The Greatest Gift

Carter just gave me the greatest Mother's Day gift...he laughed for the first time. It was awesome. Just...awesome.

Food

We started with rice cereal and he did really well with it, as long as it was the right consistency. If it was too watery, he spit it out and let it dribble down his chin. From there we moved on to peas, which I was prepared for him to hate. Lo and behold, he loved it! My sitter thinks he's just so darn hungry that he'd eat anything. Whatever.

From peas we moved on to green beans (again, a success) and then pears, butternut squash, carrots, and he started bananas yesterday. I won't be buying the jarred bananas anymore. It grosses me out. It's all slimy and sticky and has additives in it (granted, it's just citric acid, but still). I'd rather mash it up myself for him and let him have a fresh one.

He just loves to eat and he's so cute with it. The second he sees the spoon come out of the drawer, he's got his tongue working and his mouth wide open like a little bird. He's a smart one, that kid.

But now that he's had a taste of the yummies, he's not so into the cereal anymore. Guess I'll have to start mixing puree into it. I'm gonna try oatmeal with him tomorrow...maybe he'll like that more.

He also loves when I give him some water from the end of my straw. He gets so excited!

We're giving him a sippy cup every once in a while to get him used to it, and he totally gets what it does. Right from the get-go, he knew to open his mouth for it. He can hold it himself, but has some trouble getting the spout into his mouth. He also likes to put it upside-down on his lap while we're in the car so he's all wet when I take him out. :-)

Nature Boy

Chris wanted to take his bike out on the trails at Lake Accotink yesterday so I asked if Carter and I could tag along and walk around, since it was so beautiful out. It's so cool that this is only 20 minutes from our house.



There's a very small beach, a merry-go-round, cantina, and boat rentals. I want to go back one day and go paddle boating.

Here's Daddy coming to meet us!

The lake has a beautiful view of Chris' train that he takes to and from work.

This warning sign just made me laugh.

Today, I wanted to check out Hidden Pond since it's so close to home (about 10 minutes). We walked around the pond and checked out the turtles and trees, but didn't explore the whole park because there weren't enough people there and I felt too secluded and nervous. I want to go back on a busy weekend and check it out again though.

This the trail I wanted to take but was too nervous.

A family of turtles right before we scared them back into the water.

He's done it!

He's finally done it! Carter has given up the swaddle. He napped a few days last week at daycare without it, which I was shocked to hear and, frankly, didn't really believe her. So we tried it at home and he's been swaddle-free since Thursday! He seems to prefer sleeping on his belly, which of course means I'm constantly going in there to make sure his nose isn't pressed to the mattress. I'm so proud of him!

Go hug Alice

Alice needs a hug. Please keep her in your thoughts today.

Crap

I hate being tagged. :-)

What I was doing 10 years ago: I was in my last year of college, living in a townhouse in Bowie, with two other girls. I had two jobs...one at a plastic surgery office, and the other at a mental therapy office.

5 things on my to-do list today…
Get some policies mailed out at work.
Pick up something for dinner.
Order a photo for my mom from my wedding (two years ago!)
Find out how to join our local pool
Empty the dishwasher

5 snacks I enjoy…
Baked Cheetos
Muffins
Cheese and Peanut Butter Crackers
Cookies
Ice Cream

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire
Pay off my mortgage
Put money away for Carter
Travel to Europe
Buy a nice house and employ staff (housekeeper, personal chef, etc.)
Quit my job :-)

5 bad habits…
Too much TV.
I eat a lot of crap that's not healthy
Wasting time doing nothing
Procrastinating
Picking at Carter's boogies and earwax

5 places I’ve lived…
Owings Mills, MD
College Park, MD
Bowie, MD
Arlington, VA
Fairfax, VA

5 jobs I’ve had…
Deli Cashier
Receptionist
Grocery Store Cashier
Public Relations Gal
Office Manager

I won't tag anyone, but am pretty interested in your answers. Respond in the comments!

Cloth Diapers

In case anyone was wondering how our foray into cloth diapering is going, here's our update. Well, MY update, since Chris refuses to use them. :-)

We've used the FuzziBunz, BumGenius, and Girl's handmade ones. I think the BumGenius may be my favorite, even though it leaked on us the other day. That may have been my fault. I like the FuzziBunz a lot too but the snaps sometimes undo themselves. And Girl's are super cute, but maybe more work than I'd like. I'm lazy. :-)

Here's a pic of Carter in his FuzziBunz today. Cute, right?

A brush with fame

Carter and I went to Whole Foods on Friday. I was looking to see if his organic baby food was any cheaper there than I got it on sale for at Safeway. We walked in and saw all these lights and cameras and a board that said they were filming and by entering the store we allow ourselves to be shown on tv. Cool, right?



