Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Cats, Baths, and Babywearing

Today Carter is ten weeks old. Crazy! It's hard to believe it was ten weeks ago that all of this was started. In some ways it seems a lot longer.

My sister forwarded an email yesterday about pets and babies. It consisted of a series of cute photos of babies with pet cats and dogs and included the statement "Save this for the next time someone says you have to get rid of your pets when you have a baby." It's funny that it never even occurred to me that the cats would have anything other than a positive reaction to the baby. A few people suggested otherwise, but they were people who were not cat owners. People I've known with cats and babies have only reported good things.




And so it was with our cats, Gabi and Lucy. Gabi is the older of the two and Doug's cat, and she is going about her life as if there were no baby. She ignores him for the most part. Lucy, OTOH, is my cat and has always been very clingy. I was worried how she would react to not being "the baby" any more. She's accepted her new position surprisingly quickly. She's clearly jealous, but she's sort of sad and resigned about it. She jumps at the opportunity to be in my lap when I'm baby-free, and will sit on my lap when I'm wearing the baby.




Speaking of babywearing, I'm really enjoying it. Carter does very well in the Moby and the sling, and I like having him close. It's amazing how much he settles down the moment he's slipped into the fabric. He doesn't flinch at loud noises or mind being jostled around. He sleeps so deeply that he'll even forget to be hungry. If I take him out, he'll suddenly wake up and get hungry or fussy, as if none of that was affecting him when he was being worn. I suppose it simulates being in the womb to an extent. Of course, it's been a while since he was in the womb, but still -- he likes it, and I like being able to get things done and hold and comfort him at the same time.

Carter in the Maya wrap (a ring sling).


Me wearing Carter at a restaurant. This works surprisingly well, and eating around him isn't that hard.


Everything is going pretty well, in general. I'm finding ways to get sleep when I can, and Carter is getting better at sleeping on his own, though he seems to prefer sleeping in the daytime with the TV blaring.


He's been getting very fussy every night at 2:00 am, like clockwork. He'll wake up hungry and then will fuss the entire time he's being fed. And then he'll be hungry again as soon as I'm done pumping. He'll eat so fast he ends up spitting up, which only makes it worse. I'm not sure why he's so upset at that time every night. I can't seem to do anything to calm him down, either. It may be that it takes me longer to respond to his hunger signals because he has to wake me up, and it's the time factor that's the issue.

But I can say that even when I'm dealing with a crying baby at 2:30 in the morning, I'm still so grateful to have him. It took six years to get here, and I'm enjoying every minute of it!

Last night was bath night, and I took some pictures and video, posted below. I weighed him before and he now weighs 5 pounds, 10 ounces! I can't believe he's coming up on 6 pounds. He'll soon be too big for his preemie clothes -- the same clothes that were huge on him just a few short weeks ago. It's hard not to be sad about that, as strange as it sounds. I want him to grow, of course, but I'm enjoying him being so tiny too. I went to Babies R Us yesterday afternoon and bought some cute newborn-sized outfits, but I'm not in a hurry to put them on him.

My big boy!



10 comments:

kris said...

He is getting so big! And you look great in that photo :D

Regarding the whole pets & babies issue: I remember my parents being worried about how our dog (a tiny bichon frise) would handle having a baby around when my little brother was born, but it was amazing! She would curl up next to him when he was placed on the ground, and NEVER snapped at him if he got some of her fur in his little fists. Once he was bigger, she taught him what she would and wouldn't tolerate, and he seemed to learn pretty quickly what he could get away with :)

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Char said...

He's adorable, but you knew that :) It's so great to see you sounding so chipper. And cats? My parents had a cat and it slept next to me in my crib. Some cats can be fussy, I guess, but I think they mostly like someone warm to snuggle with :)

Unknown said...

oh, squee! He's so beautiful! And those baby noises, aww. You look fabulous too. :)

Can't wait to see you and meet C in July!

Wheatless Diabetic said...

OMG, he's GORGEOUS! And you look absolutely radiant, motherhood definitely agrees with you. I'm so happy for all of you. :-) Congratulations again, and welcome home!

Anonymous said...

Oh, my account name here is different than on LJ. This is Gina, in case you were wondering who the heck GM is. :-)

Anjela said...

So much cute!!! And it's so great to hear that you're enjoying having him so much. GO YOU!!

--Anjela

Aidan and Emma said...

He is really growing, such a big boy! I'm so glad he's doing well and I can't believe he's getting close to 6 pounds! wow! He just may get to wear some of Aidan's baby clothes after all. Give him some kisses from his Aunt Donna! Hugs to you too!

Emily said...

Look at him! He's getting so big! I know exactly what you mean about it being sad.

And, Yowsa! You look fabulous in that picture! Go mama!!

I'm in love with the Moby wrap. Especially after shots when Will was super fussy, I'd just put him in there for the rest of the day and he'd feel much better. He's going to be in it this weekend while searching for Easter eggs! :)

Keep posting videos! He makes me smile.

Nancy said...

Hi Jenn, Doug, and baby Carter. How great to hear from you and even watch your baby bath video. What a cutie! I had just been talking about you today in NICU and how much we all miss you.

It's so funny you got the pets and babies forward yesterday the same day I had seen it. What a small world.

Glad the trip home was smooth, and everyone seems to be settled in nicely.

I look forward to following the growing up of baby Carter.

Take good care,

Nancy (fsn)