Watch Me Grow…7 months!

4 months! 

7 months! :-)

Late on blogging is probably an understatement…

Let me catch you up to speed on what my sweet Josh is doing at 7 months!

1/2 birthday celebration at Panera

*At his 6 month visit: 16 pounds 15 ounces and 26 1/4 inches tall.

Sippy cup drinking! 

*Josh wears size 3 diapers
*He is in size 6 months clothes and moving into some 6-9 months things.
*He naps three times a day: 1 morning nap for 30-60 minutes, 1 afternoon nap for 2 hours, and one later afternoon nap for 45-60 minutes
*Josh has his last feeding at 8:00, and is usually out by 8:30. He sleeps from anywhere from 7-8 in the morning.
*Josh loves to eat. He has oatmeal with 1/2 of a stage 2 fruit in it in the morning, nurses at 11, eats a stage 2 veggie and 1/2 fruit at 2/230, nurses at 5, and an 8 ounce bottles with a generous amount of oatmeal in it at 8.

Belly sleeper

*Josh waves bye bye
*Josh sits up unassisted very well.
*Josh rolls fast and with lots of determination.
*He will get up on all fours and launch himself forward. He does this wiggle army crawl thing, but no "official" crawling.
*He only wants his boopie when he is going to sleep.

Big boy in a college dorm.

*He chews on his thumb periodically.
*He has two teeth on the bottom that have just barely broken through the gums…you can feel them, but cannot really see them yet.
*Josh is fascinated with jewelry if you are wearing any.

Big boy on a boat! 

*He puts EVERYTHING in his mouth!
*He loves his Kindermusik class.
*Josh loves watching Greg and Maria play. He really lights up watching Greg. He dislikes when Maria smothers him because all of her hair gets in his face.

They love each other. 

So big! And cute! 

*Josh really lets you know when he gets angry now when you take something of his away.
*He loves toys that make noise and jingle. He still likes his exersaucer and his new stand table.
*Josh can stand on his own holding onto the play table for an extended time by himself.

Taco Mac TVs!! 

*We have seen some stranger anxiety in the last few weeks when I am not near.
*Josh loves bath time with his brother.

Where did my baby go? 

*Josh likes to be cuddled.
*He prefers to sleep on his belly.

All boy! 

*He drinks water from a sippy cup really well.
*Josh just started to enjoy the little baby puff snacks.

My loves! 

Josh really has such a sweet disposition. He really is such an easy baby. He lights up any room and is always ready to greet you with a smile or giggle. He brings so much light into our lives and we certainly love him very much. He is loved on by his brother and sister all of the time. He goes with the flow, and his personality is just as sweet as can be.

Love me a sleeping baby! 

 He has been such a blessing to us, and we could not imagine life without out little love bug!

Watch Me Grow…3 months!

3 months!

It really is amazing how fast time flies…it is also amazing that I am still terrible at blogging. :-) 

Josh turned three months old on May 10…and here we are over two weeks later for an update. So at three months, what was my little dude up to? 

*He did not have a well check up this month, so I am guessing his weight to be around 13 pounds. He is plumping up and rolls are a nice look for him!
*Josh is in size 2 diapers
*He wears size 3 months clothes, and some 0-3 months…
*He drools A LOT!
*Josh "talks" and smiles a lot. He loves talking to strangers in glasses!
*He has the cutest little laugh!
*Josh isn't a huge fan of tummy time, but tolerates it. He is so lose to rolling over as of May 10.
*He loves bath time! He just kicks and moves his arms the entire time he is in the water!
*Josh eats every three hours during the day.
*Josh naps three consistent naps during the day, and one or two cat naps.
*He sleeps through the night. He goes down between 9:30 and 10 and sleeps until about 7 or 8.  Occasionally, he wakes up between 3 and 4 to eat.
*Josh is great in the car.
*He has the sweetest personality. He just goes with the flow and rarely makes a fuss.  When he cries it's for a reason…hungry, sleepy, etc.
*He sits up with support very well.
*He loves his floor gym and playing in the bumbo.
*Josh uses a pacifier, but often tries to suck his thumb when he is awake.
*He prefers to be held to go to sleep.

