Catch-up Journal...

So sorry for such a long break in website updates…I've actually tried a couple times and was having issues with the website! I can't believe how far behind I've gotten! : )
Since my last posting…lots has happened...I'll try to catch you up. Carter was dedicated on April 13th and it was a wonderful ceremony…I, of course, cried as soon as they started playing the slideshow and continued as the pastor read his life verse and prayed that God would bless his life. We had all our family over to our house to celebrate afterwards…lunch was excellent- Hog Heaven barbeque and chicken, sides made by my mom, Nana, and Shanda. And of course a yummy Sweet & Sassy cake. Thank you to Justin Kropf for videoing the ceremony and Ron Sealy for taking pictures…the scanned pictures will be uploaded soon.
Carter rolls over as soon as you put him on his stomach now…he gets so excited and gets the biggest smile when he lands on his back…it's so cute! I added a new section of pictures to show him in action. And he said Mama for the first time on April 16th…can you believe he started talking at 5 months! A few days before the 16th he started going mmmmma…he would scrunch up his face and stick his lips out and you could tell that he was trying so hard…adorable! : ) He was saying it a lot and then on the 16th he finally said it…not as clear as you or I would say it, but it was definitely MAMA! Within the last couple days he has started saying it really clear and says it all the time. When he was going to bed last night, he started crying and saying Mama…usually I'm ok with letting him cry for a little while before he goes to bed (because I'm usually running around trying to get ready for bed and get everything ready for the next day), but it was so hard letting him lay there and cry for me…I just wanted to run upstairs and scoop him up!
His bottom teeth popped through on March 27th. Although he still occasionally has fussy teething days, there seriously hasn't been any progress, you can barely see them!
He has a favorite stuffed toy now…his taggie Lion! He loves putting his arm around it or holding onto it tight…once again, adorable! : ) He has started playing in his exersaucer more lately and seems to really like it…I'll have to post some pictures in the monthly picture section. In several of the pictures he has his arms spread out across it and is playing with one toy on one side and another toy on the opposite side…multi-tasking, he says he learned that from his Mommy! : )
He goes back for his six month shots on May 22nd…I can't believe he's almost six months old! These have been the best six months ever…Carter has brought us all so much happiness! He is also having his six month pictures at Morrison Photography on May 24th.
Matt & I celebrated our 4 year anniversary on April 24th (we had a wonderful dinner at the Melting Pot…our fave!), and Shanda & I celebrate our 27th birthday on May 16th! This Saturday, May 10th, all the ladies in our family are going out for a Mother's Day Lunch to the Chocolate Covered Strawberry Bakery & Café in Gallatin, TN (we went for the first time last year and it was fabulous). We are so excited…we love spending time together! Mother's Day is going to be so special this year…both Shanda and I were pregnant last year, so this will be our first "real" Mother's Day. I can't even describe how wonderful being a mother is…I am truly blessed, I thank God every day (multiple times) for entrusting us to raise Carter!!! I have such a desire to raise him to be a strong Christian boy! I'm reading a wonderful book right now called "That's My Son: How Moms Can Influence Boys to Become Men of Character" by Rick Johnson. One of the chapters I just finished reading described the differences between boys and girls (from how our brain develops, to our natural tendencies, and what each one struggles with)…so far it has been so enlightening…not only learning about how my son will learn, think, and communicate, but how my husband does too! I'm not too far into the book, but so far it has been great!
House Update…still for sale, unfortunately! A lady has looked at it 3 times and her agent still insists she is going to make an offer, but it hasn't happened yet. In the meantime, we lost the house on Emily Drive. A cash buyer came in and, of course, could close sooner than us. We were only slightly bummed…although we are ready to have the house sold, we know now that isn't where God wants us. We are still going to keep our house on the market (we're actually having an open house May 17th and 18th) that way when we find what we want, we can buy it. If our house sells sooner, we will just move into the Windsor Green apartments at the entrance of our subdivision. On the upside, there are still two empty lots on Emily Drive that we could possible build on…we've talked to the builder already, but want a contract on our house before we proceed. If it was meant to happen, then it will all work out…if not, then we believe God will lead us where He wants us!
Cousin Meredith update…9 months old, crawling all over the place, pulling up on everything, and gives the sweetest baby kisses! The girl is adorable and we just love her to death! Carter & Mere are going to be buds for sure…right now, she just wants to get his hair and take his toys away! : ) Shanda is working on planning her 1st Birthday party…it is going to be an event let me tell you…I won't give away the details, but it will be party for a princess, for sure! : ) Check out Mere's updates at http://www.babyjellybeans.com/web/do/site?pg=178925 (password BabyHayes).
I’m sure I've left out tons of details. I'll try to do better! : ) Thanks for checking in!

