Video

Just a (long) video of our little man. He smiles a little in the beginning.

And, Sarah, you must watch until the end because there's a special treat for you.

God Bless Dr. Brown

For over a week, we've been trying to get Carter to eat from a bottle. We tried Avent and Medela nipples, but he just drowned. He would struggle to breathe and make these awful noises, and his eyes would pop out and his arms would fly up. It was terrifying. For all of us.


Tonight we decided to try the Dr. Browns bottles just to see if it was any different. We were given advice to try all kinds of nipples to find the one that worked for him. We were also going to try pulling him off after 4 or 5 sucks (or whatever it would be right before he drowned) but he took to it like a champ. No choking. It was amazing. He drank 2.5 oz and now he's snoozing on Daddy.

I feel such relief. Now Chris can have the bonding time feeding him, and we can send him to daycare without me having to drop in every 3 hours to feed him!

Smiles

My little man gave his first awake smile on Friday and every day he gives us more and more. It's just amazing. And of course I can never catch it on film. It absolutely makes my day to see him grin like that.

Happy birthday, Brian!!

We were up in Baltimore this weekend to celebrate my stepdad's 65th birthday. Doesn't he look cute???!!!

He gets it from his Uncle Rick

This is how our little man wakes up. He's a bear.










Does that look say "Feed Me" or what?

Proof

Need further proof that Carter's a munchkin?

Thanks for the pic, Nelson!

One Month Checkup

We saw a different doctor in the practice today and she was AWESOME. We've been really happy with all the doctors we've met and I'm so glad I chose this practice. They rock.

Anyway...

My boobs must be making skim milk because we've got a little munchkin on our hands. He's up to 8 lbs 8 oz, which is the 10-25th percentile, and his length is now 21.5 inches, which is the 50th percentile. But the doctor was happy with his growth and overall health (minus the cold he's still fighting) and said we're doing a great job. Carter got his second hepatitis shot and screamed his little head off. Poor thing. But I nursed him right afterward (literally within 45 seconds) and he's been sleeping ever since.

Happy Birthday, Little Man!

Today, my little man turns one month old. One month! I can't believe it. The first two weeks were a complete haze of lack of sleep, baby blues, and sore nipples. I loved HIM but I didn't love every day. Now? I love every day. I love this child so much. He's so much fun. Right now he's laying on my chest as I type this, sleeping soundly after eating a meal that only I can provide. It's pretty amazing.


Here's his first monthly pic, compared to his monkey friend. Each month, I'll do a new one and see how he grows. I stole this idea from Girl, because she's creative like that.


And in other FABULOUS news....Chris is finally out of the Army!! Today was his last day of Individual Ready Reserve and he's now been released completely. To say I'm relieved is a huge understatement. I've been waiting for this day for 5 1/2 years.

Carter met Santa today!

Chris' office had their annual holiday party so Carter and I joined in the fun. Our carmelitas placed second in the bakeoff and Carter even got to meet Santa!! (Too bad he slept through it...)

Ryan Robert!

I suck. I completely forgot to post about the happy news last week...my nephew, Ryan Robert, was born!! He was born on December 3, 2007 and was 8 lbs, 10 oz and 20 inches long. A big boy! And he looks just like his granddaddy. I knew he would. I just felt it.

I can't wait for Carter to meet him this spring. I hope they grow as close as Holly and I have and become the best of friends.

I'm sorry, Ryan. I'm already a bad aunt. I'll make it up to you, little man.

She's all growed up!

Before any more times passes, we want to wish our friend Carley a belated Happy 2nd Birthday! You're growing up too fast, little girl.

MIA

Yes, I'm aware that I've been slacking. My baby is sick and it sucks. I wish I could give him some Mucinex...

Happy Hannukah!

What's in a name...

We've had a lot of people ask us where the name Carter came from. I don't think it's that unique of a name to have so many people confused about our choice, but I will tell you this...

He's not named after this guy or this guy. It's not a family name either. In fact, he's not named after anybody. It's just a name we like. I'm sure we saw it somewhere in a baby names book, or even from the baby store.

All I know is that I like that we chose a name that people seem to respond to. And if you're one of the few who don't like it, don't tell me. I don't care. :-P

2 Week Pediatrician Appointment

My little guy is a supermodel in the making. He's long and lean. Weight is up to 8lbs from a birth weight of 7lbs 13oz, and he's 21 inches long. 25th percentile for weight and 50-75th percentile for length. Doc has put him on a Vitamin D supplement since there's not much D in breastmilk. Our dude is growing perfectly and Dr. Jarvandi was very happy with his progress. We go back in two weeks for his one month checkup and his second hepatitis shot.

