Day care with Hunter: Week 1

Week 1 of day care has surprisingly gone really well for Hunter. For me, it has been pretty tough.  Not that I think that his day care is doing a bad job taking care of him but it is more of a personal thing with me.  My maternity leave is coming to an end and I'm not going to spend every moment of every day with him.  He has definitely adjusted well and all of his teachers love him (I mean who could not love his cute little face)! They have done a really great job with keeping me posted of his progress throughout each of his days. They called me the first day to let me know when he drank all of his bottles and each time of when they put him down for a nap. Then for the rest of the week they let me know about how much milk I will need to leave for him each day and then for emergency's I have left the formula that he takes when I feed him at night.  In their nursery they have a sheet that they write down at what time each feeding and nap time takes place that I can see every day. He is already pretty much on a schedule there. I have dropped him off by 7:30 am each morning (which will be more like 7 am when I return to work) and he takes a nap by 10 am then his second nap at 1 pm and then his 3rd nap at about 4-4:30 pm. So each day that I have gone to pick him up at 5:30 pm he is just waking up from his final nap. When I come home with him I go ahead and give him his bath and feed him and shortly after and he is already wanting to go back down to sleep which is around 7:30 pm.  I put him down to sleep and then wake him up at about 9 pm for what is considered a "dream feed" so that he can go right back down to sleep for the night.  He has been sleeping for about 6 hours straight and then I feed him and he goes right back down. So at least I can get a few more hours of sleep before I'll have to get up and go to work and get him ready. I am so not looking forward to getting up at 5:30 am on the days that both Sean and I will work but I have to do what I have to do. All in all his week at day care has been a success and I will miss snuggling with my little pumpkin in the mornings but at least I will have the weekends to do that! 

Prior to this week was Hunter's first Christmas! He had a great time at G-Foxy's and of course he was spoiled by Santa and his family.  We had a nice dinner and Hunter wasn't too fussy until it was time to leave. He had enough and needed a nap.....big time!  

From Left to Right: Marnie, Uncle Joe, Hunter, Me, G-Foxy, Sean and Teddy with their dog Cruiser

Christmas was for me just to look cute!

Update on Hunter

Now that Hunter is 3 1/2 months old he has definitely come a long way since being a newborn. His 4 month appt. at the pediatrician's office isn't until the end of next month so I am not quite sure how much he weighs. Sean and I think that he weighs about 12 pounds if we have to guess. Sometimes I think he weighs more because he is growing out of a lot of his clothes....ahem, his little pants are getting a little snug around the waist! I guess feeding him that 4 extra ounces of formula at night are starting to show on him! Anyway, he is considered a "supported sitter". He can't official sit up and stay put but he can sit up with some help from his Bumbo chair especially.  Right now, he is always trying to sit up in whatever position I put him in. For instance, in his bouncer since it lounges back he doesn't really like it that much anymore because he can't sit up and he looks like he is doing a mini crunch to try and stay up. So I feel bad putting him in there. So between the Bumbo chair and his Jumperoo he is loving it. By the way, the Jumperoo is amaaaaazing! Sean kept telling me that he is too little for it and I totally disagreed. Since Hunter can hold his head up very well (actually) he can now focus on gaining the strength in his legs and it has really worked too. Now Hunter can stand on our laps while we hold him. He used to not be able to do that. I also got a little bather thing to put in the bath tub so that he can completely sit up while he has a bath now. He LOVES his baths and I could tell he was getting frustrated because he couldn't completely sit up and watch himself use his legs to splash. So that has been a big hit for him.  I feel like since he is in this "in-between" stage of not being able to fully stay put sitting up it's hard to find stuff for him. I know it won't be before long until he is able to sit on the floor and play but I guess this will have to do. I have told Sean that I want Santa to bring Hunter an Exersaucer (by Fisher Price) as another activity he can benefit from. So we will see.

