Happy Due Date!

Today was my due date with Hudson- I'm so glad he came early! I can hardly believe he's already been here a week! And that he's only been here a week! One thing I'm sure of, there is nothing in the world sweeter than cuddling with a newborn. To celebrate a week of Hudson, here's a little Hugo family update:

HUDSON

This baby is so so sweet! Chase was a fairly challenging newborn- he didn't want to eat for the first week and didn't want to be set down -ever- for the first month or two. The combo of the two was pretty stressful for me at first. Hudson seems just like his brother in that he LOVES to be held, but we love holding him, so it's not that problematic (until it's 3 am and I really really want to sleep myself!). However, this little man has taken to eating so well. He eats every 2-3 hours and has done really well with nursing since day 1, which is such a relief to me! Last night he finally did sleep in his crib for a couple of 1-2 hour stretches, which was heavenly for me. I think we've figured out the key to this- he likes to be warm. So we jacked up the heat quite a bit and he's done better with it since then. His absolute favorite place to be is snuggled up on someone's chest with blankets covering you both. This might also be my favorite thing in the world!

CHASE

Oh what to say about sweet Chase?! He loves his little brother and exclaims "HUDSON!!!!" every time he sees him. He likes to climb up on the edge of the crib to take peaks at him while he's napping. He's a little unsure of the world now since this little man has changed our lives. We've been trying to do lots of special little outings with him to help him transition. Ben took him to the Hill Airforce Base Airplane museum on Monday morning and Chase loved it (pictured above- he doesn't look that happy but Ben assures me he was in heaven)! He's still talking about it a few days later. Today he went grocery shopping with daddy and was thrilled that daddy let him have a donut :) Other than that, he's been a little (lot) more demanding, a little more naughty and had a few more meltdowns that normal. Oh, and he's now waking up between 4:30 and 5:00 am every day. That needs to end. Now since he sees us snuggling Hudson all the time he wants to snuggle too- which lasts about 15 seconds. He hasn't wanted to snuggle since he started crawling at 7 months, so we'll take what we can get!

COURTNEY

I tried to have Ben take a picture of me with both boys this morning- after a bunch of tries this is best we got! Oh well, I'm loving being a mom to these two, although it's been overwhelming to the point of tears many times already. I was so worried that I wouldn't love Hudson as much as I love Chase. I now understand what everyone says that your love for your children just multiplies. I love all the time I get to just snuggle Hudson close and realize what a sweet blessing he is in our family. We had a few scares early in the pregnancy when we were still in Dominica where we thought we'd lost the baby (due more to lack of good medical treatment and skilled doctors than to actual risk to the pregnancy). Now that he's here all safe and healthy I feel so grateful to have him as part of our family and I'm blown away by what a little miracle he is. My recovery from this delivery has been harder than it was with Chase, but I'm starting to feel much better now thankfully. Hopefully soon I can figure out how to balance the needs of both boys and get life put back together- pray for me!

BEN

I'm so grateful to have this man in my life as my partner on this crazy parenting journey! We found out the morning after Hudson was born that the test that Ben has been studying so much for, originally planned for the end of February, instead will not be available for him to take until May. We were of course disappointed and frustrated by this news, but the silver lining is that it is giving Ben time to help me around the house, adjust to a family with two kids, and is giving him time to bond with his new son. I think next week he'll go back to 10+ hour days of studying, but we are all enjoying him having a little more free time right now. Ben is a natural with his babies  (other than getting them dressed- darn those little snaps!) and loves to spend as much time as possible cuddling with Hudson. 

And He's Home!

I really enjoyed our time at the hospital, just bonding with our baby, and all the help they offer, but I was anxious to get home! So we planned to leave as soon as the pediatrician would release the baby, which was Saturday morning (we could have stayed until Saturday evening for a full 48 hours). We had so many different nurses and honestly, they were all wonderful! So kind and helpful and nice about just letting us do our own thing and not disturbing us too much! It was really pretty perfect! But I missed my Chase and was ready to sleep in my own bed and just be at home, so we kept with our original plan and took off Saturday morning in the insane fog! (Hudson sure brought some crazy weather along with him, born during the ice storm on Thursday, and then crazy fog as we drove home from the hospital!)

 Our Friday night "date night"

 All dressed up and ready to go home!

 We love snuggling this boy!

We weren't too sure what Chase's reaction would be to be unseated as an only child and the center of our universe, so we bought him a little gift from Hudson to help ease the transition. Chase was excited to see Hudson, and was even more excited about his "Bucky" and Jake (From Jake and the Neverland Pirates- Bucky is the ship). After playing with his new toy for a little bit, he finally came over to meet his little brother! It was pretty sweet! He knows his name is Hudson and gets really excited when he sees him. He likes to point out his little features and keeps trying to hop up in mom's lap to snuggle just like Hudson does (although it lasts about 20 seconds- he's just too busy!)

