Here We Go Again

I am pragmatic by nature but also a bit of a dreamer.  At 35, I am still shocked when something that I only envisioned as a possibility becomes reality.  Unless that 99.9% accuracy claim is a sham, I am pregnant with our second bambino.  Blogging was a great outlet last time and it will also prove as documentation that I am a really good whiner and fall squarely in the generation of over-worried, over-researched, and overly consumed with the fact that I am doing something that millions have successfully navigated before me.  For the past few weeks I have felt short of breath as in having to take a break at the top of our meager flight of stairs and having to pull in extra breaths when trying to read or sing to Harper.  Given my decent set of lungs and endurance, this could only have meant one thing.  We are 4.5 weeks into this journey. Already, I am humbled by the fact that child #1 will not be making any concessions for child #2 and sleep with a toddler in the house will be tough to come by.  I am also humbled by the fact that I now need to finish my dissertation a couple months ahead of schedule.  A baby is good motivation, I lost a significant amount of brain cells with the first one and there is no telling what my intelligence will be like come the fall.  Already, I am having to describe items by their uses e.g. "that thing you use to scoop."
All of this to say, we are extremely excited that Harper will have a sibling. If her bossing around of the dog is any indication, she is made for the big sister role.  Kevin has the parenting job down so between the two of them, this second child stands a chance.  He or She will be gracing us with their presence mid to late October and although it's early, I must guiltily admit that once again, I seem to be avoiding nauseau and feeling good overall.  I best go knock on some wood.  More to come....

The First 6 Months

More pics of Harper 6 months (taken by our dear friends and photographers: Nate and Kodi Campbell http://www.nkcphotos.com/. To view the gallery: http://www.nkcphoto.com/Clients/2011/Harper-at-6-months/20399178_pzzmhg#1614236609_WTQ2Drs (password "Collins")

Pics (unedited) of our fall trip to NYC, Budapest, Prague, and DC: http://gallery.me.com/kevinhumphreys#100031

So..... Having a baby keeps you a whole lot busier than we ever dreamed. Hence, the very delayed update to firstsforus. Certainly there have been many firsts to celebrate and laugh about as Harper Ann Humphreys entered our lives. For starters, there was the night where an exhausted Mommy and Daddy returned home and left Emma the dog locked up in her crate all night long. For Emma, this injustice was small compared to the many times we have forgotten to feed or give her water in the midst of taking care of our little human's needs. Thankfully, Emma is one gracious dog and is just looking forward to when Harper starts dropping some serious eats/treats from the high chair. Then, there was the time that Mommy and Daddy made it out to the grocery store with baby, managed to get all the groceries and baby securely in the car and promptly drove away without the diaper bag. This might seem forgiveable except that the diaper bag was on the ground behind the wheel of the car and was run over, by us, twice. Thankfully some kind stranger turned the bag in, we finally traced it's origin 3 days later and the tire marks all came out nicely.

Of course, all the best firsts have been those precious moments where Harper shows us the many sides to her personality and the precociuos little being she will grow to be. Her first smiles, giggles, toots (first of many), the times she "surprises" us while in the midst of a diaper change, all of the first trips, the babbling, the "I'm mad at you" looks. It's been a true blast and we're thoroughly enjoying this journey.

As the year 2012 peeks around the corner, we cannot believe all that was experienced in 2011: marriage, birth, visitors, school, work, travels, and more. Here's to a wonderful and no less exciting 2012!

Enjoying Every Moment

Harper is two weeks old today which means we are officially behind on posting a whole lot of firsts. To be truthful, I don't know where to begin but I do not want to delay further as I hope this blog will someday serve as a fun read for Harper and a glimpse into what was going on in her parent's heads while she was in utero and now out in the world. I suppose I should start with the birth story: Harper sure kept us on a toes for a few weeks as she was set to make an entrance on May 4th and instead introduced herself via C-section a full two weeks later. The reasons for the drama ranged from low platelets in Mama to the predictions for a very large baby to the pesky umbilical cord but the bottom line is that Harper patiently waited for the cervix to open and it just didn't happen. The C-section was a scary moment for me but that mostly had to do with an intense fear of being cut, pricked, etc. There were parts of it that were as bad as I imagined and there were parts that were surprisingly easy and at this point, I am healing up nicely. I was so thankful to have Kevin right by my side through the procedure and then with Harper from the moment she was born. My Mom was our other crutch and she was infinitely helpful with everything from getting Harper to latch on for feedings to getting me clothes to fit my no longer pregnant yet not quite not pregnant body and even staying a night in the hospital with us.

