John David is 2 Months Old

    

     Things are settling down a bit now that we have 2 months under our belt. We are back into a weekly routine (for the most part) and starting to get a little bit more sleep at night. John David is growing so fast that he hardly seems like a little baby any more. He eats like a champ and has the weight to prove it! All the newborn clothes have long been put away. Now, even the 3 months outfits are getting snug. I sure wish he would slow down a bit!

     John David has experienced a lot in his short little life. He's been berry picking at Blueberry Hill three times, gone to the movie theater twice, and even hung out at the bowling alley a couple of times. He's been in the pool several times and enjoyed the water at Splash Kingdom Water Park last week too. Basically, he just tags along everywhere we go. Ah. What a life!

     This month, he also got to meet his paternal great-grandparents and great-uncle for the first time. Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Tim came to visit from Texas and we spent lots of time together. John David is blessed to have such a great family. 

At 2 months old, John David . . . 

• weighs about 13 pounds. 
• has the craziest hair! Most of the time, it looks like we gave him a mo-hawk. He is already losing a lot of hair on the sides.
• is only waking up once during the night to eat and get a diaper change. He's even slept all the way through the night (10 hours) twice. I can't wait until he makes that a habit. The first night he did it, I woke up feeling better than I had since he was born.
• has the best smile EVER! I love that he responds to our voices now and lights up when he focuses on our faces. You can't help but laugh when he flashes his adorable smile at you. I dare anyone to try!
• loves his sister! She makes him happier than anyone else can. Sara Beth reads and sings to him while I'm nursing. She prefers him to be in her room when she is playing independently. Sometimes, she plays doctor with him.
• "talks" to us. He has discovered a few new vocal sounds and loves to have some back and forth "conversations" with us.
• holds his head up very well. He is flopping it less and less each day. 
• is starting to grab, hit, and kick the toys hanging from his activity mat.
• took a bottle for the first time this month. It's nice to be able to leave him with someone else when I need to.
• has a bad case of baby acne. Although it's starting to clear up a little now.

Blueberry picking with friends

Sara Beth and Daddy feeding him his very first bottle

Happy Father's Day!

Best big sister ever! She read him 19 little books that day. . . and he listened to every one of them.

4 generations of Hart men

The cuteness is too much! Love his low dimple!

Lots of swimming fun this month!

John David is 1 Month Old!

     Time is flying by! I can't believe John David is one month old already. He is growing so fast. He definitely doesn't look like a newborn any more. Although, he never really has anyway. This month has been quite a transition period and we are just now finding a groove and getting back into somewhat of a normal routine. My recovery was much harder this time than it was with Sara Beth. Thankfully, the first couple of weeks were overflowing with family offering to help, visitors to catch up with, and meals being delivered to our door .
     Everything looked good at his first doctor appointments. He was 8 lb. 15 oz. at birth, but had dropped down to 8 lb. 2 oz. by the time we left the hospital. By his 2 week check up, he had gained over a pound and weighed 9 lb. 3 oz. He never had any jaundice. What a healthy boy!

At one month old, John David is. . .
-almost 11 pounds (I think)! I just held him while I weighed myself on the bathroom scale, and then subtracted my weight.
-starting to get the hang of breastfeeding. Well, at least he's not biting down or making me bleed any more. Obviously, a bad latch isn't keeping him from getting the calories he needs.
-holding his head up like a pro. He does great with tummy time on the Boppy pillow.
-grunting, grunting, grunting. While he does occasionally let out a piercing scream or cry, mostly he just grunts a lot. He sounds strangely like a little pig.
-sleeping in his own room in his crib. We weren't getting any sleep with all of the grunting sounds. So, it was bye bye bassinet and hello crib.
-waking up twice during the night to eat and get a diaper change.
-spending more and more time awake each day. I can't wait to start seeing his personality develop!
-coming with us to church on Sundays. We brought Sara Beth with us for months because she just slept right through it. Not this little guy! He stays awake for 2 or 3 hours on Sundays when we are at church.
-rocking his cloth diapers. After a day or two of relearning how to use prefolds with covers, we've got it down now.
-loving his pacifier. We tried to wait a while before giving him the glorious paci, but a few weeks of nightly screaming will break you. Last week we decided that the pacifier couldn't make his breastfeeding latch any worse than it already was, so we broke out the paci. As always, it was a life-saver!
-tagging along everywhere we go: SB's play dates, grocery shopping, etc.

First check-up with Dr. Ritch

SB is a great big sister. Look at those crossed eyes!

