Collins is part Hoosier...

So, we've had the debate and it seems Collins will be part Hoosier and part Wildcat. Actually, he's a tiger...but DePauw is a little hard to cheer for...they're not on TV. :)

Collins had a great trip to Indiana and what a wonderful baby he was! He slept most of the way and when he was awake I had fun chit chatting with him in the back. This was all so amazing, due to the fact that the poor baby had not had a stool in three days. I called the doctor Saturday morning (I was starting to get really nervous at this point) and Collins was put on a prune juice diet. We gave him a teaspoon of prune juice before each feeding and by Saturday night...we had a HEAVY dirty diaper! I was so relieved. For the meantime we have stopped the supplemental formula feeding, because it messes up his little system! His jaundice looks so much better, so we might not even need the formula anymore. What a good sport he was!

We headed to Indiana this weekend, so Collins would be able to meet Trent's mommy. I don't know if you remember from my old blog, but Vicki had been put in the hospital days before Collins was born. She had 4 hernias removed and then developed pneumonia in the hospital. Vicki had to stay in the hospital and wasn't able to make it to KY on delivery day. It was hard for all of us, but we loved her too much for her to not get better. We promised her once she felt better and Collins was ready for a car trip, we'd come. Trent woke up Saturday morning so excited. It made my heart so happy to see him so happy. This has been so hard and he's been so torn on what to do. So, we packed up Collins and away to Indiana we went!

Collins got to meet his Indiana grandma, his great grandparents, a great uncle, a 2nd cousin, and the Parker Family. He was the center of attention and didn't seem to mind! He even got to see his A. Erin, U. Aaron, and cousin Kennedi again! I've always loved Kennedi to death, but it becomes an even stronger love when you see her care and love on Collins. I think my favorite part of the weekend was when Kennedi changed Collins' diaper...she grabbed the wipes and said, "Gross...gross...gross" with each wipe. :) She's so precious!

Nap time!


Sweet Kennedi and Baby Collins


Collins and Grandma Vicki!


Collins and Great Grandma Wheeler!


Collins and Great Grandpa Wheeler!


Papaw Doug and Kennedi have a turn!


Aunt Erin and Kennedi loving on Collins!


Collins and the ladies...


Diaper Duty!


Goofy!


Uncle Trent loves his niece!


Oliver Parker...aka Justin Bieber look alike!


Ola Parker...so sweet!


2nd Cousin Scott!


Sunday was a special day! Collins went to church (for his first service...he's been twice to church, but not to a service) and he had his newborn pictures!! I felt so blessed to have a large part of our church family come to meet our baby. :) Kris Watts did our photography again and we just adore her. She is the sweetest and so very flexible. We can bring ideas in and she is open to try anything. Thank you Kris! ....and sorry that Collins went to the bathroom three times!! Little boys are a challenge in this department. :)

So excited to see one of my students tonight. Her and her mom are bringing over dinner tonight and I can't wait for them to meet Collins. Thank you Spillman family for being so sweet!

Love,
Maegan

PS: Pics of more visitors!! Thank you for coming!!

Meg and Brian visit!


Mollie and Eileen came!

Mommy, I loved my bath!

Collins' belly button was looking good, so daddy and I decided to give him his first big boy bath last night! He has graduated from the sponge bath to the 'Ocean Wonders' tub!! Did he like the experience? That's an understatement. Collins LOVED the tub and looked so cute in it!









All warm and dry!!


Two days a week we are supplementing with a bottle of formula. The pediatrician hopes that this will rid Collins of his jaundice. It's almost gone! Trent was so excited to be able to feed Collins. It only lasted about 5 minutes (he gobbled down the formula), but it was a special time for daddy!

Kisses always!


Collins loved the formula!!


Burp time!


My sweet 5th grade sent me the sweetest gift through email yesterday. I just love them so much! Tears were flowing! Miss you guys so much!


