Just have to say

A big huge THANK YOU to a few people. Don't worry - I'm not shortcutting anything. Thank you notes have or are soon going out, but we've so appreciated a few things, I wanted to acknowledge them here.

Wendy and fam sent us the hugest, most beautiful bouquet of flowers in the hospital. My favorites - lilies. They smelled SO fantastic, you could smell them 2 hallways away! They brought me so much joy even after we got home. I loved opening the door and having their aroma be the first thing I notice.

Karyn and Michele brought us the cutest arrangement of flowers in the sweetest little wicker tricycle. They were so bright and cheery in the room, I loved having them to look at.

Ian and Tara and fam got us our stroller!!!!! This is unbelievable to us, because we had chosen a very specific stroller that we knew would last us through this baby, and onto the next - both at the same time!! It's got an optional seat you can attach and you can cart around 2 small ones... My sister has the same stroller and LOVES it, and it was the only one that allowed for 2 at the same time, and the one we liked the best when we tested them out. Since we plan on having another one in the not-so-distant future, this stroller was ideal. Just not very friendly on the wallet. We were saving up since it was our last big purchase we needed to make (other than a new camera..... but ugh.... ) for the baby. And lo and behold! Ian and Tara wanted to get it for us!!!! Such a huge blessing!

Grandma Jane paid for our carseat. As you know, Harper arrived early and caught us totally off-guard, forcing us to run around like crazy getting all the necessities. We had one carseat picked out and had planned on going to get it the weekend she actually ended up arriving. Well, we now needed a carseat that would be safety tested for a small little peanut like our 5 pound little Dot. Jon found the Chicco Keyfit that started at 4 lbs - perfect!! But of course this meant it was a little more expensive than the one we had already chosen. Being forced to buy all the big-ticket items at the same time (hello breast pump, and all the nursery necessities!!!), it was a huge help for her to pitch in and get Harper very safe and Iggy-matching carseat. :) Thanks, Grandma!!!

We had a few special friends bring us dinner a couple of nights. I felt very strange allowing them to help us out like this since I felt like we were perfectly capable of cooking dinner for ourselves. However, it did end up being VERY nice not to have to think about what to make those nights. So a big huge THANK YOU to the Kutz family, the Parker family, the Kyer family and the Kemper family. We so appreciated the yummy dinners!!!

I mentioned Grandma Jane above, but there really is so much to thank Grandma and Grandpa for. They took care of our pups and spoiled them rotten - which they needed because we felt like we were neglecting them so badly. They had a total open-door policy for Jon to come and shower or catch a few z's while I was still in the hospital, and then for both of us once I was discharged. They literally live right behind the hospital, which made it very convenient for us to go over and relax for a while in between feedings and crazy errand-running. They provided us lots of meals (as they usually do) which was so fantastic, especially for Jon while he was camping out with me in the hospital and trying to finish his papers and things - eating wasn't exactly at the top of his list. I could literally go on and on... They were lifesavers.

I haven't taken a picture of our actual stroller yet, but here's a pic from the website. This is what it looks like with the second seat attached (the bottom seat). The regular top seat fully reclines so it's great for a newborn. Oh, and ours is red. :)

I posted another picture like this, but here's her carseat. Perfect for a tiny tot!!!!

Harper LOVES Dr. Pepper

We took a road trip to Dublin, Texas yesterday. The main purpose was to visit Nanny's grave. I'd never been there, and Jon had really been wanting to take me, so we made the most of our last Saturday together before he goes back to work. It was great to finally go there and Jon got to introduce his two girls to his Nanny. Nanny was Jon's grandmother who lived with Jon's parents from the time he was born to the time she passed 3 years ago when she was 98 years old. She was very special to their whole family and I never had the opportunity to meet her.

The road trip went really well. It took about 2 1/2 hours and Harper did really well there and back!! Such a good baby. It was a really beautiful drive and we both thoroughly enjoyed the scenery. Driving through a ton of small towns and seeing the wide landscapes Texas provides.

