Sleep

The one piece of advice we seemed to hear alot prior to Harper's arrival was to get plenty of sleep, because that would be gone soon. Everyone was right on, and it isn't just because she is up crying in the middle of the night either. As a new parent, the slightest squeak makes you want to jump out of bed and check on her. We were also complicated by the fact that Harper didn't want us to put her down the first couple of days back from the hospital. She ended up sleeping on our chest in a chair for the first couple of nights, which makes for some great pictures, but not so great sleeping coniditions for the parents. But then on Saturday night Gina tried again, and as you can see from the picture, we weren't the only ones celebrating.

Making it work

So we have struggled a bit since we got home from the hospital and have been on our own with Harper. But that was to be expected as new parents. We had a doctor's appointment this morning and after that she slept for a good while and has been great since. So hopefully that is a sign of good things to come. She wasn't too happy that she was being compared to her dad though, by the look on her face in this picture. She does love sleeping on me and Gina though. And you can really tell that Shelby is doing ok with the new family member.

HOME

One of our biggest fears was coming home. Not only because we would no longer have the nurses around to assist, or the ability to send Harper to the nursery if we needed a break. Moreso because of our original 2 "children": Coal and Shelby. As we pulled into the driveway today, we discussed our strategy. In the end, we acted as if everything was normal and once we were in the house and settled, we let Shelby sniff Harper, and Coal just wanted to see her. So far, so good. Gina fed Harper, and they are now taking a nap. Shelby wanted to sleep in the bed too, but is now laying down on the couch. I just hope this new dynamic works for the animals.

Harper's first day

So it's been a crazy almost 48 hours now. It is just amazing that we now have this beautiful baby. The last time we left our house, there were 2 of us, and now we have a family. Harper has been wonderful with letting everyone hold her. And her eyes are so active, when she is awake, it is just unbelievable to watch. But right now she just loves to sleep, and we can't help but stare at her because we don't want to miss a thing. Thanks to everyone for all your well wishes and we can't wait to show her off to everyone.

Welcome to the world

Harper Grace was born at 8:07 pm last night, at 6lbs, 1oz, and is 18.75 inches long. Mom and baby are doing wonderful, although Gina is counting down the minutes until she can eat again.




Those are 2 very happy grandmothers!

Scared or excited

We had this conversation as we walked into the hospital last night. For the last time, we had walked out of our house as a couple, to return as a family. The mixed emotions of anticipating a child and all the excitement really starts to blend with a fear of having to take care of said child. I really think it is good that we are going into this with a sort of trepidation to temper the excitement.
So after getting settled in last night in our room, we were able to really look forward to today and welcoming our baby. The induction started around 730am, and we are just waiting for things to progress. Here is the last baby bump picture, taken right before we left the house last night. And the wonderful "bed" that I slept in, all 6 feet of it for my 6'4" body.

Ready

I wouldn't go that far, but we are getting close. Gina finished up Harper's room today, and it looks amazing.



And on the entry wall is an afghan that my grandmother made. Gina wanted to hang it from the wall, and ended up re-using an old frame, and it really stands out.

And the best 4D ultrasound image that we have received, Gina framed and put in Harper's bathroom, so I tried my best to get a good picture of it.

Catching up

A lot has happened since the last post. Mainly, the baby's room is finally coming together. We received a lot of great gifts at a shower that Lesley held for Gina. So I spent a weekend putting together the pack n play, a stroller, checking out the car seat, all that fun stuff. The next weekend our furniture arrived, so I picked that up from the store, but not without some drama about the coloring of one of the pieces. That same week Gina's office had a shower for her, and I headed down to her office for that. We got some great stuff there, and the baby will actually have clothes to wear now too. And just this past Saturday my sister had a couples shower for us, which turned out awesome. The first shower was women only, so I missed out on most of the food. The shower Saturday made up for that for me, because the food was amazing. And we still have some of the mini cakes left over, which is unbelievable b/c I could sit and eat them all at once. I don't have any pictures of the baby's room yet, but I will this week. We finally decided on a name, Harper Grace, so the room is getting the final touches. Once all of that is completed, I will photograph and post. In the meantime, here are some pictures from Lesley's shower, and a baby bump picture. Also, I can't believe I am going to be a dad in 3 weeks or less!!