Collins has a big weekend coming up! We are headed to Bloomington this weekend and back for newborn photos on Sunday! We are wondering how his first big car trip is going to go! Wish us luck! I hope everyone has a nice weekend! Love, Maegan

PS: A few more pics of visitors!

Amy and Collins!


Mrs. Schuster and Collins!!

Collins' Two Week Check-Up!

My baby is already two weeks old! While this makes me wish time would slow down, I have had a blast every day with my little one. He changes every day...whether it's his tummy growing bigger, his eyes opening up more, his fingernails growing, or his cute little cheeks fattening up. It's been a joy to watch him grow and I know we have SO much to look forward to!

Collins had his two week check up today with Dr. Warner and he is a big boy! Last week he was 7 pounds and 7 ounces and today he was 8 pounds and 2 ounces! He's a good eater! For his length he is in the 70th percentile, his weight is in the 45th percentile, and his head is in the 25th percentile. He is a long baby (like his daddy!) and I'm so glad he doesn't have my enormous head. :) Dr. Warner checked his bilirubin levels again (for jaundice) and they've gone down from 13.7 to 12.2! His umbilical cord came off while we were there too! Dr. Warner cleaned it all up and put a bandaid over it so the skin will heal. The bandaid looks enormous! It's going to be the cutest bellybutton in the world! No, I didn't keep it, but I thought about it. :) I did take pictures!!

I'm a big boy!


I'm a wiggler!


So, on Facebook I had mentioned that Trent and I put Collins in his crib for the first time two nights ago. I cried and cried. It was SO hard to not have him in the room with us, but mommy and daddy were exhausted! He makes the cutest sounds all night and it was just keeping us up. Plus, I constantly check on him! So, we decided that in order to be the best parents we can be, we need sleep. Collins slept for 4-5 hours at a time in his crib and I was so proud of him! Of course I watched the monitor for awhile, but I still got more sleep. I'll post pics later of his really neat monitor...I can watch him LIVE!

Sleepy Daddy and baby...


I don't think I've mentioned before that Collins does not cry but maybe once every day. If he does, it's for 30 seconds and then he shakes it off! He gets this patience and calm from his daddy. He is such a sweet baby and I have to be on top of my game to know when to feed him, etc....because he never cries to let me know! Could be why he almost gained a whole pound in a week! :)

I saw this shirt at GAP and it was a must. I don't normally choose graphic tees, but for a baby this was too cute.

FEED ME!!


Love,
Maegan

PS: A couple more pics of visitors! Thank you for coming!!!!
Sara and Collins!


Jen and Collins!

Sweet Family

What a fun and special weekend!

Trent's family came in town from Indiana on Sunday and we had a blast! My sweet little niece came too and it was so neat to see her excitement about Collins! She wanted to see it all... his nursery, the diaper changes, the clothes, etc. She is one proud cousin and so loving of Collins already! She even knows how to spell his name! Aaron and Erin kept taking turns holding Collins and it may have given them baby fever.:) hehe Thank you guys so much for coming to see our little baby! It meant a lot!

Big cousin Kennedi!


Sweet Aunt Erin!


Awesome Uncle Aaron and cuzzie Kennedi!


Collins also went to his first meeting at church on Sunday! We had a call committee meeting for our new pastor and Collins got to go! He didn't vote, but I kept him in mind the entire time during the meeting. This new pastor will be the future of our church and Collins' pastor! I pray for a strong Christian role model for my little guy. :)

We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner last night and the Young Life crew was over for their usual Sunday night get togethers. Collins had a blast meeting all of the leaders and being loved on. I kept thinking how much I would love for him to be a part of the Young Life group someday. I was blessed to be a part of it in High School and I hope he gets to be a part of this great Christian group too. :)

My little bitty bear. :) Aunt Sis calls him, "Bitty Baby."

GranPaul or PaulPaul...hasn't decided on his name yet...Which one do you like?

