My favorite Christmas picture! And also... my favorite present!

Carter's 2 wk appointment & holiday lights

Carter checked out with flying colors!

We visited w/ Nana a bit after the appointment and Ricky played with his baby brother.

He seems totally adjusted now.

He still gets plenty of personal attention!

After that we went to a Winter Wonderland display at a local public park.  It was full of inflatables and light-up displays.  It was chilly, but Carter was bundled in the stroller and Rickybear ran all around and kept warm.  We also were able to play on the playground there, too.

Do they make Christmas alligators anywhere other than Louisiana??

Wordless Wednesday

Carter's 1 wk appt

Carter had his 1 wk appointment last week and he passed with flying colors.  The pedi was pleased with how alert he was.  Also, the general rule is that babies should be back to their birth weight by 2 weeks.... well, Carter was 7 lb 7 oz, LOL!  So yep, no worries about his weight.  He also grew 1/4 in to bring him to 20.75 in.  His little toes and fingers are so long!  The only slight issue he had was that his right eye goops up- she said it may have something to do with his tear duct, or he may have scratched his eye/lid with his nails, so she prescribed us some gel to put on his eye twice a day.  We go back for his next appointment on Friday.

Having a new baby in the house has been such a big adjustment.  Daddy has been a great help by basically taking over the daily care of Rickybear.  With both kids getting up all night, we are both exhausted.  I think you forget how stressful and tiring and frustrating all of this is or else you wouldn't keep doing it over and over.  Carter is eating every 3 hours or so and has about 12+ diaper changes a day.  He eats like a piggy (about 18-20 oz a day) and gets the hiccups after nearly every meal.  He doesn't spit up very much.  He likes to be held and never likes to be put down.  He won't go to sleep if we put him down awake.  He doesn't like to lay flat on his back.  He frequently rolls from tummy to back... I guess he is protesting tummy time!  He has excellent head control and can push up on his arms, but can't hold it very long.  His cord fell off at 14 days.

Breastfeeding has been a huge struggle.  Something so natural should not be so hard!  I took classes on it before we had Rickybear, but started supplementing with formula by the second night in the hospital when he was having trouble latching and was hysterical.  He never did get the hang of it, so I pumped for 4.5 months, hardly making enough milk to make 2 bottles a day.  At the end, the amount I was expressing was laughable. 

This time around, I was even more determined.  I made it nearly 4 days without supplementing.  We nursed for hours on end but Carter would still be crying and hungry.  He was also so impatient and wanted instant gratification.  I began pumping at this point.  We use Enfamil Newborn when we do supplement.  Around the one week mark, Carter was drinking expressed breast milk plus 2-4 oz a day of formula.  At two weeks, my production was up enough to where he is only drinking expressed breast milk, with a nursing session thrown in there in the middle of the night.  Not the breastfeeding relationship I had planned, but I am so happy with the amount of breast milk he is getting.  I feel like I am tied to the pump, but pumping 10 mins every 2-3 hours is better than nursing for 45 mins every 2-3 hours.  I am getting anywhere from 20-25 oz expressed a day at this point.  Oh, if Carter is especially fussy, I will give him an ounce or two of formula before bed in hopes it will be heavier in his tummy and help settle him down a bit.

As for me, I am healing well.  No more pain, but I am still taking it easy and not doing anything too strenuous.  From the time I got home, I was pretty much an emotional wreck.  I doubted myself and it was honestly just so overwhelming.  I had the baby blues last time and I had it again this time.  I already get kind of down in the winter, but tied together with a new baby, I was crying several times a day.  It got worse around 5 pm when the darkness set in.  After about 2 weeks, my spirits lifted a bit.  It's been 3 days since I randomly started crying, which must mean it's passing.

Lastly, I am 30 pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight.  I am very proud of that, but I worry I might gain a little back.  Since I am nursing, I am not supposed to be dieting.  In fact, I am supposed to be eating an extra 500 calories a day.  Regardless, I am pleased!



Hello, I'm still here!

