Carter's 2 month checkup

Yesterday afternoon I took Carter for his 2 month checkup and he is still very healthy! Here are his stats:

13 pounds 15 ounces (90th percentile) - gained 2 pounds

23.75 inches (80th percentile) - grew 3/4 inch

head: 16 inches (50th percentile)

I knew he was quite a bit heavier! Now what I find interesting is that at this point he is about a half pound more than Logan was, but 1.75 inches shorter than Logan! So it will be interesting if he keeps this trend up or if he'll still be just as tall. Either way they are both wonderful children and healthy and that is what matters!

Carter did a great job throughout the appointment as did Logan waiting (well he did as good as can be expected of a toddler who likes to explore and knows how to open the office door). Carter did receive some vaccinations - 1 oral, which he seemed to like and 2 shots in the leg. The first one appeared to sting a bit, but the 2nd shot, he was just not a fan of....he turned all red and screamed...but for about 5 seconds. After the band-aids were on, he was just fine.

Carter has a mild cold (stuffy nose when he sleeps at night) as Logan has a bad cold.

Carter does not have to go back to the doctor's office until he is 4 months off...so he gets a small break and I'm sure will keep on growing! :)

Updates

Carter flashes many smiles these days - either by our voices or sometimes just seeing us. The other day Carter was on the couch looking around and Logan walked by and smiled at Carter, pointed to him and said Kosh (Carter...sometimes it is ca-ca, but we're trying to correct that quickly!). Then Carter smiled back at him - melted my little heart! I thought this particular picture was cute because his outfit (compliments of Aunt Sandy) totally matches his swing and he just blended right in!

Carter has also started making some 'cooing' noises when we talk to him - so cute. I love this kid! He has started leaning more towards 6 hour feedings during half the day and the other half 4 hours. Wonderful!

His nails, however, are our problem right now....to the point where I've considered putting those mittens on him. His face sometimes looks like a massacre - poor little guys goes to rub his eyes (or who knows what he's doing really) and he has all these little cuts on his face. John filed his nails and it still didn't help (those fingers are soooo tiny). I just clipped all his nails as smoothly as possible - I hope this helps.

Carter turned 2 months on Monday...can you believe it? Time has flown already and he is getting sooo big! He has his checkup this afternoon...I can't wait to see how big he's gotten!

Logan has added some words to his vocabulary. Kosh (Carter as I mentioned above) and Downstairs - dow - ssss have been added (there are some others that my brain can't recall right now).

Speaking of downstairs, Logan has figured out how to walk all the way down the stairs while holding onto the railing (pretty much without our teaching other than hold on). It is really cute and I, of course, did get some video. Our railings are on the left-hand side so he always leads with his left foot. If he is too far away from the step, he knows to adjust his feet forwards, just a touch and then tries again. He knows to grab the railing in-between the current stair and the goal stair. He does all this while looking up and really doesn't wobble. When he's done it sounds like he says 'I did it!', but it comes out Di - it. I am watching for this as that is a great first sentence. :) He is so proud of himself and naturally, we are too - even though it scares the be-jeezes out of me!

We have a small concrete step outside (about 4 inches) and just last week he would still turn around and go down the step backwards on his stomach....but this week he has mastered that step. At first he reached for my hand and I helped him and now he does it on his own. Then, we were at a friends house and she has a step about a foot tall. Logan climbed up and then tried to come down. I did not make it over to him in time and he did fall, but did not cry at all....he just got up and dusted himself off. He is trying so many new things lately and is such a tough guy! I am glad he's tough, but I see a lot of nervous-mommy moments in my future. :)

Just yesterday we were back at our park and he was running around checking things out. Naturally in a park that is painted blue and orange, he was wearing a blue and orange shirt...so he blended well. He started climbing some free-standing stairs - freaked me out, but he had no problem!

Then he walked all over different textures and different types of staircases - up and down, well I hung out on the ground with Carter praying he doesn't fall.

Then my brave little soldier walks up to the top sits down on the slide and comes down! No fear, but boy did he wear the proudest smile on his face...until he got stuck 3/4 of the way down. It was a spiral slide and he didn't know quite what to expect and his shoes just caught on the slide - I fixed him up and he continued on his way.