BeeBee loving on Collins!


Love,
Maegan

PS: I am going to post a couple pics on each post of the visitors that we've had at home! Here's the first couple! Thanks for coming Tiff and Meg!

Blessed Beyond Words

I want to start by thanking our dear friends and family for caring so much about us and our little one, Collins. The cards, gifts, and visits have been so very appreciated. We feel so loved and realize how blessed Collins is to have each one of you in his life! Us too! Thank you for loving our baby. xo

Life with Collins could not be any better. A friend of mine from middle school wrote on my Facebook wall about waking up in the middle of the night with Collins. She said, "Who else can wake you up four times a night and make you smile every time?" She could not have said it any better. Either my alarm goes off or his little coos wake me up and I am literally excited to spend time with Collins. He is so sweet in the middle of the night!

In love with my little one. :)


Trent went back to work for the rest of the week and thank goodness I had Mom to still help me out! It's a two person job! I can't imagine having twins! Mom and I took Collins on his first walk around the neighborhood block and Mom even encouraged me to drive with him in the car. I have been terrified to do this, but she was with me every step of the way. Guess where she sat in the car? Yep! The back seat! It took us a little longer to get where we were headed. I think when I see people texting while driving I'm going to get away from their car as fast as I can!

What a beautiful day!


Collins had a play date with Eliza Jane! Eliza Jane is Kristin's sweet baby. K and I have been best friends forever and it's so neat to see our two little ones together. We've come a long way from those dancing days at Diana Evans! I love this picture of Eliza Jane kissing Collins. It's a big smoochie!


I forgot to write about Valentine's Day on my last post. Since Mom was still staying with us to help out, she said we could go out to eat and she would watch Collins, or she would make us my favorite meal and we could stay home. Trent and I chose to stay home... how could we leave our baby! Mom made our meal so special! She lit candles and even put the flowers that Trent gave me as our centerpiece. We had raspberry lemonade in wine glasses and ate beef stroganoff...my fave! Mom watched Collins in the other room so we could have a romantic, private dinner. It was hard to keep our eyes open, but we made it through dinner talking about the special events of the past couple of days. Thanks Mom!

We love you Collins! xo


Our awesome Valentine's Day dinner...so in love with one another and Collins!

Mom babysitting Collins and Lucie (Mom's dog) during dinner. Lucie is so protective of Collins!

Sweet Collins and his Valentine's Day heart XO

Aunt Sis and her Valentine!


Have a blessed weekend!
Love,
Maegan

PS: This is one of my most favorite baby items! It's a pacifier with a dog hooked to it. Collins can hold onto the dog and the pacifier stays in his mouth! Plus, it's cute!

One Week Birthday!

Trent and I just got back from Collins' one week checkup and he is one healthy boy! They have been checking his bilirubin levels (for jaundice) and he is charting on the low levels. They have barely moved since last week and Dr. Warner is pleased with the results! Collins has gained 6 ounces (he's now 7 pounds, 7 ounces) since Saturday morning and he is SO close to being back to his birthweight! He does like to eat! :)

At the doctor's office waiting to be seen!

Trent and baby Collins under the heat lamp!


When the appointment was over, Trent had to head back to work. It was emotional for the two of us and Trent did not want to go back. It's been such a great week with him at home and he did not want to leave Collins. I've been sending him pictures hourly, so I hope this makes him feel like he's with his little baby. Mom and I are going to make one of his favorite meals for tonight.
Trenty saying goodbye to his little one. XO

I love this picture...my two boys!


Collins Paul is one week old at 1:24 pm! What a fast and fun week it has been! I love every minute of being a mommy...I just need for time to slow down!

Genius baby! He is showing one finger for one week!


Love,
Maegan

PS: We had a sleepless night last night. We got lucky the night before, but last night was a different story. He must have been nervous about the doctor's appointment today. hehe

Peacefully sleeping until about 1am. :)