We like Carrots!

We have started baby food and Carter seems to really be loving it! I have decided to make most of his baby food, and it has been quite an experience. It really is a lot of work, but it is fun and you feel like you have really accomplished something. Plus you save lots of $$ in the process. I borrowed this book from my friend Rebecca, and it explains the basics to making your own baby food.
I went to the store yesterday and bought a bag of carrots (the kind with stems still attached) and 4 apples. Basically the steps are as follows:

-Rinse Veggie or Fruit
-Peel
-Cut
-Steam until soft
-Puree in the food processor
-Let cool to room temperature
-Spoon into ice cube trays (each cube is a serving)
-Freeze in the freezer
-Pop them out into a freezer bag and label with date and contents

Then, once meal time comes around, just take a cube out, pop it into the microwave for 30 seconds and let cool. Below are some pictures of the process...

Here are the already frozen carrots

Bagged up to go back in the freezer

Apples Chopped

Apples Steaming

Fresh out of the food processor

Covered and ready to go in the freezer

The apples cost about $4 and the bag of carrots cost $2. The Carrots made 27 servings and the Apples made 21. So that is $6 for 48 servings. I do realize though, eventually he is going to move up to 2 cubes and eating more than just once a day, but for right now he is eating a solid just once a day. So I am excited about the economical side of it. Here are some picture of Carter's first taste of carrots....

First bite... not real sure what I just put in his mouth!

Here he is by the end of his meal, loved it!

I loved watching him kick and fling his arms and get excited about eating! It was so fun :)

Carter's 4 month Stats

Just got back from the pediatrician's office and Carter is 13 lbs 13 oz and 25 1/2 inches long. So I guess he is tall and skinny...but he feels like such a chunk and looks so much bigger than a lot of other babies his age (and older). Development is right on schedule. I'm glad the shots are over, he was pitiful, but only cried for just a minute after they were over, and then he was smiling again. We have four bandaids, two on each leg. We are going to start on solids, so that will be a whole other blog post in itself :)

Oh yeah...I got my Mother's Day present in the mail today...It was a sweet personalized calendar with pictures of Carter all in it! Super sweet. Chad did a great job, I love it!

A Happy Mother's Day and Carter Update

I had a really great Mother's Day. Carter got dedicated at church yesterday, and it was so sweet! I was nervous that he was going to spit up on Brother Bill, or that he would start crying and we would have to walk off stage, but he was a perfect angel! He did great the entire day. I don't want it to sound like he is a bad baby; you know he was extremely fussy the first 2 1/2 months of his life...then once we found out about his reflux and got it under control he was a different child! The rest of Mother's Day we spent at the lake with my Mom, Dad, and Grandmother. It was nice to sit and relax. My Mother's Day gift hasn't arrived in the mail yet. I don't know what it is...Chad won't tell me. So we'll see!
For Chad's side of the family, Mother's Day was a sad and happy event. Chad's Grandmother passed away Friday morning. We were expecting it, and she was ready to go home and be with the Lord and Paw paw, but it is still sad that we lost her around Mother's Day. We won't forget you Nannie and we know you got the best Mother's Day gift of all!!

On to the Carter update...like I was saying previously, he is very pleasant now, and is even starting to tolerate his car seat a good bit. He loves sitting in the front of his stroller and does very good on busy days going from place to place. He is rolling over now, he can roll from his stomach to his back and he is attempting to roll from his back to his stomach but can only get on his side. His head control is great and he can sit assisted now. I can actually carry him on my hip for short amounts of time, which is nice because it gives me a free hand :) I knew my hips would come in handy for something. He loves circles and anything with a pattern on it. He is reaching for toys and putting everything in his mouth and is starting to drool a good bit...no teeth yet, I figure it will be a few more months. He is getting to be SO loud...loves to hear his voice!
Let's see...I will have stats on his height and weight after Thursday...but I know that he is going to be in the 90th percentile for height because he can't wear anything under 6 months because he is too long. He is even fitting well into some 9 month clothing and few 12 month!
Similac Sensitive is finally making it's ready to feed R.S. formula in powder now! YES! R.S. stands for Rice Starch, which means it is heavier and he is keeping his food down a little better. It is $2 more but it is worth it.
We go on solids after Thursday!! That is exciting! I am going to make most of Carter's baby food, so we have purchased a food processor and Mom gave us a steamer that should work with our pots. I have been reading up on how to do it all, so it should be fun! After we see what Dr. Webster wants us to start him on, I will start making it! I'll let you know how it goes, and post pics. I have given him cereal with a spoon every few days, but we haven't made a habit of it yet. He seems to like it but is not quite sure what to do with his tongue.
That is about it, but he is getting too big too fast! But we are enjoying him sooo much, he is a hoot!
Below are some pictures from dedication on Sunday!

A thank you that is way over due...

I have a 4 month old. A healthy, thriving 4 month old. Although my birth experience was nothing I expected it to be, and down right hard and terrifying, I have a healthy, beautiful child. I say that Carter's birth was terrifying because of his dropping heart rate and my blood pressure not cooperating appropriately. I had gone through 9 months of developing this precious child in my body and the thought that I could have lost him before I even met him is just that, terrifying. I often find myself complaining about my c-section. That is was hard and painful and emotional, but now that I think about it I am thankful. I am thankful that the Lord gave my doctor the wisdom to know when Carter needed to come out and that a vaginal delivery was no longer a safe option for me. I am thankful that there is even a procedure like this to deliver a child that is in trouble. There are also a few things that I went through in my pregnancy that I am thankful about...so Lord here is my list of thankyou's since you haven't heard all of them yet...Lord, I want you to know that I am thankful for the blessings you have given me. I don't want to take them for granted, and I am thankful that you have made me realize that the hardships I went through, are in fact a blessing.

Thank you for allowing us to get pregnant and to bring a child in this world.

Thank you for my morning sickness because that soon revealed a healthy baby

Thank you for a low lying placenta, because that moved me to pray continually that it would be moved within 10 weeks, and You did it Lord. You answered my prayer and you moved it. Only You.

Thank you for a full term pregnancy.

Thank you for Dr. Maddox.

Thank you for a procedure that got my child out quickly when he was in trouble.

Thank you that even though my placenta was separating You still kept both Carter and I safe even though I lost a good amount of blood.

Thank you that even though I had a rough first month as a new mother, I made it and learned a lot along the way.

Thank you for your provisions and allowing me to stay at home and raise Carter.

Thank you for an absolutely AMAZING husband. He is a wonderful Daddy.

Thank you that even though Carter got Pertussis he did not have to be hospitalized and he was able to recover at home. Thank you for being with us during this scary sickness. We couldn't have done it by ourselves.

Thank you for Your overwhelming love and sending Your Son to die for our sins. On top of that you choose to give us blessings here on earth, and for that I am also thankful.

There are several blogs that I follow of parents going through a heart breaking experience of losing their babies, and the whole time they are praising the Lord. I felt very convicted that they are praising the Lord while going through probably THE hardest thing in their lives but I, having been blessed with a healthy child, wasn't giving HIM near as much praise. These people are STRONG and I admire them for how they choose to handle their circumstances. I pray that the Lord will give them strength.

So I praise You Lord. I will always praise You. You are an amazing creator abounding in Love far beyond my imagination and the fact that You decided to bless Chad and I in the way that you have astonishes me because we do not deserve it. Your Grace and Mercy are like none I've ever known before. Thank you. I am sorry that this thank you came 4 months later than it should have and I am sorry for the bitterness towards my birth experience; it was nothing short of a miracle. Thank you and You deserve all the Praise.