Friday, July 24, 2009

Life with a 4 month old and adjusting to my new store

So obviously my personal goal of posting more often is not achievable! :) I feel like there aren't even enough hours in the day for me to hardly see my family let alone post blogs, clean my house, do laundry or get my car it's oil change (it's at least 4 months past due!). A typical week day for us is....We get up around 7am, Ryan, Carter and I get ready, we eat breakfast, take the dogs out and feed the dogs. We are out the door by 8am, one of us drops Carter off at daycare. We both work until about 5-5:30pm and whoever gets off firsts picks up little man. We get home around 6pm, take the dogs out, make dinner, get everything ready for the next morning (wash bottles and get clothes set out), start bath time for Carter, feed him and put him to bed by 8:30-9pm. Then we get ready for bed and it's usually lights out by 10pm (I know...we are lame!). So yeah...anyway....

Carter is 16 weeks old! Or should I say Bubby? Somehow everyone seems to have adopted the nickname Bubby, which Ryan came up with. It has stuck with him pretty well. Sometimes we will call him Bubby, Bubbalicious or Bub-a-bub. We have a check up scheduled for him along with more vaccinations in about a week. He is feeling much better these days. Last week Carter, Ryan and myself were sick. It was a nasty sore throat with lots of congestion. Carter ended up getting an ear infection and is on antibiotics now. Poor little man.

He has learned a few new tricks. He is learning to roll over, but his arm gets stuck under him so he doesn't quite roll over all the way. Today we reached a milestone, he is wearing a 6-9 months outfit. The shorts are a little big, but the shirt fits perfectly. I also noticed today that he is starting to grab his feet and holds on to them while thrusting his legs up. Silly Goose.




I am slowly adjusting to my new store and new team members. I had a surprise audit yesterday with my bosses boss and district auditor. The store actually did pretty well, just have to "tighten" some things up. After they were finished they pulled me aside to tell me that the team members have nothing but good things to say about me and that they are really happy with the transition so far. YAY!! That makes me very happy! :) Here is a picture of my office, I took it with my iPhone so it's not the best. It's a good sized office, but very plain. I am thinking of ordering a "motivational" picture or two to spice things up.


Well I guess I should stop abusing my "privileges" and get back to work....

Monday, July 6, 2009

3 months old, back to work and adjusting to a new schedule....

Little man is 3 months old now!  Holly cow! A lot has happened in the past few weeks.  I sadly went back to work on June 30th.  Wow is it weird, but good at the same time.  I am not very good at adjusting to things so going back to work to a new store, new position, new people, and leaving my baby has proven to be a little difficult.....ok A LOT difficult!  I am trying to act and be my normal self, but it has been a challenge.  I just keep telling myself that I am doing it for Carter and that makes it worth every minute I have to be away from him.  So now I am a working Mom.  In all actuality though....being back has been good.  I am sure I will have many more challenges in my new position, but I can't complain about the pay increase that comes along with it.  That in itself will help us out a lot.

Carter is getting so big....I know I say that all the time, but seriously I can't believe how fast he grows!  He is in 6 month clothes now because he is so long. He weighs close to 15-16 lbs. He smiles ALL the time and the other day had his first REAL laugh!  It was so cute!  Of course we couldn't catch it on video.  He is also discovering his legs and feet, he sucks on his hands like crazy and occasionally positions one of his fingers or thumbs to be sucked on.  It's pretty cute! He hasn't rolled over YET, but is getting very close. He loves sitting up, but still needs a good amount of support or he will fall over.  I know I am getting very excited for Carter to start trying out real food.  He is only a couple months away from it.  I love all kinds of food and just can't wait for him to be able to test them all out and discover all kinds of new tastes.  :)

The dogs are feeling slightly neglected these days.  It is hard to get out of the house with Carter and 2 dogs with 90 degree weather.  The dogs don't care about it being so hot, but Carter does.  So we have spent a lot of time inside. Plus the mosquitos have been absolutely horrible this year!  Every time I go outside I get bitten at least 3 times!  Ah!  I hate them!  I know it will get easier once Carter gets a older too.

Ryan is doing well, but is still having some neck muscle issues.  He is going to physical therapy for it and we are hoping for a good recovery soon.  It may take a little bit more time though  :( .

That's about it for now....I will update again soon.  I have made it a personal goal to update the blog more often.  It seems like I only get around to it once a month! 


Thursday, June 18, 2009

11 weeks old!


Well well...I can't say I have much time to do much of ANYTHING lately. Which is why I haven't updated this blog in a while.  People that update everyday...please tell me how you do it! Carter is definitely a full time job and I can't even imagine what things will be like when both Ryan and I are working full time and then coming home to a full time baby.  

