Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Mr. Hunt and I find ourselves torn today. This is the first Christmas that we are by ourselves, but our little baby Jane is making this day extra special for us. I'm so glad she decided to arrive before Christmas because we would definitely be missing our family that much more if not. Good news is that my mom, dad, and Davis are on their way to visit right now. We cant wait for them to meet Jane.

I wanted to be able to remember this day since its Jane's first Christmas so we did a little impromptu photo shoot. Its hard to find time for these since she eats every 3 hours and sleeps in between. She is only awake for a short time right after she eats.

Look at these lips!!

I cannot get over every time she folds her hands like this.

Can you handle the cuteness? I sure cant.

And of course we cannot forget our big boy River's birthday today. Today he turns 4 years old. I cant believe its already been 4 years with him. Seems like yesterday he was our little puppy. Ill do a whole 'nother post about how the dogs have adjusted to Jane, but he has been an amazing big brother. He has had to deal with two little girls coming into the family after him....poor guy. He enjoyed a rawhide bone  for his birthday. Of course Hannah had one too. Mr. Hunt also got him a duck decoy so he can start to learn to duck hunt. Its going good so far and he loves the duck toy.

We opened up a few gifts that we received in the mail from our family. We feel so blessed. Mr. Hunt and I decided not to get each other anything this year since we have spent a large amount of money on sweet Jane. For once Mr. Hunt followed the rules. Probably because he didn't have any time to go get anything for me last minute since we've been at home with the baby.

After only a few gifts, we had to take a break to feed the girl. Apparently she didn't have enough the first time I fed her before the gifts.

How cute are these little snowmen ornaments.?

Mr. Hunt loves Duck Dynasty. His parents got him this shirt.

Its been a great Christmas so far. Definitely alot different than any Christmas we've ever had. Again, we are missing our families so much, but we are trying to just soak in our little nugget all day and just look forward to when we see our families next.

We made sure to read the Christmas story in the bible last night. The real reason for Christmas is the birth of our king. We are making family traditions here at the Hunt household this year since we have Jane now. We want to have some fun traditions for each holiday. Reading the Christmas story is definitely one of them. We want to make sure she remembers that Its not only Christmas and her big brother's birthday, but its also Jesus's birthday and that's the MOST important.


Ill be back with Jane's birth story either tonight or tomorrow.

Love,
Jennifer

Merry Christmas Eve! SURPRISE!!!!!

Jane Audrey has come into the world! That's why Ive been MIA! Ive been typing up her birth story and getting all the pictures ready, but I wanted to say Merry Christmas Eve to everyone and share a few pictures of her in her Christmas Eve attire.

Jane is 5 days old.

I will post more pictures tomorrow with her Christmas outfit and hopefully my birth story.

Love,
New Mommy

37 weeks=FULL TERM

WEEK37:

Looks like the puffiness and being swollen is here to stay.

Total Weight Gain/Loss?: 37.6lbs Thank goodness I didn't have another 6 pound weight gain week. I refuse to weigh myself during the week so who knows really how much I gained this week since when I weighted myself last Monday I had lost two pounds. Whatever....Ive already past the 35 lbs ONLY thing, so Ive given up.
Maternity Clothes?: I hate going out of the house only because I have NOTHING to wear. While at home I wear pj pants and huge shirts that I find in Mr. Hunt's pile. To make things worse, its gotten cold here so I look silly wearing flip flops out of the house. This means that I have to wear pants and somehow squeeze my huge swollen feet into some shoes. 

Stretch Marks?: No stretch marks. Crossing my fingers that none show up in the next few weeks. 

Sleep?: When I'm asleep its good, but I'm now getting up about 3 or 4 times a night to pee. Also, its getting alot harder to move from side to side. But once I'm in a comfortable position and fall back to sleep, I'm out!

Feeling Sick?: OK, this is going to sound like I'm complaining, and I am. Again, I'm so excited for this little girl, and I would do it all over again, but I'm MISERABLE! I have headaches, I'm nauseous again, I'm a huge swollen marshmellow, I can't move around very well, I have to pee every 30 minutes, my back is killing me, and my baby feels like she is falling out of between my legs. TMI?