I have to admit, I wasn't the most keen about being a big brother.  Mostly because I spent the night away from my parents for the first time ever, but I was spoiled rotten by my grandparents, so it all worked out ok.  I went to go visit mommy and daddy at the hospital, but I wasn't too sure about what was going on.  Then, when I got home, the baby cried a lot and it scared me, and it made me cry, too.  I have gotten used to it since then.  Sometimes I am too loud and I wake the baby up, but I can't help it.  I think I like Carter.  Mommy likes it when I crawl up on the bed and pat his head.  I know to call him baby and I am working on calling him CJ.  I think being a big brother might be ok after all.

I haven't been sleeping well at all.  I cut my last of the 4 molars that were coming in on Monday 12/5.  I thought it was all over, but now my canines are coming through.  When will this end??  How many teeth am I supposed to have??

Anyway, that's all for now.

Love,

Rickybear

It's a boy!!

Welcome to the world, Carter James!!

Born 8:24 pm on 12/03/11

Weight: 6 lb 14.5 oz

Height: 20.5 in

I love you!

Pregnancy Update- Week 39

I had a doctor appointment on Wednesday 11/30/11.  It took two hours to be seen, but there were 3 other pregnant ladies in the waiting room who were at all different stages of pregnancy, but they were all teachers in three different school districts.  It was really neat hearing their different experiences.  We were all pregnant with our second child.

Once I got back to the doctor, I was checked and at 2cm dilated.  Whoo hoo!  Still no contractions at that point, so we decided to set up an induction date for the following Tuesday 12/06/11 in case I didn't go on my own before then.  I liked the idea of induction this time around since I knew what to expect and really wanted my doctor to be the one to deliver me since she was so calm and reassuring last time, and since she was able to turn Rickybear (who was sunny-side up) during the delivery.  With the gestational diabetes, I wanted to make sure the baby wasn't going to be too large to deliver naturally.

Overall, I was feeling good.  A little more heartburn, but I was feeling pretty energetic.  Hip pain wasn't very bad.  Back pain wasn't too bad.  I was feeling pretty ready for it all to be over with, even if I was getting more and more nervous about the delivery itself.  Little did I know that I wouldn't make it to my induction date.

Maternity Pics

I can't wait to have our newborn/1 month pictures taken!

About the photographer:

His name is Shawn Adair.  He loves photography, but mainly takes nature and landscape pictures.  I believe we were his first portrait session.  He was easy-going and easy to communicate with.  His price was also very reasonable.  If you are local and in need of a photographer, please let me know and I can get you in touch with him.  He also has a facebook page: Shawn Adair Photography

18 Month Doctor Appointment

Rickybear had his 18 month well visit on Monday.  He passed with flying colors.  His Maw Maw and Paw Paw met me at the doctor’s office with him, along with one of his cousins.  He played peekaboo with everybody in there, lol.  He was already a little fussy and suffering from a diaper rash, so when we got back to the room for the actual visit- he was a MESS!

We did the screening questions that would show some markers for autism, but he passed that with no problems.  He is on par or ahead of schedule with his milestones.  His ears and lungs looked great.  His teeth and gums looked good.  Aside from his raw tushie, he was perfect. 

As for the stats:

Weight: 22 lb 1 oz

Height: 30.5 inches

Head Circ: 17.5 inches

I was given the option for Rickybear to receive 4 shots that day, but since he doesn’t go to daycare, I didn’t find it necessary to have them all given at once.  We ended up agreeing to the flu shot and then also one more (which actually is 3 vaccines in 1).  He screamed bloody murder and ripped those bandaids off his thighs as soon as the nurse put them on there.  That boy was ANGRY. 

His grandparents were planning to take him and his cousin to IHOP right afterwards for lunch and I was so nervous that he would be trouble, but they said he was great once he got in there and entertained all of the waitresses.  When they went home, he took a 4 hour nap, the last two hours of which were spent laying on his Paw Paw.  Poor thing was recuperating from the shots.  He didn’t sleep too well that night for me, but I brought him to our bed around midnight and didn’t have a problem after that.

We are so fortunate that our little man is so happy and healthy and full of life!!