We finally have a finalization date! If you recall from my previous posts, birth parent rights are terminated after 10 days in Arkansas, but our adoption still has to be finalized in front of a judge. We have been waiting for our agency's attorney to finish all of the paperwork for Carter's adoption, get it sent to the judge, and schedule a time for the lawyer and us to meet with the judge for our adoption. Well...we finally have our date set for November 2nd, at 9AM! We are very excited! Though we are obviously Carter's parents, I think technically until finalization we are only considered legally to be his guardians, and I think that our agency may still have some legal tie to him until finalization. It was interesting at the hospital, because Carter was signed over to our agency worker, and then she gave him to us. So...technically I think she may legally still be his "guardian" as well until all this finalization is complete. Anyway, I don't even PRETEND to understand all the legal stuff involved with adoption, I just know that we have to meet with the judge, so that's what we're gonna do! After finalization, (according to our agency) we have to wait 6 months before we are able to receive a new birth certificate with our names listed as Carter's parents. That kinda stinks because that is right around tax time, which means we may not get it before our taxes need to be submitted, which means we will have to try to get Carter a temporary ID number. Not only is it a hassle, but I'm not even 100% sure we will be able to do that. But...we shall see.
We are definitely excited about this day and are looking forward to it. If we decided to celebrate any sort of "Adoption Day" or "Family Day" this would be the day we celebrate. We can't celebrate "Gotcha Day" because that doesn't make much sense considering we "got him" on the day he was born! Also there is some controversy in the adoption community about the use of the term "Gotcha Day". So if we decide to celebrate anything special besides Carter's birthday, it will be one of the ideas I mentioned earlier, and we will celebrate it on November 2nd! Please pray everything goes smoothly!
PS Make sure you look at the post below this one to see Carter roll over!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Carter Rolled Over!
Well last Tuesday our darling little boy decided to roll over for the first time! Unfortunately, it was at his babysitter's house, but luckily, she was able to get him to do it a few times, and she got a video of it. Without further ado, here is our smart little boy rolling over!
Of course, now that he's done it, he doesn't seem to be too interested in doing it anymore. I have only been able to get him to do it twice for me, and he has started this thing where instead of lifting his head off the ground like he normally does, he is using his legs to lift his bottom off the ground. Any ideas what he's trying to do there? Anyway, his doing that makes it difficult for him to roll over. But he's a cutie and we are sssooooo proud of him, so I had to share.
Of course, now that he's done it, he doesn't seem to be too interested in doing it anymore. I have only been able to get him to do it twice for me, and he has started this thing where instead of lifting his head off the ground like he normally does, he is using his legs to lift his bottom off the ground. Any ideas what he's trying to do there? Anyway, his doing that makes it difficult for him to roll over. But he's a cutie and we are sssooooo proud of him, so I had to share.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
3 months!
My baby is 3 months old now! Where has the time gone??? Carter is getting to be a big boy! He is now 14.5 pounds and 26 inches long. We have done a lot this month! The biggest event being my return to work this past week! Luckily we have a church friend watching him, so we don't have to worry about him being around a bunch of different people or sick kids. It's been difficult for Nate and I getting into a new routine, but Carter has done amazing. He hasn't acted like the change has effected him at all, and he has even been taking better naps for his babysitter than he does for me.
Carter has been an amazing sleeper and now sleeps from 7:30 PM to 6:30 AM. Since I've been back to work though, I have been trying to wake him up a little earlier so I can feed him before I have to leave. He's had a few times (especially this past week) where he woke up before it was time to get up, but he wasn't hungry and will fall asleep after I put his paci in his mouth. We had to start making 8oz bottles for Carter this past week! We had already switched to 8oz bottles, but we were only filling them 6oz full. After Carter started consistently eating 6oz at a time though, and was still acting hungry afterward, we decided to move him up. It's a little sad, my boy is getting so big!
He is still working on laughing, and has the cutest little "laugh". He has also been squealing some, and making other noises and blowing bubbles as well!
Carter has gotten really good at holding his head up, and can now sit in his bumbo for short lengths of time unassisted. He still only tolerates tummy time, though he is really good at lifting his head and chest up off the ground. This month he discovered his hands! He will clasp his hands together, and especially loves sticking them in his mouth! He has figured out how to suck on his thumb, though he hasn't figured out how to curve his fingers while doing so, which means he ends up gagging himself with a stray finger or poking himself in the eye! Poor kid! He also likes to hold on to me or whoever is feeding him. He will grab my fingers, my shirt, or my arm while he is eating. So sweet!
