four weeks.

I know I've already said it... but time flies when you have a baby. Carter is already 4 weeks old! He hasn't changed much other than gaining a few ounces and having his eyes open more often, but I find more to love about him every day. I can't get enough of this whole Mommy gig, I don't think I believed my Mom and sister when they said you can't love anyone as much as you love your baby... but it's so true. I could cry just thinking about him. He is such a blessing!

shopping and opinions.

So I don't know if you've noticed, but my posts haven't been formatted how they were originally... for some reason blogger decided to not let me change the font size, center my paragraphs, or do pretty much anything interesting with my blog. Go figure all I had to do was click the "Compose" button and every thing's back to normal after months of pretty much no formatting.

Anyways...(now that I've ranted) I'll get to what I wanted to talk about. :)

I have made a few purchases lately that I'm pretty excited about, a few of which I need opinions about!

First, these super cute Steve Madden wedges!* Earlier this month I was reading a Cosmo and saw an article all about some super cute tan strappy wedges that Jennifer Aniston wears all the time! I loved how they looked on her, and loved how casually she wore them. I figured it was about time that I embrace my height and make myself a skyscraper at 6' 1 1/2" with these babies. I wear lots of neutrals so this goes perfectly with most of my clothes, although I do want some slouchy boyfriend jeans to wear them with.

Second, the Fossil Grayson crossbody. I. Love. It. I've been wearing a tiny little crossbody that falls at an awkward spot on my hip and isn't big enough to hold my wallet and phone(kind of a sad excuse for a purse...), so I needed an upgrade. I found this and it works perfectly for what I need to carry(plus a couple diapers for Carter), aaaaand it's super cute. :)

Last, a skirt similar to this! OK, so this is the one I need advice on. What do I wear it with?! It can be worn high wasted or as a longer skirt. It's jersey-ish fabric and is super comfy, so I feel like I should be able to dress it down, but I can't figure out what goes well. A colorful v-neck? Or should I tuck in a flowy white tank? Or is there something else that I'm not thinking of?

Ideas please! :)

Well that's about it! Other than that, be expecting Carter updates soon! He's almost a month already!

*Those are not my feet... I desperately need a pedicure.

update.

WOW.

I cannot believe that Carter is already 3 weeks old! I feel like just yesterday I was in the hospital super pregnant and waiting for him to arrive. I'm still so thrilled to have him here, although I do miss some of the perks of not having a baby... like being able to go outside in the heat(it's been KILLER lately) without having to worry about anyone but myself-babies overheat SO FAST!!

I've been really lucky as far as getting back to pre-pregnancy weight... or at least pre-pregnancy body(I haven't stepped on a scale yet). My stomach flattened out pretty quickly-although it still feels like a bunch of loose skin. I'll have to do some work before I get back in shape like I was, and I have three more weeks until I'm technically allowed to work out! But I plan on taking full advantage of my Y membership once the time comes!

Other than that not much to report! Carter's a healthy, sweet boy, and I can't wait to watch him grow more!

*sigh*

I never realized how rare it is to have two hands when you have a baby. So I'm taking this opportunity while Carter is napping to fill y'all in on my birthing experience! I'll try to keep it short!! :)

June 29th:

Jack flew in town, and I started feeling contractions. I walked thirty minutes on the treadmill, and later made myself a smoothie with a tablespoon of Castor Oil to try and induce labor.

June 30th:

I woke up at about 4 am because I was having some intense abdominal pain. I told my Mom, and we decided to get ready and head over to my grandma's house(where Jack was staying) to start timing contractions. They started getting less intense and less regular, so I took some more Castor OIl to try to boost them up again. Lots of family had come over because we were all excited about my early morning contraction pain, so we decided to go swimming and then have dinner. The contractions started kicking in again halfway through swimming, so we went back to my grandma's and started timing my contractions again while we ate dinner. They were consistent enough that we decided that we were going to head to the hospital after dinner.

When we got there they hooked me up to machines to monitor contractions and babies heart rate and found out that I was 3 centimeters dilated. Then, a couple minutes after I checked in my water broke! So things started happening very quickly from there. We got into our room, I got my epidural, and a few hours later I was 9 centimeters!

July 1st:

After that things started getting kind of scary. I was in a lot of pain, because once the baby drops into the birth canal the epidural is less effective. Also, Ping-Pong's heart rate kept on dropping as delivery approached. At one point they had me on my hands and knees with an oxygen mask trying to regulate it! My Mom was in the corner of the room praying because she was so worried!

Next thing I knew I was pushing, and they had me in some weird positions! First I was on one side pushing... then they flipped me over and tried the other way... and then they had me on my back! After probably 30 minutes of pushing my doctor told me that every time I pushed, the baby's heart rate was dropping. So they decided to do an assisted birth using forceps, and if that didn't work they were going to rush me in for a C-section. Luckily, after one contraction and the assistance of forceps, Carter Richard came out! He arrived at 2:51 am, was 19 inches long and weighed 7 pounds 13.8 ounces.

I can't believe how tired I was after the delivery. I felt like I had been hit by a freight train, and I'm pretty sure Jack and my Mom were as mentally tired as I was physically. It was so worth it though. I am already so in love with this little boy. He is such a blessing and a joy. I'm so excited to watch him grow and help him along the way, and I am so excited to keep you all updated as he grows and develops.


Skin Time with Daddy


Me and Carter sleeping

Carter Richard.

Carter Richard arrived Friday July 1, 2011 at 2:51 am. He weighed 7 pounds 13.8 ounces, and was 19 inches long.

We are so thrilled that he's here and that he arrived right on time!

I have lots to say, but I have a crying baby that needs some love from Momma. I'll fill you in on more details later!