Videos

Here are some short videos of Colton. Warning: these are not exciting. They're the kind of videos that are only interesting if you are a grandparent, aunt, uncle, etc. Colton doing everyday stuff that I find adorable. 

These first two are sleepy Colton falling asleep. He is a very wiggly little guy! (9/12)

Colton gets the hiccups (9/14). He gets the hiccups a LOT. He had them a lot in the womb too, so at least he is used to them. 

Working on some tummy time (9/23). This little man had a pretty strong neck from his first day. And so far he doesn't seem to mind tummy time. 

Colton showing off his head support (9/28)

I warned you- they aren't exciting unless you are a doting relative ;) 

3 Weeks

Today Colton is 3 weeks old! For only being out of the womb for a few weeks, he has already had a lot of adventures including a photo session, doctor check-ups, and A LOT of fun visitors. Colton also went to church for the first time (...and slept through it). 


Newborn Photos

Colton's newborn photos are done! They were taken by Carrie Krupke, who also did our maternity photos.

You can see all of his newborn photos here and read her blog post about our photo session here. We love how they turned out- Carrie did a wonderful job! And Colton is just so cute. (If I do say so myself.)


2 1/2 Week Check-up Stats: 

Weight: 9 lbs 13 oz - 80th percentile - He was 8 lbs 6 oz when he was born: we were hoping he would be back up to this birth weight by his appointment, which he definitely exceeded! 

Length: 20 3/4th inches - 52nd percentile

Head Circumference: 98th percentile 


Visit from Grandma and Grandpa

Brian's parents visited last week to meet baby Colton and to spoil him! I think Brian and I are the ones who were spoiled though- they helped us around the house so much and made a lot of delicious meals. Thanks to their visit, I was able to get some extra sleep while they watched him. Colton had a lot of bonding time with Grandma and Grandpa Nicklaus! 

During their stay, we also had visits from Colton's Great Grandma and Grandpa and from his Great Aunt Sue and Great Uncle Jack. (Pictures below). 

Pictures! 

Here are some of my favorite ones from our newborn photo session: 

Visitors

Grandma and Grandpa Nicklaus

Three generations of Nicklaus men 

Great Grandma and Grandpa Chantland

Great Uncle Jack and Great Aunt Sue

Random Photos

Two Weeks Old:

He is just SO CUTE.

 Attempting some tummy time

First time at church

Enjoying a walk around our neighborhood

Sometimes he makes the most random facial expressions

Taking a nap

Last night my friend Rachel brought us dinner and we watched the Voice. (I hadn't ever really watched that show, and now I get why everyone loves it!). Anyway, throughout the show, Colton kept posing very strangely:

I just can't handle this little face!

Family & Firsts

Colton is almost two weeks old! Since being home from the hospital, he has had more visitors- he's now met a lot of his family on both the Wake and Nicklaus sides. He's also experienced a few "firsts". 

We are still settling into life with a newborn. As expected, this includes a lot of feeding times and very little sleep! When we left the hospital, Colton had a little bit of jaundice. However, he's been eating a lot and he seems much better and healthier. He also seems to be gaining some weight back, so we are hoping that he is healed of his jaundice. 

Below are a ton of pictures from his first weeks at home, including meeting all of his aunts and uncles, as well as experiencing some (very random) "firsts"! 

One of Colton's first days home from the hospital. He already looks so different! 

Family photos with one-week-old Colton

More adorable photos of Colton:

Aunts and Uncles

Colton got to spend a lot of time with Aunt Emily (my sister) as she visited for a night.

 

He also got to meet Uncle Dyson (my brother) and soon-to-be Aunt Hannah (Dyson's fiance):

The Nicklaus siblings also visited. Colton got to meet Aunt Laura and Uncle Ken (Brian's sister and brother-in-law): 

Colton and Aunt Megan (Brian's sister): 

Colton also gets to spend time with his Grandma and Grandma Nicklaus this week! I don't have any pictures of that yet, so more to come. :) 

Firsts

First stroller ride

 First time attempting to play with a ball. ...He hasn't quite got the hang of it yet. :) 

First time trying out his crib. He isn't actually sleeping in his crib, but we wanted him to experience it a little bit! 