For those who don't know - Dublin, Texas (aka Dr. Pepper, Texas) is famous for its Dr. Pepper. It's also the city that Jane (Harper's Grandma) grew up and went to high school in. As I was informed by Jon on the way down there, Dublin is the only place that still makes the original recipe for Dr. Pepper, using Pure Cane Sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup. Dublin Dr. Pepper can be hard to find and it's a treasured treat for many Texans who love it. If you're really interested, you can read the whole history here. Dublin is a teeny, tiny town but it's got its one thing - the Dr. Pepper plant. We took some pictures to celebrate the event.

Just a few cute ones

Here's the crown Mimi gave to Harper. It doesn't actually stay on her head, so we had to pretend while she was laying down. She didn't care for the flash too much so forgive the expression.

Her arms just ended up in this position when Jon buckled her in.

Random Videos

I decided to take some video of her today. It's not very exciting, but it's about as exciting as we get in the life of a 3-week old!

Here is Harper being burped. She makes me laugh with her skinny arms stretching out and the faces she makes.

Here's Harper waking up. Again, not too exciting, but she cracks me up with her stretches and she makes the same faces her dad makes.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!!!

Yesterday was Grandpa's birthday! We paid a visit for lunch after church to celebrate. Grandpa also held Harper for the first time. I finally remembered the camera - enjoy the pics!

A few days earlier on Friday, I also caught some snapshots of Grandma holding Harper.

Outings

We've taken Harper on a few outings lately. It was great to get out of the house, and even better to visit some dear friends.

We've obviously been to Grandma and Grandpa's house a few times. And on Saturday we went to Jon's work Appreciation Picnic. Great to see some of his coworkers and their families (Hey Jenny!). Sunday we took her to church for the first time. What an adventure getting out of the house in the morning with a newborn!!! We arrived super late, but she was an angel and we still got to hear all of the message. We also got to see some of our friends from church which was great.

So far we're not really supposed to too many people hold her since she was so early. But hopefully we'll be getting out more often soon!!!

BIG girl!!!

We just got back from the Pediatrician and she weighs 5lbs, 6oz!!!

She gained a whole 6 ounces since Sunday!!! Such a big girl!!!

The Dr. was really happy with how everything is progressing and how she looks, so it was a great checkup!

First few days at home

We've been home 2 nights with Harper and everything is going great! Jon and I have been trading off feedings, which includes night feedings, so that we each can sleep a good stretch. It's working out really well so far!

We visited Grandma and Grandpa yesterday as our first official outing. She slept most of the time, so it wasn't very exciting. But Grandma got to hold her - and of course I left the video card in the computer!!! aaarrggghh!!! Well, I have a feeling there will be lots more opportunities to take pictures of that! :)

The dogs also got to meet Harper for the first time. Jon and I are fans of the Dog Whisperer and are using some of his techniques with the baby. She's the boss, and they're not allowed to go near her or be in her room. They can sniff from afar, but they're not allowed to get too comfortable or think that she's their pal. Not yet at least. It's not that we don't trust them - they're great boys. But they need to know their boundaries and know that there are new rules and limits. This is meant to lead to a high level of respect for her and that they're not allowed to crowd her when she has food, jump on her, etc... So far, so good!!

We brought them home and while I think they were soo happy to be home, they could tell immediately things were different. Sarge spent ALL afternoon/evening out in the backyard, smelling all his favorite things, laying on his grass, and keeping his distance in general. Wylee was very curious about the little squeaky thing but was pretty happy to just stay in his bed. I think he's happy to be home, but realizing that he doesn't get nearly as spoiled here as he does over there -- especially not now! An adjustment for us all...

Tomorrow is our first appointment with the pediatrician for our 2-week checkup. We also go to our 2-week Newborn Screen test on Friday.

OH!! And Mimi booked her flight!!! She's coming to visit us in May and we are so excited. She told Harper to wear her crown when we go pick her up. I need to take a picture of her in it so everyone can see.

