11 Months (almost 12)

Hey baby boy,

Your daddy has been very busy lately, so this entry is actually being written only 10 days before your first birthday! So, sorry about the lateness, but it gives us a lot to talk about!

Let's see, where to start? You are a hard guy to keep in one place these days, you crawl like the wind, and also enjoy pulling yourself up on anything or anyone handy, so you can walk around holding onto something. You also love taking walks while holding someone by each hand- you can do this for hours. Four days ago you actually stood up on your own at the beach for about 10 seconds! Your dad saw it, but your mom was busy boogieboarding.

You also got a yellow shovel at the beach which you now carry everywhere. Crawling? Yellow shovel. Riding in the car? Yellow shovel. Nursing? Yellow shovel. It's a very versatile tool.

You are also eating more and more actual food now: cereal, sweet potato, yogurt, tofu, chicken, blueberries, strawberries, kiwi, pear, squashes, and a whole bunch of stuff I can't even remember. You've taken after your dad in that vegetables are not really your thing, but we find ways to sneak them down anyhow.

So, your dad has a bet that you will walk before your first birthday, and time is getting short. So Wednesday when you are home with dad, it's a training day- no excuses! Happy 11+ months little boy!

10 months!

This entry is actually only 2 weeks after the previous entry, instead of a month like usual, but things have really been happening around here!

The big excitement is that within the space of 24 hours you went from sitting up in a stationary manner to being totally mobile! On Tuesday you crawled a couple little shuffles forward, and by Wednesday afternoon you were both trucking across you floor with your tongue hanging out and pulling yourself up to a full standing position on various unsuitable objects. Things will never be the same!

We took you to the beach yesterday, and you used your newfound mobility to cover yourself from head to toe in sand while your dad surfed. You seem to like the beach- you stare at the waves a lot, and like smushing the sand between your fingers. We've been to the beach a few times this spring and summer, and it's good that you like it, since we'll be taking a vacation at the beach later this summer with your cousins!

Happy 10th month kiddo, you're closing in on your first birthday, and it's been a whirlwind!

9 Months!

Well, hopefully this entry is better late than never.  You just had your 9-month doctor's appointment today, even though you are really 9 1/2 months old.  You are healthy as a horse and little as a button: you've fallen off the chart, at below the 5th percentile for weight and length.  As the nurse said, you're a peanut.  Neither of your parents are really surprised, considering that we were both small when we were young.  We expect that a growth spurt is around the corner for you.  And if not, we have a family farm with lots of horses, so we can begin your jockey training at a young age.

You are terrifying your parents by getting closer and closer to the crawling stage now.  You spend all day rocking onto your hands and knees, then your stomach, and trying to move and only moving backwards, which drives you crazy.  The harder you try the further away your goal gets!  We have done zero baby-proofing, so we do not mind your lack of mobility so far.  You, on the other hand, are impatient to get a move on.  You also love standing up with help, and even can pull yourself up into a standing position with the right object to hold onto.  Life as your parents know it is about to end.

You do not use any words yet, although we think you make the sign for Milk when you are hungry.  You like to babble and talk a lot, when you are in the mood, but other times you can spend long periods being totally silent.  You've changed our lives in amazing ways, and continue to be the center of our universes.  Happy birthday, baby boy, we're so glad you are here!

8 Months!

Dear Sammy,

Your 8 month birthday came on a Monday night, so no wild party for you.  You keep getting bigger and better every month, and everywhere you go you get comments on what a handsome and good baby you are.  Two weekends ago we went down to Chester for Passover, and you got to have a part in the Sader dinner.  You even slept the entire way both down and back!  Your mom fooled a lot of people on April Fools day by posting on her Facebook page that she was pregnant with twins.  Will Facebook even exist when you are old enough to read this?  Probably not.  

Your favorite things lately seem to be playing with your giant bouncy ball, going for walks, and EATING!  You've been an eating machine, known to throw down jars of apples, sweet potato, and squash, all in a single day.  Bananas, rice cereal, mango, and plums are also high on your list.  Peas, not so much.  We've been making all your food ourselves, so our freezer is full of tiny jars of mush that all look vaguely the same.

