FIVE Months!

Dear Colin,

You are 5 months old and time is flying by!  I can't believe that you have been apart of our family for only 5 months because it feels like forever.  You give us smiles from the moment you wake up to the second you fall asleep.  You are a social little thing and we just love you to pieces!  Your 5 month photos were taken towards the end of your 5th month because the weather just wouldn't cooperate with us.  But, we did them and you were super fun to photograph because you have really become interested in the stickers!  We didn't get a chance to do a photo in your onesie because (gasp!) it doesn't fit!!! 

SLEEP
I love you to pieces little man but you have become a terrible sleeper!  You still only will nap for about 45 minutes at a time and we are lucky if you will nap twice a day.  Often I try to find a reason to wrap you up on my back so that you will get your second sleep.  You won't even sleep more than 45 minutes to an hour in the car (I'm sure some of that has to do with your brother talking non-stop so that when you stir you are immediately stimulated!).  At night you go to sleep around 7pm and you sleep for about 1.5 hours and then you wake up every 30-45 minutes until you are in bed with me at which time you will then sleep for a few hours.  You are clearly a high needs baby when it comes to sleep.  You need to be very warm, be near a person, and have some pressure on you (arm or blanket).  As you are too little to sleep with anything in your bed this means you are with me at night still.  I have resorted to swaddling you a few times to help you sleep better but we can't go back to that being a regular thing because you are a little too big for the swaddle!  You are also very hard to get back to sleep when you wake up.  Often times I can be found standing over your crib with one hand on your chest and the other tucked next to your cheek until your breathing becomes deep and shallow again.  Other times nothing comforts you and you have to be nursed back to sleep.  You are a challenge little man but we love you!

FOOD
Still 100% from mommy.  You show an intense interest in food and so we will probably start letting you hold chunks of food and also offer you some puree this month.  Technically the recommendation is to hold off until at least 6 months so I will try but your as big as some 8 month old babies in both size and development so we'll see how long we can hold out!  You do have sips of water occasionally and you love that!

CLOTHES
You are growing like a weed!  You are solidly in 6 month clothing and can wear some 6-9 or 6-12 things easily.  I believe you are longer than Conor was at this age so jammies are a bit of a problem as your length and fat little feet make it hard to ensure your toes aren't pushing against the seams of footie jammies and that the elastics at the ankles aren't digging into you.  We have borrowed some jammies from friends as the weather is still quite cold for this time of year and we don't have any warm jammies in your current size.  You love to wear hats and I have them on your often.  The colors pink and navy really compliment your complexion while yellow and some greens tend to wash you out.  Socks are a waste of time because of your fat little feet so more often than not you wear your fleece booties from Zutano.  BEST booties ever made - its almost time to order you a cotton pair for summer!

PERSONALITY
Oh Boy Colin!  You are the happiest baby I have honestly ever met.  You never cry unless you are overtired or hungry (or you have had enough of Conor's play).  You smile from sun up to sun down and your smiles take over your entire body!  You love the sight of Daddy or Conor and light up the moment they come into the room.  You crave touch and laugh and giggle when Conor includes you in his play.  You do not like to be left in a room alone but will tolerate it for short periods of time.  You have started 'talking' and your favorite time to talk is when you are on FaceTime with family or at the dinner table.  You just want to be included in the conversations. 

DEVELOPMENTS
This month you have started sitting unassisted if propped into a sitting position.  You tend to lean forward but can be found sitting straight up at times to look around the room.  Sometimes this action results in your falling over or backwards but most of the time you are able to steady yourself and avoid tipping.  I would not say you are a great sitter and you are never left alone when sitting.  You also have gained some control over your hands and are using them to pick up things.  Your hands are clumsy but you work very hard at getting the items you are after into your mouth.  Speaking of your mouth - you have taken to chewing on your binky whenever you get a chance and you also chew on some of your toys.  Because of that we have kept your teething necklace on 100% of the time now.  It never leaves your neck except for bathtime (if I remember).

 

 

EXPERIENCES/FIRSTS

 

You participated in your first St. Patricks Day AND your first Mommy/Colin road trip!  We went to see Ana and Auntie Cate/Uncle Jarrod at their apartment.  You did so well on this trip considering we were gone for over 8 hours.  You also got to spend some quality time with friends and family which is always hard when your brother is around because he's talkative and mobile and your still a baby! 

 

This month you also developed croup.  This was a horrible experience and one that I certainly don't want to repeat.  We had to give you nebulizer treatments (a first in this house) to help your oxygen saturation and you hated them after a while.  It took a week or so but you came around and started to improve.  Croup is pretty awful (Conor had it too) but in a baby like you it was horrible!  We spent a lot of time outside that week despite the freezing cold temperatures because you both did much better in the cold air.

 

Grandma and Grandpa also came to visit and they brought Auntie Sarah.  We all went out to lunch.  You had a great time being part of the luncheon and you loved visiting with your family!

