Bring on the new year!

The weather made things a little more difficult, but we were able to travel to New Richmond, Lakefield, and Hudson for our Christmas celebrations. It was so much fun to watch Carter experience Christmas for the first time. We had Carter's first, first Christmas the weekend before Christmas with my dad and Sabrina. On Saturday night we baked and decorated cookies, and on Sunday we opened presents. Carter opened all but one of his presents from Jeff and me on Christmas Eve. We saved the present I was most excited about - a blabla doll named Bandit - for Christmas morning. Jeff and I snuck into Carter's room when he woke up and had him open his present in bed. (Okay, in his swing.) Then we went to church and waited for Mike, Alanna, and the twins to arrive. The next day we all drove down to Lakefield for the weekend. There we had two Christmases, one with each set of great-grandparents. On the Tuesday after Christmas we drove to Hudson to celebrate with my mom and Stan. My mom had made stockings for Carter, Lila, and Evan. Carter had so many Christmases and received so many great gifts that I'm sure he'll appreciate someday. At the time, however, he seemed more interested in the wrapping paper and boxes!

I had been stressing about having Carter baptized for several months. It is one of those things I should have organized before he was even born. I was too overwhelmed to even think about it during those first few months, and by the time I was ready to finally do something about it, Alanna was on bedrest. Since Alanna and Mike are Carter's godparents and Jeff and I are Lila's, we decided to wait and have them all baptized together. All three babies were baptized on Saturday, January 2, at First Lutheran Church in New Richmond. It was a special day, and I was so happy that we could all be together. My grandma and grandpa Jerlow and my grandma Bauer drove up from Lakefield, and Jeff's mom drove down from Moorhead.

I had also been stressing about the fact that Carter was still sleeping in his swing. While we were in California over Thanksgiving, we noticed that the swing was no longer working its magic. Carter started waking up several times during the night while we were on vacation, and that continued even after we got home. I decided that it didn't make sense to make the transition into the crib until after the holidays, since we had so much traveling to do, but I knew the time had come. I figured that if he was going to be up a million times at night, then he may as well be in his crib acting like a newborn baby again. Carter has been sleeping in his crib since the beginning of January, and things are definitely getting better. The first few weeks were difficult, with no one in our house getting very much sleep. While Carter was trying to get used to his crib, he was also getting his two top teeth. Jeff kept joking about Ferberizing him, and after almost a month of no sleep, I was finally ready to try anything. After feeding him, I put Carter in his crib. He slept for less than an hour and started crying. Instead of feeding him, like I had been doing, I waited five minutes before comforting him. The hardest part was not picking him up, although that hadn't been working anyway; the only way I could get Carter back to sleep at night was by feeding him and laying him down fast asleep. I comforted him for a minute or two. As soon as I left the room, he started crying again. Jeff waited ten minutes before doing the same thing, and then I waited fifteen minutes. I hated listening to him cry, but Carter fell asleep before Jeff had to go into his room for the second time. Carter didn't wake up until 8:00 the next morning. I couldn't believe it! Knock on wood, but Carter has been sleeping well ever since.

Carter's eating and sleeping schedule has changed over the last couple of months, but it's getting more and more predictable. He nurses as soon as he wakes up in the morning, which is usually around 8:00, and again around 10:00. He usually takes a nap after that; it can last anywhere from ten minutes to two hours. At noon Carter eats lunch; I've been making my own baby food, and I can almost always get him to eat some of the fruit. He nurses again around 2:00 and then takes another nap; again, it can be very short or very long. Carter nurses again around 4:00 and eats dinner at 6:00. Jeff and I feed him his favorite, yogurt, for dinner along with some of whatever we are eating. I want him to eat a well-balanced meal, but I never force him to eat anything. Like with everything else, some days are better than others! After a bath and a book, Carter nurses again around 8:00 and then goes down for the night. What can I say? I guess he's still a milk man!

Carter will be nine months old this Saturday. Where has the time gone?! Carter isn't walking or even crawling, but I'm trying to enjoy the fact that I can still contain him. Jeff keeps saying that Carter is going to go right from sitting to running, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if that's what happens. I think he's going to keep me very busy! He started rolling from his stomach to his back again, but he is showing no signs of rolling from his back to his stomach. Maybe that's because he hates being on his stomach so much... He has his doctor's appointment this Thursday, and I can't wait to see how much he has grown and hear about what the next three months will bring.

World Traveler

It has been another very busy month! We all flew to Palm Springs to spend Thanksgiving with my dad and Sabrina, and Carter and I flew to Chicago last week to visit Alanna and the twins. I was very anxious about flying with an infant. I assumed Carter would scream for the entire flight, and, on top of that, I was also afraid that he would contract the flu or H1N1 from someone at the airport or on the airplane. Luckily, neither happened. The flight to Palm Springs went pretty well. Carter never cried, but he fussed a little and refused to sleep. Of course, he also pooped about an hour into our flight; Jeff had to change his diaper in the world's smallest bathroom and could only salvage his jeans. The flight attendant said Carter was surprisingly well-behaved and that he made less noise than a cat sitting in first class! Although Carter was up several times every night, our week in California was wonderful. We spent as much time as possible outside, and I even have some very faint tan lines. The flight home was even better than the flight to Palm Springs. As instructed by my doctor, I fed Carter during takeoff, and he slept and didn't make a peep until we landed and I had to put him in his car seat. I couldn't believe our luck!

