Life at One Month

Excited about swinging!

Sweet face!

Carter is finally settling in and thankfully so are we. We’ve survived those first initial sleep-deprived nights. How we did it I don’t know! He’s finally sleeping 3-4 hours at a time and it seems to only be getting better. What amazes me most is how much I’ve learned in the last 5 weeks! Here are a few of the most important things I’ve learned so far…

Carter prefers Similac to Enfamil.

This was a hard won piece of information. After a week of a screaming baby who would no longer take a bottle, we switched back. The change was instantaneous. Carter was calmer and you could just tell he felt better. We thought he was just colic-y; turns out he was just hungry.

When changing a boy’s diaper, cover up! Otherwise, it’s like staring down the barrel of a loaded gun.

I learned this one the hard way…many times over. Wardrobe changes on everyone’s part have occurred and it probably won’t be the last time either.

A Boppy pillow is the greatest invention in the world.

I could have never dreamed that a pillow would be indispensable. I carry it around the house, from room to room, all day long. It’s the best to nurse and feed on. It’s great for Carter to nap on. The dogs even like it! (They think it’s theirs, we constantly have to shoo them off of it!)

A baby sleeping on your chest is possibly the BEST thing in the whole world.

I say possibly only because Carter hasn’t really smiled yet, or said, “I love you”, but those are probably the only things that could top a sweet baby’s weight asleep on you. I love it!

Every day just gets more and more fun. As he has started to interact more and play and make eye contact, I can feel myself dreading having to go back to work. I have missed my students and I really love my job, but I will definitely miss being home, taking in every minute of this little boy. I know he’ll be in good hands when I go back next week since he’ll be with Nanny (my mom). I’m really happy and relieved to know I’ll be leaving him with someone who loves him as much as I do!

The Arrival of Carter Quinn Wilson

Sorry we have both been so lacking in updates, but he has been here for about 2 weeks now:

It has been a whirlwind of late night feedings and learning how to make him happy, but we are starting to get the hang of this parenting thing. Carter decided that he would go ahead and come on the weekend, just like I wanted. Liz went into labor on January 13th around 7 PM or so. We had just finished up dinner at McAlister's and grabbed some frozen yogurt at Frazzleberry's when she had a contraction in the car. She decided to go ahead and get in the bath when we got home, as Braxton-Hicks contractions are supposed to subside when you get in the tub, but they didn't subside, they only got closer together. At about 10 PM, the contractions were about 4 minutes apart on a consistent basis. Now, the birthing classes that we took said you should come to the hospital when contractions were 5 minutes apart, but we were surprised to find out that when the contractions actually started coming at a regular frequency, we had bypassed 5 minutes apart altogether. We got to the hospital and they hooked Liz up to monitors to see if she was really in labor. I realized she was in labor when I had to start answering the nurse's questions for her.

I won't go into all the gory details, but I will say labor was very surreal and still doesn't seem like it happened entirely. After Liz got the epidural, she was in good spirits and the epidural helped her to relax and labor progressed more quickly. After a sleepless night, Carter came at 4:18 AM on January 14th. We got to experience the great new rooms and great standard of care at Northwest Texas Hospital (and no, that wasn't sarcasm). Liz's nurses and Carter's nurses were kind, helpful, and quick to respond. We got discharged from the hospital around midday on January 16th.

We were both kind of at a loss when we got home. Our two dachshunds have adapted well to the new member of the family, which has been a relief. We didn't really know what to do with ourselves or with Carter when we got home. Carter put us through some rigorous training and conditioning our first night home: another sleepless night. We've since not had a night that bad, but that first sleepless night meant that we didn't get sleep for 2 nights out of 4 from the night/morning that he was born through Monday night. I did come to a realization that night about how much I already love Carter. I was sitting in his room and rocking him as he screamed his throat raw. I felt a serenity that I still can't quite explain, knowing that everything was going to be alright and that I was glad that I could be there for my son when he needed me.

With the help of some people who know what they are doing, namely my mother-in-law and the lactation nurse at the hospital, we have figured out how to appease Carter for the most part.His cries are always a little different. He still seems to be sleeping for longer periods during the day, which means shorter amounts of time between interruptions at night, but at least he is sleeping at night, for the most part. I took off of work for the first week we were home. The week passed in a strange blur and the passage of time is really obscured and fuzzy for that week. It honestly seemed like I took two days off and then returned to work.

Returning to work was difficult. I miss Carter and Liz and think of them constantly while at work. I still have trouble leaving to come back to work from lunch on days when I get to eat lunch at home. Since returning to work though, life seems a little more normal and the passage of time has become less anomalous. This past weekend actually felt like a weekend, despite remaining at home and taking care of Carter all weekend. We actually watched a couple of movies and got out for a walk and for a quick trip so Liz could get some bloodwork done.

