So We're Home...Now What?

We have never truly experienced how times flies--until now. Every day and week go by in the blink of an eye. I’ve always found myself saying things that started with, “I can’t wait until…” And I’ve learned one thing. I can wait. I won’t let myself say that anymore. I don’t want to wish time away. I can wait for all of those things to happen. I feel like I can’t spend enough time with her.

When we got home from the hospital, my mom (Lolli) stayed with us that first week. She was so much help. Whether it was doing the dishes, changing Harper’s diaper, or just entertaining her for a little while, it was so nice to have an extra pair of hands to help. For the first few days, I didn’t really feel all that tired—I had so much adrenaline and felt like I always had to be doing something, getting something done. But, I started making myself take naps while she was sleeping or while someone else was able to watch her. I needed those naps.

Here are some pictures from Lolli's stay-cation...

Daddy admiring his newest roommate.

Sitting in her Boppy.

High Fives

Just relaxin'...

Goin' for a swing.

Spending time with Mimi.

A tiny girl in a big bed. So little!

Snoozin'

Getting ready for a bath.

Washing those pretty locks.

Bath time. 

Peeking--I LOVE this picture.

One of our favorite pictures. Beautiful.

What a hoot. (Notice the PJs.)

Taking pictures for Nana's birthday. Precious boys and a sweet tiny girl.

Kisses. Melts my heart!

Pondering...

Say what?

Getting some lovin' after bath time.

Look at those curls!

Daddy with his girls.

Love those hands.

Lolli and Poppi

Poppi lovin'.

Mommy

Relaxing with his girls. HG looks pretty comfy. :)

Our first trip to church with the little one.

Lolli and Peanut ready for church.

All the girls before church.

On our way to church...with a big flower.

Inside the tummy one week, outside the tummy the next. Amazing! 

Swaddled with Mommy

Uncle Landon

Mimi and Landon

All wrapped up in the Rock 'N Play.

One of Mommy and Daddy's favorite pictures. Sitting in her swing.

Sweet dreams. :)

Snuggling with Mommy. Heaven.

Happy girl, cute romper.

Snoozin' with Lolli. Obviously comfortable.

The following Friday, we had our two week appointment with Dr. Reyes, our pediatrician. We love him. He is wonderful/fantastic/amazing. We trust him. We're comfortable with him. He was very impressed with her weight gain and told us to continue what we were doing. He also told us that if she wasn't waking up every three hours in the middle of the night, DON'T wake her up. That was the opposite of what the hospital told us. The first few days we were home, we were waking her up every three hours, even in the middle of the night...we were just following the hospital's directions. :) We were both so relieved when he said we could just let her wake up on her own. Phew. 

One thing we hadn't really thought about was leaving the house with the baby. When we talked to the pediatrician, he suggested that we don't take her out of the house for the first month. That sounded like a really long time, but he said that if it was at all possible, keep her home. There are so many germs and nasty things out there, he didn't want her catching anything. He said that with a newborn, if they do get a fever, they immediately go in the hospital. That was enough for me to keep her at home. I know we probably won't be as anal about it with another kiddo, but with our first, we followed the doctor's recommendations. We figured it wasn't worth her getting sick. We took her to church the first week we were home, but that was before our appointment. After our appointment, we only took her out when it was absolutely necessary. Plus, it gave us time to adjust to hauling a whole bunch of stuff around. It's amazing how much stuff a baby needs just to run a simple errand. Crazy!

Fortunately, we have been blessed with incredible friends and family. We had an unbelievable amount of people bring us meals throughout the first few weeks. Because some days two different people would bring us food, we were able to freeze one of the meals to eat later. It was such a blessing. Every meal was absolutely delicious and it alleviated so much unnecessary stress trying to figure out what we were going to eat/cook. I never realized how much of a relief this would be for us. To all of the people who brought us meals—thank you, thank you, thank you. We appreciate you more than you will ever know. We consider ourselves so fortunate to have you all in our lives. We will return the favor one day.

