Sweet Summertime!

Even with our new little addition, we have been finding lots of fun ways to enjoy the summer outside!

The big boys have been cruising the yard in their cool truck...

Brent and I took them all to the pool early Saturday morning, before it got too hot...


We even had breakfast at the pool {pancakes from McDonalds}...

We took Brody to the lake to camp with my mom on Sunday, and we all stayed to visit for a couple hours...

Will and Valarie got to meet Levi for the first time...

And we all enjoyed DELICIOUS watermelon!!

Can't wait to see what else we get into this summer!!

{One week}

Levi's first week at home went really well! My mom had Brooke and the boys waiting at our house to welcome him when we first brought him home from the hospital. They were so excited!

He is nursing really well, about every 2 hours during the day. But he is already doing fabulous at night. He eats around 9 or 10, sleeps until 1 or 2 (last night it was 3!), then sleeps again until 5 or so! Definately not bad for a one-weeker. :) He sleeps in his little rock and play sleeper beside our bed. And he does like to be swaddled for the most part. Sometimes after he eats at 5, I just leave him unswaddled in our bed, just so he will sleep a little longer.

Sometimes he will take his paci, sometimes not so much. If he is getting hungry, the paci is a no-go.

The big boys are adjusting well. They both are crazy about their little brother. They just want to kiss and love on him all the time...sometimes a little too much.

Levi had his first sponge bath a couple days after we got home. He wasn't too fond of it. I think I have a similar picture of my other boys after their first baths too.

We have been having some issues with jaundice this first week. We had his levels checked, and while they are elevated, they aren't high enough to admit him for phototherapy treatment, so we have been treating him with good ole' fashion sunlight at home. He naps the majority of the time by a window, and I try to feed him by a window as well. We are finally starting to see a big improvement these last few days!

We have been trying to go outside early in the mornings while it is still cool to let Brody and Beckett play. It's just been waaay too hot in the afternoons!

And our Beckett-man continues to be an early riser (like 5:30 am), so Brent has just been taking him running with him. Beck loves it, and it lets me get a little more rest as well.

The 2nd bath went much better!

Levi Hudson Little

Well, we are offially a family of 5! Our perfect little Levi Hudson came into the world with a bang last Thursday, the 23rd of June!

I'd been having contractions on and off all morning, so after my 39 week OB appt that day at 9:00, Dr. Ratcliff sent me on the hospital to see if we could get things going. I arrived at the hospital around 11:00, and we spent the next hour or so getting the IV in, getting hooked up to monitors, doing bloodwork, etc. I was still having contractions, but nothing regular. We decided not to do pitocin, but rather to just have the dr break my water to see if that would get things going. Around 1:30 we were still waiting for the dr, but we noticed my contractions were suddenly getting A LOT closer together. Dr. R got there about 1:45, checked me (I was a 5-6), and broke my water at 1:49 (you'll see soon why these times are important). I immediately started having one contraction on top of another. As soon as the dr left, anesthesia was there to give me my epidural, but just as he was putting it in, Levi decided he wasn't waiting any longer. The nurse started yelling at the poor guy to get the needle and catheter out of my back. He took everything back out as quickly as he could, and our sweet boy was born just minutes later, at 2:10 pm. Just 21 minutes after the dr checked me and told me I was a 5! We are so thankful that we had an amazing nurse who was fabulous throughout the whole process. When we realized the dr wasn't going to make it back, she was very reassuring, and she delivered him without a hitch! Thank you, Lisa!!



Levi was 7lb 13oz and 20.5 inches long. He has the perfect amount of dark hair and is a precious mixture of his big brothers. :)

Recovery was a cinch this time, mainly because I didn't get the epidural. I was able to get up and walk around immediately. It really was so much better!

We all love our new little man so much, and can't imagine life without him!

30 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:


How Far Along: 30 weeks!!!


Size of baby: What To Expect.com says 18 inches and 3.2 lbs


Total Weight Gain/Loss: Went to the dr today...gained 3 more lbs this month...so I'm at a total of 11! I only gained 12 with Beckett and 17 with Brody, so its looking like I might surpass them both this time!


