The almost 6 month update.

So yeah, we're really bad about getting regular updates posted, but for those who have waited patiently- here's another one. Carter will be 6 months old 1 week from today. It's amazing how quickly the time has flown by. It just doesn't seem like he should be half way to a year yet. Of course sometimes I feel like I already have a 1 yr old on my hands.

He has started to do some crawling- although he's by no means an expert yet. But he can get where he's going given enough time. He'll also walk across the room if you hold him by the hands. I don't think he'll take off on that by himself for a little while though. He can't keep his balance very well, because when he wants something, he just lunges for it- he's not big on staying in one place.

The biggest development is that I have started doing elimination communication with him. What that means is that after naps and feedings and periodically throughout the day, I take him to the potty. He picked up on it right away and after just a couple days we cut our diaper usage in half! It hasn't quite been 2 weeks yet, but he knows what to do now when I take him in to the bathroom and he doesn't really care for having a wet diaper anymore. I have some training pants coming in next week, so at that point we'll only use diapers at night and when we're traveling, or if we leave him with a babysitter (which includes Ryan- he's still learning :P ).

Other than that he's just growing like a weed. We've managed to keep him in 9 month clothes for the last few months and he fills them out pretty well, but we're starting to use some 12 month clothes too. Still hasn't dropped off the 90% curve for his height and it shows. He's tall just like his daddy. That's also his favorite word- daddy. He's been saying it now for almost a month and still no signs of him saying mommy or mama. :(

He still eats like a Herman- not really anything so far that he won't eat. He's just getting used to textures though, which he didn't much care for at first, but he likes putting little dissolving finger foods in his mouth now and chewing them.

Clearly our lives revolve around the baby, but I guess I could mention the adults of the family too. Ryan's been doing really well with his second job. For those who don't know about it, he's a financial advisor in a company called Primerica. It's a part time thing right now, but he'd love to be able to go full time. He helps family's through life insurance, investments, and debt management. The company doesn't advertise, it's all done through referals, so if you know someone who could use his help just let him know (although right now he's only licensed in TN).

As for me, life as a stay-at-home mom is going pretty well. For the many who keep asking, no, I haven't done any painting recently. Aside from just being busy with a child that refuses to stay in one spot, I in general don't think it's a good idea to use my lead based oil paints while taking care of said child. So the only chance I get to do stuff like that is when Ryan's around, but he's out most evenings. And now with football season kicking off, Sundays are taken too. :P But I have been able to get some drawing done, purely for fun though. I've had a few free-lance jobs come my way over the past several months which helps bring in some funds and keeps me from going completely insane by having some interaction with the outside world. I guess the biggest news for me is that I just cut off all my hair and am now sporting a short pixie cut. I love not having to worry about doing my hair now and Carter now has a much harder time pulling it, so it was an all around great change. Plus it looks cute :)

Anyway, that's the life of the Hermans as of late. Just enjoying life. Oh and one more big exciting announcement- Carter's going to have a new cousin! A big congratulations goes out Amy who just found out she's pregnant again! We can't wait- we're very excited about having another niece or nephew.

Love to everyone and we'll try to have another posting up sometime in the next couple months- it could be sooner, but I'm not gonna set the bar too high. ;)

Carter update

Well, Carter is now 4 1/2 months old and is doing unbelievable things. We went for his 4 month check-up this past week and he is almost 27" and just a few ounces shy of 17lbs. So he's still in the 95% for height and 75% for weight. He can already sit up unsupported and stand up if he has something to hold or lean on. He's also getting really close to crawling- he can get up on his knees and toes, but he hasn't quite figured out how to go forward yet. Although he can get where he wants to go by rolling, pivoting, and scooting. (let me re-state that he's only 4 1/2 months old!- he's gonna be a handful!) His Dr. got to witness all this and said those are the things she would have told me to look for him to start doing closer to 6mo or later!

He is also drinking out of a sippy cup now all by himself- he knew what to do as soon as I handed it to him. He can't really hold up a bottle well, cause we don't usually give him one, but since the cup has handles he can hold onto it easily. This past week he started holding his arms out when he wants to be picked up- it made my heart skip a beat the first time he did it. It's a wonderful feeling seeing him able to express what he wants.

