New Years

Well 2011 is officially over and 2012 has begun. As I look forward to the upcoming year and all the amazing things that are to come, I can help but feel a little sad. 2011 was an awesome year and will be greatly missed. Some of the things that made 2011 awesome were, and in no particular order; being pregnant, Vegas with some beloved friends, spending the summer camping, the multiple birthdays celebrated, another wonderful year of marriage, good jobs, having friends and family happy and healthy, and of course welcoming Sawyer. Even though I am sad to see 2011 go, I am excited to see what 2012 brings. I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe New Years and are as excited about 2012 as I am.

Jo

6 Weeks

Today was my 6 week checkup and everything is good. The Dr. said I could go ahead and start walking/jogging and eventually running. This is a good thing considering I have at least 15lbs of baby weight left to lose. I am hoping to be back into shape and running well enough to run the Breast Cancer 10k again and hopefully beat my time from last year! My scar is healing nicely and I was told the redness will decrease. All in all, it takes about 6 months to completely heal, but I am well on my way! Sawyer did amazing for his first Christmas's. We started the celebrating with my Dad's side on the 17th. It was an extra special treat to have Sawyer's Great Grandpa Cory brave the weather and come back from Arizona. He honestly couldn't have asked for a nicer weekend to make the trip! My brother grilled steaks and that it was present opening chaos! It certainly was fun and I am already looking forward to next year when Sawyer can join his cousins in the mass unwrapping! Christmas Eve was spent with my Mother's side. She made our traditional dinner of dumpling soup and my brother and I proceeded to eat our weight in dumplings! Again, it was present opening chaos, but again enjoyable! Christmas Day morning Marcus, Sawyer, Boomer, and I made the trek to Huron. I was feeling incredibly confident in my packing skills until we arrived and I went to pump and realized that a portion of my pump was at home! Thinking that Walmart had to be open I figured I would just use formula, but of course it would be the one day Walmart closed. My cousin-in-law Amanda came to the rescue and found a pump I could use for the weekend, which was amazing! Again we had present opening chaos, but it was fun watching the kiddos open. Next year Sawyer will add to the mix and there will be 7 grandkids ripping gifts open! Dinner was prime rib and steaks for those of us not fans of prime rib. Enjoyed a couple glasses of wine and by 9:30pm we were pooped and headed to Uncle Kirk's to crawl into bed. This is the first time Marcus and I have spent the night in the same room as Sawyer and wow, my child moves and makes noise a lot! I kept thinking he was going to get up for the night but he was simply grunting in his sleep. He takes after daddy with his snoring! We headed home on Monday with luggage for all 6 of Sawyer's cousins. They are heading to Sioux Falls to stay with Grandpa and Grandma for the week! Hard to believe December is almost over, which makes me sad because next comes January and that means back to work. I am excited to go back to work because I enjoy my job, but I am also sad to not get to hang around with my baby all day. New Year's Eve we are heading to the Stampede game with Marcus's work and than hanging with some fabulous people. I am looking forward to ringing in the New Year with the loves of my life. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and has a wonderful start to 2012! Talk to you next year!

