Cullen: Six Weeks Old

I can't even believe you're already 6 weeks old. It makes me sad that you are growing up so quickly. The biggest milestone from week 6 is that you smile when you are awake. Daddy got the first real smile out of you (but unfortunately we didn't capture it on camera). You still smile a ton in your sleep and have even started to laugh in your sleep (or at least that is what it sounds like). You are still an excellent eater and seem to be growing every day. You are able to put yourself to sleep which makes life much easier for us. We have a pretty good bedtime routine that involves bathing you every night, laying in our bed and listening to Rockabye Baby lullaby tunes, swaddling you, and then putting you down. You occasionally cry once or twice, but if we come in the room, talk to you, and put your pacifier back in, you will calm down and fall asleep on your own. You've been doing this for almost 2 weeks now! You are able to hold on to things, like your rattle, but you still need help from mom and dad when reaching for it.

You still like your "paci". It calms you down when you're crying in public which makes us very happy!

If we don't swaddle you VERY tight, this is how we find you when you wake up (you've got some strong legs).

You LOVE bath time now. Last night was the first time you pooped in the water. Fun times :)

You cheered on the USA in the World Cup (well really you slept) wearing an adorable USA Polo outfit from Cathay and Jesse. The shorts were pretty big on you, but they stayed on long enough for a photo op.

And this morning after cleaning up around the house a bit, I found you and daddy both asleep like this.

We love you SO much! You are such a wonderful baby boy and we are enjoying every minute of watching you grow.

Happy Father's Day Andrew!

We had a nice Father's Day yesterday, complete with our first trip to the Boar's Head pool and Arch's for some delicious frozen yogurt. Don't worry, we only went to the pool for an hour, I kept Cullen in the shade, and we didn't actually put him in the pool. But it was still nice to get out of the house.

Andrew, you've been so amazing this past month. You are the best dad, better than I could have ever imagined. You are great with Cullen and help out so much. We love you very much!

Here are some pictures from our trip to the pool. You can see how much Cullen enjoyed us dressing him up before the pool :)

Doctor's Appointment: One Month

We had Cullen's one month doctor's appointment yesterday and Dr. Perriello couldn't believe his growth! She was also impressed with his neck and leg strength (lifting 90 degrees and putting a lot of weight on his legs when he's picked up). He has some baby acne on the back of his head and one side of his neck which is not pretty, but the doctor said it's harmless. Considering we had to wait 45 minutes, Cullen was very well behaved. We ended up being there over an hour, and he only started wailing the last few minutes. Poor baby had to get his second round of the hepatitis B shot, but he handled it like a champ and only cried for about 30 seconds. I think it was harder for Andrew and I to watch. The only disappointment was that she told me it wasn't a good idea to take him swimming this young, so that ruined our Saturday plans. Oh well, my legs will have to remain ghostly pale :)

At birth:
Weight: 7 pounds, 2.5 ounces
Head Circumference: 13 1/4 inches
Length: 19 1/4 inches

At 1 month:
Weight: 9 pounds, 10 ounces
Head Circumference: 14 1/4 inches
Length: 23 1/4 inches

Cullen: One Month Old

Cullen is one month old today. I can't believe how fast he's growing. Time is going by way too quickly! Everyone says he looks just like Andrew. I would have to agree, but he might have my mouth. It looks like my mouth from my baby pictures at least. And maybe my blue eyes will stick as well. Either way, he is one handsome man, just like his daddy.

In the past month, you've progressively slept less and less. The first week you probably slept 20+ hours, but we're down to about 14-15 hours at this point. You still wake up 2-3 times at night (usually around midnight or 1 am, 3 am, and some time between 5 and 6 am). You like to eat and have had NO problem breast feeding from the minute you came into this world. You have a double chin and plenty of fat rolls on your arms and thighs. It's too cute. You fart A LOT, and loudly. Your eyes are still blue and your hair is brown (not too dark but not too light either). You can still fit into newborn diapers, but they are getting a little tight. Same goes for your newborn clothes, so you are mainly wearing 0-3 month clothes.

At 4 weeks, daddy fed you your first bottle of breast milk (which you took with no problem). You ate about 3 ounces and then wanted a little 'dessert' from mommy.

At 4 weeks, we finally tried your Baby Bjorn. We thought you didn't like it because you screamed so much when we put you in it at 2 weeks. But we were wrong. You are very content in it now-a-days.

You love to sleep on mommy and daddy's chests and you can pick your head up for about 10 seconds at 90 degrees. You're a strong boy!

You love being upright, so the car seat and your boppy pillow are some of your favorite places to hang out. You like the Nuk pacifiers a lot (you won't take the other brands) and they are good at soothing you when you're crying.

You still like to be swaddled when you sleep, or else you wake yourself up with your flailing arms and legs.

We love you more than anything in this world and can't imagine our lives without you. We look forward to many more months to come. You are a real blessing.

Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

This book has saved my sanity (for now). It got to the point where Cullen was nursing every hour. I thought he was just really hungry; basically, he was just snacking every hour for a few minutes. Having a baby attached to your boob 24/7 can drive anybody insane. This book helped my understand how to get him into a routine. So far, the past 3 days have been so much better than the previous week. The premise of the book is E.A.S.Y. (eat, activity, sleep, you time) in 3 hour increments, since newborns need to eat every 2.5-3 hours. So I feed him (which only takes my speed eater about 10 minutes), attempt to keep him awake for about 45 minutes with various activities, and then put him down for a nap. I literally don't think I set Cullen down at all during the day the first 3 weeks, so this new system is allowing for a lot more ME time. The naps have been an adjustment for him, since he now must fall asleep on his own in his bed rather than on me (on my boob), but they are getting easier each time (with the help of a pacifier). This post totally sounds like some infomercial, and of course every baby is different and the routine is not flawless, but it's really helped me so far. I highly recommend the book to any new moms!

Cullen Rolls Over

I was videotaping Cullen's tummy time today, and he surprised me by rolling over. Here is a video of him turning over from his stomach to his back at 3 weeks, 2 days. Please ignore my annoying, high-pitched voice :) I'm so proud of my big boy!

Cullen: Three Weeks Old

Cullen was 3 weeks old yesterday. He is a bundle of energy and becoming quite the handful. While the first 2 weeks were hardest at night, the days are getting more challenging now. I think my body has adjusted (as much as possible) to it's new sleep schedule (or lack thereof). Some nights are better than others. Friday night and last night, Cullen wanted to wake up every 1-2 hours. Those nights are not so fun. But Saturday night he slept in 3 hour stretches, and those nights are great! I wish I had taken advantage of how much he slept during the day in the first 2 weeks. I could have really used more naps. Now Cullen is awake MUCH more during the day. He wakes up around 7 am and stays awake until noon every day. He usually falls asleep during our lunchtime stroll to the downtown mall and sleeps during the entire outing. He typically is awake again from about 2 to 3 pm and then naps from about 3 to 5 pm. The difference now is how alert he is, so he wants to be entertained. If he is not eating or looking at his mobile or strolling or being talked to, he gets fussy. That means no downtime for mommy. We're finding that he needs to be asleep by 8 pm or our night gets a whole lot harder. We have also discovered that we can't have guests over past about 7 pm or he is one unhappy baby. We guess it's because he's getting overstimulated when he is very tired. He is making very good eye contact with mommy and daddy and is good at picking up his head while lying on our tummies. He also likes to crawl up daddy when he is lying on his stomach. He'll start out low on his stomach and be at his neck before we know it. 

He smiles a lot while sleeping and it melts our hearts! We are still waiting on a real smile while he is looking at us. Bath time is getting easier and he doesn't seem to mind it as much as he used to. We love you Cullen!

For the Expecting Moms

I found this website the first week I got home from the hospital and could really relate to most (not all) of the list. I don't really relate to feeling jealous when other family members or friends hold Cullen - it's nice to get the break! Some of the points are pretty funny, some not so funny, but it definitely gives you a heads up of some of the not so great side effects of labor. I seriously had no idea how much laundry I would have to do or how big of an ordeal the bathroom trips would be post-labor. So if you're interested, here are 40 things about what to expect after labor and delivery, childbirth, and coming home that no one told me.

Cullen: Two Weeks Old

Our little man is 2 weeks old. I'm having so much fun with him and he's a really good baby so far. He's letting me sleep for 3 hour stretches at night which is infinitely better than the 2 hour stretches I got the first week. The past few days, Cullen was only nursing for about 10-15 minutes each feeding, so I went to see the lactation consultant today to check things out. Apparently, he is just a very "efficient eater" as she put it, because at 2 weeks and 3 days old, he was 8 pounds 6 ounces! Given that he was 6 pounds 4 ounces at 4 days old and 6 pounds 12 ounces at 5 days old, that is a whopping 34 ounces in 13 days! The lady definitely thought I was a paranoid first time mother for bringing him in, but oh well, it made me feel better. We've been meeting daddy for lunch a lot on the downtown mall. It's nice to get out, although Cullen sleeps the entire time he is in his stroller. His neck is getting stronger and he can turn his head from side to side when he's on his stomach. He can also keep his head lifted for a few seconds at a time. He's ALMOST found his thumb to suck - I've caught him sucking on his hand a few times.

Here are some of your firsts so far:

First outing in the car (besides the pediatrician's office 3 times): Bringing grandma to the airport (5/26)

First restaurants: Met daddy for lunch at Eppie's (5/26) and Rapture (6/1), Brunch at the Omni with Grandpa Juge (5/31)

First visitors (besides family): Leah, Amanda and Lauren at the hospital (5/17), Hank at the house (5/21)

We call you:

Cull-Cull

Booger

Munchkin
Monkey

Things you like:

Your car seat

Your stroller

Your swing

Eating

Sleeping on mommy and daddy's chest (only when you're really tired)

Being swaddled

Your mobile (for a little while)

Sleeping with your hands above your head

Things you hate:

Getting your diaper changed

Baths

Your pacifier

We love you more than anything and can't believe how much you've already grown!