What We've Learned:

Having Marni around is a good excuse for a cuddle in bed (before tea, no less!):

She had joined us for Thanksgiving weekend and helped out with the cooking for the big dinner.  On her last day here we had a nice quiet morning at home before she got on the road...

I got the chance to knit with the little guy sleeping on my lap...

A nice way to spend the 20 minute post-prandial upright time.

Carter learned a few things, too:

Woah!

Carter's been able to follow objects moving along his line of vision with jerky eye movements for a little while now, so we've been playing with the rattle.  Last night I put it in his hand and he actually held it for a bit...

Check out my baby-ninja skillz!

I've also discovered the power of the forward-facing baby in the carrier!

Behold! The ability to make breakfast
while Carter's  awake!

Now, I just need to learn what his different cries are:  there are times when I just can't figure out what he wants: I've changed him, fed him, swaddled him, put him down, picked him up, and tried to entertain him and still he fusses.  What gives, little buddy?  

Thanksgiving!

The Thomas' came for a combo Thanksgiving/Mark's (the as-yet-unnamed Grandfather) birthday.  It started out with:

Helping dad with work

Some cuddling

And promptly commenced:

More cuddling

And then some more cuddling

Um, some more cuddling

Cuddling with Uncle Jason

We had some dinner:

And some conversation

And then we were all too tired to do anything else besides sit around, cuddle, watch old YouTube videos and pass out.

Saturday Sunshine

We had a lovely sunny Saturday.  The day started with breakfast in bed.  Even though Carter gets that every day, it is still a treat for us.  We are happy to report that he takes a bottle (of Mimi's finest) with no problem, so that means that I get to give the occasional meal -- I love it!

Meal time with Dad

Cuddles

After brunch we started bread, split pea soup, and headed out for a walk down to our local beach.  It is a short walk from our house and there is hardly anyone there this time of year. Shaylie enjoyed the empty stretches of sand to burn off some energy, but ended up getting into a whole mess of sand spurs.   Ouch.
Carter would have been sympathetic, had he been awake.

Sportin Dad's visor

Down at the beach

Shaylie happy to have the sand spurs
 out of her paws.

Carter is definitely starting to grab things more, like Mimi's hair and my beard.  It is fun now, we'll see how we like it in a couple months.  

We found a funny pocket of what we now know is fluid between Carter's skull and scalp the other day.  It doesn't seem to bother him, and the doctor says is nothing to worry about.  The trip to the doctor provided a little more data for the growth chart -- apparently Carter is getting plenty to eat...

One last thing, we've been enjoying a podcast called Spare the Rock Spoil the Child which has a smattering of great kid's music (that isn't boring...).  Check it out if you are so inclined.

In other news...

Carter had sort of a rough day today.

I think he misses Gram and Granddad...

He napped for about an hour in the morning, but then he wouldn't let me put him down the rest of the day - there was walking and laundry and dishes and an errand (see below) and feeding to be done, apparently.  Since it was sort of drizzly out today, mom was feeling sorta lazy and his neediness didn't go over very well (I wanted to nap!).

I did, however, successfully run an errand with him today with no hitches.  By myself.  I don't know why that was intimidating to me - I guess just getting everything together and being prepared for a diaper blow-out with only my two hands.  We went to Return to Oz - a consignment store in Annapolis and I found some fleece-type garments for when it gets chilly out and we go out walking.  The store has a ton of baby/kid stuff and definitely caters to that market - Carter got a royal welcome when we walked in: at least 3 people stopped what they were doing to coo at him and ask me all about him!

The other fun thing that happened today: Carter briefly stopped fussing and had an alert-baby moment while this was playing (and it made me happy, too):

Apparently, Pomplamoose is Carter's new favorite band...

Gram's Birthday Visit and Carter Turns Zero

The Jordan's came to visit us this weekend for Gram (Laura's) birthday and to celebrate Carter turning zero (he was due on Saturday).  It was really awesome to see how much Gram wanted to hang out with the little guy and get to know him a little (last time she saw him, he was 2 days old, so he has changed a bit since then).  

