Happy 3 Week Birthday to Hutton!

I can't believe it's already been three weeks! Everyone keeps telling me that time flies when you have kids! Boy does it?!? I have to say it's been a roller coaster ride since Hutton arrived! Thankfully, we've had so much help, it's ridiculous! Our families and friends have been such a wonderful support system! We couldn't do this without them! Thank you so much for EVERYTHING!

My incredible husband has been more amazing than ever! His deep love for his family and desire to help where needed has been huge over the last three weeks! It's so fun for me to watch him interact with our new baby boy! He loves that baby so much and I'm so thankful to have him in my life! He is such a wonderful daddy! He has come home everyday this week for lunch and to spend time with Hutton! I love you more than you'll ever know Craig!



After two weeks of visitors and a tremendous amount of hands and help, Craig and I arrived back to reality on Sunday. We were on our own. For the first couple of days, we were pretty exhausted. Hutton was all mixed up and didn't know if it was night or day, which led to extremely long nights and days. However, we are now getting into a rhythm and he's doing much better about sleep more at night and being awake more in the day! We read this book, BabyWise, that helped US out tremendously! I realize that everyday won't be perfect and systematic, but it's nice to have a couple of days where there was a glimpse of hope for a small amount of rest! Here is a picture of him right before bedtime and the awesome swaddle daddy puts him in!



We took Hutton for his two week appointment on Monday. Dr. Hanson says he looks great and was extremely impressed with his neck control! He complimented what a strong boy he was! (Are we surprised? Have you seen my husband?) He weighed in at 9lbs, 8 oz and measured 21inches in length, both being the 73 percentile. Here are some pictures of him on the exam table!





Craig and I feel so blessed to be new parents! Yes we have discovered the challenges and difficulties, but they are so worth that feeling you get when you hold that sweet boy and know he's yours! We love our little man so much!! One last sweet picture of him sleeping peacefully in his crib!

Hutton is Here!

Hutton James Howard was born on June 3, 2010 at 1:50pm! He was 8lbs, 4oz and 20 1/2 inches long...Needless to say he was a good size! Craig and I feel extremely blessed to have a beautiful, healthy baby boy and have been overwhelmed with gratitude for this incredible bundle of joy!

We were scheduled to be induced at 4:00am on June 3rd and the delivery ended up being quick and almost effortless! The nurse started Pitocin in my IV at 5:25am to get the contractions going. Over the next few hours Craig and I rested and watched movies! By 9:00am my contractions were coming often and a lot more intense. My doctor arrived at 9:30am to break my water. It was at this time that I received my epidural as well! It was perfect timing because I don't think I could have handled more intense contractions! (I'm a wuss!)

Once the epidural set in, I could feel no pain. It was glorious. So wonderful in fact that I was able to take a 30 minute nap! The nurse came in to check my status and in that 30 minutes, I went from being dilated 3cm to 7cm!! Whoo hoo! In the next half hour, I went to 9 1/2cm! The nurse called my doctor who had gone back to her office to see a couple of patients. She told my nurse to have me start pushing, anticipating it would take at least an hour due to the fact that he was my first baby and that he was large. So we started pushing and Hutton started sliding right out! When my nurse realized how quickly he was coming, she ran to page my doctor. The doctor said to stop pushing and that she'd rush right over.

Hutton did not want to wait on the doctor. Each time I would contract he would slide a little bit more, without any pushing on my part. My nurse literally had to push him back in and hold my knees together! This definitely made Craig and I anxious! So we just sat and all looked at each other as we waiting the doctor to arrive. Finally, she comes sprinting in the room, put on her gear, and within minutes Hutton was here. A total of 15 minutes of pushing!!

Seeing his face for the first time was one of those moments that I will never forget. Craig and I were overwhelmed with emotion. I couldn't believe that after 10 months of anxiously waiting, Hutton was finally here! He was absolutely perfect and I loved him more than I ever thought possible!

We have been so blessed to have our families visit and take care of us. I couldn't have done this without them. Nana, AKA my mom, has cleaned, cooked, and helped during late night feedings! Seriously, where would I be without her? It makes me sad to know she and Aunt LaLa are leaving in only a few short days!

Thank you so much for all of your love and support! We are so excited to be parents and look forward to watching our son grow over the years! Please continue praying as we begin this journey of learning...Lord knows we don't have a clue of what we're doing! Here are a few pictures of our sweet baby boy!