All smiles....

Carter is really starting to smile and it is soooo much fun! Last Friday before we left for Alabama I really started noticing his smiles reacting to my voice. Every day he smiles for me more. I LOVE IT! It really melts my heart :)

What a day...

Today was my first challenging day. Maybe because it was the first day that I tried to do something other than taking care of my son and the dog.... I tried to clean the house.

The challenges started Thursday night. It felt like Carter woke up every hour (he really did not). Not to eat but with reflux pain. It was so sad because there was nothing I could do for him. But now we own a bottle of gripe water and things are sooooo much better!

The morning went as usual. Carter wakes up at 7am and we lay back down until his 8:30am feeding. I then put him down at 10am for his morning nap and I make breakfast. I then took Munson into hiding upstairs while I ran the vacuum downstairs (we have a roomba and Munson HATES it - he really hates ANY vacuum - on or off!). Well we need new brushes on the vacuum so it would only run for 15 mins or so and tear up. Urrrrr. Needless to say it took me over 2 hours to vacuum our downstairs (it usually takes 30 mins).

Reid came home at lunch to bring me a bottle of gripe water and helped me manage a few things.... I was already ready to pull my hair out at 11am!

I got Carter up for his 11:30 feeding and he did an exploding diaper (2nd to date). I thought he just got it on his diaper and onesie but when I finished feeding him after a diaper change.... I realized I had it on my stomach and on the boppy cover and.... bleed through to the boppy cushion. Fun times!!!

I then put him down for his 1pm nap and finished vacuuming... he was sleeping beside the vacuum in his pack and play and never woke it (You would think I vacuumed all the time while I was carrying him - negative!). This is when my day started to turn for the better! Plus Munson decided to cooperate with the vacuum and swifter so I could finish cleaning the downstairs.

I finally finished the downstairs when Reid got home at 4:15 (wow what a LONG day). I told him that Carter needs to get up from his afternoon nap between 5:30-6pm and there is a bottle in the frig for him (I'm 100% nursing still so I have to pump extra to get a break). I went and cleaned our bathroom and then run a nice warm bath to go with my tall glass of wine.

I am not a huge bath person but becoming a mom might make me enjoys baths because it was heavenly! 30 mins of complete silence in a warm tub of water that gave me 100% relaxation. I am already ready for another one!

Ok so my day was really not that bad but I am usually soooo good at multi tasking but having a baby and a dog makes multi tasking soooo much more difficult. I guess I should get used to it :)

By the way.... I have hired a house cleaner once a month. I wanted the help because when I go back to work.... I am going to need it!

Until next time, Stacy

A lot of Ones...

Today Carter is ONE month, ONE week, and ONE day old.... now that is a lot of ones. There are moments that I think time is fling and then other times (mostly at 3am) that I wonder if time is creeping by. Part of me can not wait until Carter can talk to me and walk around but then part of me love the phase that he is now. There are so many bitter sweet moments in parenthood!

Routine... I love routines and keeping on a consistent schedule. For the first time, this week I have nothing to do so I have been able to work on our routine. However I think having nothing to do all week just aggravates me as I can not get this routine down but we are very very close! Carter is feeding 8 times a day/night and takes 3 naps. Currently he is sleeping 5 hours during the night without a feeding.

Sleeping... not sure if it is a phase but Carter really LOVES his naps during the day. Sometimes it is even hard to wake him for his 11:30am and 2-3pm feeding because all he wants to do is sleep. I hear there is a growth spirt at 6 weeks so maybe he will get out of the sleep phase soon. However maybe I should not wish this phase away as I hear they grow in their sleep.

Spitting... Carter spits but nothing that seems to upset him... it is usually just more annoying for Reid and I as we are unsure why he spits. It is nothing consistent or overwhelming just something Reid and I wish we could fix! Today the nurse suggested feeding him while he is in a swaddle as Carter loves to move around during a feeding which could be jostling his stomach. We will see.... She also said we would start some over the counter anti-acids if the spitting continues.

Like I have said many times... we LOVE our little man and can not wait to see him grow...
until next time, Stacy :)

Love, love, love the miracle blanket!

To all moms who would like their child to slept through the night or through their naps.... I recommend trying the miracle blanket! It is truly a God sent invention. We have tried to get Carter to sleep from 10pm until 3am (which was recommended by our pediatrician) but we were having trouble with him at 1am as he was in a habit of eating at that time. We used the miracle blanket last night for the first time and he slept from 9:45pm until 2:30am. He then slept again and woke up at 5am to feed and then slept and woke up at 8:30am to feed. Now he is taking his morning 10am-noon nap with no problems. Love it and he is only 5 weeks old!

Check it out.... http://www.miracleblanket.com/

The first month...