Best Moment This Week: We are trying to keep ourselves busy around here and with Christmas right around the corner it hasn't been hard. We had a Christmas get together with our small group and also Mr. Hunts work party. 

Movement?: Yes. Right when I mentioned last week about reading that she is supposed to run out of room and not move as much...but she still was moving like crazy....well.....now she isn't. She still moves around alot, but they are different again. Its just more rolling and not as often. Its hard to explain.

Food Cravings?: No. In fact, nothing has really sounds good to me lately. Its almost like the first trimester all over, but not as bad thankfully. 

Gender?: sweet baby girl

Labor Signs?: Braxton Hicks like WHOA! But those don't hurt. I'm also having REAL contractions too that hurt, but not regular like I'm in labor. 

Belly Button In or Out?: Outie

Wedding Ring On or Off?: Off :( I'm starting to wonder if my fingers will ever shrink back

What I Miss?: Being able to get dressed in cute stuff. 

What I'm Looking Forward To?: Getting this baby OUT!

Anything Else?: OK, my appointment this week was a little interesting. I'm just going to write it all here since I'm going week to week now instead of doing a whole separate appointment post.
I found out this week that I have protein in my pee and my blood pressure is high. This is a sign of pre eclampsia. That and my headaches made my doctor a little worried. She didn't seem too concerned at first since my blood pressure was definitely higher than it used to be, but not as high as pre eclampsia patients, but to be cautious, I had to get blood taken before I left to find out. I also had to bring a huge red jug home and pee in it for 24 hrs to check how much protein is there. If I do have pre eclampsia, I have to be induced right away, so this should be interesting to find out whats going on. Since I'm full term, its not a big deal if I have to be induced for pre eclampsia. By the time we even find out, Ill be almost 38 weeks anyway.
Also, when she did the internal check, she said I was 1.5cm dilated which is only .5 cm more than last week. But, I am effaced 50% which is 50% more than last week, and I'm at a -2 station which explains why it feels like she is literally falling out right now. A -5 station is where she has been the whole pregnancy and when I get to 0 that's when I can start to push her out. So saying that I'm already at a -2 means she is RIGHT THERE! I believe it!
So, with all that said, if I don't have pre eclampsia then she doesn't think Ill even make it to 39 weeks. Of course that's not for sure, but she seemed like she thought I was going to go into labor soon.
Before, I was scared about the whole labor thing, but I'm so uncomfortable now that I don't even care anymore. I just want her out!

UPDATE: After the pee test and the blood test, they determined that I don't have pre eclampsia. Praise God. As much as I wanted her out, I definitely didn't want to be sick. I certainly trust my doctors, but I'm still worried about pre eclampsia. I'm glad that I go back to the doctor once a week in case something changes. 

25 Days of Christmas So Far

Mr. Hunt and I have had some fun with the 25 Days of Christmas that Ive planned. I'm not sure we will make it to Christmas Day, Jane might come before then, but we will take one day at a time. There were two days already that we didnt do what was planned. One was something downtown and we just didn't feel up to driving that far. The other was a dinner out and we were both just tired and ordered pizza instead.

I hung the card right above the TV so we don't forget.

Besides that, we have done all the cards so far. Mostly Compliment Day where I compliment Mr. Hunt on everything about him and make him blush and movie nights are reoccurring. 

We've decorated our tree together while listening to Christmas music. 

For those wondering, our angel is a black lab. My Aunt had a black lab named Bubba and it was hers. She gave it to us along with a HUGE fake tree that we didn't get out this year mainly because there is NO ROOM in this house for it. 

We also had game night which was fun. Mr. Hunt and I need to play more games. We always enjoy doing it, but never remember to do it. We played Monopoly this time. 

Are you surprised that Mr. Hunt won? Of course not. But, I will say that I had him shaking in his boots for a little bit. 

I think his idea of dessert really put him over the edge in making some deals with me. Next time I wont let him have so much sugar. He kept eating Hershey bars dipped in peanut butter. Looked gross to me. 

