Hair

I noticed the other day that Carter has no hair on the back of his head! I think it's rubbed off from laying on his back with his head straight up so much. Also, I usually hold him against me facing out so he can see what's going on. He's also this way when he's in the Baby Bjorn. Hopefully once he's sitting up more and not laying down so much or needing support for his head it'll grow back in!

Carter's hair has thickened up just a little bit since he was born, but there's not a huge difference yet. It's still light but looks red in some lights.

Since I'm on the subject of hair, when I was pregnant, I stopped losing hair. I used to compete with Charlotte for who shed the most - she used to win easily though. In the last few weeks I've been losing all that extra hair I kept for 9+ months. I'm now giving Charlotte some real competition. It's insane the amount of hair I lose when washing and drying my hair - handfuls and handfuls and handfuls.

That's enough about hair. Here's a cute picture of Carter that I took after a family walk last weekend ...

Playdate for Charlotte

We had a friend over last night for dinner (he brought the pizza, we supplied the appetizers and drinks), and he brought his dog along to play with Charlotte. Danni used to work with Brian and he has a 100 lb Rhodesian Ridgeback named Zeus. It got into the mid-60s yesterday so we were able to hang out on the deck all evening without getting too cold.

Charlotte and Zeus played for awhile in the yard put spent a lot of time chasing each other around the table on the deck. Silly dogs. They did manage to wear each other out though. Danni told us that Zeus wouldn't move this morning, and we had trouble convincing Charlotte to get up and go outside this morning.

Carter did well when Danni showed up and was content while Danni held him for about 10 minutes, but he was tired and got really, really fussy after that. I put him down in the swing where he slept for about 10 minutes and then work up screaming again. I fed him and put him to bed early then and he was quiet the rest of the night while we hung out outside with Danni and the dogs.

Photo Session

Here are some pictures of Carter that I took this morning ...

Losing Weight

I'm not losing weight as fast anymore. I'm blaming it though on the fact that I'm putting on muscle from running because I'm starting to fit it SOME of my pre-pregnancy clothes (though not many yet). This morning I was at 136 lbs. So that's 34 lbs lost so far with with 9 lbs more to go to get to my pre-pregnancy weight (plus about 10 more lbs to get to my ideal weight). I can't wait to fit into more of my old clothes. I'm too big for most of them but my maternity clothes look ridiculously huge on me. I don't want to buy anything that fits me too well right now because I hope to be smaller soon and don't want to waste money. So right now I wear a lot of t-shirts and sweatshirts.

I do need to start eating better. I've decided to try cooking more instead of making so many packaged and instant sort of meals and so much pasta. It's hard with Carter though because he's usually fussy in the late afternoon until he goes to bed and I can't easily put him down to cook. Yesterday I had to let him scream for a few minutes while I finished getting the meal together (I made herb-crusted salmon and deviled roasted potatoes). This morning I put stuff in the crockpot while he was still "chill". I'll just have to make the salad dressing tonight which won't take long. We're having chicken a la king with french bread and a mixed-greens salad with red wine vinaigrette. We'll see how long I can keep this up though. I'd really like to become a better cook!

More Mobile

Carter is scooting around more and more. This is how I set him down ...


And this is how he ended up ...


Carter slept really well last night. I put him to bed around 8pm and he didn't wake up until 5am. He's done that once or twice before, but that was over a month ago. We're moving his bedtime up 30 minutes which means doing his last feeding of the night at 7:30pm and then putting him down around 8pm. Daylight Savings Time begins soon so we'll see how that messes things up!

When we chose the name Carter, we'd never known or heard of any other Carters. I've been meeting more people though that know a child named Carter. We had checked the Social Security Association website when we picked the name to see how popular it was. In the US, Carter was number 80 in popularity in 2007, and in Tennessee, it was number 70 in 2007. It's a good thing we don't live in Saskatchewan, Canada because we would have had to pick a different name. Brian found today that it was number 7 in popularity in Saskatchewan in 2008.

Happy Baby

Carter was such a happy baby today. He smiled and laughed all day, as long as we were giving him our full attention.

Carter has slept the entire night in his crib the last two nights - I put him back in it after feeding him a little after midnight both nights. (I'm not sure why he's waking up for his overnight feeding so early right now.) Last night he woke up a couple of times and made a bunch of noise but never got upset. He was just "talking". He was able to get back to sleep on his own both times. He's finally learning to self-soothe himself some.

We got a little bit of snow overnight last night - maybe 1/4 inch. This has been the snowiest year we've had since we've moved to Knoxville.

Carter Rolled Over!

Carter rolled over this evening. Brian had set him down on the floor for some tummy time. He put Carter's arms out in front of him when he put him down - Carter can't really get this far up on his own. He looked around for about a minute with his head up 90 degrees and then he rolled over to his back.