 

You also rode in the shopping cart at the grocery store for the first time this month but only for a few minutes because you slump forward too much still ;)

 

I can't wait to see what month #6 brings us - you are growing so fast and changing every day!  We love you!

 

xoxo

Mommy

 

PS.  5 month comparison photo (Conor on top; Colin below)

 

 



First Hat & Highchair

Dear Conor,

After your very first chiroprator appointment we met up with Grandma Janet to do some shopping in Freeport.  We had to find some clothes for our family pictures that were coming up.

While out shopping we saw the new LL Bean Boot truck and I just had to get a picture of it and I made your Grandma get in the picture!

After Grandma's picture we finished the shopping for adult clothes and decided to have a little fun looking at Conor clothes!  We stopped at the children's place outlet and had you try on a litlte straw fedora.  I texted Daddy a picture and he said to buy it but we didn't because it was scratchy and I didn't want it to itch you.

But, I did get your your first baseball cap!  I love this little hat on you and you love it too!  Grandma Janet bought you a matching onesie and so you are going to be the coolest kid on the block!

After shopping we were very hungry so we went to get something to eat.  Since the dinning area was on the top floor I decided that we would try you in a high chair.  You are still a little small for them without some type of padding but you enjoyed being at table level!

Having you in a high chair at the restaurant was a big step for both you and Mommy.  It made me realize that it was time to get you one for the house because you were ready to be part of meal time and not just an observer.  You are still my little baby but you are growing up and reaching BIG milestones!  To commemorate the occassion we asked the waitress for a cup for you - your first kids meal cup!

I promise that I will embrace all your BIG STEPS in life and I will support you every step of the way but little man - this first year is going by so very fast......I really wish I could hit pause once in a while.

xoxo
Mom

Adjustments

Dear Conor,

When you were born your Daddy and I promised that we would do everything that we could to make sure that you grew up to be a strong and healthy man.  So when Mommy noticed that the back of your head was looking flatter than what she considered 'normal' she began looking for ways to help fix it.

One thing that can be done is to get a helmet.  We talked to your doctor about this and she wanted to follow-up with you at your 6 month (really 7 month) appointment to see if we needed to go that route.  Mommy did some research and learned that there is a 2-3 month wait here in Maine to see a specialist and that by that time the helmet would do little good.  So, Mommy did some more research and learned that chiropractors can use adjustments and manipulations to massage the muscles of the scalp to relax them which allows your plates to shift back into a more circular (round) head shape.

Well, wouldn't you know - Neve's mom is a chiropractor and she has worked on many infants with flat heads so we went to see her for the first time on May 24, 2012.

checking your alignment and making little adjustments

You loved getting straightened!

At our first visit we learned that your jaw was very tense on one side (likely due to your tongue tie) and that your right hip was misaligned causing your leg to over rotate.  So, Miss Erika said she would continue to observe and make adjustments to those areas as well (while we love your crooked little smile I don't want you having jaw problems)! Your head was flat and you had little bulges behind each ear.

We have now seen Ms. Erika 4 times and your head is coming along nicely.  So nicely that you have graduated to biweekly visits.  Your leg/hip is also making improvements that we notice when you practice walking.  While you still occasionally step with your right foot over your left or you attempt to do two left steps before a right - when you do use your right foot it is most often going straight.

You have your next pediatric appointment in about a month so you will have had 2-3 more visits with Ms. Erika and it is my hope that we will have made enough progress that your Doctor will feel that a referral to the helmet doctor is not necessary!!!

xoxo
Mom

Riding in a Cart

Today was a BIG day for Conor!  Today was the first time that he ever rode in the front seat of a shopping cart at a store.

We used to go to BJs all the time when we first moved here but we stopped going when Josh changed his eating habits.  But, we wanted to go again to see if things had changed or if there were items there that we could use now that Conor is in the picture.  We are still undecided but it was the perfect place to let Conor try sitting in the cart as you need both hands to pick up the GIGANTIC boxes!

Handsome boy in the cart!

Wow - look at me!

Conor did really well in the cart and so his Dad bought him a book all about fruits as a reward for being such a trooper today (before BJs we had gone to two other stores so it had been a long afternoon for Conor!).

My little boy is growing up so fast!

On a side note - a women thought Conor was a girl.  He was in a different outfit than you see here (we had a little leakage before getting to NJs) which was much more boyish - it was brown and white checked with a surfboard and woody on it in yellow and aqua - not very feminine.  Oh well!

xoxo
Erin

Five Months!

Dear Conor,

I know I say this everytime but I can't believe that you are already 5 months old!  This last month has been full of changes for you.  You learned to roll over and you have gotten very good at it (though sometimes your trailing arm gets stuck under you and you get a little feisty). You finally let me film you rolling over on Mother's Day.

In your wise old age you have also started loving books.  You like to try to turn the pages on your own and you love being read to.  We have a few favorites which are Chicka Chicka ABC, Moo Baa La La La, Wheels on the Bus, The Very Hungy Catepillar, and One the Night you were Born!