He immediately tried to climb back up the slide, but I showed him the proper way and on this particular playground, the stairs are on the complete opposite part of the slide. It was something Logan did not understand and he kept trying to climb up the bottom part of the slide...and sometimes while other kids were getting ready to sail down. Needless to say his impatience with this got us on our way back home, which he was fine with (thankfully).

Needless to say, I am having so much fun with my boys!!

My Boys...

Carter's One Month Checkup

I cannot believe I have taken so long to post this...

Monday, March 1st Carter, Logan and I headed to his 1-month checkup. We arrived early, made it inside and even had time to wait in the waiting room (unlike Logan's 15 month checkup the week prior). We headed to our room and I sat Logan on the bench in the room to have him wait there like a good boy. Since his experience a week prior had been a little rough, I was glad that he didn't seem any bit disgruntled to be back in the office - even before he knew it wasn't for him. :)

Here are his stats, then I will tell you his story:

11 pounds 15 ounces (95th percentile)

23 inches (90th percentile)

I got Carter all stripped down as he laid there wondering what on earth was going on. I quickly put him on the scale and took off his diaper. Wow - 1 ounce away from 12 pounds! I knew he was getting heavy; I used to be able to scoop him up easily with one hand...lately I needed my other hand to assist. Naturally, I quickly snapped a picture to document his first real visit to the doctor. Then I put Carter back on the table so his length could be measured. I answered the questions of if he is eating well (yes....obviously!) and if he has an appropriate amount of wet/dirty diapers...yep! They asked how often he was eating and I said about every 4-5 hours. The nurse was surprised as she said usually at the one month checkup she hears 2-3 hours. So go me again for having a baby that goes a little longer in between feedings. Granted, I did experience about every 3 hours when Carter went through a growth spurt.

Carter just chillin (yeah, don't mind the drool puddle by his arm...he had been on his tummy)

Logan waiting happily that it wasn't his turn!

After the nurse left, I looked at the picture of him on the scale and quickly realized that his 'manhood' was clearly showing. So, what do I do? I quickly put him back on the scale...however, with his diaper on (that apparently weighs one ounce) the scale now showed 12 pounds...well while he was sooo close to that weight, I certainly couldn't have that as the picture. So I took his diaper off and put a tissue over him. Then the scale bounced around and it now showed 11 pounds 14.5 ounces...I had to take it though as that could really be rounded up. What a nut am I?!


We waited as Dr. W. came into the room - we only met with her at the hospital once when Logan was born, but haven't had a true visit with her and I really liked her. She checked Carter over and everything appears to be just wonderful!! She commented that he already has such good head control...that's my boy!

Another healthy checkup!!! Keep 'em comin!

Carter with Mr. Bunny

My Mom knitted Mr. Bunny as her first knitting project (in many years). Carter is 5 weeks old today!

Carter's Surprised Look

Logan's Vocabulary to Date

Mmmm (Moo when he sees a picture of a cow - this is technically his 'first' word and was spoken around 14-14.5 months old)

Ha (Hot)

Ka (Yuck)

Go-go-ga (Go-Go-Go...I didn't realize how much I say this, but anytime he or Buddy needs to move faster or out of my way, this is what I say)

Dah (Dog)

Ff (Woof)

We are convinced at this point that he is saving Mommy & Daddy (or some form of the word) for when he's 5 years old! If we ask where the Daddy or Mommy is, he points to us....and if we show him a picture of us, he can point us out...and he walks around the house saying dadadada or mamamama...but never to our face. Yesterday when John walked in the door he said 'Daddy'...but we are going to give it another day to see if it was coincidence as sometimes any human is 'Da'.

We skype'd with my parents the other night and Logan really recognizes them which is great and kept waving 'hi' to them. We tried to get him to say Grandma and he was watching my lips intently and then he'd point to where she was on the screen....but the most I could get was 'ga'. We then tried Papa...but he was already running out of the room to go get something.

It is really cute hearing him say words - and he still does sign language: more, please, cookie, milk. In the meantime Logan has also figured out how to blow - into a musical instrument and on 'hot' food to cool it off. He is just soaking up knowledge!! Love it!

Brushing Teeth

Logan has been happily brushing his teeth for several months now, but I took this pic the other day as he was dressed and looking super cute doing it!

