It's A Boy!

Tyler Gary Hunt was born on Saturday, February 28, 2009 at 2:28am. He weighed 7lbs, 1.4oz and was 20.75" long.

Labor went very quickly. I began feeling contractions on Friday night around 6:20pm during dinner out at Pizza Fusion. They were coming about 5 minutes apart, but were not very strong, so I didn't think too much of it. I just kept track of how far apart they were, and mentioned it to David and my mother-in-law. When we got home, they were still about the same, so we just went about our business, and decided that if they were still going by the time Vincent went to bed, we'd call the hospital.

I gave Vincent extra hugs and kisses at bedtime, thinking that the next time I see him, he may no longer be my only child.

We called Labor & Delivery around 9:30pm to let them know my status, and they advised us to stay home and see if the contractions become longer, stronger and more frequent for 1-2 hours. We decided to try and get a little sleep. I couldn't sleep. My contractions actually seemed further apart, but when they occurred, they were lasting a bit longer and definitely stronger. By about 11:30pm, I woke David up and we called the hospital again. They told us to go ahead and come in.

We arrived at the hospital around 12:30am. They put us in a room to assess my progress. When the on-call resident, Dr. Melanie Lastname-I-Cannot-Remember, checked my cervix, I was dialated to 5 cm, and she admitted us. I would say this was about 1am. The doctor contacted both Dr. Jackson & Dr. Vasavada.

They told me I could walk around, bounce on the yoga ball, etc., but MAN! I was in so much pain, I could barely sit on the ball or walk around. The nurse, Kate, told me about my pain medication options, even though I was hoping to go unmedicated. I managed to get out my birthplan for her, which still amazes me a bit. David tried to get out the meditation CD that we used when I had Vincent, but it was such a struggle to find while the contractions continued - we never did find it in time.

Back to the pain meds...I thought that I may need some meds. Nurse Kate ran through my options again, but I couldn't decide. She suggested that I have my cervix checked again to see how far I had progressed and then I could decide. Well, no wonder I was in so much pain, I was at 9 cm! Dr. Melanie Lastname-I-Cannot-Remember said she was going to call my doctors to come now.

It wasn't long before I wanted to push. Both doctors arrived around 2am, and I think I was already starting to push a bit. Dr. Vasavada had to break my bag of waters halfway through pushing, and sadly, Baby had pooped. That meant that the pediatrician on duty would have to come in, and they would clamp and cut the cord and take him aside to check out before I could hold him. This happened with Vincent, too, and I really wanted skin-to-skin contact right away. But, I did get to touch him - I was pushing and losing focus at one point, and Dr. Jackson brought me back to center and told me to reach down and touch my baby's head. I actually saw and felt his slimy little head, and that was enough to motivate me to get him out.

As soon as he was born, I looked down and said, "It's a boy..."

Many thanks to Dr. Jackson, and Dr. Vasavada, who was actually the one to catch Tyler. They came through for me, and were wonderful. But, more importantly, David did an awesome job coaching me through this labor. It was mostly him that was getting me through each contraction and each push. It was like it all came back to him. He kept me focused on my breathing and told me what an amazing job I was doing. He let me grab on tightly to his arms and bang my head up against his chest. And, when it was all over, he continued to shower me with praise and tell me how proud of me he was and how beautiful I am.

5 years ago,

...today, I met David. We were talking about this last night, and about how life was so different for both of us (obviously). We both went to work and had fun going out with friends. Simple. Things are a bit more complicated now, but no less enjoyable. In fact, I think when we met, I was on the verge of quitting my current job, without another lined up.

It was a blind date, and I almost stood him up. I would've been crazy to miss out on David Hunt! We walked from Uptown Espresso in Belltown to Benaroya Hall downtown, and saw a National Geographic Live lecture on a photographic tour of Macro Polo's route from Italy to China. Then, he suggested we get a bite to eat and a drink at The Alibi Room, one of my favorite bars at the time.

Was it love at first sight? I'd say almost. Rather than decide I was totally into him right away, I opted to sleep on it, and see how I felt in the morning. When I woke up, I knew he was the one.

39 Weeks

I'm down to my "last" week of pregnancy. Of course, I could go further than 40 weeks, although I'm not so sure they'll let me go much past that. My blood pressure is up, again, like when I was pregnant with Vincent. Doesn't seem to be as bad as it was last time. I went for my check up today, and my doctor wants me to return again on Thursday to recheck my blood pressure. Same thing happened last time, except I had to go in for NSTs (normal stress test) every other day. Aside from the blood pressure, everything else seems to be normal.

My mother-in-law will be arriving tomorrow afternoon. She was supposed to be here this coming Saturday, but with my cold and the high blood pressure, David and I have decided that it would be best to have her come early. It was a good call, since now I have to go into the clinic more than expected.

Yesterday, I had said during one of Vincent's classes to a few other moms, "I'm looking forward to my MIL getting here..." They were surprised by my comment, and made various remarks about NOT looking forward to visits from their MILs. Nothing too harsh, just a difference of opinion. I have to say, I am so fortunate that I do get along with both my inlaws. And, not just get along, but I think we all really like each other. If anything, I feel bad for them because they don't get a very comfortable place to sleep here. We do have an inflatable mattress, but sadly, there's a hole in it. My mom found out about that when she ended up on the floor the morning after she slept on it.