Hudson's First Day

As I'm writing this, Hudson is just a few minutes shy of 24 hours old! What a beautiful first day it has been! There is nothing like holding and cuddling a brand new baby so fresh from heaven. Hudson has such a sweet little spirit and we've just been soaking it up!

My parents came down to hold him when he was just a few hours old. These grandparents were so enamored with their newest little grandson, and gave us a full report on all the ridiculous and hilarious things Chase had done since we left. 

We didn't get much sleep that first night. Hudson is a cuddler, but I can't say that middle of the night cuddle sessions are wasted time. He spent a good portion of the night snuggled up to one of us and eventually around 4 am we sent him to the nursery for a little bit so we could both get some shut-eye. 

We've been making comparisons between our two kids a lot over the last 24 hours. One lovely thing that is different about Hudson is that he's been a great nurser so far! Chase was so hard to feed for that first week and I greatly appreciate how naturally he's taken to nursing! He's got the same sweet, cuddly disposition that Chase had as a newborn. I can't wait to introduce him to his brother!

 Aunt Heidi skipped her Friday class to come down first thing to see Hudson! She wanted to come down last night, but the ice storm (and her protective father) prevented it. It was nice to have her here in the morning though so she could spend a few hours holding and loving this little boy! I think he already loves his Aunt Heidi!

 Then later Hudson got to meet his Uncle Will and Aunt Katie! I loved having a few visitors- nothing overwhelming, but nice to see the people we love and show off our boy! Nana came back for another squeeze with the babe.

Mostly, Hudson has spent his first day just as any newborn should- eating, sleeping, cuddling, and being surrounded with people who love him. Happy Day #1 baby boy!

Hudson's Birth Story

Disclaimer: I love reading birth stories and wanted to document Hudson's for our family, but feel free to just look at the pictures or skip this post if it's not your thing.

Every day for about a week leading up to Hudson's birth I was hoping he'd come. I was getting uncomfortable, more uncomfortable than I ever remember feeling with Chase's pregnancy, and definitely anxious. I wanted Hudson to come at a time that was convenient for us to arrange a sitter (mostly a grandparent or aunt or uncle) for Chase and I was worried that maybe he was getting too big. Also, for some reason that Ben really didn't understand and may not have been totally rational, I didn't want to be induced early. I was trying really hard to stay on top of cleaning and laundry so that whenever he came we would be ready. It was kind of exciting and nerve wracking to wake up every morning thinking "This could be the day!"

On January 23 we went to our 39 week doctor appointment. I'd progressed from 2 to almost 4 cm and was 80% effaced. The doctor stripped my membranes and said he wouldn't be surprised if the baby came in the next few days. He did an ultrasound to check on the baby and said everything looked good, and thank goodness, that Hudson's previously generously proportioned head was now measuring just about normal for gestational age! I was so hopeful that Hudson would come within the next day or so.

I woke up feeling pretty darn good the next morning- and was a little disappointed by it, hoping instead of labor! Ever hopeful that labor would start (I'd been having fairly regular and sometimes painful Braxton-Hicks contractions on and off for several weeks) I went about cleaning the bathroom and doing laundry. The roads were insanely icy due to freezing temperatures and some rainfall, so Ben decided to study from home so he'd be around and accessible should I need him. I'm so glad he did!

Around 12:15 I was feeding Chase and drinking a smoothie myself when I first felt a fairly strong, take-my-breath-away-painful, contraction. It only lasted about 30 seconds and I didn't have another one for a good 11 minutes. 11 minutes later another came after that. And for the next 2 hours they came every 6-20 minutes, which I knew wasn't regular enough to go to the hospital yet. I really didn't want to go only to be sent home. Suddenly, about 2:35 they switched to every 4-5 minutes, lasted a whole minute and I felt like I wanted to die every time one hit! We called my mom, who was able to leave work almost immediately and rush home to be with our Chase. We had the car packed up and pulled out of the driveway after quickly handing our sobbing boy off to her (who was disappointed he wasn't coming along for the ride!) A phone call from my mom about 5 minutes later assured us that Chase was just fine, when asked what would make him feel better he replied "Cookies!" so he was happily helping his Nana bake :) I felt better (emotionally) knowing he was happy, as the contractions were excruciating! 

We made it to the hospital and started getting checked in around 3:20. I was thrilled when the nurse told me I was dilated to a 5.5 and would definitely be staying to have a baby! The nurse, bless her heart, got my IV in on the first try! (It took 5 tries and finally the anesthesiologist to get it in with Chase- I have bad veins.) They started fluid going and around 4:00 pm I was getting the blessed epidural. I love epidurals! Unfortunately, it didn't work very well on my left side, so he had to add some extra medicine that made me extremely numb, but did get on top of the pain. Dr. Hall broke my water as soon as I was comfortable and told me that I was a 7.5 at this point. The anesthetist thought that the reason it didn't work at first was because I was just progressing so fast. They gave us a few forms to fill out and by the time we were finished and the nurse checked me again I was at a 10 and ready to have a baby! It all went so fast! 