Semper Fi

Sleeping cutie!  

The boys

Twinning

Easter

I love my family! 

Thoughtful sleeper

Josh loves Seminarian Jack! 

Maria playing with Josh and her Baby! 

Play time!! 

Silly Papa! 

Watch Me Grow…2 months!

Time sure does fly…and as usual, I am super late in posting. Josh turned 2 months on April 10. He is a super sweet, go with the flow little man! He is always being shuffled around in the car, at my office, or just around at Greg and Maria's activities…but he doesn't complain! So what is sweet Josh up to? 

*Josh weighs 11 pounds 6.5 ounces and is 22 1/4 inches tall
*Josh took his shots like a champ and didn't have any issues after the shots!
*He is in size 1 diapers
*He wears 0-3 months and 3 months in clothes
*He drools a lot!
*Josh eats every 3 hours during the day and demand feeds at night.
*Josh likes his bath time!
*He usually goes to bed around 9:30/9:45 and sleeps until 6. Every so often he will wake up for a feeding at 3 or 4…not too often, though!
*He takes one really good, long nap during the day, and kind of cat naps the rest of the day…some are long and some are short…this is partly due to the fact that he is on the move with me all day, every day!
*He does great with tummy time, but isn't a huge fan.
*He loves spending time on the floor gym…he really is starting to play with the toys hanging down. He also loves looking in the mirror.
*He has excellent head and upper back control.
*Josh can sit in the Bumbo, but doesn't enjoy being in there too long!
*Josh smiles! He pretty much will smile at anyone engaging him!
*He likes his swing!
*He loves to watch Greg and Maria play.
*Josh loves being outside!
*Josh recognizes Mommy, Daddy, Greg, Maria, Grammy and Papa right away when he sees or hears them!

Josh really is pretty easy baby! He rarely fusses. He really does love to be held and carried around. He wants to be where the action is and doesn't want to be left out! 

St. Patrick's Day at Life Teen Special Needs

Kiss me. I'm Irish!

First bottle

Fr. Josh and Josh bonding

Nap time in the swing

Big boy in the Bumbo

Cute brother time

Snuggles from the Big Sister

War Eagle 

Too cool

Pizza and Prayer

Stud

Reading with sister 

First trip to the park

Watch Me Grow…1 month!

On March 10, my sweet little Josh turned 1 month! Each month, I will take his picture next to the guitar for his little growth comparison…he was not so much a fan of this! Oh well…

So what is my sweet guy up to?? 

* Josh wears size 1 diapers. 

* He is still in his newborn clothes, but quickly moving into the 0-3 months size! I may be in a little bit of denial that he is already outgrowing things. 

* At his one month check up: weight - 9 pounds, 1 ounce (25th percentile) and 21 1/8 inches tall (37th percentile) Cate, his pediatrician, said he looked great! 

* Josh has a stuffy nose, just like Greg and Maria did in their first couple months of life…lots of saline and suction. 

* Josh holds his head on his own for extended periods of time. He pushes his whole chest off of the floor during tummy time. He pushes off his feet and "stands" for several seconds at a time. He has come close to rolling over on more than one occasion! Please slow down, little man. 

* Josh likes to nap in his swing. 

* He eats every 3 hours during the day and demand feeds at night.

* He only wakes up once at night. He is down for bed at his last feeding around 9:30 and wakes any where between 2 and 3 to eat. He is then out until 6, and usually falls back asleep until I throw him in the car to go to preschool or dance or wherever else Greg and Maria are off to on any given day! 

* Josh smiles. He is trying to coo and talk a little now, too. 

*He naps 45 min to 2 hours between feedings…just dependent on what we have going on. 

* Josh loves being in the ergo baby carrier. He has been to several teen events in it and has done wonderful! 