They showed up on Friday (Granddad with a bit of a sinus infection, so no cuddles for him!) and we took them out to dinner at Paladar in Annapolis for Gram's birthday celebration.  Yums!

Having the family here to help out with holding and entertaining Carter was awesome - I really like being able to take a shower without having to worry about him being alone too much (I'm sure I'll get over it soon...)

We took walks, chatted, did laundry (must do a cloth diaper post soon), ate a bunch of tasty food.  Ed and Brian outdid themselves with a seafood fest for Laura's birthday - lobster and seafood paella with grilled pineapple and veggies.  And Brian made a tasty blueberry and pear cake for dessert.  A few pics:

Slap-happy parents

Gram did a lot of cuddling

Aunt Jenn started him on calculus

Butt time (Carter's gonna kill me when he's a teenager)

Bird mobile and wall decals (from NouWall) in Carter's room

Wall decals in Carter's room

Aunt Jenn came over to study and hang out with the little guy as well.  There was much talk about the maths. 

We think Carter's starting to be able to hold his head up a little bit more and he's also making more eye contact with us these days.  He still is making the preemie-newborn startle gestures and twitches, but they are getting fewer and farther between.  I love when he feels like he's gonna fall and he throws his arms out to the side like he's making a grand gesture.  I'll have to try to get that on video...

More to come...

One month checkup

Carter had his one month trip to the doctor today.  We were happy to find out that he has been packin on the pounds and is up to 7lbs-15.5 oz now.  (See the growth chart at the bottom).  He has also grown 3" which brings him up to 20" now.  

On a more traumatic note, Carter endured his first vaccination.  He was a trooper and only peed on the nurse one time.  (Nurse - 1, Dad - 27)

First Cloth Diaper!

Hangin' out on the quilt made by Aunt Jenn, sporting a fancy new cloth diaper...

Bum Genius Indeed...

Life at home...

So, our new life at home looks a lot like this:

Sitting on the couch feeding, 
burping and general cuddling.

Surfin'.

Live musical entertainment for the C-man.

Marni lovin'.

Luckily, Mitzi was able to spend almost a full 2 weeks (spread out over the rest of October) to help us out with cooking, laundry, and a little babysitting - although probably not as much of the latter as she would have liked!  His bellybutton stump fell off after several days, so she helped me give Carter his first bath at home on Wednesday 10/27 - not a bad experience for anyone involved (except maybe the towel, which might have gotten a little, um, soiled).  Since she was here to help out, we were able to cook ourselves a bunch of food and stow it away in our new deep freezer (soups, stews, lentils, chicken stock and some yummy mac and cheese from our friend Matt).

On Breastfeeding (skip this section if you don't want to know about my boobs.  I won't be offended):
The first bit was rather rough - my milk came in like a tsunami the day we got home from the hospital.  I can say with absolute certainty that I could pursue a career as a wet nurse if pharmacy doesn't work out for me.  Carter had to be woken up every 2-2.5 hours at first (even overnight, ugh) to feed and my boobs were hurting A LOT there for a while.  I ended up calling a lovely woman at La Leche League named Gina who helped me out by talking me through some of the latching issues (the LCs at the hospital didn't even MENTION asymmetrical latching!) and sending me some info/videos via email.  Luckily, it all seemed to work out and Carter's gaining weight now like a champ!
End Breastfeeding Section


We've discovered that sleeping with a baby in our bedroom isn't probably the most restful experience, so we're anticipating moving him up to his bedroom (need to post a picture of the decor! - will get that up, soon) as soon as the visitor frequency decreases (probably after Thanksgiving).  Little dude is LOUDY when he sleeps!  Grunting, clearing his throat (we think there's some reflux going on), squirming, and whining have been disturbing our well-earned sleep.   I hope the little guy is getting enough!

Carter at home...

Here are some pictures from the sweet days at home after coming home from the hospital.

Contemplating Lunch

Chillin on Dad's Lap

Learning to Share With Shaylie

Towel cuddling after a bath