Dog Park

We took Carter with us to the dog park for the first time today. It's the first time Charlotte's been there in over a year (maybe two). It's in the mid-40s today so I bundled Carter up in a sweater and hat and put in the Baby Bjorn. He seemed to like the cold air, though his cheeks are a little chapped now. Several dogs came up to me and sniffed at Carter's feet. It seemed a lot them were curious about him. A few people told me that their dogs had never seen a baby before. Luckily everything went fine, though I was pretty nervous about protecting Carter.

Charlotte seemed to enjoy herself. She was generally independent and enjoyed sniffing around instead of playing with the other dogs. She went in the pond just enough to get her belly wet. She was pretty shy when other dogs tried to get her to play and sat down a few times with her tail tucked until the other dogs left her alone. She's not as quick as she used to be when she could outrun any other dog at the dog park. I think we're going to try to go there more often though since Charlotte has been a little neglected lately.

Tummy Time

Carter is starting to lift his head up a little higher during tummy time. I am starting him off in this position, but he can hold his head like this, drop it, and lift it again to this height.



Brian, Carter, and I went to Salsarita's for lunch today and we survived without too much fussiness. I had to take Carter out of his car seat when I was almost done eating because he was getting hot and a little fussy. He only got really fussy near the end when he was getting tired.

Next time ...

Next time we are not going to have a baby at the beginning of winter! I am going crazy being at the house so much. It seems like it's been colder and wetter than most winters, but that's probably only because things are different now with Carter. I really want to get out more, but I'm limited on what I can do because everything has to be inside. I can only go shopping so much (especially now that we're down to essentially one income). And Carter is still not a baby that will chill on your lap or in your arms or in his car seat when you go out to eat or somewhere else (like a sporting event). I don't mind if he fusses or cries a little, but I can't stand to disturb everyone else the entire time that we're out. If it were warmer, we could do more outside where he wouldn't bother people as much with his fussing.

But for my sanity, we're going to have to get out more. Carter is getting a little better each week with his fussiness so hopefully he'll be a lot better soon. I'm going to try to do lunch with Brian later in the week and see how that goes. Hopefully it won't be too stressful.

And hopefully we'll have a warm, dry weekend soon! We really want to take Carter on a hike. Just something local and short.

He Found His Thumb!

Carter found his thumb for the first time today. He's been sucking on his fist some the last couple of weeks, but today he found his thumb for a couple of minutes.

Some More Smiles and a Huh?

Smile

Mr. Blue Eyes

Carter has beautiful blue eyes right now. And long eyelashes which he gets from Brian.

Decorating

I've been working on decorating some over the last week. We've reorganized the family room by moving the desk to the foyer, removing the big leather ottoman (it's now in the bonus room), and making more open floor area by pushing the loveseat back. Now we need a rug and new coffee table. I wanted more open space and a rug so we could play easier with Carter on the floor downstairs since we don't have any carpeting on the first floor. We hung a mirror and added new decoration to the mantle. And hung some canvas prints on one wall.


I also bought a rug for the foyer. We moved the Mac to the desk we moved to the foyer as well. I really like the foyer area now and it doesn't feel like wasted square footage anymore.



I ordered a bunch of prints from Shutterfly this weekend so I'll be hanging more pictures up soon.

New Favorite Toy

Carter's new favorite toy is a big truck meant for much older infants. But he loves when its on its side and he can spin the wheels by punching them.


Carter slept well again last night. I fed him at 9:30 pm and not again until 4:15 am and then again at 7:45 am. He did grunt a lot during the night, but didn't wake up until the times I fed him. Carter also had a really sleepy day. I got a lot of work done - 3.5 hours!

Good and Bad

It always seems that the good and bad even out with Carter. He had an amazing night last night - went almost 8 hours between feedings. And he had a great morning and early afternoon. He wasn't fussy at all and was content chilling in his swing. We got so much done! He's making up for it now. He seems to have a bit of diarrhea and an elevated temperature - though it's not a fever yet. And he's been fussy with a painful sort of cry. He just passed out in Brian's arms, but I don't see that lasting too long. Hopefully I'm wrong!