Maternity Clothes: Mostly all maternity now.

Gender: Baby Boy #3!! And no, he still doesn't have a name...


Movement: Still super active! And I'm beginning to feel actual little body parts, like a foot or an elbow, poking out sometimes. And Brody got to feel him hiccuping for the first time this week! He thought that was pretty cool!


Sleep: So-So. Still getting up a couple times a night. And I now sleep with pillows propped around me. Guess I need to drag out the ol' reliabe pregnancy pillow!



What I miss: Being able to work comfortably. Dentistry is not an easy field to work in when you are big pregnant. I just can't bend over to see like a need to and my belly just seems to always be in the way. Only a month of work to go!


Cravings: Sweets. Anything sweet. Maybe thats why I have gained more weight this time!


Symptoms: Dizziness/lightheadedness, fatigue, and HEARTBURN...lots of HEARTBURN.

Somebody wanted his picture made too :)

27 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 27 weeks - I can't believe I am almost 7 months!

Size of baby: What To Expect.com says 2.5 lbs and 16 inches. No wonder I feel like he fills up the whole space already!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I had gained 5 lbs at my last appt, so that puts me at 8 lbs total.

Maternity Clothes: Mostly all maternity now...a few normal shirts and I have one pair of regular jeans that I can get into.

Gender: Baby Boy #3!!

Movement: He is all over the place right now...a very active little guy. His most active times are from about 8 pm - 10 or 11 pm, then again from about 4 am - 6 am.

Sleep: I have been sleeping pretty good until the last week or so. I do get up about 3 times during the night to use the bathroom, but I toss and turn and can't seem to get comfortable most of the night. And then Beckett is up by 6 or before...so needless to say I feel pretty tired most of the time.

What I miss: Just being able to carry the boys around like I used to. I still pick them up and carry them whenever necessary (especially Beckett), but it's becoming more difficult and I try not to overdo it.

Cravings: Any kind of juice (apple, grape, cranberry, anything), and I was craving Mexican, but not so much anymore.

Symptoms: Leg cramps, heartburn, tons of Braxton Hicks (like 10-15 every day), dizziness/lightheadedness...boy I am full of symptoms right now...

NWA

Brent and I took the boys to Northwest Arkansas this weekend for a quick little getaway and to visit my step-brothers. Seeing as how we have been having such BEAUTIFUL weather, the plan was to go to a few Razorback baseball games, play some put-put, and maybe spend some time at the parks, etc. Well, wouldn't ya' know...the temp dropped about 3o degrees the day we got there, so our plans changed a little.

Friday night, Tony and Carrie kept the boys so Brent and I could go to the baseball game by ourselves. Brody and Beckett are both getting over ear infections, so I just didn't want them sitting out in the cold and wind for three hours after dark. It was really nice to go somewhere like that by ourselves and just sit and watch without having to wrestle with our monkeys :)

Saturday morning Brent and Brody went with Dustin and Gavin to the press conference where the Razorbacks welcomed their new basketball coach, Mike Anderson. I think they had alot of fun!

Then, we ate a yummy lunch at La Huerta's and spent the rest of the afternoon playing at Fast Lane!! Brody (with a little help from his Daddy and Michaele) ended up with over 1200 tickets...so you can imagine how excited he was getting to pick out his prize!!!

We ended the night with a DELICIOUS supper at PF Changs! Yum! Then, we headed back home pretty early this morning...

We have a pretty busy week ahead of us. We have to get everything ready for Tony and Carrie to come down here next weekend to lay tile! Can't wait!

Introducing...

My sweet baby neice Eden!!

Beckett and I drove to Little Rock yesterday for my SIL's 4D ultrasound! Sweet baby Eden is due just 5 weeks before our baby boy. What fun times we have ahead!

Tara and my brother, Ryan, after the ultrasound:

Tara and Ryan, her neice Christa, her sister Barbie (holding Beckett), Barbie's daughter Morgan, Tara's mom Mrs. Melba, and myself!!

And I just had to share Eden's precious room! Isn't it cute?! She isn't finished, but I think it is adorable so far :)

Now I am just looking forward to our 4D in about a month!! Can't wait!