We have more Compliment Days and more movie nights coming up, but we also have a few more fun activities that we will hopefully be up to doing. We will see. I knew while making this that I may not be in the mood for half of these things, especially the ones that involve walking around which is hard for me these days. I'm lucky that Mr. Hunt likes to take it easy most of the time anyway. Next years 25 Days of Christmas can be a little more activity filled. 

Ill be back to update more of our journey. 

Until then,

Jen

Adventures in a New Dog Friend

These past few days have been a little hectic at the Hunts (as if we already didn't have a million things to do), but we are suckers for lost puppies and we got wrangled in.
Our church is at a YMCA and this past Sunday when we arrived at church we saw a cute little dog in the fenced in area of the YMCA. I mentioned to Mr. Hunt that maybe it was someones that worked there and just brought him to work. As we were walking into the church he came running down the hallway with someone chasing after him. Then I realized he didn't have a collar.
We went about our business at church and it wasn't until after church was let out that we learned that he was a stray that was found wandering around the YMCA that morning. All the little kids were petting him through the fence and he seemed like a very nice dog. Mr. Hunt asked him to sit, shake, and lay down and he knew them all. This made us think that even though he didn't have a collar on, he was definitely someones dog. Also, he wasn't that dirty and Mr. Hunt made a great evaluation that he was walking along the sidewalk and not all over the grass. That's a sure sign of a domesticated dog.
As everyone was leaving, Mr. Hunt and I started to feel bad for him. How long was he out there? Was he hungry? What were the YMCA people going to do with him once all the church people were gone? Mr. Hunt went inside and asked what they had done so far and they mentioned calling Animal Control, but they were closed since it was a Sunday. We knew then that we should probably take him home with us to at least feed him.
We left our number at the YMCA in case someone came to look for him and brought him home. He got along with River and Hannah great! They loved having a friend to play with in the backyard. He ate in front of them without guarding his food and he was all around a great dog. In the meantime we put ads up online about him and looked at other ads for lost dogs and we didn't get anything.
This picture is funny because he was so excited to be around us that we couldn't get him to sit still for a picture. He wanted so bad to go inside, so he would sit at the door a look right in when Mr. Hunt or I went inside. So this is how Mr. Hunt got such a good picture for the ads online.

We named him Cash for the time being. We weren't sure how long we would have him so we needed a name and Cash was what we called him.
We left him outside for the day because we didn't know anything about him and didn't want him to make our dogs sick or bring in bugs or anything. Then that evening it started to thunder, so we had to bring him in. We brought him in and let him lay on the dog bed that River and Hannah never use. He LOVED it. He fell right to sleep and seemed like a felt right at home.

Once we were ready for bed, we transferred the dog bed to Hannah's crate and put him in there for the night. He cried/barked for the first hour he was in there and then he was quiet. Then at about 4am he was awake again and was up crying/barking for the rest of the morning. I thought Mr. Hunt was going to lose, but he didn't. I was surprised! I kept wanting to check on him but I didn't want him to learn that crying and barking meant that I would come check on him so I left him out there alone. When I finally got up around 7:45 I was given a little surprise. He had ripped the entire bed into little pieces. I'm not shocked though, poor guy had no clue where he was.
All day Monday he played so well again with River and Hannah, but Mr. Hunt and I knew that we needed to do something different for that night. I had planned to take him to the vet for a microchip check on Tuesday so we were definitely going to have him for one more night. Then if we still couldn't find his owners, my parents and Davis were considering taking him back with them when they come to see Jane. I asked Davis what he would name him if he got to bring him home and he wanted to name his next dog Dexter. So we started calling him Dexter instead of Cash. That way once they came in a few weeks, he would know his name.
Once Mr. Hunt got home we decided that if he was going to stay another night and possibly a few weeks, he needed a bath. He was such a good dog during his bath, and I think he liked it.

