Colin Bennett: 7 weeks

Seriously... where have seven weeks gone to? I only have five more weeks with the little guy and I am starting to freak out a little! I am excited to go back to work and get into a good family routine, but I am so sad about leaving my sweet little man for 8 hours a day. :( I am going to soak up EVERY. SINGLE. OUNCE of sweet baby I can for the next several weeks (not that I haven't been doing that already!)

Weight:  No official weight check until his 2 month appointment on the 30th. I am placing bets that our little chubber is close to ten pounds now.

 

Health: Colin is doing GREAT! Mommy ended up with a virus over the weekend (fever and all) and baby has escaped unharmed! I was really worried as a seven week old with a fever is not good, but he is fine! Breastfeeding really does give them the strongest immune system!!!
He still gets gassy every once in a while and really doesn't like that, but the gas drops work to clear that right up in about 10 minutes.

Social: This week was a very busy week on Colin's social calendar. On Friday, we took our first trip to Gram and Granddad's house.

Mommy and Daddy got to go on their first post baby date night while Colin spent time with his biggest fans...

 

Saturday, Colin got to meet his Great Grand mom (my Mom Mom). She adored him!




Saturday night Granddad, Colin, Mommy and Daddy headed north for a family party with all of Granddad and Mommy's cousins. Gram headed south for another family party with all of my Aunts and Uncles.
We really wish we could have been two places at once.
It was hard to pick which party to go to as everyone was dying to meet the little guy. We chose based on volume (ha!)... the party with the most family got the visit and that was Granddad's side.

Colin with Cousin's Barbie and Bethy

Sunday, Colin's Godmommy (Julie) came over to visit with her parents (my "second parents"). Julie made a kick ass breakfast for everyone- seriously- girlfriend is amazing. She is absolutely the best  friend and Godmommy in the world.  I'd be pretty damn lost in the world without my Julie.
She just gets me. I really value our friendship and was so happy to see her two weeks in a row!
 I wasn't feeling well at all so I wasn't as social as I'd like to have been but they got to spend lots of QT with the cutie.

Aunt Julie giving Colin a bottle

Since I was sick, we decided it was best for Colin and I to stay the week at my parents while Hubs headed back to work. Since we are back at "home", we've been getting plenty of visits from friends, family and neighbors while here as well. Everyone loves the little man!

Gram and Great Aunt Chris visiting with Colin

Sleep: Still doing great in the sleep department. Post fussy time (about 9pm), Colin goes to sleep and will sleep until 3-4. Not too bad! A few nights this past week, he would eat at about 11 and sleep "through the night" until about 5! I personally would rather he eat earlier and wake up at 3. Those few hours of quiet in the evening for Hubs and I are much needed.  I am hoping the end is near for "fussy time". I hear once they get to be 12 weeks it dissipates, I am sure hoping so! Those few hours in the evening are ROUGH on a Mama (and baby!).

First nap in the crib, sleeping on Granddad and first sleep in the pack n play

Diet: All Mommy's milk! Still shooting for six months of breastfeeding. It is demanding, I have to admit. Right now its hard because he is SO dependent on me. I am getting much better at pumping and have a stockpile of frozen milk, which is great for when I need a break. While I was sick on Sunday and Monday, I exclusively pumped and Colin did great on the bottle. I did miss nursing him after only one day though. Once he is able to take bigger feedings and go longer stretches of time without nursing during the day, breastfeeding will seem much easier. Luckily, we haven't had any issues with latch, getting enough, making enough milk to pump once a day, soreness, etc. I really can't complain as I know some Mommies have a very rough start to breastfeeding. 

Clothes: All 0-3 month onesies, jammies and outfits and size 1 pampers swaddlers.

Baby Gear Love: Colin is obsessed with being in the stroller. During fussy time this week, that thing has been my saving grace. It has been well over 95 degrees during the day so I popped that thing open and strolled around the living room. (Ain't no shame in my Mommy game!) Once it cooled down some evenings, I did take him for a small quick walk.
I also got the jogging stroller out one morning when it had cooled off... I am in LOVE! Colin enjoyed sitting up like a big boy catching the breeze and I loved how lightweight and easy to use it was. I can't wait to use it more once it cools down.

