7 Months and a Baby Shower

Hudson is now 7 months old, and I can't believe it!  He is getting so big and he is very close to being able to get around quickly.  I want him to crawl because I love to witness his milestones but part of me wants him to wait until I finish this semester.  Studying for five classes is a little tricky with a baby that is not mobile.  I'm not sure how it will work when he is getting into everything.

Hudson's first tooth came in a few weeks ago, on the bottom.  I'm half expecting a tooth to come in on the top, caddy-corner from the first so he looks like a little jack o'lantern for Halloween.  James and I bought a Halloween costume for Hudson.  James wanted Hudson to be Dracula, so that is the plan.  I just realized as I was writing this paragraph that Hudson's lack of teeth may be problematic in respect to his costume.  He does however have the pointy Dracula hairline naturally.  He is just missing the dark hair.

The last "month" photo I posted of Hudson was 3 months.  Here are months four, five, and six.  I have yet to take his seven month photo.

Below: Hudson is proud of his Daddy and his new job.

Below: Hudson and his puppy.

Below:  The men of the house, napping.

Today my mother-in-law and I threw a baby shower for my sister-in-law, Emily.  It was so much fun to put it all together.  A lot of the decorations were Pinterest inspired.  I have so many photos and ideas pinned but it was exciting to put so many of them to use.  We went with a baseball theme to match the theme of Hayden's nursery.

Below:  HAYDEN"S STATS-I meant to get a photo of this after it was filled in with everyone's guesses.

We tried to stick mostly with the baseball theme, even with the food.  We had hotdogs, nachos, popcorn, and other baseball goodies.  We also had chicken salad on pretzel buns and a chocolate fountain, neither of which were ready when I had the camera out.

Painting these pumpkins proved to be a bit more difficult than expected, but I think it added a nice touch of fall.

Even though the theme was "baseball", we had to represent the Reds in a few ways.

More painted pumpkins!

Hudson just fell asleep, so that is my cue to study for my Financial Accounting test.  Ta-ta for now!

The League of Ordinary Gentlemen

A few months ago James tried to talk me into joining a dynasty football league that he was starting.  We ended up deciding on running a team together since I have very limited knowledge of football and a full schedule with school.  Every year I spend countless hours watching football games with James, even though I'm not a huge football fan.  I love watching football because it is time I get to spend with my wonderful husband but since I am a very competitive person, I decided that being involved in the fantasy football league would make watching games more entertaining.  Today we had the draft and James seems to think we ended up with a great team.  Of course James consulted with me about each and every pick before making the final decisions.  That last sentence was 100% false.      :-)

Anyway, I love scrapbooking but I just have not had time recently so I enjoyed getting out some of my scrapbooking equipment to throw this draft board together.

This is the League Commissioner (James) and the Enforcer (Hudson)!

Don't mess with this little guy!

Hudson loves his cousin Rosie.

And Rosie loves him too.

  

Goodbye August

I thought 2005 was going to be the last year James and I would experience a "first day of school" together.  That thought was incorrect because on August 26th, Hudson watched as James left to attend his first day of the Fire Academy and I went to UC for my first day as a full time student.  I have been seeing so many people post sweet pictures of their kids this week, as they are about to head off to their first day.  I couldn't help but imagine Hudson holding the camera and taking a picture of his parents on their first day of school.  Obviously not realistic but it brought a smile to my face.

As summer will soon end and we say goodbye to August, I smile thinking of all the good times and fellowship we have enjoyed with friends and family.  I can't wait to see the joys (babies and weddings in particular) that will come with fall and winter.

A Budget Friendly, Beautiful August Weekend

James and I are trying to budget our money a little better since we are hoping to buy a house before baby Becker number two comes into the equation.  This rules out a lot of forms of weekend entertainment options but that didn't stop us from having a wonderful time with some fabulous people!

On Friday night James and I found out that Allison was back in town so Whitney and Allison joined us and we went downtown in hopes of attending the Blues Fest.  The weather was absolutely perfect but by the time we had walked through downtown, had dinner at the Banks and walked to Sawyer Point, it was already past our bed time :-)  So instead we just listened to one of the bands as we watched all the boats gather on the river in preparation for the fireworks.  Then we headed back to the Banks where they have a play area for kids.  Water squirts up and they light the water with flashes of light in timed sequences.  We watched a family (mom, dad and toddler) come up the path to the fountains.  Their little boy escaped their grasp and made a beeline for the water.  We all cracked up as the innocent little boy got a surprise burst of water to the face.  He enjoyed it after the shock wore off.

