William- 2 Months Old

Weight: 11 pounds 6 ounces
length: 22.25 inches

• You have started smiling at us! What a happy sight! You usually give your best grins in the morning after a good feeding a a good burp. I love seeing you start to light up and make sweet cooing noises. You enjoy stretching out and moving your arms and legs around. The way the past couple of months have flown by, you'll be mobile before I know it! 
• You can roll over!!! At 5 weeks old, I put you down for tummy time and you just flipped right back over to your back like it was nothing! I couldn't believe it! I told your Daddy about it, thinking maybe it was just a one time thing, so we tried it again... sure enough, you rolled right over again! No more leaving you anywhere, even for a second. 
• You still eat about every 2.5-3 hours during the day, but have started sleeping a little longer at night. At two months old, you will sleep for a 5-6 hour stretch and then after eating, sleep for another 4 hours! ...Getting better! 
• You are still wearing size one diapers, but can now fit into size 0-3 month clothes. 
• Things you love: You still love your bath time! You love being on your play mat and looking at the animals above you as you kick your legs and wave your arms. You love listening to your brother talk and play (except when he starts crying...that usually will set you off too). You love being in the ergo baby carrier and will fall asleep very fast when I put you in it to go on a walk or just to do chores around the house. 
• This month, you went on your first road trip. We drove from Galveston to Fort Worth to spend 4 days with family. You were a trooper! You slept for 3 hours, stopped to eat, and then slept for the last 2 hours of the drive. We were so proud of you!
  When we were in Fort Worth, you got to meet two of your great grandmothers, Mamaw and Grandmother (Gail and Lilla). You also went out to dinner with Mommy and Daddy and got to meet some of our closest friends. Everyone just loves you...how could they not?
• You also had your first trip to a pumpkin patch this month...it mostly consisted of Mommy and Daddy chasing after your big brother, but Davis helped pick out a little pumpkin just for you!
  

William- One Month Old

Weight: 10 pounds
Length: 20.5 inches

Happy One Month, sweet William! The first moth of your life has really flown by! You already have such a huge place in our hearts and we can't imagine life without you.

• You are a great eater! At one month old, you usually go about 3 hours between each feeding, but will sometimes stretch to 4.5 hours at night! The extra hour of sleep makes Mommy and Daddy pretty happy. 
• You love to sleep! Even with all of the noises from your big brother and visitors in our house, you will wake up to eat and then fall right back to sleep. I love curling up with you on the couch. Not much is sweeter than new born baby cuddles, and thankfully you are giving plenty of them! 
• In just the past week have moved up to size 1 diapers, but are still wearing your newborn size clothes. 
• Things you love at one month: You already love your bath! It makes you so calm and happy. You also love having your diaper changed. You are very happy in your car seat and love when we drive around in the car. You also enjoy going on walks around the neighborhood in your stroller. We are just looking forward to the days when it's not so hot outside! 
• You are already a very strong boy! When we are holding you, you try to hold your neck up all on your own and look around. When we do tummy-time on the floor, you can already lift your head up and move it from one side to the other. 
• This month, you had your first labor day weekend, and it was a great one! Your Uncle Eric, Aunt Darian, and Aunt Ellie came down to meet you, and Papa,Gigi and Memaw were here as well. You got a lot of extra snuggles from your loving family and enjoyed your first afternoon lounging by the pool. It was one of the best naps you've ever had! 
• Your big brother, Davis has started to become more interested in learning more about you. He helped us give you a bath and loves to help Mommy by getting your diapers and giving you your pacifier whenever you start crying.  

Welcome to the World, William Robert Nichols

On Tuesday, August 25th, I was 37 weeks pregnant and had a regularly scheduled appointment to check on baby William. There, I learned that I was already showing signs of early labor and my doctor told me she would be shocked if I made it another full week.
Fast forward a couple of days to Thursday morning...Davis and I decided to go on a walk around the neighborhood and went to play at the park in our neighborhood. When we got home, I started to do a few loads of laundry and started to feel my contractions becoming more regular. After an hour of writing down the timing of the contractions, I called Robert to see what he thought. He told me that he was coming home immediately and that we needed to get up to the hospital.  He was right, we needed to be there, because I was in labor. Baby William was coming early!
We were so thankful that Nana and Grandpa (Jeff and Lynn) were already coming down to Galveston that same day and had just gotten in the car. We were also very thankful for our sweet neighbors, The Vances (also residents at UTMB) offered to watch Davis until they could get in town. Knowing that Davis was having fun with friends and was well taken care of, put us at ease and allowed us to focus on our new baby that would arrive in just a few hours!

At the hospital, I felt like I was in great hands. I loved knowing that Robert knew everyone that was working there and felt like I was given the best care by the best doctors and nurses. Some of them, hand-picked by Robert. While my doctor wasn't available for William's delivery, Dr. Sarah Rogan (a third year resident) delivered him without an issue. She was so sweet and made me feel very comfortable. I am very grateful for her care.

Sweet baby William was born at 11:32pm on August 27, 2015. He weighed 7lb 7oz and was 20 inches long. Hearing that first cry is one of the sweetest sounds in the world. He was healthy and perfect and we were instantly in love!

Big brother Davis came up to the hospital the next morning to visit us and meet his new baby brother. He was very sweet with him, but not too interested. He was too busy entertaining his grandparents that had come in town and playing with the new cars that William had given him as a "becoming a big brother" present.

We stayed 2 nights at the hospital before coming home as a family of FOUR! Nana and Grandpa stayed through the weekend and Papa and Gigi (Jeff and Judy) drove down Saturday night to come visit and meet William. On Sunday, everyone headed back to Fort Worth, except for Gigi. She was amazing! She stayed with us that first week and helped to keep us fed, our house clean, and Davis happy and entertained. Memaw came the following week to help and be here with us as we continued to adjust to life as a family of four and as Robert went back to work.

We are so blessed to have such amazing family that is always there to support us. They love us and our boys so much and we couldn't have made it through without all of their help!