4 Months Old!

 

Some highlights from this month:

- Started rolling from his back to front and am constantly squirming around!

- Met his Great Grammy and Great Aunts who came to celebrate Thanksgiving with us.

- Went Black Friday shopping and was such a trooper.

- Got scared for the first time (by a dancing chihuahua stuffed animal!)

- Learning to control his hands.

- Getting ticklish and loves to laugh and smile!

- Met Santa!

- Had his 4 month check up.

 

4 Month Stats:

16 lbs 10 ounces

26 3/4 inches long (the size of an average 8 month old!)

 

 

 

We are so lucky to be this boys parents, having a great time watching him learn and grow. Love seeing his little personality develop!



3 Months Old!

This boy is growing much too fast!

Some highlights from this month:

-Had a couple playdates with his girlfriend Kaydence.

-First trip to Apple Hill with Mom and Dad.

-First day alone with Daddy, had lunch at wingstop and took a trip to the mall!
-Went to a few Sac State football games.
-Dressed up for Halloween and sat in a pumpkin!
-Loves giggling and interacting with everyone.
-Found his hands and loves chewing on them!

 

We don't go back to the doctor for a check up until next month but we weighed him the other day and he's already up to 15 lbs!



2 Months Old!

Our baby boy is already 2 months old!

 

 

 

Some highlights from this month:

 

-Attended more birthday parties and baby showers, busy boy!

-First time away from Mom and Dad while they were celebrating Auntie Kim's wedding to Uncle Chris. Had a great night with Nana and Papa and took his milk from a bottle.

-Had a playdate with his cousin Argia.

-Survived his first plane ride to Orange, CA to visit his Auntie Meghan at college. Had a great time meeting all the sorority girls.

-Went to the beach for the first time. Wore his swimsuit and put his toes in the sand and ocean!

-Smiled for the first time!

-Attended his first live football game to watch the UFL teams Las Vegas Locos play the Sacramento Mountain Lions.

-Had his 2 month check up and his first set of vaccinations.

 

2 Month Stats:

12 lbs 5 ounces (75th percentile)

24 inches long (95th percentile)

 

This boy is so long he's already outgrown a lot of his 3 month clothes. Love watching him grow and change everyday.

 



1 Month Old!

Our little man is already one month old!

 

 

I'm sure you can tell he doesn't like to be put down and I had worn out his patience by the time I put him in his rocking chair!

 

Here are some highlights from his first month:

-Watched his first 49er (preseason) game the day he was born, been a loyal fan ever since!
-Carter lost his umbilical cord after only 4 days. Lucky guy didn't have to endure many sponge baths.

-Attended a bridal shower for his Auntie Kim and got lots of loving from the ladies.

-Went to his first baseball game to watch his daddy play.

-Was circumcized, good thing he won't remember!

-Went to his girlfriend Kaydence's baby shower.

-Rolled over from his front to back when he was just shy of 3 weeks. He's amazingly strong for such a young little guy.

 

Carter's Birth Story

I was 38 weeks pregnant and had been off work for just over a week and half when Carter decided to make his grand entrance. We had renovated our kitchen that week and had a new sink, countertops and backsplash installed. All the construction made our house a mess so my mom and I spent the day cleaning the house from top to bottom, had a pedicure, and I went to a friend's house for dinner.

 

Eric and I went to bed after midnight and I was just starting to fall asleep when I had my first contraction. I hadn't had any braxton hicks contractions but  I quickly figured I was in labor. We learned from our labor prep classes that with your first child you are supposed to stay home until your contractions are 5 minutes apart for 2 hours. We tried to time them, but there weren't any breaks between the contractions, just more intense pain and less intense pain. Nothing I did made it any better and after over an hour I couldn't take it anymore. Eric thought it was too soon to go to the hospital but I finally convinced him to call the hospital and tell them we were on our way... if this was going to last any longer I definitely needed an epidural!

 

Just as we were heading out the door I felt the need to push, unfortunately the hospital was 30 minutes away. We got in the car and I spent the next 20 minutes with my eyes closed just hoping we'd make it to the hospital. About half way there my water broke and I was so relieved when we finally pulled up the emergency room!