Logan's 15 month checkup

Logan turned 15 months exactly one week after Carter was born...so needless to say his doctor visit was post-poned a bit past 15 months, but no biggie. Last Monday (at 15 months 2 weeks) I took Logan for his checkup. I was able to get an appointment with Dr. L, as I like him the best thus far, but I had to drive to the office a half hour away. I thought this would work great as Logan could nap on the way, have a couple minutes in the waiting room to wake up and be refreshed. It was a nice thought...

With 2 children I understand that it takes a bit more to get ready and out the door. So I have been trying to plan to leave at least 15 minutes earlier, so worst case scenario, I leave 'on-time'. So far, it works well and we'll see how it continues. This past Monday that is just what happened - we left 'on-time' and arrived in the parking lot giving us only 5 minutes to unload, walk in, pay and sit. Not wanting to lug in the double stroller for the short walk into the office building (and knowing that their rooms are not always condusive to fitting big strollers), I opted to carry both boys. Honestly, I normally wouldn't carry Logan (and yes, I know, only a few weeks after having a c-section I understand that I shouldn't really be carrying Carter in his carseat, much less Logan as well, in my other arm...but I feel great, have zero pain and a Mom's gotta do what a Mom's gotta do). So I got Carter's seat out, then tried to wake a sleeping toddler so he might try to 'walk' in...but I just ended up carrying him as him walking in the cold after being woken, will definitely not be a fast pace. I truck it inside - keep in mind that Logan still really hasn't woken up and is wobbly in my arms. As I walk in, an older lady commented to me that 'you Moms have to be really strong these days'. I chuckle, say 'yeah' and smile.

We get inside the building and pop into the pediatric door. I check Logan in and pay our co-pay. Now trying to be as prepared as possible, I was smart enough in the car to remember that we had a co-pay and thinking ahead thought how much time it would take me to put Carter and Logan down, take my 'hands free' diaper bag off my back, search for my wallet and pull out my money...so I took the money out in the car and put it in an easily accessible pocket. Well, at check-in, Logan really was just waking up and when I attempted to put him down he got whiny, so I was feeling pretty proud of myself for making my co-pay easily accessible. Okay, we then go to sit in the 'well-visit' area (since I don't want to put any of us near the germy kids that are there because they are sick). I saw another girl in there so I knew that we'd have time to sit down, take coats off, familiarize ourselves with where we were and I could explain to Logan what is about to happen....no such luck. My bum was halfway to my seat and they call 'Logan'. Ack. So off we go to the doctor office. Naturally, the nurse does half the checkup, so I can't even use the time waiting for the doctor to ease Logan in. (For the record, in the past he never really cries at the doctor office with the small exception of 15 seconds after he gets a shot...but who wouldn't cry?)

The nurse instructs me to strip Logan down to his diaper. Logan wasn't pleased with this. Amidst his whiny/crying/short bursts of screaming, she is asking me all kinds of questions...how much milk does he drink (which I apparently still need to cut back a bit, which still baffles me...but whatever), is he saying words (yes!!!! and not just sign language), is he off the bottle (goodness yes...that was many moons ago) and a host of others I cannot recollect. We also managed to stretch him out, against his will to get his height. At first she measured and he hadn't grown at all...then a re-measure and he grew a quarter of an inch...apparently these past 3 months he felt he was tall enough. :) Then I plopped a whiny child on the scale and thankfully her part was over so I could cuddle him and calm him down. Here are his stats:

24 pounds 1.5 ounces (40th percentile)

33.25 inches (94th percentile)

Head: 18.75 cm (60th percentile)

I did check again with the doctor that it is okay that his percentile for weight went down and he is still so tall...again, reminded me that the percentiles don't need to be around the same and Logan is growing more like a 'running back' than a 'line backer'...or something like that - I don't remember the football positions he referenced but basically he is tall and thin and that is A.O.K.

By this time Logan and I talked about where we were and what was going on and we pointed to the wall paper border on the wall - he was calm and things were good. He was even fine with sitting on the table. He was cool when the doc walked in the room....however as soon as the doc put on the 2nd rubber glove, he wanted out of there! As I half held him on the table, the doc did a 'quick check' of breathing, ears, nose, mouth and a few quicks pokes. I brought up Logan's constant diaper rash (I believe it is due to teething, which is all the time, but it looks so bad and while I put diaper rash cream, aquaphor or cortizone on it and it clears it up for the moment, I don't want to constantly put this stuff on...and when he gets in the bathtub, sometimes he itches it like crazy! I feel badly for the little guy). It seems that every time I bring up this rash, the doctors say it is more of a yeast infection and they sound like they want to give me a prescription for it, but they always seem to forget. So he did mention a prescription and I did remind him at the end of our visit to give it to me.