As you can see from the above picture this past month you have started sitting up all by yourself!  You did this just like you have done everything.  You decided one day that you wanted to sit and sit you did and we haven't looked back since.  You prefer to sit over laying at any given moment and that has made it tough for your Daddy and I because we still have to watch you carefully since once in a while you still topple to the side or to the back.  So we still use your sitting chair when we have to leave the room.

Notice the hand in your mouth - you are teething something fierce little man and we have had to help you out with teething medications and your amber necklace in hopes of helping your little mouth feel better during this terrible time.

You also have had milestones that I couldn't quite catch on camera.  You love to grunt!  It seems to be a little boy thing because all your friend's moms say that their little boys went through this phase at your age as well.  You also have found your feet and you like to touch your toes and you watch them wiggle all the time.  You are also working on controlling your arms and legs.  You watch your legs and then you make them move up and down and your eyes grow wide...you are at such an amazing age right now....you are truly discovering the world around you starting with YOU!

What else have you been doing?  You have been laughing!  You love to laugh and while it takes a bit to get you going once you start laughing you love it!

Photographing you at 5 months was difficult because you certainly were not as content to sit there and not move as you have been in the past.  In fact, we took twice as many pictures this time around to get these few cute ones!

Its been a wonderful journey with you so far little man - see how much you've grown!

xoxo
Mom

Time is Ticking Away

Where has the month of May gone?  I feel as though it was May 1st just a few days ago and now Memorial Day is breathing down our backs!

I have been very busy with work as has Josh but we have managed to squeeze in some fun.  We have played in the yard, planted flowers and some vegetable plants and also had another playdate with Little Gordon.  We met L.G. and his family in Portsmouth and walked around the little town and then had lunch The Oar House.  They allowed Hunter to sit on their deck which was one of the reasons we ate there.

L.G. and Conor both sat in high chairs for the first time!

The Dads and their Dad-Gear and Hunter strolling ahead

Little Gordon and Conor talking

and talking.....

Conor not impressed that L.G. can put his foot on the chair

It was so very nice to see our good friends again!  Its always fun to see the changing relationship between the two boys - now they are able to interact with each other and reach for each other and even do a little conversing! 

Can't wait to see you guys again soon!!

xoxo
Erin

My First Mother's Day

While 2011 was technically my first Mother's Day as I was 2 months pregnant with Conor - it was a day of mixed emotions.  I was excited to share with our families that we were expecting but that excitement was curtailed by my Dad having an emergency and the uncertainty of whether he would get the opportunity to learn that he was going to become a grandparent.  Within a few hours of Dad's emergency things were settled down and we felt pretty confident that he was going to be ok and we were able to enjoy the Mother's Day weekend. 

Mother's Day Gifts for the Mothers......Announcing Conor :)

The Mommy & Daddy to be ....... 2 months pregnant

And now - one year later we are in a very different place.  Dad is doing very well and instead of announcing the arrival of our little one - we are celebrating Mother's Day with him!

The day started off with Conor and I getting up around 6:30am and sharing some snuggle time downstairs.  Then it was playtime before Daddy and Hunter came downstairs.  Once they woke up and came downstairs we shared in some family time before Conor and Daddy took me out to breakfast at Blast from the Past!

Conor fell asleep moments after we pulled out of the driveway and slept through the entire breakfast but my pancakes were still yummy! 

Someone slept through Mommy Day Breakfast at the Diner!

Our first Mother's Day Photo - 5 months old

After breakfast we went back to the house to pick up Hunter and we headed up to Freeport to do some walking and shopping (my gift was to pick out a new outfit).

Conor wanted to do the driving but we had to tell him he wasn't old enough.

But, he was happy to sit in the back and spend some extra time playing with Mom!

We spend 2 hours walking around the town.  I didn't purchase an outfit because I wasn't in the mood to actually shop but it was so nice just to spend the quality time with my family.  No phones, no computers, and no distractions - just me and my loves!

When we got home Daddy mowed the lawn while Conor and I started working on transitioning our gardens from spring tulips and daffodils to a blank slate for our veggies that will go in within the upcoming weeks.

Then it was time to rest......Conor was so tired he couldn't even wait for me to get his jammies on before he fell asleep on his playmate in the middle of the living room!

After a quick naptime it was time for dinner and then a little bit of playtime before bed.  Conor loves to play and play hard before bedtime - its almost as though he really needs to wear himself out in order to go to sleep (we start bedtime at 7:15pm with a diaper change and nursing and he's usually out by 7:30pm).  He was laughing and having such a good time tonight that we caught it on video.                  

Conor and Mommy playing on Mother's Day.

I truly can't believe how life can change so much in just one year.  Conor - thank you for making me a Mommy and for loving me unconditionally.  You have truly changed my life for the better and while you have only been here for five months I can't imagine my life without you.

Thank you Daddy for making my first Mother's Day a day I will never forget - I very much enjoyed getting to spend the day with just my guys and while breakfast out isn't always easy for you - I LOVED going out to breakfast!!!!

xoxo
Erin