Sleepity, Sleep, Sleep, Sleeeeeeeep

Hello.  I'd like to introduce myself:  My name is I-Haven't-Gotten-A-Full-Night's-Sleep-In-Over-Seven-Months, though I'm thinking of shortening it to Nosleep Formeeeee.

This is a side effect that is common for parents, though there are some of you out there that have really good sleepers that catch on to full nights quickly.  It's not that I'm asking to trade babies or anything, but everyone likes to have a good night filled with dreams and restful sleep from time to time.

The Lap Nap: Newborns Sleep Anywhere - Quincy 1 Week Old

Quincy has slept through the night four times (not consecutively) in his seven months of life, and by Slept Through the Night I'm talking about ten to twelve hours straight without any feedings, no search and rescues of pacifiers, or any need for mom or dad to go into his room or listen to him cry.  Were they blissful nights?  Not really - your body can get accustomed to waking up every few hours with a baby; nursing mommas know of the discomfort that comes from long stretches without feedings [Holy Engorgement, Batwoman!], or you go into Why-Hasn't-He-Gotten-Up-Oh-My-Goodness-Is-He-Still-Breathing-??! Hyper Mode.  The morning after these four days was pleasant, realizing that he had made it through the full night, and brimming with hope that he would begin a pattern...

However, no such pattern developed.  There were complications added to this case of Sleepitis, such as teething, vacations, traveling, poor napping during the day... the challenges go on.  I write this post not to freak out other parents so that they worry their child will never sleep, or that all children are doomed to poor sleeping habits.  Quincy is a relatively good sleeper, but his hunger seems to overpower his sleeping skills.  As parents, Brad and I worried that Quincy needed those extra nighttime feedings to keep his body growing big and strong.  After he reached six months, I cut out night feedings all together to train Quincy to self-soothe, and get his belly accustomed to making it through the night.

Though Quincy is still not sleeping through the night, we're working on it.  There are some great techniques I've picked up from friends, books, and mommy intuition, and I thought I would share them.  Feel free to add any of your tips in the comments section!

THREE, FIVE, SEVEN, TEN

I acquired this approach of waiting to soothe baby from another friend, which I think she got from a friend, who read it in a book (and yes, that seems to be the usual pattern of acquiring parenting techniques!)  When you have determined that your child is not in imminent danger, does not need to be fed, and really just needs to cry a bit, this is a great way to ease those anxious nerves that flare up, begging you to run in and pick up your baby.  No parent likes to listen to their baby or child cry, but sometimes it's necessary to let them figure out how to handle things.  Instead of running to their room right away, wait for three minutes, go in and say "It's not time to wake up yet.  We love you, but you need to go back to sleep", maybe rub their belly or back, and then leave and close the door.

Using the timer on my phone has helped!

If they continue crying, wait five minutes and go back in, repeating the same thing.  Then wait seven minutes, then wait ten minutes, and continue doing ten minute segments until they fall back asleep.  Be sure to have the same routine when you go in, make it short and simple, and then leave.  Do NOT pick them up, or drag out the time you are in there; just go in, let them know it's okay, and leave.

GET SOME DISTANCE BETWEEN YOU & YOUR MONITOR

When Quincy was a teeny tiny guy, he was a grunter.  We kept him in a bassinet in our room for the first five weeks, but then moved him to his crib because he was LOUD.  Nowadays, he's a pretty quiet sleeper once he's asleep.  It's the getting there that can be stressful.  Being able to view him on our monitor has been great, but sometimes hearing every last little noise can be hard to block out, even when I know he'll fall asleep soon.

Motorola® Digital Video Monitor
Gotta love video -  being able to see him, without going in his room!

I've found that waiting to turn the monitor on for a little bit of time after putting him down saves me from having to listen to him fall asleep - the grunts, possible cries, his struggle to ease into sleep.  Similarly, since his bedroom is just across the hall from ours, I've more recently been able to turn off the monitor and close both doors.  If he wakes up, he'll be loud enough for me to hear him if I'm needed, but if he wakes briefly and is able to go back to sleep, no need to interrupt mom and dad's sleep.

BLANKIE MAGIC

It's not that we want to raise a Linus, however, we've discovered that blankets can be good indicators to baby that it's time to sleep.  When Quincy was a newborn, we depended heavily on swaddling, then as he grew we turned to sleeper bags, and now we use a light weight muslin blanket by aden + anais®.