Loving our jogger!

Crying:  When he's hungry/ tired during the evening (fussy time), working on a poop, has the hiccups or has a dirty diaper.
Likes: Snuggling, car rides/stroller rides, being sang to, sitting up like a big boy. Colin really doesn't like to be all wrapped up and smothered like most newborns. He loves to sit up (with assistance obviously) and see what is going on with his "peeps" as we say. I have a feeling the bumbo seat will be our new best friend.

Dislikes: Being alone, hiccups. During fussy time, all he wants is to be around his family and be held.

Postpartum: Feeling great! Postpartum checkup went really well. Everything looks good and I am cleared to get back on my workout grind. I had been running and doing some DVDs but I wasn't going as "hard" as I'd like to. Last Thursday I completed my first 3 mile run with the jogging stroller- felt AMAZING after! I was using my new juicer last week as well and had lost another 2 lbs. Unfortunately, I got sick this weekend so I took a step back. Now that I am feeling 100% again today, I'll get back to it.

Hanging with Ma- post sweaty run.

10 minute miles 7 weeks postpartum? I'll take it!

Milestones: First time visiting Gram and Granddad's house- 7/12
First time laughing at Mommy- 7/16 (peak a boo)
First time being exclusively bottle fed (breast milk)- 7/15

First nap in the big boy crib- 7/12
First sleep in the pack and play- 7/12
Beginning to "track" with his eyes!

Miscellaneous: I decided to add in a category this week. I want to "keep track" of little habits, things to remember, etc. This week, Colin began to cross his feet while breastfeeding and hold onto Mommy's shirt. He loves to "get comfy" and its so cute!

 

Colin Bennett-
Our little love bug, you are so much fun to be around. You are starting to smile and laugh at us and give us "reactions" now. Seeing your little personality develop has been such a joy.  You definitely know what you want and know how to get it. You smile when you want to make us melt and cry when you want to let us know you are upset. You are growing by leaps and bounds... we can't believe how much you've changed in just seven short weeks! Can't wait to see what the coming weeks have in store for us.

Love you to the moon and back,
Mama and Daddy

 

 

A birth story: Colin Bennett Robinson

We welcomed Colin Bennett into our world on May 29th at 6:11pm weighing 7lbs 6 oz and measuring 20 inches long. He was the most beautiful sight either of us had ever seen. We find it amazing that Colin was born at 6:11 being as our wedding date is 6/11/11...pretty special if you ask us!

This post is going to be long and full of details. I don't want to forget any bit of this beautiful day- the best day of my life. Please feel free to read the entire thing, or skip around if things get too detailed.

The last time we talked pregnancy, I left you with my 38 week bumpdate. We had begun feeling pressure and mild contractions. Our parents decided to visit all weekend anticipating "the big event". We walked, played games and waited (not so patiently) for Colin's arrival. Well... Sunday came and went and we still had no imminent signs that our sweet baby boy was ready to make his debut. My contractions were inconsistent and not getting any stronger. I had "lost my plug" but that is about it!

Monday was memorial day so our parents decided to head back home. Hubs and I spent the day relaxing and soaking up all the "alone time" we might have for quite some time.
Here is my 39 week bumpdate picture from that day:

Holy Cow I am HUGE!

Tuesday I decided to head back into work. I didn't want to waste anymore time or start my maternity leave since I didn't know how much longer it would be before Colin was ready to meet us. I figured, if I can go in and work, I might as well.

It was a normal day at work...I was still contracting irregularly and I was pretty uncomfortable and crabby but I made it through.  That night hubs and I made dinner and spent time together after having company all weekend. We finally decided to head to bed around 10:30pm. At midnight I woke up feeling the urge to pee (pretty standard for the end of pregnancy) ;). I stood up out of bed and my water broke!! I could not believe it- it was finally here!!!! I woke up Hubs and said "my water just broke!". He seemed shocked and unconvinced. He said 'how do you know?'. I looked at him and said, I know my pants are soaked! Poor guy, I then proceeded to take off my pants and give them to him.

