Reed Baby Blog

I promise that we are better parents than we are bloggers.

We’ve been enjoying Carter so much that it’s been tough finding time to write. But now that I’m back at work, I should be able to find more time. It’s been a while since we posted, so let me tell you what’s been going on.

I went back to work part-time on January 12th, and it is wonderful because it lets me have my afternoons with Carter. Janie (Cory’s mom) is officially retired and is now employed as Carter’s nanny (or Jannie). She keeps him here at home, which saves us countless stress in the morning. He just goes downstairs in his pajamas when Cory goes down.

Carter had his two-month check-up on January 19th. He weighed in at 12 pounds, 11 ounces and measured 24 inches long. So far his height:weight ratio skews better than his parents. He also got a couple of shots, which made him scream. But since he has such a sweet disposition, he was laughing again by the time we left.

Speaking of laughter, there’s a lot more of it in our house now. Carter is full of smiles and laughs each morning and throughout much of the day. He’s trying really, really hard to laugh but so far has perfected nothing more than a dork laugh. Remember the inhaled laughs of the main characters on Revenge of the Nerds? That’s pretty close to what our little man does.

Carter recently spent his first day away from home. My parents kept him one day while I worked last week. They said he was a joy; full of smiles and laughter all morning long. However, he started getting fussy around noon and by 1:00 he had worked himself into a full-blown fit. They tried everything to calm him down and eventually resorted to taking off all of his clothes. Just as my Dad sat back down in the chair with him, he pooped. A lot. Everywhere. It got all over him, it got all over my dad, and it got all over the chair. That apparently did the trick. When Mom went to change him, he thought it was the funniest thing in the world.

Here are some pics of other moments we’ve enjoyed with him lately.

This was by far the best holiday ever! We did the usual holiday celebrations with family but there was an added bonus of knowing that we were exposing Carter to all of the love and support that Cory and I have been lucky enough to be given. Words don’t mean as much as pictures, so here’s a brief showing of what the holidays held for us.

Carter officially has a girlfriend. However, it may be more for our enjoyment than his at this point. Sara Marshall is the beautiful daughter of my college roommate, Shayna. She was born about 12 hours after Carter, which means that not only will they share an affinity for Texas Tech, they also share a birthday. Here are some pictures from their first date, which Sara enjoyed. Carter, however, found sleep more appealing than socialization!

Hello folks. Sorry I’ve been so slow about getting more pictures out. I’ve been busy running errands, changing diapers, getting peed on, etc. I’ve uploaded quite a few, 74 as a matter of fact, to a MobileMe gallery. Here are a few samples below:

I’m guest-posting tonight because it’s 10:30 and Lisa’s been asleep for about two hours now.  As of tomorrow, she will be 36 weeks along, and that means she’s reached the point where she’s pretty much exhausted and miserable all the time.  Carter underwent a growth spurt in the last few days and Lisa’s body just hasn’t quite been able to keep up.  From the beginning of the pregnancy, whenever Lisa would exert herself too much and agitate Carter, he would stick his butt (or fist or foot or whatever was handy) outward against Lisa’s belly.  He’s finding reason to do that most of the time now and it can be quite uncomfortable for her.



We went to the OB this morning and everything was fine.  Lisa’s blood pressure was good and Carter’s heart rate was 140.  Dr. Harris was pleased with her progress, though Lisa was secretly hoping he’d send her home on bed rest.  However, he thinks continuing to work will be good for her.  He said it would help to take her mind off of her discomfort.



Preparations for Carter’s arrival are underway.  We’ve started making our packing list and we think Carter’s room is pretty well set.  The furniture is assembled and most of his newborn clothes are washed.  Earlier this week, Mom’s friend Andi finished the  mural.  Check out the pictures below.  We couldn’t be happier.  Stayed tuned for more news. 







 

Sorry it’s been so long since my last post.  First, we’ve had some internet connection problems. Second, we’ve been incredibly busy for the last three weeks.  Each weekend since September 13, we’ve had a shower for Carter on Saturday and childbirth classes for Cory and me on Sundays.   I simply cannot believe how many people love us and are already spoiling Carter. Our first shower was hosted by some of Mom’s friends and the guests were mostly from her Sunday school class. It’s pretty amazing that anyone showed up, since Mom was the one that suggested that the class no longer throw showers for other members’ grandkids. However, not only did people show up, but they were incredibly generous. Carter received his bassinet and the portable stroller, as well as blankets and clothes galore. He will be one well-dressed baby. If you can mind the belly, click on the picture below to see more pics of the shower.

The second shower was here at our house and hosted by both grandmoms, my best friend Suzanne, Janie’s friend (and Cory’s “second” mom) Annette, and my sister-in-law Jennifer. Special kudos to Jennifer for this shower. She pulled off something spectacular and made this a very special day. It was a very diverse crowd, well at least in terms of how we knew all of the guests. A surprise visit by our old neighbors from McKinney also helped the crowd not seem so white and Republican. Brian and Anne were the best neighbors imaginable and it was a real treat to see them. We also got to see old friends from college, as well as friends of Janie’s that we have not seen since our wedding. Again, everyone gave Carter way more than they should have. He got his glider chair from my parents, his travel system from Janie and Dave, an exersaucer, a play gym, changing pad, more clothes and two hand-made blankets. This kid already needs his own storage room. Click on the tasty cake to see more pictures of this event.