Swaddling at the Hospital - 2 Days Old

Sleeper Bag - 9 Days Old

aden + anais® Blanket
(There IS a Baby Under There...)

(Told Ya.)

I'm not going to lie - this blanket works wonders.  Quincy has a habit of rolling to his side when he's ready to sleep, but not until you've placed his blanket on him, then he smushes it into his face and goes to sleep.  Yes, he literally crams as much fabric as he can into his nose, or pulls it over his head completely, and then goes to sleep.  Don't worry!  It's breathable.

Another light-weight blanket he borrowed from a friend when napping.

GET SOME TIME TO YOURSELF

I don't know about you all out there, but my skin starts to crawl if I haven't had time to myself, even for just a snippet of time.  When you are constantly responsible for a little one (or little ones!), it can be tiring.  When Quincy is down for a nap, I find myself freaking out, thinking, OH MY GOSH I HAVE TWENTY MINUTES TO TWO HOURS OF FREE TIME, WHAT SHOULD I DO?  Honestly, I spend the first ten minutes just running through all the possibilities: do laundry, do the dishes, shower, stuff cloth diapers, eat, crochet, catch up on emails, have some devotional time, write on the blog, pay some bills...  Sometimes, despite being on low sleep, you have to set aside some time for yourself.  How have I had time to crochet or work on projects?  I stay up after Quincy goes down for the night, sometimes until midnight or later.  I've been able to adapt to the whole Low Sleep thing (most of the time), but this momma goes a bit batty when she doesn't get a little bit of time to unwind.  Find your Chill Time, it will do wonders on refreshing your mind, *almost* as good as a quality nap.


Sweet Dreams!

~M

Zoo Poop & Other Nashvillian Adventures

Out for Breakfast in Nashville

We recently took a trip to visit my mom and step-dad down in Nashville, Tennessee.  While on the way down, we swung by my maternal grandparent's house - known as Grumpa and Grandma Barb in our family - to introduce them to Quincy.  Boy, was it fun!  Quincy was absolutely enthralled with Grumpa.

(Great) Grumpa, Quincy, & Maggie

(Great) Grandma Barb & Quincy

What a great trip we had!  It was great to play (and lose horrifically) at euchre, go swimming at the local pool, catch up on all things family, and we even made it to the Nashville Zoo.

Grandma Kate & Quincy

Grandpa Mark & Quincy

Loveless Café - Mark, Brad, Maggie, Quincy

Naptime with Grandma Kate

The Boys in Shades - Brad, Grandpa Mark, & Quincy

Since it was a pretty warm day when we went to the zoo - it was in the high 90's, though in the parking lot the car read 103˚ - we made sure to load up on water, sunscreen, wear hats, and seemed to be quite the pack rats when heading through the zoo gates.  We initially started with Quincy in the front pack, but also brought the stroller in case the whole sweaty-baby-glued-to-your-abdomen-in-stiflingly-hot-weather got to be too much.  Surprisingly, it wasn't the heat that made us switch to the stroller.

Quincy & Daddy at the Zoo!

While only at the second exhibit of the day - I believe it was an outdoor space with monkeys - Brad started to point at me and Quincy exclaiming, "Maggie!  Holy cow, Maggie!"  Thinking that I had pulled Quincy's legs through one hole of the front pack, he was choking, or something worse, I got a bit freaked out.  Only when he walked closer to us with a hand gingerly extended did I look down and see baby poop dripping out the side of the front pack.  Yes, poop was literally dripping off the front pack.  You can say it: GROSS.

We grabbed for some wipes, and my mom and I headed to the nearest restroom.  Remarkably, my shirt was unscathed, but the same couldn't be said for Quincy, the front pack, or his shirt.  Upon entering the bathroom, we discovered there wasn't a changing table (yes, a zoo loaded with kids and parents, with no changing table in sight, not even hidden in one of the bathroom stalls - I checked!)  We laid out the changing pad from the diaper bag on the narrow counter, and carefully started in on the clean-up... until we ran out of wipes.  Pulling toilet paper out of one of the stalls, we did our best to clear out the disastrous diaper (which, for all of you that use cloth diapers know, we had to place all the dirty stuff in our wet back, and bring it with us for the rest of the day), and then joined Brad and Grandpa back outside.

Maggie, Brad, Grandpa Mark, & Quincy

Needless to say, this has become the Zoo Poop Story, and the saga continues...


