The hardest job.

Wow, being a parent is hard. As if you couldn't tell by the lack of posting since the little guy arrived. I am confident that being a stay-at-home mom would be as hard if not harder than my job.

I obviously knew that having a baby wasn't going to be a walk in the park, but I honestly do not know how single parents, unmarried people, or teenagers do it. I really don't. If I did not have my husband (and our parents, siblings, friends, aunts, uncles, and neighbors) to help, I would possibly go crazy. And I have a whole new respect for people with multiples, like my sister. Just one can give us a run for our money on some days.

Carter will be three weeks old tomorrow. He is absolutely adorable and we love him to death.

At three weeks:

- He weighs 10 pounds already.

- He eats about every two hours during the day, and about every three to four hours at night.

- He does not sleep very much (or consistently) which is a HUGE adjustment for his mama :) Naps during the day are a big, fat no-go. We're working on that.

- Our best night yielded us seven hours of sleep (not in a row); our worst yielded about two.

- He has very predictable fussy times - 4 p.m. and about 9 p.m.

- He loves to lay on his daddy's chest.

- He loves stimulation and likes when people holding him keep moving.

- He hates the car seat when he is getting strapped in but 99% of the time falls asleep as soon as the car starts moving.

- He likes baths much more now that he can be submerged (since his belly button fell off).

- The swing is not his thing, which highly disappoints me. We're also working on this one.

- He's not a fan of tummy time quite yet, though it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be.

That's all for now. I'll write more when I get a chance and will try to post some pictures tomorrow or Friday.

For now, a big thank you to everyone who has helped out by coming to cuddle Carter while we napped, who have walked Bentley, made us meals, cleaned our house, done our laundry, encouraged us, and just plain kept us company when adult interaction is what we (or I) craved.

One Week.

Carter is one week old today! Hard to believe since that went really fast in some senses.

Here are some recaps of the last week (in a list form because when the mama hasn't slept too much, coherent paragraphs are not the best option):

- He eats A LOT. Well, maybe I shouldn't say a lot, but I should say OFTEN. About every two to three hours on the dot, he'll start showing signs of hunger. I will not lie, it has been exhausting since we all know that with nursing, a lot of the pressure is on the mom!

- He does not like to sleep at night...only during the day.

- He is not a fan of sleeping flat on his back. We are actively working on this one (in fact, as I type, he is sleeping for the first time in the bassinet). To get any sleep at night, we've been utilizing the swing without motion or sounds (though we did resort to using those the first night home). That seems to work much better since he feels more confined this way.

- He smiles. Since he's so little, I'm pretty sure they are not intentional, but he smiles when he nurses and when he's sleeping.

- He went down to 7 lbs. 5 oz. at discharge from the hospital, and by his pediatrician appointment yesterday, he was all the way back up to 8 lbs. 3 oz. (his birth weight) already. See, I told you he eats. ;)

- He has changed his looks quite a bit already.

- His eyes are definitely blue.

- His hair is definitely blonde like his daddy's (YAY!!!!).

- He has the cutest double chin.

- His eyebrows and eye lashes are so blonde you can hardly even see them right now.

- Seth was sick on Tuesday and part of Wednesday which has made mommy verrrrrry emotionally exhausted. Thankfully, my mom and cousin Heidi came to help on Tuesday (and my mom stayed overnight to help, too) and we're at my sister's today (and slept here last night) because the pediatrician thought it'd be best, though extremely sad, that we quarantine ourself from the sickness this close to birth. A sick mom and dad is one large disaster she says, and I will take her word for it. Plus, this allowed Seth to get some good straight sleep to hopefully bounce back soon.

- We love our little guy to pieces. Even though he wants to fight sleep and eat me out of house and home, I know it'll all be a phase and I WILL sleep more than two hours at a time sometime.

More pictures to follow when we get home...

[Michelle Again] More pictures of baby Carter

I know that many of you continue to check for more pictures, so here you go.

Seth and Danielle are enjoying every second with baby Carter.

[Michelle Again] A few pictures of Carter

Many more to come, but here are a few from my two visits today. Love him sooo much. Seth, Danielle, and Carter are certainly adorable together. So happy for them.

Happy birthday, Carter!!!

Carter Has Arrived!

[Michelle, posting for Danielle...]

Carter has arrived safe and sound! All three are doing great!

Arrived 5/6, 4:10 a.m.
8 lbs., 3 oz.
19.5 in. long

I believe I have all his stats correct; it is early in the morning afterall :). I have been told, as if there could have been a doubt, that he is adorable with blonde peach fuzz.

Pictures to follow when I visit later this morning.

So excited I can hardly contain myself.

Newborn Photography

Seriously, there are no words for how excited I am for Carter's newborn photography session. I have been oohing and aahing over sample photos for MONTHS now, and have been on the look out for the props that I've had in my head since the day I found out I was pregnant.

I do realize that we're going to shell out a pretty penny for photos of a little boy that will look so vastly different in two months, but it's something I know I would regret if I didn't do.

Here are just SOME of the photo ideas I've had stirring in my head for ever and ever. I have SO MANY more, plus of course the ideas the photographer has, so I am so pumped.

I'm also planning to get a photo of Bentley with Carter, with Carter maybe wearing his "Dog Gone Cute" outfit...perfect, huh!?!

This is the new hat I ordered him this morning!! I have been searching for quite some time for one that did not cost a ton, and I finally found one this morning on etsy for only $8!!!! YAY!

Now, if the little squirt would just get here so we could cuddle him and kiss him and love on him, we would be ever-so-grateful. :)