The second week we were home, it was just Danny and I…left alone to figure out how to parent. J I’m so thankful we had that time together with just the two of us, and of course our sweet girl. I am SO incredibly thankful that his job gave him three weeks off. Those three weeks were so special for us. They absolutely flew by, but it was beyond wonderful. It gave us time to just relax and be a little family.

Danny’s mom (Nana) stayed with us the third week. She is an amazing cook! Not only was she willing to get up with the baby in the middle of the night so we could sleep, she also cooked many, many meals throughout the week. It was fantastic. And delicious. I was also able to venture out of the house by myself a few times throughout the week, I loved it. I found myself thinking about the little one constantly, but it was so nice to be able to get out of the house. Plus, I knew she was in good hands.

Danny went back to work in the middle of the week Amy was staying with us. It was so hard, I'm so thankful Amy was there to keep me and the little one company. I’m not sure who it was harder on…him or me. I just loved having him at home and seeing him with Harper. I hated that he had to start waking up early again every day and then leave to go to work for hours and not come home until it was time for dinner. We missed Daddy.

Pictures from Nana's stay-cation...(Mommy got distracted and didn't take as many pictures that week.)

When we first came home, the Olympics were always on the TV.

Here's Harper's take on all of the spoliers.

Daddy getting ready for our first walk.

Mommy

Lovin' on Aunt T.

Dreamin' with Bimmo.

All is good when with Aunt T.

Wiped out. It's tiring being this cute.

Hungry. Apparently we don't feed her...

Sleep Sack--I love her expression in this picture. What a hoot! ;)

Mommy loves her strawberry outfit. 

It got pooped on shortly after this picture.

Bummer.

She's right. Grandmas are the best. She's got some pretty fantastic ones.

Just swinging in her pretty skirt.

Glasses? Maybe the light was too bright.

Then we came to week four…where Mommy and Harper were home all alone. As our time with just the two of us was approaching, I was feeling extremely anxious. How would I do with her by myself? Would I know what to do? What if she cried all day and I couldn’t get her to stop? I wasn’t scared about being alone with her, I was just second-guessing myself on if I could do it or not. Well, it turns out we were fine. J I cherished this time with her so much. It was completely exhausting, but it was perfect. I was able to learn so much about her. I found myself just staring at her and watching her sleep. I couldn’t get enough of her. However, we always counted down the hours until Daddy got home. He would call and text throughout the day to check on us and was always so excited to see her when he got home.

Sleep was one thing I was worried about before she got here. I love sleep. I need sleep. However, I new with a newborn, I wasn’t going to be getting the sleep I was used to. I was anxious to see how we would just to less sleep. We have both been pleasantly surprised. For the first few weeks she woke up  every three hours to eat. She was like a clock. She would wake up almost to the exact minute. Since I was pumping, when she would wake up to eat, D would feed her and I would pump. She was sleeping in her pack and play in our room, so it was pretty convenient. However, the Sunday after she turned three weeks old, we decided to give her a shot at sleeping in her own room. I always assumed this would be really hard for me. I figured I would want her right by my bedside for months and that I would really struggle to let her go. Boy, I was wrong.

I found myself waking up at every-little-tiny-noise. And I forgot to mention, she is NOISY. She moves and wiggles A LOT when she sleeps. We often found that she would wake herself because she moved so much. And when she moved, I woke up. Every. Single. Time. Danny seemed to drown out the noise pretty easily and didn’t seem to wake up unless she was screaming…how convenient. J So we gave it a shot. And it worked. Beautifully. I figured I would be awake constantly, staring at the monitor waiting for her to move. Again, I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t wake up once until she started crying to eat. And after she ate, I would go right back to sleep. I didn’t find myself waking up at every sound, and she was sleeping well in her crib—a win-win for all of us.

Big Girl Bed

Dad was hesitant to get the video monitor. Now, he loves it. 

Thank you, Mom!