If you had been peeking through my blinds this morning (not that I am encouraging you to do so), you would have seen a topless mom wearing only pajama bottoms, holding onto a naked baby with just a burp cloth wrapped around his bottom, digging through the diaper bag to get another diaper.  Now, let me explain...


It all started when Quincy woke up early from his morning nap, when I was attempting to jump in the shower.  I scooped him up from the crib after it was evident he wasn't going back to sleep, didn't bother changing him since his diaper had recently been changed, and put him in his bouncy seat in the bathroom so I could shower.  When I reached for the buckle, it had something on it that was either squash or poop (this should have sent a warning signal through my brain, but alas, it did not).


Puzzled, I couldn't figure out how there would be squash on his bouncy seat, so I scooped him up, only to discover he had had a Zoo Poop Blow-Out Diaper, and a welt of poop was also caked on my shirt from when I had first picked him up from the crib.  I brought him to the changing table, took off my poop shirt so as not to spread the massacre of poop to other places in the house, scraped off the poop from his thigh (which had exploded out the side of his diaper), then went to change the real bombshell.  Once he was wiped down, I discovered we were out of diapers in his room, and realized the closest one was in the diaper bag over in the living room.  What was a girl to do?  I paused for a second, then wrapped a burp rag around his bottom, and walked quickly - laughing and topless - to the diaper bag for a new one.

He has since then been changed successfully, I've been able to shower and put a complete outfit on, and the bouncy seat cover is being washed as we speak.


Hope you're having a good Monday - we sure are!


~M

Purposeful Repurposing

I've written previously about how we are big fans of recycling, terracycling, cloth diapering, and doing other earth-friendly things.  I don't know about you, but there is something to be said about working with what you have, or trying to spin those creative wheels to create a new purpose for something old.  With that same frame of mind, I thought I would share some repurposing and craft projects I've worked on recently.

ORGANIZING JEWELRY, BOBBY PINS, SCISSORS, PENS, BUTTONS, ETC.

Cross Stitch Fabric + Frame = Earring Holder Display

Glass Sugar Packet Holders = Bathroom Drawer Organizers
(Bobby pins, Chapstick, Lipstick, Contacts, Floss...)

Empty Medicine Bottles = Button & Notion Container

Empty Oatmeal Canister + Paper + Glue = Storage Bucket for Writing Utensils & Scissors

BOXES & CON-TACT® PAPER ARE AN ADDICTIVE COMBINATION

This is one of my new obsessions.  If it didn't add so many letters, I'd consider adding Con-Tact as my hyphenated middle name.  Check out these cool storage containers in the kitchen... (oh, and 50 points to whoever spots my spelling mistake!)

Poptart® Box + Con-Tact® Paper = Plastic Baggy Organizers

Granola Bar Box + Con-Tact® Paper = Kitchen Utensil Organizer

Using this new obsession, I was able to fix an issue I had with our changing table/dresser.  My sister, Heidi, had given us her crib and changing table for Quincy since her little guy had outgrown them, and they've been great!  Unfortunately, the top drawer to the changing table started getting stuck in the track, and we had to take off the front panel and use it as a shelf instead of a drawer.  All the clothing started to slide around, and it was hard to keep it from looking really cluttered.  By repurposing some disposable diaper boxes I got from a friend, we now have three great storage bins that slide in and out easily, and keep Quincy's clothes organized, all while getting rid of the clutter!

Diaper Box + Con-Tact® Paper = Storage Bins for the Changing Table/Dresser

ANOTHER WREATH, OH GOOD GRIEF

I never really took much notice of wreaths before we got our house, but now they have become a hobby.  (You can see another wreath here that I shared recently).

H-G Book Page Wreath

I took an old book, though I couldn't part with any from our bookshelf, so I opted to buy one from Goodwill for a dollar - big spender, I know.  I gathered a few other items, and set to work!

Supplies: Wooden Star for back support, "H" and "G" Letters, Old Book,
Box Cutter, Spray Paint; Also Clear Tape, Hot Glue, Yarn or Ribbon.

Directions: Cut out the pages, fold in half, tape in rolled shape,
hot glue to base (I did two layers), cover cardboard rectangle
for a platform to support letter(s), and glue to rolled pages.

Letters: I found these letters at the craft store and unscrewed the hooks
that came with them, spray painted, waited for them to dry, and then
sanded the spray paint to give a more rustic look (the "H" has been sanded
in the photo, while the "G" hasn't - see the difference?)

Add a ribbon or yarn to the back, and you're good to go!

