Passed Out!

I took a few pictures of the boys this past Saturday. Daddy and Harper passed out for a few hours. They were so cute sleeping on the glider together! Harper even had his sweet "I heart my dad" shirt on that Auntie Bri gave him! How appropriate. I had to take a few photos:

Erik got off work early today so we are off to run a bunch of errands. I am not allowed to drive until Saturday. Apparently women are not supposed to drive for two weeks after they give birth. So it is really nice to have him here so we can start knocking things off my to-do list!

Check-up and Photos!

Yesterday was Harper's first doctor appointment. Everything looks great. He is down to 7 pounds. But it is perfectly normal for babies to loose up to 10 percent of their body weight within the first week of their life. Now we have to make sure he gets back to 7 pounds 3 ounces by the time he is 2 weeks old. So we have another doctor appointment in 5 days to check his current weight. As much as this little man eats, I have no doubt that he will gain the weight back. 

At the doctor's office.

The doctor told us that we should sing, talk, and read to Harper every day because it helps stimulate his brain development. I already sing and talk to him every day but I hadn't started reading to him yet. So tomorrow I am pulling out the Dr. Suess books and I am pretty excited about it! 

Lately my days have consisted of feeding and sleeping. I stay up most of the night... Harper loves to eat frequently at night. But he is the best little sleeper during the day. So when he sleeps during the day, I take naps with him. It is actually working out well and I feel pretty good for the most part. I guess your body gets used to the limited amount of sleep after awhile. 

We had a wonderful weekend together! On Saturday we were able to take Harper to lunch to watch the Arkansas vs. Alabama game and he slept through the entire meal. The game was disappointing, I was really hoping that Arkasas would pull out the win... but it was a great game. And it was so nice to finally get out of the house! After lunch we took him to Kent and Marisa's for the Carolina game. He was so good. He just chills out and sleeps. This game was also a HUGE diappointment but I won't even get into that. But I would like to throw out the fact that I think Spurrier made a horrible decision by taking out Garcia for Carolina's last 2 possessions. That is way too much pressure to put on a freshman quarterback and I think he needs to build his confidence in Garcia and leave him in for the entire game... but that is a whole new post my friends. 

To all of my friends and family, I am calling everyone back this week. Sorry it has taken me so long, I have been trying to get adjusted to everything. But I am finally feeling better and I am on more of a routine. So you all will hear from me soon. ;) 

Here are a few photos taken at the hospital when Harper was 1 day old!! He is so small and sweet. Thanks again for all your kind comments and messages!! It means a lot for you to take time out of your day to share kind words. Love you guys. 

The Huffmans

Daddy loves his little man!

Harper Huffman- one day old

My little angel! 

My First Week As a Mom!

Time flies! I can't believe Harper is already a week old! It went by so fast. It was such an incredible first week. Last Saturday, September 18th, I went into Spartanburg Regional Hospital. Somehow Erik and I stayed pretty calm. You hear horror stories about giving birth, everyone seems to have one when you are pregnant, but I knew I would be fine and I was just so excited to meet my baby that I think I was able to relax.

We were fully prepared. We packed our bags weeks ago and had them ready to go in the back of his jeep. When we arrived at the hospital we were greeted by a wonderful group of nurses. They were all amazing and very helpful. They made me feel comfortable and at ease. I think it takes a very special person to be a nurse and I really admire all of the folks the nursing field! I don't know how they do it.

The first few hours of contractions were painful but not as horrible as I expected. I found I liked squeezing the sheets on the hospital bed. Erik sprayed my face with Maclaren Balancing Facial Mist and that helped me relax some. I kept the Clemson vs. Auburn game on in the room too and it helped to have the distraction from the pain. (I think Erik enjoyed having the baby on a Saturday! He was able to watch college football all day long.)

I decided to go ahead and get an epidural. Ladies, if you are even questioning whether or not you should get one, I would definitely recommend it! After I received the epidural I was able to enjoy the experience and soak it all in. I don't think I could have really enjoyed it and stayed so happy and excited if I tried to go without it.