Liz was just commenting last night how it seems as if Carter has been with us and a part of us for much longer than the two weeks that he has been here. I must say that I agree. It is strange how quickly all of this happens. It is also a blessing to know that I am selfless and loving enough to be able to do this. I know there are times when I've had my doubts.

It's the Final Countdown . . .

We have been so busy, that I haven't had much time to blog, but rest assured, things are still going as planned. Carter decided that he didn't want to be the New Year's baby, which we were definitely okay with. Life has been a blur of buying those last few items he needs before he gets here, cleaning the house, making phone calls, preregistration at the hospital, weekly doctor appointments, washing baby clothes, and finishing up the nursery. The nursery is finally ready (minus hanging a few pictures and the like) due in large part to help from my in-laws, for whom I am thankful.

Liz noted in her last post that she is already progressing. It could really be any time. Any time she has a Braxton-Hicks contraction, I find myself looking at my watch as if to start timing contraction or looking at the floor to see if her water has broken, though I know that water breaking as it is usually depicted in movies and on TV is exceedingly rare. Regardless of all of the unknown things that are about to come my way, I am ready and excited for the challenge.

In my recent endeavors, I have come to the realization that child car seats are vastly complicated. There are about a million different ways to install them and most of them are incorrect. I have, however, read all the manuals to our vehicles and the seat itself, so I think I have it figured out. I am nonetheless going to get my installations checked by the Texas Department of Transportation or at the least, by someone at the hospital. I foresee myself being a vastly cautious parent, especially at first.

I must have made a million phone calls for all the stuff that has needed to be taken care of before he gets here, but by far the easiest phone call was one I made last week to the pediatrician that we finally decided on. I expected to have to set up a time to come by and fill out a bunch of paperwork, but no. All we have to do is tell the hospital and the OB who we are using and they will take care of everything. All the information they need, they will get afterwards. Talk about taking some pressure off and making life less stressful. I haven't even met the pediatrician yet, and I already like her for reducing my stress level.

We can't wait for Carter to get here and to share him with everyone. I am sure there will be many sleep-deprived, late-night blogs to follow.

This post was brought to you by GOB Bluth:

Thoughts on Entering 2012- Carter, Weight Loss, and Books

37.5 weeks- Carter will be here soon! At first the doctor thought he’d be here right around his due date. But after our last visit he expected me to be progressing and possibly delivering in the next week and half or so. That’s good news for me because my plan was to go back to school until I had him. It gives me a chance to get to know my new classes and students and to prepare them (and myself) for the substitutes. I am growing more uncomfortable by the day and am eager to meet my little boy. Shelby made fun of me last night for tearing up as we welcomed 2012. You don’t normally know what huge, exciting things life has in store for the upcoming year. But this year, even though I understand that I can in no way be completely prepared for what’s coming my way, I can’t help but already feeling like 2012 is blessed. It’s the year of my son’s birth and getting to witness all of his firsts. I just don’t know what could be better than that!!

I had two big resolutions in 2011. One was to lose weight; the other was to read at least 50 books. I know I had a few others but those were the big ones. And for the first time in my life I actually met my resolutions.

Weight Loss

I already talked a little bit about my weight loss journey in my first blog (http://www.lizshelbywilson.blogspot.com/2011/07/and-baby-makes-three.html) but I was really proud of myself for setting a goal and reaching it. I hadn’t hit my goal weight when I found out I was pregnant and obviously I wasn’t going to reach it in 2011. At my last doctor’s appointment I finally topped 200lbs., which I’m pretty sure I was at this time last year. While the additional weight hasn’t been comfortable, at least it wasn’t another 30 lbs. on top of what I already weighed. The plan now is to rejoin Weight Watchers and breastfeed to lose the baby weight after Carter’s arrival. I’ve missed exercising and look forward to heading back into the gym, but I’m not sure when that will happen. So in the meantime Carter and I will take walks around the block and I will scour Netflix for workout videos I can do at home. I’m so glad I got healthy before I got pregnant. I really think it helped make the pregnancy as uneventful and easy on me as possible. Plus, I still have the drive and desire to get healthy after this is over which is half the battle.

Books

I love to read and upon receiving my Kindle last Christmas, I set the goal to read 50 books in 2011.I downloaded several from Amazon and also found an online book club that allowed me to download lots of books. I also spent time at our public library checking out books during the summer. I asked several friends for recommendations and was pointed in the direction of goodreads.com. This is how I kept track of what I read and what I wanted to read. For time and space sake I won’t tell you every book but I thought I’d include some of my favorites from the year.

Non-fiction and Biography- I really wanted to read more non-fiction and biographies this year and I made some good progress on that front. Here are a few of my favorites.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption- Lauren Hillenbrand- This is the story of Louis Zamperini, a pilot and prisoner of war. It’s one of the most engaging exciting stories I’ve ever read. Could not stop reading it and would recommend it to anyone.

