Our shrinking son???

So, Carter eats a lot. Well, I should say often. I seriously feel like we no sooner finish a feeding and he's smacking his lips for more. Seth says he has his appetite. I'm starting to believe it more and more each day.

But, this past week, I wonder if he shrunk. I tried one of the many leftover newborn diapers on him (he's been in size 1 for about 3 weeks now) for kicks and giggles and it fit! I was sort of baffled because I was certain we moved him into size 1 when newborns were too small. But they miraculously fit him again...good news for us since that will save our size 1's for when he really needs them.

One month.

Carter, at one month, you:

- Wear size 1 diapers
- Are wearing size 0-3 month clothing
- Weigh 10 pounds, 12 ounces (75th percentile)
- Are 22.5 inches long
- Make eye contact with your daddy and I
- Follow our voices when we talk to you
- Stop crying when we shake the bottle in front of your face before you eat
- Smile occasionally, though not completely consistently yet
- Suddenly like to be swaddled again
- Have learned to like the swing, but mostly only when you are getting drowsy
- No longer care for being in the car too much
- Still continue to hate being in your car seat (we still put you in and RUN to the car to get it moving!)
- Started spitting up slightly after meals
- Eat 3.5 ounces every 2-3 hours during the day and, if we're lucky, every 3-4 hours at night
- Get up twice a night for feedings
- Sleep for about 2 1/2 hours at a time during the night
- Have fussy time around 4:00 or 4:30 in the afternoon and usually again around 8:30 at night
- Have the body temperature of your daddy -- in order to swaddle you, we have to keep you in a short sleeved onesie, in the air conditioning....with a fan

We love you so much, squirt! :)

What's shakin'? One for the baby book.

Today, I got to experience something I never thought I would living in central Pennsylvania: an earthquake. Yes, you read that correctly. This morning at 8:25, Carter was napping in his swing, I was watching TV, and Bentley was sleeping beside me. All of a sudden there was a really loud rumbling sound and the entire house started to shake. My decorations were rattling and things were moving on the walls.

I actually for a brief second thought it sounded like there was about to be a truck into our house. Bentley jumped up and his hair stood on end. He went NUTS barking. Basically, I had no idea what was going on. I looked out the window and saw a few neighbors looking out of their houses too, so I knew I wasn't the only one who felt it.

The shaking lasted about five or ten seconds, and then everything was quiet. I called Seth at work and told him that I knew he was going to say I was crazy, but that I was pretty sure we just had an earthquake. We live near Dillsburg, and they often have small ones so it wouldn't be unheard of.

Within a few minutes, several of my facebook friends had things on their walls about it too, and a few hours later, Seth sent me a link to the local news where it was confirmed that a 3.1 magnitude earthquake hit our area.

Nothing big, obviously no damage, but a pretty cool addition to Carter's baby book -- that he "survived" (haha) his first earthquake at 4 weeks old! :)

Carter's Birth Story

Well, suffice it to say we’ve been awfully busy the past few weeks. In fact, just as I sat down to write this and managed to write “Carter’s Birth Story” (literally, those three words), he woke up and we put it on hold.

But, to be sure that I have it for my memory and for his wife’s (because I’m not sure many guys care), here is his birth story. Beware, it is LONG.

I had been slightly miserable the past few weeks of my pregnancy. Really, the only thing that bothered me was the not sleeping and the swollen legs and ankles. I was lucky enough to not have to deal with Braxton hicks contractions until the very end, though, and never once had a bout of nausea related to pregnancy, so no complaints there!

On May 4, I began having contractions at work. They weren’t intense, and were only coming every twenty-six minutes, so it wasn’t really a big deal. But as the night progressed, they began to come much closer together. As instructed, I called when they were ten minutes apart. They told us to wait until they were five minutes apart, call back, and then head in. At 2:30 a.m. on May 5, we made the decision to head in. It was a fairly uneventful trip in (except for almost hitting a deer on route 322!). We got to Labor and Delivery (L + D), and they checked me in. Within a few minutes, the resident came in, checked me, and immediately said I wasn’t “in active labor” since I was only 2 cm. dilated, and they were going to send me home. In fact, the even told me that I didn’t look like I was in enough pain to be in labor. Um, excuse me?!?!

Nonetheless, she sent us home. I was angry and frustrated and certainly not a fan of that resident. I made a joking (sort of) comment on the way out that they’ll see us later.

We got home at about 5:30 a.m. on May 5. Seth had to go to work and I called off for the day since we had not slept at all and I was having contractions. Throughout the morning, they began to taper off a bit, going from five minutes apart back to ten minutes, which really disappointed me.

