Chris Family

Lots More Pictures

2010-11-22T20:27:00.000-08:00

I loaded these pics forever ago and then never filled in the commentary. So, I am going to keep the comments brief so I can finally get this posted! Enjoy the pictures!

The day before Halloween we visited a local farm/pumpkin patch. There were a ton of fun things for the kids to play on/in/with. It was a lot of fun. We will definitely visit again this year.

For Halloween Hailey was a Pretty Pink Princess and Carter was a monkey. Although he really is a monkey year round. We went trick or treating around the neighborhood. Carter was so tired from the pumpkin patch earlier that day that we could barely get him to walk from house to house.

As you can tell here and from previous pictures, it was time for Carter to get a haircut! His hair was getting too crazy. He was not excited about this although he looks OK with it below. Thanks to Keely for making him feel like such a big boy he actually did much better than I expected. I was also feeding him Smarties to keep him happy. His new haircut looked so cute! Now he really ready for another one. So many people said that his curls would go away after the first haircut - but they came back in full force. I was so happy - I love his little curly head!

One of my co-workers/friend from Japan was in the US on business. He brought the cutest outfit from Japan for Carter. It fit perfectly! Carter just loves his outfit with Stitch. Here are some pics of him showing it off below - he is showing his muscles in the first one. Thanks Akira!
In November we celebrated Hailey's first birthday! Wow - time flies. You really end up saying that A LOT as a parent. But it is so true. I sure love this sweet little girl.
We also celebrated Hailey's birthday with our playgroup friends. I didn't manage to capture too many pictures but as you can tell she was spoiled and just loved all of her presents.

So, my friend Keely took these pictures quite awhile ago. They turned out so good that I couldn't just not post them. Thanks Keely.

Hailey
Carter

Still here . . .

2010-11-13T20:35:00.000-08:00

OK, so I really wish that I didn't have to start every one of my posts with an apology for being such a lazy blogger and a promise to be better at posting more regularly. So, let's be honest, if I haven't gotten better at this over the past few years its probably just not going to happen. ; ) So, enjoy the update of the last nine months of our lives and be looking for another update in about nine more months!

But, seriously, I really hope that it doesn't take me that long!

Way back Carter turned 2! And, yes, he will be 3 in four months. Time flies. Carter had his playgroup friends over to celebrate. We had a sports themed party with an emphasis on soccer (Ryan is a soccer coach/trainer = Carter loves soccer). Thanks to the dollar store I scored some pretty cute decorations! I also attempted some creativity with the "cake" and made one out of cupcakes. Now, it is not that spectacular but I was pleasantly surprised at the result. It's really not that easy to draw a soccer ball with icing. Luckily we have no shortage of soccer balls in the house to use as my inspiration! This birthday was a lot of fun because Carter actually understood that he was getting presents. Things are a million times more fun when your kids are having fun. I sure love this little boy and am so glad that he is ALL MINE! (OK, so I have to share with Ryan but that's alright.) He keeps my on my toes but he is my little buddy. Birthdays are so bittersweet. I just love to see the boy that he is growing up to be, but sometimes I just wish that I could keep him little forever.
Again, just wishing that I could keep Hailey little too. She just turned 1! That is crazy. She is growing up WAY too fast. She has been walking for the past couple months and is now working on running. When Carter started running he never stopped - still hasn't. I thought I had to be on my toes before. Here are some pictures of her over the months: Ready for church, loving the binky (which I have successfully weaned her from - YAY), strawberry shortcake, sitting pretty, first driver, a favorite pastime - watching the dogs through the door and snuggling her monkey. I just love this little girl too. She is my little doll. I love getting to dress her up in all the fun little girl clothes. And, she is such a good baby. I know that I am probably jinxing myself by saying that, but she really is.