Thanks Grandma!!!

Grandma bought Harper a couple of preemie outfits and they fit really well!!! Here's Harper in her nightie. Too cute!!! I had to take the pictures by myself since Daddy was in the shower, so they're not very good. She doesn't like the flash, so the second one caught her by surprise, though she has her arms up like that all the time. And she just lost her belly button today so we can start wearing onesies. I'll take more pictures in the cute, cute outfits.

Harper's Home

These pictures say it all...

Saturday - Day 9 in the NICU

Harper is doing really great. In fact, we're just waiting for one final hurdle then hopefully she'll get to come home! She just needs to keep her temperature up above 97.5 (or more would be even better) for 24 hours. So far today she's doing great, and the nurses just had me remove a layer of clothes off of her to see how she does. Today we brought in footie pajamas and she's been wrapped in 2 blankets and had 2 hats on. We took off one hat and one blanket, so I'll call in about an hour to see how she's doing. I fed her at her 8 o'clock feeding and she ate her entire bottle of 60 cc's, which should help keep her warm.

She passed her hearing screen and her carseat test with flying colors. With babies born prior to 36 weeks, the NICU requires them to sit in a carseat for 1 hour and test their oxygen and heartrate levels. She also had her hepatitis shot. All of these things are the final things they do to release them. This is why all we're waiting for is her temperature to stay at a good level.

She's eating like a champ and nursing really well. I still am mostly letting her bottle feed so that she gets the extra calories with the supplement they're adding to the breastmilk, and we might have to continue to alternate with both once she gets home just to make sure she really gains weight.

Here are some pics from the past few days. Her little scratch on her face is finally almost gone. The tape from the feeding tube actually peeled a little bit of her skin off, but it's looking so much better. Her belly button is also starting to heal and getting ready to fall off. Tonight when I fed her, she was so wide awake for a long time afterwards. Such a sweet girl, we just looked at each other. I'm not sure how much she can see yet, but she was really studying everything and checking me out pretty good. Such a joy, we can't wait to bring her home.

All the updates

So sorry for the past two days and the lack in updates. Ever since I was discharged it's been go go GO running around here and there and EVERYWHERE getting things ready for Harper's arrival home. We had to get the things to finish her nursery and also a car seat! But since she's so small we had to research and find one that would fit her little body that the hospital would approve of. It's been maddening trying to go around to get everything, but it's so worth it. The exhausting part has been trying to squeeze it all in between Harper's feedings at the hospital. We go to every one that we can and we hate to miss them since we get to interact with her so much during them.

OKAY - here's the updates:

The doctor was originally hoping Harper would come home with us on Friday, but now it looks like it will be Saturday at the earliest. At the moment she's having trouble maintaining her body temperature at an acceptable level. She also had to go back on oxygen to give her a little boost last night, but she came off of it fairly quickly and has done great all day. We were disappointed that she wasn't coming home tomorrow (Friday) after getting our hopes up, but we really don't want her to come home too early - we want her to be completely ready to go. They've started adding supplements to the bottled breastmilk to add a few extra calories for her to help fatten her up a little.

She took her first bottle yesterday (Wednesday)! And she did GREAT! As with all babies, the sucking, swallowing, and breathing part can be kind of tricky, but is especially concerning with preemies. She did a really fantastic job and is now doing so well that she can take a bottle and is not restricted to how much she can eat. The most we've seen her take in one sitting is about 45 cc's which is fantastic. She takes a bottle every 3 hours.

After the session with the bottle, we also tried breastfeeding! It's a bit of a slower process than the bottle was. She has to learn how to do it since it's definitely trickier, and preemies tend to take a little longer with it. But I'm patient and completely willing to let her learn without letting it stress me out. We did have a really great session tonight which was super encouraging. I think she's really getting the hang of it and I'm so proud of her.

Jon asked the Dr. today about her heart murmur and it wasn't detected which could mean that she's already growing out of it - Praise the Lord! We'll keep you posted on that.