Carter has been in the size 2 Pampers Swaddlers now for about a week. He's been having more blowouts lately, but these diapers still seem to fit better than any of the others I've tried. We still change him before every feeding (except for his middle of the night feeding). Sometimes Carter just fills his diaper with more poop than it can hold. Luckily, he still cleans up easily and his poop isn't really stinky. I'm still looking for the magic stain remover to get poop stains out of his clothes. He's getting close to growing out of his 3 month sized clothes though and is just now starting to fit into some of his 6 month sized stuff.

Bunco

I played bunco last night with some of the women that live in our neighborhood. It's a really simple game and an excuse to get away for an evening, eat, and have a few drinks. It was good to finally meet some of the other people that live in the neighborhood. Most of the women have young children, though none are as young as Carter.

Brian had to put Carter to bed on his own last night, which included doing his last feeding, and luckily Carter didn't give him any trouble. He hasn't been sleeping as well at night this last week so we were a little worried. He did wake up at midnight after I'd only had an hour of sleep. I fed him and got him back to sleep, but he was very noisy and slept light the rest of the night.

Here are a couple of cute pictures from Carter's bath today ...

Chewing His Hands

Carter is constantly chewing on his fists lately. And the last few days he's started to grab my hand and put it in his mouth to chew on.


Carter and I went to Baby Bookworms today. It was more chaotic today. The people that showed up were completely different than the ones from the week before. There were more wanders in this class. One little girl kept going up to the librarian leading the class and would try to pull the stuffed bear off her lap. Then she'd go through the bag of books and activities the librarian brought with her. The mom didn't seem to care. It was a little distracting.

We ended up going out to lunch at Panera after the class with two of the other moms and their kids. One mom has an 8 month old boy and the other mom has a girl about one and a half years old. It was good to get to talk to some other moms for a little bit. All the kids did pretty well through lunch. Carter got a little fussy right away so I had to hold him as I ate my soup. He was fine as long as I was holding him but I had to be careful not to drop soup on his head.

3 Month Checkup

Carter had his 3 month appointment today. He now weighs 13 lbs (42nd percentile) and is 23 1/4 inches tall (24th percentile). So in the last month, he has gained 1 lb, 10 oz and has grown 1 1/4 inches. Today they had us take a survey of what Carter can do to track his development. According to the doctor, he "scored" 4 1/2 months. Basically, he's developing as he should!

Here's a picture that shows why Carter is up to 13 lbs ... he has a bit of a pot belly right now.

Bubbles

3 Months Old

Carter is 3 months old today!

Carter slept in his crib for the first time last night. He woke up around 4am and I fed him, and then I put him down in the bassinet in our room since he usually doesn't sleep well or long after his middle of the night feeding. Hopefully he'll do well again tonight in his crib.

I've been feeding Carter around 8pm the last couple of weeks and then putting him to bed afterwards. He usually wakes up between 2am and 4am to eat. I don't mind feeding him then, but it would be nice if we slept well after that feeding.

We may try making Carter's bedtime a little earlier because he usually gets really fussy from 5-8pm. I know he's just really tired because he's still napping poorly. His naps are 30 minutes max and he usually fights taking them. I try to catch him too before he gets overtired. Hopefully he starts developing real naps soon. I'd get a lot more done then too!

Moving Around

Carter turned onto his side all on his own and stayed that way for the first time Wednesday night. He's not getting close to really rolling over yet. I try to give him a little tummy time every day, but he will only put up with it for a few minutes at a time before he lets me know he wants to be turned back over.


Here are a couple of cute picture from our walk on Monday ...

Baby Bookworms

Carter and I went to our first "Mommy and Me" type of class today. We went to the Baby Bookworms program at the Farragut branch library. It's for kids 2 and under. There were about 10 other moms there with their kids. It was a fun program that lasted about 30 minutes. We sang lots of songs and rhymes and the librarian read a few books. We did a lot of bouncing the babies around on our laps and getting them involved in the songs. The librarian led us using a stuffed bear to demonstrate what to do with the babies. Carter seemed to enjoy it. He liked watching everyone.

Carter and I were a few minutes late because he took a little longer than normal to eat before we left. Most people rushed out after the class was over, but hopefully we'll get there a little earlier next week and I'll get to talk to some of the other moms.

Carter and I got a few books while we were at the library and then walked around the park next to the library since it was almost 70F. I had Carter in the Baby Bjorn and he fell asleep about halfway through the walk. It is super windy today (30-40 mph winds) and he seemed to like being outside in it.

Meeting Neighbors

I'm finally starting to meet some of the other moms in the neighborhood since the weather has been so nice and people have been outside more. Yesterday when I took Carter for a short walk, we met a woman (Kim) who lives in our section of the neighborhood. Apparently, the women in our neighborhood get together monthly to play bunco and have a few drinks. She is hosting this month's party next week and invited me to join in. So I should hopefully get to meet some more people at that.

Today Carter and I met a couple of moms that live in the Roefield section of our neighborhood. The first woman we met has triplets that were born the day after Carter. They were all peacefully sleeping in their triplet stroller and were so cute! I wish Carter would sleep in his stroller! The woman actually said the triplets are easier than her 4-year old singleton when she was a newborn. Amazing!