Here are some pics of Carter: being a good big brother, playing the guitar in his diaper - may as well do it while you still can, playing with a toy - notice the use of his tongue - he does this every time that he is trying to concentrate really hard on doing something, learning how to cast a fly rod in the backyard - this was a very proud moment for Ryan, taking a picture of me taking a picture of him, and the ultimate white trash picture. I love the last picture. Carter is wearing pajamas that are too small and don't match (but he loves them because they have Elmo), he is standing in a tent that we set up in our living room, his hair is a crazy mess, he has his trusty sippy cup, and I am pretty sure that this picture was taken in the middle of the day. That's how we roll at the Chris household. But, hey, he is smiling - and that's what really matters, right?
We (Carter, Hailey and I) took at trip to the MK nature center with my friend Keely and her daughters Elley and Molly (Carter's buddies). Carter had SO much fun. He loved seeing all the fish and running up and down all of the paths with Elley. Hailey had fun too (from the stroller). We also brought a picnic lunch and the kids had a blast chasing squirrels and deer. Yes, there was a mommy deer and two of her fawns at the park! They also got to take their shoes off and play in the water for a little bit too. Carter begged me to go see the fishes almost daily since that trip. That leads to the next set of photos (after these). Oh, and did I mention that this place is FREE? How can you beat that?

The MK Nature Center re-visited (with Dad this time).

I still have a bunch more to post, but I figure I may as well get this one out there; loading more pics now . . .

Has it really been three months?

2010-02-13T13:10:00.000-08:00

Wow. . .time does fly! It really does feel like I just posted an update. However, Hailey is almost three months old now and my last update was her birth! Since that point in time our days have been filled with adjusting to having two kiddos. I have to admit that two is a lot more work than one or maybe Carter is just turning into more of a handful. Either way, I am so glad that Hailey is such a good baby. Otherwise, I would probably go crazy. I don't know how moms of more than two do it! However, these little ones are so worth the work. Here are some pictures of Hailey over the last three months.

Snug as a bug in a rug . .

A brief moment of rest . . .
Strawberry shortcake . . .
Notice the plastic golf ball by Hailey's head. That is one of the hazards of having an almost two year old who knows how to hit a golf ball. No one is safe . . .
First smile on camera . . .
Just looking cute . . .
Ready for church. I love getting to dress up Hailey!
Carter has been as busy as ever over last few months. He has SOOO much energy and is always on the go. He also talks about non-stop. He is so much fun. It is really great to see his little personality develop. Here are some pics of Carter . . .

One of those times when he actually ran out of energy . . . (Also, what I feel like I might do at any point in the day!)

We went to Avatar and kept our 3-D glasses. Carter thought they were pretty fun to wear. . .
We got a good amount of snow awhile ago and we took the opportunity to take Carter out in it to play. This was his first time in snow and he loved it. Ryan taught him how to make and throw snowballs. Carter was pretty fascinated by that and by eating the snow . . .
We recently blessed Hailey in our home. Hailey did great - she actually was cooing during the blessing. (Carter was screaming during his blessing.) It was nice to actually hear what Ryan was saying this time. : ) Hailey is wearing the dress that I was dedicated in. I thought she looked so pretty!

Carter sneaking in a kiss for his baby sister . . .

The whole family (Hailey fell asleep) . . .
Hailey in her blessing outfit . . .
What a doll! . . .

Hailey Pictures

2009-11-23T22:24:00.000-08:00

Here are pics of our little bundle of joy. Hailey is home from the NICU and is doing great!
What a proud Daddy!

Too Sweet!

Ready for her ride home!

Grandma Nancy getting in some well-deserved snuggle time! Thanks for watching Carter for us. You're a lifesaver!

Carter is loving being a big brother!

Hailey Nicole Chris

2009-11-20T13:16:00.000-08:00

Hailey Nicole was born on Thursday November 19 at 2pm! Here are the stats:

Weight: 7 lbs 0 oz
Length: 18 inches

If you would like to see some pics, you can visit: http://saintalphonsus.netreturns.biz/Nursery
The password is 23931

Will have more pics to come!

What We've Been Up To!