Carter Update

Carter had his second set of shots on March 20th and he did really good! He was happy for most of his visit and only cried for a couple minutes after getting his shots! Matt had a meeting at work, so my Mom helped me with Carter. The doctor said he is doing great…I updated the Growth Chart section of the website with his new measurements. I was glad I took off work the next day, because Carter's eating and sleeping schedule were off after he got his shots and I was up with him several times during the night. He was feeling better by the next morning, so I took him to work so he could meet all my friends. Matt was able to meet us at my work and then we had lunch in the park…it was such a beautiful day! Matt H. was off work too, so he brought Meredith to visit too! Both babies did really good!
We are working on planning Carter's baby dedication…there is so much to do! We decided on his life verse last night ("For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." Colossians 1:9-12 (NIV)), picked out the pictures and song for his slideshow, and ordered invitations to send to all our family. I still have to plan the family lunch for afterwards, get decorations, and find an outfit for Carter to wear. My mom helped us find the song to play with the slideshow…it is perfect…I cry every time I read the words (here's the chorus below)...
Phillips Craig And Dean- "I Want To Be Just Like You"
Lord, I want to be just like You
'Cause he wants to be just like me
I want to be a holy example
For his innocent eyes to see
Help me be a living Bible, Lord
That my little boy can read
I want to be just like You
'Cause he wants to be like me
Carter is becoming more active lately…he recently started pushing himself up on his arms (which he totally refused to do a few days ago) and he actually rolled over for the first time yesterday (from his stomach to his back)! My grandmother said it surprised him and he cried out! We're hoping he'll do it again for us sometime soon…we'll be waiting with the video camera whenever he decides to! : ) He's starting to play more with toys (right now his links and fish bowl are his favorites), but is still a snuggle bunny and is content to be held most of the time! : ) Oh, and he loves his paci lately too…it goes everywhere with him! His bottom teeth still haven't come through yet…it will probably be any day now though!

Bunny Pics

Carter & Meredith had pictures made with a live bunny this past weekend. They were so cute…surprisingly, Carter was fine with the bunny and kept putting his arm on it and Meredith freaked out when the bunny got on her dress! : ) Before having them made we talked about how Meredith was just going to love the bunny…that definitely didn't happen! : )
The pictures are adorable and are now online for viewing…here are the details:
To log on click this link "morrisonphotography.poundslabsonline.com" then click the tab "order online" and enter your password "cousins".Enjoy! : )