I started feeling some pain again when I was 8cm dialated. I progressed much faster than we originally expected. So I was a little worried that I felt pain but the doctor came in and checked and said it was because I was about to have my baby! I think that is when reality sunk in. Erik's look on his face was priceless. He was like, wait already!? So the pushing began. I was told that I am one heck of a "pusher." Haha. The nurses and doctors seemed very impressed. After about 30 minutes of pushing, Harper arrived! Erik was brave and cut the umbilical cord. He was nervous about cutting it beforehand but I think after he watched his baby being born his fears went away. Harper came out crying, opened his eyes and took a look around. He was perfect! Happy, healthy, and beautiful! He weighed 7 pounds and 3 ounces and was 20 inches long. The first time I held him I was completely in awe. I thought I would be bawling like a baby but I actually smiled from ear to ear the entire time. It was such an amazing experience and was better than I could have ever imagined. The first time your little baby looks up at you, it is the most amazing feeling- your heart just melts and right then and there you know your life is never going to be the same- it is going to be a million times better.

Harper just woke up from his nap so I better go tend to this hungry little man. I will try to post about the rest of my experience tomorrow!

Of all the blessings God sends from above, the one most precious is a new baby to love.

So In Love!

Wow, I am so blessed. I really can't find the words to describe the way I feel about this little guy right now.  I am so in love! Every little wiggle, burp, coo, smile... amazes me. I never thought I would get so excited to change a dirty diaper but I do. I check his diaper and when they are soiled I find myself letting out a little cheer before I check it off his feeding chart.

The nights are long. Harper likes to get up and alert around 4AM. But I love when his eyes are open and he is sitting there staring up at me. The sleep deprivation is well worth it! He is taking a nap right now but I have to go wake him for his feeding. I will try to blog about my wonderful birthing experience soon!

The last few days have been quite a whirlwind. My days have turned to nights and my nights have turned into days. So I apologize to all my friends and family for not returning their phone calls, e-mails, and texts. Hopefully I can catch up with everyone by next week!

In the meantime, here are a few photos from the hospital. He is such a handsome little guy.

My sweet boy napping in the hospital bed with me.

He loves to sleep with his little hand underneath his chin! 

Harper with his sweet Auntie Risa!

I love when he opens those big eyes!

You can't tell by the photo but he has beautiful dark blue eyes.

Erik driving home from the hospital with Harper's gigantic stuffed bear up front!

More photos and updates soon! Thank you all for your sweet comments, blessings, and prayers! They really mean the world to us. It is such a wonderful feeling knowing that our little boy is so loved!

Welcome Mister Harper Michael Huffman!

Our sweet baby, Harper Michael Huffman, was born this Saturday September 18, 2010 at 3:27PM. I was blessed with a wonderful and easy delivery and beautiful and healthy baby boy! I look forward to sharing our wonderful experience with you all but for now I have to feed the baby. Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes!!

John 16:21- A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.

All smiles after the epidural! haha

My first look at my little man!

Harper Michael Huffman

What A Week!!

It has been a long week of anticipation and waiting. Still no baby! But I have enjoyed taking it easy! I just woke up at 12:30 this afternoon and it feels good to feel well-rested. I probably won't feel this rested for a LONG time. So I am going to enjoy it while I can.

Erik has to work late today. He is going to work, then going to a photo shoot mid-day, then back to work. So I hope Harper will hang in there a little longer. I mean if I go into labor, of course Erik will leave work immediately and come get me. But panicking while trying to figure out how to do ahold of him during a photo shoot doesn't sound very appealing. So I am going to stay seated and try not to walk around too much (walking is supposed to help induce labor. If you go for a walk or march up some stairs it is thought to bring on labor because of the pressure of the baby's head pressing down on your cervix. At the very least, walking can help get your baby into a better position for labor.) Once Erik gets home I want to take several walks around the block! O, the day in the life of a pregnant women.

If Harper comes on Saturday... he will arrive on the day of the South Carolina vs. Furman game. I went to Carolina and Erik went to Furman, so that would be kind of fun. I convinced Erik to cheer for the Cocks. I think everyone wants to see Marcus Lattimore rush over 200 yards tomorrow. That kid is a BEAST! Seriously, he is so much fun to watch. You think he is going to be tackled then somehow he manages to break the tackle and gain 7 more yards, He is the real deal!