Got any cool ideas for repurposing?  Or new ways to recycle?  I'd love to hear about them!

~M

Calling All Prayer Warriors

1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NRSV)

It isn't often enough that I talk about faith and the power of prayer.  Wait, wait... let me rephrase that:  It isn't often that I talk about faith and the power of prayer.  I shy away from the topic because it's a personal thing, and I always feel like a novice.  There are so many people that are in our community that are strong, empowered people of faith; people that pray often and look to God whenever a hardship falls to them and when their lives are filled with joy beyond measure.  For me, I'm more the "pray to myself" type, and admittedly, it's when I'm falling asleep and only half paying attention, or really upset about something that I actually bring it to God.

So now, I want to share with you, friends, that there are some great joys happening and there are some sorrows, too.  How about we join together for some good old fashioned prayer?  Here is what has been on my heart:

Wonderful Mommas that are Pregnant and some Beautiful Babies Being Born.
Pray for safety for the child and mother, patience and ease of any anxiety for the parents, an easy delivery and quick recovery, a happy and healthy baby, and that sleep can be plentiful for all.  What a joy new parenthood can be!

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. - Pslam 139: 13-14 (NIV)

Future Parents that are Dealing with Infertility or the Adoption Process.
Pray for patience and understanding in a difficult time, let the other work and activities they do prove to be meaningful (i.e.: read as they are doing great things in other parts of their life, and could be considered a "parent figure" in other ways that are so important!)  Know that you are incredible for going through these struggles, and though not everyone understands what you've been through, you should be proud of yourself for your strength and endurance!

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world. - John 16:33 (NIV)

Those with Gains, and those with Losses
Blessings to those who have gotten engaged, married, or met someone new.  Pray for those who have lost someone; those who have passed on, have ended a relationship due to divorce or break-up, or have been unable to reconcile differences or disputes.

Love must be sincere.  Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. - Romans 12: 9-12 (NIV)

Thanks for reading, and for lifting up these people in your prayers.  I know I've sure felt the power of prayer, and am thankful for all of those that have lifted up some pretty big stuff to God on behalf of the H-G's.

To close, I'd like to share one of my favorite verses:

Philippians 4:13 (NRSV)

Your sister in Christ,

~M

Let's Call A Do-Over

I gotta tell ya, transition to solid foods wasn't as smooth sailing as I thought (check out my half-way-failed-attempt here).  Since Quincy loved solid food for three days, and then abhorred them for the following week, I had to call a Do-Over.  I halted the whole solid foods stuff, switched back to just strictly nursing for a few days, got in some good reading and advice from friends, and started from the beginning.

A dear friend of mine loaned me her copy of Babywise, Book Two: Parenting Your Pretoddler Five to Fifteen Months, which I found to be very helpful.  It has a great approach to raising children and guiding them from the start so as to avoid "retraining" them later.  I definitely recommend picking up a copy; I especially liked the section on Moral Foundations.  Here is a great quote from the book:

"At birth, a child has no functioning conscience.  By that we mean the child possesses no awareness of standards of right and wrong.  From the start, parents should strive to raise a child who regulates his own behavior from within, in accordance with the rules of common ethics.  Until the child internalizes healthy moral principles, parents are obligated to make value judgements and moral decisions on behalf of the child."*

These moral foundations can be applied to every aspect of a child's upbringing, including food and eating, like teaching them not to put their fingers in their mouth while they eat or learning to sit with the family and have a meal together.  They also had a straight-forward approach to starting solids, and since Quincy seemed to back-track on solids, I thought it couldn't hurt to try.

They suggest starting with one meal a day where you give them rice cereal, and always follow the cereal with either nursing or a bottle (much like you would accompany a meal with something to drink).  Since Quincy had taken to solids before, I pretty much started doing three meals a day instead of building back up, though in the beginning he didn't each much compared to a week into having cereal.

Earth's Best Organic Whole Grain Rice Cereal

In order to make the rice cereal, you need to add water, breast milk, or formula.  We used the above whole grain rice cereal, and, hoping that the taste of breast milk would encourage Quincy to eat well, I opted to pump.  You can read my previous post about pumping, the other side of nursing, as this did (and still does) pose some challenges for me.  The instructions for rice cereal said to add 1 Tablespoon of cereal with 3-4 Tablespoons of milk or water, but this made it super runny and wouldn't stay on the spoon.  Instead, I found that a 1:2 ratio was much better (1 Tbsp cereal : 2 Tbsp Milk).

