One Week....actually almost Two!

I started this post shortly after Henry turned one week old. Life is a bit hectic right now and I am finally getting around to finishing this post. It is almost a week later and Henry will be two weeks old tomorrow. I can't believe how fast the past 14 days have gone...it hasn't been without lots of emotion and tears, but still filled with tons of support from friends and family. We have been overwhelmed with generosity and love from neighbors, parents, siblings, and dear friends. It is very much appreciated; we couldn't have made it through without each and every one of you that stopped by, dropped off a meal, or just called to say Hi. Life is good!

Here is a picture of our sweet Henry, who is doing wonderfully! He is eating and sleeping like a champ and just the sweetest baby ever. He is still sleeping most of the day, but I have already started to notice he is awake more and more each day; which I love. He is eating every 2.5 to 3 hours during the day, but has been giving me 4 hour stretches at night. Such a good boy to his mama! We can't imagine our life without him: he truly is a blessing! We love him so much!

And the best big brother ever...doing what he loves most; reading books! Such a sweet boy, too! He is slowly, but surely warming up to his little brother. Thank goodness! Ahh, I just love them!

Doing Well

Everything is ok at the Hunt house. Henry seems to be liking his new living arrangements and Ethan is doing well as a big brother. We have had many visitors and we thank everyone for their support.

Henry is actually sleeping very well. In just his third night at home last night, Ali fed him around 11pm, then again around 2:30am - he woke up for good around 7:15am. Definitely nice for Ali. She is trying to fill him up during the day so he sleeps at night and it seems to be working for now.

Ali, her mom, Ethan, and Henry are currently out shopping - or as I say, introducing Henry to mommy's favorite hobby.

Here are some pics from the last few days including Henry meeting his Damn-ma and Papa Larry.

Henry Robert Hunt

Day two went very well. The biggest news is that the kid has a name. Welcome to the world Henry Robert Hunt.

Ethan met Henry today and had some fun with his little brother. Carolyn and Steve stopped by as did Great Uncle David, Great Aunt Sue and second cousin Megan. Jack's mom and our new neighbor Katie came by this early evening. Its been a very busy day and Henry couldn't have had less of a clue that it was all going on.

We will be going home tomorrow at some point. Thanks for all of the nice words on here, phones and facebook. Whenever you want to come by to visit Henry, please do.

Pics

The Arrival

____ _____ Hunt was born at 9:22pm here in lovely Winfield, IL. HE was 6 lbs 11oz and stretched 20 inches.

Mom and baby are going very well. At some point I will convince Ali that his name should be ___, but for now we will be going with just ____.

Give me a few minutes for some pics.

Go Time

Lets get it started.

Sorry for the ridiculous Black Eyed Peas reference but I couldn't come up with anything else.

Come On In

Doctor has been told to put the beer down and come to the hospital.

Update 1

Epi just went in.

That's about it.

Go Time

Got to the hospital around 5:15pm this afternoon.

Baby will have a birthday of 9/18 or 9/19.

Will try to keep you updated.

Birthday Wishes

Sending many HAPPY BIRTHDAY wishes to an incredible man, wonderful father, and best husband anyone could ask for. You make us smile everyday and truly make this world a better place! Happy Birthday, Matt! We love you!

12 Days

I haven't really written that much about our second pregnancy and thought it was about time to give everyone an update since we are rapidly approaching Baby #2's due date.

A couple of weeks ago, we had some maternity shots taken by Carley Kay Photography. If you haven't heard me talk about her before, you must check out her work, she is amazing. Even in my very large, pregnant, swollen state, she managed to capture some great photos. Never mind the 90 degree, 100% humidity weather and mosquito invested grass! You can see more of the pictures here. The picture above and picture of Ethan sitting on the bench are two of my favorites.

All in all, I have been feeling pretty good. The hottest summer imaginable hasn't been ideal for being pregnant, but I am trying to see the positive side of nice hot weather, as we will be dealing with snow in a couple of months. It has made for just a few miserable days and lots of A/C blasting throughout the house. The worst part about the heat...swollen hands and feet. Nothing that isn't too terrible to deal with, but annoying nonetheless. We have been blessed the last couple of days with gorgeous cooler weather, definitely a welcome change. I actually might be feeling better now than I did a month ago. There is definitely some uncomfort, making it hard to bend down, sleep at night (I end up on the couch every once in a while or get to work before 6), etc., but in all honesty, we are just happy to not be spending our days in the NICU at this point.

We had and ultrasound last week and the baby is looks wonderful. The doctor estimated the baby's weight at that time to be approximately 6 pounds, 5 ounces. That would lead him to believe that the baby's final weight will be somewhere between 7 1/2 and 8 pounds. Such a change from Ethan, but again, a welcome one! Heartbeat was 149 and has always hovered right around this mark the entire pregnancy. I thought for sure that we would have met our newest addition by this point, but now I am beginning to think I might have an October baby. I go to bed each night with much anticipation and anxiety about what is to come, but we can't wait!