Hunter has also had A LOT to say lately. Not only does he talk like you have seen in the video I posted before but he is yelling and cracking up a lot now. Sean gets Hunter on a roll laughing and it is the cutest thing! In the mornings when he is awake and ready to go explore he likes to yell and also right after his bath time. I think he likes to hear himself and see how loud he gets because me and Sean at first thought that there was something wrong with him but now we see it as him being a little boy and getting some energy out! 

Here is a video of Hunter with Sean laughing that I posted on YouTube: 

Cute huh? I love this little guy. He really makes us so happy! By the way, the little jeans that he is wearing in this video did not fit him 2 weeks ago at all and now they do. He has been going through a huge growth spurt and is definitely teething and super drooly! He hasn't been sleeping his usual 5-6 hours straight at night because I guess he is waking up because his gums hurt. I talked to my pediatrician yesterday and they said for me to give him some baby Tylenol at night and last night it worked a little bit. He was able to give me 4 straight hours instead of the 2.5 he was giving. Phewwww...I can't have the 2.5 hour deal again when I go back to work. So, hopefully this will help for awhile. Also, Hunter is not a big fan of his crib. I mean he likes to lay in there and watch his mobile go around and sing but when he he knows he is getting sleepy he will just not sleep in there. I know you guys are thinking that I should let him cry it out but I have let him fuss/cry it out numerous times and it doesn't work buuuut, he does like to sleep in his pack n play that we have in the bedroom! Even though its the same format as a crib, I guess he doesn't like that his crib is so big??? Or maybe because he knows mommy is close by??? Haha.  Hmmmm...I know I know, one day he is going to have to move to his big boy crib. I have a feeling when he is on a really rigid schedule while being at day care and being worn out that he is not going to care where he falls asleep. So I am thinking that will help. Plus they have him fall asleep in a crib so looks like day care is going to help me out more than I think it will. We'll see. I'll keep you guys posted. 

Dreading this...

I have a little less than 3 weeks before I head back to work and I am soooooo dreading it.  January 3rd is the official day.  I know that some of my other friends who have been on maternity leave and their time has already come for them to go back to work so I know that they can relate. I am really nervous about how I am going to cope with not being with Hunter at every moment of every day that I have been for the past 3 and half months. I do know that I will be pretty distracted going back to my busy job as a legal assistant at a law firm so that should help.  I'm just hoping that I don't find too difficult. We have decided to try him in his day care a few days the week before I go back to help Hunter adjust and for me to adjust with waking up early and making sure that I have everything prepared for both of us. So that is going to help out a lot and plus I won't have to worry about my first week going back wondering if Hunter is crying his head off at day care for me. Sean asks me all the time what the worst part is about Hunter in day care - which I have failed to mention, that he will only be in day care approximately 1 to 2 full days a week and about 1 or 2 half days a week because of Sean's schedule. So back to Sean's question - what is the worst part about Hunter going to day care? It's that he will cry for me and I'm not there. I'm sure that is every mommy's concern when they go back to work but that really tears me up.  The director at the day care facility told me that yes, he will cry for me, if not the first day, the second day he will. She said after that, he will be just fine. So that is why I am going ahead and getting that "crying out for mommy" fear out of the way a week before I go back to work.  I may as well get it out of the way while I am still on maternity leave and if they need to call me for whatever reason to get him I will.  I can just see myself when and if they call me, "Mommy to the Rescue!!!" Haha!

I even ask Sean if he is ready for me to go back to work because he will be Mr. Mom and have to try and muster up some more patience before I go back. I'm not worried about Sean...no way. He's got it handled =). I just told him he can't call me every hour at work. I'm sure that I will have a reference guide for him on the table of what to do for each little thing.

Either way, I am excited to see all my friends at work and for the obvious reason, MAKE A PAYCHECK!  Now that our house is under contract and it looks like we will be moving soon, we are definitely going to need some extra money. So at the end of the day, I am doing this for my son. Going to work and saving money. That's my motivation. 