So we walk in and see them filming a segment and the star was Emeril Lagasse! Sweet. Carter and I stood in the produce section and watched for a while and during a quick break, Emeril looked over at us and waved. I took this picture right after that happened.

This next pic is him working on the next scene with his costar. They were filming a show called Emeril Green for the new channel, Planet Green. I don't know why my Whole Foods was chosen, but it was very cool that they were.

So, that was our brush with fame. Very exciting.

Why Carter is So Skinny

He "runs" like this ALL THE TIME. He's a maniac.

Happy Anniversary, my love

Two years ago, I married my best friend. One year ago I was pregnant with our son. Today, my life is complete. Happy Anniversary sweetheart.

A few pics from this past weekend. My brother, SIL Holly, and their kids, Sydney and Ryan, flew in from Tucson for Passover. I was so excited to get the boys together. Ryan's a few weeks younger than Carter and I was dying to see them interact.

Sydney was so cute with Ryan. She calls him Little Man and loves going up to him and talking to him in a singsong voice and touching his head. I'd say, "touching his hair" but he's got my brother's hairline. :-)

Here's our little dude chilling out in his stroller at Annie's Playground. Bella, Sydney and Brandon had such a good time running around. We chilled in the shaded area with Carter and Ryan, who slept the whole time.

Carter and Ryan hanging out with Mr. Sunshine. They loved playing together.

I love Ryan's meaty thighs. They're enormous and awesome. Carter looks like such a little stick next to him!

Hanging out at MomMom and Zaidy's house playing Bingo with Sydney.

The boys playing on the floor together. They had a blast. Carter kicked like a madman and swiveled his hips, doing his best Elvis impersonation, and Ryan played with his feet.

Yelling at Grandpa Lawrence, who he met for the first time.

Baby and Me Swim Class

Carter and I are signed up for a swim class starting May 9th. That gives me 2 weeks to find a swimsuit. God help me.

Pics from this weekend to be posted later. Carter had a blast meeting his cousins and aunt and uncle.


Edited: I've cancelled the class after reading I'm Not Skippy's comment and doing some online research. I'm not willing to risk it.

He's here! Tucker Scott was born around 7:00 tonight. Congrats to Heather and Brian!!!! Can't wait to meet the little dude tomorrow!

Vacation's Over

After one year and two months, my period has officially returned. Fabulous.

How's that for more information than you wanted to know?

Crusty Eye

Carter woke up this morning with a swollen crusty eye. He couldn't even open it. Poor thing. I tried wiping it away with a warm, wet cotton ball but there was so much crusted on that I just gently had to pick it off enough for him to pry his lids apart.

Went to the doctor and he has some sort of bacterial infection. I have to put Erythromycin on it four times a day for the next few days. Needless to say, he doesn't enjoy it when I do that.

So, I had to stay home from work yet again today since he's contagious. Lovely.

It doesn't look so bad in this picture because I had just cleaned it up and put the medicine on, but you can definitely tell which one's the bad one.

Five Months

Carter is now five months old. I can hardly believe it. He's got so much personality now. He's like a real person instead of, to quote Angelina Jolie, a blob. He grins and squeals and talks. Still no real giggles though. He's eating rice cereal, peas and green beans. He loves to eat. His little mouth opens wide the second he sees me pull a spoon out of the drawer. He is *thisclose* to flipping over from back to belly. We work on it every day.

We're having sleeping issues and it's been driving me a little mad. I had a 4 a.m. pity party last night. All I could think about as I held our screaming child was that I was so tired, I felt like shit (I have some sort of throat infection), and I was hungry. I can hardly find time to eat anything anymore, especially dinner. I cried and felt sorry for myself for a good half hour. Then, I just had to leave Carter in his crib and let him cry because I just couldn't take it anymore. He cried for about 20 minutes and fell back to sleep, all the while with his Mama crying in her bed along with him. I fell back to sleep and woke 45 minutes later with him yelling again. Again. It had now been 5 times that I'd gotten up with him. This time, I nursed him and brought him into bed with me (Chris had just gotten up for work). He was quiet and beautiful for the next two hours.

I have our babysitter keeping track of his naps for me, and we're going to sleep train him (for real this time) next weekend. This weekend we'll be in Baltimore so we can't do it then. I just can't take it anymore. Chris sleeps through the screaming and it drives me crazy. There's no point in waking him to handle things because I'm already awake. You know? Plus, like most men he gets frustrated quickly when Carter won't quiet down, and I think the baby senses that frustration and it makes him cry even harder. Plus, he's used to being soothed a certain way and Daddy doesn't do it the same as Mommy.

It's hard being his only nighttime comfort. It really is.

Today, I got a bit of a break. I stayed home from work to nurse this stupid throat thing and took Carter to daycare. I slept for 3 hours. It was heavenly. Then I tried to clean the house a little but I'm exhausted after a half hour. Stupid sickness.

