He Rolls!

5 Months

You are 5 months old, sweet boy! I know I say it every month, but I can't get over it...TIME. IS. FLYING! This month was sort of rough for us...you endured yet another ear infection (hello tubes!), decided drinking out of a bottle wasn't cool anymore, and are cutting your first two bottom teeth, so eating and sleeping haven't been going super smoothly lately.

Let's talk food. On a positive note, you seem to really enjoy your two daily bowls of rice cereal and fruit, though, so that's been a plus! We tried sweet potatoes for the first time tonight...you gagged and made a face like you wanted to puke. Hmmm. We'll try again tomorrow and see what you think. On the formula front, you attempt to drink 6-7 ounces every 3.5-4 hours during the day. Sometimes you take it all with ease...other times you fight like mad and just take an ounce or two here and there. I'm hoping this is a phase and that once your teeth finally pop through you'll go back to normal. One tooth is definitely through the gum and the other is still working, so we'll see.

On the sleeping side of things, you are...inconsistent. You completely have the ability to sleep 11-13 hours at night without waking up and choose to do this whenever you feel well and ate well during the day. However, because you now fight your bottles and are in pain from your ears and teeth, you've started waking up either a few hours into sleeping (10ish) or early early morning (5ish) to eat. Fortunately, you always go back down quickly, but it's still no fun for mommy or daddy. We are in the process of scheduling tubes for you, so hopefully once those are in, you will return to your glory days of 12 hours at night. We miss those!

What else...you've found your feet! You now proudly hold your feet for me while I change your diapers and love to grab onto them when you play on your mat. You are also showing big time signs that you want to crawl...when we lay you on your tummy, you kick and flail like crazy and have started pulling your knees up underneath you. Once you get the arm strength to support your upper body, I think you'll figure it out. You have started smiling with your mouth shut (see above picture) and you have the sweetest laugh in the whole world. We can't wait to see what month six brings!

Well, that about sums it up! You are still a BIG BIG boy and are wearing either 6 month or 6-9 month clothing and size 3 diapers. We think you weigh around 17.5 pounds, but that was a very unscientific measurement. :) We love you baby boy!

Sunday Morning Photoshoot

We are on the verge of outgrowing Carter's 6-month clothing, so I decided to put him in this precious onesie that my co-workers gave me and take a few photos while it still fit!

4-Month Appointment

So, here's the official rundown from our 4-month check up today...

Height: 26.5 inches/97th percentile
Weight: 16.4 pounds/75th percentile
Head: 16.9 inches/75th percentile

So, it appears as though we have a very tall boy on our hands! In other news, we found out that after 4 weeks of antibiotics (2 different types) that we had hoped would cure his poor ears, there is still fluid there. The doctor says the situation can go a few ways...
1) The best case scenario is that he doesn't get another ear infection and the fluid clears up on it's own. No tubes...for now. Likelihood? Slim, but there is a possibility.
2) Second scenario is that the fluid sits there uninfected for the next 2 months, it is still sitting there uninfected at his 6-month appointment, and we go get tubes to drain it since it will interfere with his development to not be hearing well. Likelihood? Better than scenario 1, but still not good.
3) The final scenario is that the fluid gets reinfected at some point in the near future (ahem, cold and flu season), no antibiotics are given because they clearly aren't getting the job done, and we go get tubes to help him asap. Likelihood? Very good.

So, it would appear that we are most likely getting tubes sooner rather than later. Yippee. Let the fun begin...

Developmentally, Carter is right on track. He scored the lowest in the "Communication" category...presumably because he has only recently been able to hear us un-muffled. As you will see in the preceding video, he has really found his voice lately and loves to blow spit bubbles, talk, "crow" as we call it, etc. I think as long as his ears stay healthy, he'll catch back up there very quickly. He is MY son, you know...:)

No picture for this post. I took a picture of him after his shots were over, but it's just too sad to post. He looks SO confused and sad about what had just been done to him. I'd prefer not to remember that face...

A Conversation with Carter

4 Months

As I sit here writing this post, I am still in utter disbelief that you are 1/3 of a year old, little man. TIME. HAS. FLOWN! This month brought lots of changes to you (whom we affectionately call Mr. Button...long story)...you came down with your first AND second ear infections, started day care (probably not a coincidence that those happened the same month), started sleeping through the night (Praise Jesus!), switched bottles and formulas, AND Mommy went back to work. Sad face.

We have our 4 month doctor visit on Thursday, so I'll have the "official" stats then, but according to our scale, you weigh nearly 16 pounds! WOW! It's amazing that in just 4 months, you've gained 10 pounds! Boy do you like to EAT! You eat 6 ounces about every 3 hours now, and as of 2 days ago, we have started enjoying rice cereal. You don't exactly eat a lot of it, but you seem to really enjoy the act of eating. As soon as we get the okay from Dr. Newton on Thursday, we'll start other solids like sweet potatoes and peas. YUM. You are still wearing 3-6 month clothing, but some of it is beginning to get tight. I have a feeling we'll be moving up to 6-9 month in a few pieces before we hit 5 months...

As far as your likes and dislikes go, you are officially obsessed with standing and sitting up. You want to constantly be in Johnny Jump-Up, the exersaucer, or standing on anyone who will hold you's legs. If I lay you on your back on my legs, you immediately start crunching up your head and neck so I'll pull you up to sitting. You are SO over lying down, especially on your back, but you are getting really good at pushing yourself up on your tummy. You usually use your forearms to push up, but I've seen you use your hands a few times and you get your head really high up when you do that. We are SO close to rolling over, and I truly think you could do it if you wanted to. You showed interest for about 2 days, and now seem to be over it.

You absolutely LOVE school...especially Miss Stephanie. She's your favorite teacher, and you absolutely LIGHT UP for her. Mommy wasn't so thrilled at just how much you liked her at first, but I've come to realize it's a really good thing. She calls you her "buddy" and seems to be the one who has really figured out your cues. You smile at her as she gives me the rundown of your day when I pick you up, and you giggle as we leave when she tells you goodbye. It's really sweet and makes Mommy feel so much more comfortable knowing you are in good care.

Sleepwise, you take about 3-4 naps during the day that range anywhere from 30 minutes to 2.5 hours. At night, we try to get you in bed by 7:30 or so, and you usually sleep until 6:30 the next morning. The ear infections have thrown you off a little bit now and then, but unless you are in a LOT of pain, you are never up more than once at night. Perfect timing since Mommy now has to go deal with delinquent 8th graders all day! :) Bless you for your timing on that!

Well, buddy, I guess that kind of sums it up. You have really become FUN and such a JOYFUL little boy this month. Your smile and laugh just make everything right in the world and can make the worst day seem instantly better. We love you little man and can't wait to see you grow and change even more in month 5!

Laughing with Uncle Chase

The most I've ever heard him laugh! We've gotten a giggle before but never a full belly laugh like this. :)