Jo

One Month

Little man had is one month checkup today and is doing great. He weighed in at 8lbs 4ozs. This put him in the 15th percentile. He has only gained an inch in length but the Dr. said he should hit a growth spurt around 6 weeks and gain some length. Overall though he is doing fantastic. We have a grunter on our hands, he definitely enjoys telling us all about it. He currently is drinking 2 and 1/2 ounces and eats every 3 to 4 hours, which is pretty awesome at night. My milk supply has been getting better and Marcus is happy to report he is a milk freezing machine. We are in the process of the ever so fun job of scouting daycares, which makes this momma sad. I can't believe how fast the time goes. It certainly is nice being on maternity leave over the holidays but with this, the time also seems to move quicker because there is so much to do. At this point, I believe my first day back to work would be January 30th, unless Marcus wins the lottery or someone decides to donate some funds for me to stay home! For the most part, Sawyer is pretty laid back. He does have his fussy times, which usually seem to be about 7 in the morning, and 5/6 at night. The Dr. said this is most likely because Marcus is leaving/coming home and Sawyer simply wants to be up and know what is going on. I am slowly, and I mean slowly, coming to grips with the reality that not everything is going to get done like it was prior to having a baby. Mainly, my house is not going to get dusted every week, my workouts will most likely not be at the same time every day, I will either need to get rid of the dog or learn to live with a little dog hair on my kids clothes. My guess on the last one, I will be learning to live with a little dog hair on my kids clothes. As most of you know, I really strive to be punctual, and I am starting to learn that I will need to leave a lot earlier to make it on time for things now, but hey, the kid is a good excuse for being late, right? I stress a lot about when I go back to work, the time management aspect. Getting myself ready for work, getting him ready for daycare, pumping, etc. Of course my husband just looks at me and shakes his head. He tells me to quit stressing and that it is not like he is going to lay in bed and let me do it all...what a wonderful man! Anyhoo, Sawyer is starting to smile a ton and recognize voices. We do tummy time, which he is pretty good at and doesn't get too mad about. He loves his little rain forest sound machine in his crib, we just need it to play a little longer. We usually have to hit the button a couple of times. This weekend we will be having our first Christmas with my Dad and Stepmom, and a special treat, Grandpa Cory flew in from Arizona! We also get to celebrate the birthday of one of Sawyers future best buddies, all in all, it will be a busy but awesome weekend. Hope this finds you all well and talk to you soon!

Jo

2 Weeks

I cannot believe how time flies. Just two weeks ago Marcus and I were just walking out of the hospital with Sawyer. It has been a great two weeks. I am adjusting to waking up in the night for feedings and pumpings. During the week I tend to do this on my own. Considering I get to lounge around all day with the babe and Marcus has to go to work, I don't like him having to get up during the night. On weekends though he is a huge help. He usually feeds the little man while I pump so we can head back to bed that much quicker. It usually takes me about an hour by myself so between feedings I get roughly 2 hours of sleep. Trust me, I am not complaining one bit! I am still having some frustration with my milk supply but it seems to be getting better. I think I just anticipated being able to produce more. While I feel I am adjusting nicely to new routines, I think Boomer is fairing just as well. He sniffs Sawyer while he is in his bouncy seat and certainly is interested in what is happening when we change him. It will be fun to watch these two grow up together. Sawyer and I went to lunch with our friends Emily and Beckett the other day. First trip out without daddy! I say we did pretty well, especially since little man slept the whole time. We also tried taking Boomer to the vet, now that one we didn't fair so well in. I thought I would be smart and take just my ID and checkcard in with me, well Boomer was so excited to be going somewhere that when I got him out of the vehicle my checkcard and ID fell on the ground. Of course I didn't notice this until I was in the vets office. Now trying to carry a car seat and wrangle in an 84lb lab is not the easiest! Thank goodness for the wonderful staff at the vets office. After receiving rabies and distemperament shots, Boomer and I were helped to the vehicle. Now, my checkcard and ID were on the ground and conveniently located under a vehicle. Down we went to retrieve them and in to pay. After that we decided it was in our best interest to go home! My infection of my incision is healing up nicely and I am feeling much better. I am much more mobile and have managed to significantly reduce my intake of ibuprofen. I am way less sore which I think helps things all around. I am becoming better at excepting the dust and dog hair and not letting it drive me crazy! Next week I think I will attempt to help with the laundry since my poor hubby has been stuck doing it for the last how many weeks, but for now I will take advantage of it! Off to the doctor's in two weeks for Sawyer's one month checkup, so if you don't hear from me until then I apologize! I need a laptop so I can sit and do this in the recliner!