* He has his little fussy time from 8-8:45 pretty much every night! :-) But…that's okay because he does not really cry very often! 

Josh is a super sweet, go with the flow baby! He has only been with us for a month, but it seems like he's always been a part of the family! He is a blessing to us and a little joy to our lives! 

Papa and his littlest buddy! 

Mommy snuggles before bedtime! 

So much stimulation! 

He has deep thoughts about life

My little Catholic! Ash Wednesday! 

He's living the life! 

Joshua Kolbe

I know, I know! Josh is one month old…so, before doing that post, I figured I should write about his birth! 

The stats before the story: 

Weight: 6 pound 12 ounces

Height: 20 inches

Head: 14 inches 

Born at 4:59 pm 

On Monday, February 10, I was scheduled for my weekly OB visit. Josh had a two vessel cord (one artery and one vein in the umbilical cord, instead of two arteries, one vein), so each doctor visit starting at 28 weeks I had an ultrasound with a Biophysical Profile. Basically, they checked for four things each week, and Josh got 2 points for each thing if it was good to go. For all of the weeks, leading up to my 39 week appointment this day, Josh had scored an 8/8 on his ultrasound! As I headed into the ultrasound, I was prepared for the usual appointment and was thinking in my head of all of the things I needed to get done that day. Today was the day that Josh scored a 6/8. The ultrasound tech assured me that nothing was wrong with Josh, he just wasn't moving his diaphragm within his allotted 15 minutes. His heart was great, he was moving like crazy…no huge concerns. 

I sat waiting for the doctor. The doctor came in and told me I was heading to the hospital to be induced….AHHHH…the words I did NOT want to hear. I got angry right away and super defensive. I asked why and she said the because he had scored an 8/8 at this point every week and I was one week away from my due date this was the "best thing to do." I asked to go home and get my stuff and my husband…she said no…

Upon arriving at the hospital, after a quick phone call to my friend, Elizabeth, I walked into my L&D room…I was very grumpy. My nurse came in, and I let her know how pissed I was to be induced. After all the paperwork and initial things were taken care of they started my pitocin drip around 11:00. Pitocin contractions are no joke…they hurt 100 gagillion times more than normal contractions…not even joking, here! My nurse kept checking on me adjusting my levels. One time she walked in…I was in tons of pain with contractions, but managed to smile and say hey. She looked at me and said, "oh you can still smile…I need to adjust your levels to be higher, I guess…" So I stopped smiling and just acted pissed and in pain when she walked in after that…It was a good thing I had so many people entertaining me via text messages! 

After nearly four hours on pitocin, I had only progressed 1 cm. I was so grumpy! I decided there was no way I could power through these contractions like this and possibly only progress 1 cm at a time over several hours…so I asked the nurse for the epidural. This also broke my heart. At this point, my plan had been thrown out the window. I never expected to be induced when walking into my appointment that morning. The nurse pushed my fluids and got the anesthesiologist. The anesthesiologist walked into my room, did his thing, and was gone by 4:15. My nurse checked me again, and I was at 7 cm, five minutes later my water broke, and 10 minutes later I was pushing! I pushed through 7-8 contractions, and my sweet boy arrived into the world. 

There are not many things more wonderful than hearing those first cries, watching my husband cut the cord, and holding that sweet baby!  The plan I had didn't matter any more at this point…I was holding my sweet little guy, and that was all that mattered. That's how God arranges it…a woman tears her body apart in labor because in the end she knows she gets to hold the child she has been carrying for 9 months. 

Some pictures from Josh's big day! (I downloaded them in order…but they didn't show up in order…sorry!)

Hi World! 

Daddy and another little man!  

Snuggles with mom

Big Brother

Grammy meets the little guy

Big Sister

sleeping baby

Rebecca and Deacon Mike and Linda came to visit! They brought wine…it was wonderful! 

I had to send this picture to Maria because she only saw Josh swaddled and didn't believe he had arms and legs.

First Family of 5 photo!  

The world is bright. 

The world is cold. 

The first meeting of the siblings!