Where has the time gone

Carter will be 6 weeks old on Thursday, I honestly can't believe it. I see the calendar moving so closely to December and it makes me terribly sad, as I will begin working on January 3rd. Before Carter was born people would ask me if I would return to work, and I automatically was saying, YES, with a big capital Y-E-S. For many reasons I couldn't fathom staying at home all day long and caring for this unknown person. Well now that I do know my little Carter, it is hard for me to imagine NOT being around him all day long.

I do know many things though that are helping this situation become more comfortable. Kent and I need to be a two income family, it is just a part of life. We enjoy a fun lifestyle, with two mortgages, and I don't see us making it on one income. I know that I enjoy the challenge of work and that having some away time from Carter will only make that time that we are together even better. Carter also has a great nanny who is making my heart and brain so much more relaxed about leaving him. I also know myself well and eventually, I would be crawling the walls.

Carter and I are making the most of these days though. Yes, the Christmas music on the radio makes me tear up, as December 25th is so close, which means that January 3rd is right around the corner. I'm drying up those tears though and we are just chilling and playing as much as we can. I bought these awesome stickers off of ETSY to help catalog his first 12 months. Look at how cute he is!

He really is my "living doll"... I dress him up daily!

We bought his first pair of Gap jeans. I'm in love.


Yesterday he had his first look at snow, which is unseasonably early, and not a common thing in Seattle. Of course we had to put his snow suit on!


As Thanksgiving is just two days away...we had to get ready for what we were going to wear.


I love this little guy, I love my life, I love having a husband who is just as excited as I am about being a parent. Who knew that going out for a nice dinner, all we would think about was getting home to see Carter! Happy Thanksgiving!

4 weeks old

I love this photo...it was taken in the hospital when he was just 2 days old.

Carter turned 4 weeks old yesterday with a visit to his pediatrician and the discovery that he put on over a pound in 2 weeks. He is up to 9.7 pounds and added an inch. When I saw the weight on the scale I couldn't believe it. He had been fussy over the past few days and making his little "O" face with his mouth letting me know he is ready to eat. He really just makes me laugh, we are total buddies. I love holding him, watching him sleep, even changing his diapers. I still cry when I think about going back to work in January, but knowing how awesome his nanny is, makes me feel so much better. In fact, we are having lunch today with his nanny and a mutual friend of both of ours. Carter is so portable, I go somewhere everyday with him. It allows me to get some fresh air and it is good for him to get use to being outside etc, his parents definitely like to be active in life.

On Tuesday we are starting our PEPS class. I am not exactly sure where our meeting is first being held, but somewhere fairly close to our house. We are looking forward to meeting new people, especially parents, as the information sharing is good. Yesterday I was finally able to meet up with a group of ladies who we all had our 6 week baby classes together. Only one husband came yesterday, which was unusual I think, but I say the more the merrier. Carter was the last baby to be born so this was our first opportunity to see everyone. It was fun to see every one's babies and knowing that we all sat in that classroom and these little people were inside of us. I appreciated listening to them and seeing the stages they are with their children- when their baby smiled for the first time, how the sleep patterns are going. They meet once a week and we are going to try and go for these coffee dates as it is good for both of us.

Now that I have had almost a month with Carter, it is time I start taking care of myself. I have loved all the food people have made us, what a godsend. Now though it is time to get on track with fitness and food. I want Carter to have a sibling and I definitely need to be healthier before we start this pregnancy. I don't have a gym membership any longer so I ordered the Gillian Michaels DVD's that I have heard so much about. We have been walking but it is time to pick up the pace. I'm still having some tendinitis in my wrist but I start acupuncture on Monday, so hopefully that can be reduced over the next month. OH...and I FINALLY get my hair cut and highlighted soon, I can't wait!

I am feeling so great lately and every time I see a Christmas commercial I cry as that means work will be right around the corner, but we will all be just fine.

Three weeks and counting....

I can't believe that Carter is 3 1/2 weeks old. His little belly button just fell off last night (thank God...I was so ready to see that little thing gone!), he is so observant and I'm amazed at the strength he has. This time I have had with his has just flown by, but I appreciate it so much. There are times that I find myself holding him, particularly after he has just eaten and he is sleeping in my arms, that I still am in disbelief that this little person is mine. I find myself amazed and at times almost shocked that Carter belongs to Kent and I. Carter is the baby I have always wanted, and it is just really starting to settle in that he is not going anywhere, he is staying with us. This is probably odd to some people, but I really in my heart always feared that I would not be a mom, the thing I wanted the most. One thing that has really helped me get past this fear and shock is to tell him probably 100x a day how much I love him and how excited we are to have him. We have photos of him in our home, I love folding his clothes and I don't even mind the 1am or 4am feedings, but this is my job. Right now I am a stay at home mom, and I am embracing it as much as I can.

This month I am taking a baby massage class that many of my work friends recommended. I laughed at this months ago, but now that Carter is "real" I find myself open to just about anything that might make him happy. I love taking him in the stroller for walks, plus I need to really start losing some weight. One thing that has really bummed me out is that due to the high dose of diuretics that I was on my breast milk is gone, completely gone. I was worried about breastfeeding, like so many women with PCOS, and the combination of the pills and PCOS just sucked it out of me. I cried for a few days about this as I really wanted to experience this with Carter. I did fenugreek, rented a medical grade pump, ate and pumped at the same time and did my best to relax; but it unfortunately did not work. When I tell people that I am not breastfeeding I get really pissed at some of their reactions, like I "chose" to no longer breastfeed. No, I did not choose this. My blood pressure was dangerously high and I had to take care of myself, so that I could take care of Carter. I met with lactation specialists and did everything they could think of so when people make comments to me that almost reference my "giving up" it really pisses me off. Of course with all these hormones in me, that is pretty easy to do (-:

Kent and I also were matched up with a PEPS group that will start in the middle of the month. It is basically 6-8 couples who have infants around the same age as Carter that live within a few miles of us. We meet at one another's homes once a week and basically just hang out with others in very similar situations..brand new babies and no clue what to do with them. I hope we are matched with a group that we can make friends with. I am also looking into a mother's group that meets once a week on Monday's for 8 weeks. I'm not sure about it yet, so will post once I know more. Right now I'm just taking this new role of motherhood very seriously, it is my only job until January 3rd, when I return to work. I've been sensitive about work recently, but I am so excited to say we have found a nanny. I had secured a very good daycare spot after relentless searching but through a friend, I have found a woman who has raised her grandchildren and is only interested in being a nanny to an infant. Her name is Susan and I have known her for several years. She is a very "young" older person who is hip, super savy with kids, and is so excited to be Carter's nanny. Kent and I are excited as well. I love that Susan wants to take him to the library, Gymboree, the zoo, daily walks in Discovery Park and she will even bring him to my work so that I can see him. I love her principles on childcare and I know how much her own grand kids adore her.

This transition into parenthood has been a very smooth one, knock on wood! Kent and I each have different roles, but they fit like puzzle pieces. Due to the fact we are not breastfeeding Kent can actually help out with feedings and he actually changes probably the same amount of diapers that I do. When he gets home from work he is so excited to see Carter. He right away wants to help. I feel so fortunate that my husband is this way. He respects my need to have a few minutes in the evening, as I do his. It really is, so far so good.