I'm gonna miss this drooly little guy while I'm at work.

Our visit to Charlotte and Beech Mountain

We all went for a visit to Charlotte and Boone/Beech Mountain for a week and we had such a great time! We also did a ton of stuff and Hunter was definitely not used to all of the places we went and all the people he was able to meet but I have to admit he was a trooper.  He had his fussy moments and some nights he didn't sleep as well as he usually does but I think it was all of the stimulation throughout the day that he just could not relax. Now that we are back at home he slept 6 hours through the night and then woke up and slept another 4 so I think he was a bit tired just like his mommy because I surely appreciated that sleep! Hunter was pretty good traveling by plane except for the time when we were departing from Fort Lauderdale and he had a melt down before we were going to board the plane.  Yes, you could say that this is that baby that you hear screaming in the airport from far away but I guess now that I am a mom you just block it out and do what you have to do. Shortly after calming him down he went right to sleep. Here is a photo of Sean feeding him (pre-screaming!) and he learned to hold his own bottle:

We were in Charlotte visiting family and friends 5 of the 7 days we were there and then we had decided to go up to Beech Mountain and go skiing. Well, Sean and Greg were able to go but unfortunately with everything going on with Hunter and me being a bit on the tired side, I stayed in the condo with Mom and Hunter and had some nice down time. I was so excited to get back up to Boone and show Sean where I went to college at ASU and it was so great being there. I felt at home again. Sean loved the scenery and we visited all of the college stores and antique stores so it was great. Hunter was again a trooper! I just bundled him up but him in my carrier that I put in front of me and he ended up falling asleep through some of it. Before we left we ate at the Boone and Drug store (I know sounds weird) but this place has been around for 92 years and I personally used to go and grab a hot dog and milk shake between my classes when I was there. This place is a classic! When we left we all ordered a milk shake and I even gave Hunter a little taste of my vanilla one and he loved it! Hahaha...I figured he had been such a good little boy he deserved a little taste of something else besides breast milk.

Hunter was a little celebrity of course and I was very grateful for all of my friends and family that were able to make it over to see him! I was very happy that he met everyone. Here are some photos of some family and friends:

Grandma Sue 

Grandpa and Grandma Tracey

Aunt Eah! (she doesn't know that yet, but she is)

Aunt Jessica 

Uncle Matt

Parker (Shell's little boy who was born on the same day as Hunter. He was so much bigger than Hunter! He was such an angel!)

Shell's family. Jillian is holding Hunter and you can't see Reagan who is hiding behind Shell on the right!...haha!

Kelly and Colin! This is going to be about how big Hunter is going to be in a year.  Colin is about a year older than Hunter.  My goodness how time flies. I remember meeting Colin when he was Hunter's age (3 months)

Kelly

There are a few other family and friends that were able to see him but unfortunately did not have my camera ready but we had such a great visit with everyone and can't wait to go back soon!

Sean and Greg (my stepdad) went skiing and went before the peak season but the resort was blowing snow and I thought it was a great time for them to go because it wasn't busy or too cold at all! Sean went snowboarding and Greg went skiing. Sean has been to alot of ski resorts out west and is really good. Here is a photo of him in action. You can't really see but Sean insisted that I take some action photos of him. I couldn't snap my camera very fast but he just got through doing a jump. 

I managed to sneak a photo with Sean while he was there.