I have added 2 pictures that show Carter's growth over the last month. Not sure if you can tell but he is growing like a weed! The first picture is 1 week and the second picture is 1 month. At his 1 month doc appt, he weighed 8 pounds 13 ounces and 21 and a half inches long. He has gained 2 pounds in 1 month - wow!

Carter is starting to smile which is so much fun. I noticed it for the first time on Friday (1/22) after I feed him in the afternoon. I asked him if he was going to spit on me after his feed and he gave me the biggest smile. It was really cute and then he spit on me... I love him!

We took our first road trip over the weekend. We went to see grandma and pops in Alabama. It is about a 3 hour trip. Carter did soooo good! He only got fussy when we went through a little bit of traffic in Tallassee and then on the way back home to GA because he was hungry... which we pulled on the side of the road so I could nurse. Reid changed his diaper in the front seat and then we were back on the road. It was only a 30 minute delay :) We enjoyed spending time with family and friends!

Over the weekend we also started to get him to go 5 hours without feeding during the night... recommended by our pediatrician. He is doing ok but he still likes his 1am feeding. He wakes up for it, cries for about 15-30 mins and then goes back to sleep. I am better with his crying than Reid... however it is hard on both of us!

Carter is a big fan of his bouncy seat and is starting to enjoy his swing... we have not spend a lot of time on the playmate but we will spend more time on it in month 2. He does spend time on his stomach but we do that on our chest. He is really starting to hold his head up which just amazes me!

Overall the first month was pretty easy. Reid and I celebrated on Wednesday (1/20) but having steak and a bottle of wine. It was really fun to celebrate and talk about the fun we had over the past month. We love our little man!

Again thank you all for all of your dinners, gifts, thoughts and prayers! They were very appreciated :)

4 generations of Gantts...

I love my fam! My granny came to visit Carter so we have 4 generations of Gantts in this photo... Granny (age 78), Dad (age 56), Stacy (age 30) and Carter (almost 2 weeks).

Big Day!

First of all... last night Carter slept in his crib for the first time. We have had him beside our bed in his bassinet. I have enjoyed having him right next to me but he makes LOTS of little noises while sleeping and it seems to keep me up. Last night I slept like a baby between feedings as I only got up when Carter really needed. It was awesome!

Today... we ran pretty behind (mom woke up late) but finally made it to Jenn's at 10:30 this morning. Jenn spent about 3 hours taking several shots of Carter. We were unsure if he would cooperate because he was 3 weeks old but he did soooo well. I was so proud :) I cannot wait to see her neat artistic creation from the session.

Thankfully Carter slept the entire way home... he was tired from his day as a model :)

Just another birthday...

I would say I am not a huge birthday person but in college and shortly afterwards, I always made sure to celebrate my birthday and even celebrate it for weeks if not an entire month... especially number 21! Maybe a case of loving to be the center of attention...

Now birthdays are a good bit different. I would even say the big 3-0 was not that big of a deal. But today, I turn 31 and all I want to celebrate is my little man. My birth does not even seem to compare anymore to my special angel (even if he is getting out a really big #2 as I am writing this blog :)

Anywho I am very happy to see another year but even happier to have an awesome and supportive hubby with the best little man in the world.

Happy Birthday to Carter (Dec 20th), Reid (Dec. 25th) and Stacy (Jan. 11th)

Easier than expected....

Although I have not been the best blogger... life has been pretty easy. Hope I do not curse myself by this blog!

Right now Carter (almost 3 weeks) is taking very well to eating and sleeping. We usually put him down at 11pm, he wakes up around 2:30am to eat and then again around 6am. On average I am getting 6-7 hours of sleep at night which is a lot more than I expected! Thank goodness I have no problem waking up and then going back to sleep after I feed him.

Also I am making enough breast milk to feed the entire neighborhood... hope this lasts! I usually pump around 3-4 times and am able to make bottles for Reid to help with the feedings and store some bags in the freezer. Right now I already have 15 - 6oz bags in the freezer which will be a huge help when I go back to work. I actually enjoy pumping... I know I am strange :) It is kinda a challenge to see how many bags I can store up in the freezer :)

The only hard thing is Carter has had a really bad case of congestion and a cough. He sounds so pitiful and I really want to do something to help him but there is not much I can do :( We give him saline drops and he sleeps near a humidifier at night. We have been told by our ped nurse not to use a suction for his buggers as I could easily suction out his membranes... I really hope this clears up soon!

Last we have been VERY blessed with great family, friends and neighbors. They have showered us with love since we have been home. Every day we have someone checking in on us and in most cases bringing us dinners (GREAT dinners). We are soooo thankful for the love we have been given... it is really a HUGE help and we will forever be grateful!

Many thanks, Stacy, Reid and little man :)