Back to work, daycare and graduation

Wow the last three weeks have been a whirlwind of ups and downs.  It's crazy how fast time flies!  Carter started daycare the week before I went back to work.  Some people may think that is selfish, but I needed it and really think it helped with the transition of going back to work.  Carter started on Monday June 2nd.  I was soooo nervous about it!  I know our daycare people, but Carter had been really fussy and I was nervous.  Nervous that he would be thrown off schedule, is he going to sleep all day, is he going to be awake all day and then be so exhausted by the time we get back home??  Well I should have not worried.  It has been WONDERFUL.  He LOVES it soo much.  Maybe a little more than home sometimes...ha!  I was also worried that I would be late for work all the time.  Sometimes I am late, but for the most part am able to get to work by 8:00.

First day, already asleep!

Garrett has enjoyed helping with Carter.  His "job" is to bring the formula in every morning.  He loves to do it and skips into school with it.  He also has started taking his car seat out to where they are stored.  I took Carter and Garrett to school the whole first week (since I wasn't working) and it was a good "practice" round.  Josh started the next week and Garrett told him everything he needed to do.  Ha.  He's such a good helper.

The same week that Carter started school, Garrett graduated from school...wow!  One coming in and one going out.  His graduation was SO SWEET!!  They all wore caps and gowns and had tassels and the whole nine yards.  They all came up one by one and said what they wanted to be when they grew up.  So much fun to hear.  Garrett wants to be an architect.  He would be awesome.  He currently can build Lego houses and pieces without any help.  He looks at the instructions and just does it.  Smart boy.  He honestly gets this from his dad.  I can't do that.  Here are some pictures from graduation. 

Party at the park day of graduation...who is this BIG boy??

 

Carter at graduation.  Ha he was out shortly after this

 

With his friends

 

Proud graduate!

 

mommy and Carter

 

Family of four!!

 

So excited Uncle Preston came

 

With Grandmommy and Pops :-)

 Garrett will still go to daycare until he goes to Kindergarten in August.  So we have double daycare payments right now and I don't know how people do it for so long.  While Garrett is still there the teachers in Carter's class are being sweet enough to bring Garrett down once or twice a week to visit with Carter.  I'm so thankful for that.  I wish we could continue to send Garrett to daycare after school but we can't afford it.  Luckily the school he is attending has a wonderful after school program and we will be sending G there. 
For my last week before going to work I had a staycation at the house.  It was so nice to be in my own house with just me...never happens!  So I spent the days cleaning out lots of my junk.  I also found my "big girl clothes".  Praise that I had not donated them yet.  I need some transition clothing while trying to loose the weight.  My mom and I spent one day together and it was awesome.  I went back to work on a Tuesday and so the Monday before that I got a massage.  It was INCREDIBLE!!! 
I've been back to work for two weeks now and have adjusted quite nicely.  I have a very laid back working environment and that helps. 
I started back on eating right this past Monday. Carter will be three months old on Monday and I can't use him as an excuse much longer.  I gained 48lbs during pregnancy and as of today I have 18 left.  So 30 down, now the hard part.  I did loose 4.4lbs as of today so we are on the right track.  Although I do have my birthday in a couple of weeks and that will throw things off some.  I am going to start exercising next week.  It is really hard to find the time now that we have two kids.  Shew.

We have fallen into a nice (sometimes boring) routine at home.  We are stuck indoors lately because it's too hot for Carter to be outside.  It's hard to balance it all.  Josh and I both feel guilty for not being able to do as much with Garrett as we used to be able to do.  We've decided we are going to start alternating weeks and doing a date night with him each.  That way he will get some time just to himself with one of us.  Hopefully this fall we will all be able to be outdoors together and do more as a family together. 

2 Months Old

Well another month has gone by.  Whoa.  Again I am behind.  He will be 10 weeks on Monday.  Hopefully I will catch up on Month 3!

 

 

 

Height & Weight:  He is growing like a weed!  Oh my goodness.  He gained 2 pounds and grew 1.75 inches in 4 weeks!!  Good gracious.  He weighs 13.75 pounds (83%), is 23.75 inches long (jumped from 50th percentile to now being in the 70th percentile) and his head is 16.14 inches (67th percentile).  Overall he is growing wonderfully.  The doctor had no complaints!!