This also meant that he could finally lay up on the couch. We weren't letting him up on the couch at first since we didn't know how dirty he was. Poor guy was so confused why River and Hannah were allowed up, but he wasn't. Once again though, he was so good. We only told him once that he wasn't allowed and he didn't try to ever get back on. After the bath though, I patted the couch to show him he could get up. He jumped right up and curled up in a ball and was in heaven.

He looks kind of sad here, but trust me, he was happy to be up there.
Then we made the decision to let him sleep in the room with us that night. We knew one thing though was that he COULD NOT get on our bed. Our bed is already full with River and Hannah and my big ole tummy. So I put a blanket down next to Mr. Hunt's side and brought him in. I showed him where to lay down and he did. He did try to jump up on the bed twice, but we corrected it and he didn't try again the entire night. Once again, we were so surprised at his obedience.
Then Tuesday I took him to the vet. I was starting to have a feeling that this poor dog was let loose since it seemed like nobody was looking for him and since he didn't have a collar, so the last thing I expected was for him to have a microchip, but to my surprise...HE DID! This is when I got happy and sad at the same time. I was happy that he had a home and hopefully was going back, but sad because we started to really like this little guy.
Long story short, they found his owners. I wish I could have seen them or talked to them, but I had to just leave Dexter there at the Pet Smart and his owners were coming to get him. The only information I got was that they just adopted him a week ago and he got loose on Sunday. I was happy to know that he didn't spend any nights out in the cold, but I'm still confused. Why would you not have a collar for your newly adopted dog? I understand that he may have slipped out of it, but it seems like you would be more cautious with a dog you just adopted. I guess they did good with the microchip.
Once I got back into my car to leave I started to cry. (I'm blaming being 9 months pregnant) I didn't cry because I left him there, I cried for him. I felt so bad. He was probably so confused. Who knows where he had been before he was adopted a week ago, but the vet said that he was 4 or 5 years old. So for 4 or 5 years, who knows where he was. Then he got adopted and given the name Rider for a week. He somehow escaped and we found him. We took him in (yet another family to get used to), and called him Cash. Then changed his name to Dexter. Then had to take him back to his first adopted parents (new family again) and be called Rider again. I understand its just a dog, but I just felt so bad for the little guy. He really was the best behaved dog Ive ever come across and he really just wanted to be loved. He would cry or whimper whenever Mr. Hunt or I would walk out of the room.
I really just hope that his real family takes care of him. I hope they don't just leave him outside for him to escape again. I hope it was just an awful accident that he got away the first time. I guess there is nothing I can do now, but pray that he will be loved.

Goodbye Dexter! You will be missed!


On a side note, I'm now a little worried about Hannah and little baby Jane. Hannah really like Dexter and played with him well, but she was JEALOUS! I'm not sure if she was just protecting me since I'm pregnant or if she was truly jealous. If I petted Dexter or talked to him, she would come over and squeeze in between us. She would also give him dirty looks and roll her eyes at him. We've never brought another dog in before, so this was new for her. River just did what we thought he would. He did this with Hannah at first too. He just ignored Dexter. Yes, he played with him too, but most of the time, he just ignored him and pretended he wasn't there. I guess we will see what happens with Jane.


Love,
Jennifer

34, 35, & 36 Weeks

WEEK34:

Total Weight Gain/Loss?: 29.8lbs. Yes this is more than a pound a week, but Im going to blame it on a big baby. My belly is measuring 40.5 inches.
Maternity Clothes?: Still searching for things to wear. 

Stretch Marks?: No, but my belly is starting to inch a little

Sleep?: I get night sweats almost every night. Talking about night sweats....I am alwasy hot these days. I used to always be cold no matter what, but that has changed. Poor Mr. Hunt gets blasted with the air conditioner in the car these days.

Feeling Sick?: Ive had bad headaches this week which arent fun. Also a little nasueos again if I forget to eat. I also get cramps still. Im pretty sure this is all going to stick around until she is here

Best Moment This Week: Going on a hospital tour. Mr. Hunt and I went on a hostpial tour on Sunday. It was nice to see where to park and where to check in when the time comes. If we get induced, we wont be in such a rush, but just in case we are in a rush, Mr. Hunt knows what to do. We also got to see all the different rooms we could have. The labor and delivery roons are very nice with a pull out couch for Mr. Hunt. What Im confused about is that the postpatum room (the room you are in the longest 48-72 hours), there is no spot for the husband. There are only a few hard chairs. hmmmmm

Movement?: Yes, she moves all the time....Im confused when she sleeps, or maybe she moves alot in her sleep too

Food Cravings?: Turkey! Happy Thanksgiving!