Jo

Thanksgiving

Just to give you all a quick update on Sawyer. His first doctor's appointment was on Monday. He weighed in at 6 lbs, but considering he was 5lbs 15ozs when we brought him home our Dr. said we need to fatten him up! Trust me, I am working on it. We were able to get rid of the biliblanket the day after we came home. His bili went from 12.4 to 7.0 and our Dr. said his color was great. Other than needing to gain a little weight, he is doing great! Marcus and I were just wondering if he is always going to be this easy, if so, Marcus says we are having 15...I told him more like 3. This babe eats about every three hours and at night is really easy to get back to sleep. During the day he is up and willing to chill in his bouncy seat and just look around. Of course, he gets plenty of holding from mom. Hard to resist the little guy! On Monday at his appointment I was given a prescription to help stimulate my milk production. It has been pretty slow going, which is beyond frustrating. I am barely keeping up and basically only able to get enough to supply his current feedings with nothing to freeze for later. I am sure it will get better, or at least that is what Marcus keeps telling me. We stopped into the Dr.'s yesterday to get another weight and good news, we have gained a few ounces. He currently is at 6lbs 3ozs and everyone at my Dr.'s is smitten with him! Well, while Sawyer is being his usual rock-star self, I seem to not be finished! Wednesday night while cleaning up the kitchen a little, (I made a mess making pies!) I noticed a few drops of something here and there. Turns out my incision from my c-section was draining. Off to acute care we went. Turns out my my incision is infected. I was given a shot of antibiotic in the butt, a written prescription for another antibiotic, and told to sit with a heating pad 3 times a day for about 15/20 mins to continue to allow it to drain. I was told to consult with my Dr. on Friday to see if there is anything else they would like me to do. Ugh...what a pain, however since this is Thanksgiving and a Thanksgiving post here is what I am thankful for. I am thankful to not be spending this holiday on bed rest in the hospital but rather to be spending it with my family. I am thankful for the most wonderful, loving, willing to pick up my slack, handle my crazy emotional post pregnancy persona husband in the world. Don't know how I would do it without him. I am thankful for all the family I will not be spending the holiday with, but are still the best family! I am thankful for my besties and that they are the other loves of my life. I am thankful to have them and their families as my extended family. I am thankful for all the people unable to spend this holiday with their families because they are allowing me to spend the holiday with mine. I am thankful for an amazing Dr. and his staff and wish them all the happiest of Thanksgivings! I hope this finds everyone well and for those traveling have save travels. I hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving and I will continue to keep you updated!
Love,
Jo

Sawyer Kirk Hunter

Our little man just couldn't wait to join this world and to meet all his family and friends. Sunday night, 11/13/2011 at about 8:30pm I went to the bathroom and was having some bleeding. It wasn't much but told the nurse and they hooked me up to the monitors to watch. Baby as usual was being is rockstar self and I wasn't having any contractions. However I did start to have some cramping. When I say cramping, I mean cramping. I seriously have never had such painful cramping in my entire life. All I could think about was if this is what labor was going to be like there was no way I was going to make it through without pain meds! The bleeding and the cramping continued to intensify so at about 9:30 I called Marcus to let him know that it was getting worse. I tried to tell him that is was nothing and to stay home, but it was probably a good thing he didn't listen to me! My doctor was called and so was the prenatal doc. At about 10:30 the prenatal doc stopped in and saw the amount of bleeding and decided it was time to go. Because of the amount of bleeding a vaginal delivery was out of the question and it was time to do a c-section. Let me tell you, when this decision is made, things move super quickly. I had a bunch of nurses start working on getting me prepared. IV's were being put in, forms being signed, etc. Marcus got to wear this awesome jump suit and you should have seen how excited he was! My doctor was on his way in as well to do the c-section with the prenatal doc. Once in the OR, I was given something called a spinal. This is a shot of numbing stuff that basically numbs you from the chest down and it takes affect immediately. Before the shot was all the way done my feet were numb. I was given some oxygen just to help me breath. The also monitor my pulse and blood pressure through the whole thing. The actual surgery took only a matter of minutes. Marcus said from the time he entered the room to the time the baby was out, it was like 7 minutes. He said it was one of the craziest things he has ever seen! As the mother, you of course don't get to see the surgery, not sure I would have wanted to! I could feel them moving around and some pressure when pulling the baby out, but no pain. Oh man, when he came out he screamed and screamed which was what we all wanted to hear considering the main concern was his lungs! To everyone's relief, lungs were at a 100%, his blood sugar was great, and he was completely healthy! Sawyer Kirk Hunter was born at 12:18am on 11/14/2011. He weighed in at 6 lbs 6 ozs and was 19 1/4 inches long and I am sort of partial but he was perfect! Because he was born by c-section I didn't get to hold him until I was completely stitched back up. This process takes the longest, seemed to be about a half hour. Marcus however got to cut the cord and hold him while I was being stitched up so I got to sit and stare at my little wonder the whole time! He definitely was telling us all about his journey and continued to squawk the whole time. The doctors and everyone were certainly happy to hear it though. After I was stitched back up, we went to recovery to spend a couple of hours and make sure everything was good before heading to our room. Having never had major surgery before I could not believe how sore I was. Each day gets better, but getting up and down is somewhat of a struggle and I don't move very quickly. Sounds like we are heading home on Thursday the 17th. Currently the little guy is a little jaundice and is on a billi blanket. We are hoping the billi blanket gets to stay at the hospital and not have to come home, but I will take it. Better than being in the ICU! Most important thing is that we had a healthy precious little boy that we get the pleasure of introducing to all our family and friends. Some he has already met and I think they are just as smitten by him as his mom and dad! Can't wait for those who haven't gotten the chance to meet him to meet him. I will continue to keep you update!
JO

