Our new family

It's been about a year since my last post, but life with two sure is different than life with one. Different because I have less time to focus on the details of getting my life in order because I'm too busy trying to soak in the moments with my kids that I know go by in a blink. So here is an overview of our last 8 months since we were enormously blessed with our precious little Luke Russell.







This was taken moments after I arrived at the hospital to deliver my second baby that was exactly 21 days early, just like his sister. You can see the excitement in my eyes knowing that he had held out long enough and hadn't come 4 weeks earlier like we had originally thought. We had gone through a scary four weeks and had spent a lot of time in that ER. When I walked in and told the nurses my water had broken, I think they were relieved that they were finally going to get rid of me!

The second labor and delivery process was so much better than the first because I knew certain things ahead of time. For instance, there will be pain, but it won't kill me. Epidurals are a true gift from God. Relaxing through contractions makes the baby come faster, etc. I even got to have a real room this time instead of delivering in triage with four other laboring women by my side.

Seven hours later, our precious baby boy screamed his first high pitched, ear piercing scream! We had to laugh listening to our new son yelping like a wounded kitty cat. And yes, he looked exactly like Daddy.









Luke Russell Hubbard
August 5, 2010 12:20 am
6 lbs. 13 oz. 20 inches



Another thing that is so different about the second baby is that you spend so much of your time and effort thinking about how your first born will react. Is she getting enough attention? Does she feel left out? Luckily, Aly loves babies and we had spent a lot of time preparing her, so she adjusted pretty well. Luke had a gift for her when she came to the hospital (a unicorn pillow pet that she had been wanting for months) and she brought a teddy bear she had picked out for him. Even after we came home from the hospital, she kept asking me if we could keep him forever.





As soon as we brought him home, we realized he was a much better eater than Aly, but not a great sleeper like she was. This was also much more difficult the second time around because you can't exactly nap when you have a three year old to take care of and they very rarely nap at the same time. We were sleep deprived, but so thankful for this healthy, happy little addition to our family.








Since then, Lukey has easily become one of us. He is an absolute joy in every way. He's always smiling, loves his sister, and is so laid back. I've told my friends who are thinking about having a second baby that the first baby completely changes your life. After some initial adjustments, the second baby just fits right in.


First "smile" at 4 days old









1 month







2 months







3 months







4 months







5 months







6 months







7 months







8 months








We love you, Budgey, more than you could ever know. You have brought so much love and joy into our family and we are so thankful to God for blessing us with you.