Gender?: Girl! But I was watching a youtube video of this girl who was told she was having a girl until at 36 weeks, she was told nope....its a boy. Oh my heavens, what a way to stress out a mother to be. 

Labor Signs?: Braxton Hicks still and the baby has dropped. Thats about it

Belly Button In or Out?: Outie

Wedding Ring On or Off?: Off :(

What I Miss?: Being comfortable

What I'm Looking Forward To?: Her being here

Anything Else?: Happy Thanksgiving! Im thankful for SO MUCH this year

WEEK35:

Total Weight Gain/Loss?: 30.4lbs gained so far. Wow, its getting up there. Im not sure how Im really gaining weight. The weeks that I feel like my belly doesnt grow much, I gain alot of weight. This time I didnt even gain a full pound, but my belly grew an entire inch. Im not even going to stress about it.....whatever
Maternity Clothes?: Still have like two things to wear. Haha. At least I dont go out much. 

Stretch Marks?: Nope but my belly is SO stretched. My poor veins are showing and my skin is getting so thin

Sleep?: Sleep is surprisingly good the past week or so. I get up about once to use the restroom, but other than that, I just have my two sleeping positions and I sleep pretty good. Of course I could sleep better.....but Ill take what I can get

Feeling Sick?: I wouldnt call it sick, but this week has been rough. MY WHOLE BODY HURTS! This baby has dropped and she is SO heavy. I lose my breathe for the smallest things and its a chore trying to get up off the couch. 

Best Moment This Week: Jane's Mimi and Papa (Kaki and Boss Hunt) are here for the second half of the week. This is their first visit and we cant wait to show them around. They are also bringing a bunch more of Jane's things that she got back in October for her baby showers. I really hope that I can keep up since Im not used to doing much

Movement?: Yeah...all the time still. The movements are starting to change though. She is running out of room so its more of her poking out and slowly rolling around instead of big punches and jabs.

Food Cravings?: Nothing much this week. Of course I still want a cold turkey sandwhich. 

Gender?: girl

Labor Signs?: Braxton Hicks a few times a day. I had some other contractions the other night too. They were painful this time. Im not sure if they were real or just the Braxton Hicks getting stronger. They went away when I laid down.

Belly Button In or Out?: Outie

Wedding Ring On or Off?: Off :(

What I Miss?: Being able to move around easily

What I'm Looking Forward To?: Getting her out! I want to meet her

Anything Else?: This week has been especially hard. Im pretty sure Mr. Hunt is sick of me saying "I wish she were here now" "Im ready for her to be here" "Get her OUT of me" I know it sounds harsh, but I really am so uncomfortable. Its awful to think I may have a 4 more weeks of this. I really hope if thats the case, it goes by fast. If not, she can come now!

WEEK36:

DISCLAIMER: I almost didnt add this horrid picture. You will see that I have swollen into a HUGE marshmellow. Everything is swollen now. My hands, feet, face....everything! Even Mr. Hunt said "Thats not your normal smile" I told him it was when your face is swollen. You look different. It probably doesnt help that I had just woke up either. Im just keeping it real though yall. This is one of the bad things about pregnancy. Will I ever be not swollen again?

Total Weight Gain/Loss?: 36.4lbs!!!!!! No, you didnt read that wrong. I gained 6 WHOLE POUNDS this past week. To be honest...I almost fainted. Number one, I wasnt supposed to gain more than 35 pounds so that was awful in itself. Then I started to worry. It didn't seem right. My hands and feet were very swollen so I know that I was retaining more water than usual. I called the doctor becuase I read that I should call if I gain more than 4 pound in a week. They didnt seem worried so I wasn't....just upset that I gained that much. To my surprise, I weighed myself the next day and I had lost 2 pounds...so it was definitley the water retention. We will see what the scale says next week.
Maternity Clothes?: Dont have much to wear anymore

Stretch Marks?: No stretch marks, but Im looking everyday becuase I feel HUGE

Sleep?: Sleep is still good. I get up about once a night to go to the bathroom, then I back to sleep. 