Well, who knows that the next month will bring.  You are showing more and more signs of interest in some sort of stomach-based mobility, so we may be in for a real shock when you take off one day!

7 Months Old!

Hi Sam,

Your 7th month birthday fell near St. Patrick's Day, so here's a picture of you all dressed up in green.  On the 17th we took you for a walk down to the Barley Pub and had a quick pint of Guinness, while you checked out all the sights to see inside.  You have started on kinda-solid food, and so far your favorite is rice cereal, followed by bananas.  Peas are not a big hit so far, which is too bad because we made a huge batch of peas, even putting it into little jars to freeze for later.  So, you had better change your taste!  You can sit up really well on your own now, which makes play time even more interesting.  Finally, you and Jess have started taking swimming lessons twice a week at the Dover Indoor Pool.  You've taken to the water slowly, but you're getting more comfortable every class.  Happy 7 months!

Six Months Old!

Hi Sammy,

Friday the 13th is usually unlucky, but it just happens to your half-year birthday!  We would have gotten you half a birthday cake, but you don't eat solid food yet.  However, you are doing some pretty fun things instead, so here, for your 6-month birthday, are your Six favorite things to do:

Talking (sort of):

Rolling Over:

Sitting Up (kind of):

Laughing (a lot):

Skiing (with help):

And finally, Playing!

Happy Birthday!

Happy 5th Month!

Hi Sam,

Yesterday was your 5-month birthday! We are trying to write a blog entry on your birthday each month, and take a picture of you with the frog as well. You are certainly growing up fast- you're not an infant anymore, you are definitely a baby. Your new favorite activities are grabbing your toes and cross-country skiing.

Skiing seems very relaxing to you, as you tend to sleep through an entire outing. Not that you would know it from the above picture. It has been a very snowy winter already, so your parents have been skinig as much as they can, with you riding along snug in the Baby Bjorn.

We are all getting into a pattern now, with your mom back to work 2 days a week, your dad taking care of you one dat a week, and your Ceci and Papi taking care of you the other day. It seems like the highlight of their week when you show up on Monday mornings to spend the day on the farm. You're also sleeping through the night (mostly), and rapidly outgrowing clothes. You are a very agreeable baby, you love to sleep in the car on long drives, play with toys, go outside, and chew anything you can grab. I'm sure the same description will be true when you're 16!

From Samuel Powel Hunt

Hey Baby Sam,
All three of us went to the Portsmouth Halloween parade on Friday night, with Mom and Dad dressed up like farmers and you dressed as a peapod. It was an extremely cute costume. We watched the parade go by three times, and the third time we joined in and marched down Market Street.

You were completely passed out in Dad's arms, oblivious to all the noise and sights around. People though you were a doll until they got a close look, you were so asleep. One guy yelled "Hey, you grew a baby!" Then when he got a better look he yelled "Whoa! That's a real baby!"

From Samuel Powel Hunt

We also happened to meet up with our friends Brett and Amy Fullerton, who happened to be dressed as farmers, with their little girl playing the role of a carrot. Great minds think alike, I guess. Afterwards we went back to a party at Jennifer and Micum's house, and had an overall excellent Halloween!

From Samuel Powel Hunt

Happy Halloween everyone!

From Samuel Powel Hunt

OK, neither of these kids is our boy Sammy.  They are two of the rascals from Jess's New Mom's group, who get together and have wild and crazy baby parties once or twice a week.  It's a lot of fun for Jess, and usually wears Sammy out so much that he sleeps like crazy that night- bonus!  Sorry for the lack of posting, life is busy busy busy.  We'll try to be better as we head into the holiday season!

From Samuel Powel Hunt

We took our first serious road trip last weekend, down to Connecticut for two reasons:

1. Teddy's Erensen's 1st Birthday party/Baby Convention

2. Meet Sammy party in Chester

Sam did really well, he is a trooper in the carseat. Only a couple meltdowns, and given that it's a 3-hour trip each way that's not bad at all. We had an awesome time with everything, and Sam enjoyed meeting all the Trinity parents and kids (when he was awake), as well as the whole crew of Chester family and friends.