These lips...

could you just die over them???

And I finally got the Moby figured out (with Chris' help, of course!):

First Tub Bath

Carter had his first tub bath last night and he did so great! He cried a little bit, but didn't seem to hate it TOO much.

And then he napped...He also had his first "official" tummy time this weekend. He's got strong neck muscles!

It's time to decorate!

I just realized what today is...it's Christmas decorating day!! I totally forgot about that in this haze of motherhood.

My mom's coming down tomorrow to hang out with Carter and help us clean the condo a little. So Chris and I will go down to storage and bring up all the Christmas decorations. I can't wait!

They grow up so fast...

What's missing from this picture???

Turkey Day Delights

Chris made our Thanksgiving meal. From start to finish. I did nothing but watch tv and feed the baby. He's amazing. It was so good.

Carter's meal: Our deliciousness. Yes, we're ghetto with our canned cranberry sauce and Stove Top stuffing. But we love it and we have a newborn, so get over it.

After our meals, we did what everyone does on Thanksgiving. All three of us took a nap! Carter invited some friends.

Bath Time!

Oh so cold!
Is it over yet???All clean!Finished product. I smell delicious!

I'm thankful for...

...these two boys.

39 Weeks

Um , I mean, one week postpartum. Sorry, it's a habit now. :-)

I don't look like this but I feel like I do!

I got the blues

Got the baby blues. It sucks. Poor Chris has to watch me cry at least once an hour. It's awful. Really, really awful.

And, don't worry, we're keeping a close eye on me to make sure it doesn't turn into something worse.

I can always count on Chris to make me laugh, though. Yesterday he was putting my breast pump together and tested the manual one on himself. I haven't laughed that hard in forever. Then, just now he called my nursing tank my "boobie g-string" because of how it holds my boobs. That man cracks me up.

Carter's First Pediatrician Visit

His visit yesterday went very well. He's gained 2.5 oz since he was discharged from the hospital. Dr. Jarvandi was awesome. He gave me some good breastfeeding advice that's working really well for us, even though I'm having some latching issues. I've left a message for the lactation consultant and am hoping to get in there tomorrow. They pricked his heel again to check his bili levels because he's a little bit yellow, but the levels came back in the normal range. The doctor was very impressed with how strong our little man is. Obviously, he didn't look at my beefcake of a husband.

Headed out to see the doc:

Getting checked out by Dr. Jarvandi:

All done!

I don't have the words...

I was devastated to hear yesterday that my friend D lost her little baby on her due date of November 18, 2007. She was absolutely amazing to me when we lost the Nugget. I'll never forget that. She doesn't deserve this.

Two babies lost this way in less than a year. My heart just hurts.

Our Birth Story

All day Wednesday (at 38 weeks exactly) I'd been having more uncomfortable contractions from 5 a.m. on. I went for my weekly appointment and she checked me and I was a little over 2 cm. She offered to massage my cervix a little to see if that would help move things along, but I could only allow her to do it for a few seconds because it hurt too bad. Got me red-faced and sweaty within seconds! Ouch.

I left the office with instructions for the induction for 11/20. I couldn't believe we only had 6 days left and I had so much to do! Little did I know...

I went to the mall afterwards and walked around for a while, having contractions still fairly regularly, but not regularly enough. After that, I was tired so I went home and really just laid around all the rest of the day.

Around dinnertime, the contractions were still pretty bad so I started bouncing and sitting on the yoga ball hoping that would help. It did for a while and then I decided around 9:00 that I wanted to try to sleep a little since I'd been up for so long. I fell asleep right away and was surprised when I woke up that I was able to actually sleep through the contractions. I started to get up to pee and felt "something" coming out of me. The best way I can explain it is that it felt like a big clot that sometimes comes out the first day of your period. I knew that probably wasn't a good thing so I got up really fast and realized it wasn't stopping! I ran to the bathroom and sat on the toilet and realized I wasn't bleeding (thank god!) but my water had broken. I couldn't believe it. I'd been playing in my head with how it might go down for a few weeks and then it actually happened. I was shocked. I yelled for Chris and told him my water broke and to get me a phone so I can call the doctor. The doctor called back right away and I told him we were headed to the hospital. Chris started gathering some last minute items, helped me get some clothes on (while still having spurts of water coming out), and got me down to the car and we were on our way!

