Yucky

He hates green beans. Can't say I blame him, although the peas smell even worse and he gobbles those up. Disgusting. Not the baby, the peas!

Smiling (sort of) because it's over

My pumpkin

Ah, the pumpkin patch! The fall tradition of most families with small children (and big kids that just love Fall, right Stacy?). So we took Carter to check out the pumpkins with Nana and Poppy. He was definitely interested in the big pumpkins. See him standing all by himself with a big one?

Since he was not hungry or tired he was in a great mood and we even had fun afterwards out for a nice lunch. The weather was quite comfortable...very low humidity and a good breeze. Isn't our little pumpkin cute!

Boys

Is this a boy thing or what?! Carter is already pulling everything down around himself. This play gym was knocked over with his legs and pulled the rest of the way down with his hands. He had so much fun in his little "fort," as Trey called it. He also tries to pull his crib bumper down over him. Guess he still likes the feeling of being enclosed in a small space.

Food, glorious food!

Carter had started solids in the last few weeks. We now know for sure that he is our child since he LOVES to eat! Anything that he has tried, he has gobbled it up...we can't feed him fast enough. Not sure if it's the food he loves, or just having the spoon in his mouth.

The first bites of rice cereal were met with skepticism, as you can see from the photo. But I did learn that he does not want his food runny...and really, who does? So the consistency is important to him. Actually, I am exactly the same!

Carter's menu currently includes rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and peas (stinky!). Next up are squash and either applesauce or pears. The poops are getting very interesting, folks.

What foods did your little ones start out with? Was there anything they did or did not especially like? Can't wait to see where little Carter's adventurous appetite takes us!

Sleep School

School is in session at our house...sleep school that is. I had the idea that mommy would be the teacher and baby would be the student. It's a rookie mistake, right?


I tried for a week and a half to get Carter to sleep 10 hours at night without waking and take 2 naps during the day, lasting 1.5-2 hours each. We were both pretty miserable and exhausted during those days and nights! Plus he came down with a cold, which just made everything harder for the little guy to deal with. And lots more crying for me to deal with. It got to the point where I would feel sick to my stomach as naptime approached. Not good!


So yesterday, I just gave up. Really, I said a prayer (OK, many prayers) and gave it over to God. And wouldn't you know things have been so relaxed around our house. Carter even slept for about 11.5 hours last night without making a sound!! (I slept for almost 7 hours without waking up myself.) Now he is an hour into his first nap of the day without waking. Can you tell I am one relieved mama? I am good student and I have learned my lesson.



Here is a happy baby after a full night's sleep...

Our litle fish

Whether it's bathtime or we're in the pool, Carter loves the water! Trey took him under for the first time this weekend. I was too scared to help, so I thought I would take a little video to commemorate the moment no matter how it turned out. Watch out Michael Phelps...here comes Carter Barnes!

PS Thank you to everyone who gave me day care tips...keep 'em coming.

Big Week

This has been a big, busy week for little Carter.

Sunday - swimming and dinner at the Jackson's with the Germanas and Jill

Monday - Carter is 5 months old today! (He would not sit still for a good photo, so you get the 2 above from that day.) Met Dale's sister and dinner at Grammy and Poppa's. We stayed too late.

Tuesday - visiting some freinds in the Rec Center at 1st Pres (church) and checking out the nursery situation for Mommy's Bible Study

Wednesday - Spent a cranky day at home, Mommy went to join the Y in the evening!

Thursday - Carter's very first day in a daycare-type place. He has never been with a sitter other than family or with other kids. Mommy was nervous, but Carter did great! The ladies in the nursery loved him...said he was very sweet and so cute sucking his thumb.

Friday- We'll meet Kirsten, Matthew, Carole, and Paige for coffee and a walk on Park Ave. Then see Shea for a little bit afterwards.

Whoa, I really packed this week with lots of activity!

Wanted to comment about the nursery at the Church and get some feedback from my mommy friends...

What do I really need to take for Carter? I took 2 of his favorite toys, but when I went to pick him up, another kid was carrying one of them around and they had to find the 2nd toy. Now I feel like I need to boil them before giving them back to my baby! He doesn't really need his own toys there, right? Also, I was a little concerned that I saw one child hitting another (not Carter) and nobody seemed to notice or do anything about it even though the one getting hit was crying. Should I say something or ask about it? There were 2 care-givers in the room with 2 babies and 2 toddlers - all 16 mos or younger.

Please post a comment or send me an email about your childcare experiences, what I need to pack in Carter's bag, and what to do when I see something I'm concerned about. Thanks - R

Too busy to blog

I guess I'm not really a very good blogger...like you hadn't noticed! I am not actually too busy, blogging isjust not that high on the prioroty list these days. When Carter naps or is playing by himself here are the things I usually choose over blogging:

Washing bottles and pump parts
Taking a shower
Eating
Cathching up on shows I've DVR'd (I would need a week or two without a baby to catch up completely)
Making phone calls - lately it's been to our health insurance...I'm still trying to figure out the bills from March/April when Carter was born, UGH!
Checking and replying to email

My goal was to post once a week. So I'm going to set aside one day a week that I will post something even if it's "I don't have time to write anything good today." Hopefully that will get me in the habit and I will start to get more regular for all you blog watchers!

