I am having a harder time with this than I thought I would. I truly cannot believe that our sweet baby is already half-way to his 1st birthday. It makes me very emotional. I just had to wipe tears off my face as I am typing this. Everyone tells you that you will love your children more than anything in this life, but I obviously never understood that until I became a mom myself. Carter Lee, I love you more & more each day, if that is possible. It is my honor to spend all day, every day with you. Your daddy & I love watching you learn, grown and explore all of the new & exciting things around you. We love being your parents and we love YOU more than you will ever know!
We went to the big checkup this morning and got a great report from Dr. Hayes (the nurse accidentally booked us with the wrong doctor, so we will resume seeing Dr. Dunlap at 9 months). Below are Carter’s 6-month stats:
Weight: 15lbs. 8oz. (20%)
Length: 27.25" (85%)
Head: 17.25" (55%)
We still have a tall & thin baby boy on our hands! I think his weight is a little below normal due to the fact that he was sick last week and is still not up to eating his normal amount yet. His height and head measurements are consistent with his previous checkups. He was a champ through the four vaccinations that he received (one oral, three shots in the legs) and only cried for a little while afterwards. However, he did not like the oral rotavirus vaccine. The sweet nurse who gave it to him told me that 90% of the babies love it and gulp it down, but Carter falls into the 10% who reject it and spit it out. Great! We finally got him to swallow enough, but I think it is so interesting that he wouldn’t like something sweet and fruit flavored. Funny dude! You definitely did not get that from your mama, Carter Lee!
Having a bottle after the shots...there is a wet spot
on the paper next to his face from his tears :(
on the paper next to his face from his tears :(
Ready to go home with our good report & soy formula!
Sweetest 6-month old on Earth
A few highlights from this past month:
* Carter is eating 8 oz. of formula every four hours (7am, 11am, 3pm & 7pm). When we get his bib out, he now recognizes that it means that it is time to eat (and then he usually starts to whine, if he hasn’t already). He is holding his own bottle, unless it is totally full and then it is still too heavy for his little arms and he also puts it in his mouth by himself when we hold it out in front of him. He gets extremely distracted when feeding. We have found that it is better to take him to a quiet room and feed him there, away from anyone or anything that could take his attention away. Otherwise, it takes forever for him to drink even a few ounces!
* We started solids on July 4th, beginning with rice cereal, moving onto baby oatmeal, then onto veggies - sweet potatoes, carrots and peas! Carter is a big fan of oatmeal and peas so far. He hated the rice cereal and would eat the sweet potatoes & carrots, but was not too excited about either one of them. The first time I fed him peas he ate the entire jar in only a few minutes! Who would have thought that peas would be our baby’s favorite?
This pretty much sums up how Carter felt about rice cereal (7/4/11)
1st taste of baby oatmeal (7/6/11)
Not sure what to think about sweet potatoes (7/17/11)
What in the world are you feeding me?
I L-O-V-E peas!!! (7/26/11)
* Sleeping about 11-12 hours at night with a bedtime at 7:30 and usually waking up around 7:00am. Every once in a while he will sleep in until 7:30 or 8:00am, which is such a nice treat, especially on the weekends when both Mommy & Daddy are home :)
* Carter has made great strides in the nap world. In the mornings, he usually goes down around 9am and will sleep for 1 to 2 hours. The afternoons are not as predictable, but if we are home, he will take a nap somewhere between 1:30 & 3:30pm and sleep for another 1 to 2 hours. If we are out running errands, he will usually fall asleep in the car , especially if it is around lunchtime, but wakes up easily if we are getting in and out of the car. If he only takes two naps during the day, he usually tires pretty easily at night. The perfect scenario is two long naps and one short “snap” each day. This current schedule seems to be working for all of us! This truly is answered prayer. Not every day follows this schedule, but we have made such progress over the past few months! I am also thankful that he can be flexible when we need him to be.
Monitor view of our sweet baby sleeping
Hi, Mom! I'm awake. Can you please come get me? I promise to be sweet :)
Calmly waking up from a morning nap...
This month Carter:
* Is still taking a bath in the Tummy Tub, which we place inside our big bathtub because of all the splashing that goes on :) He continues to lock his legs when we first put him in the tub, but he now also “stomps” his feet over & over again, creating large splashes that usually get all of us wet right off the bat. Bath time is such a joyful time! Carter is happy, enjoys playing with the water, trying to eat the water & bath toys and loves listening to Mom & Dad sing the “Splish Splash” song. We purchased a bath seat a few days ago for him to use when he outgrows the Tummy Tub. You can see below that Carter likes it already, even when it is not in the water!
Bathtime is fun!!!
I love to eat my foam numbers & letters!
His favorite toy is the green zero
All lotioned-up after the bath
My new bath seat
Isn't he cute?!?!
* Still enjoys watching his Praise Baby DVDs. He is totally mesmerized by them!!! This can also serve as a nice 30-minute break for Mommy during the day if I need to get something done (clean up, cook dinner, etc.).
* Continues to love playing on his Baby Einstein play mat, but not nearly as much as he used to. I think he might be outgrowing this a little :(
* Still loves looking at himself in the mirror! He immediately turns his head toward the mirror when we take him out of his crib and he also thinks it is so cool to watch himself in our bathroom mirror right after he gets out of the bath! When we are walking around with him in the Baby Bjorn (facing outward), Carter smiles & gets excited each time we pass a mirror.
