3 Months

Wow.  How on earth is Carter already three months old???  I know they say the second one seems to grow faster, but this is ridiculous!  I feel like we've come out of the "fog" a little bit this month.  Maybe it's because I have a couple more hours of my life back each day because I quit pumping.  How on earth did I do that, having a baby, a nearly four year old, and going back to work...a job where I don't just sit at a desk and can take a pump break whenever I feel like it?  Or maybe it's that we have a decent schedule going with both boys.  Or maybe it's simply because I know the end of the school year is in sight.  Regardless, we are so happy that this little guy is now a happy spitter-upper and growing healthily!  It's amazing what a little Prevacid can do ;)

I have been quite leery of putting Carter on his back because it's a guaranteed spit up.  Not that nearly everything else isn't, hahaha.  I have literally never seen a kid who spit up so much (and so often!) in my entire life.  It's a wonder he gains weight at all...and he's already bigger than Reid was at this point!!  He's somewhere around the 13 lb. mark and getting to get those cute baby rolls on his arms and legs.  He loves to wave them around and is beginning to suck on his fingers (no thumb, yet) when he's hungry.  Still hates tummy time, but does enjoy hanging out on his back now.  I just feel so bad when he barfs up what he drank two hours ago.  But I've come to peace that this will be our messy kid and that's just life.  And a lot more laundry, LOL.

For awhile, I seriously thought I was either doing something wrong or we were unfortunate enough to have two kids that had colic.  The Zantac wasn't much help, then it was nearly impossible to get him to keep any of the Prevacid in his mouth from a spoon.  Thankfully, a good friend whose sons also had GERD told me to put the 1/2 pill into a syringe, suck up a little water, and squirt it in the side "pocket" in his mouth.  Voila!  Medicine in = happy spitter!  Not that the meds are guaranteed to stay in there, of course.  And then the timing does indeed stink because it has to be about 30 minutes before he eats ("in a perfect world," the pediatrician said) or waaaaay after he eats.  So then he's either screaming because of hunger, or I'm guessing when the least spitty-uppy time might be.  Let's just say we are praying daily for this little guy's flapper to mature and close like normal.  But in the meantime, thank goodness for Prevacid!!  Love my little guy's big gummers! 

I'm really not sure who loves bath time more...  Reid, or Carter!  Carter is getting too big for the baby tub already.  He splashes all over the place, which Reid thinks is absolutely hilarious, but I definitely can't put him in the big tub yet...

 

 

So far, he seems to still enjoy having his arms swaddled and sleeps a lot better that way.  A few nights ago, I put him in the white fleecy swaddle blanket (which is now apparently too small) and he repeatedly unswaddled himself all night long.  All the others were downstairs in the dirty clothes (spit up on, of course!) or I'd have done a 3am outfit change.

Cute guy!

At this point, I typically wake up around 5:15 or 5:30 since I quit pumping.  I'll come downstairs for my chai latte, devotional, and makeup, then back upstairs to wake up Reid, who now enjoys getting ready in Mommy's bathroom.  We'll wake up Carter together so that Reid can give him a hug and kiss, change him (Reid loves being a helper and throwing the diapers in the diaper genie), finish getting Mommy ready, then head back downstairs to finalize lunches, make fifty trips to load the car, and aim to be backing out of the garage by 7:05 at the latest.  But this day, Carter decided to stay awake and grunt around after 4-something.  I gave up and finally got him up and woke up Reid by putting Carter in his bed.  Big brother thought it was hilarious!  Little does he know that in a week or two, it will become Carter's bed ;)

Saturday mornings are fun because we don't have to be anywhere at any particular time.  I know that will change when we start t-ball, soccer, or whatever we start Reid in next year.  So for now, I'm enjoying that one day of the week that's laid back.  Jason sweetly decided to be our grocery shopper and discovered that Saturday mornings are very quiet at the store, so he is usually shopping or on his way home when I start getting everyone up.  Last week, I needed to give Carter his meds and Reid was up around the same time, so all three of us hung out in Mommy and Daddy's bed.  Reid "texted Daddy" on his phone (video monitor) while Carter and I made faces and cooed at each other.  It was so much fun that we repeated it today :)

More smiles!

