Harper’s First Shopping Experience

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Justin and I are going to two weddings in the next few weeks and since none of my dresses fit, Harper and I headed to Tysons Mall with the primary goal of dress shopping for mommy.  I am not a huge shopper and don’t really ever have the desire to shop until I step foot in the mall.  Once in the mall, the desire to be fashionable takes over….it is a relatively short lived feeling though because once at home, I just want to wear my sweats.  Anyway, Lancome was having a giveaway and I needed mascara so I purchased some along with some lipstick in order to get my freebie.  Here is Harper’s first make-up experience.

We walked by the shoe department on the way back and I couldn’t control myself…thus Harpers’ first shoe experience. 

Then we made our way to Bloomingdales so mommy could by some socks.  Harper wanted a picture with the purses before we left.

Harper was hungry as was mommy so we stopped at Le Madeline for some lunch.  Mommy managed to eat and feed Harper at the same time!

Next we headed to Victoria Secret….Harper’s first  pantie experience…sorry Daddy…lol!

Finally we made our way to Naarajte and Harper thought “finally some clothes for me.” 

By this time it was late and I had yet to go dress shopping, which was the primary purpose of my trip.  I wasn’t in the mood to look anywhere in Tysons so we headed to the parking lot, packed our belongings, and drove to Tyson’s II.  The first stop was a visit to Grandma’s store Eileen Fisher for a surprise visit.  

Also, finally a picture with mommy!

Almost 4 hours since we left home, I tried on my first dress.  I didn’t have much success at Macy’s but I did find two dresses from Anthropologie.  I took 4 dresses into the dressing room and was in there for a half hour and never once did they check on me.  I think they must have known that I was nursing Harper in there also.

 

And one last picture of the two of us!

Anyway, I bought both dresses and need to decide in the next day or two which one I’m going to keep. Anyway, a successful and fun day out by all accounts!

 

Emerson’s Day Out

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A few months ago, I decided that while I was on maternity leave, primarily the second half when I was cleared to pick up the girls, I would spend some one on one time with the older girls.  They are almost always together and it has become apparent that they do want their alone time sometimes.  Avery especially can be mean to Emerson sometimes and tells her to go away or to stop talking.  Emerson is very sensitive and her feelings get hurt; for the most part she responds by just being quiet.  

Last week Emerson had a doctor’s appointment at a pediatric orthopedist to check out her legs.  It was confirmed that she has tibia torsion in both legs and while it has improved some over the last year it is significant enough that Justin and I with the doctor’s recommendation feel like her wearing a bar and corrective shoes at night and for naps is the best route to go.  At lot of doctors recommend waiting to see if she grows out of it; however, she may not and most doctors agree that if the corrective shoes and bars are used for the right diagnosis than they can’t hurt.  Both Avery and Harper accompanied Emerson, Grandma, and me to last week’s appointment. 

Yesterday Emerson had an appointment with the orthotics specialist to get her measurements.  Since I still can’t pick the girls up, Grandma went with Emerson and me to the appointment while Avery and Harper stayed home with Ana. 

Emerson made herself right at home once we were in the waiting area.  

I didn’t take any pictures of her getting the measurements but it went very well.  She really liked the “man” as did I.  He asked her to walk and run up and down the halls.  At first she was hesitant but then, all she wanted to do was run with the “man.” The “man” aka Vernon showed us what the shoes and bar would look like and Emerson seemed to be excited about her new “shoes” as we explained them to her. 

As we were leaving the appointment, I thought to myself why not start the one on one time today!  Technically it wasn’t one on one since Grandma was there but Emerson didn’t have to share her time with Avery which is one of the goals.  I knew of a shopping center playground along the route home so I decided what the heck with the nap time and we went to play.  The best part of this playground was that it was fenced in!  Emerson enjoyed simply running around…

and the slides (despite the static cling)….

and flying the airplane….

and she even made some friends.

Mommy wanted to capture the moment and tried to get a picture with Emerson; however, she wouldn’t sit still.  (Notice my child escaping). 

After playing on the playground for awhile, I decided why not go all out and presented another surprise to Emerson.  Ice cream for Emerson and milk shakes for Mommy and Grandma.  

I got Emerson a regular size ice cream and thought there was no way she would finish it, but she did and then she wanted some of my milk shake!  

We had a great time!  And it was nice to know that while Emerson did enjoy her alone time, she also asked for Avery a few times and Avery apparently had asked for Emerson a few times herself. 