When she was just shy of being a month old, it was time for my sister Lexi (Aunt Lulu) to move away to college. I knew this was going to be hard for Lexi. In just a few short weeks she had already grown so attached to HG. As much as I wanted to, I hadn’t planned on going with my mom and Mimi to move her in because of the baby. I figured that I needed to stay with her, she was only a few weeks old. However, when the time came for her to move, Danny, Harper and I said goodbye to her the night before she left…and I laid awake all night. I was feeling so uneasy about the situation and not going with her. This was such a huge event in her life and I felt like I needed to be a part of it. But what about Harper? I felt terrible just taking off and leaving her with Danny.

After wrestling around with the idea of going all night and the next morning, Danny sat me down and said that I needed to go and that he and Harper would be perfectly fine while I went. At that point I still wasn’t comfortable with my decision to go, but I was going. I packed my bags, cried as I said goodbye and kissed Danny and Harper, and headed over to my moms. I called Lexi on my way over and made up some story about how I was going to the mall to get an outfit for an engagement party we were going to that night. She still wasn’t aware that I was coming.

I will never forget her face when she opened the door and saw me standing there with my bags packed ready to go. She’s not a very emotional or affectionate person (Sorry Lu, it’s true), but her face truly lit up and she gave me a huge hug and told me how excited she was that I was going. Now, I was confident in my decision. Danny, thank you so much for supporting me and pushing me to go. It was such a wonderful weekend and I’m so thankful I was there. Plus, this gave Danny and Harper a little bonding time. J He’s such an incredible Dad. I’m so blessed to have a husband who is willing to take over when he is needed. I know that she’s in perfect hands when she’s with him.

Aunt Lulu all moved in to her dorm.

Sweet Harper,

You are such a blessing! I cannot believe you’re already a month old. You’ve been in this crazy world for 4 weeks already. It’s crazy how time flies. What’s even crazier is that we still don’t have a clue what we’re doing…and we’re loving every minute of it.

The Year You Were Born...

National Leaders: President - Barack Obama, Vice President - Joe Biden

World Leaders: Vladimir Putin - Russia ("Putin" always makes Mommy and Daddy laugh), David Cameron - United Kingdom, Nicolas Sarkozy - France, Queen Elizabeth II - England

Headlines: Dark Knight Rises Shooting (We pray you will never have to experience such tragedy in the world around you.), Summer Olympics, Presidential Election

Popular Entertainers: Music - Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, Adam Levine, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, One Direction; Actors/Actresses - Jonah Hill, Charlie Day, Jennifer Aniston, Fat Amy, Sofia Vergera, Ryan Reynolds

Popular Songs: Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen, Payphone - Maroon 5, What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction, Time Is Love - Josh Turner

Best-Selling Authors: E.L. James, Suzanne Collins, R.A. Salvatore, Jodi Picoult, James Patterson

Hit TV Shows: Big Bang Theory, The Bachelor, Criminal Minds, American Idol, The Voice, Family Guy, Modern Family, Honey Boo Boo

Sports Stars: Michael Phelps, Gabby Douglas, Usain Bolt, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Allyson Felix

Fashion Trends: High-Wasted Shorts (please don't follow this), Skinny Jeans, Rompers, TOMS, Unnecessary Eye Glasses--[Your dad finds all of these trends ridiculous.]

The Price Of...

*Gallon of Gas: $3.30

*Movie Ticket: $9.00

*Babysitting Rates: Fortunately, we have a lot of family nearby. We haven't had to figure this out yet...

*Gallon of Milk: $3.40

*Loaf of Bread: $1.50

*Diapers: $25.00 for about 100--you go through A LOT of these!