And now that I've made this post all about me and not my beautiful birthday boy, I will go pick him up and cuddle with him, because at the end of the day, I just love him so much. He's my world. The 4 a.m. pity parties are worth it.

Oh, and Erika, will definitely be posting as soon as that little baby arrives. She's scheduled for an induction on Saturday if he/she doesn't show by then.

Taking the plunge

I think I'm going to be taking the plunge and starting to use cloth diapers. I've ordered a couple of different ones, so we'll see how it goes. We'll still use disposable at night and at daycare, but I'd like to do cloth part time. Girl has inspired me. She has some super cute ones in her Etsy shop.

Knowing me...Carter may take his first poop in one and I'll be done with them. :-)

Update

Miss Hayleigh's surgery didn't correct the problem she was having, unfortunately. But this little girl is such a rock star. Click here for an update from her momma.

Strange question...

But it's been bothering me.

How come Queen Elizabeth's husband, Prince Philip, is just a prince? Doesn't he automatically become King because she's Queen?

Royalty confuses me.

Our neighbor

I've heard him/her barking all hours of the night but never was able to see him during the day. Yesterday I heard him barking and looked outside and there he was, just hanging out on a log, barking at the dog in the building next door.

Makes it look like I live in the country, doesn't it?? Yeah, not so much. I just happen to have a condo that faces a little bit of woods.

Chris saw some deer in our parking lot once. Weird.

I'm not ready for this...

Carter has the tiniest little white spot on his lower gums. He's growing up too fast!

The best news ever!

My friend D? She's pregnant!!!! I'm overcome with joy. Just absolutely overcome.

Thank you, Norah, for helping your mama heal. You're sorely missed.

My A-ha Moment

I finally figured out what's been causing Carter's red, sore bum. It was weird because it would get all inflamed for a few days, and I'd treat it with gobs of A&D and it would get better, and then it would come back again.

On Tuesday, it hit me. Tuesday morning his butt was looking almost normal again but when he got home from daycare that afternoon, it was beet red. That's when I realized the problem...he's allergic to Desitin! I gave his sitter a tube of Desitin to use on him so that's what he gets at daycare, and that's why it clears up on the days he's home with me. Duh!

I've now supplied her with a tube of A&D and made sure she's using the "sensitive" wipes on him, and it seems to be clearing up already. Poor guy. He has a clueless mama.

Um..

Wow. That's all I can say. Just...wow.

Happy birthday, my love

Happy 30th, baby!

Note to Self

Do not let Carter play in his Johnny Jump Up right after a meal. He will projectile vomit all over you as soon as you pick him up.

Request

Please pray for my friend and her daughter today. Thinking about you, Hayleigh!

FYI

Ever since Carter started with rice cereal, his poop is TOXIC. It's so bad. Just thought I'd share that.

(He must have been reading my mind. I was getting ready to hit Post when I read this.)

BBQ

Carter and I went over our friend Jane's house yesterday for a barbeque. It was the first time all of us Mamistad girls have been together all at once. It was a lot of fun. The babies all behaved themselves for the most part, the hubbies enjoyed chatting about sports, and the ladies bonded over poop.

We've known each other since we were all pregnant together and all of our babies are around the same age. That little boy right under Carter and I? He's 3 days older. Can you believe the size difference?? He's 20 pounds!

It's so fun getting together with these ladies and comparing what our kids are doing and how they're developing and growing. Carter and Ayla (bottom left) had some tummy time together and when he got upset and started crying, she cracked up. She was laughing like a five year old! It was so funny.

Going Green

I've decided to get rid of most of our household cleaning products and use the holy trifecta: lemon juice, baking soda, and vinegar. Any success stories out there?

In other news, Carter got his first report card the other day. His child care specialist (daycare provider's supervisor/mentor) came by on her monthly unannounced visit and had this to say about our little man: "Today I visited Shaista. During my visit I observed the following: Woke from nap -- lots of smiles. Very observant and attentive to other children."

I'm so proud. :-D

Easter Trip

I've been so busy at work I haven't had time to post about our Easter.

We took Carter to see Chris' extended family in Delaware. He did pretty well on the drive over there (about 2 hours) but got a little fussy at the end. We tried to go by the new German bakery in town to get some Swiss Alpine bread (can't find a link to what it is but good god it's delicious) but they only have it on Thursdays! What kind of crap is that? I was so disappointed. It's got dried fruit and some other sweet stuff. I didn't think I'd like it but after I tasted it, I could have eaten the entire loaf. Seriously.

Carter was pretty out-of-sorts all weekend. I think it was all the people, smells and noises that he's not used to. He slept like crap and was fussy for everyone. But he did get some good MomMom time at the very end and behaved himself. I was so glad. He was terrible with her at Christmas. Apparently Chris was the same way when he was a baby. Silly boys.