The last shower was this last weekend, hosted by my friends from Our Children’s House at Baylor. This was by far the most elegant shower. It was held at the Chocolate Angel in Richardson. My friends from Baylor and Cory’s friends (or their wives) from Belo attended, as well as the grandmom’s and Carter’s Aunt Jennifer. This turned out to be the educational shower for a couple of reasons. First, the size of Carter’s library doubled or tripled with the amount of books he received. Second, each guest filled out a card with advice for me as a new mom. Of course, he got more adorable outfits, his bathtub, some toys, much needed diapers and lots of cute little shoes. Casey was kind enough to be a photographer and uploaded the pictures to a Kodak gallery. You might need to register (free) to view the pics.

Thanks again for everyone’s generosity. I’m slowly cranking out thank you cards, so you should get yours soon.

Cory and I had a busy Saturday last weekend, as we decided to paint Carter’s room.  Of course, the plan was to go to Home Depot first thing in the morning and get started early, but an after-breakfast nap took priority for me.  We ended up starting the actual painting about 6:00, but were comfortably finished and in bed by midnight.  We started with plain white walls and are pleased with the way the Oxford blue looks.  The furniture, which is being borrowed from Luke, also looks great against the blue.  The final product will come later, as a wonderful friend of Janie’s is going to be painting a mural along one of the walls.  Since the theme is frogs, I think the plan is to do some sort of pond mural on one wall and some additional lily pads along the others.  We can’t wait! 

I’m officially on the every two week schedule at the OB. However, things have been looking great. Carter is a little over 3 1/2 pounds and is measuring about a week and a half early. He is sooo active, enough so that I briefly had a thought about whether you could start your kid on Ritalin while still in the womb. Although, he tends to be shy when other people try to feel him moving. He’s great with Cory, but it took three attempts for my mom to feel him, and he has yet to cooperate with Janie. Mom says he’s stubborn like me, but I think he’s just shy.

We had a little bit of a scare yesterday afternoon, as I started having some cramping (perhaps contractions). I called the doctor and was told to drink lots of water, lay on my left side, take 2 Tylenol, time the cramps, and call back in an hour if they weren’t gone. After about 45 minutes of cramping every 2 minutes, they subsided. Once the cramping was gone, I was just sore…like someone had kicked me in the belly. Wonder who would have done that? We took it easy the rest of the day, and all is well this morning. Getting plenty of rest this weekend is probably a good thing, since the showers and childbirth classes will consume the next three weekends. I guess I really am going to have a baby!!!

Okay, so I broke down and bought a Mom-mobile.  It’s sporty, luxurious, and yet still a station wagon.  We had yet another good experience at Boardwalk Volkswagen and came away with a really cool Passat wagon. I have officially passed into the Mom-realm. 

We had our first appointment last Thursday with Dr. Harris, my old OB/GYN who will be delivering Carter when the time comes.  All looks well, and I am measuring about 23 cm, which is right on target for being 22 weeks.  I see him again in 4 weeks and get to do the wonderful glucose tolerance test, which requires me to drink that yucky stuff.  It’s in the fridge now, so just cross your fingers that no one (Dave) drinks it thinking it’s Gatorade! 

Cory and I had our ultrasound today to look at Lo’s anatomy.  We are happy to say that all looks well.  Four distinct chambers in the heart, neatly formed ventricles in the brain, 2 kidneys, and a normal looking bladder.  Oh, and boy parts!!!!  So, Carter Jackson Reed will be making his debut sometime in November.   I am very thankful that I couldn’t hold out on finding out what Lo was.  I just knew we were having a girl!  While the surprise would have been wonderful, I’m glad that I can now buy blue stuff with no wonder.

It’s been busy around here.  We got back from Rhode Island late Saturday, spent Sunday packing, and today had the ultrasound and sold the Jetta.  When we kept Luke as an infant, his car seat wouldn’t fit without having to pull the driver’s seat up so far that Cory couldn’t comfortably drive.  I guess it’s really time to move on to a “Mom” car.  We’re looking at station wagons – very nice, very cool, fuel efficient station wagons, but station wagons, none the less.  We only have five more days in Baltimore, so things will only get busier.

Below are some pictures of Carter: 

This is a shot of Carter’s boy parts, as if he were sitting on top of a photo copier.  The arrow points out the goods.  (I’m sure he won’t mind me sharing this photo when he’s 16!)

This one is a close up of a facial profile.  Notice how my little roly-poly has his foot up at his chin!

This one is “all” of Carter.  He had his hands up hiding his face most of the time during the sonogram, as he does in this picture.  Kinda looks like he’s sucking his thumb, but I think he’s just shy!

We’re already proud of our little guy, and Cory is already calling him C-man.  We can’t wait!  See you in Texas next week  

By the time we get moved to Texas, Lo will have travelled through 16 different states!!!   I (and Lo) have been able to enjoy a wonderful week in Maine, many day trips around Maryland, a week on the beach in Rhode Island, and then all the states we will pass through on the way back home to Texas.  Being on the East Coast has been great, since it puts us in such close proximity to many neat places.  One thing we will miss about Baltimore is how close it is to everything else.  Here is a picture that we took on Tuesday on Block Island, RI.  It was absolutely beautiful!