 

Eric was still convinced that I was just being a baby and we had many more hours of labor so he leisurely walked into the emergency room when I told him I needed a wheelchair. Eric pushed me in the hospital and left the truck running out front. He figured he'd get me in the room and then go back out to park the truck and get our bags. We had barely gotten into the labor room when I told the nurse I needed to push. She quickly got me on the bed, checked my progress, and told me she hoped I didn't want an epidural because Carter was ready to come! Two pushes and 3 minutes later and our little boy was born. From start to finish my labor was 2.5 hours and it was a crazy, unbelievable experience! Definitely not how we had planned, but I wouldn't change a thing.

 

Carter Raymond Ortega

August 10, 2012

2:56 a.m.

7 lbs 8 ounces

21 1/4 inches long

 

 

The nurses had a good laugh when Eric told them we'd left the truck running out front, good thing we were in Folsom and all our stuff was still there! Obviously none of our family was there for the birth (we barely made it ourselves!) but everyone got to meet him later that day. We've been in love ever since...

 

Baby O: 37 Weeks

Baby O

How far along? 37 Weeks

Maternity clothes? Off work and spending a lot of time in my swimsuit!

Stretch marks? Still don't have any, I'm hopeful I'll make it out of this without them.

Movement: All day, especially when Eric taps his fingers on my belly.

Food cravings: Still drinking a ridiculous amount of milk and trying to curb the daily slurpee craving.

Can't resist: Watching the Olympics.

Gender: Boy.

Symptoms: None this week, my feet haven't been swelling much and I've been sleeping pretty well.
Belly Button in or out? Not going in anytime soon.
Projects This Week: Our kitchen is getting a makeover as I type... can't wait to see the result and our sink that will be big enough to bath him until he's 3!
Looking forward to: Seeing what he looks like. I'd be happy if he decided to come a little early = )



Baby O: 36 Weeks

Baby O

How far along? 36 Weeks

Maternity clothes? Living in dresses!

Stretch marks? Only a few more weeks to go, hope I can make it out without any!

Movement: He loves to jam himself on my right side and roll all around.

Food cravings: Milk and Slurpees are my new addiction ; )

Can't resist: Making to-do lists, only a few more productive weeks until it's all about Carter!

Gender: Boy.

Symptoms: Ankle swelling, but some time in the pool should take care of that!
Belly Button in or out? Out and about.
Projects This Week: Getting ready to tear off the kitchen counters so they can be replaced next week. Nothing like a little last minute makeover!
Looking forward to: Maternity leave!

Baby O: 35 Weeks

Baby O

How far along? 35 Weeks

Maternity clothes? Can barely remember wearing regular clothes, I’ll be happy to have a whole “new” wardrobe this fall!

Stretch marks? Holding strong, hopefully my skin doesn’t have too much farther to stretch.

Movement: All day, he’s been pretty squirmy lately.

Food cravings: Lots of milk… I almost need a second refrigerator or a daily trip to Costco…

Can't resist: Counting down the days left of work…

Gender: Boy.

Symptoms: He has dropped down and this week I’ve noticed a change in my hips, ligaments are loosening to get ready for labor.
Belly Button in or out? Out and squishy.
Projects This Week: Hanging the mobile and finishing the valances.
Looking forward to: Life as a family of 3, it’s so close it finally seems real!

Baby O: 34 Weeks

Baby O

How far along? 34 Weeks

Maternity clothes? I still have a few regular maxi dresses that I wear, but most regular pieces aren’t long enough.

Stretch marks? Fingers crossed I can hold out for a few more weeks!

Movement: He loves to stretch out his legs, judging from their length he is going to be a big boy!

Food cravings: Milk and fruit popsicles… a must on these hot days!

Can't resist: Working on our to-do list.

Gender: Boy.

Symptoms: Puffy feet, but they go down pretty quickly if I lay down for a bit.

Belly Button in or out? Out!

Projects This Week: Putting the final touches on his room, a few things left to hang and organize and we are ready for this little guy.

Looking forward to: Being done with work in a couple of weeks! Couldn’t come soon enough…

Baby O: 33 Weeks

Baby O

How far along? 33 Weeks
Maternity clothes? Dresses and yoga pants!

Stretch marks? Still clear.

Movement: He loves to cram himself over on my right side and make my stomach lopsided.

Food cravings: Still going strong with my milk cravings!

Can't resist: Checking things off our to-do list, I think we have everything we need for him, now it's just getting it all put away!

