I think he missed me!

Today I had Carter sitting in a bouncy seat and Eli was playing with him while I went outside to check the mail and bring the trash can back up the lane. Eli was soo cute just sitting there talking to him and playing with him and giving him kisses, for the longest time really, I was adoring the moment. I came back inside and Eli was still doing all this. A few minutes later he got up to go potty and while he was in there, Carter had begun to cry because he was getting tired. But when Eli came back he said, "Aw, I think he missed me!" How sweet is that! They're going to be such good buddies!

Our firstborn.

who makes me laugh....

and tells me on an ordinary day that "today is a special day!" and so we make it be, with something simple like strawberry milk.

who reminds me that I too need to be kind.

and who tells me most days, "I just love you, mom."

And I love you too, sweet boy.

2 weeks old!

I meant to post this yesterday, but it was a busy day, busy week really! Carter went in for his 2-week check-up (due date yesterday!), and he's a growing, healthy boy weighing in at 7 lbs 14.75oz. He was 7 lbs 7.5 oz last Friday, so he's gaining 1-2 oz a day, which is perfect! He's got a goopy eye, and often coughs horribly after eating and we're still waiting for the cord stump to fall off, but the doctor assured us that all were fine, and he doesn't need to be seen again until 2 months. What a blessing!

Carter still sleeps most of the day. Some days it's literally all day and other days he'll have some good alert time. He's still just doing OK at night. Rough nights, like last night, are when I just can't get him to lay back down after a feeding. I'll feed him, he doesn't eat full feeding and is back asleep and appearing full, I'll sit up holding him for quite awhile allowing his tummy to settle before laying him down so he hopefully won't cough so much, then when I do lay him in his bed, he waits a couple minutes, and just as Mommy is laying back down, getting snuggled in bed, he stirs and wakes up again, deciding he's not done eating after all. I get him up, feed him more, and start over. This time I'm not up for just sitting there holding him and lay him down right away. Again, he waits just a minute until I'm laying back down and then stirs and wakes again. This time he's just not liking his bed and is fine when I just hold him. I hold him, pat his back, and wait a few minutes, probably doze a little, then try again to lay him down. This time I move his bedding to the middle of our bed and put him next to me. Again, he doesn't like it, and I pick him back up, hold him longer this time, and try again. Finally he lays down and stays asleep. By this point it's been just over 2 hours since the start of that whole feeding, which was the second of the night. Only one hour left to sleep until I hear, "Mommy, I'm awake!" coming from the next room. *sigh* And this is life now....

I can't complain though. I'd much rather the up and down business in the night where I can halfway doze, than inconsolable crying. So I'm thankful. We just get through the days we're super tired and enjoy the days we're not!

Special Delivery: Handle with care.

Had a little photo shoot with Carter this afternoon...

I love love these last two!

I think they love him.

What do you think?

Finally seeing more of this

Carter's eyes open! As his bilirubin levels continue to drop he's been having some good alert times. Well, more than before anyway. Maybe two or three times a day he'll just be awake and looking around for 30-45 minutes or so. And with him perched by the window all day long it's great lighting to take pictures likes these. I'm a bit obsessed now that I have a baby that's STILL enough to be easily photographed! =) So enjoy!

He's such a sweet cuddle bug. Have I mentioned lately how much I love him? =)

The nurse just came again this morning to draw his blood, so this afternoon we'll find out what his levels are and maybe MAYBE we can take the machine off?!? Monday it was 15, Tuesday it was 15 again, yesterday was 13.2, so we'll see what it is today. We sure are getting anxious to not be fumbling with his machine cord anymore! To hold him without the big thing wrapped around his belly. For him to not just only wear his few outfits that have snaps down the front where the machine can poke out. And for him to not be confined to the couch all day long. But still I am thankful that he's able to get better, and we've been able to get care right here at home instead of dealing with the hospital! What a blessing!

UPDATE: Carter's levels came back as 11.5 or something like that, so we were given the go-ahead to take off the machine! This was just before afternoon nap, so now he's wearing a ONESIE and we just had a nice snuggly nap in bed! Praise God!

Fearfully and wonderfully made.

I hope you're keeping up with all the posts because I'm a bit obsessed about photographing beauty as wonderful as this! =)

In one week

...this...sweet boy

...has totally

...captured

...my heart.

Photo comparison

Eli when he was a newborn

Eli againCarter

See the similarities?

And then there was Hannah
What do you think?

Mellow Yellow.

Yesterday morning we took Carter in for a little checkup and the doctor thought he might be a little bit jaundiced. So we went to the hospital lab to get the test done, and sure enough his bilirubin level was a little high, at 15, and normal is 10. A home nurse was then scheduled to come by our house and set us up with a light machine to help his levels go down. It turned out that my friend Laura from church and MOPS was our nurse, so that was a fun surprise!

the light wrap is under Carter's clothes. it looks like he has an umbilical cord again =)

first trying it out

the light pad just wraps around his belly. he wears it all day, so it's nice that we can still hold him and feed him and change him with it still on.

there's a little baby in there! sleeping on the couch...all. day. long.and it doesn't bother him one bit.

It's mostly just a burden at night because he has to sleep in his own bed, unswaddled, instead of cozied up in bed with us, which for some reason he prefers even though he sleeps any how any way all day long. Still trying to figure that one out and hoping tonight goes much better! A home nurse came to draw his blood, and his bilirubin level is still 15, so he'll be on the machine still until Thursday at least, and then we'll check him again.

Carter has been such a trooper about all this! The hardest part has been getting him to wake up enough to eat, but after he's better he should be a little more alert, so I'm looking forward to that. In the meantime, we'll remember that this too shall pass...

Meeting the family!

My mom was on call to come as soon as we knew we were in labor. We had temporary childcare set up for until she could get here. Since we went to the hospital during the night we had someone come out to the house to stay with the kids, and then my mom came first thing in the morning, stopping by the hospital on the way to meet the little guy.

Dad couldn't come with her just yet because he was preparing for the big annual meeting at church, but he did surprise us by coming down in the evening just for a quick hello. That was so nice of him! We love being close enough he could do that!

Saturday we had plans to go meet Kevin's family for his mom's birthday dinner in Omaha. Since we just had a baby and all though, we had to pass, and instead they came don to us for an afternoon visit! I'd say some baby snuggles make for a pretty good birthday present!

does Nannie look happy or what?

Can't wait for Carter to meet the rest of the family! He sure is one loved little boy!

Our three munchkins.

The kids adore baby Carter and are so sweet with him! They give him hugs and kisses and gentle pats and then when he's sleeping (which is almost ALL of the time!) the kids carry on with their normal playing/fighting. When Carter cries or makes any little noise at all, Hannah says, "Oh no! Baby crying..." And Eli's cute to guess what the baby might need... "Maybe he's hungry!" They're great little helpers and will help get things out for diaper changes, and they're right there to watch what's going on.

Hannah's grown up over night, as she now feels like she weighs a hundred pounds in comparison to a newborn. And to see her fill the shoes of Big Sister so well brings great joy to my heart. It's amazing how perspective can change just in one single moment of life.

We're loving our new little family! Everyone seems to be adjusting very well so far. And to think, this is just the beginning of a new chapter...

family of five now!

proud big sister

out of focus, but I still love the story it tells.

bringing baby home

checking him out

sweet snuggles

"baby cute!"I LOVE this one!

tiny fingers!

I love that this is a glimpse of all that will be in the future. Big brother leading the other two!