2009-11-14T21:41:00.000-08:00

So, I guess it is time for me to post another long update blog since it has been awhile again! Not to mention the fact that I could be having another baby any day now and I better get caught up before it is time to post new baby pics! I will try to get those up right away - after Hailey decides to make her arrival! BTW . . we finally settled on a name - Hailey Nicole Chris.

My parents visited us this past June and we took Carter to the small Dairy Days fair that was going on in Meridian. My mom took Carter for a ride on the Merry-Go-Round. At first, he really wasn't quite sure about it but warmed up to it after a few times around. Here's a pic of Carter enjoying the ride. Carter also took a trip down the giant slide with Grandma. It was fun watching him take everything in. We pretty much just followed his lead. After all, it's all about Carter, especially when Grandma and Grandpa are in town.
In July, we went to a local play place (I can't remember the name) with Carter's cousins. Carter enjoys climbing up slides more than he like to go down them. He is actually pretty good at it. He is my little monkey. He will try to climb just about anything. He has no fear - which puts fear in me! He keeps me on my toes.

Carter as Tiger Woods . . .This is one of Carter's favorite pastimes. He can actually hit the ball quite well. We used to let him hit real golf balls in the house, but now all he gets to hit are plastic ones. The real golf balls are for outside only now!

Carter being mischievous . . .I came around the corner to see what Carter was up to because he had been so quiet and this is what I found. Carter had nearly emptied the wipes container. You know when the house is quiet, that something is up! He was having so much fun though. I couldn't get mad.

Carter just looking cute in jammies . . .

We took a trip to the zoo with the cousins while visiting Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Bob in Ogden. It was a scorcher but the kiddos hung in there and so did the moms.

Blake and Kilyn

Jordyn

Brooklyn

Jackson and Carter
Carter started eating his ice cream with a spoon but quickly gave up on that and decided to dig right in.

Blake and Carter
Meloni and Carter

Looking at the monkeys . . .
What a sweet little boy!
Here are a few of Carter's favorite things. First, Carter playing with his all time favorite toy. Yep, it's a phone. This one is from Stevie - one of the girls that Ryan coaches. Carter loves Stevie because she always lets him play with her phone. He will play with just about any phone. He even likes to pretend that TV remotes and calculators are phones. It is so funny to watch him have pretend conversations. Carter also loves to read books and one of his favorite spots is by the fireplace. He also likes to get this little green ring out of his drawer in the kitchen and put it on his head. My little angel's halo! : )

Close to Halloween we took a trip to the pumpkin patch with a group of moms from church. Carter had a lot of fun. We took a hay ride, Carter went through the hay maze twice, picked a pumpkin, got to see some horses, and played with corn kernels on the ground. The last part was supposed to be a learning activity but Carter was much more interested in the corn kernels! He also got to eat some popcorn on the drive home. He was in seventh heaven.

Making his way through the maze . . .

Getting ready for the hay ride . . .
Yeah! Corn kernels!
Watching the horses . . .
Look Mom a "Gunkin"!
Carter actually liked playing with the dead plants more than the pumpkins - go figure!
Carter watching TV in his box. He emptied out all of his toys just so that he could get in.

A few of my friends from church threw me a baby shower. It was so much fun! Look at all this yummy food - and that beautiful cake! And for those of you wondering how big I am - here you go! And, yes, guaranteed I was even bigger after digging into all the yummy treats. Thanks Keely, Britt, and Becky!

Carter was an elephant for Halloween. The weekend before Halloween we went to the church Trunk or Treat activity. Carter refused to wear the hood to his outfit. Oh well, at least you can see his tusks and trunk, but the big ears were really cute too. Carter didn't quite understand what was going on, but he figured out that he liked the candy part real quick!

Before Halloween we carved open a pumpkin with Carter. At first he wasn't quite so sure about all the seeds and pumpkin goo, but eventually he dug right in. Ryan also fried the pumpkin seeds and Carter loved those!

Carter LOVES playing with the buttons on the microwave! It is always the first thing that he wants to do when I bring him downstairs every morning.