Thankfully, Carter seems to enjoy hiking as much as the rest of the family.  He's too heavy for me to carry in the front baby carrier anymore, and now that he can hold up his head, it's perfect for the big boy backpack that Daddy can carry.  So this morning, we went for a nice family hike.  Reid wanted to do a long hike, so we went for it.  But he tuckered out about 2/3 of the way through.  We knew he was done when he fell and started screaming/crying even when nothing broke the skin on his knee or elbow.  So Daddy carried both Carter and Reid!  Superdad!!  I offered to take Carter, but in Jason's words, "I'm training for our Kauai hike next summer."  Probably good since I just had vein surgery a month ago, too.

So thankful for our little guy.  He and Reid go together like peas 'n carrots.  (We had to wear this outfit just for Aunt Lala..old inside joke.)  I love seeing his sweet smiles everyday and how much he loves his big brother.  We love God's little addition to our family!

Carter's Dedication

Last weekend was busy, busy, busy!  We decided to have Carter dedicated on Mother's Day Sunday.  Mother's Day has been a hard day for me for years, with all the infertility.  So I thought it appropriate that we dedicate Carter to the Lord on that day.  We promise to raise this little guy in a Christian family and teach him about Jesus the best we can.  The big day came and we had a chance to take pics with our pastor, Chuck Swindoll.

It was a bit nerve-wracking because babies are just plain unpredictable (at least ours have been!).  I was praying he wouldn't projectile spit up all over the church's carpet or us!  And he'd had a few days of blowouts in a row, so that was another possibility, too.

 And then we just happened to be right in the middle, so everyone watching Chuck also pretty much watched us.  Eek!

Thankfully, Reid was absolutely perfect during the dedication (not so much later on--he ran around like a maniac, which he knows is NOT okay at church, especially!) and Carter waited until his name was called to have a huge poopie, then promptly began screaming and spitting up as we were walking out the door of the auditorium.  Fun times.  He and I spent the rest of the service in the nursing mother's room where I frantically changed him (yep, turned into a blowout), fed him, and he finally napped in my arms.  Reid and the cousins went to Sunday school, and everyone else who came to support us got to hear the sermon.  Everyone fetched their kids and we took advantage of extra hands to take pics after the service.  Four generations of fine French men!

Our complete family of four

 Grandpa French, Marilyn (Mimi), and the grandsons

We'd also gotten together the day before, when Papa, Grandpa, and Marilyn came into town.  I was proud that I actually remembered to take pictures!  They were so sweet to bring Reid a neat little car, and Carter a cute little train.  Reid immediately decided he'd play with Carter's toy until he was big enough, too.

That evening, everyone came back over for a little dinner and chatting.  Steve brought over Campisi's (yum!) salad, pizza, and goodies.  The cousins all played in the backyard.  Reid had already had a bath, but he promised to stay on the porch since he was in his pj's.  Riiiiiiiight... He and Harrison ended up filthy because they somehow made it into the sandbox and had it everywhere...along with black feet from running around in the mulch.  Aimee and I bathed them and the tub looked like the beach later on! Double trouble, these two...

  

Everyone was totally tuckered out.  I found these three cuddled up on the couch.  

And this little guy just keeps getting cuter and cuter.  If he could only sleep like this through the night, we'd all be good!  ;)

2 Months

Our big guy took some fabulous pictures at school.  With his hatred of the camera being so evident, we coached him on smiling and made it a funny game.  But just our luck...something was wrong with the file when it went to the printer and it wouldn't print correctly.  I was so bummed because it's probably one of the best pictures he's taken, but the photographer was very apologetic and sweet about it and ended up giving us the digital files of the other pics she took.  Cute, but not adorable like that first one we'd loved and ordered...

Two months!!  Our little guy isn't quite so little anymore.  It's good because it means that, despite ALL the spitting up, he is indeed getting the nutrients he needs.  I'm very curious to see how much weight he's gained since his reflux appointment two weeks ago, when he was about 10 1/2 pounds.  We ended up switching from Zantac to Prevacid.  If he is still having bad reflux issues, we have a few other options: switching from breastmilk to formula (in case of a milk protein sensitivity), adding rice cereal to his milk (which they don't like to do this early on), or switching meds again.  But for now, I am just thankful he seems to be a bit better.  How do they grow so fast??  This is our last baby, and the time is flying even faster than it did with Reid.  I mean, look at those long legs!