Also, while we were in Charlotte, Hunter turned 3 months old! I can't believe how fast he is growing. The day before we left he grew out of size 1 diapers and had to tell my mom and dad that he was now in size 2. They had bought him size 1 and had to see if they could exchange or buy size 2 diapers. It was like overnight he just grew! He's also eating a lot more now. Especially at night. I breast feed so its been a little difficult trying to keep up with him and have considered supplementing and tried it a couple times at night and he seems to eat another ounce of food. He currently eats about 8-9 oz of food at night! I guess his 3 month growth spurt has really taken a hit! Here is a photo of him at 3 months. For some reason I don't think this photo gives him any justice on how big he has gotten but it will have to do:

Hunter and Daddy

I have to thank my mom for doing so much for Hunter. I guess that is what Grandma's are for. She stocked the whole house with stuff for him that included: a swing, bassinet, rocker/bouncer thing (which he loved!), a play yard, a pack n play and a dresser full of clothes for him. She also bought him a snowsuit (to wear in Boone) and about 5 or 6 pairs of shoes! The funny part is that she wanted to make sure that I didn't need to pack anything for him to minimize all of our luggage but we ended up bringing 2 large suitcases, a bag for the car seat (which I added some stuff inside), a diaper bag, duffle bag, breast pump and sean brought a book bag! I can't imagine her not having all that stuff for him how much we would have brought.  Before we left, we ended up shipping a huge box our house of all the stuff she had for him! Haha.

Also, my dad and his wife really went out of their way and spoiled Hunter with so many toys for him to play with when he gets a little older. They are also shipping a big box to our house too that is full of all the toys. I can't wait for him to play with all of them. I don't know what we are going to do with all of them. I guess we are going to have to invest in a toy box already! 

We had such a nice visit and we are very grateful for all of our family and friends and glad that Hunter is surrounded by so many people that love him.

O' Christmas Tree

This week, Sean and I decorated the house for Christmas and every year I do a theme for our Christmas tree. One year I did all red lights and ornaments, another year I did crystal blue with icicles and this year I did a multicolor tree with the dominant color of purple. Also, my mom gave me these cute little ornaments to use this year and I added some candy canes. Every year, since Sean and I have been together we always get our family ornament down in Key West. Fortunately, we were able to get this year's ornament while we were down there for our wedding. At the time of our wedding I was 18 weeks pregnant with Hunter and Sean and I had already decided on naming him that so we went ahead and had ours made for this year. Take a look at our ornaments over the years and how they've grown...

So as I was putting this collage together, I realized that we are missing our ornaments from 2007 and 2009..hahaha!! I guess I need to dig around and find those. Anyway, you guys get the point =)

Thanks to my mother-in-law, Foxy for giving me purple shatter-proof ball ornaments, I can now put them on the bottom of the tree. Marley loves to play around on the bottom of the tree when I'm not around. Last year, I had so many shattered Christmas ornaments and it was such a mess. Now I don't have to deal with it!

Hunter loves to look at lights of any kind. So our Christmas tree has been an amusement park for him this past week especially since the lights twinkle! When Hunter needs to go down for his evening nap, I just plop him in his Rock N Play in front of the tree and he just falls asleep.

So sweet. 

Our crazy pets!

I haven't talked much about our crazy pets, Millie and Marley yet so I'll give you an idea of how our house usually is minus the baby and the history of them both.  When we first got Millie 4 years ago, she was our "princess" and was allowed to do anything...even get on the furniture and lay with us in the bed. Then, last year I get a phone call from Sean at work telling me that they went on a "run" where they had to help accident victims in the middle of the road and after they finished they looked to see that there was traffic all backed up because of a little black kitty in the middle of the road. So, of course, Sean grabbed the kitty and they took it back to the station and all the guys figured that someone would take the kitty but guess not. Sean calls me and sends me a text of what the kitty looks like and asks if I want him. I couldn't resist so I had to take him:

How could you resist this kitty!