Halloween night we went trick or treating around our block. Carter loved it! He would knock on the doors and would tell people "Thank you" after they gave him candy. He didn't quite have "Trick or Treat" down by then, but he managed just fine. How could you refuse such a cutie?

Eating spaghetti. Everyone has to have pictures like this - right?!

Hugging cousin Jordyn. What a sweet boy!

Playing with Pedo and Kiki! Carter loves doggies.

Walking in Daddy's shoes and waving to the camera. Bye bye until the next post!!

It's a . . . .

2009-07-01T15:32:00.000-07:00

GIRL!!!!! So, the doctor confirmed what my mom has been saying all along. We are going to have a little girl. We are both really excited. Now it is time to start stocking up on the girl clothes and pick a name! By the way, everything with the baby looked great. She is developing just as expected and we are so thankful for that.

Baby number two . . .

2009-06-11T22:42:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's right, I'm pregnant!!! Baby number two is due November 18th, which is the same due date my mom had when she was pregnant with me. That means that I am currently 17 weeks along. I'm at that stage where people wonder if you are getting a belly because you have had a few too many donuts or because you're pregnant. Now no one needs to wonder! : ) We find out the gender on July 1st. We will be sure to let everyone know as soon as we find out.

Ryan is OLD!

2009-06-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

Ryan turned 30 on May 30th. So, to celebrate this milestone I bought tickets to the Players Championship (that's golf by the way) near Jacksonville, Florida and I organized a surprise send off birthday party for him the day before we were scheduled to leave. Ryan didn't know anything about the party or the trip to Florida. I actually can't believe that I pulled it off! We had a great time at the Players. (It was especially great to be Carter free as well. Big thanks to Grandma Nancy and Uncle Drew for watching Carter! We missed him, but it was still nice.) We got to see a lot of our favorite golfers . . . including my favorite, Tiger! The player that won the tournament, Henrik Stenson, even talked to Ryan on the 10th hole, where we camped out a good portion of the day on Sunday. We followed Jim Furyk for his entire round on Saturday. Jim is Ryan's favorite golfer. Ryan also got Jim's autograph on a Players hat. Awesome!!! We had to have walked at least 12 miles, and I seriously am not exaggerating. Ryan was like a little kid - I could barely keep up. It was great to see him that way. We weren't allowed to bring cameras into the tournament (not even cell phones) so we don't have pictures from our vacation. However, here are some from the surprise party.

Ryan reading the letter explaining the trip to the Players Championship . . .

A gift for an "Old Geezer" from the Whitakers.
A few girls from Ryan's soccer team. Almost the whole team was there (including parents). It was great! It was standing room only at our house.
Carter picking on his cousin Jordyn.

Easter and Memorial Day

2009-06-08T15:50:00.000-07:00

A couple of holidays have passed and I do have pictures for one of them! My friend Brittney invited our play group to an Easter egg hunt at her in-laws. It was so much fun! They put on quite the party. Carter didn't really know what to do, but it was nice because his age group was in a specific spot so we could walk around and help him get eggs. He was actually more interested in eating rocks. We did get some cute pics though and we discovered at the lunch that was provided that Carter loves Sloppy Joes. He was a happy camper. Thanks Brittney and Josh!

Elley giving Carter a hug . . .

On the prowl for eggs . . or rocks
Most of our play group (Hunter, Elley, Carter, and Ryan)
Carter didn't figure out that he was supposed to be collecting the eggs until Easter egg hunt number two. We went over to Aunt Shannon and Uncle Bill's. They had eggs that were just for Carter (the one's with the "Cars" pictures on them). Again, he was protected from the big kids getting to all the eggs first. It was a lot of fun watching him collect the eggs in his basket.

For Memorial Day, my friend Keely invited our playgroup to her house for a BBQ. That was also a lot of fun. They set up their Blue's Clues sprinkler and we let the kids loose while the parents relaxed. I wish I had remembered to take pictures. Carter had a lot of fun in the water. Nothing beats good friends and good food! Thanks Adam and Keely!

