We are SOOOOO in trouble!

That's right folks...the days of being able to put Carrie in one place and come back 30 seconds later safe in the knowledge that she'll still be where you sat her down are OVER. We officially entered the crawling stage Saturday morning (around 9:30am for those interested!). We had a Christmas party at our house the previous evening, so our house was a bit, um, disheveled you could say on Saturday morning. Carrie woke up around 9 as usual, ate, and then we plopped down on the playmat to say good morning to all of our water friends on the playmat. Except she apparently had a different idea, one that included the shoes I happened to be wearing the night before. They were about 3 feet away from her, so she fell over on her side, rolled on her belly, and started pulling herself along the floor till she reached my shoes. WHAT?!?!

It was like she woke up that morning and said to herself "You know, just sitting is a bit boring. I think I'll try moving today!" The only indications we've had before this was when she'd get up on all fours and rock back and forth. She doesn't really crawl on all fours yet. It's more of an army crawl, really. She reminds me of a Marine, really. :) You set her down in the middle of a room (our living room, where the Christmas tree is for example). She takes note of all of her surroundings - the tree, the presents underneath, the wrapping paper to the side, the couch. She decides on a target - the presents. Then she does that flop over on her side, roll on the belly thing then makes a beeline for her target. The other day I was baking cookies and had to leave the room for about a minute to remove them from the oven. By the time I returned she was unwrapping bows on the gifts under the tree.

Yes, just when you think you have this parenting thing somewhat down and don't feel like a complete blundering idiot, the kid goes and changes the game on you...

Graduation

So we graduated to the "big" car seat this weekend. Normally you don't have to go to the bigger car seat until the kid is about 22 lbs (at least, that's the case with our infant seat), but Carrie HATES the infant seat. And I mean HATES. I think she just starts crying when I even think about taking her somewhere which means putting her in the infant seat. She's fine in it...for about 5 minutes. Then she starts whining a little, crying a little, and if the ride's not over in about 10 minutes, it's full-scale bawling. I can't say I blame her. She's all wadded up in there. Halfway lying down, no room to move, and strapped in the five-point harness (which is a great thing when Jerry's driving :) )

Since we have a ridiculous amount of traveling coming up for the holidays, we sprung for the Britax Boulevard seat. This thing will last till she's 65 pounds, or so the box says. Jerry brought it home from Atlanta this weekend (no Babies R Us in Gainesville, and we had almost $200 in credit there, so you better believe we got it in Atlanta). Sunday morning found him dragging out the base of the infant seat and installing the new monstrosity of a car seat. This thing is HUGE. It's still rear-facing like the infant seat, and will be till she's too big for it to be rear-facing. I'm not sure where her legs will go once she gets taller, but we'll worry with that later. Jerry got it all installed, and next came the big moment - we put her in her new car seat for the first time. We drove from our house around town to do a few errands, and never heard a mad peep out of her. She got a little fussy on the way home, but that was just because it was 2:30, and 3pm is usually naptime, so that was to be expected. But all in all the new car seat seems to be a success. The true test will be on Tuesday when we travel up to Atlanta for Thanksgiving. Everyone keep your fingers crossed for us!

I never thought I'd be so sentimental about switching to the bigger car seat. Sure, it's exciting that she (hopefully) won't be so unhappy in it. But I couldn't help but think while looking at her in her brand new "big girl" seat that all too soon she'll be all grown up and be off on her own adventures without Mommy and Daddy. Everyone tells you to enjoy babyhood while it lasts because they grow up so quickly, but you're never really prepared for just how quickly time passes...I think now I have a pretty good idea of what my dad meant when he said regardless of how old I got I'd always be his little girl. :)

Almost 7 months old!

I can't believe Carrie will be 7 months old next Monday! It's so hard to believe that much time has passed since we brought her home. A lot of things have been going on in the past couple of months since our last post...

• She can roll both ways now, no problems. In fact, she thinks it's her mission in life to roll. Everywhere. At any time. In the stroller, in the high chair, sitting on my lap, doesn't matter.


• At the 6 month check-up she weighed 15 lbs, 6 oz!


• We've started solid foods! Right around her 6 month birthday we tried bananas. They were a definite hit. Next came avocados, which were met with a lukewarm reception until I mixed them with some bananas. Yes, it sounds revolting but I had read that the banana-cado combo was a hit with many babies, and now it's her favorite. We've also tried sweet potatoes (yum), pears (HATES), and carrots (yum). She is most definitely Bailey's best friend now. If she's not slinging bits of food around, he can at least sniff at her hands and lick off any extra food off her fingers.