Dr. Hall had Ben suit up and taught him the ropes of delivering a baby! So we had a short, 20 minute-ish delay while he explained to Ben all the different things to check for, how to tell the positioning of the baby (feeling sutures and fontanels) and a bunch of different things. Once they'd finished their lesson, it was time to push! Two pushes later our sweet Hudson was born at 5:43 pm! I love that moment when they lay that new baby right on me and let me just touch and admire him! It's so incredible to meet this little angel I've been feeling kick all day and night for months! Immediately, all the pain and nausea is 100% worth it!

I couldn't believe how fast everything went! From the time serious labor started to the actual delivery was just about 3 hours! And with Hudson's size, (8 lbs 9 oz) I'm glad the little guy came 6 days early! I am so grateful for a wonderful doctor, who worked with us as we lived in Dominica and Florida and had few other options for prenatal care, and who took such great care of us. I am grateful for a sweet labor and delivery nurse who was so competent and positive the whole time. That sweet lady kept saying things like "You are doing so great! I wish every patient was like this! You are awesome at this you are going so fast!" (like it's a talent-giving birth quickly :) I am especially grateful for my sweet husband taking care of me, speeding to the hospital while I grimaced through contractions and held my hands and rubbed my feet to help me through them, and for being there with me as we welcomed our sweet little son into the world! These little babes are such miracles. 

So there you have it- the beginning of Hudson's story! We sure love this little boy already and are so thrilled to have him in our home!

Introducing....

Hudson James Hugo

January 24, 2013

5:43 pm

8 lbs 9 oz 20.5 inches long

Our little guy is here! And we adore him!

More pictures and birth story to come

Grandparents are Grand!

My little boy is so lucky that we live with his grandparents right now and he is getting lots of quality time with them! I'm loving it as well! Saturday night they offered to babysit again so Ben and I could go out, and it's so wonderful to know he's in the most capable hands so we can enjoy ourselves. Apparently they have gotten down a pretty set routine for when Nana and Papa put him to bed- Papa helps with his bath (which I understand turned into a small water fight with squirting toy boats) and Nana reads him as many stories as he wants before bed. 

They've started a bunch of "things" that Chase always remembers and likes to do with them. One of Chase's favorite things lately is to "help". Whenever we are cooking/cleaning/doing laundry/getting the mail he comes screaming "I help! I help!" Of course, having a two year old help isn't really help at all, but makes the process take much longer. My mom is so great and patient to let Chase help her and he loves it! Here he is Sunday morning helping her make a jello salad. (Right after this Chase suggested they add "chocate chips"- because they make everything better right?) On Saturday, he was "helping" her clean the bathroom, which mostly consisted of him grabbing towels and throwing them in the toilet :) As she tried to tell him not to do that, amidst her laughing, he said a firm "BYE!" and ran out the door!

 One of his favorite things to do with Papa is to watch youtube clips of tractors/big trucks/trains. They've done this quite a few times, so on Saturday as Chase sat in his high chair eating a snack my dad announced he was going to go lay down for a minute. As he left the kitchen, Chase immediately told me he was all done and got down and ran off to follow Papa. Sure enough, this is what I found when I caught up to him with the camera. Chase puts in his order (such as blue tractor or Thomas) and my dad finds the right clip (usually not quite fast enough for this impatient little one).

Oh He Loves Them!

Over Christmastime Chase was absolutely in heaven having all his grandparents, aunts and uncles around to play with him! Now that Nate and Heidi have gone back to school, and Will and Katie are married and living up in Ogden, and his grandparents are back at work all day, Chase has sorely missed all the attention. Several times he's asked me for these beloved aunts and uncles, and I've been a little sad to disappoint him (not to mention- I've missed having them around too!) Will and Katie came over for dinner last night and Chase could not have been more excited! He showed off for them all through dinner and was super happy to wrestle on the bed with them while we were showing them the new nursery. 

 Here he is screaming "TACKLE" before taking the dive!

Thanks for coming up "Unky Will and Aunt Tatie"! You made his night!

A little lately

I haven't posted much on here in the last week, mostly because there was so little post-worthy going on! Right after the wedding we all got struck with the flu, which was miserable! We even got flu shots this year, but apparently we contracted a different strain! We spent the first half of the week taking lots of naps (or taking turns taking naps and watching Chase), doing lots of laundry, and continually sanitizing every surface in the house. I think we are all finally over it now- you always appreciate good health a little more once it has returned after illness!