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! : ) Last week was my first week back to work and I did much better than expected. I love my job and the people I work with, so that makes everything a little easier! I had a little meltdown on Wednesday night, but other than that I only cried a few times. Carter is doing great at Nana & Papa's house…he is napping good, he has moved up to taking 5 oz bottles now, and he is fascinated with watching Mere Bear play! : ) And he is definitely getting lots of love and attention…which is great, since he loves to snuggle! : ) I've started working 6:30-3:30 and I love it…there is less traffic during those times and I have more time to spend with Carter at night, so it's wonderful! I don't get much sleep lately though…I have to be up around 4 to get me & Carter ready, and Matt & I make sure the house is perfect before we leave (still trying to sell our house…one lady looked at it last week & loved it, so we're just waiting to see if she wants to make an offer). Carter still doesn't sleep through the night, so usually we put him to bed around 8:30 and then I'm back up with him at 12:30 and then I wake him up around 4:00…some mornings he gets up earlier though…this morning he was up at 3:00 so I just had to stay up! I was doing dishes and mopping our kitchen floor at 3:30 this morning. We're always so exhausted by bedtime (Matt is studying for the CPA exam, so he's been staying up late and getting up early as well), but Carter is so worth it…we are just crazy about him!
We take Carter back for his second set of shots on Thursday afternoon…hopefully it won't be too bad! His two bottom teeth are coming in and he has been miserable lately anyways, so I'm sure the shots won't help the situation any! We think he weighs at least 14 lbs now! I’m off on Friday, so if Carter is doing good I plan on bringing him by my work. They've only seen pictures of him, so I can't wait for everyone to meet him!
Oh, almost forgot...Matt & I bought a Nissan Rogue recently…I love it, and Carter and all his stuff fit so much better in it than the bug! : ) I'll try to post some pics soon!

Last Saturday I went to a Creative Memories scrap day at my church…I was gone about 4 hours and so far that is the longest time I have been away from Carter! I called Matt lots to check on him, but it was nice to spend the afternoon with my mom and friends from church and I got lots done on Carter’s baby album. The next day I had a horrible sore throat and by Monday Carter was coughing and sneezing…I think it was just a little cold since we didn’t really have any other symptoms. The doctor just suggested giving him saline nose drops and then using the nasal aspirator to suction out his nose…poor baby, he acted like we were trying to drown him and would scream and cry!

He laughed out loud for the first time last Wednesday…it was the most precious sound! : ) He also likes chewing on his hands lately…we were thinking he might be getting a tooth, but there aren’t any yet.

We put him in his room to sleep for the first time last night…and he did wonderful!!! He has never gone to sleep on his own, I usually always nurse him to sleep or rock him…so I was really worried about how he would do! When he’s upset he can get out of control quick…I call them meltdowns…so that’s what I was expecting last night! But after getting him settled, he only cried for about 15 minutes before falling asleep! Then he slept for about 5 hours straight…we were so proud of him!!!

I think those are most of the highlights since I last posted a journal. Carter is such a precious baby and we thank God for him every day! He brings us so much happiness! I only have about 2 weeks left till I go back to work so I’m trying to get in all the snuggle time that I can! A friend got me a wonderful book after Carter was born called “Let Me Hold You Longer”…I bawl my eyes out every time I read it to him! Instead of only focusing on their “firsts”, it reminds you to pay attention to their “lasts”…so even when I’m totally exhausted I treasure every moment and remind myself that these days are so short…it just makes me want to hold him a little longer and a little tighter!

Carter Update

Sorry again for getting behind on updating the website! It is amazing how much Carter has changed lately! He is getting so big and it seems like every day he does something new or notices something new! He went through a very sensitive stage and would cry if anyone made loud noises, but luckily that only lasted about a week. He has also been very needy and clingy the last couple weeks…usually I hold him most of the day because he gets so upset if I put him down anywhere. I’ve gotten pretty good at doing most things one-handed! : )

