A Word from the Hunsaker's: The Rest of February

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

The Rest of February

I really need to get myself caught up quick, so I can start blogging about the present, however, I have so many pictures and little things I want to share, partially because I think my baby is awfully cute and partially because I want to document some things for my own memories sake. February was such an amazing month. I absolutely loved becoming a mommy and there is absolutely nothing sweeter than having a little tiny newborn in your home.We had lots of visitors after we got home from the hospital Nixon is so loved and so many people wanted to see him again or meet him for the first time. I was tired but pretty content and happy. My mom and Natalie got us lunch when we got home and then my family came over as well as Russ and Misty. I loved having so many visitors. My sweet mom said she'd make us dinner after some of the crowd left and we took her up on it. She said I should go rest while she made it, I didn't feel like I needed to but I am really glad that I did. I thought she'd come wake me up when it was done, but she didn't. I woke up and all of our guests were gone. Tyler was just soaking in some time with Nixon. I ate, spent a little time with Nixon, and then Tyler recommended I go back to bed. I did and I decided to take my baby with me. Tyler came in later to see if I needed him to take Nixon and I told him, it was okay. He was asleep on me propped in his Boppy (best invention ever, btw). I fell to sleep with him there and told Tyler he was fine to stay there even when he came to bed. An hour or so later I woke up and carefully moved him off of me so I could go to the bathroom. When I came back, Nixon was practically hyperventilating. He was so stuffed up he couldn't breath very well. He was fussing, but not crying. Nixon didn't really cry at all the first 2 weeks. He really is the perfect little baby. I suctioned his nose a little but he continued to sound so stuffy and couldn't sleep. To make matters worse, when it came time to eat, he became more stuffy and was also having a hard time keeping anything in him. He'd eat for about 2 minutes and then would start spitting up. Long story short, he did this over and over again all night. We basically took turn sleeping for most of the night, but neither of us really got any sleep. Tyler was awesome with him, and did his best to keep the emotional mom (who was convinced her baby wasn't going to die of starvation or stop breathing) as calm as possible. The next few days all kind of blended together but they were wonderful! Nixon was born pulling faces and still keeps me laughing. I swear he's got hundreds of little faces he is constantly pulling. Its always easy to know how Nixon feels.

This is very classic Nixon and kills me everytime!

The first day home, Nixon was sooo sleepy. He isn't really a deep sleeper so this was kind of a one time thing, we were trying to wake him up and absolutely was going to get him to come out of it. So me, my mom, and Natalie laughed away at all his funny faces he would make as he continued to sleep.

My mom came over almost everyday for weeks to help us get things done and made sure we had groceries and lunch everyday. Talk about a good mom and Grandma. Nixon loved cuddling with her everyday.

My dad loves his little buddy. He is convinced that him and Nixon "get" each other. They also speak the international language, which is NOT love by the way, it is tooting. He does love this little guy a lot though! Before I went back work, if I didn't send Grandpa a picture a day of Nixon, I was in trouble. He also is constantly telling Nixon how he can't wait for him to get bigger so they can play and Grandpa can spoil him with cool toys. He can't wait to take him on a 4-wheeler ride! No doubt, with Grandpa around, he's going to be one spoiled boy!

Misty,Russ, and Bryce came to visit the day we got home. Russ had been sick earlier in the week so he didn't want to come to the hospital unless he was for sure over it.

Bubba loves being an Uncle. Its been so fun to see him learn how to interact with a baby. Nixon is his first experience interacting with a baby at all.

I absolutely loved Nixon's hairline when he was born.

The Mower's came to visit when Nixon was 2 days old. Brinley loves babies!

How sweet is this?

Nixon really is/was the sweetest little newborn. He was usually very content and happy. He never really even cried the first week he was home. Instead when he was tired or hungry, he'd quietly fuss, grunt, or snort. It was really cute.

I was very cautious about germs with Nixon and had planned on not taking him out at all for weeks, but things never go as planned. Nixon was born on Friday and got to go on his very first outing on Monday. He was borderline jaundice, so he had to go get a 2nd bilirubin test at the hospital. He had to be poked so much in the hospital, I felt bad that he had to go get poked again, but it turned out to be just fine. The tech we got was awesome, he kept Nixon in his carseat and Nixon slept through it. He told us that he is the very best and said only 1 in 10 babies who he sees cry! I wish he would have been at the hospital when Nixon had to be poked every 2 hours...that wasn't fun at all. I am so grateful we had a healthy baby, I can't even imagine what it is like for parents whose babies have to be hooked up to machines and poked at for days, weeks, and months! It isn't ever fun seeing your baby cry. He went on several other adventures his first week too! One to get his newborn pictures taken and a visit to the pediatrician.

Grandma Hunsaker, Aunt Misty, and Bryce came to visit one day before they went up to Midway to see the Ice Castles. Bryce got very jealous when his Mom held the baby, but he was very fascinated by him. He liked to point at his eyes and nose and arms. He also would point at his hair and say, "haircut." It was really cute.

I love every minute with this cute little snuggle bear. He refused to sleep in his own bed for weeks. The first week or so, he slept in the Mamaroo, because being propped helped with his stuffiness. After about a week though, he wouldn't go to sleep or would wake up the second we would put him in there. His bed wasn't working either. He can't stand being swaddled and would go to sleep in his bed, but within 5 to 10 minutes would wake himself up with his arms that he loves to constantly move. Sleeping on me proved to be the best solution. Once we figured that out, he'd sleep for 4 hours or more at a time. It was hard on me and sometimes uncomfortable, but if it meant I got to sleep at night, it was so worth it. Plus, who can complain about being able to cuddle up with this sweet thing?

On Valentine's Day Nixon had lots of visitors! It was also his one week old mark! My Mom came over while Natalie was at school, then Aunt Sara and Jack came over, Natalie and my mom came back, then Grandma Hunsaker, Grandma and Grandpa Thornock, and Nana and Grumpy. It made for quite the day and it was all before 3 o'clock! That's when daddy got home!

Nana and Nixon

This picture cracks me up, this basically describes Nixon's life. Constant paparazzi! He is one loved boy.

Grumpy is a baby whisperer, I swear.

Natalie asked him to be her Valentine and he said yes.

I don't know why I don't have pictures with our other guests, I swear I took some! But maybe I took them on someone else's camera?

This is how Nixon feels about dad's whiskers!

I hear ya, bud!

Best Valentine's Day Ever!

The day after Valentine's is my birthday. We stayed home most the day and my family came over to babysit Nixon so Tyler and I could go to dinner. We planned on going to Outback, but since Valentine's Day was the day before and it was the weekend, it was crazy busy and the wait was really long. I didn't want to be away from Nixon for too long so we just decided to do it simple, and went to Noodles & Company instead. We then went over to a boutique I like, but I since I was only a week postpartum, I didn't feel like trying clothes on yet. The thought of it was a little depressing, so we went to the Liquidation Team, because Tyler loves it and about 5 minutes after getting there, we bought a couch! A couch he'd been dying to buy and it had nothing wrong with it, was a good price, and was on sale for $100 off. Not too shabby. When we got back, we had some cake and opened presents.