Well here is what I have been up to recently. As most of you know I was put on bed rest on Nov. 2nd. Well, on Monday the 7th I went to the bathroom at 12:30am and had more bleeding. Went to the hospital and was monitored and given a shot to stop contractions. Was released and sent home around 2:30am. I woke up at 5:30am to more bleeding. I called the triage area and because the bleeding had stopped and I wasn't really having any contractions they said if I was comfortable to just lay low and call my doctor when the clinic opened. So I called my clinic at 7:30am. My doctor's day off is Tuesdays but the nurses got a hold of him and he said as long as the bleeding had stopped, I wasn't having any contractions, and the baby was moving good I was okay to stay home. Well, I went to the bathroom at 9:30am and was bleeding again. So Marcus came home from work and off to the hospital we went. Again I was monitored however was not really having any contractions so wasn't given a shot. At this point they decided to check me in for the night. My doctor stopped up on Tuesday night to check on me and said the prenatel doctor would be up in the morning. Spoke to the prenatel and he at this point recommended that I stay until I deliver however if I have anymore bleeding they are going to simply induce me than. We decided to do an anmio to see how the little guys lungs were developing to see if it was worth just inducing. Well his lungs were not mature enough to induce. They like to see 50 and baby H's were at 22.2. At this point I have been given a round of steriod shots to help the lungs mature more quickly. Currently, if I stay incident free, basically no bleeding, they are going to induce me at 37 weeks. Which would be the 17th. They are inducing mainly to put an end to my numerous trips to the hospital for bleeding. 37 weeks is no longer considered pre-term and the lungs will/should be developed enough at this point to avoid the ICU. The steriods take effect immediately and they like to deliver within 48 hours to 2 weeks of having the shots. If I have bleeding before then, they are going to induce and if I happen to go into labor on my own, they are not going to stop it. As scary as it is to imagine that I am going to have a child in less than a week, I certainly was relieved to find out I was not going to be in the hospital until Dec. 8th. Not sure I would have survived that. My child is truely a hunter considering he has decided opening deer is the best time to make his arrival! Guess he just wants to go hunting with daddy that bad! Not going to lie, sitting in the hospital doing nothing is pretty boring and stressful at the same time. I am a pretty big worrier and I get to sit here and stress over all the things that need to be done before I come home with a little one. Marcus is rather happy I am in the hospital because I am not allowed to do any of the things that I would be doing at home but I try to tell him this is more stressful than me actually cleaning a toliet! For now anyway we are just hanging around wondering when this one will make his apperance. I will do my best to keep you all updated as I learn more, but the next post could certainly be to intruduce the little man to you all!
JO