Teething Blues

Poor little guy is just a hot mess this week. 

Hopefully, tooth number 8 will break through soon!

Carson - 11 Months!

One more month until my baby turns one!  Unbelievable!  It's been a wonderful year.

What's Carson doing now??

Physical Development:

He is walking now.  He started taking steps 2-3 weeks ago but is now walking independently for short distances.  He walks from the couch to the love-seat without anyone prompting him.  We have seen him successfully do a "pivot" turn a few times as well.  I love watching babies learn to walk.  It is one of my favorite skills.  He gets so excited about walking from one person to the next.  If he keeps it up he should be a pro by the time we need him to walk down the aisle!

Busy, busy, busy

Speech Development:

Carson still isn't babbling with consonants but he is so much more verbal now than a month ago.  He is quite noisy and able to communicate his needs fairly well.  (Sometimes by biting us!)  He does make a "vrmmm" sound when he is driving his toy cars.  He also says, "mmm, mmm,mmm" when he is hungry.  I really think he will be babbling by his birthday.  We will see.  At the recommendation of a early intervention speech path (thanks Karen and Julie) we have been spending lots of time singing songs to him replacing the words with mama, dada, papa, baba.

Personality:

Carson is so busy.  He is also really independent.  He of course likes being held and played with but he is happy to entertain himself too.  He loves balls, blocks, cars, and the fridge magnets.  He is feisty and makes changing diapers much more difficult than any of my other kids have at this age.  If you make him made he actually hits at us.  I think at this point it is more of a flinging his arms than actual hitting but it is definitely done out of frustration.  He continues to bite people throughout the day.  He usually just gets our clothes or blankets but occasionally get skin.  I have been telling him no firmly but feel there is little else we can do about it at this point.

I would still describe Carson as easy going and flexible (to an ever-changing daily schedule).  He is a really, really happy baby.  He almost never cries unless he is tired or gets knocked over by a sibling.

First Combover 

Eating/Sleeping:

He eats three meals a day now.  I'm not sure he has a favorite food but he does love beans, cheese, and frozen peas.  He is my first kid to throw food on the floor.  As soon as he is done or if he doesn't like what I offer him he drops it on the ground and then leans over his seat as far as he possibly can to see where it went.

He doesn't like grapes, meat, or most grains.

He is still nursing 6 times during a 24 hour period. He usually goes to bed between 7:00-7:30 and gets up between 6:30 and 7:00.  He nurses around midnight usually (sometimes I feed him before I go to bed rather than being woken in the middle of the night).  He still takes 2 naps a day usually totaling 3 hours depending on whether or not we are home.

Thankfully, he doesn't bite while nursing!

He refused to look at the camera but he is still cute!

Carson is a joy!  We are so blessed.

Carson Walking

We captured Carson "walking" tonight.  I urge you to turn the volume off of your computers, otherwise you are going to hear my neurotic sounding shrieks! :)

Carson- 8 months

Photos by Jen Neal

 Happy, Busy, and Loud

Carson is still the happiest baby I have ever met. 

He bounces with joy and is so much fun to be around.

Carson is very, very busy!

He crawls everywhere very quickly!

He is able to pull to a stand and cruise along couches and chairs! 

I have seen him let go of the couch and stand independently for 10 seconds a few times.

I anticipate he will be taking steps by his 9 month update. 

Carson is noisy! 

He doesn't babble a ton but he loves to shriek. 

He plays a game with Erik and Lainey.  

He shrieks at them trying to get their attention, 

when they shriek back at him he giggles and laughs.

Annoying and cute at the same time. 

Carson loves banging his hands on the counter, hitting pots and pans with spoons, 

pulling all of the magnets off of the fridge and banging them on the floor.

Carson is still passionate about nursing.

I nurse on demand, probably every 3 hours or so. 

He is eating solids a little better and is up to 19.5 pounds.  

 So far he has been offered.....

sweet potatoes

butternut squash

 black beans

kidney beans

Avocado

applesauce

brown rice

bananas

pear

One hunk of french bread (he was excited about this)

One frozen bagel (equally excited!)

 

 Carson is still wheezing although this has improved

significantly after starting him on budesonide nebulizers 2x a day.

He will likely be on these the entire winter as he has been wheezing since September.

He hates the nebulizer but will tolerate it if we let him watch a movie during it. (Awesome!)

Carson is still on Prevacid, 15 mg a day.  

He is still spitting up some but it doesn't bother him.

Carson is still getting up 1x a night most of the time.

