2 Months

Harper Jane you are Two Months old today. Which blows our minds because my due date is still a week and a half away!!

Here's what you have been up to:

-You weight 5lbs 11oz (you are still not on the charts!)

-You are 19 inches long

-You are still in Preemie Swaddler diapers

-You are eating 2 1/2 oz roughly every 3 hours (I think a growth spurt is coming)

-You got your first round of shots last week and you cried so hard and I felt terrible!!!

-You had your eyes checked again (great report!)

-You are still sleeping in our room.

-You are still wearing Preemie outfits but they are a little snug so you sometimes wear newborn but I feel like it swallows you!

-You had your first Play date with Noah! (you slept right through it)

-Still your favorite place to sleep is on our chests (you are a belly sleeper)

Your dad and I are smitten with you! You are becoming more and more alert and we love it!! We love having you home and getting to snuggle you all the time! We are very lucky that god chose us to be your parents!

Sip N' See

Michael and I are pretty blessed to have such amazing sisters.

Since Little Miss came early we never had a family baby shower. Well our creative sisters got together and planned a Sip N' See! There was everything from Mimosa's, to mini cupcakes, fruit and huge sugar cookies!

It was a come and go so no one felt like they had to stay and they could fit it into their saturday afternoon schedule!

Here are a few pictures from Harper's first party! (if this is a foreshadow as to what her 1st birthday will be like...i'm in for it!)

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Independence Day from our family to yours!!

"It feels like home to me"

Last Sunday when Dr. Anderson was doing his rounds he told us that he was going on vacation for 9 days and didn't expect to see us here when he got back. Michael and I just squeezed each other's hands in the hopes we would be bringing our little girl home within the week!!

I spent everyday from 8a to midnight in her room, being there for every feeding was very important to me. Harper was lucky enough to have all of her favorite nurses her last week in the NICU.

Sweet Sarah, was her very first nurse the day she was born. Come to find out Sarah's dad works with my dad. Sarah not only loved on Harper when we couldn't be there but she also kept me company when I spent all day everyday in her room. Thanks Sarah for all you did!

Kodi was the calming voice I heard on the other end of the line when I called in the middle of the night after you were born. I had this gut feeling something was wrong. Boy, was I wrong...you had just been taken off the vent!!! Kodi always gave you extra love and attention at night when dad and I couldn't be there! Oh and Kodi always made sure you looked cute and had a matching bow! :)

I totally forgot to get a picture with Jenna. She was kinda busy being in charge and admitting babies, but don't worry we will see LOTS of Jenna! Just like Sarah and Kodi, Jenna has also been there from the beginning. When I found out you were coming and coming via C-Section I asked Jenna to be there. I knew that no matter what happened Jenna would make Harper #1 and be sure that they did everything possible for Harper and her survival. It was very hard to watch them take her away from me but knowing that Jenna was right by her side was very comforting. Its almost as if she took over as your mom!

Friday morning came and we got the phone call, "Guess who gets to go home today?!" Michael and I raced around getting ready and making sure we had everything we needed to bring you home!
We were beyond thrilled to finally be able to have you at home, but we were sure going to miss the wonderful Nurses and Doctors. I'm not sure anyone can fully understand the love those NICU nurses have until you actually experience it first hand. They really do love their job. They act as parents to babies whose parents can't visit as often as we did, they are our advocates and they make sure that we fully understand everything that goes on!

When it was finally our turn to walk out the doors of 503 and the Children's Hospital, we made sure Harper did it in style!!!

We are home and trying to adjust to our new "normal". Thank you to everyone who prayed for us and for Harper. One day she will personally thank you!!

Father's Day

Our Father's Day was very low key. We spent the day just sitting in Harper's hospital room telling ourselves how lucky we are that she is here and she is healthy. Of course we held her and loved on her.

Harper is such a sweet little girl, she knew exactly what her daddy wanted... A Diaper Dude's diaper bag! Once we found out we were having a girl Michael immediately starting searching for HIS diaper bag, he needed his own (so he says!). So Harper got online and ordered it for him! Here is the one he picked out...

One Month Birthday

Harper Jane we can not believe you are 1 month old!

Here is what you've been up to:

-You are still currently staying in the most expensive hotel room you will ever stay in! :)

-You are completely breathing on your own and have been since you were 7 days old

-You weigh 4 pounds (double your birth weight!)

-You are 15 1/4 inches long

-You are eating 38mL (a little over 1 oz.) every 3 hours

-You are doing non-nutritive nursing (which means you are nursing just to get the hang of it)

-You are taking a bottle at your 2am feeding and the night of your 1 month birthday you took 30mL!

-You are showing signs of a little bit of reflux (which if that is all we walk away with from this experience, I consider that fantastic!)

-You are more awake in the evening then any other time of the day

-You have had at least 2 visitors (non-family) a day

-You are actually in Pampers Premie Swaddlers not in the Cuddle Buns the hospital provides

You have stolen the hearts of your daddy and I, our family, friends and the nurses!! We are so proud of you baby girl and are so anxious to see what the future holds for you!

Q & A

Several of you have asked some questions and I figured I would take some time and answer them.

Q: How are you feeling? How's your BP?

A: I am feeling fantastic!! Once I was released from the hospital and was home sleeping in my own bed and showering in my own shower I started to feel like a million bucks! I had a check up the week after I was discharged and my BP was 118/70. My doctor started to scale back my BP meds and she would check up on me at my 6 week check-up.

Q: How is Harper?

A: She is doing wonderful! We couldn't be more thrilled with her progress. She is gaining good weight (averages about 2 oz a day). Her nurses say she is the least High Maintenance baby in her hallway and she's the easiest! Which we like to hear!

Q: Have the given you a time frame of when she will come home?

A: No. She has to complete a check list of things before she can come home. We don't want them to give us time frame because if something happens and they have to retract their statement we would be devastated!

Q: Once she weighs 5 pounds she can come home right?

A: There is no weight requirement to being discharged. I asked her nurses about the 5 pounds question and they said that they aren't sure where people heard that but there is no weight requirement.

Q: So, what are the requirements for her to come home?

A: She has to complete 3 things (as far as we know).

1. She has to be completely breathing on her own. (she had this accomplished by her week birthday)

2. She has to be taking all of her feedings from a bottle and/or nursing. (We started nursing last friday and she has done wonderful. The most she has taken is 14 mL. She has taken the bottle twice, 10 and 12 mL at each feeding)

3. She has to past the car seat test. If you watch Grey's then you know what I'm talking about!

I hope I have answered everyone's questions. We don't have much to report, which in my world is fabulous! That means she is just growing and eating, which is what we like! :)