First time being a teeny tiny bed hog. Again, he doesn't actually sleep there, but just look how cute he is:

First time watching the Colts. (Despite my family being from Indiana and being fans of the Colts, there is no affiliation between the football team and his name. Just for the record. :) Since Brian is from St. Louis, he is a Rams fan. And although I like the Colts out of loyalty to my family, I am a Packers fan.)

Baby Nicklaus Has Arrived!

Baby Nicklaus is here! 

Colton Brian Nicklaus was born on September 2nd, 2014 at 9:02 pm. He weighed 8 pounds 6 ounces and was 20 inches long.  

I was in labor for about 17.5 hours but was only at the hospital for 8.5 hours of it. By God's grace I was able to have a pain medication-free birth. After a while, I had to receive Pitocin to keep labor going, and it worked a little too well- the doctor almost didn't make it to the hospital in time! 

Today Colton is one week old!

His Name
 
A lot of people have asked us how we chose his name, so here you are! Brian and I didn't "officially" decide on his name until after he was born. We had narrowed it down to a couple options and decided to finalize his name after he arrived.

Colton: We just really liked it! :) It doesn't necessarily have a special meaning, we just really loved the name. It seems to fit him and I just "felt" like he was a Colton while pregnant. 

Brian : We chose Brian as the middle name for two reasons: 
1. To honor Brian (obviously) and the Nicklaus family. There has been a multi-generational tradition of giving the father's name as the son's middle name for the first-born son.
2. To honor my dad, Brian Wake. Lucky for us it was easy to celebrate both sides of the family!

Photos 

The rest of this post is pictures of our adorable baby. To see even more, you can go to my Facebook album: Baby Colton. (You should be able to see the pictures even if you don't have Facebook.)

You can also view the newborn photos they took at the hospital by going here: Bella Baby

Newborn Baby Colton

Our first photo as a family of three:

This little man has quickly stolen our hearts! 

Colton and Mom:

Colton and Dad:

Colton and Grandpa Brian:

 Colton and Grandma Candi:

There will be many more pictures to come as Colton meets even more family and friends. We just love him so much!! 

39 Weeks (+4 Days) & Wake Racing

The Due Date Countdown

Well today is Labor Day, but Baby Nicklaus doesn't seem to be getting the hint. Today we're 39 weeks and 4 days along. I may have to start answering phone calls with "Nope, no baby yet". :) 

Even with our due date only 3 days away, we're trying to keep in mind that he may not arrive for another week or 2. Of course we'd love to meet him MUCH sooner!

Baby and I at 39-ish weeks:

Brian at 39-ish weeks. (My new favorite thing is Brian doing week-by-week poses too):

There aren't a lot of updates since last week. Our 39 week appointment went well, and we found out that the baby has dropped.

Baby has actually been even more active lately! He seems to have a little more leg room since dropping: I think he loves playing in the womb so much that he doesn't want to leave!

Wake Racing

In non-baby-related news, this past weekend my dad competed at the Rock Island Grand Prix, which is the world's largest karting street race. He's competed there for several years and I've been able to go in the past. This year the race is just a little too close to my due date! He qualified in first position on Saturday:

Dad was in the top three for most of the race and even led in 1st for a lot of it. Unfortunately a crash at the end knocked him out of the running. Since he led the race in 1st for so long, I've decided that he still gets the gold in my book!

To celebrate my dad's karting expertise, here are some throw-back pictures from the race in 2012 (the last one I was able to attend. Last year it was right before our wedding, and this year it's right before Baby!).

My dad, Flyin' Brian, racing:

My siblings and some friends rocking our "official" Wake Racing t-shirts: 

 

The back of the t-shirts:

My brother got my dad to sign his t-shirt:

The proof:

We're proud of you, Dad! 

Baby Nicklaus was kind enough to stay in the womb through racing weekend. So now maybe he'll decide it's time to be born! Here's hoping. :)