In part of the running around we've done, we got her some preemie clothes. I put her first tee-shirt on her today and it's still too big! Oh well, we know she'll grow into them soon. We're still trying to figure out where she keeps those 5 pounds!!

Harper does have VERY big feet, so we think maybe that contributes. Jon and I are a bit partial, but we think she's terribly cute. As my Dr. said "she definitely favors Daddy, doesn't she?", I'd have to agree but I'm still convinced she could have my nose. Watch out - I just might pull out my baby pics to prove my point! If not, then I can still predict that she'll have green eyes. She's identical to Daddy, don't I get something???

I've been asked a lot about what people can be praying for specifically, so I'll list a few things here:

For Harper's continued growth and strength. In the NICU, there's so many different stages of growth in babies. There are some that are there long-term because they were born so early, and those that are there just a few hours while they get their bearing. We've seen several go home already, and while it's discouraging, we are so happy for those families. We just selfishly want that for ourselves. Tonight we overheard a couple who were excited to possibly be bringing their baby home this weekend. I got kind of sad (jealous), until I heard a little of their story - their baby girl has been in the NICU since January and was less than 2 pounds. She's now over 6 pounds and doing great and they FINALLY get to take her home. They live way far away from the hospital, so it's hard to even get there nightly to see her. It's situations like that where I just feel SO thankful and it kind of puts things into perspective. Anyway - that tangent came outta nowhere, but there ya go. Pray for strength and progress for Harper. We want to take her home!

For Jon. He's in the middle of a 5-week course which is a really heavy workload. He's been a trooper and managed to be in charge of a group paper last weekend even after Harper was born. They got an A on it, no doubt due to his great work on keeping everyone together. The last 2 weeks of the class are the most intense, and he's got another paper due on Sunday that he hasn't even started. With all that's going on, I don't know how he's managing, but prayer for his sanity and clarity to do a good paper would be awesome. He's also been my chauffer since I'm not allowed to drive, and just been there for every little thing I've needed. I couldn't ask for anyone better to have by my side right now.

For me. I can tell I've really overdone it the last 2 days. My incision seems to be healing well, but still not being fully recovered is taking its toll. When I was discharged on Tuesday my feet were almost back to normal. In the last two days, they've gotten back to looking like when I was pregnant - huge and swollen. I'm obviously exhausted from the running around, physically and mentally, but also pumping, breastfeeding, and trying to get well is all wearing me out. I know, I know, it's all preparation for when she's here... I've heard all of that before. I just need some good rest to let myself get well. And if you know me, you probably know that rest is hard for me.

For everyone in our family, near and far. Don and Jane have been so gracious to leave their door open for us to come and go as we please and get meals when we need them. It's been a lifesaver and we so appreciate it. My family is so far, it's been hard to make sure everyone is kept updated on all the latest info, and I know they wish they could all be here. This has been tough on us all, even those who are distant.

THANK YOU so much for everyone's phone calls, text messages, emails and especially PRAYERS. Hopefully we won't have to do too much more running around all the time so we can be better responders.

Here are the latest pics!!! Enjoy!

Big Steps Today

Harper got off the cpap today!!!! This is great progress and it also means we can now see her face! She's just got the little nasal cannula tubes, and it's so wonderful to see her beautiful sweet face all the time now.




We walked in this morning when they were transitioning her to the nasal tubes and the nurses were really pulling for her to succeed. Jon and I stayed back while they tried to calm her down, but they didn't want her to go too long, so they told me to sit down and they handed her to me. The pictures below are of her when she first got off the machines and I was soothing her. We were thrilled to know that she "passed her test" and she is now one step closer to coming home!!

She's up to 23 cc's per feeding every 3 hours. Her weight tonight was just at 5 lbs. Her weight before was a little deceiving because it included all of the equipment she was strapped up to. Sooo.. hopefully now we'll get more true measurements of her weight.



