Dear Hunter // One Month

I can't believe it. You're already one month old. This last month has gone by way too fast. I catch myself staring at you constantly and wishing I could stop time. I cry every single time I think about returning to work and not being able to be with you all day long to see the new things you learn and the sweet things you do. I will miss our cuddles and naps together. I want you to stay so little, and yet I'm so excited for the years to come. Who are you going to be? What will you like doing?

You are so beautiful. I couldn't have made a more perfect human being myself. You look so much like your daddy. I can't imagine my life without you in it. I think back to being pregnant and how much I hated it most days, but I would do it all over again. It's amazing to think that it was you in there all along kicking me and getting all those hiccups. When you stretch, you stick your little booty out, and now I know what you were doing when it felt like you had just balled up in one spot in my belly. It was just your little bum!

I love sleeping next to you at night, and waking up to your cute face in the morning. People say it's unsafe, but you love being close to me and I love to be close to you. I think at this point I need it more than you do now. You are getting so strong during tummy time. You can hold your head up so well. Your hands are always by your face or in your mouth, just like every ultrasound. When you're awake, you're so alert, looking all over the place. I love these moments.

Although, we've had some tough times these last couple weeks, I wouldn't change them for anything. You have colic fairly bad. It makes my heart break to see you uncomfortable, but I take pride in being the one that can make you feel at least some relief sometimes. I'm hoping things will ease up sooner than the average three to four months that babies usually have it though! You are getting much better at not screaming during every diaper change as well, which is nice!

You are officially 10 lbs 8 oz and 22 1/2 inches long. You are growing like a weed!

LOVES // tummy time, your mobile in your crib, being rocked, eating, the sound of water running, being held, your hands, being swaddled, cuddling, and looking all around

HATES // the swing, being in the car seat (sometimes you'll do okay, other times you'll scream for miles), baths unless I take you in the shower with me, and being naked in general


I love you more than I thought was ever possible. You are my whole entire world.

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Labor and Delivery

It's been 21 days since I had my little one, and my brain is a little fuzzy and jumbled. I'm going to do my very best to remember what happened on those two very long - but rewarding days.

My due date was January 11, 2015. The Thursday before my due date at my appointment I had high blood pressure so they decided to set my induction date for my due date. I was scheduled to go to the hospital at 8 p.m. Sunday night. Unfortunately, since I wasn't considered high risk and I wasn't in active labor the hospital called and rescheduled for 12 that night. They were understaffed and figured that I would rather stay home and be comfortable instead of going in and waiting around for them to start me. At 11 they called again to reschedule for 7 a.m. Monday morning. Apparently a few women were in labor and went in. I was okay with putting it off until the next morning because I would actually be able to get one last good night's sleep.

At 7 a.m. we arrived at the hospital and got settled in to our room. At 8:30 they placed a dose of cytotec in my cervix to ripen it before they started pitocin. Three hours later, I had barely made any progress, so they gave me another dose of cytotec. The second one seemed to work, because contractions started and they started my pitocin. The contractions were bearable at this point. I wasn't really in a ton of pain. I was able to breathe through my contractions without any pain medication for awhile. I asked for pain medication through my IV, which if you've had you know it doesn't take the pain away but it relaxes you and kind of takes the edge off. I labored throughout the day and finally asked for a epidural as the pain got worse. Tolerable but worse. I didn't want to wait to the point of being in so much pain I wouldn't be able to sit still for them to place it.

I got my first epidural and as my luck would have it, it made my right leg numb, and that was it. I could still feel every contraction. They gave me a second epidural, and a third, with no such luck. I was terrified that I was going to have to deliver him naturally. I'm a total baby when it comes to pain. I felt helpless. I couldn't move my right leg, yet had full control over my left. It was the most annoying feeling in the world, and totally not worth it to not have function of one leg, and still be in pain. At 3 a.m. they broke my water, and that's when the pain got even worse! I kept begging for them to give me a C-Section. Then they had to kick my pitocin up because I wasn't progressing from a 6 for a couple hours.

My doctor came in to try talking me out of getting a C-Section. I just wanted him out. I was in so much pain, had gotten barely any sleep, and wanted it to be over with. She said if I didn't progress anymore in a couple hours then we would go ahead with it. When she came in to check me, I was finally at an 8, and I agreed to keep going with a vaginal delivery.

A new anesthesiologist came in after the two before completely failed. She had told me the same thing happened to her, that her epidural didn't work and she gave birth naturally. She felt my pain and understood, but wanted to give me relief. So she asked if she could do a spinal to just give me relief for about an hour and a half so I could sleep. I agreed, and she also placed a fourth epidural just to see if it worked. I could kiss her. The spinal was amazing, and the fourth epidural had worked!

When it came time to push, I was exhausted. I had been in labor for 39 hours and didn't know if I was going to be able to push. I tried my hardest to push through each contraction. My epidural wasn't working well. I had shooting pains in my back and lower stomach. I was getting rather frustrated, especially when the nurses told me they were going to turn the epidural down so I could feel my contractions more. Even when I could feel them just fine! I pretty much flat out told them no, I could feel them, there wasn't any need for that. I was as nice as I could be about it even though I wanted to punch them in the face.

The on-call doctor came in and told me we were going to try the vacuum, and if he wasn't out in three contractions we would have to do the c-section. I pushed with everything in me, and on that last contraction, I saw the most beautiful thing I have ever laid eyes on. My baby boy was finally here.

He was so alert. Staring (glaring) at everybody as if to say, "what the heck? Put me back!" The first words out of my mouth were, "he's so beautiful." I start to cry every time I think about it. I never believed it when other moms would say that you'd forget the pain, but it's so true. When they laid him on my chest, he just stared at me. It was honestly the most precious moment of my life.

On January 13, 2015, after 41 hours of labor, at 11:44 p.m. Hunter Michael Hampton was born at 8 lbs 3 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. He's absolutely perfect.


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