• She's really trying to crawl these days. She'll get up on all fours and rock back and forth, then collapse back on her belly. It's pretty entertaining!

We're gearing up for a big travel season coming up. We'll be visiting Atlanta for Thanksgiving, and I am SO happy about getting to go shopping on the day after Thanksgiving with Mom :) Then we'll be back up in Atlanta that first week in December for Jerry's week of classes. We're having the book club Christmas party at our house on 12/14, and will be heading to Savannah for Christmas on 12/21. Check back after that for pictures and stories about her first Christmas!

Roly poly

It's official...we have a roly poly kid now :) She has rolled over in the past, but it's been an accident of sorts. She'd roll over one way, then get this look on her face like "Wait a minute! What just happened here???" But starting yesterday (on my birthday, no less!), she decided it was the perfect time to start rolling over consistently, and did it about 5 or 6 times. No more putting her in the middle of the bed and running to the bathroom I suppose! She rolled over from her back to her front...we haven't quite mastered the other way around yet, but I'm sure once she does it'll be a whole new world for her & us...

4 month check up

We went for our four-month check up yesterday, and all is well! Carrie does have a touch of eczema, which is not fun, but it doesn't seem to be bothering her too much. She does have some pretty bad cradle cap from it, but the pediatrician gave us some stuff that should hopefully take care of it. No more sweet-smelling Johnson & Johnson lotion/bath soap for us either :( We have to use Aveeno products and then slather her with Aquaphor, which is a slimy lotion that is supposed to help treat the eczema and get it under control. Changing her diaper has a whole new dimension of difficulty now. Not only is she trying to wiggle away and roll around, but she's like a greased pig with that stuff on her!

Vital stats from this trip to the ped: 14lbs, 2 oz (YIKES!), 23.5 inches long. She's in the 75th percentile for weight and 25th percentile for height...ooops. We really do have a good eater on our hands :) We also got more vaccines yesterday which was more traumatic for me than Carrie. Oh she screamed alright, but I think I cried longer than she did!

We're attempting to get a family picture taken this weekend, so keep your fingers crossed. Last time we tried it took two hours, a bottle, and a walk around the mall and still we only ended up with spit-up all over me & Jerry. Wish us luck!

Getting bigger all the time!

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted, but things have been SO hectic!!! We spent July 4th with the Aponicks which was great. Amy's mom is one of the only people we've found that can get her to go to sleep without a bottle or me :)

After the 4th we went up to Okatie SC to visit Jerry's parents. They had a big party for everyone to come meet little Carrie when we got there, and everyone was excited to meet her. She had quite the big day and enjoyed meeting the Savannah group of folks. We spent the entire week up there, and Carrie had her very first trip to the beach! We played in the tide pools and ventured to the very edge of the ocean. I don't think she was too excited with the sand in her swimsuit, but we had a great time nonetheless!

The end of that week brought my annual Girls' Weekend. This year was a bit different for me, since I couldn't really spend the night since I have a nursing baby, but I did have the best of both worlds. I got to go over to the beach during the day to be with my girlfriends, (thanks go to Izzie & Jerry 4 for babysitting while I was out playing!) and come home to my baby at night. I have to admit it was a pretty sweet setup! Carrie got to meet all the girls on Sunday of Girls' Weekend so that was great. I can only hope she'll have a group of friends when she grows up like I have. We get together every year, and it's like we haven't been away from each other very long at all!

The next week after Okatie was VERY hard for me...it was the dreaded week of going back to work. I cannot begin to tell you how much I cried that first morning. It wasn't pretty at all. Thanks to Suzanne Elder who recommended to me that I bring my eye makeup with me! I shouldn't complain too much given that if I had to go back to work, I again have the best of both worlds. I work in the office Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, then at home on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It's the perfect set-up, and I am so grateful to the folks that I work with for agreeing to let me do it this way. I've been back at work for 3 weeks now, and all seems to be going well. Carrie LOVES Hayley, which is great and makes me feel a lot better about leaving her during the day.

We did have to go to our first "sick baby" appointment last week. Carrie was spitting up more than usual, and was getting some distance on it as well, much to Jerry's chagrin (he HATES the spit-up; would much rather have poopy diapers all day long than one episode of spit-up). Turns out she's a "happy refluxer" meaning she has a touch of acid reflux, but it's not bothering her too bad and we don't need to address it with medicine. That was great news. The doc did say we needed to space out her feedings a bit though...she had been eating every 1.5-2 hours while I was on leave, then sleeping through the night. In doing that, she managed to go from the 50th percentile at 2 months to the 75th percentile at 3 months :) She was 13 pounds, 2 ounces last week! So now we're managing to go about 2.5 hours in between feedings (unless she knows I'm within a 5 mile radius, then all bets are off and it's closer to 2 hours).