People always ask me if I know what we are having...the answer is still no! Then they ask me what I think we are having. The jury is still out on this one, as I get lots of varying opinions from people. Matt thinks girl, I think boy. It is hard for me to imagine myself with a girl since I feel like my entire world revolves around trucks, tractors, trains and dirt...maybe that is why I always say I am having a boy. Truly I will be happy with either a little boy or a little girl! We don't really have names picked out. Sure we have a list of about 7 boys names and 10 girls names, but we just can't seem to narrow it down. Might be a labor discussion again like it was with Ethan!

As with Ethan, my cravings (if you can call them that) have changed throughout this pregnancy. I ate tons of ice cream with Ethan which has been a little different this time. I just love any kind of sweets this time around. Some of my favorites have been iced animal crackers, Red Vines, and pretzel M&M's. I also have really enjoyed great fruit this summer and tomatoes. Pizza has also been a favorite! I haven't been walking nearly as much as I did when I was pregnant with Ethan so, I am looking forward to getting back in to an exercise routine and going for my first run. Looks like that might be the Glen Ellyn Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day.

While I am looking forward to a couple more full nights of rest (minus about 4 trips to the bathroom each night), I am so excited to welcome another little one into this world. I can't wait to find out if I have been carrying around a little boy or girl. I can't wait to see what he or she will look like. I know they will be as sweet as ever. I can't wait for Ethan to meet his new brother or sister, he is going to make one heck of a big brother! We look forward to updating everyone on the birth of our little guy or gal. Keep checking the blog for all the updates!

Parent's Day Out

Because of the timing of Ethan's birthday, he misses the cutoff for "nearly threes" pre-school in our area by just a couple of months so after a little insight from other moms I have met in the area, I decided that the best way to give Ethan more social interaction was through Parent's Day Out. There are a couple churches in our area that offer this program, but I ultimately decided on the one through the United Methodist church in Glen Ellyn. After meeting with the director and seeing the classroom, it seemed like a great fit for Ethan. Parent's Day Out is essentially a pre-pre-school, that lasts from 9:30-1:30, once a week (or more, if you choose) with an informal curriculum. Basically a chance for moms, or dads to have a little free time to run errands, nap, etc.

After talking about going to "school" for the last month and wearing his back pack around the house obsessively, Ethan finally made his way to Parent's Day Out on Tuesday. I assure you, he was much happier going than he looks in the picture! We were, of course, running late to get out the door and I had put his lunch box in his backpack, which caused it to weigh more than he did. He did really well at drop off and only cried a little bit. Not because he was being left there, but because he wanted to stay downstairs with the toys in the nursery and not go upstairs the classroom. From what Jennifer reported back to me after she picked him up, his first day was a success! He didn't eat much lunch (totally normal) because there was so much going on, but I am hoping as the weeks pass he will get used to all the activity and actually eat lunch with his new friends. I am so proud of him for doing so well during his first day. Let's hope the next couple of weeks go as smoothly as the first one!

Where did my baby go; he is getting so old!

Neighbors

Jack, Tyler, Charlie, Lily, Ethan and Brian

Our next door neighbors were in the market for a new couch and decided that yesterday was the perfect day to kick their old couch to the curb. Well, all the kiddos thought it was the best toy you could ask for on a gorgeous Labor Day. I couldn't help but snap a quick picture of them enjoying life so innocently. They were having a blast! Who knew a couch could be so much fun.

Big Boy Bed

After about a month of hard work by my dad, Matt, and Mr. Tim (a builder friend of my mom's) Ethan's "big boy" room is in the finishing stages. We decided that there was not a better time to transition Ethan from his crib to his bed than a long weekend at home. Plenty of time to get some rest, if needed and hopefully a few weeks of transition time before the baby arrives! So last night, after a lot of talking up his big boy bed, we took the plunge and put Ethan in his new room. We would definitely call the first night a success!

We put Ethan in his room around 8:30 after his normal bedtime ritual of a bath, a couple of books and a little bit of milk. I made sure he had all the comforts of his crib (blankies, books, pacis, his monkeys, cars, Goofy, and Mickey....all the important things) and knew we would be right downstairs if he needed us. After asking for his crib a couple of times, Matt and I shut the door and walked out. He whined for just a little bit and fell to sleep. We went to check on him before we went to bed and all though he was laying down the short way of the bed, he seemed to be sleeping peacefully! We didn't hear a peep from him until about 5:15, where he whined again and little bit and fell back asleep until 7:15! Whew!
I know that a lot can happen the next couple nights, but the first night went better than expected. We are so proud of our big boy!!! We will see how nap time goes this afternoon!