Hunter's Birth Story...

Since my baby is practically a year old, I figured it was high time I share how this sweet little man came into our lives...  ------------------------------------------ Today (a year ago) B, my mother, and I were anticipating the arrival of Baby H. He was over his due date and we just wanted him to  make is debut. We just moved into a new apartment so we were busy getting all the furniture in order and decor put on the walls. We were hanging the last of the pictures when we received a call from the hospital telling us that we needed to be there within the next hour if I wanted to be induced.  At that moment so many emotions ran through me... nervousness, panic, joy, but most of all... excitement.  I showered, we packed up our things, made sure the car seat was installed, ate some food, and headed to Banner Estrella Hospital. It took about an hour to get all settled in.  We had to fill out paperwork, get put on machines, and answer lots and lots of questions.

Once we were comfortable they started labor. First pitocin: 7:30pm (Nov 13) --> nothing Round two pitocin--> nothing Gel--> nothing Lots and lots of walking--> nothing It wasn't until they broke my water the next morning (7:30am) that things started happening. By mid-afternoon the contractions were kicking my butt.   I really wanted to do the whole thing "natural" but it got to the point when I just couldn't stay awake anymore so an epidural was a must! B was doing an amazing job through all of this... he comforted me, encouraged me, kept me hydrated, and never left my side. Once the epidural kicked in I was finally able to get some sleep. Before I knew it my dad showed up from Vegas, I was fully dilated, and the nurses were coming in.  They placed Blaine on one side of me, my mom on the other, and told me to start pushing.  After about 45 min of pushing and being told how to breathe, we saw our little man.  In movies they always make it seem like babies come out screaming...  Well, in my experience, that is NOT what happens.  They had to clear his airway and unwrap the cord from his neck... It felt like forever (it was maybe 30 seconds) until we heard his sweet cries. He was finally here at 7:26pm. And we instantly fell in love... Our little man... 8lbs 11oz 21.5 inches long. They cleaned him up, checked his vitals, weighed him... He was perfect! Once they were finished with him I held him close.  I tried my best to memorize all of his little features...  His tiny hands and how he had such long fingernails, the way his ears looked like wavy ribbons, and how he sucked on his bottom lip. Blaine sat on the bed with me and we just admired this little person that made us a family of 3. Our lives were changed forever.. for the better. It took us about a day to finally give him a name... HUNTER BLAINE HOWELL and he was ours!!

Road Travel With A Babe...

After putting in an extreme amount of road hours a few weeks ago,

(see post here)

 I figured I should share some things I now swear by on road trips.

^^^This little man is a dream when it comes to traveling,

but here are a few items that just made it all a tad bit easier

1. Baby Einstein: This was by far the biggest life savor. It helped keep my little man entertained for hrs. My dad pre-loaded videos on my IPad, which was great since data can be sketchy in certain areas. Anyone driving through Nevada knows what I am talking about. 

2. Plum Organics Squeezy Food Pouch: Convenient, resealable, squeezable baby food. It was so nice to be able to feed him while we were on the go without the need of a bowl and utensil. I did purchase the spoon attachments but H wasn't the biggest fan of those. 

3. That's it bars: On our way to San Diego my mom ran into Starbucks to get us some drinks and also came back with these. They were intended to be a snack for us but once I noticed the ingredients I couldn't help but feed it to H. Apples and cherries, Apples and pears, ect. THAT'S REALLY IT! No additives, no other ingredients, just the two fruits. He loved them and couldn't get enough!

4. Brica Day and Night Mirror: Now this is something that we have had since day one. I know there are parents out there that do not approve of these since they can be a hazard in an accident, but I HATE not being able to see my babe when I am driving. (especially when I am alone) It gives me comfort being able to see what he is doing with certain toys, food, sippy, ect. 

Hunter [9 Months]...