So Carter is 11 weeks today!  Wow...I am amazed at how big he already is.  He had his 2 month check up a few weeks ago and weighs about 13 lbs and is almost 25" long.  He got 3 shots and didn't hardly cry at all. He sleeps maybe a 3-4 hour stretch, if we are lucky, BUT we are working on that.  He is learning how to sit, in fact he really doesn't like laying down.  He would rather be up looking around at everything.  I only have about a week and a half left before going back to work, but until then Carter and I try to do lots of things through out the day.  I read books to him, he plays on his playmat, we listen to a lot of music while dancing and singing, and we like to take the dogs to the park and walk around.  Allee and Aston are adjusting very well.  They both love to give kisses to Carter and I help Carter pet them.  They h
ave it coming to them once Carter starts to get mobile.  :)

On a different note Ryan and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary on  June 7th.  I can't believe it has been a year already and a very full year at that.  We spent the day with Carter, hanging out at home which was special for us.  Maybe next year we can have a trip planned back to Hawaii....that's the plan...well...at least it's my plan. :)  I love that place and hope to take Carter there.  In the mean time we love summer in Colorado and are enjoying the weather! 

Monday, June 1, 2009

2 Months Old ALREADY! Where did the time go?


I can't even believe 2 months have already gone by since bringing Carter home.  He has definitely stolen our hearts and makes our life so much more complete.  He changes literally every single day, there is always something new he has learned.  He LOVES the mornings, each morning we come downstairs and he lays on his changing pad while we get breakfast going and he talks non stop (we always say he is telling us stories).  He can hold his head up much better now, but it still a little bit of a bobble head. He is learning how to grab toys that hang from his play mat. And the past couple days he has actually kind of started laughing.  It is only a half laugh and it happens very rarely, but it's so awesome when it does happen.  We are hoping to get out and take some 2 month photos of Carter this weekend, maybe even get a few family shots. 

Unfortunately by Carter being 2 months old now, that means I only have 1 month left of maternity leave from work.  I am a little bummed out about it.  I wish I could just stay home with my little Goose and if we were in a little bit better of a place financially I would...BUT some good news is while on maternity leave I applied for a promotion at work and GOT IT!  So when I go back to work I will be at the Highland's Ranch FedEx Office as the Store Manager.  This is a great opportunity for me and the family and I am anxious, nervous and excited about it.  

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

New toy!


With Carter getting more and more active everyday it seems like it is getting harder to entertain him.  We don't really have many toys for him, not that he could really play with anything at this point, so we decided to go out shopping.  We found a really cool play mat/tummy time mat.  It's perfect because tummy time was getting a little boring without much to look at.  We also got a cute jiggling froggy toy to hang on his carseat.  As soon as we got home we put together the play mat and tested it out...turns out he loves it! He was smiling at the toys and talking while watching the lights it has.  Definitely a good buy!



Friday, May 1, 2009

Happy 1 Month Birthday Baby Boy!


So here we are one month into parenthood and are we exhausted! Everyone tells you that you aren't going to get any sleep and that you will have to wake up every 2-3 hours during the night to take care of your baby, but you don't listen.  You think oh I'll be fine or that it won't happen to you.  Well surprise! Sleeping even 4 hours straight is a miracle and so refreshing! But it rarely happens these days.  Nevertheless, we are doing quite well and are enjoying our new little bundle of joy.  Carter is awesome and is changing so much every day.  He is awake more often now and is learning how to track with his eyes.  He will follow objects back and forth and stare for long periods of time.  He is also imitating a lot lately.  If you make faces at him he will try to make the same face back.  Our favorite right now is sticking our tongues out at each other.  He weighs somewhere in the 9 lb range and has officially outgrown all of his newborn clothes.  He has also graduated to size 1 diapers....no more really tiny cute newborn diapers. :(  

We are also learning how to venture out of the house with Carter.  It can be challenging at times, but it is so nice to get out.  We met Ryan for lunch with some of his co-workers yesterday which was yummy, Carter slept the whole time. Next week we are going to try and get out a little more.  Maybe make a trip to the bank, visit some cousins and visit Nana (Pam's Mom) at her work to show Carter off to her co-workers.  It should be a fun busy week. 