Lucky Man- Michael J. Fox- I have always loved Alex P. Keaton and really enjoyed MJF’s writing style. There are places that get political when discussing his Parkinson’s but I didn’t mind.

Kabul Beauty School- Deborah Rodriguez- Loved this view of the life of women in Afghanistan. Very engaging and interesting.

Blue Like Jazz- Donald Miller- I know, I know. I came to the party late on this one. Miller’s point of view allowed me to examine my own beliefs and really challenged me spiritually.

Other notable mentions- Me- Katherine Hepburn, Unbearable Lightness- Portia deRossi, and Lost Voices from the Titanic- Nick Barrat.

Fiction- Lots of YA on this list but still good reads!

Divergent series- Veronica Roth- Only the first book Divergent is out. Second book comes out in May. Set in dystopian Chicago, the community is divided into 5 factions-Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite- each with different strengths and beliefs. Tris, the main character, breaks from tradition and chooses a different faction than her family, which means she can never see them again. Moves fast and is interesting. Really great read, probably my favorite of the ones I read this summer.

The Mockingbirds- Daisy Whitney- After a student at Themis Academy is date raped, she can't rely on the school to take action. So she goes to the school's secret society that helps when students wrong their peers. This is also a series with the 2nd book out in February. It was good-held my attention, but didn't necessarily capture my imagination. Still planning on reading the second book.

Wither-Lauren DeStefano- Genetic mutations have caused women to begin dying at the age of 25. In order to prevent the extinction of humans, young girls are often kidnapped. After she's kidnapped, Rhine, is taken to a mansion and wed to a man with several other brides. This was a good read, quick and different. I liked the characters and was invested in what happens to them in the next book in the series, Fever (out in February).

Across the Universe- Beth Revis- Amy joins her family on a ship that is set to cross the universe in order to settle a colony 300 years in the future. Amy is prematurely unfrozen and discovers their mission is not as it seems. Really great book-great twist on the dystopian civilization since its set in space. The second book is out January 10, A Million Suns.

Delirium- Lauren Oliver- Love is seen as a disease that people must be inoculated against. Lena looks forward to her inoculation until she falls in love 95 days until her treatment. The consequences of her actions take her in a whole new direction. It's good and worth reading but similar to a lot of other stuff out there. The second book is out in March called Pandemonium.

Paper Town- John Green- This one is not in a series!! I liked the protagonist but ended up not loving the outcome of the plot. Definitely worth reading--has a similar feel in places to 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher.

The Forgotten Garden- Kate Morton- not a YA book but I loved how the story was constructed. It moves back and forth through different time periods but with a common thread running through the times. I loved it!

The Distant Hours- Kate Morton- Another really good read!!

Room- Emma Donoghue- I loved the voice of the narrator in this book. The story is told from the perspective of a 5 year old boy and the plot takes some unexpected twists and turns. I was so invested in the story I had to go online and find a plot synopsis because I had to go to bed but I had to know that the characters were going to be okay. Really great.

Agatha Christie- I really got into Agatha Christie this year and was able to pick up several copies of out of print books at our library book sales. My favorite so far has to be Murder on the Orient Express. It’s also spurred me on to find episodes of Poirot and Miss Marple on Netflix watch instantly. So clever and as good and twisted as anything anyone writes now. I picked up her autobiography at one of the book sales and plan to read it this year.

30 Weeks

30 weeks- Carter is a big boy. I’ve had a feeling that he might be a big baby but everyone kept telling me there was no reason to think that. Apparently, mother’s intuition has already kicked in. He is currently weighing (according to the doctor’s and sonogram’s technician estimates) around
3 lbs. and 13oz. Most babies at this point are in the 50th percentile for weight at 30 weeks; Carter is in the 62nd percentile. But, no need for concern since my glucose test came back great, so no gestational diabetes. He’s just a big baby. I guess we’ll see if that’s going to come into play later on! I was a little disappointed with our last sonogram since this was supposed to be the best opportunity to get good 3D images. Our sonogram tech was a little rushed and Carter’s was not cooperative. He was sleeping and the tech woke him up with an “alarm clock” that vibrated and made a noise on my stomach. She didn’t give me much warning and Carter about jumped out of his skin and so did I. After that, it didn’t seemed to matter how I was poked, prodded or rolled,
Carter rolled with me. He did not want to accommodate anybody who so rudely woke him up. I guess he gets that from me. We were able to see his face briefly and I was right—he has my nose! We also think he has Shelby’s feet. He has hair that we could see floating around on the sonogram. I think it’s going to be dark, Shelby thinks it’ll be light. Every though the sonogram wasn’t what I expected or hoped for, I was reminded that it’s a luxury that our parents didn’t have. I’m grateful that I even know it’s a healthy boy; much less that he has my nose.