Then...the REAL contractions started. Oh man. I breathed through one or two, texted some peeps and our blog, and we were at the hospital pretty fast. Thank goodness we don't live too far away. I had a contraction or two while in the ER and had to moan and hum through them. They were pretty freaking bad. They got me upstairs to L&D and hooked up and the contractions were coming about 4 to 5 minutes apart. They were HORRIBLE. They checked me and I was still at 2cm and was scared I wouldn't be able to get an epidural because I thought there was a "magic number" I had to be at first. Thankfully, there wasn't. The only issue was that I had to go through an entire saline IV before they'd give it to me. That bag never looked so big. Thankfully it only took about a half hour (the loooongest half hour of my life) and my angel anesthesiologist walked in. The needle stung and weird shocks went down my right butt cheek, but it wasn't bad at all. Not at all what I had envisioned. I had about two more contractions after it was inserted that I felt, and then I sometimes felt a little tightening but absolutely no pain.

Dr. Montilla came in to check me and I'd progressed to 4 cm. Woot! We hung out for a little while and then Nurse Sandy came in to check me again. She felt my cervix and I heard her say softly, "Oh my god." I was like, "What?! What's going on?" and she said I was almost complete. I was at 9 cm. An hour and a half had passed since I got my epidural. Pretty darn quick! The baby was still at -3 station so he had a ways to go so she told me to chill for a while and they'd come back and check me in a bit and see if he'd descended.

About 20 minutes later (I think), we'd been resting (me, Chris and my mom) and I turned to my mother and said, "Mom, can you go get a nurse? I think I feel the baby." It felt like he was trying to come out. Karen, my midwife came in, checked and said, "Yep, that's what you feel! Get ready to push in a few minutes." He'd come down to +2 station already.

Pushing wasn't at all what I expected. I pushed when I felt a contraction, although what I was feeling was actually Carter moving down the birth canal, not any actual contractions. And in between contractions, for about a minute or so we just chatted with each other. It was very calm and easy and a little bit fun. I pushed for about 40 or 45 minutes and our handsome little Turkey was born. I almost didn't have any tearing but that little hand covering his face in all of his ultrasounds? Yeah, he was born that way also. He came out with fist pumping like a little rock star.

I had second degree tears so it took an extra half hour or so for Karen to stitch me up. Once I was settled and Carter was taken care of (Apgars of 9 and 9, thank you very much), Chris went out to get my parents and his mom. Little did we know that they already knew he'd been born. Chris' cell phone phantom-dialed his parents' house and his stepdad answered and heard the entire delivery! Once it was over, he called my MIL and told her. So funny! We couldn't believe he heard the whole thing. So crazy.

Some pics of Carter's arrival:

We're in Love...

Carter Dale Anderson was born at 3:46 a.m. He is 20.75 inches long and 7 lbs 13 oz. Son and mom are happy and healthy!

9 cm!!!! Gonna push soon. This is going really fast!

4 cm...epidural is a godsend.

Honey, it' time! My water broke about 20 minutes ago. Holy shit.

38 Weeks

Good lord...

No More Doctor's Appointments!

Today was my last appointment. Going in, I thought for sure I was in labor. I was woken up at 4:45 this morning with pretty painful contractions, much more painful than the Braxton Hicks I'd been having. They were about 5 minutes apart and lasting a little less than a minute for a few hours, so I got up and showered and shaved my legs (just in case!) and headed out for my regular appointment. Just before I left I used the bathroom (if you know what I mean...and it was soft-serve...a sure sign of labor, right???) and then noticed some blood on my pad. Bloody show? I wasn't sure.

Got the doc's office and had my ultrasound and the baby measured right around the same as last week. His head is 9.5 cm. Yikes. But he still seems to be about 7 1/2 lbs.

Midwife checked my cervix and I'm now a big 2 cm and 70% effaced. She tried stretching my cervix a little but I had her stop because it hurt too bad. Had me all sorts of sweaty. She did say that she saw some bloody show, so it wasn't my imagination.

She confirmed that we are set for Tuesday for the induction. That's 6 days from now!! And that's if I don't go into labor on my own by then, and the way these contractions are, I can't imagine I'll last until Tuesday.

I went to the mall after my appointment to walk around a little and it took me an hour to walk both levels. If you've ever been to Fair Oaks Mall, you'd know it's not a big mall at all. Shouldn't take me that long. But I had to keep stopping for contractions and was walking like an old lady because my groin muscles are so sore. Pathetic.