Since Carter did so well flying - and I hate driving to Chicago without Jeff - we decided to fly to visit Alanna, Lila, and Evan. Mike was in Florida for the week for work, and Alanna needed some company. Although I wasn't much help, I did keep her company! The twins have changed so much. They have grown and both weigh close to eight pounds now, but Carter still looks so much bigger; Mike actually nicknamed him "The Gentle Giant." Carter finally seemed to notice his cousins. He watched them constantly and didn't like when they cried. As you can see from one of the pictures, he also enjoyed stealing their pacifiers. He would take them out of their mouths and put them directly into his mouth! Alanna and I tried to stop him the first couple of times; then we just gave up. As always, it was very difficult to say "good-bye" to Mike, Alanna, and the twins. (Mike came home before we left and is responsible for Carter wearing a Bears jersey.) At least Christmas will be here soon...

Chicago, Part 2

Well, I just got home from my second trip to Chicago in less than a month! Jeff, Carter, and I drove down late Saturday night and came home on Wednesday. Mike, Alanna, and the twins are doing great. The twins are growing so fast, but they still look really small, especially compared to Carter. Lila weighs six pounds and nine ounces, Evan weighs five pounds and twelve ounces, and Carter weighs seventeen pounds and one ounce.

Carter is six months old today, and I don't know where the time has gone. He literally changes every single day. He now has two teeth, can sit without any support, and can stand with support. He loves sleeping in his swing, taking baths and swimming, playing in his jumper, hanging out in the Baby Bjorn, and socializing at his ECFE class in Northfield and his Bugs class at The Little Gym in St. Louis Park. He is generally a very happy baby, but he isn't afraid to let you know when he needs or wants something. In other words, Carter has a smile that can make your day and a cry that can break your heart.

The Cousins Have Arrived!

Lila May and Evan Michael McNamara were born on Wednesday, October 14. (They were so close to sharing my birthday!) Alanna's water broke at the hospital after her regular check up, and things went very quickly after that. She didn't even have time for any pain medication. In other words, she delivered twins naturally! I can't even imagine... Even though they were born almost five weeks early, Lila and Evan are doing really well. Carter and I drove down to Chicago last Tuesday to meet them and didn't get home until last night. Lila came home last Friday, and it sounds like Evan will be home very soon.

Of course I'm not surprised, but Alanna and Mike are awesome parents already. I am in awe of their dedication to those babies. When they were both in the hospital - and Alanna and Mike could have actually gotten some sleep - they spent all day and most of the night with their babies. They didn't want to miss a feeding or even just a chance to hold them. Now that Lila is home I think it's even more difficult for Alanna and Mike. They are happy to have Lila home, but they don't want to leave Evan "alone" at the hospital. They are so much stronger than they realize.

Carter really didn't know what to think of Lila. In fact, he pretty much ignored her; he would look at anything and everything but her. Maybe he doesn't want to share Alanna and Mike with any other babies. I know Carter is going to be very close to his cousins though. I can't wait to watch them grow up together, and I love sharing the miracle of motherhood with my best friend and sister! And now I understand how much Alanna and Mike love Carter. I did not to leave the twins. Today Jeff called me from work and mentioned going to Chicago this weekend...

Sleeping and Eating Update

Carter turned four months on September 13. That night, for the first time in over a month, I put him in his crib. It was a long night, but Carter did sleep in his crib all night. The next three weeks were very difficult. Carter slept through the night twice but was up several times during the other nights. When he woke up during the night he was mad and crying, so I usually had to feed him in order to get him back to sleep. He was like a newborn again! Things started to improve, and then Carter came down with a cold. He started out in his crib but seemed uncomfortable sleeping flat on his back. So I put him in his swing, thinking that I would only need to do it for a night or two. Well, each night got worse; he spent less and less time in his crib and more and more time in his swing. Even after his cold had cleared up, he still wouldn't sleep in his crib.

Last night was the worst! I put Carter to sleep at 9:00 P.M. He "talked" in his crib for a little while and then started crying. I let him cry for ten minutes and then went in to comfort him. He calmed down and fell back to sleep as soon as I picked him up, but he started screaming as soon as I put him back down in his crib. This pattern continued for hours. At 2:00 A.M. I finally gave in and put him in his swing. He fell asleep immediately and didn't wake up until 9:00 A.M. I really don't know what to do. I'm frustrated that after weeks of no sleep we're back where we started. I'm going to keep trying to put him in his crib, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it. And I'm not going to let him cry himself to sleep. I know some people might disagree with me, but I guess I don't think there is anything wrong with Carter knowing that when he cries someone will respond. And my doctor has assured me that you can't spoil a baby...

On a happier note, we started feeding Carter rice cereal and even some level one baby foods. My hope was, of course, that a little "food" would help him sleep. That hasn't been the case, but it has been fun to watch Carter eat. He isn't a big fan of rice cereal, but he has enjoyed some of his baby food. We're trying a new fruit or vegetable every three days. So far he has liked carrots and squash the best. My mom said Alanna and I were the same way. We ate so many orange vegetables that our skin actually started to turn orange!