Sleep is getting a little easier to come by, so we'll start trying to post more pictures and entries. Also, you can check out our whole picture collection at:

www.picasaweb.google.com/chrishunt00

Well, we were both betting that you would come late, baby, and as children seem to do you decided to do the opposite. We were at a farewell dinner at the Redhook Brewery for two of Chris’s co-workers, Mike Novak and Chris Manning, when Jess leaned over and whispered “Meet me outside the ladies’ room in one minute.” When I got there she told me her water had broken! Holy Cow! While we were whispering outside the bathroom Chris Manning came leaping out of the men’s room, his face lit up, since he had overheard us and was tremendously excited. Your dad got some things from your mom’s car, and when we came back from the bathroom everyone had figured out what had happened and let out a huge cheer, like we had just won a championship.

So we drove home and got our bags and went to the hospital around 9:00 PM, where they confirmed that Jess’s water had indeed broken and you were on your way. They sent us home until 9:00 AM, and we tried to sleep, listening to the HypnoBirthing CDs, but it wasn’t really working. Jess spent more and more time in the bathroom, or on hands and knees on our little couch, working her hips side to side through the contractions. She even spent some time walking with me at 2:00 AM up and down the driveway, getting down on hands and knees during each contraction, which at this point were only 30 seconds to 1 minute or so apart.

At about 5:00 AM your mom woke your dad from a brief sleep, as her contractions were still coming back to back and she had not slept the whole night. We drove back to the hospital, only stopping twice so she could get out and walk. Then twice again from the car to the Birth Center, Jess had to get on hands and knees to labor, prompting kind people to ask if she was OK.

Once in the Birth Center we went into a laboring room. The nurse gave Jess a shot of morphine to help her finally get some sleep- her only medication of the entire delivery- which really worked wonders and gave her a break for a few hours. Our wonderful, amazing nurse from start to finish was Ashley Beaumier, who was a year behind your dad in high school! Ashley was kind and calm and supportive, exactly what we wanted and needed in a nurse, and was really supportive of trying to have a natural birth. When we first came in she asked Jess whether she should inquire about her pain level on a scale of 1 to 10. This is very standard practice, but we had been told that it leads a woman to focus on pain and think about it, instead of looking past pain. Jess told Ashley she didn’t want to be asked, and we were never asked any questions about pain for the entire time. The entire nursing staff at the hospital were great, but Ashley was very special.

Jess came in at 1 cm, and after a couple hours of sleeping and contractions they checked again, and she was at 3-4 cm. This was the hardest moment for her, because the contractions had been coming so often with little to no break in between. She lay on her side in bed, sleeping between the contractions, then pumping her legs in circles along the sheets: a move the staff began to call “Riding the Bike”. They had never seen anything like it. So to find out she was only at 3-4 cm was really discouraging, but she stuck with it. After a few hours of Riding the Bike, Ashley suggested we try the Jacuzzi to help move things along, so they started filling the Jacuzzi and checked her again, after which they announced that we would go straight to the birthing tub as she was fully dilated! It was amazing how sudden it seemed.

We had been hoping to do a water birth since the beginning, especially after getting a tour of the Birth Center and seeing the tub and the water birth room. The only hitch was that there is only one tub, and it is used on a first-come-first-served basis. We knew there was a chance that someone would be in there before us, but when the time came the tub was empty. We made a fast transition to the waterbirth room, where they started filling the big white tub. Jess was marching up and down, never stopping her feet since it was too tempting to push. She motored from the bed to one corner of the room and back, then to the other corner and back, almost jogging in her desire to hold off. Again, all the staff said they never saw anything like it. There was just enough water in the tub when we both climbed in, and the warmth seemed to slow things down a little. Jess floated on her back and rested against Chris, and pushed when the contractions came and slept often in between. There was a CD of relaxing music playing in the background, which we listened to twice, meaning that we were in the tub for at least two hours. But after that amount of time things were still going too slow, with your little baby head seemingly tipped a little to the side.

