4 Months

I actually made it on time!  Holla! And got a picture on his actual 4th month!!  How about that???  Ha

 

 

 

Height & Weight:  I don't have "official" weight and height.  We got off schedule with his appointments and his 4 month appointment isn't until the end of this month, so will update with the 5 month update.

 

Health:  we survived his first ear infection.  Shew that was a long 10 days.  He had his first cold and ear infection.  They put him on amoxicillin which he HATED!   Whoa, he would scream the entire way through it.  It had to be given twice a day and it made it difficult.  We even tried getting it flavored and that did not work either. 

I took him back for a follow up appointment and the infection as gone.  Yay!!!  He is starting to get congested again so prayers that it does  not lead to another ear infection! 

 

Sleep:  Sleep is about the same which we can't complain.  He is still in his Rock and Play at night time.  Daycare started him in the crib for one nap a day.  So we followed their lead and tried this past weekend and he did great!  I was so proud of him.  We will transition night time sleeping in the next month or so (yikes).

He also only sleeps in our arms twice a day.  Right before he goes to bed and right when we get home from daycare.  He takes a 30 minute nap if he hadn't slept much during the afternoon.  During the day he sleeps in his little chair or crib.

Strangely he mainly uses paci's during the day but not at night.  Occasionally he needs one and we will give it to him, but he isn't reliant on them at night and I hope he stays that way.

 

Clothes/Diapers:  He is still in size 2 diapers and wearing mainly 6-9 month clothing.  He is really long.  

 

Social:  He is a social butterfly.  The girls at daycare are always telling me how much they love him and how much he smiles at them... It makes my heart so warm.  He does a good job if we get out and do things and doesn't really like being confined to the house.

 

Diet:  He is still doing the same...currently on GentleEase and has just bumped up to 5.5 ounces during the day and 6 ounces for two night time feedings.  We have stopped using gas drops, but we are still putting 2tsp of rice in each bottle.  He eats pretty much every three hours during the day.   

 

Baby Gear Love:  He is still mainly playing on activity mats, but is now wanting to be standing or sitting.  We use his exersaucer some and bumbo seat.  The problem is he spits up a lot when he is in them.  We are still working on tummy time and hope that he will be sitting up soon unassisted.  We have also started using the baby carrier and it is a hit!  It is so much nicer to be able to hold him without having to carry him in our arms!

 

Hair/Eyes:  His eyes are still really blue and his hear is a strawberry blond. We are still wondering about his hair and if it will stay that way.

 

Crying:  It's gotten so much better but he still has his moments.  Like last night.  Nothing was going the right way.  Didn't want to be held, didn't want to be put down...just one of those exhausting nights.  He is super LOUD when he cries.   

 

Likes:  Loves baths still.  Loves his big brother.  Sometimes Garrett will be so annoying to us, but Carter LOVES it and giggles.  So we just let him go and make him laugh.  He loves mornings and is super smiley then.  I've found some tickle spots on him and it is so awesome!

 

Dislikes:  Doesn't have specifics, but he goes from 0 to 60 in the blink of an eye.  He is happy for most of the time, but when he does get mad he gets MAD.  I guess it's his red hair?  ha.  Who knows.

 

Milestones:  He slept in a crib for the first time.  Is getting better and rolling back and forth.  He found his toes!  Oh my goodness he LOVES his toes.  If he could get them in his mouth I swear he would never let go!

 

Firsts this month:  Sleeping in the crib was the big one this month.  He also sat in a high chair by himself.  He somewhat enjoyed it.  It was nice for us to be able to eat with both hands.  I'm not sure if it is a boy thing or what, but he will not sit in his car seat and chill...no way!

 

What I'm thankful for:  so thankful for a happier baby.  So thankful he has started getting used to the crib.  Praying that he will do find when we transition at night time.  I'm super nervous.

Typical Day: I've added this to help me remember what days are like...