*Postage Stamp: $.43

Growin’ Like A Weed!
Birth:
Weight – 7 pounds, 0 ounces
Length – 19 inches

Two Weeks:
Weight – 7 pounds, 3.5 ounces (16th percentile)

Lengh – 20.5 inches (56th percentile)

One Month:
Weight –  8 pounds, 11.5 ounces (34th percentile)

Lengh – 21.25 inches (50th percentile)

Keepin’ That Tummy Full
You weren’t a huge fan of nursing, but you loved formula. You lost quite a bit of weight in the hospital, so we started feeding you Enfamil after you nursed each time. You quickly became a bigger fan of eating out of a bottle…I don’t blame you. You have been eating about 2 ounces every three hours. You’re like our little alarm clock. You wake up at exactly three hours almost every time. You’re a smart girl! Although, there are a few times that you will go four hours or so…it just depends. You’re not always consistent. We’ll work on that. J

You are a champion at making a dirty diaper. You're not quiet about it either. The pediatrician at the hospital came in to see you every morning and said you were a “Rockstar” in your diaper. You got through a lot of diapers. It always seems that just seconds after we change you, you’re ready for a new diaper. I don’t think we will ever get used to how much diapers and formula cost—holy cow! Right now you’re in Newborn diapers, but I think it probably won’t be long until you’re in size 1s.

Sometimes Mommy and Daddy aren’t quick enough when we change you…so we make a big, dirty mess. I think it happens to Mommy more than it does with Daddy. You don’t seem to be concerned when it happens, so we tend to just laugh and clean it up before you go again.

What’s New?
Well at this point, every thing is new. J This section will get more exciting as you get older...but please, slow down and take your time! 

This Month We Learned…
-If you’re crying, you’re most likely either hungry or dirty. For the most part, it has been pretty easy to figure out what’s wrong. And fortunately, you don’t cry very much—we’re thankful for that!

-You love to be held. We’re okay with this. Most of the time it’s pretty hard for us to put you down. We just love to hold you and have you next to us.

-More specifically, you love when the person holding you is standing up. You’re very particular.

-You had lots of "Rumbly in your Tumbly"! You would get fussy for a little while after you are, so we have been giving you gas drops before you eat each time. They seem to help. Daddy was worried that we were giving you too much, but Dr. Reyes said we were just fine.We're hoping your tummy will settle itself down and we won't have to continue the drops consistently.

-You can’t decide whether or not you really like your pacifier. I can’t decide if I want you to like it or not. I want you to have something that helps calm you down, but at the same time, I don’t look forward to having to break that habit when you’re older. Right now it’s pretty hit or miss. When you’re sleepy you’re more likely to take it. You’ll suck on it for a little while, but then end up spitting it out. It makes your dad laugh when you launch it across the room when you get mad.

-You are a fantastic model for pictures! We had your newborn pictures taken when you were exactly one week old. You were perfect. It took almost 4 hours. You slept the entire time, waking up once to eat and then going straight back to sleep to finish the pictures. Lindsey (the photographer) kept exclaiming about how incredible you were being. She said that she has never had a newborn session that has gone that perfectly. Mommy came with a big long list of ideas, outfits, and bows that she wanted to try…and we were able to try every single one of them! You must know how much your Mama loves pictures. [I’ll post the pictures in a later post.]

-You hate your arms being wrapped tightly close to your body. You love to be able to move. For the first few weeks you were okay with being swaddled or wrapped in the Miracle Blanket…but you quickly decided that you loved to be able to move when you sleep. You won that battle. J

-You have your Mommy’s nose! I have always hated my nose…but now seeing it on you, I suddenly love it. It’s perfect on your sweet face. We’re not really sure whose eyes you have. When you were born, they were a beautiful dark gray. Now, they are turning blue. We hope they will stay blue like your Mama’s…only time will tell.

-Your furry sister, Sofie, would have preferred that we left you at the hospital. ;) For the most part, she has ignored you. However, whenever you are really screaming, she gets concerned. She wants to be right by you and licks your feet and sniffs around to figure out what's going on with you. If you continue to cry, she looks at you and barks. I know she's not a big fan of yours right now, but we hope you guys will become good friends as you grow up. We have loved having her as our puppy, I'm sure you'll love her too! I have a feeling you'll enjoy pulling her hair too...sorry Sof!

-Sometimes, you just cry. It's normal--we're learning that. It just breaks our hearts when you cry. There are some times at night when you just cry and scream. It never lasts too long, but it’s terrible in the moment. Fortunately, we can normally figure out why you’re crying pretty quickly. We’re so thankful that you’re a happy baby.