Sure enough when we brought this kitten home, Millie knew she was in for it and that she was going to have some competition. Since day one of keeping Marley, they both have kept us entertained. They are as if they were a real live "Tom and Jerry" episode around here. Marley really LOVES Millie and Millie doesn't not care for Marley as much.  Marley has a lot of energy and wants to play and aggravate Millie all.the.time. So its really funny to watch them. I think now since we have had Hunter they have somewhat taken a liking to each other or at least try to.  I mean lets face it, my son is now more of a priority to me than they are but they do get their individual attention when I have time. Whenever I go on walks with Hunter, Millie always comes and when Marley is in that playful mood I grab his play toy that is on a stick and swing around for him. Marley in the beginning used to terrorize Millie and bug her when she was sleeping or just in general and thinks that whatever Millie has is his too and that bugged Millie like crazy. Here is a photo of how Millie used to let Marley bug her:

Isn't there something wrong with this photo? Millie is supposed to be on her bed, not Marley! Marley would do this all the time to Millie and she would do anything just to get him away from her. That's why Millie is on the ottoman (she shouldn't be, but we let her)! Now over the course of a year look at how the tables have turned:

(Sorry about the quality of the photo, I had to snap this photo quickly)

Now Millie is laying on Marley's little bed that we put in our front windows and Marley is laying on our tree bedskirt! Hahaha, I love these guys.

I always tell Sean that we need to video tape both of them in action when they are chasing each other around the house. So, I have our video camera ready and out so when that happens I will post it. It's really hilarious with Millie barking at Marley and Marley is playing with Millie's tail and then they chase each other around. I'm sure that a lot of pet owners who have a dog and cat do the same thing but I feel like these two are definitely something special.

Oh yeah and since now we have Hunter, Millie is not allowed on our furniture (which has been really tough for Millie, btw) and she is no longer allowed in our bed. Since day one, when we brought Hunter home she hasn't been allowed. I had a few talks with Millie during my pregnancy that one day she would not be allowed to do this and so far she has been obeying my rule. It's tough to resist but I have to do this in order to keep the allergens and pet dander off of common areas where Hunter is. Right now, our house is up for sale and I tell Millie that when we get a new house that we will have a comfy chair for her to sit in near a window and will be just hers (yeah right) =)

Thanksgiving!

Hunter had a busy Thanksgiving and it was a very beautiful day for it also! Sean had to work so Hunter and I first went to Foxy and Teddy's house for a midday dinner and Sean's Uncle Joe was able to come by and meet Hunter. So that was nice visit for him to meet Hunter. Then Hunter and I needed to leave and join Sean at his fire station where they had family and a big dinner for the guys who had to work. So me and Hunter ate twice! Its nothing new for me. I'm used to being at home and during the holidays having to eat twice - once at Mom's and then at Dad's house.  I've noticed that I don't enjoy food that much anymore because I'm always having to get up or I'm eating pretty fast or I don't finish but this day, I was able to enjoy all of the great food! I made the popular dish that Foxy and Teddy (more like Teddy) expects for me to make and that is my Sweet Potato Casserole that I got from my friend, Maria at work and it is so delish!!!

Hunter's shirt reads: Thankful for Daddy. I thought it was so cute. I love these guys. 

Then after a loooong day of eating and visiting, I brought Hunter into the house asleep. Notice how cute he falls asleep with his hands folded. Oh yeah, I had to change his outfit before we left Sean's station....apparently he had a huge spit up attack.  So I just left him in his car seat to sleep for awhile. 

So many visits!

So over the past 2 weeks, Hunter has been quite popular! We visited over at Foxy and Teddy's (Sean's mom and stepdad) for their birthdays and Marnie (his sister) was able to see Hunter for the first time! She has been unable to see him since seeing him in the hospital because either Hunter (and I) or her were always sick so it was nice for Hunter to finally meet his Aunt.

Then the following weekend, one of my good friends, Laura had her baby shower and her husband's side of the family had not met Hunter yet either so Hunter had a good 'ole time flirting with all of the women there and loved all of the attention. Here is a picture with my friend, Marilyn and the other is of the "woman of the hour", Laura,  who is due to have her baby girl in about 3 weeks! So Hunter will have a little playmate when she is born. 