So after a long time trying in the tub we got out, and Jess did the rest on the bed, lying on her back or side, squatting, standing, on the bar- Jess tried all the positions. After hours of hard pushing she could not get that head to budge, so our midwife Molly suggested that we think about the vacuum. This was a little risky, since if the vacuum failed more drastic measures would be taken, perhaps even a C-section. However, we wanted to avoid any medication or surgery if possible, and Jess still had a good amount of energy at this point, so we agreed to try it. Doctor Banaski got the round white disc and attached it, and after literally two pushes your head was past the sticking point. Jess pushed and pushed, and your eyes opened and looked at Chris as soon as they emerged. After Jess pushed and pushed a few more times, with Chris and Ashley and Dr. Banaski all encouraging loudly, you were born! You were immediately put onto Jess’s chest, and Chris looked at the doctor and asked if you were a boy or girl. Even the doctor didn’t know yet, so your dad was the first one in the world to know you were a boy. With all her self-doubt and fear going into the birth, the HypnoBirthing techniques and the amazing staff at the hospital combined to give us a really wonderful birth experience, and Jess is so proud of her accomplishment.

More rest

We are gradually settling into something of a routine here, with a little more sleep coming each night, it seems. Chris and Sam have discovered a liking for sleeping in together a little, and Jess has similarly developed a fondness for photographing her two boys in repose. Not that there is any similarity between the two guys.

Chris is on paternity leave until the 27th, so he's been trying to get things organized around the house and spend a little time with the family. We try to go for a walk each day downtown, which Sam usually sleeps right through. The carseat and stroller seem to be good sleep aids- information we have filed away for later use, perhaps.

The days have been going quietly, with lots of time sitting outside in the screen tent. Somehow, however, time seems to fly. Sam is already 11 days old, and it hardly seems like he should be half that age. We're loving the whole thing, it just feels right.

Resting Up

Sorry we havn't gotten the whole birth story together yet- time and rest have been a little short lately. Everybody is doing great, however. Here is one of Jess's newest favorite pictures- two Hunt boys sleeping in!

The arrival

There is a story, of course, but this one is great. We just need more time to tell it right. Here are some pictures for now- everybody is happy, healthy, and home.

-Jess, Chris, and Sammy

Go Jump in a Lake? OK!

Hi there junior,

Well, even though you could decide to enter the world at any time now, we couldn't resist the opportunity of another lake house stay. It was only a little over an hour away, at Little Sebago Lake this time. Your soon-to-be Grandmother and Grandfather Hunt won a week at the lake in a silent auction, but could not use it the first night, so your mom and dad courageously offered to make sure it did not go to waste.

It was rainy for a lot of the time, which gave us a good opportunity to relax and rest, but the sun came out for a while and we went canoeing and swimming, both of which were wonderful. The house has a wide deck overlooking the lake, and at night we could hear the loons calling. It was a short little trip, but we figured we'll take every chance we can get while you are still (relatively!) easy to manage inside of Jess's belly. We expect that soon traveling will be a lot more complicated, so it felt great to just drop everything and take off for a night. All looked just fine at your last doctor's appointment- they say all of Jess's vitals are textbook. What a great mom she is already! Jess is at 38 weeks!

Your new digs

Hi Huntling,

We're keeping all your future clothes in a little dresser, which actually used to be your Uncle Matt's dresser back when he was a sprout. We repainted it for you, too. Your nursery is pretty much done, so your mom has been in there rocking in the chair and practicing her mothering techniques. The frog is extremely well-behaved, and you should follow its example, ok? Can't wait to meet you, Jess is at 38 weeks!

Getting close

Hi Baby,

The big day is getting close. The doctor appointments have started happening every week, and everything looks really good. Your mom and dad spent last night rearranging furniture in your compact nursery to try to get everything to fit well, and we think we finally fingured it out. It's hard to believe that in just a few weeks you'll be out here with us, and we'll be a family of three instead of a couple. It's a big change, but we are excited to finally meet you and become parents.