We're hoping tomorrow they will allow her to start to bottlefeed, and that they'll be able to reduce her oxygen level. They've also let us know that she might have to have phototherapy because she's starting to look jaundiced - not surprising for a lot of babies to have this.

I was discharged today - kind of a bittersweet experience. Great to get out of there and was really looking forward to go home. But terribly sad to leave without Harper. We can't wait until the day she can come with us!!!!





Here's the pics from today:

Holding Harper

Jon got to hold Harper for the first time today. I got the opportunity to hold her last night unexpectedly. I had actually turned the nurse down initially because Jon was at home working hard on his paper for class. I didn't want him to miss it, but the nurse looked at me and said "c'mon... don't miss this!" So Harper and I had a blast. Well, I had a blast. She just enjoyed being held by her mommy while she snoozed away.

Today we finally got "touch times". Times that Harper's nurse has given us when we can go in and help change her diaper, be there when she's awake, and sometimes even hold her. We got to both hold her today, and I took about a billion pictures of Jon holding her for the first time. She was WIDE awake and we got some good pictures of her with her eyes open. We just went back this evening hoping to get a glimpse of her sweet face while they changed the mask, but the nurse was ahead of us and we just missed it. But she was wide awake again, so we enjoyed seeing her and talking to her. She turns her head towards us when we each talk, which makes us beam with pride.

Update for today: She's much less fussy when they move her, change her mask, etc... And tonight the nurse said she's hoping the doctor will allow her to go on just the nasal cannula, which would mean she wouldn't have all that ugly equipment all over her head. We're really hoping they try again and that Harper doesn't get too tired this time around.

She down an ounce from her birth weight to 5.1 but losing weight is normal for any newborn and she's eating a bunch. They increased her feedings slightly again today, so they're definitely trying to fatten her up! We're thrilled though.

I'm being discharged tomorrow, so it will be a big adjustment to not be right down the hall from her anymore. I think I will be spending a lot of time at Jon's parent's house in between her "touch times" and things in order to stay nearby.

We are SO THANKFUL for all of the prayers and well wishes. They truly mean so much. And please keep them coming! Everyone is encouraged by the strides she's making and we know so much is due to the Lord being gracious in making our daughter strong. Thank you to everyone who is being so faithful to remember our family in your prayers. It truly means the world to us.

Daddy Changed His First Diaper! (and more updates)

I'm about to go visit Harper again in just a minute, but I wanted to post a quick update. I know a lot of people are checking the blog to see what the latest information is. Sorry it's taken me so long today. It's been a busier day than anticipated, but it's all good stuff.

Today Harper is doing really well and showing signs of improvement. Let me clarify one thing that I myself didn't entirely understand. Harper was never on a ventilator nor has she been dependant on a machine to do her breathing for her. She's always been breathing on her own and has always been in an open-air crib in the NICU. She just needs some extra oxygen at certain times because her vitals tend to dip when she gets stressed or upset.

TODAY, however - Jon and I went and visited her this morning to drop off some breastmilk and she was a very unhappy baby. The nurse was about to change her IV so we couldn't stay. We waited in the waiting room feeling very discouraged that she didn't seem to be starting off her day so well. But they called us right back in as soon as they inserted her new IV and had us very involved in all the other things they needed to do. Both Jon and I got to help as they took out her old IV in her head - it was getting a little red, and they said that tends to happen, so they moved it to her hand. Jon and I comforted her while they removed the tape and things from her head, and remarkably she stayed pretty calm the whole time. Then the nurse asked me if I would like to change her diaper, so of course I got over to that side as quick as my stiff and tired body would allow, and she let me change her!! And Harper was calm and quiet!!! I never thought I'd be so happy to change a poopy diaper in my life! And I was really surprised at how comfortable I felt handling her even with her being hooked up to various things. She did great!!! Once her diaper was on, the nurse had us help her with putting the oxygen mask back on and getting her settled back in. Needless to say it was a great ending to the visit and the nurse commented on how Harper had NEVER been that calm ever when they had handled her. Jon and I walked away feeling SO BLESSED that our little girl was so content to have us there.