After about a week of cereal, I switched to adding in servings of butternut squash, though at a more gradual pace than the cereal.  (The book recommends waiting two weeks of having all meals with cereal, but again I started sooner since Quincy had already done some solid foods before).  I tried it at lunch before giving him cereal, and then later added it to his evening meal.  Eventually, the cereal servings for lunch and dinner were replaced with vegetables, and the schedule below is what we now generally follow:

The above word generally is used very loosely.  As some of you parents out there have come to find out, babies (and children) can get into a routine and then change dramatically the following day, hour, minute...  Basically, they all come with built-in asterisks with a whole lot of fine print.  Factors like sleep, outside activities, visitors, car trips, teething, and every other component that affects your child's mood can change how well (or poorly) they eat.  But generally speaking, the above schedule has been good to follow for us.

You may notice that I nurse him when he first wakes up, and then he has breakfast, which is followed with another nursing session.  The Babywise II book recommends just giving them breakfast first, but Quincy would get too upset if I tried to do this.  Like scream-crying upset.  I think he struggled to make the connection that rice cereal was something that would fill his belly.  The book did address this issue and said to try nursing some and then giving them cereal, but again, this didn't go over well.  Instead, I found that if he nursed first, we hung out for a while and then had breakfast later, he did much better eating the cereal and some tears were spared.

Happily Eating Cereal

Now at two and a half weeks into this Do-Over, Quincy has gotten used to rice cereal and butternut squash.  I attempted carrots a few times, and must admit this is just one vegetable that might not be one we'll try a lot (Quincy hated them and would refuse to eat anything else at that meal once carrots were tried).  In my homemade baby food stash I also have peas, and am hoping to make some more purees of sweet potatoes, acorn squash, green beans, and lentils.  I think I'll also give baby oatmeal a try, too!

----------

In related news, the Teething Monster seems to sneak up on the H-G Household, so we've discovered some tricks to combat sore gums during mealtime...

It's hard to see in this slightly blurred photo, but Quincy has two teeth
(finally) coming in on the bottom; the left one has already cut through!

SOME OBSERVATIONS FOR TEETHING BABIES EATING SOLIDS

1.  Keep the Food Cold.  Whether it's baby cereal and milk or a pureed food, don't bother warming it before baby eats it.  In fact, I once had some rather icy squash that had mostly thawed from the freezer that Quincy loved to gulp down when his gums were sore.  One note on the cereal and milk: breast milk should not be microwaved as it can deplete it of important nutrients.  For the vegetables, I've popped them in the microwave for 5 or 6 seconds just to take the chill off, but no need when Quincy has had sore gums!

He's actually excited in this photo, if you can believe it.

2.  Be Patient.  When Quincy was especially fussy from his incoming teeth, the last thing he wanted was to have a spoon shoved into his mouth.  Unfortunately, he also wasn't too happy of a camper when he was hungry.  I found that at the beginning of a feeding session he was wary to eat, so I just took my time and gave him small spoonfuls, and then didn't push too hard once he had had enough.

Saving some for later.

3.  Keep it Positive.  The last thing a fussy, teething baby wants is an upsetting meal.  Keep it light and happy, and try to get them to eat, but don't be too forceful when they've had enough.

¡Abre la boca!

4.  Rotate Between Acetaminophen & Ibuprofen.  I've mentioned this before, but there is a time and place for medication.  We aren't big on drugging children or anything, but by following the recommended dosing for these pain relievers, it can help a great deal to comfort sensitive gums and/or teeth.  Having a pain reliever in their system before they need to eat has worked best for us.  By rotating between acetaminophen (Tylenol®) and ibuprofen (Motrin®), you don't run the risk of over-dosing on either of the medications with the doses being close together.  As always, check with your pediatrician before administering any kind of medication to your child.

Excuse me?  Next bite, please.

5.  Have a Cold Teether or Icy Washcloth On Hand.  When I couldn't get Quincy to calm down and take a spoonful of food, I would give him a cold teething ring to chew on in order to help chill down his sore gums, and then try to give him food.  Surprisingly, it worked!  Just be sure not to yank the teether from their mouth, which could cause further tenderness.  Gently remove the teether and replace it with a spoonful of food.

OOOH, SO GOOOOOD.
(use a Cookie Monster Voice for full effect)

Some questions for the readers out there:

1. If you make (or have made) your own baby food, what kind of vegetables did you prepare?

2. When did you introduce fruits?

3. What was your baby's favorite kind of food?

4. Any good tips you've come across for teething babies while they eat?

Squash Face

This Do-Over seems to be going pretty well - I mean, c'mon, look at that sweet, adorable face!