Dear Bun

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The dreaded Bun….oh how I love you and hate you at the same time.  You made an appearance a few times before Harper’s grand entrance, but your official debut and grand opening occurred on day 3 in my stay at the hospital and you are still going strong.  You are NOT pretty, yet unless I have somewhere “real” to go, I can’t fight the urge to wear you. I did it with the older girls the first time I was on maternity leave and this time is no different.  As ugly as you are, I keep going back to you.  But with no make-up and 20 pounds still to lose, you are not helping me out one bit.  Please know that I have made a haircut appointment for September 28 so you will continue to get some love for 2 more weeks (although my goal is to a lesser extent) but come September 28, we must part our ways.  Bun it has been real, but I must say goodbye now.

The Bun leaving the hospital…

Late night nursing with the Bun…

The Bun going for a walk with Harper….

The Bun and the girls at Lake Anne’s Farmers Market….

The Bun made it’s way to our first family photo of five…

The Bun and the girls individually because they wouldn’t sit still at our monthly family Infant and Toddler Connection therapy session…

We then tried for a family shot which didn’t work out so well, but at least we captured the dreaded Bun!

And here we are out to eat at a restaurant with the Bun….so I guess the Bun really has been going real places:(

If these pictures aren’t fuel to say goodbye, then I don’t know what is!  Adios Bun!

A Bit of Everything

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Usually when I sit down to write a blog post, I know exactly what my topic is going to be.  This time…not so much.  I know it is time to write a post and that is about it so I expect this to be a smorgasbord of topics. 

Harper is still such a good baby….honestly from her temperament to her feeding and sleeping schedule, she is awesome.  She has never had her days or nights confused and basically only wakens for one feeding.  I usually last nurse her around 11:30, nurse her again about 4:00 or 5:00 and then not again until 7:00ish….not bad for 4 weeks old!  She certainly does make up for it during the day as she nurses almost every 2 hours much of the day; however, she takes 10 minutes or less on average to nurse so I can’t complain.  We’re still working on her birth announcement (sigh) but should hopefully have it finalized this weekend.  I purchased some bows from Amazon last week and was happy with the way the pictures turned out….not sure why we can’t figure out this birth announcement thing.   Here are some of our favorite pictures from the past month. These first pictures Harper was only 5 days old….hard to believe as she looks older than that!

Almost 2 weeks old wearing a beautiful outfit and bonnet made by Gigi’s cousin Joyce. 

Guess Harper didn’t like it that much….

Almost 3 weeks old….wearing a pretty bow given to her by Uncle Russell, Aunt Mary, and cousins Michael and Caroline….

Still almost 3 weeks old here…

3 1/2 weeks old….bows courtesy of Mommy…

Harper fits into our family so perfectly.  We haven’t really let having a new baby keep us from our “normal” routine.  We still try to get out as much as we can.  At Meadowlark….

At home….playing…

At home…napping…

We’ve also had a few people visit us including Elisha (my best friend from growing up) and her 6 month old daughter Ella.  Elisha is my oldest friend…we have been friends since we were age 2!  At home with friends….

These pictures crack me up especially of Emerson.  First of all Avery and Emerson had just had a bath and Ana parted Emerson’s hair on the right side which I think looks odd on her.  Secondly, she wouldn’t smile which is quite contrary to her typical cheese face that she displays the majority of time for pictures.  The night before my parent’s had their pool closed and while the two men were closing the pool, the ice cream man came by and one of the men bought the girls shaved ice.  It was practically melted before they started and it was blue.  What was I to do but to quickly strip their shirts off, put on a bib, and let them dig in.

There you have it my friends….a selection of Emerson’s cheese faces. 

This upcoming weekend is my birthday.  The weather is supposed to be beautiful.  I’m looking forward to a fun filled weekend with my family! 

Baby Harper

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Baby Harper as we like to call her is 3 weeks old already!  Part of me wishes she would stay 2 weeks for just a little longer.  I liked the thought of knowing that I still had 10 weeks of maternity leave remaining but as each she ages each week, I can’t help but to think that is one less week at home with my baby girl.  And now I am into the single digits of maternity leave remaining but I am trying not to think about it that way.  I have really enjoyed being able to spend extra time with the girls as well.  On days that Ana is here I hang out with them a little but not too much because I not only want their routine to be as normal as before baby Harper but also, I want to use it as an opportunity to get as much done as possible while only having the responsibility of baby Harper to care for.  On days that my mom watches the girls, we are trying to do fun things with the girls.  This past Friday we ventured out to the mall with all three girls. We took them out for lunch at Nordstrom’s Cafe and then went shoe shopping for the girls.  As my mom pushed the double stroller and me the single stroller, I couldn’t believe that I was a mom to these three kids….wow, that happened quickly!  Harper is such a good baby and the day was quite fun.  We were out for about 4 hours.  The hardest part was probably getting the girls in and out of the car along with the strollers and unfortunately the bulk of that task fell to my mom as I am unable to lift anything heavier than Harper for 3 more weeks.  This Thursday we are taking the girls to the library in the afternoon.  Harper will likely sleep right through it and even if she is up as long as I feed her before hand, I’m sure she will be well behaved.