He did sleep through the night 4-5x this month, he also got up more than 2x a night 4-5x this month.

Generally speaking I am only willing to nurse him once a night.

If he continues to increase his solid intake I will cut out the night feedings completely.

This month Carson struggled with bronchiolitis, went to Philadelphia to hang with his cousins,

and spent lots of time being drug from activity to activity for his siblings.  

Carson is such a joy!

I am so thankful for him!

Carson- 5 months old!

It's hard to believe how quickly babies change!

This month has been quick and of course brought about lots of new things for our baby boy.  Here is what he is up too..

Sleeping:

- We moved him into his crib a few weeks ago.  He has done "well."
-Still swaddled.  He usually gets his arms out during the night but the swaddle seems to help him fall asleep.
- He often flips himself onto his stomach but doesn't like that which leads to screaming.
- He will usually give us one 4-5 hours stretch of sleep at night but the rest of the night is every 3 hours or so.  A typical night might be 7:30 - 11:00-3:30-7:30.  Every night is different though.  Sometimes better, sometime worse.  I generally require him to go at least 4 hours between feedings at night.

-Carson consistently takes 3 naps during the day.  The first two naps are usually 1.5-2.5 hours long and the third is 45-60 minutes.  He is rarely awake longer than 2 hours at a time, with the exception of approximately 3 hours between the 3rd nap and bedtime.

Eating:
-Still nursing exclusively.  He doesn't enjoy bottles at all but will take them if desperate.
-On Prevacid 15 mg a day which controls his reflux well

Development:
 - Rolls well in both directions
-Pushes up onto his arms and can move himself around in a circle (kind of) in an attempt to get toys.
-Can sit up for short periods of time if propped up against something.
-Loves his feet and frequently has his toes in his mouth
-Loves, loves, loves to jump in his bouncer
-Super happy and smiley all.the.time. Wonderful!!
-Very cute giggle!
-Ticklish!
-Loves people and doesn't like being left alone in a room

Carson continues to be a delight!

He is such a wonderful addition to the family!

Baby Update

 Carson is one day shy of seven weeks.  He is doing well.  He seems to be moving out of the newborn stage already. :(

 We have a nice bedtime routine set up for him and he seems to understand day vs night.  I usually nurse him for the "last" time between 9-10 pm, swaddle him, and put him to bed.  He usually sleeps until 2 AM or so.  Some of his feedings are quick (30 minutes) but other times he is awake for a loooong time (2 hours or so).  Most nights it is around 45-60 minutes from start to finish.  He get up for a second feeding most nights between 4-5 AM and then usually sleeps until 8 AM or so. 

Beautiful Boy!

Victor, my very helpful husband, has been sleeping on the couch since Carson was born.  I could never sleep on the couch but he seemingly doesn't mind.  About 50% of the time he does the first feeding for Carson allowing me to sleep from 10:30 (or so) - 4 AM (or so).  The nights Victor doesn't do the first feeding he thereotically can get a full 8 hours but that's not garenteed as Erik and Lainey still get up at times.    Anyway, since Carson is a pretty good sleeper and Victor is very helpful neither of us are overwhelmingly tired at this point.  Yay! 

Carson is still sleeping upright in his "bouncy" chair.  He is getting 1 cc of Zantac (75mg/5ml) 3x a day.  This a big dose but seems to be doing the trick for now.  He still can not lay flat though so for now he will stay sleeping in his chair.  This works okay for the time being as he sleeps in the room with whoever is taking the next feeding.  I would like to get him used to his room, and Victor sleeping in a bed instead of the couch relatively soon though.

We saw the first smiles this week.  Wonderful and fun!  Carson is a wonderful, laid back, easy going baby.  I just love everything about him and think he is the easiest baby ever.  His sweet demeanor has certainly made this transition smooth. 

He is tracking with his eyes as well and it is neat to watch him look around to see Erik and Lainey. :)

He is a good eater and growing fast!  I nurse him on demand which is usually every 2-3 hours.  At his doctor's appointment today he was 12 pounds.  I think he is close to 25 inches as well.   Long and "thin." 

Erik and Lainey are doing MUCH better!  For two weeks they were little hellions, Erik being the ring leader.  I think their behavior has returned to normal now and I am grateful! They both love Carson and want to help if possible.  Lainey loves to give him kisses on the mouth. :)

We are doing well!  Three kid are certainly more work than two but I am really enjoying being a mom of three.  I think this has been the easiest emotional transition for me.  I don't feel anxiety that comes as a first time mom or overwhelmed like I did as a second time mom.  So it's been good.