Update and baby items

Carson is doing much better, we have been giving him the zantac for a few days now and yesterday he seemed to have a bad feeding when we gave him his apple/prune juice, so when the nurse called today to check in on him I asked her if the juice would make it flare up and she said it was possible, so we discontinued the juice and he had a great day! I have been taking so many pictures lately b/c I haven't been stressed about him being in pain and b/c he is in such a great mood all the time. He barely cried at all today...I just hate that he had the reflux for so long and I didn't know what is was and that something was actually wrong...I just thought he was fussy and needed to burp a lot.

So a word to any moms to be: if your baby is arching his back, and crying during feedings and doesn't seem content after a burp, can't make up his mind if he wants the bottle or not...its reflux and there is a simple remedy for it. BTW this is not just formula babies, breastfed babies can have this problem as well. I always feel so guilty because I wasn't able to BF for very long and thought that the bottle charade, the gas, bm consistency issues, and the reflux were all my fault, but the more I read and the more I talk to other moms I realize that BF babies have their share of issues as well. I always thought that breastfed babies lived in a perfect world....but I have learned that with all babies, EVERYTHING is trial and error and all babies get gas, tummy aches, and spit up, etc...

Now that I have been a mom for a little over 2 months, I have learned a few things; here are items that I can't live without:

A swing is a MUST. This thing is a lifesaver. Babies LOVE motion and when I need to get things done I just plop him in the swing and he loves it (assuming he isn't hungry and has a clean diaper). Its like a mini babysitter. Its better than the bouncer b/c of the motion. I have this little lamb swing which is good for both boys and girls, it swings both directions, has a mobile and has music and nature sounds b/c babies DO get bored. (Target and babies r us)
I think the spin and dry rack speaks for itself. There are so many things being used and washed in rotation for a baby, that everything clean just stays on this rack and it doesn't take up much space at all. (Target and babies r us)

This little bear plays 3 different songs, womb and nature sounds. It will strap to the crib, but we just take it wherever Carson goes b/c he likes noise, and I think it is so calming. I will probably send it to daycare with him, or get another one to keep there. (Target)

For Carson, these playtex drop in bottles work really well, and they are very low maintenance which I will be thankful for when I start back to work in a few weeks :(
We tried Avent, which were fine for him, but they leak terribly and are SO expensive; we tried playtex ventaire but he spits up a ton w/ those and he was ready for a faster flow nipple after 3 weeks, but they don't offer a medium flow, and he couldn't keep up w/ the fast flow. So I jumped on the playtex website and took a quiz which told me that drop ins were good for us, and it worked, and they had a medium flow nipple! (Target, Wal-mart, babies r us)

Loads of crap (in my opinion) -

• Pee-Pee TP's (shields for when baby boys pee when you remove the diaper: after you wash it, it doesn't go back to its original form, we just use a wipe)
  
• Special swaddling blankets: waste of $ (the large flannel ones are great)
• Buying brand names (we buy the off brand in almost everything - formula, drop ins for his bottles, detergent for babies, tummy drops which is the off brand for mylicon, target brand baby tylenol..its the SAME, and when we finally have to buy diapers and wipes and baby soap, that stuff will be target off brand as well, unless the diapers leak, we'll see) But I do love pampers swaddlers, they are SO soft.
  
• Baby "bath and spa"...we registered for this and received it. It has a sprayer that we thought would help and we have used it once, now we use a cup b/c its quicker but the actual tub is great. I can't wait to just throw him in the kitchen sink when he gets big enough!
  

Found a fun hobby....

I started to play with my pictures and try to give them better quality and it was really fun. Here are a few of my favorites that I edited:

How's the baby...

People ALWAYS ask you this question when you have the baby (and I do it to), kinda like when you are pregnant you are constanly asked "are you ready?" and "how are you feeling" and everyone knows the answers are "I feel like crap and of course I am ready", but it gets so old telling the same story over and over, so here is what is up with Carson recently....

I had noticed that he became increasingly fussy with feedings, it wasn't every feeding but for the past couple of weeks I knew something was going on and that he appeared uncomfortable while eating. Burping didn't help, he just wanted to be held upright in the burping position for a LONG time. He arched his back, screamed, couldn't make up his mind if he wanted his bottle or not, was spitting up, and had the hiccups like always....

So yesterday it finally made me feel so bad for him I got on babycenter and studied his symptoms which turned out to be reflux. So I got him in to see the Dr. today who confirmed what I suspected and he got a prescription for Zantac. Hopefully he can enjoy eating again soon.
However, he was in a great mood today and I got some good pictures:

Smiling

This video is from a couple of weeks ago, I know some of you have seen it already, but I have been having some internet issues so I wasn't able to post until now.