The first few days of parenthood are a blur but they include many of the classics such as being peed and puked on, leaving the house without a diaper bag, taking 40 minutes to leave the house period, forgetting to feed the dog, looking and acting like zombies, etc.

On the other hand, Harper is pure joy to look at, be around, smell, etc. She surprised us by having a full head of dark hair which is growing quickly and slowly turning more brown. She has her Father's thoughtful eyes and carries on a constant little chirp when she sleeps (not great for Mama's shut-eye as every little noise makes me want to check on her). She loves to be swaddled but also loves a good stretch and had her first venture out in a baby carrier today. She's a good sleeper (knock on wood) and ranks even higher in the appetite department. She hit her birth weight again yesterday and has strong little limbs, I sense an athlete in the making ;-)

We have taken enough pictures to last a lifetime already but we look forward to continuing to document and share our adventures. We have a summer full of friends and family along with time to bond as our own little threesome and we are trying to be mindful of the mantra that everyone shares, "Enjoy every moment, they grow up so fast."

Waiting on a Woman

Ah, patience... never my best virtue but one I have been working on for years and one that I was prepared to embrace as I waited upon the unpredictable act of childbirth. This did not stop me from doing a bit of planning in the form of last day of work, grandparent's arrivals from Oregon, last minute baby supplies, etc. Then as Murphy's Law would have it, a week before our due date, we hit the perfect storm of a very large baby girl (per the ultrasound), a very low amount of amniotic fluid, and a low platelet count for Mama. With these things in mind, our doctor scrambled to get us into the hospital for an induction and we complied. As of last Wednesday evening, they had a bed for us and after a lively night in the hospital, on Thursday, May 5th we were told in a most definitive manner, "Your daughter will arrive today."

Here it is Wednesday, a full week later and the house is silent with nary a baby coo or grunt or whine. Super-Grandma (Mom/Grandma Sparrow) managed to do some last minute flight re-arranging and has been here almost a full week and Dad/Grandpa Sparrow arrives today. If Harper was looking for an audience, she's got it now and if my contractions keep up at this rate and pain level and yet do not result in a widened cervix I will truly be surprised.

Because of the improvements in all areas (who would have known that a little relaxation could bring that amniotic fluid right up) we have been in a holding pattern of fetal monitoring and measurements. We have appts tomorrow (Thursday) and next Tuesday but something tells us she will arrive before then. The doctors have indicated that they do not want us to go past the middle of next week but we have heard "definitive" announcements such as this before and we aren't believing anything until it happens.

In the meantime, we are being well fed (thanks Mom/Grandma) and well cared for ("Cranky" aka Dad/Grandpa Humphreys has been putting extra long hours in with Kevin at work to prepare for baby go-time) and look forward to the relaxing and positive presence of Dad/Grandpa Sparrow as he arrives to enjoy the Sunshine. If nothing else, we now have a interesting "birth story" to share with our little unpredictable one and we are truly, truly ready to have her join our lives.

Ready or Not...

Well D day is almost here and with it comes that predictable question, "Are you ready?" I have been asked this a multitude of times over the last few weeks and I am learning that it is a bit of a trick question. People ask with a coy smile and patiently listen to my confident response but what they are really waiting to tell me is that you are never truly ready for something that will fundamentally change your life forever. You're never ready for the lack of sleep, the number of times a diaper will need to be changed (Kev doesn't believe the number I have quoted him), the joy, the heartache, the teenage years, etc. But... I do have to assert that while these things will surely blow our minds, Kevin and I could not be more ready to become parents. We are both aware of and grateful for the fact that we've got a solid parenting partnership that will be difficult for even the most stubborn teenage girl to break through and we have lived and loved enough to know that this is exactly where we want to be at this point in time in our lives. We have supportive friends, families, a house, and jobs that we really, truly love. We have been absolutely spoiled with all the baby supplies that a couple expecting triplets, let alone a single child could use. We've practiced Infant CPR on chubby the cat (just kidding, on a doll), read books from every perspective of child-rearing, and have watched countless YouTube videos on the proper installation of infant car seats (sheesh, who knew it was so complicated). We have had nine and a half of the longest months of our lives to prepare to open our hearts and arms to this little bundle and all we need now is for her to decide that it's time to enter the world and get this party started. Will there be surprises? No doubt. But, we are counting on those things to keep us on our toes and to keep this blog filled with memories. We hope the next post will be the recounting of the most pleasant birth experience ever (haha, I really do live in La La land) and a number of unforgettable firsts for us. Thanks to everyone who has supported us during this time and who continue to graciously allow us to think that this ain't no big thing. I hope we can continue to rely on you when the challenges and learning opportunities hit.