He's a man of many (funny) faces

We also had a newborn photo shoot with Nicole Spikes this month. Isn't that smile precious?

Yay for pacifiers!

Relaxing at the spray park while big sister plays.

On his one month birthday: Handsome little guy, isn't he?

It's a Boy! John David's Birth Story (Part 2)

Part 2: Labor and Delivery

     I really need to live in a different state, where natural, nonmedicated childbirth isn't some alien concept. When I was pregnant with Sara Beth, I had to fight off induction in order to wait 11 days past my due date for her to make an appearance. It was stressful and scary, but she did finally come on her own. Thankfully, I was able to have the natural birth experience that I wanted.

     With this pregnancy, I had a new doctor (my first OB retired), and while she is very sweet and personable, she is not completely on board with natural childbirth. I felt like I had to argue every decision that was made. She wanted to induce me for any number of reasons: gestational diabetes, a big baby, the baby's dilated kidneys, etc. Finally, an induction was scheduled for Friday, May 3rd, the day before my due date. After several attempts to strip my membranes, I began to have regular contractions on Wednesday night. We were so happy that labor was starting without a hospital induction (or so we thought)! We got Adam's brother, Travis, to come spend the night at our house so that we wouldn't have to disturb Sara Beth. Then, we headed to the hospital at around 1:00 Thursday morning. After 6 hours of contractions, monitoring, and checking, I just wasn't progressing. I came in at 4cm and went home at 4cm. While we were disappointed, we looked forward to getting some sleep and eating our own food before going in at 5am Friday for the induction.

It's Birth day: 5am at Highland Hospital

     We loaded the car and got to the hospital at 5am on Friday. The plan was to get checked in and start the first round of IV antibiotics (because I tested positive for Group B Strep) before my doctor came in to start the induction at 6:30. It was so strange to be at the hospital without being in pain. We just waited in our room until they got to us. My doctor broke my water at 7:30am and then we waited. The contractions came; I rolled around on my birth ball; we waited. By 11:30, I had barely made it to 5cm, and my doctor started talking about giving me Pitocin. I broke down immediately. This is why I didn't want to be induced! Birth should not be timed. It's not a test! I refused to even listen to the suggestion of medication. We asked everyone to leave the room. I got on my hands and knees (which is how I labored with Sara Beth) and true labor began. I guess you could say I got scared into labor.

     From that point on, I progressed slowly. But, it was enough for my doctor to leave me alone. Toward the end, I remember being so sensitive to sound. Did that nurse just giggle at me (She didn't by the way)? Why is she talking so much? This song is annoying! Once again, Adam was the best labor coach I could have asked for! This time around was less physical for him. With Sara Beth, I needed him to press on my back during every contraction (for like 6 hours straight). This time, he talked me through every contraction, telling me to relax my body and let it do its job. Like the first time, I lost my concentration (and my quietness) toward the end, when I was exhausted and the pain wasn't giving me a break. I pushed for what seemed like forever, but was really an hour and a half. Finally, after 12 hours, at 5:39 pm, our baby was born!

Welcome to the world, John David Hart!

John David Hart- Born on May 3, 2013- 8lbs. 15 oz.- 21.25 inches long

Happy family, with our new little blessing

     I hardly remember the doctor saying "It's a boy!", but I remember Adam being so excited to tell our family. He ran out to them, slid down the hallway in his socks, and told our family the news. Apparently, he told them that the baby weighed 8lbs 16oz instead of 8lbs 15oz, and they won't let him live it down! John David was put on my chest right away and soon even latched right on to nurse for the first time. Sara Beth soon joined us in the delivery room to meet her little brother. We wanted her to be a part of the experience too.

Sara Beth meeting her brother

To be continued. . .

It's a Boy! John David's Birth Story (Part 1)

     It's been 9 months since I've updated the blog. A lot happened during that time. Most importantly, I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. I'm going to do my best to begin documenting his first year here at Hart Adventures. I loved having Sara Beth's monthly posts to look back on, and would hate to miss out on recording all the details about her little brother. So, while the memories are fresh, here is the birth story of our second child, our son, John David Hart.

