1 month

Dear Ethan,

It's hard to believe that one month ago we were cuddling you in our hospital room in awe that you were finally with us. In many ways this month has flown by. Having you as part of our family feels so natural. The only real difficulties of adding you are the logistics of going out and about and the lack of sleep. But, we are making progress in both of those areas ;). 

This month you have been very easygoing. You eat about every 3ish hours during the day and sometimes pull a longer stretch (4ish hours) at night. Though last night you only awoke once with a 5.5 hour and 4 hour stretch!  You eat well, but choke a little during nursing, which makes you pretty gassy. You outgrew newborn diapers and clothes this month and are solidly in size 1 diapers and 0-3 month clothes. You can hold up your head when you're on your tummy for several seconds. Mom and dad swear that you've smiled at us purposefully too. You are looking at things a lot lately and don't seem to mind your rambunctious brothers too much. They certainly love you and sometimes are over zealous in their expression. 

We love you so and are praying that you are strong and bold (as your name means) in the things that truly matter in life. You already seem to have a calmness about you that I hope continues in your spirit. I love you dearly, little Ethan. You are precious to our family. 

Almost a year later...

Wow, it's been a while.  I've missed you old blog- just felt too consumed with life over the past year to blog about it.  I think I'm ready to begin again.  Plus, it's slightly more productive than watching 1000+ episodes of 19 Kids and Counting on Netflix or surfing my Facebook feed for the 15th time while waiting for the next nursing session with E.  (maybe not as productive as sweeping the kitchen or making homemade granola)

Since I last posted on the blog basically nothing is the same!

+Asher is no longer 7 months old- in fact he is 17 months old!
+We live in Greeley, CO now!
+Alan is done with school and working as a CRNA!
+I am not currently working as a PT, just taking care of my boys through this transition.
+Caleb is almost 4.
+Perhaps the biggest change... since I last posted I became pregnant and birthed baby boy #3- Ethan Steven Hunt!

A few pics of the past year...

Day 282- 7 months!

Dear Asher,

You are now 7 months old!!!  I can't believe it!  You are growing up too fast. You are an active little guy. You love to crawl, pull up, cruise, and step between furniture. You've started remembering your favorite places to play and will head from one room to another to find them. (We have to keep the bathroom doors shut all of the time now!). This month you recently started being able to squat to pick up items off the floor and moving from your belly into a sitting position. 

You sleep from about 7-8pm to about 7-8 am with a dream feed around 10:30 and an occasional wake up around 4. You nap for 1-2 hours at around 10isn and 2ish. You take a variable 3rd nap around 5. You went on a nursing/bottle strike for several days (I think it's over now *cross my fingers*). Besides that crazy little stunt, you normally take 6-8 oz of breast milk/formula 4-5 times a day. You also take solids 3-4 times a day. 

You wear size 2 diapers and 6 and 9 month clothes. You babble like crazy and seem to recognize your name. You recently discovered screaming and you still love doing raspberries on my leg or the ottoman. You can grab smaller items with your hand and drop them as well. But, you don't quite have the ability to pick up small items with accuracy yet (thank goodness)!  You loves baths and mirrors and electronics and anything that Caleb is playing with. You are so good natured and are generally content to explore and play on your own. 

We love you and continue to enjoy seeing new parts of your personality shine through. You are so special and we can't imagine not having you in our family!  I love you, little Asher!

Day 268- Belated 6 months for Asher

Happy VERY belated 6 months of life, dear Asher! Though I've been in a bit of a blogging slump, I want to record your development so that we can remember this sweet time of life!


Baby Asher,
You are a go-getter. At 6 months you crawl everywhere, pull to stand on EVERYTHING, and are learning to sit by yourself. You are a funny child: incredibly active, yet also quite content and independent. You love your family and having attention, but you are able to play and explore on your own for quite some time before needing intervention.