All our love, the soon-to-be three of us

Don't Tell Our Daughter!

As I was lying down gazing at my now completely unavoidable belly the other day, I noted how some of the scars that I have obtained over the years have increased greatly. There is the one above my belly button from when my junior year soccer teammates and I thought it would be a brilliant idea to pierce our own belly buttons.... with safety pins. It's a wonder that didn't turn out so well. Then there is the scar on my side that could be mistaken for a birthmark but truth be told it is from a fence that got in the way after a cow-tipping attempt at my friend's family farm (yes, small town children really do go cow-tipping). I feel thankful that those are the only two scars that are emphasized at the moment but if I were to inventory my whole self there are a number of battle wounds from the less impressive moments of my childhood (I can't even count the number of burn scars from "testing" out whether something was indeed too hot) and even scars from adulthood (when was I going to learn that running with two dogs with minds of their own was certainly going to end up with two perfectly good knees now marred with scars?).

As I told Kevin the oh-so-impressive belly button piercing story a rampant thought entered my mind, "Oh no, DO NOT tell our daughter that I did this!" Kev laughed and threw out the classic line that maybe she could learn from our mistakes but I was struck with the horrifying thought that yes, maybe she could learn from my mistakes but do I really want her to? Do I really want her to her to know all of the tricks and tips of being a less than perfect child? Should I actually share the classic lessons: How to Sneak out of your Bedroom Window 101 or Best Ways to Catch Air While Driving Your Father's Truck? The harsh reality is that there are probably going to be much more serious lessons that our child will be faced with over the years. I don't like the look of the teenagers that trounce through our neighborhood on the way to school one bit and if I could count the number of times I have accidentally ended up on an inappropriate website while innocently looking for something else.... well let's just say there is some sick people out there.

I guess that this is an early reminder that there is a lot that we will face in terms of the great learning curve of life. I just hope for all of our sakes that we survive it intact and I think we will just cross the "to tell or not to tell" bridge as it comes. As least she will be born innocent just like the rest of us and we anxiously await that moment!

The Art of the Waddle and "What would Harper do?"

I've seen it before; the legs slightly bowed, back arched, shoulders back. I wondered if this was some universal way of signaling, "I am uncomfortable" or possibly even an exaggeration meant to bring on the sympathy of those who took the only available seat or the last cookie. Wonder no longer, this is apparently the posture that all of us pregnant ladies are inflicted with at a certain point in time. This new look is not something I have taken lightly. Afterall, I am the girl that critiques every jogger's running form as if I am somehow superior or don't look just as nutty when I am out doing my own version of running (which was really always more of a shuffle than a run). Yet, here I am today, humbled, and with a waddle that matches the best of them. I tell myself that anyone would do the same with 4 pounds of human hanging off the front of them not including all of the other baby-making body parts that have expanded of late. Still, I feel wholly self-conscious as I make my way past the texting and skate-boarding young college students on my way to meetings. It doesn't help that I am also noting the looks of sympathy on my morning walks, at the grocery store, etc and I am not sure that I like that gaze that says "poor you, look what you've done to yourself." Yet once again I must remind myself that this is all for the very best of causes and if waddling is what I have to do, waddle I will!

As the day of Harper's arrival grows ever more near, not only is my body changing but my mind as well. Although she's yet to make an impact on this world, I have somehow awarded my daughter with an air of authority (maybe even superiority) normally reserved for world leaders, and other movers and shakers. I quite often find myself in situations where I literally think, "What would Harper do?" A long wait at the DMV?, a disappointment at work?, the rising cost of our health insurance? In all of these instances, I think of her and I think, you know what, Harper would just shrug this off and move on.

Is this strange, aren't I supposed to be the mentor in this relationship? My only explanation is that I have already bequeathed Harper with the absolute best features of her Father and I. This means she will have infinite patience (that one comes from Kevin if you can't guess), be insanely driven (me), and have an overall sunny outlook that outshines both of her parents. With these features, she will surely be the example and me the student. I know it's a lot to ask of a little zero year-old but somehow I think she can handle it and somehow it makes me feel a whole lot better about life's frustrations.