1 Month

I am a little behind on my updates of Harper, but I want to make sure I get things written down.  Not only do I want to look back and read this (and I know people in my family want to read it), but I want Harper to be able to look back at this years from now (especially since I am completely pathetic with any kind of baby book, journal, or scrapbook).

Harper,
You have brought so much joy into our home.  I never knew we had anything missing until you came into our lives.  I never knew I could love someone so quickly and fully in such a small amount of time.  I used to hear people say these types of things all the time, but it is something you don't ever fully understand until you have a child of your own.
You have your Daddy completely wrapped around your tiny finger.  He cannot get enough of you.  He loves to watch you no matter what you are doing.  He is so gentle and patient with you and always wants to keep you happy.  He is infatuated with every tiny bit of you.  I had to go back to work for a few days when you were just four weeks old.  I only had three and a half days before winter break and I knew you would be happy with Daddy.  One of the first days I was back at work, I called in the afternoon to see how everything was going.  Daddy had taken you out for the first time by himself.  You were going shopping with Daddy and Nana.  He told me he had put your little red Christmas dress on and made sure to put the matching red bow in your hair.  I never imagined Dad would care or even remember to put a bow in your hair, but he wanted to take extra special care of his little girl.
You are very attached to your Mommy, and I must say I truly love this about you.  You knew my voice the second the doctor put you in my arms at the hospital.  You get a little fussy at night sometimes when you are tired and I am often the only one you want to hold you.  The second you are in my arms you are instantly calmed.  I love to look into your big blue eyes and hold onto your long skinny fingers.
You have the cutest little feet Daddy and I have ever seen.  They are long and skinny, followed by the longest toes.  We are pretty sure you will be able to play the piano with those long toes.  You are such a long and lean little baby.  You have little chicken legs that haven't gained an ounce of chub since you were born.  You love to pucker your lips and keep them that way for several minutes.  Dad and I laugh hysterically at this face you make.  You are such a mover.  You are constantly moving your arms and legs.  When you were in my tummy, you were constantly kicking and punching.  The doctor would always comment on how active you were.  Now we know why... You are never holding still.  Even when you are sleeping you are often found with your hands up in the air or your arm over your face.  You sleep just like Dad.  When your hands aren't moving around, they are always tucked up by your face.  You love your hands and often have them in your mouth or folded neatly on your cheek.  You pose perfectly with your hands all day long until I get the camera out... Then I get nothing but flailing arms.
We often wonder if you will be an inquisitive little girl.  You often have a furrowed brow and look deep in thought.  You love to stare at things for long periods of time to take everything in, especially the dresses on your bumper pads that Gigi made you.  You stare at the bright colors of dresses for a long time before you drift off to sleep.
You look like both Mom and Dad, and it changes everyday.  We always wonder who you will look more like when you get older, what color your eyes will be, and what color your hair will be.  Your left ear is a crinkle ear (a trait from the Munson side of the family) and we always wonder whether or not it will uncrinkle.  We call you our little peanut and wonder everyday if it is possible to kiss your cheeks right off.
When we took you to the doctor for your one month appointment, your stats were:
Weight: 8 lbs 3 oz (17th percentile)
Height: 21.5 in (64th percentile)
Head Circumference: 37.5 cm (76th percentile)

The doctor did not like how little weight you have gained.  At your two week checkup, you weighed 7 lbs 8 oz.  In the first month, they like babies to gain an ounce a day, but you had only gained half an ounce a day.  The doctor was worried you weren't getting enough milk, but I knew you were much too happy for that to be the case.  You are just our skinny little baby who will grow and get some chub when she is ready.
You are the happiest little baby and we are so grateful you came to our family.  We love you little miss Harper!

Harper Joanna Hill

Harper Joanna Hill joined our family on November 19, 2012 at 3:27 am.  She was 7 lbs 8 oz and 21 and 1/4 inches long.  She is absolutely perfect and we could not be more in love.