The only other question I had for him was Logan's new wake up time of 5am...give or take 15 minutes each way! I practically begged him to tell me it was a phase and he badly wanted to tell me it was. The doc was then on his way and gave Logan an elmo sticker that said 'I visited my Doctor'.

The nurse then came in to give Logan one shot (a 3-in-1). He cried for a moment and then was fine after I picked him up. Thankfully through all of this, Carter just slept.

So all packed up...back out to the car we went. It was kind of an exhausting 20 minutes...but well worth a good report of a healthy child!

Carter's First Bath

Twelve days after he was born, Carter completely lost his umbilical cord...yay!! So on his 2-week birthday we gave him his first bath. All in all, he wasn't extremely thrilled with the process. After all was said and done, I realized it was past time to eat, so who knows had I fed him first if things would have gone better. He did scream...until he had his pacifier. Some of the pictures are funny.

Getting prepared for his first bath...

This picture just CRACKS me up! It is as if we put a cat in water!

He has his pacifier now and is holding onto it for dear life. (His eyes are huge in every picture and note how round his tummy is!)

So, uh, Mom...how do you think bathtime went?

Ahhh....so peaceful...and clean!

Okay, okay, no more pictures...please!

Seriously, Mom...I'm SO hungry!!!

Logan's Big Boy bed

We ordered Logan's toddler bed (Disney's Lightning McQueen car bed) a couple months ago and it came just a few days before Carter arrived. As we still needed the guest bed for John's Mom & Dad (as they stayed at our house while I was in the hospital and a few days after to take care of Logan) we couldn't put the bed together just yet. So on Valentine's Day my family came up to take the guest bed to our storage unit and take a couple pieces of furniture to my parents house. Right after they left John started putting the bed together....and Logan (who wants to do anything his Daddy wants to do) helped...

Okay, Logan...first you want to take a look at the directions (even if you end up doing things your own way)...

Logan, give me one of the screwdrivers...

Now pay attention...this is how you use the screwdriver...got it?

Logan helping Daddy put up the sides of his bed. (Carter is snoozing on his new crib mattress on the side)

Helping Daddy put the slats on the frame.

So Daddy...is this right?

Now Logan, this is a drill - you are not ready for this yet, but powertools are awesome!

Now that your bed is all put together...lay down...

Sure thing, Dad!

The Big Boy, ready for his first nap...which was a success!

Valentines Day

A couple weeks before I had Carter, I was shopping at Babies R Us and they just happened to have 2 Valentines Day shirts in the sizes that I needed...so here is a pic of the boys wearing them. We have to improve our skills of getting a great picture of both boys smiling for pictures...although a big part of me is laughing at this and will just need to accept the pictures I get...as long as at least one of them is looking at the camera or just not screaming...it will be golden!

On this particular day it was the day after I had the stomach flu...how romantic. :) My parents and sister and her fam came up with my brother-in-laws truck...to finally take the guest bed away and put it in our storage unit. While the guys did that, we just hung out and Logan and my Mom danced in the kitchen.

After they left, we put Logan's big boy racecar bed together...pics to follow.

Logan stories...

Logan loves to read/look at his many, many books. One of his favorites is a 'Peek A Boo' book that has several pages with different textures. He always enjoys feeling the different parts and knows exactly where to put his one little finger (as he never does this with his whole hand...always his index finger) to feel the different textures. Out of old habit, while we were looking at this book, I took his finger and had him touch the fuzzy flower petals, instead of letting him do it on his own. We went through the book a couple more times and when we would get to the flower petal page, Logan would take MY finger and rub it on the fuzzy petals. I thought that was so cute that HE was showing ME....almost mocking me for making him do it when he very well knows how.