Ha!!! I think we were dancing at tailgate

This is a really RANDOM post. Sorry folks but I am bored. Very, very, bored. Let's see what else...

Last week I went to Spartanburg Regional for a few pregnancy classes. They were wonderful and I highly recommend checking them out if you live in the Upstate. Best part, they are FREE!!

I am pretty sure it is impossible to fully prepare yourself for motherhood. But I think taking as many classes and reading as much material helps ease some of the normal fears.

Erik started playing in a new band here in South Carolina. He seems very excited. I think he was having music withdrawals! His friend from Nashville, Jameson, happened to move down to Greenville recently and missed playing music. So they decided to get together and start playing. They have a show scheduled at USC Upstate in October and they hope to book more shows across South Carolina. I think it is going to be great for Erik and I love listening to him practice. The new band, "Palmetto", is playing more country music and Southern Rock music. So I have had fun trying to convince Erik to learn a few Dierks Bently and Kenny Chesney songs! I think they found a drummer and another guitar player. So they should be playing soon!

I decided to make a few fun song lists because the CDs in my car were old and getting on my nerves This could quite possibly be the most random group of songs ever. But sometimes you just need a crazy mix in the car! I thought I should share:

1) "Ocean Avenue"- Yellowcard
2) "Say It Ain't So"- Weezer
3) "Sunday Bloody Sunday"- U2
4) "Last Dance With Mary Jane"- Tom Petty
5) "Jumper"- Third Eye Blind
6) "Wrong Way"- Sublime
7) "Interstate Love Song"- Stone Temple Pilots
8) "Jet Airliner"- Steve Miller Band
9) "Do It Again"- Steely Dan
10) "She Don't Know She's Beautiful"- Alan Jackson
11) "Brass Monkey"- The Beastie Boys
12) "Juicy"- Biggie Smalls
13) "Good Directions"- Billy Currington
14) "Sideways"- Citizen Cope
15) "Mr. Jones"- Counting Crows
16) "Ants Marching"- Dave Matthews Band
17) "Lots of Leavin' Left To Do- Dierks Bentley
18) "Long Train Runnin'" -The Doobie Brothers
19) "Dirt Off Your Shoulder"- Jay-Z

Ok, I guess that is enough random thoughts for the day. I am off to double check the nursery and hospital bags. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Still No Baby!

Harper decided to stay in my belly a little bit longer! The checkup went great and it looks like he will be here any day now. So I am patiently waiting for something, anything, to happen! I feel like a paranoid mama, I don't want to leave my house just in case my water breaks. For some reason I am comforted by the idea of my water breaking while I am in my own home. It just seems way less stressful. So I figure I will stick close to home for the next few days and I will wait for him to make his appearance.

In the meantime, more nesting. Because really... at this point, I have nothing else to do. Erik, Denise, and Gary finished the stripes in the nursery last night and I love them!!

I ordered the cutest prints from an Etsy shop awhile back. I think they will look great over the dresser. I am going to put them in white frames with Navy and white matting. I can't wait! 

I came across this print today and I think it would be a really cool addition in his nursery too! I found it on Etsy HERE! What do yall think? It is the international code flag for "H." 

Well I am off to paint another canvas. Have a wonderful Thursday! 

Could Today Be the Day!?!

Erik and I are heading to the doctors at 1:45 this afternoon. This will be my last checkup before the baby arrives. There is the possibility that they could decide to go ahead and induce me if they think it is necessary. I still haven't experienced any contractions yet so I have a feeling they will hold off and wait. But last night I started feeling "off." My friend Marisa called and said she had a dream that I went into labor so maybe it will happen soon! Please keep baby Harper in your prayers. 

Erik and his daddy painted some beautiful stripes on the nursery border last night. They are navy and white. It adds a nice little pop to the room. I think Erik is ready for Harper's arrival because the longer I sit around and wait, the more ideas I come up with to add to the nursery. He could be painting sailboats on the walls next week if this baby doesn't hurry up and get here! hehe

I filled out a baby blog on my Tumblr account yesterday so I thought I would put it on here too.

