WHAT A DIFFERENCE...

a few months makes!

1 month

Almost 4 months!!

Carter has been doing very well lately! He sleeps 6-11 hours straight in his crib every night, which means mommy and daddy are much more rested. Now we are just working on naps. He still seems to wake up every time we lay him down, though it's gotten a little better since I started swaddling him for his naps. The only problem is, he likes to take his longest nap from about 5-7pm (I've had to wake him up at 7pm few times!) then he goes down for the night between 8:30-10pm.

Joshua & Justin really enjoy helping to take care of Carter - feeding him and making silly faces to make him laugh! Oh yeah, and Carter rolled back to belly the other day! I put him down on his blanket (on his back) and left the room for about 30 seconds to help Justin. When I came back - he was on his belly!!! After that he kept going back to side, but not to the belly again yet, though he is getting better/faster at belly to back. During the night he scoots all around his crib. I start him in the middle near the "top"...and by morning he is often either turned 90 degrees, or all the way down in the bottom corner!

Carter's favorite toy (okay, the ONLY toy he will really play with) is the "O-Ball". It is really easy for him to grab, and he tries to get it up to his mouth to chew on. Just watch out - he throws it across the room pretty good too and likes to kick it with his feet!

More Fall & Halloween Pictures

Happy Halloween!!!

Okay, so I'm a day early, but was excited to share pictures of Carter with his pumpkin and wearing his giraffe costume! I'm sure I will post more pictures after Halloween!

But before I continue...Mike and I felt it was very important for us to get the flu vaccine (especially since I will pass the antibodies on to Carter) - but unfortunately most of the flu clinics in the area have been cancelled due to shortages. Mike called his doctor Tuesday morning to try to schedule an appointment for early morning later in the week (so as not to miss work). They told him that it was the last day they were offering the vaccine and would likely be out by the end of the day. I quickly called my doctor, made an appointment, and we hopped in the car (with Carter) to head to Rochester. Unfortunately we didn't make it quite in time, so Mike had to wait until after the lunch break to get his shot - and ended up calling in "sick" to work. So we stayed in Rochester for the afternoon, visited with Minda, then had some dinner with Mike's mom and Frank.

We were hoping to get the H1N1 vaccine on November 21st at Starpoint, but now I hear that only children will be able to get it due to shortages. So if anyone hears of a clinic offering the H1N1 vaccine - please let me know!

Back to Halloween...Wednesday we decided to carve Carter's pumpkin! Little did I know that Mike had NEVER carved a pumpkin before! I cut it open and cleaned it out (the dirty work)..and Mike did a GREAT job doing the actual carving. We then tortured Carter to get some pictures of him with his pumpkin and in his costume.

He Rolled!!!

Carter rolled belly to back today!!! He's been looking like he wanted to for a LONG time...but he finally got his head up high enough today to get enough force to push himself over! Oh, and he did it about 5 or 6 times!

Watch the video!

Baptism

Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate Carter's Baptism on Sunday, both here and from afar. We are so thankful for all the good wishes and blessings. We missed those of you who were unable to join us (many due to illness).

Sleep!

Sorry - there are no pictures to go with this blog entry...because the "nursery" is too dark!

I had heard about the Homedics SoundSpa Lullabye, which is a little machine that plays different sounds (heartbeat, ocean, rain, and 3 songs) and has 3 different light shows. I really doubted it's capabilities because Carter would NOT go to sleep without being held, much less lay in his crib without waking up crying. Well, we decided to use a gift card and purchase it. If it means the possibility of more sleep...I'm willing to spend $15!

The first few nights, Carter wasn't very interested. Not to mention the light show part broke (stopped rotating, so it was just a still picture shining on the ceiling) after the first hour or so. We returned it for a new one, and after being at my wits end trying to get him to sleep without being held all night - I put Carter in his crib swaddled and ALMOST asleep at 9:30 Tuesday night. He didn't seem to be watching the light show, but he laid there quietly. I asked my dad "What's your bet - will he start crying, or put himself to sleep?" Dad replied "Definitely start crying." For the next hour I waited while Carter made little sounds...and eventually...he was silent. 10:30pm - sleeping...ON HIS OWN!!! He slept until 4:30am. 6 hours...not bad.

Wednesday night we had a repeat. 9:30pm went in his crib, asleep about 10:30pm. Slept til about 4am. Thursday he ended up a little bit cranky (I think he just wanted to watch Grey's Anatomy with me)...so he didn't quite put himself to sleep...but when I laid him down already asleep, he stayed that way (til 3:45am). And alas, tonight, it took a couple of tries, but he again put himself to sleep around 10pm. We are finally starting to get a little routine going. Hope I didn't just jinx myself!

Just a quick reminder: Carter's Baptism is this Sunday after the 10am Mass (so about 11:15am) at St. Mary's in Lockport. You can get to it from Rt. 31...so it's really simple! We will be having a lunch reception at our/my parents' house immediately following. If you need any directions, let me know! Of course, if you are not feeling completely well, Carter asks that you come see him another time.

3 Months!