Harper is such a good baby though.  She cries very little…only if she gets very hungry and as soon as I feed her she stops.  She is a good sleeper at night as well.  I mean she certainly nurses during the night but I feel like I wake her up more than she wakes me up to eat. The past two nights she has had two 4 1/2 stretches which I think is really good at this age.  Unfortunately, I’m also pumping some due to several clogged milk ducts already so while my sleep is WAY better than it was with the girls but not as good as it sounds since I’m the only one caring for Harper during the nights (with the girls I had help from Justin the first 3 weeks and my mom once or twice a week for the first 3 months). Justin and I joke about how easy it is to have one, but I am very aware to the fact that it probably isn’t so much a quantity issue as it is to Harper just being an awesome baby.  She is thriving…in fact, she weighed 9.6 lbs at her 2 week check up (the goal is of a baby to gain their birthweight back by their 2 week check up).  We’ve taken a decent amount of pictures of Harper in the hopes of finding that perfect picture for an announcement.  We still haven’t found it yet but as soon as I do, I’ll post some more recent pictures of Harper’s photo sessions, which generally occur in the evenings after the girls have gone to bed.
The girls overall are really enjoying Harper.  They call her Baby Harper which is why the name has stuck. They have had a few more temper tantrums lately than normal; it is hard to say if it is a reaction to their new baby sister, a result of them having a slight stomach bug/fever the past few days or simply a result of the approaching terrible two’s.  Whatever the reason, they really do love her most the time!
See….proof!

Harper Is Here

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Our beautiful Harper Paige arrived one week ago today.  Here we are settled at home and she is already 1 week old!  The pregnancy although slow some days especially towards the end as it became harder and harder to do things went by very quickly.  I really wasn’t nervous about delivery until the night before.  Once dinner was over and my food restrictions for the cesarean started, was when the idea of surgery and this baby being taken out of my belly really started to feel completely real.  The surgery and the recovery this time around was very different in a lot of aspects from two years ago when I had the girls.  Starting with the time I was actually in the operating room, I was completely out out it this time.  I kept falling asleep during the procedure and all day long I couldn’t keep my eyes open for the life of me.  The first delivery I knew exactly what was going on and was so into everything including wanting lots of pictures to document that first day.  This time not only could I not keep my eyes open for pictures, but also I was SO swollen and puffy that I didn’t want my picture taken.  The IV’s and the meds were not kind to me this time.  Regardless, I delivered a beautiful baby girl who weighed a whopping 9 lbs and measured 21 inches!  We were expecting big but closer to the 8.5 pound range and certainly not 21 inches.  She also had a full head of dark hair, which I shouldn’t have been surprised about considering I too was also born with a full head of dark hair; however, we were surprised because the girls didn’t have a ton and since no technician ever mentioned her hair in a sonogram as they did over and over again for Emerson, I think Justin and I were both expecting a bald baby.  Here are some of our favorites of our beautiful baby girl. 

This time around I think the recovery from the C-section in the hospital was a little easier.  I don’t know if it was I knew what to expect or if the pain really just wasn’t as bad this time.  I tend to think the latter but it was realistically probably a combination of both.  The nursing staff was better this time around than the first and I definitely got out of bed a little quicker this time and was using the bathroom on my own and walking the hospital hall ways much quicker on my own this time around as well.  We also only stayed at the hospital two nights this time versus three the last and even the last time we considered staying a fourth night.  
This time we were ready to go home and felt I would be more comfortable and get more rest at home since people are always coming and going in the hospital room.  This time around we also put Harper in the nursery twice each night we were there allowing us to get a little more sleep than the first time.  And doing so did not affect her feeding.  Harper took to the breast right away in the recovery room which I was very happy about because neither the girls did and part of me thought the chance for recurrence was high.  Either the staff brought Harper back when she was hungry or Justin would go pick her up in the nursery. 
 
The girls came to visit twice when while we were there.  My parents brought them the first afternoon and they each gave Harper a lovey.  In return Harper gave them each a big sister book.  Avery took to Harper right away; Emerson was a bit more hesitant….exactly as we all expected.  The girls came again Tuesday morning with my mom and again briefly in the afternoon with Justin and my dad.  Justin went home with the girls for a few hours while my mom stayed with me in the hospital for a few hours before Justin and the older girls returned to the hospital.  Once again Avery couldn’t stop loving on Harper and Emerson while still somewhat hesitant started to want to participate a little more.  Here are Avery and Emerson getting ready to take pictures with baby Harper.