 

Health:  He has improved a lot in the health department.  We changed from Zantac to Prevacid for reflux and it has made the BIGGEST improvement.  Hopefully he can come off of it around 6 months of age.  We are also using a probiotic.  Gerber Soothe Drops.  The combination of these two medications has made one happy baby.  The Gerber Soothe drops are 30 dollars for a 25 day supply.  So expensive, but WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!  

 

Sleep:  Sleep is continuing to improve.  PRAISE THE LORD.  Garrett was a horrible sleeper and so anything that Carter does has been better than Garrett!  He is still in his rocker sleeper and we will keep him in it until he can't fit.  Which if he keeps growing 2 inches a month it won't take long (yikes).  Daycare will start introducing him to a crib soon and I'm hoping by 4 months we will start working on putting him in his crib.  I don't look forward to it, but maybe he will surprise us. 

Carter started daycare this week and has LOVED it!  He usually has one or two good naps there (like an hour each) but mainly cat naps on and off.  The difference is that he doesn't cry there, only at home!  I think he gets bored here.  We still hold him during the day to sleep.  We are working on letting him doing it himself, but one thing at a time. 

So far night time has been going pretty good for us.  We usually do a bath around 7:15 and he falls asleep in our arms by 7:45ish.  We hold him still at this point and the gets his last bottle at 9:30pm.  At that point we put him down for the night.  He usually wakes up around 1 or 2 in the morning and then will sleep until somewhere around 5:45 to 6:30.  We are beyond excited about this.  As long as he keeps improving we are OK!  He still doesn't have to be rocked at night and doesn't use a paci.  They only time he uses the paci is during the day.  Hopefully it will stay that way.

 

Clothes/Diapers:  We are finishing up our last pack of size 1 diapers and he is in a size 2 now.  He can no longer wear 0-3 month clothing.  He is either in 3-6 month or sometimes wears 6-9 depending on who makes it or if it is old etc.  I just had to buy him new socks because his chunky legs couldn't fit into the ones we had that were Garrett's.   

 

Social:  He is continuing to smile A LOT now!!  He acts like he is giggling but they are pretty much silent.  Today he did giggle out loud a little and it was so cute.  He started daycare Monday and I was so worried on how he would do.  Apparently he loves daycare.  They said he flirts with all the ladies and just smiles at them.  They love him too and it is wonderful.  SO I believe Carter is going to be like me and Garrett and love watching people and be a social butterfly.  We will see.

 

Diet:  He is currently on GentleEase and is taking 5 ounces.  We have gas drops in each bottle along with 2tsp of rice.  He eats pretty much every three hours during the day. 

 

Baby Gear Love:  At this point there still isn't a lot to play with.  He has however discovered himself.  My mom found a play mat that had a mirror with it.  He will lay under it and laugh and giggle and just stare at himself for 20 plus minutes.  It's great!  The car seat is getting better.  We do the Bumbo occasionally as well. 

 

Hair/Eyes:  He still has blue eyes.  His hair is starting to fill in on top.  It is pretty red along the bottom and looks as if it could end up being a strawberry blond?

 

Crying:  It's so much better!  He pretty much cried when he is bored, needs a diaper changed or is hungry.  We have an occasional outburst for no reason but nothing like we were dealing with before. 

 

Likes:  Loves baths!  Oh my goodness.  He just lays there and smiles.  It is so precious.  He loves mornings.  Sometimes we have to wake him up and even when we do he has the BIGGEST smiles ever.  It is beyond awesome.  He likes looking at himself. 

 

Dislikes:  Not a ton of dislikes at this point.  

 

Milestones:  He can roll from stomach to back.  He has done it on three separate occasions.  I tried getting video today but he wouldn't do it!!  He is doing better and grabbing items.  If you hold an object in front of him he can follow it around.  He knows our voices and will look at us if he hears us talking...

 

Firsts this month:  rolling from stomach to back is the big one. 

 

What I'm thankful for:  so many things.  So thankful that Prevacid seems to be working and we have a much happier baby.  Thankful that he loves daycare.  Thankful that he is sleeping better at night time.  Thankful for a loving family.  Thankful for so many things.