I felt great and wasn't having contractions any worse than I had been having all weekend, however, we called the midwife on call and she told us to come in within three hours. We called my parents, got our last minute things together and I signed onto my work email to forward any items that would need to be taken care of during my maternity leave to my boss. During that time, I started having more severe contractions and Hubs helped me breath through them and rubbed my back. I also took a shower to see if the heat would help ease up some of the "pain". I say pain in quotes here because let me just say for the record- what I was feeling at this point was peanuts compared to the contractions that were on their way. As I was contracting and things were progressing, Hubs started to get anxious and wanted to head to the hospital. We were trying to hold off until my parents got there so we could all go over together. Luckily right as were were about to throw in the towel and head over, they arrived!  At 3:30am we loaded up my parents car and were on our way.

Per the instructions of my midwife, we went in through the emergency room. I was pre-registered with the hospital so they located my paperwork and informed L&D that we were on our way! We were checked in by the midwife on call relatively quickly and we were taken to our room to settle in.

Last "baby bump" picture taken

 When the midwife who would be delivering our son, Genine, arrived for her shift about an hour after we checked in, she checked my cervix and determined that I was 100% effaced and 1cm dilated. My words exactly were "ONLY ONE CENTIMETER!??".  I had been once centimeter for well over two weeks, I was feeling the contractions and my water had broken, how could I not have made progress!?! Genine seemed delighted that I was 100% effaced, she said that is the hard part- "dilation is easy".

I immediately got myself up out of that bed and walked the hallways with my mom while my hubs and Dad got some rest gearing up for the rest of the day. Just like the weekend before... we walked and walked and walked some more. Mom was a GREAT support person. She told me stories of her delivery with Andrew and I, encouraged me as I contracted and kept me somewhat distracted.

My contractions definitely started to pick up. Eventually I asked to sit on the birthing ball and get into the shower to see if I could get some relief for a few minutes. I was able to stay in the shower for a good 30 minutes until it was time to check my BP and monitor baby. The shower made my contractions pick up immensely and I was having a hard time talking through each contraction. My parents and hubs were there for support and were taking turns rubbing my back and walking me through each of my contractions. My best friend, Julie, arrived about this time as well. We were talking and laughing in between contractions but when they hit- there was no mercy.

Mom coaching me through a contraction and rubbing my back

My nurse, Aimee, was unbelievable. She was so encouraging and attentive and continued to check on me regularly and answered all of my 101 questions. She knew I hoped to have natural childbirth and not get an epidural and kept supporting me in my decision.

I labored for another hour and a half but was exhausted and unable to get any rest.

The midwife came back in to check my cervix and confirmed I had made it to five centimeters! I asked if they could give me an approximation for how many more hours I'd be in labor and she said "it could be one hour or it could be six... there is no way to tell". I attempted to labor through for a little while longer. I REALLY wanted to go au natural, however, I was in so much pain and completely exhausted. I had only slept for about an hour in the past 30 hours as I had woken up at 6am the day before to go to work and only got to sleep for an hour before my water broke the night before.

At noon, I opted for the epidural. I needed to rest and regain some strength for the remainder of my labor/pushing. Aimee explained that they needed to give me an IV with one bag of fluids before they could get me the epidural but they got everything started right away then paged the anesthesiologist. When the anesthesiologist finally arrived (which was relatively quickly but seemed like forever), they asked my hubs to leave and I was NOT happy about this. Hospital policy states that the spouse has to leave as they often pass out and have a difficult time seeing their significant other in an uncomfortable situation- basically there is more risk then benefit to having them present. I asked if my Mom could stay being as she is a nurse practitioner and I wanted someone to be with me to help with my nerves and breathing through contractions. He agreed and was so nice about it! He talked me through everything that he was doing and to be honest- the epidural didn't hurt AT ALL. Compared to the pain of contractions- epidurals are a piece of cake. Within about 20 minutes the epidural kicked in, my family returned to the room and we talked for about 30 minutes before hubs and I decided to try and get some rest. We rested for a good 1-2 hours, held hands, spent quality time together and got ready for the main event!

Yay for epidurals!

Aimee came back in to check on me around 3 pm and I was feeling the urge to push. She called my midwife back in to check my cervix and sure enough- Colin's head was right there! She said "oh my...he has a ton of hair!". She was certainly right! She told me we can begin pushing with Aimee and she would come back in as things progressed. I texted my Mom (who was resting in the waiting room) and informed her it was time to start pushing. She came back into the delivery room and was holding my left leg while Hubs held my right and we started pushing whenever I felt a contraction.