* Grabs onto E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G!!! Examples are Mommy’s hair and jewelry, straws, cups, noses, toys and anything else in sight. I have to be very careful as to what I put near him because if he can reach it, he will take it. He also continues to love to “eat” his hands and feet.
* Is laughing much more! As I have said before, he has a pretty serious side, but his sweet personality is coming through more & more each day. He loves to be tickled, have us “eat” his fingers or toes (especially when we say “I’m huuuuungry” like the Cookie Monser) and play other little games. He even laughed out loud last night while he was “helping” me cut brussel sprouts in the kitchen for dinner. Do you think he thought it was funny that we had to eat those little green things?
* Puts everything straight into his mouth and is drooling much more. He really enjoys teethers now and other soft toys like his foam bath letters & numbers, but no teeth quite yet.
* Loves the exersaucer and door jumper
* Continues to be very observant (like his Daddy). He loves to be carried around and just watches everything that is going on. If one of us is holding him, he tends to lean back so that he can see what is going around him. He definitely likes to be in the know!
* Enjoys sitting in his bumbo, usually on the kitchen counter while we heat up a bottle or make dinner or when he gets tired of sitting up on his own while we are playing.
* Continues to love “free play” with his toys. Carter enjoys being allowed to play on his own terms and decide what he wants to pick up, pay attention to, etc. Just laying him down on his quilt with many toys in reach makes him a happy little guy!
* Loves to talk and hear his own voice. Carter has just started to make babbling noises, especially when he is hungry and is waiting on his bottle. It is so fun to listen to him talk! He tends to talk more when he is excited or bored and he also still talks in his sleep at night. After we go in and give him his paci, it usually goes away, but we don’t really know why he does it.
* Has developed the cutest “shy smile” as we call it. When someone is holding him and someone else comes up to talk to him, he will smile at them and then immediately bury his face in the person’s chest who is holding him. It is so ridiculously cute!!!
* Is enjoying playing with Daddy at night and on the weekends. He loves the “Pink Panther” song, giving “Big Hugs,” watching TV and reading books with Tyler and just being around him.
* Grabs onto E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G!!! Examples are Mommy’s hair and jewelry, straws, cups, noses, toys and anything else in sight. I have to be very careful as to what I put near him because if he can reach it, he will take it. He also continues to love to “eat” his hands and feet.
* Is laughing much more! As I have said before, he has a pretty serious side, but his sweet personality is coming through more & more each day. He loves to be tickled, have us “eat” his fingers or toes (especially when we say “I’m huuuuungry” like the Cookie Monser) and play other little games. He even laughed out loud last night while he was “helping” me cut brussel sprouts in the kitchen for dinner. Do you think he thought it was funny that we had to eat those little green things?
* Puts everything straight into his mouth and is drooling much more. He really enjoys teethers now and other soft toys like his foam bath letters & numbers, but no teeth quite yet.
* Loves the exersaucer and door jumper
* Continues to be very observant (like his Daddy). He loves to be carried around and just watches everything that is going on. If one of us is holding him, he tends to lean back so that he can see what is going around him. He definitely likes to be in the know!
* Enjoys sitting in his bumbo, usually on the kitchen counter while we heat up a bottle or make dinner or when he gets tired of sitting up on his own while we are playing.
* Continues to love “free play” with his toys. Carter enjoys being allowed to play on his own terms and decide what he wants to pick up, pay attention to, etc. Just laying him down on his quilt with many toys in reach makes him a happy little guy!
* Has developed the cutest “shy smile” as we call it. When someone is holding him and someone else comes up to talk to him, he will smile at them and then immediately bury his face in the person’s chest who is holding him. It is so ridiculously cute!!!
* Is enjoying playing with Daddy at night and on the weekends. He loves the “Pink Panther” song, giving “Big Hugs,” watching TV and reading books with Tyler and just being around him.
* Has started sitting up by himself! He is still pretty wobbly, but he can do it! We practice sitting up and playing in the floor each day and he is getting stronger and more balanced all the time. The first day that he really sat for longer than a few seconds by himself was this past Saturday (7/30/11). All three of us were playing on his quilt in the living room floor and I guess he decided to show off since both Mom & Dad were there. He looks like such a big boy when he does this. It makes me proud and sad all at the same time. When did my baby boy grow up?!?!
* Loves to stand up (assisted) and move his legs around like he is marching. It is adorable! He also likes to stand in his crib after he wakes up and grab at his mobile. He squeals with delight, even though the mobile usually gets away from him :)
* Wears some 3/6, but mostly 6 month clothing and size 2 diapers
* Has had quite a few lunch & dinner dates recently:
Stella McClatchy and Carter on their lunch date (7/8/11)
Fun with Jenna Mae in Temple (7/9/11 & 7/10/11)
Carson and Carter's play date in Fort Worth (7/12/11)
Lunch date with Gracie Sanchez at Corner Bakery (7/18/11)
Dinner date with Uncle Mike & Rosemary at Taco Diner in Preston Center (7/19/11)
Lunch date with Kendall Conklin at Ziziki's (7/22/11)
Fun with Aunt Sally, Uncle Lee & Jenna Mae in Dallas (7/23/11)
We are so thankful for this easy-going, fun-filled baby boy who enriches our lives so much! We could not have asked for a better baby. We love you, sweet boy. One of our prayers for you is that the Lord calls you to Him at an early age and allows you to discern the Truth from the lies of this world. You are truly our little angel. We cannot wait to see what the next six months bring!
Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. – Pslam 127:3-4