Project Carter

Week 27- I have been remiss in posting about my pregnancy and all the feelings (and projects) that seem to come with it. Mostly because I have been so busy but also because I wasn’t sure what to write about. I’m afraid of becoming one of those people you see on Facebook who post every little thing they do or see or feel or eat.
Believe me, I feel like posting (or shouting from the roof top) every time I feel Carter move. But as he continues to get more active I would be posting every hour. Instead, I have opted to close my eyes and enjoy the feeling of this little person waking up or practicing his karate moves or keeping the beat to whatever song is going through his head. This week’s email from babycenter.com, says that his brain power is increasing and I find myself wondering what it exactly he’s thinking about. I mean is he pondering the meaning the life, having a quiet conversation with his maker, inventing an imaginary friend, or just thinking, “Warm, sleepy”? I’m convinced he’s going to come out knowing the finer details of public speaking and costume design, because that’s all he hears me talk about all day.
Being pregnant and teaching full-time has been a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. My high school play is coming up in two weeks and I find myself frustrated at the fact that I am not able to fully focus on it. Normally, the play would be all consuming of my time and energy and this year I just don’t have that to give. That’s not to say the show won’t be good or well done. The kids will be prepared and I know it will turn out perfectly, it always does. It’s just that
this year, I find myself able to let some things go. It’s okay if this costume doesn’t have the extra trim or details it would normally have—the kid has a costume, that’s what counts. For years my job, my students, my productions have been the major focus of my life.* Now, I feel that shifting. I still love my job, my students, my productions but that’s not my sole purpose any more. I’m
going to be somebody’s mom, Carter’s mom, and that job, which right now is taking care of myself so I can take of him, seems so much more important. Usually production time is stress time. I can’t get too stressed this year; it’s not good for me. So, I’m learning to let things go, to let good be good enough.
We’ve been busy getting Carter’s room ready for him. Shelby’s been working on sanding a dresser that belonged to my dad’s parents and refinishing it to match the crib. I took an encaustic painting workshop last weekend and made several pieces to put in Carter’s room.

A few weeks ago I stopped by Goodwill and found this hook that I thought might work for Carter's Baby Bjorn and anything else we might want to hang up. Originally it was a soccer ball with the name "Taylor" written on it with red paint. But I sanded it and repainted it and sealed it. It cost me $3. I really like how it turned out.

I also went to my first JBF (Just Between Friends) sale a few weeks ago. It’s a huge consignment sale where people bring their used baby stuff but a lot of it is new. I got Carter a stuffed Cookie Monster still in the box! I hope he likes it.
As a kid, I loved Cookie Monster. Actually I loved all the characters that lived on Sesame Street and the Muppets. As an adult, I often tell my students that my dream job (other than being on Broadway and teaching them, of course) would be to be a puppeteer on Sesame Street. I love everything about the world the Muppets have created and now further appreciate the fact that it will be children’s programming that won’t annoy me. My sister sent me a story today about a documentary about Kevin Clash, Elmo’s puppeteer, called Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey. I can’t wait to watch it! After watching the film’s trailer, I found another video on youtube that had me tearing up (granted that’s not too hard these days).

We took our maternity pictures yesterday and I can hardly stand the wait to see how they turned out. We took them in a theater built in the 1920’s so the architecture and design elements were
beautiful. I felt great and we did some pretty creative shots. I’ll be sure to post them when we get them!

*Of course my marriage is my main priority and that one that won't be shifting!

I Made This!

It's been long since an update. Things are still going great with Liz and Carter. Life has become hectic and shows no real signs of slowing down any time soon. There is so much to be done before Carter gets here, and it is getting done, just not as quickly as we want. We have registered for gifts (see the widget to the right), even though that was a little bit of an ordeal because Babies"R"Us lost our registry the first time we registered. I feel like now might be a good time to mention that we will be using reusable cloth diapers and are registered for them at Babies"R"Us. Granted, not the most fun gift to buy, but by far one that we will need. It is probably the most practical thing anyone can buy us. Just thought I would plug that particular item.

One of the things that I am most proud about is that I assembled Carter's crib. It is nice and solid. I couldn't help but think when I was done, "I made this." Since I am not so great at building things from scratch, I will have to take pride in the fact that I can follow directions and build a sturdy piece of furniture, as long as all the pieces are provided for me.

At night, I have been reading Charlotte's Web by E.B White to Carter, chapter at a time. It was one of my favorites as a kid. They say that he can hear quite well now. He seems to be most active at night, which might be because of the reading or it might just be that Carter is going to be a night owl just like us, which probably means that we are going have a very cranky house each morning.

Everything is continuing smoothly and normally. We have another doctor's appointment next week, so we will of course know more then.