Mom waiting by my left leg for another contraction while hubs snapped a quick picture

As the contractions got closer together, Aimee decided it was time to call in my midwife. All four of my "coaches"- Hubs, Mom, Aimee and Genine were amazing. They were so encouraging through each and every push. I was able to watch my pushing on a mirror and I could see baby's head coming out and then going back in... this lasted for TWO HOURS!!! I was beginning to lose hope that my pushes were working! I kept getting reassurance from my "team" that I was doing a great job and that once his head was past the pelvic bone, I would only have 1-2 pushes and I'd be holding my sweet baby in my arms.

Throughout the entire transition phase of labor (pushing), I was roasting. I felt like the room was set at 120 degrees when in actuality they cranked the ac down to 55 for me! Everyone else had frost bite and I was asking for more ice chips to dump on my chest. At one point I asked my mom and hubs to fan me with clip boards between contractions so that I could cool down. Towards the end of my labor, I started to "pass out" between contractions from pure exhaustion. I remember having mini dreams about our dog and then being woken up saying "push, push, push". My midwife had to pop out to go check on her other patience briefly. Each time she came back in, she'd tell me- your Dad is out in the hallway asking if everything is ok. He seems so concerned! The first time she went out there she came back in and said "there is a guy with a goatee in the hallway asking if you are alright?" I said "thats my Daddy, please tell him I'm doing fine and his grandson will be here soon".

Once Colin's head finally came through after more than 3 hours of pushing, Genine told me to reach down and touch him as he made his appearance. There was a huge gush of fluid as his shoulders came through and I remember thinking "holy cow, what was that!!?".  Everyone laughed at my reaction and my Mom gasped and I asked her if everything is ok with the baby and she said "he is beautiful!". Genine told me to reach down and pull my baby out. I was able to reach down and grab him by the shoulders and pull him up onto my chest.

This was the MOST amazing moment of my life. 

He made the sweetest little whimpers while the nurses dried him off on my chest and took his first vitals. Our sweet guy had a 9 out of 10 on his apgars! I remember looking at him and saying "happy birthday baby, I love you so much" through streams of tears. I looked at my hubs and said "we did it, he is perfect!". We both could not stop smiling.

I was able to hold him and try to breastfeed for 90 minutes before he had to go to the nursery. Hubs and I were in complete awe.

My mom saw him for a few minutes and then took off to the waiting room to inform the 'troops' that everyone was healthy and happy. In the waiting room we had my Dad, my brother, my BFF, Hubs's Mom, brother, sister and three nieces. We took over the place! Everyone was awaiting Colin's sweet arrival. Once we had some time to ourselves,  Colin got weighed, measured, his foot prints taken and wrapped up in his sweet little blanket.

While this was happening, we called everyone back to meet him. We didn't get many pictures because everyone was talking, hugging, crying, etc. It was such a beautiful time.

My sweet brother heard I was starving and ran (with lightning speed) down to the cafeteria to get me a sandwich and salad. He was so sweet! I remember eating after almost 24 hours and thinking "oh my god, this is the best thing I've ever eaten!". :)

Once everyone had a chance to hold him, it was time for Colin to go to the nursery for his first bath and for me to get cleaned up and transferred to the maternal/child unit where we'd wait for our sweet guy.

We were only separated for an hour, but it felt like an eternity! I wanted to hold my baby again!
Once he met us in our room, we held him, kissed him and spent time as a family of three.

We were too excited to get much sleep that night, but we each tried to sleep a few hours in between staring at our sweet little boy.

The next day, we had some visitors come and surprise us. We were visited by my parents, hubs's mom and my friends Kelly, Kelly and Mrs. Guilday. Kelly and Kelly grew up on the same street as me. We've been friends for a lifetime and they were so excited to meet sweet Colin. Kelly G. flew in all the way from California and surprised me!!! Here are a few pictures from Colin's first day...