Filling in the Gap . . .Carter's First Year

2009-04-02T10:50:00.000-07:00

I had mentioned in my last blog that I was planning to do a review blog next of all that I had missed posting in the eight months that went by between posts. Well, here it is. There are lots of pictures. It was a lot of fun going back through these photos. These little ones sure change fast!

So, to start off, I never posted any pictures of Carter's room. The room is a safari theme in yellow and green - courtesy of Grandma Valerie. I was really glad to finally get it finished. It was not done before we brought Carter home since he arrived early, unexpectedly. The little rocking chair in the last picture was mine when I was little. Carter loves it. He climbs on it and rocks back and forth. It is pretty funny.

OK, so this isn't of Carter but I wanted to stick it in without devoting a whole post to it. This is all of the brothers and brother-in-laws on the Chris side (minus Bill). This pretty much captures them perfectly.
Back to Carter . . . I used to put him on this mat to play and every now and then he would just fall asleep. I think he just looks so cute and peaceful.

Carter and I went on a trip to San Diego to see Grandma and Grandpa. And mommy got to go see the Ellen Degeneres show. Ryan surprised me with tickets one day just because. I have the best husband ever. I had a blast at the show with my mom and had a ton of fun showing Carter off to everyone. Here is Carter with Grandpa Rob.
Carter and I with Shawna (my brother's girlfriend). Jay was in Iraq at the time. We missed him but we are glad that he is safe at home now.
Carter with Grandpa Rob again.
We took this picture for Uncle Jay since he missed out on the fun.
Carter and I with Masako and Lika.
Carter with Aunt Vicki . . . She must have the magic touch!
Carter with my cousins Ricki and Alfonso.
Carter with Katie Morrow.
Carter with my 'cuz Robyn.
Carter with my aunt Mary Ann.
Carter with Great Grandpa Bourland.
Carter with Great Grandma Bourland.
Carter with Grandma Valerie.
Just Chillin'
These are two of my best friends from high school and their kiddos.So, that is the end of the San Diego photos. It was really fun getting to catch up with so many people!

Here's Carter looking suave for church. Thanks Aunt Shannon for the cute outfit!

My parents sent Carter the Chargers onsie below. The outfit came with little sweat pants and a bib too. When I got it in the mail, I changed Carter into it right away and then showed Ryan his new look. Considering the fact that Ryan is a Jets fan, he wasn't thrilled, but Carter looked so cute that he couldn't actually be that mad! It was a lot of fun giving him a hard time though. I always said that Carter would be a Chargers fan. : )
Just looking cute.
If you look really close, you can see Carter's first tooth. He has 12 now!
Mommy and Carter! I just love my little guy!

Here are the pics from Carter's baby blessing. We blessed him at home with family and a few friends. Carter looked adorable even though he cried throughout the blessing. Oh well, what are you gonna do? Babies cry.

Just looking cute again.
Playing guitar with Daddy. Carter loves it when Ryan plays the guitar (acoustic and electric). He loves music in general.
This is when he actually started crawling on his knees. He did the army crawl for so long. When he figured out how much faster he could go on his knees, he never went back.
Making a mess eating a cracker.
Carter's first halloween. He did really well wearing this considering that he couldn't crawl in it.
Carter starting to pull himself up on EVERYTHING.
The first signs that Carter is a climber. I put this box upside down on the middle of the floor just to see what he would do. The next thing I knew, he was on top of it. Now he climbs everything!
One of Carter's favorite pasttimes . . . hiding in Dad's clothes. He thinks it's his fort.

Ryan, Carter and I made a trip to San Diego to visit the fam and see my brother since he was back from Iraq. These are a couple of pictures from when we went to feed the ducks. Here is Carter with Grandma Valerie.
Carter and Mommy. Look at all the ducks behind us. There were a ton!
We took family pictures at the beach while we were in San Diego. Here is a handful . . .first up is Carter, Ryan and I.
Daddy and Carter.
Jay and Shawna.
The whole gang.
Sand...Tastes...Icky!