Baby Blog!

When is your due date? Sept. 20, 2010

What week are you in? Week 39 cmmon baby!

How many pounds have you gained so far? Last week I was at 30 pounds!

Have you had an ultrasound? O yes, I wish I could get one every week. I love the ultrasounds.

Do you know the gender of your baby? All boy!

Do you have a name picked out? Harper Michael Huffman

Is the child being named after someone? Well I babysat a little boy named Harper growing up and I always loved the name. Plus I think it sounds good with our last name, Huffman. His middle name, Michael, is after my father’s middle name. It is also my Papa’s first name. And I have a cousin named Michael!

Who is going to be with you during delivery? My hubby, Erik!

Natural or medicated childbirth? I have decided to go with the medication. No need for excess pain for this girl! I mean, I wouldn’t go get a tooth pulled out without getting Novocain…

How are you feeling right about now? HUGE! Sleepy, anxious, hungry… but ready to have this baby!

What was the first thing you bought for baby? I bought several outfits from Janie and Jack. But I didn’t know the sex of the child so I went ahead and got girls and boys outfits. Silly, I know, but I was so excited! So I have a few girl things that I will save in case the next baby is a little girl.

Do you feel you are ready to have a baby? Yes! PREPARED and ready to go!

Are you excited or scared about delivery? More excited than scared!

Any food cravings? Anything sweet makes me happy. I love putting Snickers bars in the freezer and eating them frozen. Yum!

Anything you loved before that you absolutely cannot eat anymore? I had a few weeks where chicken made me sick to my stomach. It was horrible. I love chicken. Glad I got over that!


Anything else you’d like to share or vent about? Still trying to make sure i have everything ready for the little man! I can’t wait to see his sweet face and hold him in my arms.

A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.

Hooter Hiders

I want to find a cute nursing cover. If all goes as planned, I have decided to breast feed Mister Harper. I know it can be uncomfortable when you have to nurse the little one in public. I saw Hooter Hiders on The View and checked out the website. It looks like a wonderful nursing cover and I think it has some great unique features. 

My favorite design is the ruffle design in Siena. The Siena fabric has a white base with a purple and green leaf pattern. Do you all like this fabric? I think it is a great gender- neutral pattern. 

You can check out all of the Bebe au Lait items on their website here! Right now they are offering free domestic ground shipping!

Does anyone have any other recommendations for nursing covers? Or have you all used the hooter hider? At least one thing is for sure, gotta love the name! 

My New Tumblr Blog!

I am not really familiar with Tumblr but I heard about it and wanted to give it a try. I decided to make a Tumblr blog page.

Check it out HERE! 

The definition of Tumblr is:

Tumblr is a blogging platform that allows users to post text, images, video, links, quotes, and audio to their tumblelog, a short-form blog. Users are able to "follow" other users and see their posts together on their dashboard. Users can "like" or "reblog" posts from other blogs on the site.


Tumblr lets you effortlessly share anything. Post text, photos, quotes, links, music, and videos, from your browser, phone, desktop, email, or wherever you happen to be. You can customize everything, from colors, to your theme's HTML.


Fastcompany.com explains it as:

Tumblr is a blogging platform that makes it easier to post video, audio, words, social bookmarks, photos, and even other people's blog posts into your blog, and share it with other people. Instead of having to upload things to YouTube, Delicious or Flickr, or create your own WordPress database before posting things, you can put your media directly into Tumblr from your computer or mobile phone. It's blogging, the way blogging was meant to be.

I think I like the set-up of Tumblr. It is a really easy blog form. You can post very simplistic blogs, very fast! It is one of the newest forms of blogging and is growing in popularity. Tumblr focuses on more minimalistic posts, kind of like Twitter.


Tumblr has a simplified user interface, allowing users to upload simply by clicking on a button for text, picture, video, etc. Like other social media sites, on Tumblr users can ‘follow’ other users. Following someone puts their posts on the dashboard, allowing the user to quickly read updates without having to visit other blogs. The style of blogging used on Tumblr is a unique style of microblogging which has been labelled as tumblelogging.