Soy cheese sucks

I love cheese! But I love Carter more, so I am not eating any cow's milk products while I'm breastfeeding since this seems to be a source of his irritability and poop issues (see previous poop post). Poor little guy! And I must say, poor me ,too.

It is tough...the sweet joy I got from eating whatever I wanted is gone. I have not yet found a way to replace it, to be honest. So I was really excited when a friend told me about almond milk and soy milk products.

I have been using soy milk on my cereal for a few years, but I had no idea the wide array of non-dairy dairy products that are made from alternative milks. "How cool!" I thought as I strolled the aisles of Whole Foods a few weeks ago. I couldn't wait to get home and start nibbling on some yummy jalapeno almond milk cheese and soy ice cream.

So the good news is that Carter is doing much better since I stopped eating dairy. Here's the bad news...both the soy cheese and the almond milk cheese are horrible. Just disgusting. The texture, the flavor, the melt-ability...it's not like real cheese AT ALL! The soy ice cream was not bad, but the Rice Dream non-dairy frozen dessert was no treat. People rave about that Rice Dream and it is no good, I tell you!

I think the source of my disappointment is that I am expecting these products to be as good as the real thing. My neighbor is a vegetarian. NOT a vegan, because she loves cheese to much. Believe me, I understand her not wanting to give up cheese. She says after a while of not eating the real thing, you start to think that the substitute tastes exactly like the real thing. I find that hard to believe I'll let you know in a few months.

PS - The yogurt made with coconut milk is awesome! You have to try it...it's called So Delicious...and it actually lives up to it's name.

Poop Stories

Talk to a new parent and you're going to hear something about their baby's poop. It's a guarantee folks, since poop is one of the few ways we have of knowing what is actually going on with that cute little screamer. So here's my poop story...

Carter had diarrhea last month and it wasn't going away. He also had a rash, but I was more concerned about, yes you guessed it, the poop. His doctor suspects a sensitivity to cow's milk proteins in my breastmilk, tells me to stop eating dairy (WHAT?!? No cheese?!? More on that in another post.) and asks me to bring in a stool sample. I don't know that I was thinking much about the poop anymore since now I had a bigger problem...no more cheese, ice cream, milk, sour cream, yogurt, etc. So it didn't hit me until I got home.

How the heck do you collect a stool specimen from your 3 month old who has diarrhea?!? I called back to ask the nurse and she said to line his diaper with plastic wrap. That sounds easy, right? Ohhh ho ho my friend. After two attempts with pee and loose poopy all over Carter, myself, the boppy, and the bouncy seat, I cried. All the liquid just shoots right out the sides and up the back of a diaper lined with plastic wrap. It's not pretty. After I finished crying, I made a few calls.

I could not believe that none of the friends I called had ever had to do this! But we all agreed that it is completely insane to ask a new mother to do such a thing, it's probably totally impossible anyway, and that nurse must be smoking crack to suggest such a crazy thing.

Trey and I worked on many different ideas about how to collect this sample and get it to the doctor...we're trying to be good parents and if the Dr wants this specimen we have to get it for him. We did manage to get a very small amount of poo in a specimen cup and off it went to the doctor's office. When I dropped it off the nice nurse said, "Well at least you'll know how to do it next time." "Oh no, I will NOT have to do this again," I thought.

Guess what I'm doing this weekend?!?

Happy Birthday Adrian!

Our friend and neighbor Adrian turned 1 year old at the end of June. His mom, Wren, planned a fun pirate party for all his friends. As you can see, Trey and Carter jumped right in with the theme. It was a great day at their beach condo and we enjoyed watching Adrian smash his cake!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. And especially to Trey on his 1st Father's Day...you're a great Daddy and Carter and I love and appreciate you! The 3 of us had a nice breakfast out together. Then we went to see Trey's Dad and spent the afternoon at Nancy and Dale's. Carter's first dip in the pool went well...he only cried when we took him out!

It's a rough life

Carter thinks it's tough being a baby. I say it's harder to be a parent! He had his first round of immunzations this week...5 shots on one day! I (Robyn) was dreading it, but he was really good. He held his breath for about 10 seconds, screamed for about 10 seconds, and then fell asleep. He only woke up to eat for the rest of the day and even had a good night. The whole experience was probably more traumatic for Trey and me than it was for Carter!

New blog!

Welcome to the Barnes Family Blog! We wanted to set up a place where our family and friends can check in for updates on what we have been up to. And, of course, to see the most recent photos of Carter. I'm still figuring our all this blog stuff, so please be patient and feel free to give me some feedback.