It's all going too fast here too!

Yesterday Donna posted on Emma's blog that she was amazed by how fast Emma is developing, and it was interesting to read because I had been thinking the exact same thing about Carter. The last week has been particularly crazy; it's like he's just taken a huge leap forward. The week before that he was extra fussy (all day, every day), and I've read that's a sign they're about to do something new. It definitely seemed to be true this time!

He's started to play much more intently, and likes to pick up and examine objects. It seems like it took forever for him to get to the point that he was intentionally reaching for objects instead of just flailing his arms at them, and now he's suddenly reaching out and grabbing onto everything. Every day he's a little bit better at grasping things. Things he grasps are also starting to go into his mouth, which is fun to watch. You can see that in this short video (taken with my phone while we were at a restaurant).



I think he's really close to rolling over, too. He can roll onto his side, but can't quite seem to get all the way over yet. I'm not sure I'm ready for him to roll over! That's the beginning of so many other things...

His sleep patterns seem to be settling out a bit now. I'm keeping a sleep log this week so that I can figure out what his best naptimes are, as well as the best time to start getting him ready for bed. Up until now he just falls asleep when he wants to during the day and goes to bed when we do around 9:00. But that 9:00 bedtime is usually following an evening nap, so I'm looking for the best time to get him ready for bed. Last night I took him up at 7:00 for a bath and to change into his PJs, then brought him back downstairs to nurse. He fell asleep for a solid hour, and I realized I could probably have put him to bed upstairs instead. We cosleep, but it would be nice to be able to put him in the cosleeper early and then join him a couple of hours later. I'll try that tonight.

The only hard thing about cosleeping for me is that I am a night owl, so going to bed when Carter does is a bit painful. Otherwise, cosleeping is absolutely perfect for us. When Carter starts to get hungry in the middle of the night, I just reach over and pull him next to me to nurse lying down. He doesn't even wake up enough to cry. I get a full night's sleep every night, and it's fantastic! I've also learned that putting the heating pad in the cosleeper to keep it warm really eases transitioning him back into it.

Carter used to be content to sleep late in the mornings, but in the last week he's started to wake up about 7:00. And he's awaaake, kicking and flailing and gurgling. So we've started getting up and coming downstairs then. I'll change and dress him, and he nurses, and eventually falls asleep again. It's such a change from that sleepy little boy I could barely rouse to nurse until 10:00, just a couple of weeks ago.

Speaking of nursing, my supply has now adjusted down to what Carter needs, and I haven't pumped since Saturday. There's also no pumped milk in the fridge -- there's no reason to keep a bottle ready any more. It's so, so amazing to just be nursing him now. I'm grateful every time I put him to my breast that it worked out for us!

And finally, he weighed exactly 13 pounds this morning. 13! So he's still gaining about half a pound a week, which is fantastic. He's only been wearing the 0-3 month clothes for a month, and I'm not sure if we'll make it another month!