We came back for a little rest in the room, and Jon really wanted to get me outside to see the beautiful day and get some fresh air, which was WONDERFUL!! He got a great workout pushing me around! It was a nice little break that was definitely appreciated.

We went right back up to see Harper after that and she had just been moved around again since they were changing her mask and things. We were prepared for her to be a bit upset since this is the stuff she hates most. They did a foot prick, changed her mask, and then it was time for another diaper change which I couldn't wait to see Jon do. He of course gladly jumped in to try, and as you'll see by the pictures, he did a FANTASTIC job. It was his very first diaper change and it was on his little girl. He too didn't hesitate at all even though she was hooked up to the machines. I was so proud of him and he looked like a pro. And she stayed very quiet the whole time again!

We were fortunate to be in the NICU this morning and watched the Doctor do his assessment on her, which he talked to us all through and helped us understand things a bit more. They have detected a heart murmur, which he said is not uncommon at all in preemies, but they do not want to medicate her as they really want to try to see if she works it out on her own. Most tend to do great and simply outgrow murmurs, so they're anticipating that's what will happen with Harper. Also, they still haven't given her the lung medicine to help her breathe easier on her own since they're also hoping she will start to improve and produce it herself. Really, the only times she needs extra help is when she gets upset and it seems now that those episodes are becoming fewer and farther between, which is fantastic news. Harper is still not an any medication at all - Praise God! She is on an enriched IV fluid that has extra vitamins for her, but that is being decreased as her feedings are being increased. Today she was bumped up from 6 ml every 3 hours to 12 ml every 3 hours, which I'm thrilled about. She is being fed through a feeding tube, but as you can see in some of the pictures, they pour the breastmilk into an open-air syringe that's hung up by some tape, and they simply let gravity push it into her stomach. Occasionally some comes back up, but eventually she works it all down there. And she sucks the pacifier all the time, so they don't think she'll have a problem feeding when I actually get to nurse her, which makes me feel very relieved.


**NEXT PARAGRAPH - TMI ALERT**

Overall, we are very encouraged by today in so many ways. I won't go into too many details as I fear it is Too Much Information for some of you out there, but I have become the talk of the nursing staff AND NICU staff since the volume of breastmilk I've been able to pump has far exceeded the norm that they get from new moms. I really feel like it is just one of the ways God has blessed us since we truly feel so helpless to do anything for her - but that this nourishment seems like the simplest thing to provide, yet so many struggle to do so. And my milk hasn't even truly come in yet, so still all I'm pumping is Colostrum. We are truly thankful (and amazed) at how easy that's been for us. The lactation staff here has already talked to me about possibly signing up to be a donor for those babies who could really use breastmilk but don't have it and since this hospital just became a drop-off site, I'm really excited about looking into it.

**TMI ALERT OVER**

Here are the latest pics from today. They might seem a little disturbing because of all the equipment she's hooked up to. Her eyes are also a little puffy from the IV fluid, as are her knees. We did get one GREAT picture of her today without anything on her face, but I have to wait for Jon to send it from his phone since we didn't have our camera. Yes, we will plan on bringing our camera to every visit from now on. We've learned our lesson!!

Enjoy these, and please do not be alarmed. She truly is doing great. If nothing else, enjoy the smile on Jon's face and know that we are so encouraged and thrilled by our little girl. And definitely notice the level of concentration he's got while changing the diaper!!! I love it!

More pics and the latest info

She's currently being fed 6 cc's of breastmilk every 3 hours!!! So I'm pumping every 3 hours just to keep up with her. So far, so good.

She's also had her first poop!! Hey, it's the small things, k?? So she's making strides. Jon and I of course wish she'd be ready to take home TODAY, but they're letting her work through things as she needs to and they're not discouraged with the progress she's making. We're just feeling so helpless and wish things were more spelled out for us. But she's really doing great and we know that in a day or two, she's going to be even stronger and making even more progress.