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Nothing exciting to report

Well here we are...another week has gone by and it's already Monday again.  Carter is getting so big!  He is probably close to 9 pounds now and I can't believe this week he will be a month old!  The time is going by way too fast! Last week was Ryan's first full week back to work and slowing we are falling into a routine. Being home with him by myself all day is a lot different than I thought. I thought it would be much harder, but he is a really great baby.  He only fusses if he needs something and he never cries just because.  He is also starting to figure out his days and nights.  He wakes up about twice in the middle of the night to eat and be changed, but lately goes right back to sleep with no problems.  In fact, last night Ryan and I were able to get two good three hour stretches of sleep, which was AWESOME! :) 

We are getting a little more comfortable taking Carter out and about with us.  Over the weekend we went on our first grocery shopping trip with him.  He did a really good, just slept most of the time, in fact we were about to make it to Target also.  Yesterday we decided to get out and do a bit more shopping, this time we went to the Castle Rock Outlets.  I wanted to check out some of the kids clothes stores.  We were able to find A LOT of really cute stuff and it was all on sale.  So we picked up some 3 month outfits for him. He is about 1 week away from not fitting into any newborn stuff anymore.  (Baby clothes are weird, some brands he fits into 3 month already and others he fits in newborn.)  We also picked up the cutest pair of sunglasses for him and a matching sun hat.   Hopefully the weather starts cooperating more so that we can use them!  Some hot summer days would be great right now! We are really anxious for our pool to open up so we can take him swimming.  That will be the next shopping trip...baby swim gear.  :)

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Happy 2 week birthday Carter!!

So I am a few days late, but it's been about 2 weeks and still doesn't seem real. 

Carter had his 2 week doctor check up and he looks great! He weighs 8 pounds now which means he has gotten back to his birth weight and then gained 4 ounces.  He had to get a little prick in his foot and screamed his head off...that wasn't fun.  Poor little guy!  He goes back in about 6 weeks for his 2 month check up, which will include some vaccinations.  Other than that things around the house have been good.  Allee and Aston are adjusting more and more to our little man.  They both do great with him.  Allee is a lot more curious than Aston, she has to investigate every noise that comes out of Carter.  Aston occasionally checks in on him and gives him a good lick.  Ryan went back to work on Thursday.  Of course that was the day Carter decided to test me out.  He was a little frumpy in the morning, but then sleep most of the afternoon (lucky him getting some sleep, I have forgotten what good sleep feels like).  We hope to get a lot more photos to share with everyone soon! 

Saturday, April 11, 2009

We survived the first week home!

Somehow, amazingly enough, we survived the first week home.  I can't believe that time has gone by so fast. We have adjusted pretty well and actually seem to be falling into a schedule.  We are learning all Carter's cries, noises and needs.  Ryan and I work really well as a parent team and are getting very quick at making sure Carter has everything he needs.  Today we reached another mile stone, Carter's belly button cord fell off.  It was a pretty gross little thing and I am actually relieved and glad it's gone.  

Today we are taking Carter on his first mall trip.  It will be nice to get out of the house and walk around a bit.  I will make sure not to become one of the crazy people at the mall with a stroller.  :) I am sure Carter will sleep the whole time and not even care about where he is, but it will be good for us.  

Friday, April 10, 2009

Scary Diapers

Leading up to Carter being born one of the things I was most worried about was having to change nasty little diapers.  I've tried to avoid dirty diapers my whole life.  So a few hours after he was born he got his first checkup from a pediatrician when I was informed that he had taken care of business for his first time and it was daddy's responsibility to clean it up.  I think it took me about 20 wipes to clean the whole mess, but I got the job done.  I've learned that changing diapers isn't that bad at all, but the actual act of him going potty is what I should be worried about.  

In the hospital I was doing the majority of diaper duty, and it was fine.  Actually it was sort of funny that in the few changes Pam did she managed to be peed on, twice.  Ha!  I knew I'd get mine at some point, but until then it was just funny.  Carter likes to veg out in my lap, with his back running between my legs and his butt firmly pushing into to stomach.  He also likes to work himself up and push out the most explosive poop I've ever encountered.  Put the two things together and I have a happy baby sitting in my lap, he takes a deep breath, and BOOM, explosion right into my stomach (he was wearing a diaper) that scared me so much I nearly jumped off the couch.  I think it was that same night that I was feeding and changing him at around 3 a.m. that I got peed on.  It wasn't just being peed on, I got it straight in the face.  Nothing like being half asleep, hoping to just take care of him and get back to bed, and then getting piss all in your face...and on the comforter...and on my pillow...and all over everything he was wearing.  Nice!  