We're All Sick

This happened last year around this time, only a little earlier. We all caught colds - pretty good ones. Mine had a lasting cough for about 6 months. It wasn't until just before I got pregnant that I finally kicked it, but not without the help of lots of drugs. This time, I can't take any drugs. Gosh, I can't believe that was a year ago when we all got sick like that. Seems so fast, yet, it seems I've been pregnant for so long.

Yesterday, I woke with no voice. That sucked. And, during my last prenatal visit, my blood pressure had gone up. Nothing too alarming, and there were no other symptoms to make my doctor feel concerned. But, she did say she wanted me to take it easy, if at all possible. Not being about to talk while taking care of Vincent, and trying to take it easy would be tough.

David worked from home. Thank you, David! We also called on the help of this on-call nanny service that Microsoft has as part of our benefits. It was our first time using it, but it worked out really well. It was a little awkward, as we were both home. I stayed in bed most of the day, and David was in and out. Overall, it was a success, and we'd use the service again - especially since it's 24 hours, and we may need to have someone come stay while we run to the hospital...

So, Vincent got a new shirt from my mom this week. Needless to say, he LOVES it!

The Lion King

David and I had a date tonight. We ate dinner at the Baguette Box - super romantic. He ordered the lemongrass skirt steak sandwich, and I had the drunken chicken sandwich. We shared the green beans salad & an order for truffle fries. So yummy, and didn't cost us an arm and a leg.

We then walked a couple of blocks down to the Paramount Theater for The Lion King. It was really neat. For some reason, I didn't expect there to be so many children there. Duh, it's based on a Disney movie! I'm glad we opted to get a sitter (thank you, Lucy!) rather than trying to take Vincent with us. He would have loved it, but it was definitely way longer than he would stand for, and lasted past his bedtime.

Speaking of bedtime, turns out that he went to bed quite easily for Lucy tonight. Yay!

Valentine's Day

I have to say, this was probably one of the best Valentine's Days I've had in a long time. Not that the past 3 others with David were bad, but I think this was the best. No, we didn't do anything spectacular. In fact, it was a pretty typical Saturday for us. There were somethings that were different, that had nothing to do with Valentine's Day.

For starters, Vincent woke around midnight last night. He was difficult to get back to bed, so David finally got into bed with him. They slept until just past 9am this morning. A small child on the mends is tougher to handle than one who is sick. To top it off, he wouldn't take a nap this afternoon, so by 5pm, he was clearly very tired, a little cranky and very needy, but we figured it was best to keep him up until bedtime.

Besides all that, we did have a good day. Lots of extra hugs and kisses, and wishing each other "happy Valentine's day."

Sick Day

Vincent woke up with a fever this morning. He came into our room, got into bed with us, and wanted me to feel his forehead. I thought that was pretty cool that he let me know he felt warm. So, we stayed home from school this morning, and cancelled all plans. Well, except for my afternoon prenatal appointment.

I wondered if we'd be bored all day, but we actually did really well. I did put on some old Charlie Brown episodes (one was "Happy Valentine's Day, Charlie Brown") on Netflix for him so that I could fold a bunch of laundry. But, we also got out for a walk around the block, and we did some painting as well. For being sick, he was actually in a really good mood. Only slightly needy, a tiny bit less energetic, but still really happy.

This afternoon he went with me to my prenatal appointment and my doctor was kind enough to check Vincent's ears, too. The visit went well. Very much routine. My blood pressure is good, which is a relief. Last time around, I believe I was on bed rest by now. Vincent kept calling my doctor by his pediatrician's name, which was pretty cute.

Here's the most recent Vincent picture. I took is a couple days ago. He was sitting at his table playing with his kitty cat keyboard. It was so sweet and cute (and amazing). He was just sitting there, calmly pressing buttons and keys, singing and just enjoying himself. He did this for a good amount of time, which gave me a chance to catch up on a few things.

So Sweet

Ahhhh, this is the toddler stuff that makes the "terrible twos" bearable.

This afternoon, during Vincent's nap, I decided that I needed one, too. When Vincent woke up, he was in a really good mood, and came into our room to see me. Buster was lying next to me, and Vincent wanted up on the bed with us. The three of us cuddled together in bed for a long time. Buster finally got up and left, but Vincent stayed and kept cuddling with me. We "chatted" a little, too. It was so heavenly and sweet.

Happy Birthday David!

Here's a cute picture of my guys!

It's David's birthday today! We started the day with him opening his presents and then shuffling off to work. Tonight, we celebrated his birthday with many of his old friends (so good to see everyone!), Ezell's fried chicken, and a fantastic red velvet cake from Bella Dolce bakery.

On the baby front, I hit 37 weeks in my pregnancy today. That means we are in the home stretch and it is safe for baby to arrive anytime now. We just aren't quite done getting ready yet, so it still needs to stay inside. I feel like the baby may have "dropped" over the weekend, as I can breathe a little easier and I have to pee more. I also feel more of that nesting urge, I think. It seems I have a ton of "to do" lists, but I'm not entirely sure I'm getting much done. During my last check up, I did get to see the baby a little, and it is head down. I thought maybe I'd get a glimpse of something else (gender related), but no such luck.

Happy Birthday Daddy David!

As The Hunts Grow

If you have been following 'Cradle Cap Diaries' and have continued to come see our little family here, or if you are completely new, welcome and thank you!

As a "follower", you may recognize this photo, our most recent as a family! Taken in January, we spent the morning at the Seattle Children's Museum with my mom.

This is Anny, at 36 weeks pregnant with Baby #2.