On Sunday the 18th, I woke up having contractions around 4:00 am.  They were completely in my back so I wondered if they were real or not.  I tried to go back to sleep, but the contractions kept coming so I began timing them.  They were about 7 minutes apart and not super painful, but they were just annoying enough to keep me from sleeping.  I got out of bed and read for awhile, then I took a bath and painted my nails.  I didn't want to go to the hospital too early so I wasted time around the house while my contractions became more frequent.  At about 7, I woke up Justin and told him I thought we should go have a baby.  He was so tired and so confused... It took him a minute to put everything together, but when he did he jumped out of bed and asked if he had time to take a shower.  I assured him I was in no rush because I would not be the person who went to the hospital too early just to be sent home.  So he took a shower while I curled my hair and we slowly got ready for the hospital.  My mom had come into town a couple days before, so we told her we were in labor and would call her after we were admitted then we headed off to the hospital.

I timed my contractions the whole way to the hospital, which was about 30 minutes away, and they were coming every 3-4 minutes.  Justin kept trying to distract me through them by making me laugh.  When we got to the hospital, the nurse hooked me up to the monitor to track my contractions and the baby's heart rate.  I was dilated to a 3 and 90% effaced.  She then asked me about my pain scale.  I have never been in the hospital and I really don't like to complain, so I always downplay how I am feeling.  I found out after that you always tell the nurse your pain is much worse than it actually is.  When she asked me for a number, I told her I was at a 2.  Big mistake... She told me my pain was clearly not bad enough and I needed to be in more pain to be in labor.  After looking at the pain scale chart on the wall, I agreed that the number I gave was not as high as it should have been, but it was too late.  I was worried that if I changed my number now she would just accuse me of lying and wanting to stay.  So despite all of my efforts to not go to the hospital too early, I was sent home.  The nurse told me how far apart my contractions were really didn't matter, but it was really how bad my pain was that would tell me if I needed to come back.  I was so confused.  Why then did my doctor tell me to go to the hospital when my contractions were 5 minutes apart?  I left the hospital extremely disappointed.  I had no idea what I was feeling or what I should be waiting to feel.

Justin and I went to his parents' house since they live so close to the hospital.  We didn't want to go all the way home if we were just going to turn around and come back.  I tried to fall asleep, but my contractions kept coming and were starting to get more painful.  They were still bearable though, so I didn't think I was in enough pain to go back.  I definitely was not going to be the person who was sent home from the hospital twice.  We eventually went back home to wait.

When we got home, my mom and I went on a walk.  I was getting really tired from being up so early, so I tried to take a nap again.  Every time I started to get comfortable I would get a really painful contraction.  I didn't know what to do.  I felt like I was in enough pain, but the nurse made me doubt everything I had previously thought.  Justin and my mom kept telling me they thought I should go back to the hospital.  Justin's mom kept calling to check on me as well and told me the same thing, but I still didn't know what to do.  I finally called the on call nurse at my doctor's office and asked her what she thought.  She told me the nurse at the hospital should have never sent me home when I was dilated to a 3 and having so many contractions.  She told me to get back to the hospital right away.

At 5:30, we were finally back at the hospital.  With my luck, the same nurse came out to the waiting room to get me.  The first thing she said to me was, "I don't know... You're still smiling."  Was I supposed to come into the hospital crying?  Shouldn't it be a happy day?  I am about to meet my beautiful little girl!  After monitoring my contractions for another hour and convincing the nurse that my pain was now at a 7 or 8, she finally admitted me.  I was bummed when she told me I was only dilated to a 4 after being in labor all day long, but at least I would have my baby in just a little while.

She took me back to my delivery room and introduced me to my new nurses who would be with me through the rest of the delivery.  Before she left she told me not to smile so much or they wouldn't believe I was in enough pain to get an epidural.  She also told the new nurses, "This girl is a tough cookie and won't show you how much pain she is in."  Finally I felt understood!

About an hour after I got into the delivery room, I got my epidural.  After my epidural, I felt pure bliss.  Justin, my mom, and his mom kept looking at the monitor and saying how big my contractions were, but I was feeling nothing.  I visited with my mom, Justin's parents, and Aunt Jo, watched a movie, and finally got my much needed nap.  They put me on pitocin for about 45 minutes to get me from a 5 to a 9.  When I got to a 9 so quickly, they took me off of pitocin so they could get the baby turned from her sunny side up position and also so we could wait for my doctor to be able to deliver.  My doctor was not the on call doctor that night and she had a house full of family for Thanksgiving.  She wanted to come deliver my baby and thought it would be perfect to sneak away from her guests in the middle of the night.  But when I went from a 5 to a 9 so quickly, they had to slow me down so I was not ready to deliver too early for my doctor.  When my doctor got there, she looked so tired.  I felt so bad for waking her up at 3 in the morning.  When she sat down though, it was like she flipped a switch.  She had so much energy and was so motivating for me.  She is seriously the best doctor!  I am so glad she was able to be there and deliver my beautiful baby girl.