Icky butt continued...

It seems the hydrocortisone cream and butt paste are doing the trick. It looks much better today.

NG posted in the comments about a possible perfume allergy. We use all "sensitive" stuff so I don't think that's the issue. We'll see if it recurs. Right now it seems to be improving.

Oh, and Carter slept until 2 am last night! I had just woken up drenched in milk so I was pumping when he woke up. It was awesome. I got my 5 hours!

Icky butt

Carter's got icky butt.

We've slathered on the A&D the past few days but it doesn't seem to be helping. He's got these scaley patches on his upper thighs and red ickiness on his butt cheeks. I thought it might be a yeast infection but the doc's office said it doesn't perfectly fit the profile. So she said to try hydrocortisone cream under some butt paste for a few days and if that doesn't work, to bring him in.

Poor little tushie.

Doctor's Appointment

Carter had his 4 month visit yesterday. He loves going to the doctor. The second you lay him down on the table, his arms start flapping and his legs start kicking and he gets the biggest grin on his face. Little man squeals in delight. I think it's the noise the paper on the table makes.

I nursed him while we were waiting for Dr. Cross and finished up as she chatted with me about Carter's milestones. Usually he fusses when I burp him, but he just sat right up, let out a huge belch, and grinned at her. The whole time she was talking to me, he just smiled and coo'd at her. He's in love with her.

Our little man is now 24.5 inches long (50th percentile), with a head circumference of 41cm (75th percentile). He only weighs 12 lb, 15 oz so he's in the 10th percentile for weight. She said she's not worried about it because he's growing nicely along the curve that they use and she'd rather him be thin than overweight. But I was a little concerned about it, so we discussed introducing solids.

We're starting (well, we started last night) with rice cereal before bedtime. One, it MAY help him sleep longer. Two, it'll help him ingest a few more calories and get him a little chunkier. We'll do that for a few weeks, and then introduce "real" foods to him next month.

As for his shots...he did awesome. Last time, he screeched so loud and screamed so hard that it made me cry along with him. It was horrible to see him in so much pain. This time he cried, but no more than he does at home when he's hungry or tired or just plain pissed off. And as soon as I picked him up, he was quiet and happy again. He fell asleep the second we got in the car and slept for HOURS. It was great. Too bad we were out running errands so I didn't get to enjoy a nap with him. :-)

So far so good with regards to any reaction to the shots. No fever, not really too out-of-sorts. He's a good kid.

Happy Anniversary!

My grandparents have been married for 60 years. Amazing!

Carter loved meeting them and I *think* they felt the same. :-)

One year ago today

Our lives would be forever changed.

Feast

Last night, Carter had a feast! He had his first experience with rice cereal. I'll talk more about the doctor's appointment in another post, but we all agreed that it was time for him to try it out. We'll be waiting on other foods for another month though.

Anyway, it started off great. He was basically sucking on the spoon like he would a medicine dropper or bottle. I'm not sure how much cereal actually went down his throat, but he did well getting it off the spoon.

It ended not so well. I think he got frustrated that he was still hungry because lots of it ended up on his face and his bib. I nursed him afterwards, and he took both sides and then proceeded to puke up probably half of what he got from me. I guess he did get a little bit of cereal if he ran out of room in there, so that was good.

Ugh

Off to get some shots. Poor little man. Will give the 4 month update when we get back.

So very tired

Right after I published that last post I came out to the living room to this little guy all tuckered out.

Improvement

Last night was a definite improvement. He only needed me to go in once before he fell asleep around 9:00 to put his paci back in. Then he woke up a few times before midnight but then I nursed him at 12:15 and he fell back to sleep until around 3:30. I nursed him again around 4:00 and he slept until my alarm went off at 6:45 this morning. That's the most sleep I've gotten in a week!

He's in a great mood this morning. He's happily playing in his jumperoo while I got ready and ate breakfast and now am able to blog.

Man, I sure needed a night like that.

Rough patch

Carter and I are going through a rough patch right now. He's not sleeping and he's crying a lot and it's making me a little bit crazed. Yesterday I found myself sobbing and yelling and begging him to please please please stop crying. For a brief second, I understood Shaken Baby Syndrome. Please understand, I would never ever hurt him. I knew had to put him down and walk away because I was about to totally lose control. It was scary for me to feel that way. I get tears in my eyes just thinking about it. And the guilt is just intense.

Last night, by 2 a.m. I'd lost count of how many times I'd gotten up to soothe him and get him back to sleep. Every time he'd fall asleep, he'd start screaming the second I put him back in the crib. It's so frustrating. Finally, I just brought him into the living room with me for the rest of the night. He sleeps only slightly better when he's right next to me.