Part 1: Pregnancy

     We found out I was pregnant in late August 2012 and were so excited! Sara Beth immediately latched on to the idea of having a baby brother or sister. It seemed like I started showing immediately, although I'm sure I didn't really. By 10 weeks, we couldn't hide it anymore (I was already into my maternity clothes)  and decided to tell everyone. Sara Beth wore her Big Sis shirt to spread the big news. Just like with my first pregnancy, I was tired and nauseous for the first trimester. In early January, I took the glucose tolerance test and failed it once again. For the next 4 months, I followed a strict diet and was able keep my gestational diabetes under control. My total weight gain was only 18 pounds, thanks to gestational diabetes (at least it's good for something, I guess). I was able to keep working out until 3 days before he was born. My belly was HUGE for the last half of the pregnancy, which caused lots of aches and pains. Even the shirt that I wore to the hospital when Sara Beth was born was about 6 inches too short in the front. I had to visit the perinatal specialist several times to keep an eye on the baby's kidneys. They were more dilated than they should have been. After remaining stable for several visits in a row, the doctors decided that the only action should be to have an ultrasound done on the baby's kidneys after birth. We decided once again to wait until delivery to find out the gender of the baby. It would either be Jessa Adeline or John David and we didn't care which one. We had an inkling that it was a boy though. It was measuring very large on all the ultrasounds, was crazy active all the time (kicking, punching, and stretching in my belly), and the kidney problem was more common in boys.

Baby Hart at 30 weeks, 5 days



     In March, a sweet group of friends hosted a baby shower for me. The theme was "A Baby is Brewing". Everything was beautiful! My good friend, Brittany, even flew in from Las Vegas to be here. I felt very loved!



     Also in March, we took maternity pictures with Ivy B Photography. We had so much fun with her! She even got Sara Beth to cheese it up a bit. I think the pictures came out great!



To be continued. . . . . . .

Gumbo, Zydeco, and Relaxation

     This month, Adam and I celebrated 13 years of marriage. To celebrate, we took a weekend trip down south (South Louisiana, that is). As a Christmas gift, Adam's parents gave us a couple of nights at a bed and breakfast, along with dinner, a swamp tour, and a Cajun music show. What an amazing gift! 

     We stayed at Maison D'Memoire in Rayne, LA. The rooms are actually separate cottages that have been moved onto the property and restored. Our cottage, The Autumn Cottage, was the smallest of the bunch, but was steeped in history. There was a living room, full kitchen, bedroom, and a bathroom (with a claw-foot tub). We loved it! Lyn, our hostess, made delicious breakfasts each morning and delivered them to our doorstep in a little basket. We drank our coffee out on the porch while enjoying some unseasonably cool Louisiana weather.

     Friday night, we ate at Pont Breaux's Cajun Restaurant in Breaux Bridge. We had some yummy gumbo and smothered fish while we watched the older couples dance the night away. On a side note, this trip really made me wish I knew how to dance! With such awesome live music everywhere you go, it's hard to sit still.

     Saturday's schedule was full to the brim. We started out with one of Lyn's yummy breakfasts and then headed back to Breaux Bridge to go on a swamp tour. Going into this, I thought, "How interesting can this be really? We have swamps in Shreveport too." Our guide proved me wrong. The 2 hour boat ride was peaceful, beautiful, and very informative. We saw lots of native birds and even a few alligators. We lunched at a little cafe in town and then picked up some boudin at a local shop nearby. 

     That evening, we drove to Eunice to the Liberty Theater to see a show, "Rendez Vous des Cajuns". It was actually a live radio show being broadcast locally, but we were in the live audience. The band was great and most of the dialogue was in French so that was interesting too. Once again, there was dancing in which we did not participate. I've got to learn to dance! We had dinner at Fezzo's. The food was amazing! I was stuffed before my entree came out!

     Sunday, after another of Lyn's breakfasts, we drove south to Avery Island. There, we visited the Tabasco factory and toured The Jungle Gardens. Both were very touristy, but pretty cool none-the-less. We loved our weekend together! We celebrated our 13 years of marriage, experienced some Cajun culture, and got the opportunity to finish our conversations. That is almost impossible with SB along for the ride. She had a blast staying the weekend with her Nonni and Opa too! We are so blessed!

One of our delicious breakfasts

Bird sighting on the swamp tour

Alligator!

Live radio show

Porch-sitting with my man

Tabasco factory on Avery Island

Ancient buddha statue that we saw in the Jungle Gardens

The trees were huge!

Mr. and Mrs. Hart

Parent Prom Night

     I have been very blessed to have had some precious friends in my life. Some friends have been with me since we were kids. Some are new. In this season of my life (having young children), God has sent me Diana and Brittany. It seems like Diana, Brittany, and I were cut from the same mold. Sure, we have our differences. Those are the things that help us work together so well. Sometimes though, it's scary how much we are alike! Many times, when we show up for a play date, our kids are dressed alike (matching shirts,etc.). I guess it's our ESP or something. Our husbands even get along great too! And did I mention that our children are best friends? Owen, Tristen, and Sara Beth are like the three amigos.