On daycare days Carter wakes up around 6:30am.  We have to give him Prevacid between 6:00-6:15 before he eats.  After he eats we let him "play" which consists currently of him laying and kicking on a play mat.  Usually around 7:30 he is getting tired and will sit in his chair until it's time to go to school.  We try to leave by 7:30 to go to school.  Josh and I alternate days taking the boys.  We pick him up between 5:15 and 5:30 and he plays again until around 6:00.  If he took a good nap at school we keep letting him play.  If he hasn't then we put him down for about a 30-45 minute nap.  He eats around 6:30-6:45 and then is up until 7:30 to 8:00.  We do bath and then we hold him until his 9:30 bottle.  I guess once we switch him to the crib we will try and get him to sleep on his own after his bath.  We just have to figure that out once we get there...

On non daycare days, we do the eat/play/sleep.  We are less rigid and let him sleep when he is tired.  We pretty much follow the same as daycare days.  Now we have added the crib in for him to take naps in.  He is outgrowing his chair, so the crib will be here before we know it.

Josh and I are usually exhausted by the time bedtime rolls around and have a hard time keeping our eyes open. 

 

Not sitting by himself yet...the lean often happens

 

He LOVES to stand

 

 

Happy 4 months buddy!

 

3 Months

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:  I don't have "official" weight and height but he is growing.  He had to go to the doctor Friday and weighed 15lbs.  Shew.  He is a heavyweight...ha. 

 

Health:  He had his first sick visit Friday :-(  I was hoping that we wouldn't get sick for a while since he is attending daycare in the summertime vs. wintertime.  Oh well.  He was really congested and had a temp of 100.5.  We decided since it was Friday we better bring him in before the weekend got here.  He also would scream when we laid him down to change his diaper, so I thought he may have an ear infection. 
Poor thing does have his first ear infection.  It's just in one ear, but they put him on amoxicillin.  I don't like putting him on meds this early, but hopefully it will make him feel better.  He does have a tad bit of an upset stomach and HATES taking his medicine.  We are almost three days down and he has 7 days left.  He is still congested and has a nasty cough.  Prayers that it clears up SOON.
Other than that he is a healthy boy. 

 

Sleep:  Sleep is about the same which we can't complain.  The only bad thing right now is the cough he has.  It keeps us up sometimes at night with it, but he is still sleeping so that's good. 
During the day we still have him in his little chair that he sleeps in.  We have not introduced the crib to him yet and honestly we aren't in a rush.  The problem is that he is going to outgrow his chair and sleeper soon.  I hope that we can wait until five months to do it.  Daycare is going to start introducing the crib soon.  If anyone has any advice on it I would love to hear.

 

Clothes/Diapers:  He is still in size 2 diapers and wearing 3-6 month clothing.  Some 6-9 month also depending on who makes it and the cut of the clothing.  

 

Social:  He is a social butterfly.  The girls at daycare are always telling me how much they love him and how much he smiles at them... It makes my heart so warm.  He does a good job if we get out and do things and doesn't really like being confined to the house.

 

Diet:  He is still doing the same...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:  He has started sitting in the BUMBO seat some and we have started to introduce the bouncy seats too.  He can stand those for a little bit.  He really just enjoys laying on the ground and kicking and moving.  It's amazing how he is never still.  Garrett was the same way.  One part of the body is always moving!!!

 

Hair/Eyes:  His eyes are still really blue and his hear is a strawberry blond. We are still wondering about his hair and if it will stay that way.

 

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 still.  He also love his family and will just give the biggest grins... 

 

Dislikes:  Not a ton of dislikes at this point.  

 

Milestones:  He rolled from back to stomach a few times and once got his arm out from under his belly!  So proud of him.  He can sit up in his seats without assistance.  He can also focus on an object and grab them and get them.  He tries so hard.

 

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

 

What I'm thankful for:  so thankful for a happier baby.  Prayers that he gets done with this ear infection soon.