Carter is also smiling so much now…he loves when you sing to him and just talk to him. I read him books all the time and so far his favorite is The Little Engine that Could…he gets the biggest smile on his face everytime I say “I think I can, I think I can”! : ) He still loves standing and bouncing on his feet and is now fascinated with watching them! We took him to have his 3 months pictures made at Morrison Photography a week ago and they managed to get some awesome pics of him…we were surprised since he was watching his feet almost the entire time! : ) They also took some really great family pics! They will still be available online for a while, so if you get a chance to look at them go to http://www.morrisonphotography.com/ and click on Login at the bottom of the screen, then type Baskin (with a capital “B”) in the box at the bottom and click Login again, then click Enter Carter’s Three Month Portraits.
Since the flu is so bad this year we haven’t been getting Carter out very often…just to the early morning service at church, Shanda & Matt’s house, and occasionally we’ll ride with Matt in the car if he needs to run an errand. Carter & I ventured out to see Matt on Valentine’s Day also…we picked him up at work and took him out to lunch…Carter was really happy that day and was so good while we were out! Since he had been such a good boy, we decided to stop over at Nana, Papa, & Joy’s house to visit with them and Mere Bear…it was a lot of fun and Aunt Lori and Uncle Gary even stopped by. Them and my mom can’t wait to start keeping Carter…I’m not looking forward to going back to work…I’ve been home with him for so long that it’s going to be really hard, but at least I know he is going to be safe and will have the best care!

Can't believe he's already 1 month old...

Sorry it’s been so long since I posted an update. Carter’s last doctor’s appt went great- his bilirubin level is now normal and he weighed 7 lbs, 11 oz, so he is now above his birth weight. He goes back on January 21st for his first shots. We still can’t believe Carter is 1 month old…time is going by too quick! He is starting to follow people’s movements and is also starting to smile when we talk to him. We’ve been trying to have tummy time every day, but he isn’t very fond of it. This past Sunday was a big day for Carter…we took him to church for the first time…he was awake almost the entire time and did so good. Our pastor prayed for him and walked him down the aisle and introduced him to the congregation (a tradition for all new babies at our church). Then he went to his first restaurant and after that had his picture made with Santa at Rivergate Mall. He was such a good boy the entire day and we were so proud of him! We finally finished our Christmas shopping and Matt has been downstairs wrapping presents so I could come update our website since Carter was taking a nap. It’s so funny how I fly around the house trying to get things done when Carter is napping! Matt even asked me why I was running in the house the other day…Carter had been fussy and I knew that I only had a matter of minutes before I needed to go to his rescue again! : ) We are looking forward to our first Christmas with our precious baby and although Carter won’t really know what is going on this year, we will cherish every wonderful moment with him! Christmas in our family was always a special time with lots of traditions (baking cookies, pictures with Santa, hiding the pickle ornament on the tree, topping the tree with the beautiful angel, etc) and we are so excited about starting those traditions with Carter!
Well, I better run…hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Update on Baby Carter

Life with baby Carter is so wonderful! We are all adjusting really well, and it is amazing how refreshing an hour or two of sleep is these days! : ) The day we were discharged from the hospital, we found out that Carter is slightly jaundice, so we've had to take him back to the doctor 3 times now and have his bilirubin level checked. It has been going down slowly, but they still want to check it again this next week. Other than that, he is doing great! He is such a sweet baby- we just love snuggling with him and giving him lots of hugs and kisses! He smiles a lot when he sleeps and has the cutest dimple in his left cheek! : ) I was holding him last week and he smiled so big...it was so precious, it made me cry! Matt & I both had a lot of hair when we were born, but we are still amazed at how much hair Carter has...he needed a haircut from day 1. He also had newborn pedestal pictures made at Morrison Photography last week...he was so cute! He had a little accident on the pedestal, but other than that did great! : )
I'm feeling really good now too! My recovery was so much worse than labor...I tore a little during the labor and had to get a few stitches. I was in so much pain for almost a week afterwards. Matt even had to take me to the emergency room the night before Thanksgiving because it was so bad. They gave me medicine with Codeine in it, which made me nauseous and gave me the worst headache ever, so I ended up just taking Motrin. Luckily, the pain went away soon afterwards.
Matt had to work a couple days last week and then will be working this week, but after that he'll be off until New Years...yeah!!! My mom has helped us out tremendously...she is great with babies and is always willing to come over and help us take care of Carter so we can take a nap or run errands! Meredith is finally getting over her cold, so her & Shanda came over last week and spent time with us too...we had so much fun!
Matt & I love Carter so much and we are so proud of him! We can't wait to keep you updated on how he's doing! Gotta run...my precious baby is starting to wake up now! : )