So I actually had this entry ready to go last week, before my first week back at work, but then I realized I didn't use the cutesy monthly stickers I'd gotten.  So yes...you've been waiting a week for this one pic.  He looks like a little baby doll!!

In between all the spitting and screaming (poor guy!) we are getting more and more coos and smiles.  He seems to be a very social little guy and LOVES it when anyone smiles at him.  His coos crack me up, too, because he's said real words somehow (yes, I know it's not on purpose).  I've gotten "mama" a few times, Reid heard him say "no" today, and a few more shockingly recognizable words in among the goos and ahhs.

"Guh!"

Sometimes the little guy smiles so big that I'm afraid he might hurt his face.  Love it!!

But we do still get a lot of crying and some screaming...especially during the "witching hour(s)" of the afternoon.  You can't help but giggle when he gets out the pouty lip or a chin quiver.  The worst part is trying to give him his Prevacid on an empty stomach so he doesn't spit it up (but he does spit it up and/or spit it out...it's a little dissolvable pill that you mix with a little water, cross your fingers, and try to gently shove it down his throat).  Easier said than done...he eats all the time!  So it has to be about an hour after he eats or 30 minutes before he eats.  And inevitably, no matter what the time, he will decide he wants to eat, and eat NOW.

Reid continues to be a wonderful big brother.  We'd been praying about it for months before Carter's arrival and he continues to shock us with the cute little things he does, like taking Carter a paci, saying "I think Carter likes that!" and including Carter with our bedtime prayers each night. ("Carter, what do you want to pray for?")  Aunt Laura got them adorable matching shirt/onesie...I couldn't resist snapping a picture.

One of my goals on maternity leave was to finish Reid's baby book.  Yes, it's nearly four years in the making...my art and "outlet" of sorts.  But it's hard to squeeze time in between constant pumping/feedings, time with Reid, and the normal household cooking and cleaning.  But I finally did it!  Only problem?  No way will it fit in the actual scrapbook, lol.  I also feel a little bit guilty because I'm thinking Carter will probably never have one of these.  Just a baby book, most likely, which I have already worked hard on and filled out all I can so far.

Another guilt-inducing issue is making sure we're still remembering to take pictures of Reid!  I just wish I could clone myself (or at least grow some more arms so I can quiet Carter while still preparing Reid's breakfast or packing his backpack, etc.)  Our handsome church goer...

Cowboy Day at preschool!

And later...naked cowboy evening at home!

Reid's imagination is wonderful and so innocent.  I sure hope it stays like that!  My little buddy cracks me up every day.  I'm going to miss our somewhat leisurely wake up and breakfast times we've enjoyed during my maternity leave. 

From last week...before I actually got around to finishing and posting this:  Come Monday morning, I am officially back full time.  Not exactly sure how that's going to work with me having to get all three of us up, dressed, packed, and ready to drop off early at Holli's so I can race to school to pump before the students come.  I also already have meetings during my planning time three of the five days next week, too--eek!  (another pumping issue)  So I would love any prayers you can send up for me.  I'm very thankful my class is so sweet and I look forward to seeing them.  The meetings, red tape, and paperwork...I have definitely not missed ;)

Update:  That first day back was absolute hell.  I'm sorry...there is literally no other word for it.  I am grateful for the prayers and that (plus a Dr. Pepper a sweet mom ran to Sonic to get for me) are the only things that helped me survive that day.   The rest of the week was a little better.  I pumped my bootie off (too bad THAT isn't literal...I'm still in maternity pants...boo!) and after a complete meltdown after church today, I decided I'm done.  I can't survive pumping around the clock, having a full time job (where you have to be "on" ALL day), having an almost four year old and 2 month old, sleep deprivation, cooking, cleaning, etc. any longer.  Come 12 weeks and I am done!!!  Something's gotta give.  A friend of mine said her neurologist told her that if she could feed breastmilk for 12 weeks, she was golden.  Good enough for me.  I can't make Carter sleep any longer, I can't quit my job, I can't avoid fixing meals or cleaning the necessary stuff (believe me...the non essential stuff has gone by the wayside!), but I can transition him to formula knowing that I gave it my best.