     Sadly, one third of our group will be moving away to Las Vegas in a few short weeks. Brendon is in the Air Force and is getting a really great job in Vegas. Yay for them! Boo for us! We girls have been tossing around the idea of having a dress-up group date since Jan/Feb, but now we were running out of time to get it done. So, this past weekend, we got all dolled up and had a nice dinner together (without our sweet little ones). The date ended up being on a Sunday night, so it was really hard to find a restaurant. We ended up at Windrush Grill, where we had a delicious meal followed by their signature chocolate sack for dessert. Afterwards, we asked our waiter to take our picture. It reminded us of prom night photos. . .hence the title of this post.

Parent Prom, anyone?

Dessert

The Girls

This counted as our anniversary dinner too, so we had to get one of just the two of us. Happy 13th Anniversary!

     Next on the agenda, an Amazing Race(ish) scavenger hunt around town. I asked each couple to plan one leg of the race. I was thinking it would be even, since we would each have a leg-up on one part, but not the other two parts. We each came up with a clue that would lead us to a location in town where we would have to perform some sort of activity. Of course, photo documentation was REQUIRED! First couple back to my house was the winner of all the bragging rights.

Amazing Race Teams

     Um. . . then a BIG storm blew in and forced us to cancel our plans. I mean, there were huge tree limbs crashing into our driveway and a torrential downpour. What to do? What to do? Though we wouldn't get to actually do the race, we decided to change into our team shirts anyway. You can't go wasting all that craftiness now! We sat around the table and read the clues aloud (just to see what we were missing). My clue required a little "active participation" so that was a lot of fun to watch. The last clue was supposed to lead the teams back to my house to do a word search. I made a personalized one online and printed it out. We decided that the winner would be the first team who finished the word search. Here are the results: 1. The Herbecks  2. The Reneaus  3. The Harts (Seriously? You would think that we might win since I MADE the puzzle!)

Their shirts were so clever: "Mr. and Mrs. (Scavenger Hunt) Herbeck" When we started planning this date, Brendon said that scavenger hunts were his middle name. Basically meaning that he was going to whoop us (which he did).

Women's Gymnastics (Left to right: Table top, butterfly stretch, and cartwheel)

Men's Gymnastics (Left to right: Spider Man handstand, straddle stretch, big star)

First place finishers

The rest of us working hard

     The rest of the night, we played Cranium and laughed A LOT. It was wonderful to spend some grown-up time with great friends (and act like kids too)! We wish Brittany, Brendon, and Owen the best as they start a new chapter of their lives. We will miss them a lot, but look forward to hearing what God is going to do in their lives.

Can't you tell he's Dracula?

I think Adam was trying to get his team to guess "saved by the bell".

Sara Beth's Favorite Books (2 years old)

     Sara Beth has a lot of books. . . really. . . A LOT. About half of our collection has been relegated to her closet. About half are on her book shelves (which we need more of). Of the ones that are on the shelves, we read the same ones again and again. Actually, lately she has been loving her library books the most. Those are the ones we read day after day. I thought it might be nice to put together a list of her current favorites. This is mainly for my benefit, so that years from now I can look back and remember what she was in to at 2 years old. But, I always like looking at other people's book lists to get new ideas. So, maybe someone with a toddler will get some use out of this list too. Here it is, in no particular order.

Sara Beth's Top 10 Books for 2 Year-Olds

I love that she can read this one to herself. There is so much to learn from this book-- food, numbers, days of the week, life cycle of a butterfly. . .

Classic. Everyone likes this book, I know. I simply cannot get enough of watching SB roar her terrible roar, roll her terrible eyes, gnash her terrible teeth, and show her terrible claws! It's really cute!

The illustrations are great in this one. It's one of Adam's favorites too.

OK. I guess we need to purchase this one. We've checked it out from library 4 different times. She just keeps coming back to it. She can quote it word for word now.

Great message. "Now sign it!"

Imagination. . . sidewalk chalk. . . We must have read this 4 times a day while we had it from the library.

I loved Little Bear books as a child. Now SB does too! There's just something endearing about these stories.

 

We stumbled upon this one at the library a few weeks ago. She loved to try to do the yoga poses and act like the animals.

Another great find at the library recently. . . Her favorite part is wriggling her hips like a crocodile.

Reading this book coincided perfectly with blueberry picking season here in Louisiana.