However, around lunch time, they really started picking up again. I kept track of the contractions all afternoon…as the day progressed, they went from ten minutes...to five minutes...to four! Seth was at his 2nd job that night. I sent him a text message that said that I could use the moral support and to please come home. At this point, I had been literally huffing and puffing my way through contractions they were so bad. I had already taken four baths and had done just about everything I could. He left work early and came home. By 9:00 p.m., we were heading BACK in…just like I said we would. The contractions were two to three minutes apart for two hours, sometimes even only one minute apart.The whole way in, I could hardly talk in the car. The one thing I did say was that I hoped it was a different resident when we got there.

We got to the hospital and this time, I did request a wheelchair (I refused it the night before). When we got to L + D, I was not very happy to see that it was the same exact team that shift – including the resident. She once again checked me, said I was 4 cm. dilated but that it wasn’t a very significant change over the course of a whole day so they would probably send me home. This time, they said they would give me an hour and check me again. In order to be in active labor, I had to be 5 cm. dilated. When she left, we started walking all around the floor, stopping every twenty feet for me to have a contraction. We used the labor ball…anything to help me dilate faster. And it worked!!!

When she came back in an hour later, she said I was 5 cm. and was being admitted. We were so thrilled!!!! They asked if I wanted my epidural right away or if I wanted to wait it out a bit. Um, now please. :) It took about an hour for the anesthesiologist to get there, which coincidentally was the longest hour of my life. But, oh the relief. I don't care what anyone says, epidurals are heaven.

By the time I got the epidural (which, by the way, could they run through the risks BEFORE you’re in labor so that you don’t have to hear a speech when all you want is the drugs?!), it was about midnight. We were excited to be able to catch some peaceful rest for the next few hours. They came back around 1 a.m. on May 6 and checked me again. I was disappointed to find that I was still only 5 cm. I wasn’t shocked though since I had heard that epidurals often slow down labor. They broke my water and we went back to sleep.

Over the next hour, they came in A LOT to do vitals and whatnot – the nurse said the baby’s heart rate had dropped and that my pulse was going really fast. They were not concerned, but just wanted me to keep moving positions.

At 2:30 a.m. (approximately), I told the nurse that I was really having a lot of pressure (TMI, but seriously like I had to take the biggest poop ever) so they came back and checked again. The resident had a look of shock and said “oh my word, you are completely opened.” I remember asking if that meant I was effaced and she said “nope, you are at ten cm.” We couldn’t believe it. She said he wasn’t too engaged yet, so they wanted to let me “labor down” a bit, meaning they would let my body do some of the work in bringing him down the birth canal so I wouldn’t have to push as much.

By about 3:15 a.m., I told her I was REALLY having a lot of pressure, so she as calmly as could be said “ok dad, wake up and grab a leg, we’re ready to push.” They said we’d just try a few practice pushes to see how I did and if they’d need to turn down the epidural at all. I pushed through one or two contractions and they said I was doing great, so we kept going.

The environment was as calm as could be – just Seth, a medical student, and a nurse. The resident was in and out, but not there the whole time. By around 4 a.m., I felt immense pressure, and all of a sudden everything kicked into action. The resident said “okay great, let’s break down the table, get a baby nurse in here” etc, etc. I don’t remember everything but I was 100% aware that he was just about to be born.

They wheeled some stuff in, gowned up, turned on lights, etc. I pushed two more times and they told me to stop. Within seconds (at 4:10 a.m. on May 6), our little bundle of joy was born.

I’m still amazed at how calm and quick the whole process was.

They immediately put him on my chest and he was SCREAMING, even before Seth cut the umbilical cord. He was big but not as big as I imagined. I guessed 8 lbs., 2 oz. and the nurse said she felt he was only in the 7's. He stayed on my stomach for probably 10 minutes. They did the APGAR tests right there and said he was plenty healthy to hang out there with us for a bit. His APGARS were both a 9, so he was a healthy boy for sure!

When they took him to the warmer, I sent Seth that way with the camera and told him to get TONS of pictures. When he was measured, he was 8 lbs., 3 oz. and 19.5 inches long.

I was cleaned up and done within fifteen minutes and was able to hold him. My epidural wore off very quickly which was fine with me because they I didn’t need a catheter or anything. I asked to go to the bathroom on my own and the nurses came running to help me up. I told them (and showed them) that I had full feeling in my legs and they were working! They were shocked that I was able to walk by myself and wasn’t dizzy or anything.

By 5:30 a.m., I was in the shower, using my yummy body wash!

In all, I was in active labor for just about five hours, so nothing to complain about. Maybe next time, we won’t have to go through all this “go home and wait it out” stuff since the next one will probably be as quick too!!

We’re so thrilled with our little guy. We are blessed beyond comprehension - not only at the precious, perfect little boy but at all of the love and support given to us in the past month (hard to believe that he’s here and that he is already one month old tomorrow).

And as I often sing to his daddy, so I now sing to him:

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray.
You'll never know, dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away.

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. :)