10 Weeks

This is a few days late but better late than never! Last week we got the unexpected surprise of seeing the baby again. I had some worrisome symptoms so we went in to get an ultrasound and what a difference three weeks makes! The baby looked more baby-like than the peanut we saw at six weeks. The symptoms turned out to be nothing to worry about but better to know than worry when it comes to babies. Here is a nine week picture of baby Hunter...

The cravings continue and this week was hot wings which Jameson was happy to appease. We also went to Joss for some pregnant friendly food, not the same but yummy nonetheless.

My belly seems to come and go by the day, or really the meal I guess. My jeans are getting to be too tight even with the belly band so now I am in the fun in between stage where maternity jeans are too big and my jeans are too tight.

 Not much else to report this week. Jameson and I had originally planned on being surprised by the baby's sex but curiosity is starting to get the best of us and hopefully we can stay with the plan. We have a baby boy's name picked out but were struggling with the girl name this time. Maybe its a sign???

Lucy's 10 Months!

We have had quite an eventful last month! Lucy celebrated her first Christmas and New Year and Jameson and I could not have been more happy to share this time with her.

One of the major changes over the past month is Lucy has moved to three meals a day and only 3  nursing sessions. She was really showing an interest in food, especially whatever Jameson and I were eating, so we started introducing a lot more foods and she seems to love it. I can't believe how much she eats! She still loves yogurt but she also eats an entire pack of oatmeal in one sitting, sweet potato fries, eggs, black beans, lentils, whole wheat bread, chunks of cheese, and even turkey meatloaf. I have started giving her little sandwiches with homemade jelly and she seems to like them. Whatever she loses interest in Otis is happy to take care of for her :)

We also cut out nighttime nursing which she doesn't seem to miss. I am sure all the solid foods are holding her through the night. We had a really rough time for a few weeks with Lucy sleeping. She was getting up 5-6 times a night and only taking 20 minute naps during the day. We adopted a new nighttime routine, though, and over the last week she has started getting up only once or sometimes twice.

Lucy is more and more mobile all the time. She gets anywhere in the house now using her little leg shuffle and still loves to practice pulling up and walking around the coffee table. She can quickly get from the living room to the kitchen and loves being able to explore on her own. Just today she was pushing her exersaucer around the kitchen. Still no interest in crawling though I have seen her crawl a few steps in the kitchen.

There are a few new words Lucy is practicing, her favorite being "Whats that?" She will hold her hand up and point to anything and ask. She also loves peek a boo and now says "Boo!" when she pops out. She got a set of rubber duckies for Christmas so has started saying "Duck" when she finds one of them and will look for them when we ask her where they are.
Lucy also started swim class this month. The first lesson she was in the pool for 35 minutes just her and the teacher and she loved every minute. She got dunked under the water twice but didn't cry either time. She worked on blowing bubbles in the water and floating on her back. The second lesson, though, she screamed for 15 minutes before we decided to give up and try again next week. Hopefully she will go back to loving it because we really want her to be comfortable in the water.

Lucy seems to have gotten a ton more hair and is really thinning out from the chunky baby she was a few months ago. She definitely still has some rolls but she looks less and less like a baby everyday and more and more like a little girl. She now has two top teeth and two bottom teeth and I don't feel any other buds in her gums yet.

I really find it hard to believe that she is already ten months old and that in two short months we will be celebrating her 1st birthday. She continues to be my little buddy and I absolutely love that I am able to spend all of our time together. We love to sit and watch her play as she digs through her toybox or comes to join us in the kitchen. She is one of the most loving babies I have ever seen and can not get enough of giving her cousins lots of hugs and kisses anytime she is around them.  I feel so lucky to be her mom and and will cherish these last couple of months of baby Lucy before she becomes toddler Lucy.

2011 in Pictures

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

8 Weeks :)

Today marks 8 weeks along!

Baby is the size of a raspberry

I am so happy to say that the 24 hour nausea and total exhaustion have started to ease and I am feeling much more like myself :) Maybe the baby was just excited for Christmas and can now just relax and keep growing. My belly seems to have slowed down in the growth department but after I eat it is quite obvious. Today Lucy and I went shopping and found two maxi dresses for this summer for only $5 and $10! Never too early to stock up on my maternity wardrobe, especially when its not from a maternity store. I am craving anything sour/pickled; bring on the sauerkraut, pickles, olives, and salt and vinegar chips! My usual sweet tooth has taken a back seat to these cravings and the mound of Christmas cookies in the kitchen have really been untouched for the most part. I did get some sour worms though that may not make it many more days ;) This happened when I was pregnant with Lucy too, as did me actually eating potatoes which only happens when I am pregnant. Unlike my first pregnancy, I am HATING water! I force myself to drink as much as I can stand since I know all three of us need it from me. More of our family and close friends found out the news on our Christmas card where we dubbed the baby "Baby August." We still don't plan to find out the sex ahead of time so maybe this will be the name until baby's arrival!

Merry Christmas!

What a wonderful Christmas as a family of three!