The good news is that I've realized that he doesn't always need to nurse when he's screaming in the middle of the night. I can usually calm him within 5 minutes by just holding the paci in his mouth and rocking him on the glider as hard as I can until he calms enough to realize the paci is there and starts sucking on it. And if I can't calm him within 5 minutes, then it's time to nurse him as a last resort. That ALWAYS works but I don't want him to be completely dependent on it.

I know that this phase will pass and one day he will sleep. It may be his first night away at college though...

I got a new phone

Isn't it perty???

What do you think?

Does Carter look like my brothers? I think I see it in the first pic, but not sure about the others.

Does this look broken?

Introducing...

Clayton Kenneth Lobb! Little Miss Carly became a big sister to a gorgeous 8 lb 11 oz baby boy yesterday. Congrats Phil and Laura!

It's amazing how tiny and light he felt. He has his daddy's nose and his mommy's lips, and he makes cute little noises. I can't wait for he and Carter to become best friends!

Roly Poly

Carter rolled from his belly to his back last night...twice!!

Ebates

Are any of you familiar with Ebates? I use them when I order supplies at work, or clothes from Old Navy, or whatever, and I get a decent check every few months from them. If you're interested in them, I'd appreciate it if you'd use this link (www.ebates.com/refer-a-friend/bonusoffer/index.htm?id=24562497) so I can get credit for your referral.

By the way, this is NOT a sponsored post. I just really like Ebates. :-)

It's official

Carter is now officially wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes. My heart can't take it.

If you need a laugh...

http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/

Taking Turns

I went to feed Carter mid-morning today because (stupid me) I forgot to give his babysitter nipples to go with the bottles. So, I went to feed him and then run home to get some nipples for the later feedings.

Anyway, I was sitting there nursing him and this other little boy, who's about 18 months old, came over and was watching us. Eyeballing my boob and patiently waiting his turn. Such good manners, this one, but I felt terrible that I had to disappoint him.

WTH??

All of the sudden, the past few nights, Carter wakes up every hour after the initial "nap" from around 8:00 to midnight. He wants to nurse every two hours and it's been horrible. What happened all of the sudden???

Thank God for my mother. She spent the night last night so she could stay home with Carter while I went to work today. After he woke up for the hundredth time at 5:15 or so, she held him and rocked him until I woke up TWO HOURS LATER. She sat there in the dark, no tv or book or anything; just the two of them. After having been up all night with him also. All just so I could get a few hours sleep. Is that amazing or what?

I just wish I knew what was going on with that boy.

Along the same lines...anyone have any thoughts on The Baby Whisperer?

24 hours later...

I think I'm finally ready to eat some pretzels. I puked twice more after my last post but nothing since 3:00 a.m., thank goodness. Just feel very tired and weak. Blech. This sucked.

Please pray that Carter doesn't get it now.

Not food poisoning

Nope, it wasn't food poisoning. How do I know? Because I've been shitting and puking all evening too. So not fun. However, my body was kind enough to alternate and I didn't have to do both at the same time.

So now it's 1 a.m. and I'm up because I'm so thirsty I can't stand it and I'm having this weird arm tingly thing happening. I'm drinking water but only a little bit every 10-20 minutes so as not to overwhelm my stomach. I don't want to throw up anymore.

Pumping sucks

I hate pumping. I wish I didn't have to do it. I hate having to quantify how much milk I'm producing. I hate seeing only 2 oz come out and feeling like I'll never make enough to fill a bottle for him, much less the three he requires for each day of daycare. I hate that I can't get any work done while I'm pumping and feel like a slacker for those 20-30 minutes several times a day.

But really? The truth is that I hate expressing my milk into anything that's not my little boy's mouth, and seeing the sheer contentment that I bring him.

Anyone wanna donate a few thousand a month so I can quit my job? No? Didn't think so. Dammit.

We need to stop eating out

Chris got food poisoning a few months ago. It was horrible and violent and scared the crap (pun intended) out of me.

Today, he got it again. This time was much less intense, but the poor guy was in and out of the bathroom ALL DAY. Carter and I got a lot of alone time so Daddy could rest, but I'm beat from trying to keep that little boy happy all day. It hasn't been easy.

Me thinks my husband should go vegetarian. At least when we go out to dinner.

3 months old!

And for comparison, below is Carter at one month old:

Happy Valentine's Day

To the two loves of my life...

Forgot to mention

I forgot to mention in the last post that my sweet little boy fell asleep on my chest for the first time in months. It was heaven.

He's back!

Carter's been a real jerk lately.

For a few days, he's been inconsolable. The only quiet times were when he was sleeping. Otherwise, screaming and crying and fussy and just plain upset. At first I thought it was something I ate (I highly recommend the cream of crab soup at Clydes...unless you're breastfeeding) and it probably was. But then it just didn't go away. It was horrible. He didn't want to get in his swing, didn't want his binky, and absolutely would not tolerate me trying to put him in his buzzing seat. The only thing that quieted him was nursing, and it didn't matter if he'd just nursed 15 minutes prior. Of course, then he puked up all the extra milk he was getting.