Hunter has officially been out just as long as he was in. How can my little man already be 9 months??
At 9 months:

• Hunter will eat anything. He loves to feed himself. Raspberries, chicken, beans, strawberries...
• Loves to walk around holding Mom and Dads hands, furniture, or his walker
• He is freakishly strong. He can hold his own weight on a pull up bar. I took him to the field yesterday to see B and he held himself off the ground on the chain-link fence. Crazy kid!
• Crawls like a mad man
• Wearing 12-18 month clothes still and size 4 cruiser diapers
• At his 9 month check up he was 21.4 Lbs.  and 30.25"
• Loves splashing around in the bathtub and the pool
• He's quite the babbler. "dada" "mum mum" "nene"
• Hunter also loves to mimic sounds. He will click his tongue if you do and blow raspberries constantly
• Loves to scream and grunt
• Hates getting his diaper changed and hates being strapped in the car seat (items are given to keep distracted) 
• He is good at entertaining himself. He can stare into the mirror or simply sit with some toys for a good chuck of time and be totally content
• Papa taught him to scrunch his nose and squint his eyes at the same time... this is his current happy face and I absolutely love it
• Obsessed with paper. He grabs it, screams, and shreds it
• Dada is by far his favorite person. Nothing brings a bigger smile to this boys face than when his Dada comes home. 

Hunter [8 Months]...

I really feel like this little guy is not so little anymore

Hunter Boy is growing so fast and getting so big

He loves to climb on EVERYTHING, crawl EVERYWHERE, and chew on ANYTHING

We finally got him is own crib and he loves it

He officially has his own little man cave... mustache sheets and all

(Thanks Papa and Nene for the awesome trophy head)

Hunter Boy truly is the most wonderful babe

He is such a cuddle bug and gives the best little hugs

I cant help but love when he reaches for me,

It truly makes my heart swell.

Hunters favorite time of day would have to be when Dada comes home.

As soon as he hears the key hit the lock he perks up and just waits until he sees his face

Then he lights up, smiles from ear to ear, and makes a bee-line straight to Blaine

Seriously cannot get enough of this boy! 

Hunter [7 Months]...

THIS GUY is 7.5 months and has totally stolen my heart!

I am a little behind and sad that I missed his 6 month update so there is a lot to catch up on.

Hunter Blaine Howell is the happiest, easiest babe I ever did see. 

Currently: 

-In size 4 diapers and 12-18 month clothes

-At his 7 month check up he weighed 20.8 lbs and was 28.5 inches tall

-Hunter is a total blonde boy (not sure how that happened) with bright baby blues that I am in love with

-He has 6 teeth total... 4 top, 2 bottom. For a while he only had his two fangs and the bottom two. Little vampire babe.

-He is a champ at solid foods. He loves chicken and gravy, peas, green beans, mixed veggies, baby puffs, black beans, and blueberry/apples

-Hasn't had the greatest experiences with squash, sweet potatoes, and apricots. (he loves to eat them but the coming out part is not so great)

-He has been getting pretty good with feeding himself and holding his own sippy. At the same time though, everything that is NOT food also goes straight to the mouth. (he has a strange obsession with tags... If there is a tag on a toy, thats the only part he'll play with)

-Favorite chew toy, Nerf dart. I got B a Nerf gun for Easter and Hunter fell in love with the darts.

-He is still a cuddle bug. Snuggles with Mama but is infatuated with Dada. No one makes him smile/laugh quite like him

-B is quite "rough" with H and I love it. Boys will be boys... He thoroughly enjoys being thrown around and played with more than anything

-A new trick of his is Drinking from a straw and he loves to suck on ice

-Hunter is a social butterfly. He adores people and smiles at most everyone... Especially kids and elderly people

-He loves to be passed around. He'll go to most anyone

-He's not sleeping through the night quite yer. Still wakes up once at night but we did finally move him into his own room. Goes to bed around 10, wakes up around 4, and back up at 7.

-He has been making raspberry sounds and a grunting/laughing sound that makes me smile

-As you can see from my latest insta post he has started to scoot/crawl all over the place. Nothing is safe anymore

-He really dislikes sitting, he would rather stand all-day every-day.

Bon Appetit...

Our little Hunter boy has reached 6 months and that means FOOD!
He had cereal for the first time and loved it!
I love watching him experience new and exciting things...
I just wish it would slow down!

He is such a boy, ate all his food and still wanted more (including the spoon)...
I think my grocery lists are going to be MASSIVE once real food is in the works.