You/We Love It When…
-You get to take baths. The rest of the umbilical cord fell out at about two and a half weeks. You always make us laugh during your baths because every time we pour water on you, your startle reflex takes over. We have been giving you a bath in your little pink tub. We fill it and set it on the counter in the kitchen. You often just relax on your back, look around, and take it all in. It takes your breath away when we pour warm water on your tummy. We almost always give you a bath together. It is such a special time for us. Most of the time, Mommy is in charge of washing you ad your hair with soap, and Daddy is in charge of rinsing you with water. After your bath, Mommy dries you off and covers you with lotion. You always get a little massage before we put your jommies on. Putting you in your jommies is one of mommy’s favorite things. She loves a little girl in PJs. I love smelling you after your bath. When I hold you, I just put my nose in your hair and breath…it’s delightful. J Me and Daddy make a good little team. I hope you will always love your baths like you do now!

Side note about your baths: Your hair is so beautiful when it is wet. Your whole head is full of sweet brown curls…but only when it’s wet. It’s very strange. When it dries, it’s as straight as a board and sticks out all over. But when it’s wet, beautiful curls fill your head. We are hoping your hair will be like your daddy’s—nice and curly!

-We let you sleep in your Rock 'N Play. We considered letting you sleep in it at night since you sleep so well in it during the day, however, Mommy really wanted you to sleep flat on your back. I figured that if we could get you to sleep comfortably on your back right now, we would be thankful later. You’ve done wonderfully sleeping in your back so far!

-When we pat your back. When other people try burping you, they barely pat you’re back because they don’t want to hurt you. But, Mommy and Daddy both know that you like to be patted really hard! A lot of the time, if you’re fussy, you’ll quite down if we pat your back.

-Mommy loves it when you sleep on her chest. This is my favorite thing in the whole entire world. I cherishes these moments so much. There are so many other things that I should be doing, but I’m not willing to give this time up. I know that pretty soon, you’ll be too big to sleep on my chest…so I’m getting as much of it in now as I can. There are times where you will be sound asleep and I just glance down and stare at your sweet little face…for hours at a time. I can’t explain how much I love these moments. As weird as it sounds, I always look forward to the drool spot on my shirt when you wake up. It’s there every time, and I love it! I hope you’ll continue to love sleeping on Mommy…you’ll never be too big.

-Both Mommy and Daddy love when we get to go and scoop you out of your bed, especially if you're crying. We love the way your little head bobbles and you immediately stop crying. It's difficult to explain what we love about it...but we both feel the same way. You can rest assured that you'll never be left crying very long in your crib--one of us will be there shortly to scoop you. :)

Looking Forward To…
-We are looking forward to SO many things with you. Everything is new to us, so we find ourselves blown away every day. You are changing so fast. We don’t wan to wish time away, it’s already flying as it is…but we can’t wait to see your personality develop.

-You wiggle so much that every once in a while you manage to roll on to your side when you’re on your play mat. I know it’s only a matter of time until you are rolling over! 

-We look forward to you being able to really make eye contact and focus on the things around you. 

-Smiles! One of your Dad's best qualities is his perfect smile. It's always there--that's something you can always count on. We will love when you really start smiling intentionally.

Monthly Pictures

You weren't a huge fan of taking your One Month pictures. You coorperated at the very beginning, but you quickly became irritated and you weren't afraid to let us know. While Mommy and Daddy tried to get you posed, you cried for so long that you feel asleep. It broke our hearts that you were unhappy, but we had to get a few pictures so we can see how much you've grown each month.

We got a few good ones...and a few that definitely made us laugh. We're hoping you'll start cooperating a little more each month. Fingers crossed! 

We took a bunch of pictures your first month. Remember, Mommy loves pictures! Get used to seeing the flash. :) Every time you see it, it should just remind you of how beautiful you are. 

We love you more than life, sweet girl!

Love, Mommy & Daddy