Acceptance

Harper has been home for three weeks now. It’s been an exciting period of time for our entire family. Our cat, Grady, is often slow at accepting change. He hung out in the basement for a month when we brought Riley home. He disliked most of our foster dogs and would only interact with them if they got too close (meaning he would slap their face and hiss!). He is very social around us – he hangs out with us in the evenings and can hold a decent conversation. He is quite vocal and will talk back to us. But, anyone who has visited our house knows that he is very shy and will often hide from new people. Grady is especially shy around children – they are too loud for him. He will hide behind the furnace until they are gone. Since we knew Grady was so shy, we were curious about how he would react about us bringing home a baby.

Grady was pretty low key for the first few days. He would walk through the room, but wouldn’t stop to hang out with us. For the most part Grady stayed in the basement (where it was safe and quiet.) He even stopped sleeping on our bed for the first two weeks.  Eventually he came back upstairs and decided it was time to check out the new addition to the family. He has sniffed at her a few times and decided that Harper is harmless. He now enjoys spending time rolling around her rug and enjoying the soothing sounds of the white noise machine. Although she might be a little loud at times and interrupt his sleep, but he has accepted that Harper is here to stay.

3 Weeks Old

Harper had a check up again this week. She had been having some difficulties gaining weight, so we have been to her doctor every week for a weight check. Harper was 8 lbs 2 oz when she was born and 7 lbs 4 oz when we left the hospital two days later. We visited her doctor, Dr. Amy Peterson, a few days later to weigh her and she was back up to 7 lbs 14 oz. However, over a week later, Harper was only up another few ounces - weighing exactly 8 lbs. So, Dr. Peterson, asked us to come back again in a week for another weight check.

Harper and I worked really hard at eating over the next week. Harper even put herself on a 3 hour schedule. This schedule helped her gain some much needed weight. The schedule was tough on me and Ross - sleeping for an hour or two at a time doesn't leave a person well rested! But, all the sleepless nights and big meals paid off - Harper weighed in at 8 lb 15 oz at her next check up! The goal for newborns is an ounce a day - so gaining 15 ounces is a week is awesome. Ross and I were super excited that she was back where she needed to be in regards to weight. She isn't the plumpest baby (yet!), but she is in the 57% for weight now! Now that we figured out what she needs, I predict lots of growth in the coming weeks! 

Diaper Talk

People always say that once you have a baby that all you talk about is poop. I wouldn't say that it's the ONLY thing we discuss at our house - but, yes, some conversations do revolve around what is in Harper's diapers. Miss Harper is talented at using multiple diapers during a changing. The record is 4 diaper diapers in a single changing! Before she arrived I thought we had a lifetime supply of diapers. We had tons of newborn diapers from Ross's Diaper Party - "way too many to ever use" I thought. Ha! In the two weeks she has been home, we've gone through 90% of them. And most of a giant box of wipes. It turns out that infants use way more of these supplies than we ever thought - lesson learned!

Being a Big Sister is Tough

Riley has been our baby for the last 5 years. Although she has been around our nieces and nephews, we were a little nervous about how Riley would handle having a little sister. To our delight, she has adapted to the situation better than we expected!

Emilie, Ross and the neighbor had taken turns checking on Riley during our two-night hospital stay. After being locked in the house alone for so long, Riley was very excited when we returned home. In addition to greeting us, Riley got to meet her baby sister. She was extremely interested about who was inside the car seat. Although she was very excited, Riley did a nice job of greeting her new sister and kept her kisses to a minimum. (If you know Riley, you know that’s hard for her to do!)

Once we got settled in, Riley began her Big Sister duties. She found out that having a baby is a lot of work! Riley has been present for all of the feedings and diaper changes. She gets up with me in the middle of the night and will sit with us until the feeding is finished. She looks worried when Harper becomes fussy and will oversee the situation when she hangs out in her bouncy seat. By the end of the day, she is exhausted!  

Coming Home!

We came home from the hospital on Friday, October 22^nd. We had a great stay at the hospital – the nursing staff was very friendly and helpful. We met with Anne, the lactation specialist, four times during our stay. She helped teach Harper the basics of eating (opening wide, latching, etc) and provided me guidance on the best positions for holding her and keeping her awake during nursing. Even with all Anne’s hard work, Harper was down to 7 pounds, 4 ounces by Friday morning – not too bad considering how much we both learned during that time!
 

We had lots of visitors during our brief hospital stay – Grandma Judy and Buppa, Grammy Ruth, Uncle Dave, Aunt Steph and her cousin Sydney. Our friends Seth and Amber and the Deacon from church also stopped out to meet her! Harper is very popular for being so little and new!

We arrived home shortly after noon on Friday. Ross was a cautious driver on the way home – no speed limits were reached during the trip! We were greeted by Riley who was very anxious to have her parent’s home and meet her new sister. It’s great to have our family home!

Harper Olivia

Harper Olivia Whittlesey has arrived! Harper made her big entrance on October 19, 2011 at 2:58 p.m. She weight 8 lbs, 2 ounces and was 20-1/4”.

I began having contractions around 10 PM on Tuesday night. At first I thought they were nothing more than Braxton Hicks, but by 1 AM, I was pretty sure that they were the real deal. Since I couldn’t sleep, I did some laundry, showered and slowly got ready for the big day. Riley seemed aware that something big was about to happen and followed me around all night.  At 4, I woke up Ross to help time my contractions and finish packing our bags for the hospital. We checked into the hospital around 6:30 on Wednesday, October 19th. I was dilated to 5 cm and contractions averaged a little over 5 minutes apart. We walked in circles on the delivery floor and excitedly talked about how our family was going to grow in the next few hours. I got my epidural around 9 am - which made me much more comfortable! Dr. Dassanayake, also kown as Dr. T, came in to break my water and found  meconium so they knew they would have to be extra diligent checking Harper over when she was born.  To pass the time, Ross and I watched a movie and napped. By eleven, I was still at 5 cm so the nurse started me on pitocin to help speed up the process. The medicine began working  and shortly after 2 pm the nurse started to prepare me to start pushing. After a few practice pushes with the nurse, the top of Harper’s head was visible so the doctor was called in. Ross and the nurse held my legs and coached me along. A few short pushes later, Harper arrived! Ross cut the umbilical cord while the doctor and nurses were cleaning her up. They checked her over in the room and she was held briefly by both of us. Then she was whisked off to the nursery (with her daddy!) to finish  checking her over and to make sure the meconium didn’t causing any complications – luckily, she was just fine! Harper is perfect – beautiful, healthy and happy. And, most of all, LOVED!           

  

Mom's Birthday Party!

My mom, Judy, has a big birthday this year – she is turning 60 later this month! Because of Harper’s approaching due date, we had an early birthday celebration for her in Iowa Falls. Renee and Joe graciously opened up their new home for the party. Joe smoked a pork shoulder and a turkey and the rest of us brought delicious sides – it was a feast! After we’d all had our fill, we rode the Scenic City Empress, a double-decker boat. This was the first time on the boat for all of us. It was a perfect fall day for a boat ride – the sky was clear and sunny. The fall colors were gorgeous making it a memorable ride for everyone. We finished the day up with cake, ice cream and presents back at Renee’s. It was an awesome way to celebrate Mom’s milestone birthday!