I love Cincinnati!   

Hudson was sound asleep at this point.

On Saturday James, Hudson, Achilles and I went to Winton Woods with Max, Tara, Lil, Hatchi, Emily and Rosie.  Hayden was technically there too.  :-)  We were quite the sight as we strolled down the trail with two men, three women, two strollers, an American Bulldog, an Akita and a Pit Bull.  Afterwards we enjoyed Icee Floats, which were amazing!  Then we watched Lil and Hudson in this priceless encounter (shown below).

It began with a nice introduction...

A little friendly hand holding...

Lil gave Hudson some little kisses...

Hudson is now afraid of the ladies...they are a bit overwhelming.

Lil just wants to be friends...

Lil decides to give it another go but ends up with a mouth full of eyeball.

Nailed it.  So sweet.

On Saturday we spent a beautiful afternoon with James' family in Springfield.  Afterwards we went to Young's Jersey Dairy for some ice cream.

You don't know the power of the dark side.

Baby Mullet

 Lately Hudson has been loosing a lot of his blondish-red newborn hair.  There will be no more mohawks in Hudson's immediate future.  Instead his head is filling with bright blond hair, with the exception of his mullet.  :-)  Since this is probably the only time in his life when a mullet will be socially acceptable, we are letting him enjoy it for the time being.

Hudson is more fascinated with his hands and feet as the days roll on.  His mouth has not met his feet yet but I have a feeling this will happen shortly.  We are still amazed how peaceful Hudson is most of the time.  Since the weather has been so nice lately, James and I have been playing tennis almost every day.  I thought that having a child meant the end of my "tennis time" but I have already played more this year than last.  Hudson doesn't mind coming along for the ride.  He gets fussy every once in a while but a lap around the tennis court tends to calm him down and sometimes even put him to sleep.  Yesterday one of our neighbors was juggling down by the tennis court.  He kept Hudson's attention for most of our tennis match.

Lately Hudson has been enjoying play dates with other babies.

We have gone to the park several times.



































And Hudson found out he is going to have a little cousin named Hayden Amos!


































Since Hudson joined the family, James and I have not had a date night without James' mini me.  :-)  We just haven't wanted to leave Hudson's side.  Instead we have been watching a lot of television.  James and I just finished watching the M.A.S.H. series, which we began in December of 2012.  I can't believe it's over.  All we have left are the special features.  :-(  I think M.A.S.H. may have been my favorite series I've ever seen.

I'm hoping that, since Hudson is a little older, James and I will be able to work time in for a date night before the end of summer!  And I don't really care where we go but I want to get dressed up and do my hair and makeup.  I have only styled my hair three times since Hudson came home.  It's been a pony tail every day for this girl.  Every day I go into my closet and choose an outfit that is "breastfeeding friendly".  So many outfits have been neglected over the past few months.  :-)  It's time to bring one back to life.  I think I will make date night happen!

4 Months

Lately I have been writing my blog in the moments during the day when Hudson falls asleep.  It has sometimes taken me days for one entry.  Tonight I am not able to sleep due to a tooth ache, so what better time to blog.  However, this will be a short entry since I am having trouble getting past the pain.

Hudson is four months old today.  James and I comment often that we think he is getting more and more adorable with each day that passes.  I don't know if this is true or if we are just falling more in love with him. 

We took Hudson to another Red's game.  Game two was a whole different ball game!  He slept through a majority of his first game but he was able to observe most of his second.  While we sat right outside the ballpark to feed Hudson, we met a family with six little boys under that age of ten.  The youngest was only weeks old.  All of the little boys were blonde.  We joked that this could be us in nine years.  ;-)  

Below: He still loves to sit in the Moby Wrap while I clean the house!

A few weeks ago, Hudson, my mom and I drove up to the Lansing area for my Uncle Matt's wedding.  I purchased this hat for Hudson to wear to the wedding.  After a long engagement that must have set a record, my Uncle Matt married his beautiful wife, Barb.  They had a wonderful outdoor wedding!  The weather was perfect.  They were married in their backyard and had the reception in their yard as well, followed by a bonfire with s'mores.

