Halfway there!!!

Wow. Half a year. It’s hard to believe that Carter is halfway to his first birthday.

                          

 Trying to sit myself up...

                                                                              I caught mom trying to take my picture! 

This past month has been busy. We celebrated St. Patty’s day, Easter, Carter’s adventures out to many different places, a mom and baby’s day out, and me going back to work (tear)! It has been a bit busy here in the Hilton household.

 Easter Bunny at the Mall...

                                                                                            Carter's Easter Outfit... minus pants ;)

Playing Superman with dad!!!

Going back to work was quite an adjustment for our family. I have been used to having Carter all to myself everyday but in the beginning of March I headed back to the classroom while my mom watches Carter. I know that he has a blast there, my mom did raise 4 very capable and successful kids if I do say so myself, and she knows what she is doing. I am also so thankful that we have my mom to watch Carter and that he isn't going to daycare. I totally get that it’s the only option for some families but I am very grateful that my mom said she would take care of him so he is getting the attention he needs and the physical therapy he needs too.

Hanging out with Poppa and Gigi's new puppy Belle! 

With the transition, Carter’s physical therapist wanted to see him once a week to make sure he was still on the right track and she has been very happy with how he has been improving and making strides. After Spring Break she will officially see him once every other week.

Carter is talking more every day. He LOVES to talk and make lots of different sounds, including talking to me in the car. He will talk for a solid 20 minutes and if you don't respond he will yell until he gets something back. It actually does make the drive go by faster when he does that, plus its mom and Carter timeJ.

As you can see from the pictures Carter is still my chunky little guy. He is a whopping 20 pounds 4 ounces and grew 2 inches this past month from 25” to 27”. His eyes are still very blue and although they have my shape they are definitely Mike’s color and we hope they continue to stay that blue too.

Although Carter isn't super mobile he is rolling on a regular basis from his tummy to his back. He prefers rolling over his left side and landing on his back. The right hasn't been something he can do on his own quite yet. He does roll side to side but usually it’s because he already has something in his hands and wants to move it around. Carter loves to sit up and he does it all the time. Just last week he was leaning on Mike and he lifted up his head, followed by the rest of him and was sitting up all on his own! He does an amazing job with holding up his head and body while he sits. We have a Fisher-Price Sit and Play and he loves hanging out in his chair. It’s such a joy to watch him sit up all by himself because kids with SB don’t usually have a lot of muscles in the abdomen area so the fact that he is using those muscles is a great step in making sure he can do anything that he wants.

He even smiles as he rolls

 Leaning on Mommy :)

                                                                                                          I like sitting up! 

                     Just checking out the menu dad

                                                                                      Hey... I see you

This past month (well the last week really) Carter has also gone swimming for the first time! My mom, sister and her son, Carter and I all headed out to the Milford Pool and took the boys swimming for the first time. Carter had a great time and he loved being in the water. It is a wonderful way to also work with his legs and muscles with some water therapy and after working on kicking his legs he started to do it all by himself! I am so excited that he likes the water as it’s a family sport ;). He even went all the way under the water and was cheered on when he came back up! I am really looking forward to our weekly Saturday swims.

       

                               I'm happy at the pool! 
                                                                                 So relaxed I'm sucking my thumb

All done for now, towel time :)

As for Carter’s shunt, neurology, urology, and plastics departments he is doing well. His next visit to Mott isn't until May and we will check in with urology in July.

For now, I continue to race home (safely of course) after work to spend the rest of the evening with Carter before bed time, and with the weather finally warming up we will start going on walks and hopefully with my healing process I can start jogging with him too. Until then I'm okay with snuggles and smiles. :)

I may be mean mugging but I like snuggles with mom