Baby Carter's Arrival

We arrived at the hospital around 4:45 am on the 16th, and as Shanda mentioned, they started the Pitocin (level 4) around 5:30. I was already dilated to 3 before they started the Pitocin and within 10 minutes I was already having strong contractions. They increased the Pitocin drip to 6 about an hour later and then broke my water around 7:30. They increased the Pitocin drip to 8 not even 30 minutes later and then to 10 within 15 minutes. I called for my epidural a little after 8:30. They kept telling me that I would know when I needed to get it, but I honestly didn't...I didn't know how long it would take the anesthesiologist to get there, so I decided to go ahead and call for it. They gave me my epidural at 8:50- the epidural by itself wasn't bad, but getting it while having intense contractions was kind of rough. The Pitocin was working so well and I was having so many contractions that they quickly decreased the drip to 5. I went ahead and apologized to Matt the night before, just in case I was mean to him that day...I wasn't too bad, I just wanted complete silence and didn't want to be touched when I was having a contraction. Matt and my Mom thought it was so funny when I would hold up a finger to let them know that I was having one...they would laugh and it would make me start laughing too! By 9:30 they determined that I would need another epidural, since it only affected my left leg and a portion of my upper back...by that time the contractions were incredibly intense! Apparently that doesn't happen very often, so I had a room full of hospital staff and medical students come in to watch...I didn't even care, I was just so excited that I would soon be able to meet our precious baby! I was already dilated to 7 when they checked me after the second epidural. I was a little drowsy after the epidural and kept feeling like I wasn't breathing when I would fall asleep. I kept telling Matt and my mom to watch me and make sure I was still breathing. Shortly after telling them that I felt like I was going to pass out...the epidural had caused my blood pressure to drop and they had to give me Ephedrin. They checked me again around 11:30 and I was dilated b/t a 8 and 9, and by 12:40 I was dilated to 10. Before our doctor arrived the nurse had me do some pushes to get ready. Not knowing what to expect, I was scared to death to start pushing, other than feeling like my head was going to explode, I honestly didn't feel anything. They kept making me laugh and every time they did Carter would start coming out on his own...a lot of the labor seems like a dream, and I actually just remembered this part of it days after his birth...but one of the nurses said what a wonderful way for a baby to come into the world...through laughter and happiness! They said that the pushing stage can average between 30 minutes and 2 hours...Carter was practically coming out on his own so they had me stop pushing until the doctor got there. Carter was born at 1:28 pm. He weighed 7 lbs 9 oz and is 20 1/4 inches long. He had thick brown hair with blonde highlights and blue eyes (now they look grey and brown, so who knows what color they will end up). He is amazing and my labor experience was so wonderful! I had awesome nurses and I'm so thankful that Matt, my Mom, and Shanda were able to be in there with me...they kept me calm and were so wonderful at encouraging me and telling me how great I was doing! Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers...everything went great and baby Carter is such a blessing...we thank God for him everyday!!!

Baby Carter is almost here!!!

We had our last checkup this morning and everything is still great! She said I was dilated a good 2.5...not quite 3 but that it was a really good start. I will be induced at 5:00 in the morning, so I really need to be going to bed soon since I have to be up around 3:00 to get ready! : ) Not sure that we'll get much sleep anyways though...we still can't believe that our baby will be here tomorrow! I started getting nervous this past weekend...still a little nervous, but we are sooooooooo excited! I've been really emotional lately too...I want my baby here so bad, but at the same time I feel like I need more time to prepare. I'm going to miss my baby bump too...it has been so amazing to feel him move inside of me and to be able to protect him and know that he is with me at all times...I think I'm scared that once he is born I won't be able to protect him like I can now...not sure if that's a common feeling or if I'm just being crazy and overprotective already! Well, I better go make sure everything is ready for tomorrow!
Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers!!! We can't wait to be able to share the details of baby Carter's birth! : )