Carson is doing very well; he got his shots yesterday (heartbreaking); everything else looked good and he weighed 12 pounds 5 oz. He is still waking up twice each night to feed, but sleeps well in his crib still. My mom came for a visit this week and it has been nice to share the night shift with someone. Mom bought him some good books for infants (big and simple pictures and colors) and when he is happy and alert I like to read to him. I forget to do tummy time a lot...mostly b/c he really doesn't like being on his belly, so it doesn't cross my mind enough, but I am not worried since he is doing well holding his head up so far.

Me: major set backs in the weight loss area....w/ mom visiting we have been meeting my aunt and cousin for lunch everyday and ordering pizza and eating sweets. Also now that it is football season, that means beer and fatty foods! Appetite is back in full swing! I have been walking maybe 3 times, I have to time it right for Carson b/c of heat and mosquitos, etc... and my feet have grown so EVERY pair of shoes I own (except flip flops) hurt my feet. Lots of excuses I know but every mother out there knows that you need to make things as easy as possible when there is a baby in the picture, so these are some things that get in my way.

Sleeping in...

This was SO cute. The other morning, Carson was wide awake at 9AM and Cory and I were still pretty tired so we put him in the bed with us. It was so funny b/c he started out in the middle and kept inching torward me, if I moved over he would too. He slept so good, its so hard to keep him out of our bed. Please excuse the way I look!

We went to my friend Alison's house on Saturday and stayed a long time, Carson was so warn out that he slept from 11pm-5:30am! He made noises every few hours but never cried. I wish he would do that every night! But I am just glad he is doing good about sleeping in the nursery.

Ick

Since I have been staying home everyday on maternity leave (which I enjoy very much...I didn't think that I would like being at home everyday)I have racked up a number of favorite daytime TV shows: The Doctors, The View, Days of Our Lives, Wife Swap, Baby and Adoption Stories, Dr. Oz and Ellen.

While I don't get to watch every single one of these shows every day (obviously since I have a new baby who is not on a set schedule yet) I do enjoy them when I have the chance. I feel like I should start taking notes on the Doctors and Dr. Oz. The information they give and the questions they answer are really helpful.

Some of the answers are SO simple, for example:
On Dr. Oz's show today, he asked some audience members to bring some items that are kept in their bathrooms. He then tested them for certain bacteria, and most of them came back positive for fecal bacteria! One of the reasons is the flushing of toilets. He said that the water particles can shoot 20 feet out into the air and onto your belongings! Gross! So, he said you can cut down most of that by just closing the lid before you flush - b/c THAT IS WHY ITS THERE! Duh...I never thought of that!

Another thing that he tested were womens' purses which also had fecal matter on them from setting them down on floors including public restroom floors. He showed us this nifty little hook that clamps onto a table and you can hang your purse on it. I actually have one of these somewhere (my sister gave it to me for my B'day, but I was pregnant at that time and can't remember what I did w/ it!)

I never realized how dirty the world was until I had a baby, and now I am a freak! I am CONSTANTLY washing my hands, and when I go to the store, I probably use my hand sanitizer at least 3 times while I am in there since I have to touch the baby if he starts to fuss. Not that I don't want him to grow, but I dread when he becomes mobile...crawling on floors and putting things in his mouth....ick!

Smiling

I don't get to post much these days, usually I don't have anything to really blog about since I am home everyday. But now I have something GOOD!

Lately Carson has been SMILING at us...it is so sweet!

Sleeping: He is doing better little by little....he sleeps in his nursery every night now; he sleeps really well from about 9pm - 1am give or take depending on the feeding schedule. After we feed him around 1am he will sleep about 2-3 hours at a time. Some mornings around 4 or 5, I give in from exhaustion and bring him to bed with me if he doesn't want to go to sleep. But that is a last resort, I hate him being in the bed with us, #1 its not safe and makes me nervous, #2 I feel like I can't move an inch or he will wake up.

He is growing a lot (I can tell by how heavy he is getting). But I always forget to weigh him. He goes to the pediatrician in October so we will see for sure then.

ME: I got to have a girls' night with Alison and Kelly (this was the longest amt. of time spent away from Carson, but I did ok); we went to see CHICAGO at the Fox, and it was really good. There is a new play on Broadway in NY that I would love to see called Rock of Ages, its an 80's theme. But I doubt I will be going to NY anytime soon and it will be years before that show comes to ATL. Oh well!

Also, I am so anxious to wear my wedding rings again, I don't know why but I still can't get them over my knuckles, it makes me so sad. I asked my Dr. when to throw in the towel and get them sized and he said to wait a few more weeks. Ugghhh!

I am about 10 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight, I gained way too much weight and am paying for it now. I can only wear dresses and shirts that are bigger in the belly and maternity capris and gaucho pants. I tried to put on a pair of jeans that I considered big before I got pregnant and I couldn't even get the zipper started. I also put on a lot of weight in my butt and thighs, so I may be in maternity stuff for a long time b/c I really don't want to spend $ on myself right now.