It was so bad I took him to the doctor yesterday thinking maybe it was an ear infection. Nope. He's a healthy 11lb 6oz very pissed off boy. She said if it continues or gets worse by the end of the week to bring him back and they'd do some cultures to see if it's gastrointestinal.

After his appointment I took him to his babysitter and a few hours later when I talked to her she said he had a big poop and seemed to be doing better. I was hopeful but guarded.

She was right...my loving, smiling, sweet boy was back! He and I chatted last night, and he smiled and laughed and had a grand old time. He had a short episode of screaming while he was fighting sleep, but that's normal for him.

And then he slept in his room, waking up twice to nurse and then went right back to sleep. That's my boy! I'm so glad he's back. I missed him.

Whoa

Carter was just rude this weekend. He cried and fussed a LOT. Not a nice boy. I know it was because he wasn't sleeping much during the day, but I can't force him. So, last night Chris gave him a bath and he had a grand time splashing around, then he napped for a few hours and we woke him up to eat at 9:30 because we were both getting tired. He took a bottle from Chris, played for a little while, and then I put him down around 10:00ish.

And then? He slept until 4:30. That's his longest stretch yet! I woke up periodically and heard him grunting and making noises, but nothing that indicated he needed me. It was awesome.

And in other news...we had our shower recaulked (again) this morning and can't use it until Wednesday. Nice.

A few thoughts on breastfeeding

Before Carter was born, I knew it was important for me to breastfeed him. Everyone wants the best for their child, and the best I knew to give him was my own milk. I was scared something in my body wouldn't work right and that I wouldn't be able to feed my son. But, like clockwork, my milk came in and (after 2 horrible weeks of latching issues) it's been smooth sailing.

My body amazes me sometimes. It grew a child and nurtured him for nine months. It delivered this child with little effort on my part. It produced milk for him to grow and thrive. It's just amazing.

Anyway...

The biggest issue I've been facing? People who don't understand why I do it. They don't understand why I put so much effort into it. Why I forego sleep to get up a few times in the middle of the night to feed him, when he might actually sleep for hours longer if I fed him formula. Why I race over to his babysitter's in the middle of the day because I'd rather he get it "straight from the tap" than from a bottle. Why I go through the "hassle" of it. Why I cried and cried and went through the overwhelming pain those first few weeks. I've even heard from one or more people that it's gross.

I do it for so many reasons and those reasons don't matter because the one I'm most proud of? I've stuck with it. I'm notorious for getting all gung-ho over something and then quickly moving on when it proves too hard or tedious. My goal was to breastfeed Carter for 3 months and then re-evaluate and determine if I wanted to continue.

Damn straight I want to continue. For as long as I can and I will not switch to formula just because it's easier. If other circumstances come up that require a switch (though I can't imagine), then that would be different. But this is one thing I will not give up on for the easier alternative.

I'm in it for the long haul.

Success!

I decided that it's time for Carter to make the transition to his own room. We don't have a huge condo so it's not like he was in the East Wing, but it was still a big decision to make. I like having him here. I like pulling him out of his cosleeper and snuggling next to him in bed. I like the sounds of his moans and sighs.

What I don't like? He grunts. A lot. He spits out his paci every five minutes and then cries for it. He whimpers. I'm a light sleeper and I have a lot of trouble going back to sleep sometimes after he wakes up to eat in the middle of the night with all these noises. Sometimes he'll make noises for a good hour, and I'm up the whole time listening to him. He's not crying, he's doing it in his sleep.

So we decided last night would be his first night apart from us. I don't have to work today so I figured if he kept me up all night then I could sleep today. I'm happy to report there is no need for me to nap today!

We prepped him by feeding him, giving him a bath, and then playing and cuddling for a little while. At 9:30, he was in his crib (swaddled, quiet and half asleep) and I was in my bed (also quiet and half asleep). He woke up at 1:30 to eat. Considering he hadn't eaten since 8:00ish, that was pretty darn good. He went right back to sleep after nursing and then he woke up again at 4:30 and 7:30. I stayed up and he's now napping again (it's 8:30 a.m.).

It went way better than I had anticipated. Woot!

Chatty Carter

Here's a video of Carter talking to his new best friend, Mr. Sunshine. He looooves him.

Doggie hat

A few of you have commented on Carter's doggie hat. Dollar bin at Target, baby!

Carter's First Day

My little boy started daycare today. It was so hard to leave him. I cried the whole way to work (the whole 2 miles...LOL) and then for a little while once I got here. I can distract myself but when I think about him again I start crying again. I know he's in good hands and he'll have fun and be happy, but it's so hard.