But none of this even compares to the fountain of poop we, especially Pam, experienced earlier today.  We took Carter downtown to Pam's work to show him off to her co-workers.  For about 3 hours, from when he last relieved himself and ate until we got back home, he was cool and calm.  Then we heard the pooping.  We've learned to give him about 15 minutes to finish off the task or we'll just end up having to change him a few times in a matter of minutes.  So we wait and then Pam moves in for the change.  As soon as the diaper comes off I hear a scream from Pam...run into the room to find he had just pooped all over the changing table, and partially on Pam.  We have a good laugh, shrug it off, and Pam continues the job.  I got back to the kitchen and another scream from Pam...run back in the room and she was holding her hands in a blocker pattern to shield herself from the pee stream he was aiming at her.  Another good laugh and I got back to what I was doing.  As soon as I get back to the kitchen, another scream...I run back in the room just in time to witness a fountain of poop streaming across the room.  Poop is everywhere!  On Pam's hands, because she threw up a blocker to try to minimize the damage, on her pants, on the changing pad, on the table, on the floor.  I have to say this was VERY funny to me, and even to Pam, but at the same time the most disgusting thing we've seen in out lives...I'm seriously, before having a baby I doubt many people can say they've been pooped on...projectile pooped that is.  But now we're both scared of changing him because you never really know what to expect.  

So, as long as it's in the diaper and he's finished his business, I don't mind at all, but if there's any chance there's more to come I feel like I need a rain suit and protective face shield before I go in to take care of business.  I think we'll be flipping a coin for the next few days to see who has to be brave and enter the danger zone.  I guess it isn't actually scary diapers, it's scary bathroom behavior.  But it's all worth it for this precious little face.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Party in my crib at 3 a.m.

I think the title says it all.  Sarah bought us a bib when we were in Maui for the wedding that says "Party at my crib, 3AM Maui, Hawaii" because she had a feeling we'd be getting pregnant while down there.  Well, it didn't happen in Hawaii but sure did shortly after we got back.  I'd like to thank Sarah for this bib because Carter does his best to get a party going every day at 3 a.m..  Through the day he's really happy, hungry, or sleepy.  At night he's also pretty content.  But when we wake him up at 3 a.m. to eat it's on!  He'll wake up and eat and then refuses to go back to sleep.  He flails his arms and legs and tests out the vocal chords.  I think it's his way of singing and dancing.  Get a couple of drinks in this kid and he's a regular party animal.  We'd enjoy this during the day, but half asleep in the middle of the night it's not so cool.  So again Sarah, thanks for jinxing us with the 3 a.m. party bib :).  We'll be sure to get you something for your little one on the way that has a similar unpleasant quote that is funny to everyone except the parents.  Obviously I'm just kidding, it's just funny how the bib even got the exact time right.  We think we have found a solution though, at least a temporary one...a binky.  We didn't want to us a binky to start a bad habit that may be hard to shake, but it works wonders to calm him down during the fussy times.  It's got him through two rough patches in the middle of the night and through a horrible bath (he hates being naked so naked with a wet towel is the most horrible experience he's been through).  After a few minutes of sucking he calms down and spits it out.  So a binky is now our friend, yay!


Monday, April 6, 2009

Settling in

                         
So it's been a couple days at home now and I have to say things seem to be going great.  Carter is amazing.  Not really fussy at all, except for when he's being changed.  Waking up multiple times in the middle isn't so bad...he doesn't wake us up, we have to work to wake him up!  We're getting a decent amount of sleep so far, which was much needed.  He's a really quite baby, only really makes noise when he's half naked in the middle of a diaper change.  He's becoming more and more alert and both of us enjoy just watching him as he explores everything around him with his big blue eyes.  

He had his first doctor appointment this morning and he's doing great.  Everything is as it's supposed to be and our little man is thriving.  Are doctor was really nice, Danielle has experience with him in the past, but we just happened to be set up with him through my standard physician.  I look forward to see how he's doing at his next appt. in about 10 days.  We also took Carter for his first shopping trip after the appointment.  We went to Babies'R'Us for a few things we realized we hadn't prepared ourselves for.  Back at home we took advantage of the nice day and went for a walk around the neighborhood...broke in the stroller.  The dogs were a bit scared of the stroller at first, but they got over it.  Carter just slept the whole time, his favorite thing to do, and Pam got worn pretty quickly.  Tomorrow's warm weather should be nice because I think everyone will enjoy being out in the sun.  
So there hasn't been anything really eventful to report, just learning, adjusting, and taking advantage of the full on time we have to devote to Carter.  I have a good amount of time before I have to go back to work, but I'm already thinking about how much I'll miss just sitting around the house with him.  Pam will be here for a long time after I have to go back to work, which is great.  I just wish I could do the same.  We are both completely amazed at how happy this little man makes us and are so excited over every little thing he does.  I can't help but think of all the exciting things we'll go through with him as he grows up, but right now I'm completely content with a beautiful little baby sitting in my lap, looking around or sleeping, and knowing that I'm responsible for him.  He means everything to us already and we couldn't be happier.  

