Six Weeks

We have officially reached the six week mark! I remember thinking how far off that seemed during those first few weeks...and now here we are.

We have been doing very well lately. We started implementing the E.A.S.Y. routine during the day (Eat, Activity, Sleep, 'You' time) from one of the books (Secrets of The Baby Whisperer) I read (Thanks, Maggie!), and Lewis has really taken well to it. He is supposed to stay awake and have some active time after he eats, and then, in theory, take a nap while I get 'me' time to get things done (or to relax, which I haven't really done much of since he was born...I will do that moreso, in time). I don't keep him to it rigidly and I watch for his cues if he has something else in mind. :) Sometimes he stays awake the whole time in between feedings, and sometimes he sleeps most of the time in between feedings. HOWEVER, in the morning, knock on wood, he has some good, solid blanket time/tummy time, and then takes a nice nap that allows me to 'safely' take a shower (a must for me to feel awake and ready for the day).

Speaking of tummy time, he is kicking its butt. He has gotten so much stronger the past week or two--his neck, head control, even his legs. Observe:

From week one, we have been going to a New Mom group at the hospital where I delivered. It is something I look forward to every week--some weeks there are just a few of us, some weeks there have been 10+ moms (or moms-to-be) with their babies. It is so nice to have other moms to share our experiences with, swap stories, see the older babies, see the younger babies, etc. We can ask the nurse questions, and towards the second half, they have a lactation consultant who comes down to answer any questions about breastfeeding and to give us tips. Last week, my friend Rachel and her son Abram came, too! I'm excited that they'll get to come a few more times before Rachel goes back to work. Here are the boys at Penn Station afterwards:

Last week and weekend we had visitors--here are Memaw and Papaw Carter with Juniper and Lewis. We had a great time...Emily and I were even able to escape for pedicures while the grandparents and Kevin watched the kiddos. It was great to have some much missed and much needed sister time.

Here are Emily and Juniper at The Comfy Cow, a neighborhood ice cream place with the most delicious (and somewhat ridiculous) ice cream flavors. I had the new Creme de Menthe Cookies and Cream and it was awesome.

Here we are Krogering, fresh from the airport, with Juniper in her glow-in-the-dark skeleton pajamas. She was blowing raspberries for us (and by 'us' I mean everyone within earshot). Such a happy girl. :)

We have also been sleeping more regularly the last week or two, which is so amazing. I thank Lewis each and every time he wakes me up in the night. We have started putting him down around 9pm (sometimes he is ready, sometimes he is not). If he doesn't go down right away after that feeding, Kevin stays up with him (I head to bed) until he is ready to sleep. One night recently, he was up until 10pm, one he was up until 11. He usually stays down around 9ish, though. For some reason, he has started waking at 3am and then at 7am for the day. If not 3/7, then 3:30/7:30. One night was 3:45/7:45. It's weird, really, how his internal clock works. I am not complaining. We are so fortunate. He is awesome, and we love him. A whole lot. :)

So that is where we are at the six week mark. I'm looking forward to his 2 month appointment to see how much he has gained and to see how tall/long he has gotten. Our friends Reed, Maria, and Clara will be coming in from New York this weekend to visit and to meet Lewis. We look forward to their visit!