If you are one of those people that has thought about starting a blog but just doesn't have the extra time to put into it, I would recommend checking out Tumblr! It literally takes 5 minutes to set-up. And it is so easy! It is perfect for beginner bloggers. There is no need to have any knowledge of HTML or CSS to get Tumblr up and running.

I think Tumblr is going to be the next "big thing" as far as social media is concerned. What do you all think? Do you like the set-up? Are you tempted to make your on Tumblr blog? I recommend grabbing your current blog's Tumblr name before it is too late. If you have a Tumblr account, let me know. I need to follow some folks!

I think this will be a great way to post quick photos of the baby to share with friends and family!

Another FUN FACT- people can ask you random questions of Tumblr. For instance, I was asked my earliest childhood memory. Then I respond to the random questions and they post on my blog. It is a fun little bonus and a great way to learn fun facts about each other.

Facebook Stalking 101

I assume most of you have Facebook. If you are one of the lucky few that managed to escape the Facebook madness, good for you! Seriously, I wish I had the willpower to cancel my account. I have tried on numerous occasions. And I was actually successful for about a month. But inevitably, I was back on "the book."

I remember when I first heard about Facebook. I signed up but still didn't really understand the full concept. Eventually it started catching on across campus and everyone starting hopping on the Facebook bandwagon. But it was really a college thing. You didn't have to worry about your siblings, parents, and even grandparents stalking your Facebook page. Now everyone has a Facebook account. Parents, cousins, bosses, co-workers. You have to be really careful about what you post, what photos you share, any status updates you put up. I think it has lost some of it's charm. Before you could share witty comments, hysterical photos, inside jokes.... but now everyone reads into what you write and what other people post. People judge others by their Facebook accounts. And honestly, 90% of the time... most people don't understand the meaning of the inside joke or funny comment that is posted but they make judgements anyway..... Quite frankly, I miss the old Facebook.

I mean sure it is a great way to reconnect with old friends and with your family members that live far away. But now rather then sending cards, we post on each other's walls. Who makes phone calls anymore? Everything is much less personal!

And then comes my BIGGEST PET PEEVE. When those folks that were never nice to you, sometimes actually mean to you, decide to add you as a friend on Facebook. If you are not my friend, and you have never been my friend, then why on earth are you adding me as a friend on Facebook? Because what happens is I have to decide whether or not to add them and if I decide not to add them then I look like the jerk. So you add them. And then you have to wonder... "Are they Facebook stalking me? Should I make a limited profile list?"

Let's talk a little bit about Facebook stalking. Did you know people actually make up fake accounts, using fake names, so they can add people that they don't like and look at their photos and profiles? Yep, crazy! I know one of these stalker types. And she even made fake Twitter name to follow certain people's Twitter accounts without their knowledge. So folks, the lesson here... set your privacy settings and don't add people you don't know.

Here is the Urban Dictionary's definition of a Facebook stalker:

Someone who is obsessed with someone else and stalks them on facebook. Not always traceable or noticeable, but clues are: wall posts replying to every status update, viewing every posted picture of the stalked, etc...

You are a FB stalker. You qualify as a FB stalker if you :

a) click on someone's profile more than once a day even if they haven't messaged or tagged you in a photo. 


b) have dragged and dropped more than 3 FB photos (not from your own profile) 


c) actually go to a place mentioned on someone's page in hopes of seeing them in real life...creepy!

And something that upsets me even more is when they add my husband! Now you have never met my hubby. We haven't seen each other is years. And when we did, we didn't like each other. So why on earth would you go to the trouble to add my husband on Facebook? The whole thing is kind of creepy to me. I prefer to maintain relationships with old friends.... not the folks that were mean and standoffish in high school and college. Once in awhile I will get a little naive and think to myself... "well maybe they have grown up and are actually nice girls now." So I will send them a nice message wishing them well. And then of course... no response.