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Carter Ryan Martin has arrived!!

What we thought would be our last doctor appointment on the 1st turned out to be quite a bit more.  We'd thought that maybe Pam's water had broken but our doctor wasn't quite convinced.  She sent us to the hospital for monitoring to verify.  Well, within a couple minutes at the hospital it was confirmed broken and we were told that Pam wouldn't be leaving pregnant.  About 10 hours later Carter entered this world.  At 4:31AM our 7lb 12oz 20.5" little man made his grand entrance.  Pam did great!  She wanted to go all natural, but with her water being broken there was an urgency to get him out so she was induced which inevitably led to a epidural (before she made the call to have the epidural, after 3 hours of heavy contractions, she kept saying how she felt like she was dying).  Oh well.  There was about 45 minutes of pushing and Carter probably would have been here around 4:10 or so if we didn't have to wait for the doctor to show up...20 minutes of no pushing allowed.  Pam said the no pushing was much worse than the pushing.  
Once settled into our room with him there was a sense of relief for everyone.  Pam was glad it was all over, Carter was happy to be out, and I was shocked I was finally a dad and glad to be out of the delivery room.  He was really quite and easy going for the first 24 hours, I guess they all sort of are.  But at the 24 hour mark, 4AM the next morning when we were finally trying to get some sleep, he started to test out this vocal cords and boy is he loud.

It's only been a little more than 2 days, but I think we're sort of starting to understand what we got ourselves into.  I'm sure there's a ton more we'll learn/figure out, but we're getting the basics.  I can't believe I'm sitting at home on the couch and there's a little tiny baby sitting in a bouncy chair and occasionally making little noises just a few feet away, and he's mine.  Crazy, but awesome.  
Obviously there are a ton of little side stories about me having to change his first diaper, the first diaper I've every changed and WOW was it a messy one, family visits, his little boy procedure (traumatic for any man to watch), breast feeding, lack of sleep, the car ride home and everything else, but really the only thing that needs to be said is we couldn't be happier and look forward to the great joy he will bring to our lives.  World, meet Carter, Carter, welcome.

(Side note: I just read this to Pam and she started crying...ahhhh)

 
                                  

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Any day now!

We had another baby appointment and it went very well.  I have progressed a little more and things are moving right along.  The doctor expects that the baby will come before his due date...I really hope so! We are so excited to meet him and waiting even another week seems like a life time.  We have one more baby appointment this upcoming Friday, if we make it to Friday.  Since the doctor has given us the choice of an induction we might consider it.  If I don't go into labor by April 8th we are going to ask to schedule the induction on that day.  I really don't want to be induced, but that might just be the road we have to take.  The doctor thinks that the baby is on the larger size, probably 8 to 8.5 lbs.  She doesn't want me to go past my due date because she doesn't want to run into any complications based on his size.  So I guess we will see what happens between now and then!   I am trying to really enjoy these last few weeks.  I will definitely miss being pregnant with him, but I am equally as excited to meet him.   I have been pretty tired but I try to rest as much as possible.  I am still working full time, most days aren't too bad, but it can definitely drain me out.  We will keep everyone updated if anything happens!

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Carter is full term! About 3 weeks to go!

We had another baby appointment today and things went really well.  Still about the same as last week.  I am definitely to the point where I hope he comes soon.  I am so tired lately and have absolutely no energy.  Being on my feet all day at work has made it tough too.  The doctor actually told us that we could be induced a week early if we wanted because she thinks that the baby will be big, about 8 + pounds.  Though having him a week early sounds really good I definitely want to avoid being induced if possible.  Our next appointment is next Friday and I really hope there is a little more progress.  We are very anxious and ready for him to come already!  :)

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Maternity Photos






So Ryan and I finally decided to take a few maternity photos today.  I have wanted to do this for a while but either haven't had the time or the energy.  We are hoping to go to another park next weekend a take a few more. 

It's so crazy to think that this little baby is going to be here in about 3 weeks. Ahh!!  I can't even imagine what things will be like once he is here. Until that day, I am still working full time.  Working has been getting tough these past few weeks, but soon I will be able to spend 12 weeks with my little one. I wish it was longer, 12 weeks just doesn't seem like it will be long enough.