(Warning this paragraph is about poop!)
We have had some issues this month with Carter and digestive issues. He has some reflux, though the doctor doesn't want to treat it with medicine because he is still gaining weight and it doesn't seem to be effecting his sleeping (and medicine's aren't that great for babies!) So, I tried switching to a different formula that would help with that. Unfortunately, this new formula is thicker, and gave Carter constipation. The doctor suggested Karo syrup, which worked, but only as long as Carter was on it. As soon as we stopped, he was constipated again. After going through an ENTIRE BOTTLE of karo, I didn't feel comfortable giving it to my baby anymore. Then, the doctor suggested using 2 oz of pear juice. I have been doing this for a while now, and I dilute it with 2 oz of water. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to help much at all. Carter is still pooping, and will occasionally have semi-normal poops, but the majority of them are way more solid than they should be! I have just started on my own trying to substitute one scoop of regular similac formula for one scoop of his regular formula. This helped his constipation very quickly, but has caused his tummy to hurt him because he isn't used to the formula. I would like him to be able to get used to the similac so he won't be constipated, but not sure if that's going to happen or not. We shall see.
We traveled to Texas and West Virginia in September to visit all the grandparents, and let some of Carter's great-grandparents meet him for the first time. Carter did a great job on both trips. He did well in his carseat, let me feed him in it, slept a lot in it, and still kept a regular sleep schedule even though he was sleeping in a pack-n-play in strange places. It was an exhausting few weeks, but I'm glad that we got to see family and they got to see Carter!
Carter has been an amazing sleeper and now sleeps from 7:30 PM to 6:30 AM. Since I've been back to work though, I have been trying to wake him up a little earlier so I can feed him before I have to leave. He's had a few times (especially this past week) where he woke up before it was time to get up, but he wasn't hungry and will fall asleep after I put his paci in his mouth. We had to start making 8oz bottles for Carter this past week! We had already switched to 8oz bottles, but we were only filling them 6oz full. After Carter started consistently eating 6oz at a time though, and was still acting hungry afterward, we decided to move him up. It's a little sad, my boy is getting so big!
He is still working on laughing, and has the cutest little "laugh". He has also been squealing some, and making other noises and blowing bubbles as well!
Carter has gotten really good at holding his head up, and can now sit in his bumbo for short lengths of time unassisted. He still only tolerates tummy time, though he is really good at lifting his head and chest up off the ground. This month he discovered his hands! He will clasp his hands together, and especially loves sticking them in his mouth! He has figured out how to suck on his thumb, though he hasn't figured out how to curve his fingers while doing so, which means he ends up gagging himself with a stray finger or poking himself in the eye! Poor kid! He also likes to hold on to me or whoever is feeding him. He will grab my fingers, my shirt, or my arm while he is eating. So sweet!
(Warning this paragraph is about poop!)
We have had some issues this month with Carter and digestive issues. He has some reflux, though the doctor doesn't want to treat it with medicine because he is still gaining weight and it doesn't seem to be effecting his sleeping (and medicine's aren't that great for babies!) So, I tried switching to a different formula that would help with that. Unfortunately, this new formula is thicker, and gave Carter constipation. The doctor suggested Karo syrup, which worked, but only as long as Carter was on it. As soon as we stopped, he was constipated again. After going through an ENTIRE BOTTLE of karo, I didn't feel comfortable giving it to my baby anymore. Then, the doctor suggested using 2 oz of pear juice. I have been doing this for a while now, and I dilute it with 2 oz of water. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to help much at all. Carter is still pooping, and will occasionally have semi-normal poops, but the majority of them are way more solid than they should be! I have just started on my own trying to substitute one scoop of regular similac formula for one scoop of his regular formula. This helped his constipation very quickly, but has caused his tummy to hurt him because he isn't used to the formula. I would like him to be able to get used to the similac so he won't be constipated, but not sure if that's going to happen or not. We shall see.
We traveled to Texas and West Virginia in September to visit all the grandparents, and let some of Carter's great-grandparents meet him for the first time. Carter did a great job on both trips. He did well in his carseat, let me feed him in it, slept a lot in it, and still kept a regular sleep schedule even though he was sleeping in a pack-n-play in strange places. It was an exhausting few weeks, but I'm glad that we got to see family and they got to see Carter!
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