So then comes the next question. Is it okay to de-friend people on Facebook? Awhile back I actually removed 2,000 people from my friend list. I hit 5,000 friends and at that point you are actually not allowed to add any more. So I decided to take away anyone that I didn't personally know. It took hours and during the process I somehow managed to de-friend real friends by accident. I actually gave up before I went through my entire friend list. But I felt better about knowing a good majority of the people left on my friend list. It was nice to actually recognize people on the newsfeed.

Personally, I think that you should friend people on Facebook because you are friends and you want to stay in touch with them. So if they aren't really your friends and you don't talk to them on Facebook, maybe it is perfectly fine to go ahead and "de-friend" them. If someone knows, please explain to me why people have a desire to get on other people's Facebook accounts that they don't like and go through their profile and photos? It is like a strange obsession. I think you should ignore the folks you don't like and spend your time enjoying your own life and your actual friends. I wonder how many minutes a day people waste looking at profiles of people that they dislike?

Now I will admit, I love looking at my friends profiles to see what they have been up to and to check out their photos from the weekend. But once again, that is because I actually like those people. I think there is a difference.

What do you think? De-friend or add all sorts of privacy settings and put them on your limited profile list?

What are your biggest Facebook pet peeves?

Mamma-to-be Recommendations

Over the past few weeks I really felt the effects of the pregnancy. My neck pops, my back aches, my feet are looking a little plump. And I have a hard time running around like usual. I really can't complain because I know some women deal with this for months so I guess a few weeks is really not bad when it comes down to it. I managed to find a few items that helped with the aches and discomforts. I highly recommend trying a few of these products out if you are expecting and are experiencing similar pains.

I thought a fun baby shower gift would be an actual gift for the mother. Now buying baby stuff is so fun and normally at a shower you want to buy a cute outfit or something off the registry. But I think when my friends start having babies a great gift might be a few "mommy pregnancy products" and even a gift certificate for a prenatal massage. Massage Envy has a wonderful deal! You can get a prenatal hour massage for $39. I think that would be a fantastic gift for someone!

Here are some other items that I think would be great gifts for expecting mamas:

Belli Motherhood-Skin Smoothing Exfoliator

Belli is a skin care brand from the US that develops products especially for expectant and new mothers. The company takes high safety standards and thorough screening processes to ensure no harmful ingredients in its formulations linked to birth defects.

Skin Smoothing Body Exfoliator is an invigorating body scrub rich in anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory ingredients. Sweeps away old skin cells to reveal healthy skin. Features green tea, ginseng and peppermint oil. Use Skin Smoothing Body Exfoliator to prepare skin for Belli treatment products.

Maclaren Alleviating Leg Lotion

This leg lotion brings a feeling of lightness to legs that feel heavy, swollen and tired due to pregnancy. Regenerative Rosehip oil is infused with Orange, Mandarin and Patchouli to revive, strengthen and regenerate tired legs and feet.

Mint Herbal Lip Balm by Earth Mama Angel Baby

Made with organic calendula, organic St. John's wort and shea butter in an organic olive oil base, this delicious, toxin-free lip balm is a perfect companion during labor (and later as well). It's cruelty free and artificial preservative-free---NO Parabens! Ensure that the welcoming kiss for your new angel baby is soft and sweet...naturally.

This is seriously SOFT on your lips! It feels fantastic!

Maclaren Connecting Massage Oil

This pure organic massage oil with moisturizing jojoba and regenerating Rosehip, is combined with Orange oil for joy, the calming influence of Lavender and the nurturing quality of Neroli, to create a perfect daily nourishment for body and spirit.

This oil really smells amazing! Erik uses it when he gives me shoulder massages and I use it to rub on my belly!

Maclaren Balancing Facial Mist

This is MY FAVORITE PRODUCT that I have used so far. Even the hubby sprays his face every night. You can use your facial mist at any time during the day to hydrate your skin and balance your emotions. Just hold the bottle several inches away from your face, spritz and inhale the benefits of the aromatherapy blend. It is Certified organic and safe for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. It is SOOOO soothing. I am trying to save some to use at the hospital during labor. I really LOVE this stuff.

Do you all have any items that helped soothe the pregnancy pains? If so, I would love to hear about them.