I'm sure there will be another update soon. She goes for her 4 month checkup and shots August 14th...till then, take care everyone!

8 Weeks Old Already!

Well, Miss Carrie is 8 weeks old tomorrow, and we just can't believe it! We had our 2 month check-up on Monday, which was accompanied by our first round of vaccinations. She got 3 shots - one in one leg, and two in the other. I worry about her getting all that medicine all at once - I think the shots covered about 7 or 8 different diseases - but I know it's better than her getting any of those diseases later on. She was obviously NOT happy at all about the shots, but stopped crying pretty quickly. Mommy, on the other hand, pretty much cried from the beginning of the visit (before the shots even came into the room), till she got out of the office. :) And she has to get shots at every visit between now and 18 months. Not fun.

She did get weighed...10 pounds, 7 ounces! We have ourselves a little porker, but that's good at this stage. She's in the 50% percentile for her weight, so that's good. She's also grown some in length. She's now 21 and 3/4 inches. We're already putting away clothes that she's grown out of. It seems impossible that she's grown out of clothes already...

We went back to Shands today to have an ultrasound done on her hips. This was due to the fact that the little stinker was breech when she was born (guess it was a good thing we were already planning a c-section!). I'm happy to report that all is fine, and we have no worries with her hips.

Carrie spent about 2.5 hours yesterday with our nanny. This is a nervewracking experience for me, but the best option at this point. Jerry and I really like her (Miss Haley); she'll be here Monday, Wednesday and Friday when I go back to work. Right now she's just coming over while I'm here to get familiar with Carrie and vice versa. We are planning on trying an actual date night next weekend...stay tuned to hear how it goes.

Other than that, we're just moving right along! I have 4.5 more weeks of leave left. Trying not to think about it right now :)

Lots of firsts!

Hi all,
Sorry it's been awhile since the last post...almost a month! It has been a very busy time in the Reeves' household. Carrie is growing like a little weed. We have not been back to the pediatrician to do an official weigh-in, but I've done my own little experiment. I've weighed myself then picked her up and got back on the scale. When I do that, it says I've added an extra ten pounds! Now, I doubt she's already at ten pounds (or heck, she could be the way she eats), but I'm sure she's at least at 8.5 by now. She's quite the chow-hound!

She's had her first real bath since her umbilical cord fell off. That was pretty exciting for all of us involved, especially Daddy since he got tinkled on during the process! We got it all on video for future reference, so there will be plenty of opportunities to embarass poor Carrie once she's of dating age (which won't be for another 30 or 40 years ;)

She's actually smiling for real now, which is SO amazing. Before when she grinned, it was just because the muscles in her face just happened to go into that position...now, she genuinely will look at you and be happy to see you (particularly if you look like Mommy or have a bottle in your hand) and give you the most amazing toothless grin that just takes your breath away. She also manages to do it during those early morning feedings as if to say "thanks, Mom!" It's truly very cool.

Carrie also seems to have taken to sleeping through the night. I'm afraid to say it too loud for fear of she'll remember she's a newborn and not supposed to do that yet...but truly, she'll go down for bed around 10:30 or 11 and sleep for 5.5-6 hours, get up to eat for an hour, then go back to sleep for another 2-3 hours. I won't lie; after the second time she did this I called the pediatrician to make sure this was okay. They told me to enjoy it while I can, because it probably won't last. Well, it's lasted for almost 2 weeks now, so everyone keep your fingers crossed! She has a bad day here and there, but honestly it's a million times better than 2-3 weeks ago!

Carrie was christened this weekend, which was a big affair. We had both sets of grandparents, both sets of godparents, and aunts & uncles here for the big day. It went off without a hitch, and despite my concerns that she was going to wail through the entire service, she seemed to really enjoy church. This was the first full service we were able to stay through, and she enjoys all of the music and people. There are so many things to look at in a church she can't be bothered with getting upset I suppose.

In the meantime, the Reeves family is just plugging along. It is really amazing to think we're our own little family of three now. Memorial Day was so much fun with just the three of us going to lunch, wandering around the mall, then coming home to just hang out. I think we're finally attempting something at a routine of what works for us, which was unthinkable 5 weeks ago. Of course, now that I've typed that, Carrie will get wind of it and change things up, just to make sure Mommy & Daddy are on their toes!

We have lots of pictures of her first month; if you haven't seen them just shoot me an email and I will send you the snapfish link. Birth announcements are forthcoming as well!