Feeling Sick?: Im having headaches. They arent too bad though, just annoying. I also get random spurts of nausea and I read that morning sickness can come back in the third trimester. Luckily it just lasts for a few minutes and Im back to normal

Best Moment This Week: I had my first appointment where the doctor checked for dilation! She also told me that Im all baby. She can literally feel every body part of the baby and she said as soon as the baby comes out, my stomach will be flat. Lets hope shes right and not just trying to make me feel good about myself and get my hopes up. 

Movement?: Yes. I read that movement will slow down since she is running out of room, but this girl is not slowing. She moves a lot....all the time. I love it. Sometimes it hurts, but it really doesnt bother me. Im glad to know shes ok in there. 

Food Cravings?: Nah, not really

Gender?: G-I-R-L

Labor Signs?: Braxton Hicks still. Also I think I had a few contractions lastnight. I was half alseep so Im not positive, but I was having cramps and they were on and off. They hurt but not too bad. Obviously they stopped, but if those werent real contractions, Im not sure what will be

Belly Button In or Out?: Outie

Wedding Ring On or Off?: Off :( My hands and feet are SO  swollen....its gross

What I Miss?: Being able to function in general. Everything makes me out of breath. I cant bend over. I have a hard time getting on and off the couch. And a whole bunch more. Yes, Im complaiing. Ive had enough of all this

What I'm Looking Forward To?: Seeing her perfect face. 

Anything Else?: I got checked for dilation. Im one centimeter dilated which is good news for me. I was so scared she would tell me I was still closed. Im so ready for her to be here, the more dilated I am...the happier I am. Of course, she said that she doesnt expect me to dilate much more within the next week so dont be discouraged if Im still the same next appointment, but we will take it one appointment at a time. 

25 Days of Christmas

Mr. Hunt and I decided to not get each other gifts this year for Christmas. Although we said that for our anniversary too and he still got me a one year anniversary ring. Hopefully he wont be sneaky again and follow the rules.
We have been spending alot of money on Baby Jane. I was always told that babies are expensive, but never imagined she would be this expensive before she even got here. Not to mention the hospital bills we are about to pay. I'm not complaining though, Id pay 10 times more money to have this baby.
So, instead of gifts, I decided that I still wanted to be in the holiday spirit, so I put together a 25 Days of Christmas thing for Mr. Hunt and I. He didn't know about it until a few days before December and he didn't plan any of it, but its still a "gift" for the both of us since we are doing all the activities together.
Of course since Mr. Hunt still has to go to work during the week days, some of the things are small evening things, but most all of them are festive and holiday related.

There are movie nights filled with the best Christmas movies with popcorn, hot chocolate, and a fun dessert made by me. There are big activity days where we leave the house and do something like drive around and see the lights, or go attend a Christmas function downtown. There are stay at home activities like decorating the tree while listening to Christmas music, and game night. And lastly, there is compliment day where I just wrote out why I'm grateful for Mr. Hunt. OK, compliment day isn't really a "gift" for me, but it still makes me happy to remind him of why he is so special to me and how thankful I am for him.

I'm super excited for our 25 Days of Christmas, I may even make it a tradition. We are well aware that Jane might decide that she wants to be one of the activities and come early which would prevent us from doing some of the other activities, but that's OK with us.....we wont be upset. Actually, this year, this 25 Days of Christmas thing is almost like a little distraction for us. We are hoping the days will fly by.

Tonight is movie night. We are watching Christmas Vacation and A Charlie Brown Christmas. Some of the movie nights we have two movies since some of hte movies are short like A Charlie Brown Christmas.

TIS THE SEASON!

Love,
Jennifer