy and all was well.  He survived his first shark attack. 

Hockey is Tiring

I was concerned about how he would do during the game since he hadn't been well, but he seemed to do just fine.  He hadn't eaten dinner before we left, so he munched down a few ounces and then watched a bit of the game.  Pretty soon he got sleepy and went down for a nap with Daddy.  He was snuggled up pretty well for a while.  Then Daddy needed a break, so he moved over to Mommy's lap.  I guess I am not as comfy because the napping didn't last as long.  Plus, the guy next to me is pretty loud and even with his headphones on, Colin was jolted by his yelling. 

Colin needed plenty of cuddles and rocking throughout the game to stay asleep, but he did get quite a bit of nap time in.  The loud cheering from all the goals really didn't go over well with him, though.  The Sharks had 3 goals and each one of them caused him to throw his arms out and jolt his head back.  He liked looking around at all our seat neighbors, but I have a feeling sleep would have been more satisfying.

All went well, though, except for the final score.  The Sharks lost in overtime, which was quite a disappointment.  They didn't play too well, so it wasn't a surprise, but it would have been nice to see a win.  I'm hoping our next game is also a Sharks loss--they are playing the Red Wings!  Colin and I (and maybe Matt) will be decked out in our RW jerseys, so we will be cheering for the boys in Red!

Holy Sleep Deprevation, Batman!

This past week has probably been the most trying we have had since the first week Colin came home from the hospital.  Last Tuesday Matt took his temperature and it was 101.5.  We took him to the doctor and Dr. V said he had a little redness in his ear that was possibly an ear infection.  He gave us a prescription for antibiotics, but didn't say it was mandatory, but that he recommended it.  Matt and I both agreed not to give him the antibiotics unless he didn't get better in a couple of days.

We didn't want him far away at night, so Little Man got to sleep in bed with us.  Neither Matt nor I slept great, but we did better than if Little Man were in his crib in the other room.  Little Man really likes cuddles at night, so he sleeps pretty well when snuggled between Mommy & Daddy.


He couldn't go to daycare on Wednesday, so I ended up home with him Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  I was ready to go back to work on Friday.  A sick baby and a tired mommy are not a good mix.  I needed the break of work.  I felt a bit like a bad mommy, but I was in need of a little baby-free time!  I also was in desperate need of a little sleep, but I would take what I could get.

After feeling really down about my mothering skills on Thursday, I decided I wanted a little fun time with Colin.  We both loves baths, so I got the tub ready and relaxed or a few minutes alone.  Then Matt brought baby boy in and we shared some bubbles.  Colin christened the tub before even getting in by peeing right into the tub in front of Mommy.  No matter, we were going to have fun anyway.

Colin got some hair on his head in the form of bubbles and looked adorable!  He has gotten into splashing, so he went crazy banging on the water.  I'm not sure if it is the water splashing or that he can't get to his feet that interests him, but he loves to do it!

It made me feel a lot better and we bonded as Mommy & son.  It is one of my favorite things to do with him because he always has so much fun.

I have the sweetest baby boy that makes me so happy!  By Friday morning I was feeling a lot better about my skills as a mother.

 Friday night Little Man seemed to be doing fine, but then after he had been in bed for a couple of hours he woke up fussing.  I usually let him go until he really starts crying, but I kept worrying.  Matt finally told me just to go check on him instead of worrying so much.  I went in and picked him up and he cried even more.  So, I changed his diaper and decided to check his temperature at the same time.  It kept going up and up until it was over 103.  A high fever.  So, I had Matt get the Tylenol and I got the antibiotics to get him started on them right away.  I am so grateful that I checked on him and we were able to get his fever down fairly quickly.  He got to share the bed with Mommy & Daddy another night and Mommy & Daddy didn't sleep all that well again.

So, it was a tiresome week.  Little Man didn't feel well, which led Mommy & Daddy to feeling pretty darn cranky & tired.  Now that he is on antibiotics, I hope he gets better quickly and the restful nights come again soon for all of us.