Carrie MUST be sneaking food at night...

We went to the pediatrician for our two week check up today. I was anxious to see how much weight she had gained since her last appointment on April 24th. When she was born, she was 6lbs, 11oz. When she left the hospital she was down to 6lbs, 5oz. That's normal for newborns, so I wasn't too worried about that. At her first appointment, she had gained 1 oz, so I was pretty excited about that. Then we went in for the appointment today...I swear this child must be sneaking into the kitchen at night to eat snacks or something, because today she weighs 7lbs, 8 oz! I'm glad to see that all those middle of the night feeding frenzies are leading to something positive and not just resulting in Mommy & Daddy being sleep-deprived.

She's also grown half an inch in length, and the pediatrician gave her a clean bill of health. She did get the first of her Hep B shots. I think Mommy cried more than Carrie did. We go back when she's two months old, so mid-June. Then she gets another round of shots, which won't be fun, but they are necessary!

Bailey loves his little sister

We were both pretty interested to see how Bailey would react to having this new little creature in the house that would occupy so much of our time and energy. He's been used to being the one and only child in our home for 4 years now, so we knew this would be a shock to his system. However, we could never have imagined how well he'd take to little Carrie! He's immune to her cries and doesn't mind them in the least (of course, it could be that he has her on "ignore" as well...not sure!) Whenever we take her into her room to change her diaper he always tags along and hangs out in there while we clean her up, then comes out again when we leave.

However, yesterday he did the coolest thing that showed us that he does care that she's around and he wants to know where she is at all times. While I was feeding her on the couch, Bailey all of a sudden realized he wasn't quite sure where Carrie was at that point in time. He stood up and went over to her bouncer seat and looked in...no baby. He cocked his head as if to say "Now, I know she hangs out in here - why isn't she in here now???" He then went to inspect the pack-n-play, since he can peek in the sides and see her there...still, no baby. Then he got frantic and came running over to me and put his head on the Boppy pillow and realized that she was there, safe and sound. He just sort of laid his head on the pillow, looked at her for a few seconds, and then satisfied that everyone was accounted for, went back to lay down and take a nap. Dogs are pretty cool animals :)

Carrie's Birthday and Homecoming

April 19th:

Today was a busy day for us. Kristy was scheduled for a C-section for 11am. Since we were scheduled we were third priority behind emergency and un-scheduled C-sections at Shands. Lady and Mr. Man (Ken and Carolyn) came to the hospital with us and helped hold the waiting room. Nate Jesse, our friend and neonatologist, came by to visit us while we were waiting for our turn! He was hoping to help out with the delivery but was unable to stay due to the delay. Mommy and Daddy hung out until 3:30pm which was when we were started through the process.

Kristy was taken to the OR for her spinal block and delivery. We were met by Dr. Jill Roscoe (Kristy's doctor) and the rest of the OR staff. We even had a few of Nate's colleagues join us, per Nate's request! Once Kristy was blocked and all set, Dr. Roscoe went to town and within 3-5 minutes Carolyn Isabella was born wet, cold, and screaming! Dad watched most of the procedure which was pretty amazing. Dad also videoed most of it as well! Carrie was passed to the warmer to be analyzed and weighed (6lbs and 11.2oz)! Afterwards, Dad went with baby to the nursery while Mom was stapled back together.

Mom and Carrie spent the next couple of hours recovering and having a few more tests. Meanwhile, Dad found the grandparents in the waiting room to begin the surprises!

Around 8:30pm we transitioned from recovery to the Shands mother/baby unit where we had our own room and Carrie was rolled in to spend the night. The grandparents left for the house and Mom, Dad, and Baby went to sleep tired and happy.

April 20th:

Today was a big day for all of us. We had lots of visitors: Grandparents; Amy Camire; Jen Ruland; Amy Aponick; Michelle Irwin and Beth Boe; Nancy Hughes; and finally Jen and Radley Ruland and Paul and Zabel Thur de Koos! Also we made numerous phone calls and emails to other friends and family. The rest of the day was filled with eating, sleeping, and of course diaper changes.

April 21st: Homecoming

Saturday morning we were given the green light to be able to go home. Both Kristy and Carrie were cleared we decided that the little bit of sleep we had been getting could be improved by sleeping at home. After lunch, we began the process and by 4:30pm we arrived at the front door! The car ride home was uneventful but we definitely looked cute in our little GT outfit! Lady will be staying with us until May 1st to help out. So far all is well with us and thanks to all for their thoughts, prayers, and gifts! We will keep you posted as new stories develop!