Back at home Carter discovered the toilet paper. We just let him go to town. It was really fun to watch him and he had a blast.
Carter eating a real meal. For the longest time Carter would only eat baby food and crackers/bread. He hated anything else that had texture. He really just liked his baby food. Well, he finally converted. He thought this chicken and brocccoli casserole was great!
One day Carter started making this funny face. It made me laugh so hard, I had to capture it on film. He will still do it to this day if you make the face at him. I have no idea where he picked it up.
Well, I think that brings him to one year old. New posts to come soon!

Carter Turns One!

2009-03-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

Carter is now officially one year old. I cannot believe how fast the time flies. Our little boy is getting so big. Actually, he is pretty tiny for a one year old, but I think he is just perfect! We had two birthday parties for Carter - one with family, and one with his play group friends. Unfortunately, Carter was teething really bad at his family birthday party. He was really grumpy! His playgroup party was a much better success. Below are pictures of Carter and his friends (except for Ryan - we missed you Ryan) enjoying their cupcakes.

Also, I guess I should address the fact the I haven't posted a blog for about eight months now. I promise I will try to do better!! I guess anything is an improvement from eight months between blogs though. : ) I am planning on posting a "Year in Review" blog next to catch everyone up on all the fun missed events, but right now I have a one year old demanding my undivided attention.

Yummy!

Hunter

Elley

Cohen

Just Being a Baby . . .And Growing Fast

2008-08-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

Doesn't this look comfy? : ) It's amazing the positions that Carter can fall asleep in. As you can tell in these pictures, Carter's hair is starting to fall out. Poor little guy. He was born with a perfectly cute fuzzy head which quickly turned to a perfectly cute bald head. The funny thing is that it all fell out on top first. So, for a little while, he looked like he had male pattern baldness. : ) Now, his hair is just barely starting to grow back in.

One of the gifts that we received was a baby carrier. Here is one of Carter's outings in the carrier. I walked him around the yard with the dogs. He wasn't quite old enough to notice the dogs yet though. Since he was too young to put sunscreen on, we pulled out the giant golf umbrella. That actually worked quite well.

Here's Carter just being cute . . .

With a new baby you have to get creative when trying to get house work done. I decided to put the carrier to good use again. I would just carry Carter around in his carrier while I did house work. Well, one time he got a bit tuckered out and just crashed in the carrier. I thought it was too cute.

Carter loves his Daddy.

He loves Grandma Chris too. Here are a couple of pictures from when Grandma Chris visited when Cousin Jordyn was born.

Naptime

2008-08-20T12:46:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I have definitely learned how to take advantage of naptime. We are lucky to have a cuddly little guy!

One Month Old

2008-08-18T17:12:00.000-07:00

Carter is just over one month old in these pictures. We were finally able to give him baths in water (not just sponge baths). He hated getting sponge baths because he would get so cold, but he absolutely loves baths in his little tub. I think that we enjoy watching him as much as he enjoys the bath! - Doesn't it look like he is waving hello?

Here are some pictures that I took just because. I think he looks at me like I'm crazy for putting him in all different positions and then snapping away. Oh well, he's bound to learn he has a crazy mom sooner or later. Carter definitely liked being on his back much better than his tummy. At one month he had already learned to turn over from his tummy to his back. He hated being on his tummy that much! I was trying to be a diligent Mommy by making sure that he got enough tummy time. He had other ideas. I think that the first time he rolled over it was an accident, but that was enough to teach him that it could be done again. From that point on, anytime I would put him on his tummy, he would just struggle until he would roll onto his back. Oh well, at least he was getting good exercise!

Here's how Carter had to sleep at night. The poor little guy had acid reflux and it wouldn't let him stay asleep. He slept much better when upright in his carrier. He slept in this carrier until he was a little over three months old.

