These last few months have gone by in a blur, yet really slowly at the same time. There's so much to talk about! I actually love that I blog, because it's like a journal; for example, I was wondering how well Payton slept when she was a newborn, and I was able to just go back and read my blog to find out. Pretty handy! Turns out Payton was only waking up to eat every 4 hours at two weeks old... unfortunately, Carter is not quite as easy in the sleep department, but getting much better. I always told Kyle that he never realized how good a sleeper Payton was, and now he knows what I mean! With Payton you could feed her, rock her for a minute, put her back down and we didn't hear another peep from her until it was time to eat again. Carter is not the self soother that his sister was, not to mention he wakes up to eat much more frequently. He is getting to be a really big boy! He weighed 11 pounds 3 ounces at one month old, which isn't bad considering he wasn't even up to birth weight by the two week mark! He gained like 2.5 pounds in 2 weeks, I'm starting to call him my little moose. Alas we said goodbye to newborn clothes and diapers within a week or two of his birth, and even his 3 month clothes are starting to fit very snugly. I have a feeling he's going to take after his daddy, who was in 2T at a year! Payton was a good sized baby too, but nothing like Carter. She weighed 10 pounds 10 ounces at her 6 week check up, so he's already way ahead of her!
One way they are similar though is how they look. It's so weird to compare baby pictures of them, they look identical! Makes me wonder if they'll look really similar as kids too.
I know my mom already posted these on her blog, but every time I look at them I'm always struck by the similarities!
So you heard me mention how much weight Carter gained after the 2 week mark. Well, he wasn't gaining weight quickly enough after birth, in fact he was still half a pound under birth weight at 2 weeks old. So, I started supplementing. Even though breastfeeding went better this time, I still struggled from the start; I made more milk than I did with Payton, but still not enough. Especially for this big boy's appetite! I tried different teas, a few lactation consultants, pumping after feeding around the clock, even a prescription medication to increase lactation; although all these things helped somewhat, none of them did the trick. Carter was exclusively breastfed for about 2.5 weeks, but he was too hungry and I was getting exhausted. His appetite increased but my supply did not, so I gave him all the breast milk I could pump out, but he's being formula fed now. And I'm ok with that! There's honestly nothing else I could have done differently or better this time, and I know that and have made peace with that. I've kept track of how much I was pumping, and I pumped over 250 ounces of breast milk that I was able to give to him (and that's not including the several weeks I exclusively nursed!) I feel pretty good about that. Anything I've been able to give him is better than none at all. I'm not nursing anymore, Carter was getting too frustrated when I would try because he was having to work too hard to get it out. It's not really how I wanted it to turn out, but like I said, I'm happy that I was able to make so much more than last time. Payton is still a pretty darn smart and beautiful kid, and I'm sure Carter will be too!
The one positive thing about bottle feeding is that I've been able to get some help at night. Now that school has started again for Kyle I do all the middle of the night stuff during the week, but he usually gives me a break on the weekend so I can get a nice chunk of sleep. Carter's sleep at night has actually improved quite a bit, and he's even getting into a little routine. He's usually going down for the night between 8:30 and 9:30, and then getting up once around 3:30, then sleeping again until around 6:30 or 7:00. Just in time for Payton to wake up, and then the day has started! He's getting better at daytime sleep too; he's more alert and aware, and I'm able to put him down in his swing or on his playmat and he'll play and look around for a while so I can get some stuff done around the house. Then he'll get tired and he may fuss for a minute, but then usually falls asleep. He still likes being held the most, I would say he's cuddly but he's actually pretty squirmy! My mom jokes that holding him sometimes feels like a wrestling match. I just think once he gets mobile he'll be hard to catch!
Last month (as you know) we went to Seaside with Sue and my mom. Everyone else had to work unfortunately, but we had a great time anyway! Payton actually had a BLAST; I don't think I've ever seen her have so much fun. Our days were packed with stuff to do, we did so many different activities that by the time bed time came, she crashed each night! We played at the beach, the pool, the arcade, the carousel, took walks, drank many hot chocolates, played mini golf, ate ice cream, shopped at the outlets, people watched on the balcony, Kyle and I even took her to her first movie in the theater! (she LOVED the popcorn, we let her try our pop and she hated it!) Carter had a big event too; he rolled over for the first time! Only four weeks old. It was quite the week!