Gender: Boy.

Symptoms: Slight swelling in my ankles.

Belly Button in or out? Out and quite obvious.

Projects This Week: Hanging the finishing touches in his room and making a mobile.

Looking forward to: The next 3 weeks flying by... can't wait to be off work!

Faux Brick Wall

We've been working hard to finish up our projects in the nursery, but it seems like lately we've just been adding more things to the list. One of those projects was adding a faux brick and I'm so glad we decided to go for it, the brick makes such a difference in the room!

To simplify the installation we chose to install the brick on this wall where there aren't any windows and where the changing table will go.

Lowe's sells brick paneling in 4 x 8 sheets (similar to bead board) so we needed two to cover this wall.

We could have just put up the first one and cut the second to size, but we didn't want the seam to be completely obvious so Eric notched out the half brick all the way down and we put it up starting in the corner and securing it to the wall with a few black screws.

Then we notched out the second piece and carefully fit them together. To get everything to fit as close as possible this involved filing a few of the bricks until the puzzle pieces fit just right. The scraps we pieced together above the door and used black caulking to fill in any of the seams.

For being faux brick paneling, the wall looks great! It adds so much character and just what this room needed.

I'm glad we spent the time and energy to add this and I love how it turned out!

Baby O: 32 Weeks

Baby O

How far along? 32 Weeks
Maternity clothes? Mostly dresses, thankful it is the summer because waistbands are not comfortable!

Stretch marks? Keeping them away…

Movement: Constantly moving now that he’s getting bigger, it’s only going to get more crowded in there.

Food cravings: Milk and fruit, been buying out the farmer’s market!

Can't resist: Organizing… lots to do before this boy comes.

Gender: Boy.

Symptoms: Slight swelling in my ankles.

Belly Button in or out? Out and about!

Projects This Week: I SWEAR we are finishing the armoire this week. It’s been too windy to paint lately but I’m determined to get it done and in his room.

Looking forward to: Seeing all our maternity pictures. We had so much fun taking them last weekend and I’m in love with the couple I’ve seen already!

Baby O: 31 Weeks

Baby O

How far along? 31 Weeks

Maternity clothes? Dresses every day, nothing is more comfortable than soft cotton!

Stretch marks? Going strong without any…

Movement: He loves to stretch out and make funny bulges on the sides of my stomach and he really gets going at night when I’m trying to go to sleep!

Food cravings: Milk and pizza…. Back to the beginning!

Can't resist: Making lists….2 months left means its crunch time for our project list!

Gender: Boy.

Symptoms: After a long day walking around I’ve noticed my feet are a little puffier, but not usually hurting.

Belly Button in or out? Out and clearly visible in this week’s picture!

Projects This Week: First priority is his nursery, but the list doesn't end there!

Looking forward to: My baby shower this weekend! So blessed and can’t wait to see all our friends and family!

DIY Upholstery Expirement

Although my posts have been few and far between we've been busy working away to get the nursery ready. I've been hinting I had quite the ambitious project coming up and I was so intimidated that I kept pushing it off because I didn't think it would turn out.

Well I'm happy to report we have a great new addition to the nursery that is going to get plenty of use!

I've looked everywhere for an upholstered glider that would match the nursery. I was really hoping for something gray, navy, or red. The selection of gliders in those colors is very limited; they cost a ridiculous amount of money and nothing was quite the right size.

A few months ago my mom and I stopped by a local high school fundraiser and found this amazing glider.

It was originally from a very expensive childrens boutique, the perfect size and extremely comfortable, just not quite the right color. No problem, for $20 I figured I could easily have it recovered.

After getting several quotes, I wasn't sure if I was willing to pay the $600+ dollars it would cost to have it redone and debated about buying a new glider in a color I didn't really want.

After watching this great tutorial series from Tip Junkie I wasn't as terrified of ripping it apart and decided to give it a shot. I started by carefully disassembling the entire chair.

Until I was left with this:

Then it was time to reconstruct the chair with my favorite helper.

The toughest part was keeping everything tight and in position while it was being stapled down. With a little help from my husband and a bit of patience I am thrilled with the result!

I used the same navy blue material from Eric's baby bassinet redo. It looks great in the room and now I'm on the hunt for an ottoman.

We've made quite a bit of progress to finish up the room, but it seems like the to-do list just keeps growing!