Below: This was taken at the hotel pool.  Hudson didn't seem to know what to do with the warm water in the pool.  Ours at home was still pretty cool at this time in the summer.

My date, the baby mobster!

Above: Uncle Matt and Aunt Barb

Below: My brothers, Joe and Jon

Below: Me and my mama.

Below: Hudson's 3 month photo

Below: Siblings at the bonfire.

Hudson just woke up.  Of course tonight was the night that he set a record of 6 hours, 27 minutes of sleep.  I will pray that this is the start of something beautiful!  :-)

"Liquid Gold"

Due to the amount of blood loss I experienced because of my retained placenta issue, I was told by the doctor and nurses that I would have trouble getting my milk to come in.  Breastfeeding was something that I knew I wanted to do (if possible), even if only for a few months.  We took advantage of every opportunity for guidance and encouragement in regards to breastfeeding while I was in the hospital.  James and I met with two different lactation consultants.  This wasn't just for me but James also had to learn how to get Hudson to latch on because the first five days or so after labor, I was not able to tilt my head enough to see that part of my body.  With James's assistance, the first night we latched Hudson on almost every hour because we knew that the more frequently Hudson latched on, the better chances we had of my milk coming in.  I woke up in the middle of the night on the third day after birth, seriously engorged.  It hurt but I could not have been happier!

When I had Hudson, I was only allowed to take six weeks unpaid leave.  From the day my milk came in, I began pumping 1-2 times a day.  I knew from other mother's experiences that if I was going to continue breastfeeding when I returned to work, I was going to need a reserve in my freezer.  I returned to work May 9th.  I was pumping twice a day at work to supplement what Hudson needed while I was away from him.  To make a long story short, for a handful of reasons, James and I decided I would quit my job.

I have spent the last three months stockpiling "liquid gold" in our freezer.  Since I am now able to be with Hudson almost 24/7, I don't have such a dire need for the previously expressed milk.  During our Bradley Method classes, we met a woman who was not able to produce breast milk for her newborn.  The couple located a milk bank and was able to provide their newborn with breast milk from a donor.  This was my first time hearing about "donor milk banks". 

I began researching donor milk banks to see if I wanted to donate.  I have to admit, initially I was a bit apprehensive about some other infant drinking my breast milk.  It seemed a little strange to me.  I read about why these babies desperately need the human milk and as I stared down at my little guy, I couldn't imagine doing anything else with the milk.  After reading more about the process, I decided to donate to OhioHealth Mothers' Milk Bank.   

It's an interesting process.  When the milk is donated it is logged in to assure tracking from donor to recipient.  The milk is thawed and placed in testing flasks to check calorie and fat content.  Milk from three to five donors is combined to evenly distribute protein, fat and antibodies.  This is done in a laminar flow hood to prevent contamination.  The milk is then pasteurized.  It is heated and then cooled to eliminate bacteria while still maintaining most of the milk's beneficial components.  The milk is labeled with a batch number and expiration date.  Then it is placed in a freezer until it gets shipped out.  With a physicians prescription, the milk is then packed on dry ice and sent to hospitals and recipients The milk is typically used by those who are pre-mature, ill, or have life-threatening illnesses.  There is a constant need for milk.  The OhioHealth Mothers' Milk Bank sends out between 15,000 to 25,000 ounces per month.  If you know anyone who is able to donate, please spread the word.

Here are a few things you might want to know if you are considering donating.  Milk that has already been expressed can be used!  A minimum of 200 ounces is required for your initial donation.  You can be a one time donor or a continuing donor.  There is a screening processes you must go through.  First there is a phone interview.  You must then complete a medical and lifestyle history review and sign release forms so your Obstetrician and your child's Pediatrician can share your medical information with the donor bank.  You can also sign a release so that your milk can be used for research.  Once that is complete, you will be sent a blood work kit.  You then go to the hospital and have your blood drawn to check for several illnesses which would exclude you from being a donor.  As soon as all of this is complete, you will receive your donor number and you can begin donating.  You just have to contact the milk bank when you need more milk storage containers or boxes to ship the milk in.  All of this is free.  You just have to take the package to FedEx and they will bill the milk bank.

If you or someone you know is interested in donating human milk and you have questions, I would be happy to answer them.