I guess now maybe time is starting to move faster. It helps when we're crazy busy trying to sell our house. We kept hearing that three months is a turning point, and that seems to have been pretty true for us. Carsen started sleeping a little better just before he turned four months. For some reason, it was really rough again before that. He was waking up a lot at night and sometimes it was really hard to get him back to sleep; he just seemed wide awake. Most nights I'd just bring him into our bed eventually and we'd nurse, flip sides, nurse, sleep, nurse, flip sides, he'd kick me and thrash, nurse, flip sides, pray for it to be a decent hour to get up so I won't be exhausted all day. I was worried he might be teething already with that and all the drooling, but I think we are still a ways out from that.
He had a huge week of growth in early June. In one week, he really found his toes- started staring at them, grabbing at them; he rolled over from his tummy to his back (Matt had him on his tummy on his activity mat and was reading something, heard a thud and found Carsen on his back); he laughed (not just the fake chuckle either); and he started sucking his thumb.
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| Silly collage of him smiling and cackling for me |
We had our two year wedding anniversary on June 4. Look at this sweet smile he gave me that morning. My parents were sweet enough to watch him for the night while we went out to dinner and tried to enjoy a quiet evening without baby. He slept about as well at their house as he had been lately, waking up a few times, Grams had to walk him around outside. They haven't offered to sit overnight again yet though so he must not have done too well ;)
We were hoping to get some good sleep but I kept waking up sure that I heard him crying. I was tired enough that I didn't get up to pump and WOW did I regret that in the morning. My breasts were hard as rocks and hurt like a sore muscle and stung. So not worth it.
We were hoping to get some good sleep but I kept waking up sure that I heard him crying. I was tired enough that I didn't get up to pump and WOW did I regret that in the morning. My breasts were hard as rocks and hurt like a sore muscle and stung. So not worth it.
Nursing had been going more smoothly. It seemed like it was finally really convenient and almost pleasurable. Then... Carsen has decided he likes the bottle better. It flows faster and is less work. And there's not a lot I can do to compete. The more we give him bottles, the more he prefers them. But what can I do? I'm working and I need to be able to have someone else feed him sometimes. I've been a bit lax about pumping (because I don't like it and it's irritating to have to remember to bring my pump to my parents' house if we're over there for the day, and it's hard to do when he doesn't stay self-entertained very long). And anyhow I haven't been pumping enough for a full feeding anyhow, even if I miss a feeding. He doesn't seem to care whether he drinks breastmilk or formula and the formula isn't disagreeing with him that I can tell. He did seem a little backed up, and seemed like he was often pushing to pass gas or poop. I'd just nurse him but he often just refuses. He'll latch, suck for maybe a minute and I start to hear him swallowing, then he dramatically pulls off, arching his back, or he turns his head. First of all, it hurts. Secondly, irritating. So then he'll latch again, pull off after like 5 seconds, and sometimes that's as good as it gets. UGH! So much for trying to make it to a year. Even 6 months. Too bad formula is so expensive though; it's like $25 a container and he's supposed to be drinking 24-30 oz/day. I think I calculated that one container should last us about a week.
Anyhow... in June, my brother Joe got to meet Carsen when he came to visit. He handled the baby like a champ! It was really cute to see my bro hold my baby. He'll be a great uncle. Just wish he lived a little closer.
By Father's Day, we had
decided to sell our house so we went house hunting with our realtor.
Carsen gave Matt a cute pencil holder for his desk at work.
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| He loves technology, like his daddy |
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| This is his fav new toy but... it tends to bounce the poo right out of him. Carsen - 3 vs Bouncer - 0 |
The best part is I'm totally feeling the lovey parent thing now. It's amazing and intense. I look at him and feel so much love and such protectiveness and I wonder "does every parent feel this way about every child? How does one get anything else done?" Sometimes it feels like there's too much love to be contained in my heart; it feels like it could burst. I've decided I can no longer watch shows that in any way reference a parent losing a child, even "Long Island Medium," which is one of my guilty pleasures, because the thought of it is nearly too much to bare. I don't know if Matt's feelings as a father are as intense as mine as a mother. It's powerful and sometimes overwhelming. What a gift he is.
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| Look how big he's getting! |
At his four month checkup, his pediatrician said he was doing great. His head is "very round" and she congratulated us on doing so much good sitting up/tummy time with him. Yeh well he decided that. He's now up to 50th percentile in weight, and still 70th in height. Surprisingly she gave us the go-ahead to start solids. I'd read that you can start solids between 4-6 months. Matt was pretty excited about it, thinking this will mean he'll sleep through the night.
His first meal was rice cereal mixed with breastmilk. He ate about half of it and the other half he spit out. Apparently it's a big development to learn to move your tongue so that food in the front of your mouth moves to the back so you can swallow it. A few days later though, we tried mixing in some prunes too (thinking it might help move things along for him) and he loved that!
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| Hey what's this sticker on my shirt... |
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| How does it taste |
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| More prunes please! |
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| Cute bum |
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| Found em! |