The new thing Carter has been doing the last few days is sucking on his hands. His hands are usually in fists when he brings them to his face, and he'll suck on the index and middle finger of his fist. He's been sucking on his fist during tummy time for a good week, but he's now bringing his fists up to his face while on his back.

Carter Cooing

Here's a video of Carter cooing at the mobile above his changing table last night. He's cooing a lot more and social smiling a lot.



If the video isn't working yet, you can view it here (link).

Two Month Exam

Carter had his two month exam today. He did really well considering he had to get 3 shots! He was pretty calm during his exam and not fussy at all.

Carter weighed in at 11 lbs, 6 oz which is in the 45th percentile for his age. His length is 22 inches which is in the 22nd percentile, though I think he's longer because the nurse didn't seem to be doing a good job of stretching him out when measuring him. So, he's gained 1 lb, 12 oz and grown 1 1/8 inches in the last month.

The doctor said Carter looked good and is right on track developmentally. He said Carter's eating and sleeping habits are perfect.

Carter got three shots and one oral vaccine. He got (1) Pediarix, which is a combination vaccine of DTaP, IPV, and HBV, (2) HIB, which is the haemophilus influenza B vaccine, and (3) Prevnar, which is a pneumococcal vaccine. The oral vaccine that Carter got is the rotavirus vaccine. He cried hard while getting the shots - the type of crying where he doesn't breath or make a sound for a long time and turns purple and then lets out a terrible scream. He calmed down after a minute or two and fell asleep a few minutes later.

A few hours after Carter got the shots, he started crying like this again and wouldn't stop so I gave him some tylenol because I figured he was sore from the shots. It seems to have helped and he's slept a good part of this afternoon.

I'm still running about every other day and working on losing my pregnancy weight. I'm down to 140.5 lbs (from 170 lbs). Only 13.5 lbs to go!

Brian's Home!

Carter and I made it through Brian's first business trip. Brian was supposed to be in DC all week but got to come home today two days early. It was a little rough being on my own for a few days, but each day was a little easier. Usually I look forward all day to knowing I'll get a bit of a break once Brian gets home. It was hard not having that. Hopefully as Carter gets older and gets more of a routine we'll be able to handle Brian traveling better.

Discovering His Hands

Carter seems to have found his hands a little bit today. He was chilling in his bouncer on the kitchen table this morning while I was getting a little work done and he kept pushing his bib up with his hands to get it in his mouth. He's continued to do this all day. It's not much, I know, but more than he's done before. Also, he was cooing at the turtle hanging from the bar over the bouncer this morning which I enjoyed watching.

Back to Work

I've started doing some work from home this week. I'm still trying to figure out how to make time to do everything and not feel like I'm neglecting Carter at all. I've been making it a priority to do some work when he's napping (though this means that other stuff isn't getting done). But I'm happy to be doing some work again and especially happy to be contributing to the family income. I told my boss that I'm only doing this on a trial basis so I can stop if I feel like it's too much.

Today Carter was actually enjoying sitting like this for a few minutes (before getting fussy, as usual).

Arts and Crafts

Carter participated in his first arts and crafts project today (he's 8 weeks old today). He wasn't too happy about it. It tuckered him out, and he fell asleep a few minutes after it was completed.

Getting Big

I gave Carter a bath without the newborn sling in the tub for the first time yesterday. Doesn't he look huge in these pictures?



Carter has his 2 month appointment next week. I'm guessing he'll be around 11.5 lbs. He was 9 lbs, 10 oz at his 1 month appointment.

Third Times a Charm

I've not had good luck with my car and getting hit by stuff. The first winter that I had it, which was last year, I was driving to work on a hilly, 55 mph, two-lane highway on a day when there was a chance of snow. As I crested a hill, a salt truck was coming the other way and sprayed me with salt that it was spreading on both lanes. It was so loud as the salt hit my car, and it sounded like the car was getting shot up. I ended up with a bunch of chips in the hood of my car.