Here he is all packed up and ready to go.

Doesn't he look cute in his "first day of school outfit"???

Here he is with his new friend, Shaista. She's so good with him.

What a crock of...

DELICIOUSNESS! (you thought I was gonna sat "shit", didn't ya?)

We made this and it turned out fantastic!

Yep, I ate that whole plate. Yum!

Hilarious!

Have y'all seen this???? So freaking funny.

Back at work

This blows.

Soul Sisters

So, my friend Canape? We are living such parallel lives. It's a little scary.

We both miscarried in December 2006.
We both lost our babies at 9 weeks.
We both recently had baby boys.
Carter was born at 3:46 am. Bird was born at 3:45 am.
Canape's baby's name is Christopher Carter; my husband and son's names.

I think there was one more but I can't remember now.

Oh! We both have a crush on Girl.

Gripe Water

Holy crap, this stuff's amazing. I don't even have to give Carter the full dosage and his hiccups are instantly gone. Instantly. Magic, I tell you.

Crock Pot

We're considering buying a crockpot. The one we're looking at is 4 quarts...is that sufficient for the two of us or do we need a bigger one? Anyone have any great chicken or ground turkey recipes for the crock? Comment or email me with them (amylisa.anderson@gmail.com).

He's here!!

The Bird is here!! I'm so happy that I have tears in my eyes. Canape and I lost our little ones right around the same time, and it feels so complete now. We have our little boys. Life is good.

Nursing Wrap

I promised a picture, and I shall deliver. But since she takes better pics than I do, here's my nursing wrap that Girl made me. I used it today at Sbarro and it worked great! I'm a little retarded with the adjustment, but I made it work.

Isn't the fabric fabulous!

And, yes, Girl...it's EXACTLY what I wanted.

Chirp chirp!

BIRD IS COMING, BIRD IS COMING!!! Canape's water broke last night and as of 3:30 this morning, she was still laboring at home. Come on, Birdie, meet your mama...she's waited a long time for you.

10 Weeks

We're in double digits. My little man is growing up so quickly.

The first time he turned double digits was when he was ten days old. Look at those skinny little frog legs!

And two weeks ago when he turned two months...

God, I love him.

Ikea

I'd heard the rumors. Diapers? Wipes? Baby food? A breastfeeding room??? It couldn't be true.

Carter and I made our way down to Ikea yesterday and, like clockwork, he was ready to eat as soon as we got there. Now, Girl just made me a fabulous hooter hider (pics to come) but I couldn't picture sitting in one of the staged living rooms feeding my little dude, so I seeked out this rumored breastfeeding room.

It exists! It was a nice room right off the cafeteria (damn you Swedish meatballs...I haven't had red meat in over 15 years, yet you still tempt me!) with two comfy chairs and a changing station. Stocked with diapers, wipes, AND changing table covers!! Unbelievable.

Plus, they're smart. They had a cute little mobile hanging over the changing table and as soon as Carter smiled at it, I knew I had to buy it. That, my friends, is smart marketing. Thankfully, this is Ikea, and with our new money constrictions I had to be careful about how much I was spending. But, I only had to shell out $7.99 for said mobile. Sweet.

I heart Ikea.

Success!

She is one brave, amazing lady.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the big day. WhyMommy's having her surgery to remove the cancer from her body. Please send all the positive thoughts you can muster her way so the doctors get every little bit of it out of her body.

Good luck, WhyMommy...we're rootin' for ya!

Part Time Daycare

Some of you have asked about part time daycare, and whether that would help with the finances since I'm only working 3 days a week. It will only be saving us $60 a month to fall into the 26-30 hours/week bracket. So, I'm going to have to work something out where we fall into the 21-25 hours/week bracket, and that would save us another $100. Should be pretty easy to do. All I'd need to do is have him there 9:00 to 5:00 rather than 8:30 to 5:30. I think my job will be flexible enough to allow that. I work just minutes from the daycare provider, so I'd be just a few minutes late and have to leave a few minutes early. I don't think that'll be a big deal.

I feel bad for my daycare provider, though. She was looking for someone full time, and was happy that I'd need her for 40 hours/week. Now I've basically cut that in half, and she may need to take on another child to make up the difference. I'm grateful that she'll still take Carter, but I like her a lot and hate to have to make these changes when she was expecting something different.

Although...so was I.

Tears!

Carter shed his first tear today! My baby's growing up.

Work changes

I called my boss yesterday to talk to him about my hours when I come back. Basically, I'd just be coming in 15 minutes late and leaving 15 minutes early so I don't go over my allotted daycare time and have to pay the extra money.

Not the scenario he had in mind.

Money's been really tight for the past year. My bosses haven't gotten a paycheck in over a year. So I understand this, but it still sucks.

