How we spent July...

Victoria is doing beautifully! She is growing so quickly and is a very happy baby in general. At her four week check up, we discovered that she had breast milk jaundice and, in addition, was not gaining enough weight. Breast milk Jaundice is very rare and occurs when a baby is unable to process bilirubin on only breast milk. Tori was very jaundice, anemic and her liver had become inflamed from having elevated bilirubin levels for a prolonged period of time. All of this information was obtained after we had to have FOUR VIALS of blood taken from her tiny little body. I know that these trials are minimal on the great scale of health problems babies encounter, but it was tough to watch my baby go through that. We had to put her on formula exclusively for about 10 days, returning to the hospital to have more blood drawn over and over again. During that time, in order to keep up my milk supply, I had to feed her and then pump milk. This process consumed our days, and although I pumped as much as I possibly could, my milk supply started to decrease. Victoria gained 8 oz. after only 3 days on the formula and her bilirubin levels went down significantly! This was such an answer to prayer and we were so grateful as she continued to thrive on the formula. When we were able to return to breastfeeding, however, we embarked on an emotional roller coaster of tears from Victoria and her distraught Mommy... She refused to latch on and would literally scream and scream at the breast. We tried so hard and I pumped as much as I could. We visited a lactation consultant and discovered that she is tongue tied, which increases the difficulty of latching on properly. After many tears and prayers, we let go of the dream of breastfeeding and decided to bottle feed with formula and pumped breast milk. Although this decision was excruciating for me, Matt and I both felt it was best for our family... Isaac and Daphne were somewhat neglected during all this drama, and I was happy to be able to parent all 3 children and not just spend all 24 hours of my day trying to feed only one of them! We are so blessed that Victoria is gaining weight, cooing and smiling- God's plans are not always the same as my own, but He is faithful and has blessed us immensely. So, Victoria's most recent weight at 6 1/2 weeks was 10 lbs. 11 oz. and she is now 8 weeks old. I'll post some 8 week pics soon...
These are some random pics taken of Victoria between 4 and 7 weeks of age. Here we have what I like to call "Lost in Space" :)
Here is a beautiful half smile from the side...
And the tail end of a smile....
Complete Relaxation in Daddy's Lap...
Precious, Precious Girl!

Daphne's 4th Birthday!

Four years ago, Daphne burst into our family with a dramatic and memorable flair. Needless to say, she continues to add drama and color to our lives! We are so thankful that God sent her to our family- we can't imagine life without her. We decided to take her to a local water park, which was great fun. We haven't had too many outings this summer- we have mostly stayed home with the baby. For this occasion, Victoria stayed with Nanny so that we could all go swimming together! They had a great time!
I didn't get a very good picture, but Daphne wanted pink cupcakes with pink frosting and pink sprinkles on top, so here they are. Pinkalicious!
Here she is in her new dress up clothes from GigGi and her new "Fancy Nancy" ballet slippers!
On Sunday, we had a party with Matt's Family. Daphne's hair is in a bun with a gerber daisy clipped to her head and a My Little Pony tiara over that (just in case you were wondering!):

Daphne requested a cake with a mommy kitty on it and a baby kitty on top of the mommy kitty's head, with pink and vanilla frosting. She was content, however, with this lovely Hello Kitty cake that Nanny found!
Here she is opening a toy pony that goes with her new doll! She was so excited when she realized what was inside that she literally picked up two other wrapped gifts and threw them over her head in order to unwrap the pony box. I think she liked it!
Daphne is enjoying her delicious Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream, courtesy of Nanny and Papa:
This is a picture from the water park that got uploaded in an odd spot!
Happy Birthday, Daphne!

Victoria's Blessing Day

We had a big shin-dig on July 6 to celebrate Victoria's birth and blessing. Matt was able to bless her at our church with lots of family and friends in attendance. Tori squirmed quite a bit during the blessing, but other than that she was very happy! Here we are all together outside the church building...

This is Matt's meternal grandmother "Granny Great" with little Victoria. We were so glad that she was able to make it!

Matt's Mom "Nanny" holding the baby...

Red, White & Hunter

Although I have very few pictures- we actually had a really fun 4th of July! We went to our hometown parade in the morning, which the children really enjoyed. We then went to a family Independence Day Party followed by a spectacular homemade semi-legal fireworks show produced by Matt and David... I spent most of that day either nursing or pumping milk for the baby ( to be explained later) so we didn't have a whole lot of time to take pics....

2 weeks old 2 weeks ago

Relaxation! Many of you know how much I cherish my nightly bath (which has become more like a weekly treat if I'm lucky). Anyhow, it appears that my daughter enjoys her nightly soak in the tub as much as her mother... she is so relaxed and happy in her little bath.

All of these pictures were taken when our little baby was 2 weeks old, which means the pics are two weeks old as well. Here are a few cute shots of Victoria with her brother and sister...

Feeding the Ducks

We went to the park for our weekly family night last week. The kids had so much fun and there were so many ducks, swans, geese, and of course, sea gulls. Daohne was so excited whenever the duck of her choice (usually a baby duck or a wounded one) actually got the piece of bread that she threw to it.

Victoria seemed to enjoy the park, even if you can't tell from her face in this pic...

It's A Bird, It's A Plane!