Your mom's birthday is on the 30th, and we've been celebrating here and there. Last week your future Grandma and Grandpa Hunt had a little dinner party at the farm, and on Friday your mom and dad went to Morrison's Lobster Pier in Kittery and had a wonderful dinner on the water. Your dad had planned a cookout party on Sunday in Portsmouth, but huge thunderstorms scared some people away, and we ended up scrapping that plan and going to get pizza with the brave people who came. We did manage to eat dessert outside after the rain tapered off though, so it was a soggy but good time.

The picture at the bottom is of a set of finger puppets our friend Carey Truebe made for you, and they were so cool they needed to be documented. From left to right is a puffin, cow, sheep, farmer and donkey. I know what you are thinking, unborn child. You're thinking "Those puppets are so cool, and wow! The picture quality is so clear!" Well, you guessed it, your dad got your mom a fancy camera for her birthday, all the better to document your every move with. Hope you're ready for your close-up! Jess is at 37 weeks! Holy cow!

Aaaand we're back!

Hi Huntkins,
We've been a little slack in posting to the baby blog lately. It sounds like a poor excuse, but we've been super-busy. You might not know it yet, but our house is a duplex, and we just got new tenants to live upstairs. Lucky them when you're awake in the middle of the night! Anyways, we decided to replace all the windows in the upstairs apartment so the whole house will have new windows, so your dad had been working night and day to install 13 windows. Whew, finally all done!

Last weekend your dad took a little break and went with your uncle Matt to ride over the Kankamangus Highway and back. It was about 55 miles with a lot of hills to climb, but it was so fun! Your dad's new bike was the evny of everyone else in the group. Your mom went to the beach, relaxed a little, and helped work on the farm too.

This weekend we had a real treat- your dad had Friday off, so after working our butts of doing chores, we took off early afternoon and went to Panther Pond up in Maine, where our friends Bill and Nora have a family cabin. It's a beautiful lake that Jess has been going to with Nora for at least 19 years, and ironically, your dad went to Boy Scout camp on the other side of the lake. There is a really good chance that your parents were both at the lake at the same time and never knew it! We had a great time swimming, eating, boating, eating, playing ping pong, and eating too. We love it every time we get to visit Panther. Your cousins Maddi and Belle came up from Chester too, along with their parents, so it was a busy, fun place to be for a weekend, and a much-appreciated break for your parents! We even saw a baby loon!

Jess has to go to doctor's appointment every week now that your due date is getting so close, and everything looks just fine. She has really been taking excellent care of you. She's at 36 weeks!

Beach Baby

Dear Baby Hunt,

Your parents like going to the beach- well, your mom likes going to the beach, and your dad likes surfing. He doesn't especially like lying around on the sand, which was why they both had such a good time with you at Jenness Beach. Jess and Chris met after work, had a nice picnic dinner, and Chris caught a few waves on his homemade surfboard while Jess did Yoga by the water's edge. There were thunderstorms earlier in the day, but what a beautiful evening it turned out to be. We've learned that as a newborn you will have a natural dive reflex, which means you will automatically close your eyes and hold your breath when you go underwater, so it seems like you may get your first surfing lesson before you are even walking! Although your parents are so excited to meet you, Jess is also looking forward to being able to lie on her stomach again on her boogie board after you arrive!

Jess is at 33 weeks!

A Berry Nice Summer Weekend

Dear Thumper,

Your kicks and punches are certainly getting more energetic. Sometimes your dad can look over at your mom's belly and see it bulge noticeably outwards for a second as you move around. You'll have to wait a little while longer before it's time for your big escape, though.

It was a beautiful weekend, and you spent a lot of time at the farm working at the strawberry stand. With the nice weather and plentful berries it was a very busy place. On Sunday we went swimming at Mendum's Pond with your future second-cousins Ian and Heather, despite a looming thunderstorm. We've been enjoying the wonderful summer weather and spending time at the farm- pretty soon hay will be cut and the strawberry season will be coming to a close. We hope you enjoy being on the farm as much as we do, it makes living here in NH so special.

Jess is at 31 weeks and feeling great!