The other day it was near 40 degrees and sunny outside. As we didn't have much going on, I thought it would be a good idea to head outside. Buddy enjoys the company and Logan loves being outside regardless of the temperature. I got Carter bundled up, put Logan's winter coat on, grabbed his popcorn popper toy and we headed out to the backyard. In some spots where the sun literally doesn't shine there was still about an inch of snow, but for the most part everything was all melted. Logan stayed on our brick patio for a few minutes, pushing his toy and Buddy ran around the rest of the backyard, checking in with Logan every few seconds (as the toy reflects light and Buddy is obsessed with reflected light). All of a sudden Logan realized that he could go the one step down to the grassy area of the backyard...and he walked all around! He LOVED it! Then he thought that he'd climb back up to get his popcorn popper toy and take it onto the grass. It was so much fun watching him. It was then that I realized that he was just walking fluently as the weather was getting cold last year and then it snowed so much, so I never really put him in the backyard to let him just wander around...it will be fantastic this summer! Although, there was one small area of concern - the dog poop. Buddy used to have one designated area that he conducted his business, but when it snows, it seems that all bets are off. In the summer, we will have to make sure we pick it up everyday instead of slacking like we've done the past couple summers. :)

I was feeding Carter, so John was doing dinner for Logan....which was kind of a conglomeration of different things. He started with some sausage links and after they were heated through, he cut them up into little pieces. John would feed Logan one piece, then eat 3 or 4 himself...he repeated this a couple times. Logan noticed this trend and saw how quickly the sausage pieces were disappearing...so John said that when there were 4 pieces left, Logan quickly took action into his own hands and grabbed each piece and quickly shoved them into his mouth before John could get to them! Their next course was a little unconventional (don't worry, some nutritional foods did follow since I came downstairs and saw what was happening...) :) and John busted out some peanut butter girl scout cookies. Logan immediately grabbed two cookies, one in each hand and took a small bite out of each to 'reserve' these cookies as his own.

In other news, I look forward to the Spring Forward time change as Logan STILL wakes up between 5-5:30am each day, regardless of the time he goes to bed the night before. I figure with the time change, he will at least wake up between 6-6:30. :)

Stomach Flu

Oh man, it got me! Of all people, the gal with the c-section just 2 weeks prior gets the stomach flu...yuck!! Friday night around 10pm-ish through 7am the next morning I was up every hour not 'feeling well'. I called my Mom as I didn't know if I could breastfeed and I was nervous about keeping up my milk supply as I couldn't keep anything down. I then called the doctor to make sure I could still breastfeed and ask similar questions. The phonecalls must've done it as a half hour after the calls, I threw up for the last time. John did bottlefeed Carter for the morning and I pumped - I was glad that like Logan, Carter took to the bottle very well and went back to breastfeeding seamlessly. I slowly took sips of water every half hour as directed by the doctor. Throughout the day my parents checked in on me as they would be ready to come watch the boys while John took me to the doctor if need be, but luckily I was able to keep somethings down. John watched both boys all day, which was interesting for me to hear while in the bedroom, keeping my germs away from them - oh, I couldn't imagine either kid getting this sickness....I would feel terrible!

I ended up losing 5 pounds immediately...I have since gained 2 back. My energy was crap for the rest of the day...and was hit or miss the next day. At one point I carried Carter up the stairs and had to put him down immediately because I felt like I had just run a race...oy! I feel better now and am glad the rest of my family was unaffected.

Good Big Brother

It seems that Logan is more aware of Carter each day. Anytime Carter is in the swing or pack n play and makes a sound...Logan trucks over there to check on him.

If Carter is in the swing, Logan will help give him a little push...and is suprisingly gentle and hasn't swung him too hard...yet. :)

If I have Carter propped on the couch, Logan wants to sit next to him. If Carter has a pacifier in his mouth, Logan takes it out...perhaps he is trying to help Carter not become a pacifier baby....or perhaps he is just jealous since he only gets his pacifier for naptime and bedtime.

Yesterday, Carter was crying while propped up on the couch and Logan spotted his pacifier on the end table and tried to give it to Carter. So cute! He would have been successful too if Carter wasn't arleady mad as a hornet and swinging his arms like crazy, batting anything that came near him away.

Logan loves to give Carter kisses. When we ask him to, he never gives just one kiss...it is usually 3 or so. We are sure to always praise when Logan behaves wonderfully around Carter and try not to get hyper if he gets too close when trying to sit down on our bed when Carter is on our bed....or when he tries poking Carter. The other day, Logan actually 'pet' Carter on his stomach...very gently (how we've trained him to pet our dog, Buddy). :)

I know there is bound to be mischevious behavior, but I like the direction we are headed right now.