Justin and I are so in love with our beautiful little Harper.  We had lots of family and friends come to visit us in the hospital.  We are so grateful for all the love and support.  Harper is a very loved little girl. My family was able to come to town for Thanksgiving to see Harper and my mom was able to stay with us for 2 weeks.  It was so nice to have her help and to get to spend time with her.  We are very lucky to have so much support from our wonderful family.

Justin and I are excited to share our wonderful news!  We are expecting a baby girl on November 15th.  We are 19 weeks today and could not be more excited!

  

I Would Run to You

Nothing could better explain how I feel right now...

Christmas

Ok, so I know it is now February, which means Christmas was two months ago, but I couldn't let it go by without a quick post. We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We began the festivities with the Hill family with our annual party at Aunt Pam's. We ate a wonderful Christmas dinner, watched home videos, and enjoyed the reenactment of Christ's birth by the kids. It was a great time!

This year was my family's year for Christmas so we had been planning to go to Utah for the holiday. Justin wasn't supposed to get any time off around Christmas, but ended up getting a few days. We weighed our options, but in the end decided it wasn't a long enough time off work to justify going to Utah. We were really bummed, but we decided we would just have our own little Christmas at our house. After talking to my family, they decided since we couldn't come to them, they would come to us. We were so excited! My dad had come to visit us before, but the rest of my family hadn't. I was so excited for them to see where we live and be with us for Christmas. We had so much fun while they were here. We had dinner with friends, did lots of shopping, went to see the temple lights, had my niece Avery's first birthday party, and of course celebrated Christmas! We miss them a lot so it was hard to let them leave, but we are so grateful they made the trip to see us.

Spontaneity

Spontaneity is a quality I have always wished I could be described as. However, I have never done anything too spontaneous to support that. Although it may not be extremely spontaneous to everyone, for Justin and I we exhibited great spontaneity a few weeks ago. After years of pleading, I finally convinced Justin that Disneyland is not just a place for kids. I grew up going to Disneyland at least once a year if not more. We were those people who had annual passes and knew exactly how to do Disneyland the very best. Justin was completely opposite of me and spent his family vacations relaxing on the beach or skiing down the mountains. Justin had only been to Disneyland twice in his life and really did not understand the fascination everyone had with it. One day, out of the blue, he looked at me and said, "I think we should go to Disneyland." You can only imagine the shock that came over me. My husband asking me to go to Disneyland??? We considered our options. We knew the best times to go were either September or October. We decided we could wait till next year or try to find a weekend within the next month that would work for us. We had company coming into town a week and a half later and we didn't want to go the weekend before Halloween. Our only option was the fast approaching coming weekend. We thought about it for a day or so and decided why not? We have no kids, no weekend obligations, and no regrets. We booked our hotel room at ten on Thursday night and left for Disneyland after work on Friday. Since we had limited time, we decided to do one full day at Disneyland, stay one more night, then come home. I don't think Justin understood the meaning of a FULL day at Disneyland that I referred to. We got to the park at 7:45 a.m. so we could be on Main Street when the gates opened and we didn't leave the park until 1:00 a.m. We strategically planned every ride with fast passes and short wait times. We did not sit down to eat or rest for more than 45 minutes the whole day. It was a very full day and we were exhausted... And our crazy hotel neighbors banging on our door at three in the morning did not help the exhaustion (I was sure in my dreamy daze they were going to break down our door and murder us, but I continued to lay in bed unfazed letting my exhaustion take over). It took us three days to recover from our "vacation", but it was well worth it. I have completely converted Justin... He is already asking when we can go back. It is a vacation we will never forget. And it helped me get a little closer to being a spontaneous soul.

Please ignore my disgusting hair in this picture... It was the only one we took in front of the castle and we didn't realize how bad it was until it was dark out.

In front of Minnie's house

In front of Mickey's house

Small World

Justin thought this was the best poster he had ever seen!

Last ride of the night... My very favorite!

Haunted Mansion

Just to prove that Carol really was the last car in the parking lot.