Carter at Home

2008-08-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

In these pictures Carter is about three weeks old. Carter has been home for about one week. Ryan and I are getting things figured out as new parents . . . like not sleeping. And the new parent concern that your baby isn't breathing during the night was that much more heightened for us. So, Carter slept in our room so that we could easily observe him at night! However, our biggest concern was making sure that Carter would gain enough weight. As you can see, he is a little guy. Our worries went away with a little time. Carter started putting on the weight quickly.

Carter Comes Home!

2008-07-23T14:40:00.000-07:00

After eleven days in the NICU, Carter finally got to come home. That was the best day ever! We dressed him up in his blue puppy outfit from Grandma Bourland, loaded him into the then oversized carseat, and headed home. Ryan and I were so ready to have the "wireless" version of Carter. We gladly welcomed the sleepless nights, diaper changes, feedings, etc. We finally got to be Mommy and Daddy. Aunt Shannon, Cousin Jackson, and Cousin Blake were the first to visit. Both Blake and Jackson were very excited to get to hold their new cousin. Grandma and Grandpa Bourland were in Ashton, Idaho at the time. They literally drove through a blizzard to come and hold Carter. In fact, I don't think he was put down for the next two days while Grandma and Grandpa Bourland were here. Good thing Carter is a snuggler because we were all making up for the lost cuddle time.

Finally . . . we get to hold our baby!

2008-07-18T21:19:00.000-07:00

Carter was in the NICU for nearly a week before we actually got to hold him. It was so hard to wait that long but of course we didn't want to risk his health. Initially, the doctors were worried that he had an infection in his lungs. It turns out that he didn't. His lungs were just premature. Once he received the second sufactant dose things started to make a turn for the better right away. It was such a joy to finally hold our baby in our arms. We take full advantage of the fact that we can do that as much as we want now. Carter was in the NICU for a total of 11 days, which felt like forever to us. After Carter's breathing was doing well we had to wait to make sure that he was eating OK. Since he had so much stress just trying to breathe, the doctors waited to feed him so that his system wouldn't get over stressed. Once he was getting food, it was through a feeding tube. Eventually, he started getting a bottle and then we started to mix in breastfeeding as well. At some feedings he was breast, bottle, and tube fed just to make sure that he was getting enough. Before we could take him home he had to be able to get enough to eat without the feeding tube. To make sure that he could eat enough without the tube Ryan and I actually stayed overnight with Carter in one of the rooms in the NICU. It is kind of like a test night before you get to take your baby home. You are completely on your own but Carter was still hooked up to all the monitors so that his oxygen levels and breathing rate could still be watched before he was officially released. The day after our test night, we got to take Carter home. We passed . . . Yeah!

NICU

2008-07-18T20:56:00.000-07:00

Carter's arrival was definitely a surprise and quite the bumpy ride. I woke up Saturday morning around 7:30 am (three weeks before my due date) and just as I was rolling out of bed my water broke. Six hours later, Carter was here. I was told that first pregnancies usually go past the due date and the delivery lasts about 10-18 hours. That sure wasn't the case for me! I was only in the delivery room for about 30 minutes when Carter officially arrived. He weighed 6 lbs 5 oz and was 19 inches long. There wasn't enough time for an epidural but thank goodness I was able to have an intrathecal (sp?), which is pretty much a shorter lasting epidural. Thankfully, it lasted long enough. Overall, the delivery was the easy part. Little did we know that the hardest part was yet to come. I only got about 5 minutes with Carter before he was taken away because his breathing was very labored and hoarse sounding. It didn't take him long to end up in the NICU, where they placed a CPAP on him. A CPAP helps force oxygen into the lungs. Eventually, Carter required a couple doses of surfactant to help the air sacs in his lungs open more easily. They actually had to put a tube down his throat to do that. He was a little fighter, though. We were already so proud of our little guy.

Testing 1 2 3

2008-07-18T20:52:00.000-07:00

So, this is officially my first blog ever. I guess we will see how this goes. I really need to catch up on a lot of pictures, considering Carter is now four months old. I will try my best to update our blog and then stay current. However, I now understand how difficult it is to find extra time with a little one in the house!