The last time we visited her was about 2 hours ago and she was pretty restless. It was upsetting for both Jon and I. Not knowing what to do to calm her down or make things better. I told him I hate that a NICU nurse knows my baby better than I do right now... But I'm glad she does. They're all very kind and caring and take really good care of the babies in that room.


These pics aren't the greatest, but we were trying not to use flash so we didn't disturb her. She's definitely got Jon's mouth!! And he says she has my ears. The nose is still up for debate....

Harper's Here!

Well, for those of you who have not heard, Harper decided to make an early entrance into this world! Here are her stats:
Born April 4, 2008 at 2:16pm
She weighed 5 pounds, 2 ounces and was 17 1/2 inches long.

She's a petite little girl obviously but is doing pretty well. At this point she's back and forth off the nasal cannula and the cpap. The cpap lets her do less work, and she gets pretty tired breathing entirely on her own on the nasal cannula. But they'll keep trying to get her to stay on the cannula to see how she does. She's currently being fed through an IV, but the doctor put in orders to try feeding her 3 cc's of breast milk that I've been providing every three hours starting right now, so please pray that she processes everything well and that we can continue to do that.

She's doing great for a baby being born 5 weeks early, but they won't give us any timelines yet as to when we might be able to hold her, feed her, or better yet - take her home! We're just taking it day by day, hour by hour and it feels good knowing that she's in such great care.

A quick version of how it happened yesterday. We were scheduled for our weekly sonogram to check on the level of amniotic fluid. As I wrote in a couple of my previous posts, the doctor was concerned about her fluid levels so he wanted to make sure I was closely monitored to see if they stayed the same. Well, last Wednesday (when it was first measured) the fluid was measuring 10 centimeters. Two days later at my next appointment, it was measuring 11 centimeters. Yesterday when the doctor had me on the machine, he couldn't find a good measurable amount of fluid ANYWHERE, and it was determined that I had approximately 1.3 centimeters - way too low to let her stay in there.

So he broke the news that I'd be delivering her that day - no time wasted. And a c-section was our only option because of the limited amount of time. So while it wasn't exactly a scene out of a movie where they're wheeling me immediately into the OR, it was pretty quick and happened within 5 hours or so.

Jon and I were both obviously in complete shock, but we knew we were in good hands and wanted what was best for Harper. The surgery went well and she cried right away. She had a little trouble continuing to cry, but they let me see her for a sec before she went to the NICU, where she's been in great hands ever since.

Jon sees her a lot more than I do at this point since he's much more mobile than I am. He's faithful to deliver the little vials of breastmilk to the staff immediately, and then spend some time with her. We're so both in love and think she's so beautiful - obviously! This morning was the first time I got to really see her face since she got off the cpap and the big mask is gone. We took a few pics to show everyone!

I'm feeling pretty good and am just trying to keep moving so I don't stiffen up or get too sore.

That's what we know right at this moment! We're both pretty tired but getting as much rest as we can. Since she can't leave the NICU, we're just keeping ourselves busy in the room sleeping and thinking of things we still need to do at home. Needless to say we were caught pretty off guard and there are a few things we still need since we thought we had 5 weeks left! Carseat is our #1 priority. The dogs are over at Don and Jane's house, being spoiled I'm sure.

I'll check in again soon! Thank you for all your prayers thus far and continued prayers. They are definitely cherished for our little girl.

-Jon and Holly

So much to update!!!

But right now I'm only going to list 3 things...

1. Last night was Jon's last time working nights!!!! With his promotion also comes a shift change, so he'll now be working Sat-Tues days. We are SO THANKFUL and feel so blessed that everything has come together so well.

2. I felt hiccups for the first time on Monday. I was so excited for some reason. I've been waiting and waiting and have yet to feel them again.

3. The shower was this weekend. I don't have time to post about it now, but here's a picture story as to what happened Friday night...