{wordless wednesday...church with zfamily}

{don't look too hard or you'll see that i had to edit this in PSE to get ONE photo of all three of us with our eyes open! LOL. i really need to work on my photoshop skills.)

{wordless wednesday...how big boys roll}

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5 months

"goose"--er...i mean, carter,

you are a grumpy 5 month old today! i think your mouth is bothering you but it's still a bit of a bummer for you to not be yourself on your month birthday (it especially shows in the outtakes of your 5 month photo session with mommy)! oh well, life will go on. :)
i started by calling you "goose" because i think you might think that your name is goose. i have to intentionally call you carter--goose comes out naturally. hopefully this won't having a lasting effect on your development...

you're growing and changing everyday and some of the cute little things you were doing the last week or so (like: loving to be on your tummy on your playmat playing with your monkey and star blanket, sucking on bare shoulders and playing with your tongue) you don't do as much. but no worries, mommy got pictures of most of those things! :)
{playing with your favorite toys}

{doing the weird tongue thing...}

{...with grandma h}
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you're currently...

...in size 2 diapers

...quite the thumbsucker{with grandma z}

...sleeping MUCH better (with the exception of last night where you woke up suddenly at 11pm and cried--not fussed--but CRIED for over an hour--probably a contributing factor to today's grumpiness). and just in the last day or so, you've started sleeping with your butt up in the air!

...this close to sizing up to 3-6 month clothes (you're probably ready now, but mommy's been a slacker and hasn't washed those clothes yet)

...have found your feet and if your mouth isn't occupied by a thumb or fist and there's no sock or footed sleeper in your way, there's a foot in there! (your grandma h used to have to keep socks on mommy's feet to keep them out of her mouth!)
...give a scrunched nose face that is sometimes followed by a smile{no smile in this case...this was more of a "get away with that camera"!}

...grab your toys, mommy's hair, glasses, necklaces, etc. with a death grip

...love it when mommy talks in her normal voice (i call it "serious talking") especially when she's talking to another adult that way

...do this super-sweet cuddle hold and sometimes rest your head on mommy or daddy's shoulder, whichever one of us is carrying you :)

...sit SO WELL assisted...not so much unassisted--you last about 1.5 seconds before toppling over and are JUST starting to sit and play in your bumbo!

...L.O.V.E. to stand up! i'm not sure that it's a recent development because you seem to have loved it forever, but i thought i'd mention it again________________

other 5 month favorites...
{with your very special quilt blanket hand sewn from your great grandma mikita!}
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{wordless wednesday...in a REAL tub}

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on slow weight gain...

when we went to your 4 month appointment on august 31st, your pediatrician was concerned about your slow weight gain. he made an appointment for the next week (september 7th) and instructed me to supplement each feeding with 1-1.5 oz of formula--not breastmilk because he thought i might be producing "skim" milk (which is a load of poo).

a week later, we went back and you'd gained 10oz in 8 days! the pediatrician was happy, but said you were still underweight for your age, even though you had the flu and diarrhea for 10 days. he told mommy to continue supplementing your nursing sessions and to come back in one month (october 7th).

mommy's a little crazy from time to time and before all of this started, mommy was concerned about you. she bought a baby scale online and was weighing you everyday before we even went to the doctor for your four month check. mommy continued to weigh you daily after your one week followup. she noticed that you were losing weight (went from 12lbs 3 oz to 12lbs 1.5oz) and weren't interested in visiting o'boobigans anymore. during a feeding session, as soon as i would show you the bottle, your mouth would open up WIDE. mommy called ellen, a lactation consultant, and she paid us a visit last friday morning.

mommy learned from ellen that both you and mommy were doing LOTS of things wrong during our nursing sessions. ellen tried to help you latch on properly but you got SO UPSET--you held your breath and vomitted. you cried. mommy cried. it was sad.

mommy decided that it wasn't all that important to her whether you got breastmilk from the breast or from a bottle, just as long as you got breastmilk. ellen was very supportive and kept saying that we could correct everything, but mommy didn't want to put herself (and you) through that again. ellen calculated how much you should weigh and how many ounces you should be drinking in 24 hours.

at 21 weeks (last friday), you should've weighed 13lbs at the absolute minimum; you weighed 12lbs 1oz. but no worries...as of today, you weigh 12 lbs 9.5 oz (on mommy's scale)! you've been putting on about 2 oz per day! it's difficult getting in your 30-36 oz in eight feedings in 16 hours, but we're doing it! AND mommy's pumping eight times each day to get as much breastmilk for you as possible! hopefully you'll weigh a wompin' 15 lbs for your appointment on october 7th...that would put you where you should be for 6 months! mommy's keeping her fingers crossed! : )

{wordless wednesday...the "red light" look and after the flash}

{wordless wednesday...mommy's [iphone] wallpaper}