Other than that, my major project for the week has been getting everything ready for the baby to come! With the holidays and wedding I had done very little to prep for his arrival, including setting up the nursery. Now we have the nursery mostly ready to go and all his little clothes washed and ready! It is so exciting to see it come together and we are getting very excited for this little man to join us!

Friday night my wonderful mom offered to babysit and Ben and I went on a date! Due to our living circumstances in Dominica and the craziness that has been medical school, we have really only been on a handful of dates since Chase was born and we really, really enjoyed being out together! We went to Texas Roadhouse since our favorite waiter was working (Will) and Ben thoroughly enjoyed the roughly 5 rolls he ate prior to his steak even coming! After a yummy dinner we headed to Target to get a few random things we needed before the baby comes (so romantic, I know!) and then very slowly drove home with extremely snowy roads! Chase, I understand, had a blast playing in the snow with his Nana, having the undivided attention of his grandparents while playing with toys, had a good long bubble bath, as many stories as he wanted, and went to bed a happy kid. It was wonderful to be able to enjoy a night out and know that our little boy was well taken care of.

 Proof that we went out! It was so fun, we'll have to do it again sometime! 

Our silly boy, this is a regular play spot for him :)

Will and Katie's Wedding!

The long awaited day finally came! We were all so excited for Will and so happy to welcome Katie into our family! Festivities started off on Friday night- where sadly, I didn't take pictures. We had a beautiful wedding dinner hosted by my parents and aunts and uncles up at the Union Grill in Ogden. My aunts put together beautiful centerpieces of fresh flowers, the buffet was absolutely delicious, the company was awesome, Nate gave the most hilarious toast, we watched their beautiful slideshow put together by Katie's brothers and heard some wonderful marriage advice from our dad and Katie's dad. My siblings and I did a short little speech on "Ten things you need to know about Will" that turned out kind of cute and funny. All in all, it was a wonderful evening! I was so sad that the rest of my little family wasn't there- Ben stayed home with our sick Chase, but I really loved being able to visit with our family and friends that came!

Saturday was wedding day! It was a beautiful, clear, COLD morning! Their sealing was absolutely beautiful. Katie's grandpa is a sealer at the Bountiful Temple, which made it such a special and personal experience for them. I was so happy that we were able to be there (and that Chase got better so that we could both attend!). Will and Katie were absolutely beaming!

 We took some really freezing cold pictures at the temple-

Katie and the bridesmaids-

besides Heidi and I, there is her sister-in-law Chelsey, 

three college roommates, a mission companion, 

and her two best friends from growing up in California.

Katie is a very loved gal!

 My little island baby did NOT handle the cold weather well-

and mostly screamed through pictures. I hope that the photographer got at least one group shot, despite his grumpiness (although I really couldn't blame him).

I love this shot of him screaming in Katie's arms, along with

their niece and nephews from Katie's side of the family!

 Our sweet, basically aunt Pam came down from Boise. Pam was our 

preschool teacher and we've stayed really close with her family over the years!

She was so helpful at the temple holding our coats

while we were in pictures so we could get warm in between!

 We had time to run home for naps (much needed at this point!) before the reception.

They had their reception at the Eldredge Manor in Bountiful and it was perfect!

Everything was so gorgeous!

We had to wake Chase up from his nap to go-

so even though he doesn't look happy here, I promise he really does love his aunt Heidi!

 Chase loved having a wide open ballroom to run around in!

We only kept him at the reception for a little while.

When our favorite (and really only) babysitter Jenna came with her 

parents we sent him home with her- which worked out perfectly!

He got to bed at a good time and Ben and I got to enjoy the reception. 

Just the little details from the reception, for anyone who cares (I mean YOU Jana).

A few nights ago we had a party to put together these little pearl balls.

Many fingers were burned by hot glue in the process-

but it was worth it, because they looked beautiful!

 I loved this table! Katie collected pictures

of all their parents and grandparents on their wedding day and displayed them here.

It totally fit the vintage feel of the wedding.

It was also nice way to remember and honor my White grandparents,

who passed away when Will was little.

Will's wedding band was my Grandpa White's (who is one of the Williams he's named after)-

and Katie's engagement ring was her great-grandmother Romania's. 

I loved how they incorporated their grandparents into their day!

 I loved their flowers- this arrangement is on the crepe table

before the food came out.

They had a crepe bar which I loved.

I think between Ben and I we ate at least ten crepes that night!

So there's the story of the day we expanded our family to include an awesome new sister-in-law. I've never seen Will happier- and we couldn't be more thrilled for them!

Here is a picture outside of the temple of the new Smith family!*

*Although this picture will be outdated when baby boy #2 joins us shortly! I'm so happy he held off until wedding day- and even though we have three weeks until his due date, I'd be pretty happy if he came any time now!