Typical Day: I've added this to help me remember what days are like...
On daycare days Carter wakes up around 6:30am.  We have to give him Prevacid between 6:00-6:15 before he eats.  After he eats we let him "play" which consists currently of him laying and kicking on a play mat.  Usually around 7:30 he is getting tired and will sit in his chair until it's time to go to school.  We try to leave by 7:30 to go to school.  Josh and I alternate days taking the boys.  We pick him up between 5:15 and 5:30 and he plays again until around 6:00.  If he took a good nap at school we keep letting him play.  If he hasn't then we put him down for about a 30-45 minute nap.  He eats around 6:30-6:45 and then is up until 7:30 to 8:00.  We do bath and then we hold him until his 9:30 bottle.  I guess once we switch him to the crib we will try and get him to sleep on his own after his bath.  We just have to figure that out once we get there...
On non daycare days, we do the eat/play/sleep.  We are less rigid and let him sleep when he is tired.  We pretty much follow the same as daycare days.
Josh and I are usually exhausted by the time bedtime rolls around and have a hard time keeping our eyes open. 

No picture...mommy fail.  I have plenty from his 3 months, but I don't have an "official" 3 month picture.

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.

 

 

 

 

One Month Old

Technically he is five and a half weeks today, and more than likely I will be late on posting anyway for future months!  This will be a somewhat boring post because there isn't a lot going on with a one month old except eating, crying and sleeping. 

 

5 week pic

 

G trying to help

 

 

Height & Weight:  He is currently at 11.69 pounds and 22 inches long.  He has grown 2 inches in 5 weeks!  Holy smokes!  His weight is in the 81st percentile and his length is in the 53rd percentile.  Hopefully he will keep growing to distribute that weight.  Although I love his chunky little legs and cheeks.  Garrett was chunky until after the age of two and then he thinned on out.  He is still SOLID...ha!

 

Health:  We went for our check up today and we have an overall healthy baby.  As most of y'all know I was involved in a pregnancy study where they tracked me with exercise.  The study has continued to our babies at this point if we want to continue the study.  I decided to continue on with the study.  They performed an ultrasound on his heart, and EKG and MRI (from shoulders to knees).   I agreed since there was no radiation involved and they didn't have to put him to sleep, etc.  When we did the heart ultrasound they found a hole in his heart.  They said this is completely normal, but his was a teeny bit larger then what they normally see.  They said not to worry, but they want to follow back up when he is 6-7 months old.  So we will see what happens.

Our first three weeks were an adjustment and hard for everyone.  Carter was in pain (reflux/gas) and we were sleep deprived and couldn't figure out what was going on with him.  We went through three formulas and Zantac.  Experimented with rice (per our pediatrician)  and just kept at it.  He's still not good, but has improved a lot and that's all we can ask for.  The doctor increased his Zantac and said to keep on it through the weekend and if we haven't improved she has given us a new medication to start to see if that works.  We will see what happens!

Picture of the EKG...so many wires!

 

Sleep:  Oh sleep, how I have missed you and took you for granted.  Wow!  We forgot what the first bit is like.  Wow.  I have an AMAZING husband that I can't tell you how much I appreciate!  He is alternating nights with me.  We take turns every other night staying up with Carter.  This has worked out amazing for us (except not seeing each other at night as much).  The first three weeks were a crap shot and we were all over the place.  In the past couple of weeks we have seen improvement and as I said we will take improvement.  He has finally made it to every 3 hours pretty much at night time.  We have had the occasional 4 hour stretch which are so EXCITING!!!  We are just continuing on and know that eventually he will sleep through the night.  Being able to recoup every other night makes the biggest difference.

He is sleeping in a rocker (see previous post on blog) and it has helped so much.  We will see what happens when he goes to daycare and sleeps in a crib.  We will start transitioning to a crib around 4 months.  Or until he outgrows what he is sleeping in :-)

We started off swaddling him because G couldn't sleep without it. Well Carter didn't want it.  As soon as he gets control of his limbs I think he will sleep well in the crib, but he wakes himself up at this point.  At night time he is in a sleep sack. 

We currently do not have to rock him. G had to be rocked for 30-45 minutes before he would fall asleep so this is great for us. 

During the day he is in our arms a bit, but I've decided that I'm going to enjoy it.  He is our last baby and if we snuggle more than normal than so be it.  He will sleep by himself too (he currently has been in his sleeper for about and hour and a half) so that's OK with us.