Then.....I had promised my co-workers that I would come by for them to meet Hunter at their annual Thanksgiving luncheon. What a great time to go too...Mommy gets to eat while everyone "ooohs and aaahs" and holds Hunter! I felt like I had a team of babysitters for the 3.5 half hours I was there. Thanks to everyone at work! They had a ball with him and really enjoyed seeing him. Here we are with my friends, Jenny and Doris:

Now we are entering into the holidays, already and I know Hunter will have lots more people to visit. We are planning to go to Charlotte to visit my family in early December and I know Hunter has lots more people to meet. We can't wait! 

Hunter and his baby talk

So, Hunter has been blabbing a lot lately and this is how he is learning to talk and carry a conversation one day. Sean has even gone about 15 minutes with a back and forth "talk" with him. I caught this conversation on my phone and it was easy to upload. I have more video of him on our video camera and haven't quite figured out how to transfer it on my computer (for some reason its giving me issues).  He's actually talking to me as I type up this blog! So here is a little video (I put this on YouTube also) of what he blabs about: 



Hunter has also taken a liking to country music (I wonder why =)). He loves to listen and for us to dance to it. If he starts to fuss a lot I can just turn on the country station on the T.V. and pick him and start dancing and he doesn't make a peep. Today he just fell asleep in my arms in the middle of dancing.  I found this as another way I can get him to him take his afternoon nap. Even if its to a fast rhythm song not just slow.  I know I've told a few of you that he has had a tough time taking an afternoon nap but other than that he goes down to sleep with no problem.  If he sleeps at least 30 minutes then I consider that his nap. I've just accepted it as that at least its something better than nothing. I have a feeling he is just going to be a tough cookie when its going to be time to take an afternoon nap. I guess he just doesn't want to miss anything!  He has started to grab things....especially my hair.  Now my hair is up at all times because sometimes he just not want to let go. He loves the mirror too. Sometimes I set up his swing in front of the mirror in our bedroom and he just stares and stares and I think he is just trying to figure out why that is. I think he thinks its a new friend =). I am finding that everyday he does something new. Today's new thing is his cry for when he is hungry. It has sort of changed into a nicer way of telling me that, "mommy, I'm hungry" cry. It's not as strong as it was before. Thanks, Hunter. 

Us!

So I decided to start a blog and share with all of you because I figured it was so much better than Facebook. I can actually give you stories of what we are doing instead of just photos. Plus, I know you guys are very interested in seeing how Hunter is growing and learning new things. So, I'm going to give this a shot and see how it goes. Not sure how much blogging I will do when I return to work but I'll do my best.

Anyway, Hunter is now 2 months old! Holy cow where did the time go! I know...you guys are already telling me to enjoy it while its here because next thing you know, he will be all grown up! I believe you guys! I promise. I took him to his 2 month appt. this morning and found out that he now weighs a whopping 10  lbs. and 2 oz. Remember he was 7 lbs. 5 oz. when he was born, dropped down to  6 lbs. 7 oz. that first week we had him. So he is doing very well. The doctor said he is progressing as normal and things are great. He asked me on average how many hours he sleeps at night and I told him about 5 and he said that was terrific and to keep doing what I'm doing. So I guess Mommy gets a pat on the back for the past 2 months.....pheeeeww! He did have to get 2 shots and an oral vaccine. Which of course, it hurt me more than it hurt him. He cried. Then after the nurse gave it to him, I picked him up and gave him a big kiss and asked him if he was okay and he just stopped crying. So, my boy is a tough cookie. I'm proud of him.

I took about 20 different photos of him yesterday and tried to get him to smile. Why is it when you have him smiling all the time and when you want him to pose that for the camera, it never happens! So anyway, here are the 2 best photos that I got and the 2 worst ones.

He's definitely starting to become a little man and everyday he does something new. Today, he grabbed his feet and just about pulled off his sock. He has a hard time keeping those things on him so its just a matter of time when those things will never be on him. He has started the whole "baby talking" to me with his noises and sometimes he goes on and on for awhile ...so I just let him talk it all out and tell me what's going on. He's such a cutie!