The most recent development is that he got his first teeth in today- and yes I said teeth. The first one broke through this morning and to our surprise, the second one poked through this evening (the two front bottom ones). Nursing could possibly get really interesting now, but so far he's behaving.

So my boy is growing up fast, but he's so much fun. He's still the happiest baby. He loves to laugh, and he smiles at everyone. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family.

Carter's growing!

Where to start? Carter is now 3 1/2 months old and is doing great. He's now 26.5" and around 15lbs. (We don't have a scale that measures oz. so we just guestimate). That puts him in the 95% for height and 75% for weight, which is what he was last visit to the doctor, so that's good. Needless to say, he's a big boy (he's wearing 9mo clothing already!). We've met a couple other babies at church that look noticably smaller than him, only to find out they're a month older.

Carter's getting really mobile. He rolled over belly to back at 2 months and back to belly at 3 months. He now goes over and over to get where he's going. He also started to try scooting as soon as he got from back to belly. He doesn't go far, but he definitely has the right motions to go forward.

We also started him on solid food this past week. We swore we were gonna wait until he was at least 4mos, because that's what's recommended, but age aside, he displayed every sign that he was ready. We started with bananas, because they say breastfed babies take to that easier than rice cereal, because of the sweetness. He took to it like he'd been doing it all along. No weird 'what did you just put in my mouth?' faces or anything. He just loves food- there's no doubt he's a Herman!

All in all, he's a very happy baby. He doesn't cry unless he's hungry or tired, and he loves to just laugh and 'talk'. What's more, he started sleeping through the night when he was 7 wks old (8hr stretches!). We are so blessed to have such a good baby. Be sure to keep checking the gallery. We have been posting more pictures, even when we don't post new blogs. Love to all!

One month update

Ok, so Ryan lied, he never got around to that update he mentioned. Carter is now 1 day shy of being 6 weeks old. He had his 1 month check-up yesterday and he is now 23 1/2 inches long and 11lbs 11oz (that's 2" and 2 1/2lbs since he was born). That puts him in the 95th percentile for his height and 90th percentile for his weight. That's all I really have time to write right now. Continue to check the gallery regularly, because we add pictures a lot more often than we write blog posts.

Short Carter update

Tomorrow marks Carter's third full week of life and things are going well. I started work again on this past Monday, which means Mindy is now staying at home during the day by herself taking care of Carter. I plan on writing a longer update this weekend so keep an eye out for that.
Also, we just uploaded 18 new pictures to the Gallery.

Short Carter update

Tomorrow marks Carter's third full week of life and things are going well. I started work again on this past Monday, which means Mindy is now staying at home during the day by herself taking care of Carter. I plan on writing a longer update this weekend so keep an eye out for that.
Also, we just uploaded 18 new pictures to the Gallery.

A Baby Story (Part 3 of 3)

It was a little over two hours later, around 1:30 am, when Mindy was finally out of the OR and brought into the recovery room. She was given a blood transfusion for the blood that she lost. We stayed in the recovery room until 4 AM at which point we were finally moved back to the labor and delivery room with Carter where we attempted to feed him for the first time. We were both very happy that he started to breastfeed with relative ease.

Mindy has no memory of the events from right after Carter was born to the first feeding around 4 am and even then her memory is very vague. In fact the whole morning’s events are very limited. That afternoon however, the drugs that she had been given during the c-section where mostly worn off and we were together as a family, enjoying each others’ company. That evening we finally moved to the Mother Baby unit in the hospital and Mindy even made the walk with very little assistance. Mindy was very happy to be able to start eating again.

On Saturday several family members and friends stopped by to visit, then Sunday morning we were discharged from the hospital. At that time Carter had started to develop a slight case of jaundice and we were told to take him to his pediatrician the next day, but overall he was very healthy. On Monday at the pediatrician, we were told to keep an eye on his color and if it worsened then we should go back in, but it appears to be clearing up. Mindy continues to improve on a daily basis and is doing very well for only a week after the c-section.

We continue to thank God for the successful delivery of our son and pray that he continues to be healthy. We ask that you keep us in your prayers as we continue to grow as a new family together.