 

Clothes/Diapers:  The boy busted out of newborn clothes after the first week.  He is pretty much in 3-6 month clothing.  He is in size 1 diapers. 

 

Social:  He has started smiling, giggling and cooing.  So awesome.  He is also able to reach out and grab things.  He knows my voice and will turn his head when he hears me.  It is going to be hard going back to work.  I have created a bond with him and will miss it tremendously.

 

Diet:  He is currently on GentleEase and is taking 4 ounces.  We have gas drops in each bottle along with 2tsp of rice.  He eats pretty much every three hours except at night time when he occasionally hits longer stretches.

 

Baby Gear Love:  At this point there isn't a lot to play with.  He loves black and white.  We have a play mat (pictured below)  for him to lay under that he will laugh and giggle with it.  I get so tickled listening to him giggle.  He also loves anything that crinkles. 

This is a picture of it. 

 

 

 

 

Crying:  It's not terrible.  He doesn't cry too too much, but when he does, be prepared!  He can flip in a heartbeat.  when he is angry you will know!  That little face goes beat red and the alarms go off!  Ha.  I can usually calm him within 5-10 minutes (that feel like 5-10 hours sometimes).  We have had times where he goes for 30 plus minutes.  We are hoping his medication will improve him.

 

Likes:  Loves baths, food and having his diaper changed.  He will sit in the bath and just chill.  He looks like a little old man sometimes in a hot tub!  Ha!  He enjoys sleeping in our arms.  He also burbs and farts like the big boys.  My life with boys will be loud and interesting!

 

Dislikes:  Sleeping on his own...ha.  We really have gotten better with this, but if he could sleep on his belly I think he would sleep for HOURS.  He sleeps so well.  But he can't safely sleep at this point on his belly.  Eventually when he can roll back and forth maybe he will become a stomach sleeper.

At first the sun was not his friend.  He wouldn't even open his eyes.  Now he will open them :-)

Not a huge fan of his car seat.  It's a 50/50 chance on if he will ride peacefully or scream. 

 

Milestones:  He can now focus on objects and reach and touch them.  He does amazing at holding his head up.  When we do tummy time he can lift that big head and turn from side to side!  He is sleeping longer by himself and at night.  We are not on a schedule by any means and don't plan on being on one anytime soon.  We are still in "survival" mode and just taking it day to day.

 

Firsts this month:  Well since he just came into the world, everything is new.  The smiles and giggling are what stand out.

 

What I'm thankful for:  God, family and friends FOR SURE!  I could not do this without all of them.  We typically listen to Christian music during the day.  It calms me and I think he does too.  I have also started reading Jesus Daily and it is point on!  I love it.  We are so fortunate to have family that lives in town.  Without them we would not have been able to be where we are!  Praise the Lord for them.  I am also thankful for a sweet five year old that LOVES his brother and does an amazing job dealing with the crying and new schedule of this new life.  I am so proud of him. 

 

Pictures from his first month:  sorry for the number

Snuggles and pure bliss

 

our burrito all wrapped up

 

this makes me laugh...see Josh in the background :-)

 

Making Carter a part of the family dinner experience.  Sometimes he cooperates, other times he is in our arms

 

Sandy showing some LOVE

 

Big Brother and Little Brother.  Crazy how much Carter has changed from this picture

 

Carter in his mittens because he would always scratch his face.  He doesn't wear them now

 

When Carter would just fall asleep anywhere!  Watching Tom and Jerry together

 

Smiles while falling asleep

 

 

Garrett enjoying Carter's toy as much as he does

 

Very alert!

 

He laid slept in a basinet for the first few weeks

 

 

Ugly cry...sometimes mommy would cry too.  ha

 

He loves to be naked

 

Love those big eyes!!!

 

This is good sleep, eyes rolling in the back of your head good.  scary looking but funny

 

 

Tummy time

 

Proof of how angry we can get

 

What you looking at?