The third and final day in the hospital was a long one. We were ready to be home and get comfortable in our home but Colin had to wait for the OB to have some time to do his circumcision. We were finally cleared to leave around 3pm on Friday the 31st. We packed up our things and hit the road.

All ready to head home!

Once we arrived at home, we realized our house looked like a hotel! My parents had spent the past two days completely cleaning the house, putting flowers in our bathroom, turning down our sheets and making our home the most comfortable it has ever been. We felt so loved.

I hope you enjoyed reading all about Colin's birth story. I am going to ask our parents and my Hubs to write brief recaps of the week as well and share those on the blog sometime this summer. I think it's fun to read how others remember the day and it will be fun to share these stories with Colin some day.

There is one thing that is for certain... carrying this sweet boy and brining him into the world has been the most beautiful experience. I would not change a single thing about my pregnancy and Colin's birthday. I will never forget this sweet time in our lives. On that note... I'm going to go snuggle my baby. ;)

Cheers!
Mama Cait

On love...

I am by far not an expert on love, but I sure know that I am lucky in it. In honor of valentines day, I thought I'd write a mushy post on not only the things I've learned about love in my short 27 years of existence, but the things I love about those I love. If you are not one for mushy blog posts, please feel free to skip this one. ;)

I am blessed enough to be surrounded with love:

I have the amazing love of my husband- the enduring, crazy, can't live without you kind of love. It's been this way from the beginning.

I have the steady, undying, never give up on you kind of love from my family. Not everyone is lucky enough to have the kind of family love that I have and I am forever grateful. My family has grown in the past two years and I am blessed to love even more!

I am also surrounded with the love of my friends. I am truly blessed with supportive, encouraging and steady love from a wonderful network of friends. I love each of them individually in so many ways.

I am blessed with knowing the love of a growing baby. His little kicks and flips remind me daily of the love that went into creating him and the love that I feel for him already. I cannot wait until I get to welcome him into our world and shower him with love in a few short months.

I know it's cheesy, but I can't forget the undying love from my pup. No matter how my day has been, his excitement to see me at the end of every day warms my heart. Dogs sure know how to love.

Valentines Day is a great time to reflect on how thankful I am for all of this love.

Love Lessons Learned:

- love is NOT perfect. In fact, the best loves are those that are imperfect. No matter who's love you are talking about, there will be imperfections. There will be days you want to scream at those you love, but that is part of what makes love great- at the end of the crazy day, you still have your love to hold you together. This leads me to my next lesson:

-when you love someone, you have to learn to pick your battles. There are some things that should NEVER be overlooked, such as they way someone treats you. However, when you are in love, you need to learn to "overlook" some of the little things that just aren't worth the fight.

-Laugh at the imperfections. This doesn't need much explanation. Nobody is perfect and neither are any relationships. When you love someone, these imperfections and disagreements are often comical.

-always remind those you love that you love them. This is key. I always take the time to remind my husband, family and friends how important they are to me. It doesn't take much, but makes a big difference. There are so many ways to do this and every relationship requires a different level of TLC, but it is important to nurture your relationships so they grow.

-never, ever, ever give up on those you love. There are times when your patience is tested and times where you are so frustrated you want to give up and walk away, but those are the times where those you love need you the most. Those I love have never given up on me and vice versa, I am so thankful for this.

To my husband (my valentine!):
You are my rock, my home, my best friend and my forever. I love you with every inch of my soul and am so grateful for the life that we have. I love our laughs, I love our affection and I love our story. I am so grateful for the love story we've created thus far and am so excited for our future together. Our story has only just begun and is already so full. How sweet it is to be loved by you.

To my family:
I love our love. You have made me the person I am today and have supported me and encouraged me every step of the way. We have the kind of family love that is contagious. Our affection and dedication warms the hearts of those around us. Thank you for loving the way that you do and teaching me to love the same way. I am so proud to welcome a new member to our family in June- he has no idea what he's in for. :)

To my friends:

I love you each for the individuals you are and the unique relationships we have. I love that I can pick up the phone after not speaking to you for a few weeks (or ::gasp:: a few months!) and pick up just where we left off. I love that you are there for me, encourage me and push me to be better. I am so thankful for each of you.

Happy Valentines day to all! I hope you have some time to reflect on all of the love in your lives.

xoxo!