Now that's a packed car!
The view from our balcony; when we arrived on Sunday there was a huge beach volleyball tournament; really fun to watch!
Playing in the pool
Sillies drying off
My pretty girl :)
And handsome boy! Ready to go on a walk
Payton wanted to ride too!
It's a rough life!
People watching during lunch
Carter got some lunch too
Kyle and Payton headed down to the beach; you can still see all the poles from the volleyball nets
Payton has NEVER done this; she was so exhausted she was passed out on the couch by dinnertime!
Fun on the beach
Snuggles with grandma
My favorite ice cream: chocolate!
Playing at the arcade
Riding on the carousel
Playing mini golf
We had a great time, but too soon it was time to get back to the real world. We spent the rest of the month of August enjoying Kyle's time off, going to the pool, the zoo, the park, all that good stuff. Now that school has started it feels like we're getting into a little bit more of a routine. Payton goes to preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays, every Wednesday we go to storytime at the library, and my small group ladies are going to start having morning coffee once a week with our kiddos, probably on Mondays. I've never been able to participate because I work, so I'm excited to be able to enjoy some fellowship and girl time for my last couple months of maternity leave.
Riding the train at the zoo
Payton and her "kitty"; she didn't want to leave him!
Hmmm... maybe I should call child protective services??
Carter had his two month check up yesterday, and according to his doctor his growth is "spectacular!" He weighed 14 pounds 6 ounces, is 24 inches long, and his head circumference is 16 inches. He's gained almost 6 pounds since birth, plus grown 2.5 inches and his head has increased by 2 inches! It's just crazy how fast he's growing. According to the world health organization data, his weight is in the 97th percentile, his height is in the 95th percentile, and his head circumference is in the 96th percentile. Big boy!
The only concern I had for his doctor was that last week I noticed a little red spot show up on his left cheek. As you can imagine I've been watching it super closely, worried that it was a developing hemangioma. The good news is that it hasn't grown since I've noticed it, and hasn't started to raise at all. Knock on wood! It would be unusually late for a hemangioma to show up, usually they show up within a few weeks of birth, but I'm not sure what else it could be. The resident doctor thought maybe it was just some superficial burst blood vessels, but only time will tell. I'm praying it doesn't get any bigger! We've also noticed another little birth mark on his right hip, but that one also hasn't changed. Just another thing for this mama to worry about!
So as you can imagine I have taken hundreds of pictures the last few months... but have yet to upload them to my computer. It's not just my blog I've been ignoring! My goal is to upload everything today so I'm current on my computer, and so I think my next blog will just be pictures... I'll let them tell the story :) I figure if I start that blog as soon as I publish this one, I might actually get it posted before the month is out... Lol. I'll try my best to get it posted as soon as possible! Thank you for being patient with me!
This weekend is a very special weekend, Kyle and I are having the kids dedicated at church. The church we go to doesn't believe in infant and child baptism, they believe that's a decision that they should make as adults when they are aware of the commitment that they're making. But, we have a ceremony where we dedicate the kids and promise to raise them in a christian household. We wrote a prayer for each child, which they frame and also give us a candle that we can light on the anniversary of their dedication. This Sunday is also my Grandma Book's birthday, which is very symbolic for me. I miss her a lot, and I know she'll be looking down on us during the ceremony. We have to get up in front of the whole church, hopefully everybody behaves themselves! I'll let you know how it goes!
Have a great weekend!
Thank you for the big blog and all the pics! I look most days to see if you've updated. It sure is tricky to get anything done when there are two little ones in the house. It's go, go, go! Sounds like you're having a fantastic time. I'm glad you have such a long maternity leave. Looking forward to seeing you all next Saturday. Love you!
ReplyDeleteAunt Tawnya