You are currently sleeping through the night most nights (HALLELUJAH!) You are still struggling a bit with naps- most are 30 minutes. We recently started nap training and you've started lengthening some to 1.5 hours to 2 hours! I'm hopeful that it will continue! Most nights you go to bed around 7:30 and wake up between 6:30 and 7:30. We started supplementing formula before bed with you because you seemed hungry and fussy after I fed you several nights in a row. I pumped one night and only had 2 ounces! No wonder you were acting hungry. Since that time, you've been doing better at night. I've been breastfeeding you about 4 times a day, then pumping/supplementing for the last feeding.


You currently wear mostly 6 month size clothes and size 2 diapers. You sprouted 2 bottom teeth in the past month and have also really taken to solids. You eat about 1 4oz baby food container each meal and I've been letting you snack on easily dissolvable (graham cracker) or very tough (celery) table foods. Once you are able to use a pincer grasp, I'll start you on lots of tiny table foods. Until then, you can enjoy being spoonfed and munching on the big stuff. You like to talk and say lots of "m's" and "b's" and a few "d's". You love to laugh, as well.


You enjoy many things in life. Your favorites right now are bath time, standing, each solids, your exersaucers, peek-a-boo, Caleb's toys, and Caleb playing with you. Asher, you love your big brother. There are so many sweet moments these days between you. I can't wait to watch your relationship develop. I pray that you two are able to enjoy each other, support each other, rely on each other, and encourage each other through the years.


I love you dearly and can't imagine our family without you. You are so sweet and so special. I can't believe you are already 1/2 year old! Happy half birthday, dear one.

Love,
Mama

Day 224- Asher at 5 months

Asher is now 5 months old!!!! He is a total delight (except when he's taking 30 minute naps or waking up at 5 am!)




My darling Asher,
You are such a sweetie! SO different from your brother, yet have many similarities. You always want to be in on the action, or you are on the go seeking your own adventure. If we all go in the other room, you either start fussing or you get really determined and start crawling that way. You talk a lot! Sometimes its hard to tell if you are just making noise because you're concentrating or if you are upset or if you are happy :). You love to laugh and smile at your big brother. As much as you like to move, you amaze me at how chill you are. You definitely spend more time playing independently than your brother did at this age (perhaps the advantage and disadvantage of being the second child). You are almost always happy unless you are hungry or alone. This is similar to your big brother.
You are wearing 3-6 month pants and 3-6 and 6-9 month sized shirts. Your jammies are mostly 6-9 and 9-12 month size. You still wear size 2 diapers. You poop about once a week (most of the times several poops in one day) No teeth yet!
You are currently sleeping through the night about 50% of the time (11 hours). Sometimes you wake up around 3 or 4 and either want to eat or just wake up for some reason. I never know! You also started going to bed earlier, so you have been waking up earlier- oh joy! You wake up for the day between 5-7 (I think the 5:00 times you are hungry, but end up not being able to go back to sleep) We'll work on it. You've had a cold recently, so hopefully your sleeping will improve as it improves. Your naps have been a bit maddening! You have been sleeping for 30-40 minute stretches nearly all the time. Every once in a while you pull a 1.5-2 hr nap, but you've been having a horrible time making it through sleep phases! We're working on it. The past few days you've woken up 30 minutes into a nap and gone back to sleep within 20 minutes on your own.
You are still breastfeeding. You eat about 5-6 times a day, depending on whether you get up at night or not. You eat about 4 ounces each time. You are a good eater (except when you are distracted by your brother) and you also take a bottle pretty well.
Milestones you have accomplished this month include: rolling back to stomach, army crawling very proficiently and trying to crawl on all fours, trying purees, and getting much better at holding and mouthing objects. You are a great roller, but mostly use army crawling to get around. You prefer being on your tummy, but also enjoy holding and eating your feet. You will chew on anything that is big enough for you to grab and hold- you especially like your brother's toys. Thank goodness you don't have a pincer grasp yet- not ready for that level of babyproofing! I started you on purees, which you loved and did well with, but didn't seem to settle well with your tummy. I've decided to hold off for a few weeks before trying again.
I love you dearly son and can't believe we've already had you for 5 months! You are already an important part of our family! You are so special!
Love,
Mama