On June 1, We took the kids to the Aerospace museum up on the Airforce Base for one more little family outing before the baby arrived. We had a wonderful time- here are a few pics from that day:


Okay, well I didn't plan on posting any more pregnant pics of myself , but here is one more of us before little Victoria came to see us!

Tagged

My very best friend,Carole, tagged me, so here goes:

What was I doing 10 years ago?
Oh my… Well, ten years ago I had just graduated from Garland High School in Garland, Texas- so I was recovering from that whole experience. I was hanging out with all my girlfriends before we all went our separate ways to college. I was also working as a summer camp counselor for a childcare center in Plano. I was doing a lot of stupid things too, but we won’t get into all that! :)

What are five things on my to -do list today?
Hmmm…
Breastfeed.
Get all the maternity clothes out of my closet and all the regular clothes back in.
Have Matt help me get my bathrooms cleaned before he goes back to work all day! :(
Help Isaac work on his reading.
Breastfeed again.
(I know I listed that twice- but it takes up half of my day, so it counts twice!)



What snacks do I enjoy?
Oooo… I like a lot of Carole’s snacks.
I would Definitely take a coke from Sonic (or Chili’s) over really any food.
Ice Cream
Chips and Salsa
Triscuits and cheese
Hmmmm… I’m on a watermelon kick lately.



What are some places that I have lived?
Garland, TX., Waco, TX., Denton TX., Ogden, UT, Layton, UT.


What things would I do if I were a billionaire?
I would give lots of money to charity- tithing, I would give money to help schools.
I would build my dream house and pay for homes for my family.
Go shopping!

Our First Week Home

This is Victoria just before we left the hospital... she already has a double chin! Victoria was born Friday Morning and we came home Sunday around noon. My mom was visiting while Victoria was born and she graciously helped us with the older children so Matt could stay at the hospital with me. I definitely needed his help as the recovery from my c-section was much more intense than recovering from the births of my older children. This is Mom with the baby just before she left for Texas on Wed. Thanks, Mom!
Just being cute in her bouncy seat!
Victoria's bilirubin count was a little high when we left the hospital and she was a little jaundice because of that... We had to take her in and have her little foot poked daily to make sure the bilirubin wasn't going too high. Isaac and Daphne both had this problem and had to be treated with bilirubin lights, which is no fun. The baby has to be only in a diaper and is supposed to be under the lights 24/7. All a sweet little newborn wants is to be wrapped up and cuddled, so this is not an easy thing to do. Isaac, in particular, was very jaundice. He had to be readmitted to the hospital and was under the lights for almost two weeks. Daphne was treated with lights for just under one week. Victoria's count was staying just borderline, and I kept telling her that she had done everything else different so far, so just keep it up with the bilirubin count. :) We tried to put her in the sunlight as much as possible (in very short increments, of course.) Here she is relaxing and sunbathing on Daddy's lap. By Friday, the count was going down and we never had to use the lights. We are so grateful to God that she is healthy and that we were spared this small trial. We need all the help that we can get now that the children outnumber us!

The Grandparents

Victoria with Nanny (Matt's Mom). Victoria is their 11th grandchild- they have had five grandsons and five granddaughters, so Victoria is the tie breaker or the odd ball, however you want to look at it! Victoria with Calvin, Matt's dad
Victoria with GiGi, My Mom. She is GiGi's 5th grandchild and fourth granddaughter!

Know this, Victoria Grace... you are very, very loved!

Baby Victoria is Here!!

We are thrilled to announce the arrival of

Victoria Grace Hunter

born June 6, 2008 at 8:44 am

7 lbs., 10 oz.

20 inches

She is healthy and happy and nursing like a pro! We will be posting more info and pics later!

Very excited big brother and sister...

Before I knew your Name....

Dearest Victoria,

I wanted you to have a few pictures of us as a duo before you were born. I want you to know that I love, Love, LOVE being your Mommy and I loved every minute of carrying you in my belly. Even the painful ones. Promise.

Daddy and I prayed and prayed for you and were ecstatic to find out He was sending you to our family. In January, we found out you were a girl. From that day forward, we called you by your name, Victoria Grace Hunter.

February 2008, 5 months: March 2008, 27 weeks:

About this time, we started feeling a little worried that you were turned around inside my belly, with your bum first. So... we went about trying to get you to turn. I took herbal supplements and went to the chiropractor and laid upside down on a 45 degree slanted ironing board. We tried and tried and tried, but you were nestled in there snug and sound with no intention of turning.

May 2008, 34 weeks:

A few days before this next picture was taken, Auntie Raegan took me to the hospital to have the doctor try to turn you in a procedure called an External Version. This was almost as excruciating as natural childbirth... but I was determined to try everything I could to have you naturally. They twisted and turned and pushed and nudged and you just wouldn't budge. Perhaps you are just a stubborn girl... we'll have to see!

Here we are on June 1... 5 days before your birth!

I wanted to try and get you out myself, but the hospital's insurance companies won't allow that anymore, so they scheduled me for a C-section on June 6th....

But we want you to know something...

This is a song I love singing to you every day, and I hope you know I mean every word:

Angels fly above you

They know that

I love you

so.

I watch you dreaming now

I wonder if you know...

Before I knew your name

Before I saw your eyes,

Your skin and your nose

Before I counted your fingers and toes

I asked Heaven for someone

as wonderful as you

And every prayer and wish came true

I dreamed of you Before I knew your name.