Ever had to call a Do-Over?  Share below!

~M

*Ezzo, Gary and Robert Bucknam, MD. (1995). Baby Wise II: Parenting Your Pretoddler, Five to Fifteen Months. Multnomah Books.

How We Became Life, Hyphenated

Image Courtesy of Kate Brown Photography, 2012

Often times, we write about what's going on in the life of the H-G's, but do you really know who we are?  Since (over) a year has passed since our very first post, we thought we would take the time to tell you a little bit about the three H-G's.

Maggie

MAGGIE, a toe-headed middle child, was born in the nation's Cereal Capital, spent summers in Alabama, and loves to consume baked goods, as long as they don't contain any nuts - she considers them wasted space that could have been filled with sugar and/or butter - though almonds, pistachios and walnuts are fair game if served in a heaping bowl all on their own.  Among her strange assortment of talents, she  loves to crochet, tolerates knitting, and can make a good home-cooked meal 40% of the time (the other 60% are made from a box or taste horrifically bad).  She has a passion for languages (formerly working in the translation and interpreting industry, though not as a linguist), loves to travel (has been to 29 states, 7 countries, and never had her wallet stolen), and thinks South Carolina has the prettiest license plates of all.  If you want to bribe her, do so with vanilla lattes, back rubs*, or skeins of yarn.  She is a stay-at-home mom, gets overly excited when successfully recycling something, and thinks chocolate chip banana bread is the cat's meow.

*Only close friends or family; creepy people need not apply.

Brad

BRAD is a metaphorical and literal omnivore. With a day (and night) job as an Internal Medicine PA-C, he imagines himself as a modern day cross between Sherlock Holmes (think more Doyle than Ritchie) and JD (from the first two seasons, before he got ridiculous). At any point, you are equally likely to find him reading NEJM, Bonnie Jo Campbell, or a hockey blog. He enjoys reading smart fiction, working on the house, riding his bicycle, and watching his son smile. In the end, he enjoys a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

Quincy

QUINCY, born on Winter Solstice with no snow in sight, is a happy go lucky guy.  A night owl by trade, he enjoys chewing on plastic giraffes, stuffed animals, blankets, burp cloths, fingers, thumbs, hands, towels, and anything else at arm's reach.  Though only in his first year of life, he has developed a love of swimming (while being held by an adult), splashing (in pools and bathtubs), playing airplane, and napping in "his crib".  He has a slight obsession with cats, toes, fabric of all kinds, and the afore mentioned plastic giraffe.  Someday, he hopes to have teeth, object permanence, and a bicycle.

--------------------

As you can see, this blog is a way for us to share our lives with our friends, family, and pseudo-family-friends that have come across our page and decided to follow our posts.  Want to learn more about the H-G's?  Here are some hi-lights:

In 2011, we conducted the White T-Shirt Experiment to watch our first child grow in the womb, and happily welcomed him into the world in December (see a video introduction at this post).  We encountered mishaps in the kitchen, shed a few tears, discussed some of the perks of pregnancy, and shared a tale of brothers, among other things.

In 2012, we have so far admitted we love granola, loaded up the motherhood tool belt, learned how to nurse like a ninja, made some important promises (y una promesa), flew on five airplanes, and mulled over a big decision.

How did we become the H-G's?  Well, Brad was the H, and Maggie was the G.  When getting married, Maggie didn't want to lose her name because it had been with her since birth, identifying her, linking her to her own family, and representing her achievements thus far.  She opted to hyphenated, but it was Brad that suggested, "Why don't we both hyphenate our names?"

In true H-G Fashion, here's a mini slide show of the H-G Timeline...

The Engagement
Image Courtesy of Kate Brown Photography, 2006

The Wedding

Image Courtesy of Kate Brown Photography, 2006

The Pregnancy
Image Courtesy Kate Brown Photography, 2011

Life, Hyphenated.
Image Courtesy Kate Brown Photography, 2012

So Brad added a G, Maggie got herself an H, Quincy was born an H-G, and that is how we came to share this Life, Hyphenated.

Thanks for reading!

~The H-G's



P.S. As you can see, we LOVE Kate Brown Photography.  She does amazing work (we've used her for EVERY big event), and you should do the same if you haven't already!)