Having Lucy this year made the day all the more magical and she must have enjoyed herself too because she was up until 10:45! We were able to relax all morning since both Jameson's parents and my parents came to visit us at our house to see Lucy's new toys. She got a teapot set, knitted bunny, weebles, stacking cars, shoes, and a music set from Santa, Jameson, and I and loads of other fun toys and adorable clothes from all of her family. I think she was a little overwhelmed because after she opened her presents she went back to her nativity set she got a few weeks ago to regroup.

Despite all of her own things, Lucy really just wanted my mascara and Heath bar...

Later in the day we went to Jameson's parents house for presents and dinner with his sister, her husband and Lucy's cousin Hunter. We rounded out the day, very late, at my sister's house with all of my family. That night Lucy slept for 6 and a half hours straight so that was my best present of all! I hope everyone had the chance to spend their day relaxing with family and enjoying the magic of Christmas!

Lucilles's 9 Months!

Wow! That went fast! I feel like I just finished writing about her being eight months and here I am back at it again. We have had so much fun over the last month! Lucy celebrated her first Thanksgiving at my parents on Thursday and Jameson's parents on Friday. It was so nice being able to relax at each house without having to hurry off to the next dinner. My family kicked off the Christmas season with our tradition of watching National Lampoons Christmas Vacation and a forced game of Outburst by Allison. At the other dinner, Lucy was able to play with her youngest cousin and we were able to get a few pictures before she attacked him.

That same weekend, Lucy went to look for her first Christmas tree. Jameson and I always go out to look and cut one down ourselves, and by ourselves I mean Jameson, so it was so much fun being able to take Lucy out for the first time. Luckily the weather was beautiful and we found the perfect (HUGE) tree!

Another Christmas tradition is the Centreville Christmas Parade! We all bundled up and made the walk into town to our spot. Lucy LOVED the firetruck sirens and lights and danced along when the marching bands came through.

Lucy has gotten another tooth over this month, her top right! The left one is days away from breaking through and has really been causing her some pain. The past few days she has been happy just to lay on my chest and be rocked. I feel so badly she doesn't feel well but am loving the snuggle time were getting in. Can you see them shining???

Her sleep has also been WAY OFF which I'm attributing to teething. Her naps are usually no longer than a half an hour and at night she has been getting up anywhere from three to five times. Oh, but when she does sleep there is no sight more beautiful

Like I mentioned last month, Lucy has no interest in crawling. She has perfected the side to side leg kicks while she sits on her bottom to get across the floor. Jameson just thinks she doesn't want to get her hands dirty crawling so she found another method. She also has started pulling herself up on the table or her toy box in no time so I think very soon she will be walking!

Thankfully we have had a few warm days over the past month so we have been able to spend some time outside which Lucy loves. She falls asleep in no time when she is in the stroller and looks pretty adorable if I do say so.

We continue introducing new foods and have moved to a three meal a day routine. Her favorite foods right now are peaches, oatmeal with agave, and vanilla yogurt. She also has no problem chowing down on greenbeans, carrots, summer squash, butternut squash and pumpkin. Hopefully she will like the beans and legumes well start introducing now that shes a little older.

Having Lucy with us as we prepare for Christmas is a dream come true. I remember being pregnant with her last year and looking forward to all the traditions we could start and share with her. I cant wait to see her on Christmas morning playing with all her new... wrapping paper and boxes! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

A Little Surprise

SURPRISE!!! Hunter Baby #2 is on the way!

 I had a feeling about two and a half weeks ago that something was going on so I took a pregnancy test and sure enough, there were two lines. I immediately started crying and just stared at Lucy as she smiled back at me. Since last pregnancy was such a shock and I was not able to come up with something creative, I thought a little more about how to share the news with Jameson this time. We had gotten our tree the day before but had not had the chance to decorate it yet. Oddly enough, I had purchased a "gift ball" ornament that unlocks with a key and after a few modifications I was able to fit my positive test in the little ball. When Jameson came home, there was a single ornament hanging on the tree.

That week I called the doctor and was sent for blood tests. My results came back positive but with a very low hcg count. I was sent for another test and after a loooonnnnnnngggggg weekend of waiting we learned that my levels were still low but had doubled so it seemed that things were progressing. Jameson and I knew that we had to tell our family soon because I already had a little belly...

4 weeks

We told Jameson's parents, who were not surprised AT ALL!, one night at their house. Since tattoos are rampant in my family I told my parents that I had gotten one myself that week. When they asked to see it, this is what they got, a preview of grandchild #8...

5 weeks

Our entire family is beyond excited as we anticipate the arrival of the 8th grandchild for my parents, 3rd grandchild for Jameson's parents and baby brother or sister for Lucy :)

 So, today we saw the newest member of our family for the very first time! I did not know how far along I was prior to the appointment so it was wonderful to learn baby's due date, August 9, 2012, which makes me six weeks as of yesterday. Jameson and Lucy came to the appointment too so we were all able to share the moment of seeing that little blurb and the fluttering heart beat. What a beautiful sight! After so much anticipation and some stress leading up to the appointment it was such a relief to hear that everything looks great.

As for me, I am already back in my belly band over my jeans and beyond exhausted. I am eating A LOT since I am eating for three now- me, Lucy, and baby- and it helps with the nausea. But mostly, I am overjoyed to be expecting again and feel so blessed to already have one beautiful baby.

6 weeks

Without further delay... BABY HUNTER #2