Sorry to worry you, Erika!

Turkey's new winter hat and mittens

Nursery's Done!

Finally, right? Nothing like the last minute. Feels like we've worked on that tiny little room for forever. But now everything's done except putting his name on the wall, which we can't do until, of course, we decide on his name. It's a much cuter room in person, but you get the idea.

37 Weeks

So weird. I uploaded the pics right after Chris took them, but then forgot to do a blog post! So, here are my 37 week pics.

2 a.m.

What makes me laugh:
Sitting on the toilet to pee and a fart escapes. What makes it better? When that fart makes your baby jump.

What doesn't make me laugh:
Being awake at 2 a.m.

The End is in Sight!

My last day of work is Friday. It's official. I just can't do it anymore. I'm so relieved and so happy.

Happy Term Day!

Thanks, LA, for the Term Day Haiku. I'm so excited to finally be on the receiving end of one of these.

Chubby cheeks, sweet mouth,
All your Mama ever dreamed.
Turkey, you're done now.

In other news....ANDRIA'S HAVING HER BABY TODAY!!!

37 Week Appointment

Went back to the doc this afternoon for my weekly appointment. We were supposed to see her this morning but she was stuck in a delivery so I rescheduled rather than waiting it out.

Anyway, the good news is that these damn contractions are actually DOING something. I'm a big 1 cm dilated and 60% effaced. I know that doesn't mean I'm going into labor anytime soon, but it was a relief to know that they're not completely useless and that my body's doing what it's supposed to do.

We talked some more about inducing and I'm going back next week for another sono to check his size again. In the meantime, she'll schedule it for the 20th because the hospital requires 2 weeks notice, or something like that. We can always reschedule if that date doesn't work. I'll let you all know as soon as we have an actual induction date, if it comes to that.

I can't believe the end is almost here and we'll have our son home soon. I'm so excited!

Sending the love

It's a hard day for Andria today. Please send her a mental hug. She needs it, and deserves it.

Sizing Ultrasound

Had our sizing ultrasound this morning. Man, we created a cute kid! He's got these huge cheeks that even made the sono tech say, "Wow! Look at those cheeks!" Big buddha belly too. She said I'm doing a good job packing weight on him. Guess I should lay off the eclairs (darn you, Andria!). I gained another 2 lbs this week. Not horrible, considering my total is 22 lbs now.

Right now, based on his head, belly and femur measurements, he weighs about 7lbs 6oz. So, if I go to term, he'll be about 9lbs. Not surprising because Chris and I were big babies. I had plenty of amniotic fluid, placenta was in good shape, blood flow to/from the cord were perfect. All is well.

Here's a pic. I think he looks just like his daddy. Nose, lips, everything. That's just fine with me. I think his daddy's a hottie. I can't wait to meet this dude.

Judgy people

Why do I feel like I'm being judged every time the topic of induction comes up? It's our business what we decide to do, and if I wind up with a c-section because of an induction, that'll be okay too because I just want my baby born alive and well. I don't care how he comes into this world.

I've heard horror stories, and I've heard wonderful stories, and I don't know yet which one I'll be...but I do know that as long as I get a healthy baby out of this, it'll be a happy ending. And that's good enough for me.

Bloomin Belly Soaps, Part One

Part One of a series

Bloomin' Belly Soaps was kind enough to send me some samples to review a few weeks ago. I just finished a three day stint with the Niaouli and Lime with Walnut Husk Exfoliant. The sample I got is a puzzle shape, not the belly shape they seem to be known for:





What I liked:

• The scent was really mild. For a pregnant lady with a sensitive nose, this was important.
• The natural ingredients. Acccording to their website, this soap only contains shea butter, essential oils, and walnut husk. I dig that.
• The shape of the soap took some getting used to, but once I got the hang of it, I liked the puzzle shape. It made it easier to hold on to when it got wet and slippery.
• I have a severe acne outbreak on my back and, it's hard to say for sure since it's only been a few days, it seems to be clearing that up.

What I didn't like:

• I only used this soap for three days so I may be mistaken, but it seems that the exfoliant is only on the outside of the soap. So, once you use it for a few days, there's no walnut husk left.
• When I rinsed my skin, instead of my hand sliding nicely down my arm, it slid down in fits and starts, like all the moisture was gone from my skin. I will say, however, that when my skin dried, it didn't feel dry or itchy at all so it could just be the nature of the soap.

So far, I like this soap and am excited about trying the next one. They sent me a whole bunch of goodies to try out for you!