He wants me to come back part time. I'd work Tues/Wed/Thurs which is nice b/c it lets me get into a work groove, and then allows me a 4 day weekend with Carter. Downside? $1000 less a month.

We're gonna try it out for a few months and see how it goes financially, but I may have to look for a new job if we can't cut it. That sucks. I love my job. I love the people I work for. I'd hate to leave, but $12,000 a year pay cut is pretty darn big. I hope we can make it work and I don't have to leave.

Two Month Doctor's Appointment

Our little dude is growing, but he's still a skinny minny. He's up to 10lbs even, and 23 inches long. 10th percentile for weight, and 50th for length. He got four shots and the oral vaccine for rotavirus. The oral vaccine was great...he was smiling and cooing and licking his lips. He loved it. The shots? Not so much. My poor boy screamed bloody murder and I cried along with him. It was so hard to see him in so much pain. Thankfully it was short-lived because less than a minute later he was calm and smiling again. Ten minutes after that? Fast asleep.

Poor little muffin.

Bloomin Belly Soaps

I have failed my friends at Bloomin Belly Soaps. They sent me a bunch of samples to review while I was pregnant and, here we are at eight weeks postpartum and I've only reviewed one of them! I feel terrible that they were so kind to send me all those samples, and I didn't live up to my end of the deal.

I recently used the Silken Wise belly soap and liked it quite a bit. Aesthetically, not so pretty once it got wet. It was actually pretty gross. But the smell was nice and it left my skin smelling nice, without an overpowering aroma. It was a very natural scent. The shape is just too adorable for words...a big pregnant belly with her big pregnant boobs. Love it. It's just a good way to add a little fun to your shower. And every time I looked at that soap, and then looked at myself looking just like it, the reality would hit me that I was carrying my child and made me touch my belly and smile.

These soaps are a great gift for those pregnant ladies in your life that live the more "natural" life. I love the barrel of bellies as a midwife or labor nurse gift. So original!

Thank you!

Big thanks to my new friend, Jessica. She gave us 5 Dr. Brown's bottles! Those are pretty darn expensive, so she saved us quite a bit of dough. It was so cool to meet a fellow blogger and her cutie pie, William, who was so well-behaved he was like a Stepford Son. Very sweet little boy. And the red hair...oh my. I think Carter's getting red hair like his daddy so now I'm obsessed with little redheaded boys. :-)

Static

One of the problems of living in a major metropolitan area is that it's hard to find static on the radio. There are so many radio stations! Carter (like many babies) likes the static sound, but I'm having trouble getting a station for him. Right now I have it in between so you can sort of hear talking through the static. It's working but I'm finding it annoying. I need a CD that plays static.

Casper

I think Carter has made a new friend of the afterlife variety. He stares at our headboard or the closet and coos and smiles. I'm just happy it's a nice ghost that entertains my baby.

In other news, my little man is losing the hair on the back of his head. It's so very attractive.

Advice request

I'm probably opening a can of worms that I shouldn't be, but I'm looking for some advice from you veteran mommies out there.

Carter will NOT go to sleep unless he's either swaddled or being held by someone (or sometimes he'll fall asleep in the carseat or swing). Happiest Baby on the Block says that swaddling soothes them for 3 months or more after their born, but I feel like he's relying on it as a crutch and would like for him to sleep with his arms free. I want to be able to put him down and have him sleep like a normal person!

For now I'm trying to swaddle him with just one arm free and see how that goes and then eventually get to both arms being free. So far, he's not happy about it.

Any other things I should try?

EDITED TO ADD: It's not just about getting him to fall asleep...it's about KEEPING him asleep. He wakes himself up by flailing his arms and then it starts all over.

Introducing...

Shrago David!

Carter's baby naming was yesterday. We decided to forego a traditional bris and have him circumcised in the hospital, but I still wanted some sort of ceremony for him. So, the cantor who married us was able to travel an hour down here to perform his naming and it was so great. Carter slept through the whole thing, which I suppose is better than him screaming through it.

Carter was named Shrago after my step-grandfather (it was his hebrew name), and David after Chris' grandfather. I remember my Zaidy as such a nice, loving man. He welcomed us three kids into his family with open arms and I always felt loved by him. Chris' PopPop was strong, smart and tough. But you NEVER doubted his love for you. Again, another man who instantly welcomed me into his family. Carter is a lucky boy to have these men as his namesakes.

Thank you to everyone in our family that was able to participate. We were honored to have you there.

My skim milk has turned to cream

I took Carter to the doc to make sure his skin irritation was just baby acne and not a rash (it's just acne). They weighed him and he's now a whopping 9 lbs 6 oz! He's gained almost a pound in less than a month!

Happy New Year!

I rang in the new year watching my son give a sleepy smile after a filling meal. Perfection.