We also met a woman who is almost 5 months pregnant and her son. Her son loved Charlotte, but she was being very shy and not really letting him pet her. Maybe next time she'll be better.

Here's a picture of Carter today hanging out with me on the deck again.

Beautiful Day

We're having another beautiful day! Carter and I are outside right now as I get some work done and he naps in his bouncer.


Hopefully the fresh air will help him sleep longer than his normal 30 minute nap. I've been putting him down for a morning nap in his bassinet last week and his crib the last couple of days (instead of letting him sleep in his bouncer or swing) and those naps are also just 30 minutes. He did take an hour nap in his car seat yesterday while Brian and I were out running errands - that was his longest nap in days.

It was so nice yesterday too that we took Carter over to the Turkey Creek Greenway and walked for about 45 minutes. He didn't fuss at all - it was so nice! Lately, Carter hasn't been a fan of his car seat. He's usually okay for car rides, but he gets worked up when it's mounted in his stroller and then gets overheated.

Long Run

I got in a long run today. And I got to run it outside!!! It is so nice here - 65F and sunny! I'd only gotten in one of my long runs for my half-marathon training before today. I did a little over 6 miles today (6.15 miles according to my Garmin watch or 6.23 miles according to Google Pedometer). And I ran it in an 64 minutes, 17 seconds. I'm happy with that pace considering I've only been running for 6 weeks and had Carter 12 weeks ago!

And, honestly, it was really nice to get a break from Carter. I was getting burnt out and the long run really refreshed me. Brian is out on his run now. Hopefully he enjoys his run as much as I enjoyed mine!

Where's Carter?

Carter is getting better at grabbing things. He also has started bringing his hands together and will hold one hand with the other.

Carter always wears a bib because he spits up so much and he has also started drooling quite a bit sometimes. He likes to play with his bib. This is often how I find him if I leave him alone for a few minutes with nothing else to play with.


I tried putting Carter in the Exersaucer yesterday. He's still too small for it. His toes barely touch the base and I have to stuff blankets around him to hold him up. But he seemed to like it for the short time I had him in it. I'm sure it won't be long until he can use it.

Charlotte & Carter

Charlotte was extremely friendly with Carter yesterday. Up until yesterday, she's only licked him a few times.

Carter was in his bouncer next to the treadmill while I was running. We keep it cool in the attic (it was 58F) so Carter had some socks on and a blanket covering him. (He doesn't wear socks that often because he kicks them off right away.) Carter managed to poke his feet out from the blanket and was working on pushing his socks off. Charlotte decided to help him. She was licking Carter's ankles and heels with huge licks helping to further push off his socks.

Charlotte often sniffs Carter's face, but that's it. Yesterday she was giving him lots of little licks on the face all day long. Carter seemed to like it. He gave Charlotte a few little smirks.

Today Charlotte is back to normal with no more licks, just sniffing.

A Cute Picture

I took this picture a couple of weeks ago. Sometimes Carter prefers his hand over his pacifier.

GER Update

Carter's GER (Gastroesophageal Reflux, or baby acid reflux) has been manageable for awhile now. The "trick" of holding him upright for at least 20 minutes after feeding him has helped a lot.

After Carter's night feedings (his last feeding before bed, his middle of the night feeding, and his first feeding in the morning), I'll hold him against my shoulder where he tends to fall asleep. Carter is still sleeping in the playard in our room. We have the bassinet propped up some so he can sleep a little upright. He tends to slide down during the night though and ends up perpendicular to the direction he started the night in. Carter will throw up about once every other night. Sometimes I catch it before I fall asleep and can clean him up. But not every time. It doesn't really seem to bother him too much though.

Most of the time during the day after I feed Carter, I prop him up with the Boppy on my lap facing me. He doesn't really like being up against my shoulder during the day - I guess it's boring. I try not to walk around with him right away after a feeding either because he tends to throw up more then. Carter now usually only has one bad feeding a day where he throws up a lot. The rest of the time it's not too much. He doesn't always throw up right after a feeding. Sometimes it's right before his next feeding.

I'm just glad he's not soaking me after every feeding anymore!

And here's a cute picture of a happy baby taken before bath time today ...

Snow

Yesterday we took Carter to the zoo, and today we got a few inches of snow! We got 3 to 4 inches at the house. It's already starting to melt, but it may get pretty icy tonight. I took Carter out while it was snowing for a few minutes. He liked the cold on his face, as usual. Here are a few pictures from the front and back porches ...

Trip to the Zoo

We finally had a warm (mid-50s) and dry day so we took Carter to the zoo. We got a new annual membership because we plan on taking him there a lot. We stayed about two hours and Carter did really well. He didn't last very long in the stroller as he got fussy pretty quick, but Brian then picked him up and he fell asleep for awhile. When he woke up, I put him in the Baby Bjorn and he did really well. He slept the whole way home too.

The zoo was really empty today - probably because of the Super Bowl tonight. We were often the only ones at an exhibit. The gibbon was really active today and kept coming up to the window to look at us. And one of the beavers was treading water for awhile in front of us. It was a good day!