 

Big brother love

 

First start of smiles

 

always has his fist up

 

 

Outdoor time!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life Today

Well it's been about five weeks and I just want to document how things are going and what life is like for us these days.

I'm going to be honest.  The first three weeks were so very hard.  We came home from the hospital and things seemed to be going great with Carter.  We would lay him down and poof he would go to sleep.  We thought that we had won the lottery and that we were going to have a great sleeper on our hands.  Well I guess he was just giving us a few days of peace before he piped up!  Ha! 

He was all over the place with sleep/eating etc.  He was looking like he was in pain a lot.  Not sure if it was gas or reflux or just adjusting to life outside the womb.  We were at the doctors office two or three times and we went through FOUR different formulas.  We started with what the hospital sent us home with.  Then we tried Gentle Ease from Enfamil.  He was still spitting up and acting as though he was in pain.  They switched us to Enfamil AR.  This seemed to be working the best but he was still acting unhappy and in pain.  From there we were switched to Nutramigen and prescribed Zantac.  This was kind of "the last option".  Well it worked great the first couple of days and then Carter started having diarrhea.  Apparently this is a side effect of this formula.  One step forward, two steps back.  We called the peds and they said to keep him on it for 10 days and if we weren't happy to switch back.  Well we made the decision to switch him back to GentleEase and continue the Zantac and add rice to his formula (the peds said we could do this before I get any backlash of starting rice early).  We would have never done this with the first baby, we would have left him on it until the 10th day.  This time we listened to our instincts and glad we did.  He still has tons of spit up, but doesn't seem "in pain" except occasionally.  We've decided to wait it out.

Right now we are waking Carter every three hours during the day.  He is so HUNGRY all the time.  Sometimes it's hard to get him to three hours.  It was also hard to figure out how much he is supposed to eat especially with the spit up.  Are we feeding him too much?  Not enough?  etc.  Right now (at 5 weeks, 6 Days old) he is eating 4 ounces of formula with 2tsp of rice and gas drops in each bottle.  For now this is working.

I try and do the eat, play, sleep with him.  It's hard.  Babies don't come with instruction booklets.  Sometimes he sleeps and then wants to sleep right after a bottle.  Doesn't he know he's supposed to play now!  I've started now just going with the flow and doing my best.

 

 

 

These were taken in the first few weeks.  He looks so different now. 

 

A "typical" day for Carter and I right now is kind of boring, but I'm enjoying.  I watch Army Wives when he is sleeping.  We got a subscription to Netflix before I went on maternity leave.  Best decision ever (or not).  I have always wanted to watch Scandal, so I watched the first two seasons.  Dying to see season three!  Now I'm watching Army Wives.  OMG  Amazing.  Love it!  I also try to do something productive each day.  I've cleaned a closet out, cleaned out our freezer, etc.  We do a ton of laundry, vacuum, and wash and clean bottles and make bottles.  I think I could make bottles in my sleep. 

He is sleeping in this amazing sleeper I found through another blog. 

 

We had started him off in a bassinet, but with his reflux and spitting up it wasn't working.  We tried a wedge to elevate him but that wasn't great either.  He would wiggle his way down and wake himself up.  The reviews were amazing on this and said their kids slept so good in it (for like HOURS).  Well he will go about 3 hours and we will take it!  Praise!!

He has started to giggle lately and it melts my heart.  We have good days and we have days that make you want to open a bottle of wine at 10am.  Ha! 

With Garrett I wanted to go back to work by 8 weeks.  I just couldn't figure it out and needed to go back to work.  For the first 3.5 weeks I felt the same with Carter.  This past week though we have started having a good time.  I am truly going to miss being with him daily.  We are so fortunate to have an amazing daycare and I love his teacher.  Ms. Connie was Garrett's teacher and helped us so much!  She is incredible!  I feel so confident leaving Carter with her.  It will be an adjustment for sure.

This week I plan on doing a one month update this week.  As part of the pregnancy study I did Carter is now in a study as well.  He had an EKG done, a heart ultrasound and an MRI this week.  They hope to repeat again at 6 months and a year.  The study could go further than that, but they are just in the beginning stages right now.