Happy Pre-Fathers Day

Hi babykins,

Even though you are still -2 months old, your dad apparently still qualifies for Father's Day, a new experience in his life. How many times in a person's life do holidays suddenly begin to apply? Anyway, we picked our first strawberries of the season this weekend, which you probably enjoyed because your mom ate a ton of them right out of the field. We also went kayaking for a few hours and ate a picnic dinner on the beach. Tonight will be a Father's Day lobster dinner at the farm, probably combined with more strawberry picking.

Our friend Sarah sent us a hat that she knitted for you, which is really great, although your dad was disappointed that it didn't fit him or your mom's belly. It looks like it will be very warm!

Jess is at 30 weeks! 75 %!

The Kindness of Friends

Dear Teeny Hunt,

We went to a cookout thrown by our friends Mel and Shawn and their baby Elliot on Sunday, and were once again amazed at how much generosity we've received from everyone around us. They had a pile of baby things for you to use, from a car seat (!) to clothes to bottles. While you are still in the womb, here's a fact you can remember about your parents: we hate shopping, and we love recycling! So many people have given or loaned us almost everything we need to have a happy, healthy, pampered (with cloth) and loved child. Stroller, crib, clothes, blankets, books, bathtub, swing, and a pile more! So, Abbi and Eric, Tracey and Adam, Mel and Shawn, Jen and Jon, Chris and Melissa, M&E Jen, and probably many others deserve so much thanks. You are one lucky baby, with very lucky parents, to have such good friends around them.

A Memorial Day To...Remember?

Hi babykins,
All three of us spent Memorial Day weekend in Chester CT. We went down to Long Island for a day to visit family too, which was a fine trip, especially because your parents got to ride in the back seat and sleep most of the time!

Jess, and her belly with you inside, enjoyed sitting outside on the beautiful Sunday and enjoying the weather. On Monday we went to the classic Chester Memorial Day parade, then stole the Schreiber's kayaks (and lunch money) and went for a paddle on Messerschmidt's Pond. After that it was back to Chester for your future grandparents' Memorial Day party. No fires this time! Jess is at 29 weeks!

En Fuego!

Dear Medium-Sized Huntling,

Your mom thinks that you have a certain attraction for fire. First, there was the accidental blaze over Passover weekend in CT. Then on the same weekend there was a forest fire on the drive home. Now, this.

Your mom worked all week in New York City, in the Bronx to be exact, assessing the health of trees. She measured hundreds and hundreds of trees! But one day, on their way out of the site, she and a couple other coworkers noticed a parked car with no plates and smoke coming out the windows.

Being a good mother, she was naturally concerned. She and the other squeezed past the car and went a couple hundred feet up the path when BOOM! A series of explosions came, most likely all four tires and the gas tank detonating. What a close call! Naturally, after such a brush with danger, your mom went back and had her picture taken with the wreckage.

We've noticed that since you've been a part of our lives danger and natural disasters seem to be more common. We hope this is not a trend!!!

Jess is at 28 weeks!

Pumpkins in Our Future

Dear Pumpkin,


Last fall, after a surprising bumper crop, your mom and dad decided to try to sell pick-your-own pumpkins on the farm this fall. This weekend was the real start of this project, as we laid down the plastic and planted hundreds of pumpkin seeds! We put in 4 rows of carving pumpkins and one row of pie pumpkins, which are really fun for baking, as we discovered last fall.

Here's a picture of Jess and Ian measuring and melting holes in the plastic. Ian was very taken with the torch-on-a-stick technology, and was a very good wielder of this power. He also discovered that it burned weeds extremely well. Look out dandelions!

You, little Huntling, will be in the world by the time these pumpkins are ripe and ready to pick, so we're hoping you won't mind spending some fall days at the farm stand. Your Grandma Hunt, who helped us plant lots of seeds, and your Grandpa Hunt, who spent a lot of time with us getting the plastic put down, are looking forward to you spending time at the farm too.

To celebrate the planting, your parents rolled out the barrel of whiskey! Of course, as future parents we did the responsible thing, and cut the barrel in half and planted things in it. But first, your mom tried out the view from the top. Jess is at 27 weeks!