This summer I was on my way home with pizza from Mellow Mushroom and got on I-40 for about two miles. A car about 100 yards in front of my threw up an L-shaped metal bracket. It was spinning through the air and I almost avoided it, but it got me on the part of the car between the windshield and the door on the passenger side. It left a couple inch gash that had to be repaired (and cost almost $600 to replace that piece of the car and paint it). Brian recommended that I try not to avoid something next time and let it hit the windshield so that insurance will cover the repair with no deductible.

Yesterday I succeeded in doing that. I got hit by a rock on my way up to my office to pick up some work. It left a golf ball sized shatter in my windshield.



The auto glass repair guy is supposed to come on Tuesday to replace the windshield. My insurance agent said it won't cost us anything and won't affect our rates. So I finally will get something repaired and for free!

Carter Update

Carter is getting more flexible. He's no where near putting his feet in his mouth yet, but he is now bringing them up to his hands some when he's getting a bath or we're changing his diaper. It does make changing him a little more difficult though.

Tonight was the first time Carter tried to lift up his head just a bit when on his tummy.


Carter's baby acne has been getting a lot better. His chin is still a little broken out but that's probably from the spit up that doesn't get wiped up right away.

Carter's hair doesn't seem to be getting much thicker yet, but it is getting a little longer. He's got some stray inch long pieces in the middle of his head. The color is still a strawberry blonde. Also, he has this really cute swirl pattern in his hair at his forehead on his right side.

Carter has been out of all his newborn clothes for over a week now and fits into most of his 3 month size stuff. Those clothes don't even look big anymore.

We've tried putting Carter in his Bumbo seat a few times. His neck is getting stronger and stronger, and he seems to be able to keep his head up when in the seat. Here's a picture of the 30 seconds he didn't mind it, and a picture of what usually happens as soon as we sit him in it.

Little Feet

Poor Charlotte

Charlotte has been putting up with a lot while we get through Carter's newborn stage. Yes, she is just a dog, but she's still part of our family and we enjoy interacting with her.

She has been getting a lot less attention. It's hard to play with her the same way while holding a baby. Plus, it took her awhile to even want to be near me while I was holding Carter - I think she was jealous. She used to come to work with me at least twice a week (sometimes five days a week if Brian was out of town) and she got lots of love from people in my office. Now, she hasn't left our neighborhood in almost two months. That's got to be a big change for her. We haven't been able to play outside much because we have gotten so much rain since Carter has been born. And if it's not raining, it's been really cold. We've really only had a few nice days the past couple of months.

Charlotte also has to put up with us taking away her squeaking toys when Carter is finally sleeping. And getting scolded when she barks when he's sleeping.

Hopefully the weather will improve soon (doesn't look like it's going to be this week though) so we can get outside and really play with Charlotte. I'm sure she misses playing her version of fetch with her little orange basketball. Her version is getting the ball and then waiting for you to come to her to throw it again. At least this is the version she usually plays with me. She plays a more normal version with Brian most of the time.

Still, we're really happy with how Charlotte is doing with Carter. She's not very interested in him yet, but she usually sniffs him a few times a day and gives him a little lick every once in awhile. Carter has looked at her a few times, but usually ignores her too. We're looking forward to seeing how they do together once Carter gets a little older and is a little more mobile.

Carter Smiling at His Dad

Tongue

Carter discovered his tongue today! He's been sticking it out and moving it around more. He also started cooing some the last couple of days. It's a lot of fun to "talk" with him now.

We signed up for Netflix today. My mom got us a Blu-ray player for Christmas. We picked out a Samsung one with the ability to instantly download movies from Netflix. The interface is really good, and we're really impressed with the features. Not everything is available to download, but there are some movies we want to see and a lot of TV shows we haven't watched the first few seasons of. We used to have Blockbuster, but they were starting to take about a week to send us new movies and several of them had been arriving damaged or with the wrong movie in the envelope. Hopefully Netflix is better.

Baby Bjorn

I successfully got Carter to hang out in his Baby Bjorn today for the first time without him screaming. He even fell asleep for awhile. After about an hour he had had enough of it, but it was nice up until then.



Here are a few other cute pictures, including a little bit of a smile that Brian caught and one of Carter toppling over while I was trying to take his picture.