Late Wednesday we brought Harper home!  

Where as I think I was pretty overwhelmed with bringing the girls home, I was super excited about bringing Harper home to join our family. The first night she slept decently and pretty much has most nights since.  I certainly get up to nurse her every few hours but she nurses very quickly and goes right back to sleep, something neither girl did.  I am strictly nursing her which is quite different than bottle feeding expressed milk to the girls.  Even though I did nurse the girls some later on I still pumped so I constantly knew how much my output was, how much the girls input was, and my breasts were always emptied regularly.  Often Harper only nurses on one side since she nurses so quickly.  I know she is getting enough because of how much she pees and poops but I can’t help but feeling like I want more to come out of my boobs partially for relief and partially because I am scared it will affect my supply.  That is something that I am going to have to mentally work out in my head.  

Believe it or not we are already feeling fairly settled in.  Justin had to go back to work today, which neither of us were looking forward to.  It certainly helps having my parent’s help, but it certainly also helps in the difficulty factor having one baby versus two. 
 
We’ve had a few photo sessions since we have been home.  Here are some of our favorites thus far. 
We are so happy to welcome Harper Paige and become a family of five!

Avery and Emerson Are TWO!

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This weekend the girls celebrated their 2nd birthday.  It’s hard to believe that they are already 2!  It feels like I was just on bed rest getting ready to have these girls and here I am 38 weeks pregnant about to have another.  

Last year we had a big rubber duck theme 1st birthday party that I spent months in advance planning and buying rubber duck theme everything.   This year as much as I wanted to have a party for the girls, Justin and I decided it was probably not the best idea to have one incase I had the baby early or in the event I didn’t, I would be 38 weeks pregnant and even if I intended on a small party, we both knew I would end up going overboard.  So we decided we would just celebrate as a family.  UNTIL…a week before their birthday, I started feeling somewhat guilty and wishing that we were doing something SO 6 days before the Saturday of their birthday weekend, we invited 4 of our family friends with kids over for a low key brunch celebration.  Two of the families couldn’t attend so it ended up just being the Brophy’s and the Niday’s in addition to my parents and two elementary school aged girls from the neighborhood, which actually turned out great.  The Brophy’s were the first to arrive followed by the Nidays.  We took some pictures of the men followed by some pictures of the ladies. 

Followed by some family shots…YES, I AM HUGE…

We ate quiche from Pie Gourmet, chicken nuggets from Chic Fil A, and fruit salad made by mommy. Next we sang Happy Birthday and the girls blew out the candles on their princess cake.  

Then we opened presents.  They received princess dolls with matching princess outfits and play food for their kitchen, all of which they LOVED! 

Sunday was their actual birthday and we started the birthday celebration with gifts.  When the girls came down the stairs, their baby doll high chair and baby doll cradle (gifts from my parent’s awaited them). 

They had fun playing with them for a little bit before Emerson headed to the family room to get a new diaper when she noticed the tent and tunnel birthday present from Mommy and Daddy.  Avery was quick to follow in her direction and the both of them had a great time exploring their new tunnel and tent. 

After playing with our gifts for a little bit, the girls ate breakfast and got dressed, and then we headed to Kid Junction with Grandma and Grandpa.  It was like a mini version of the Children’s Museum in Baltimore. The girls first played in the Pizza Parlor. 

Next they made their way to the grocery store where they had a great time shopping!

Then they made their way to the slide area where first they were in the little kid play area but it wasn’t long before they wanted to check out the big slides so Daddy stepped up to the occasion and was chasing both the girls around the same time. 

Emerson also tried out one of the token rides and was petrified but she held on the entire ride and made it through without a tear.  Avery didn’t want any part of it. 

After spending a second round shopping in the grocery store, we took the girls to Bonefish Grill for lunch.  The girls were pretty tired and each one of them had to be taken out of the restaurant for a few minutes at one point during the lunch, which was actually a first for us. After lunch, the girls sat on the bench with grandma and grandpa and took a few pictures.

I think we all took a birthday nap when we got home and then when the girls woke we had round two of presents.  My parents gave the girls pots/pans and dishes for their play kitchen.  Justin and I gave the girls a doll doctor play kit and doll accessories.  Then we had our second cake for the weekend, an ice cream cake from Cold Stone. 

We really did celebrate all weekend long and Mommy even continued the celebration each night for a few days until the leftover Princess Cake was gone.  The girls really did have a great birthday weekend.  I still can’t believe their 2!  And to think next year, which will likely be here before we know it, will likely be a joint birthday party for two 3 year old and one 1 year old!

American Nystagmus Network Conference

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The weekend of July 12 Justin flew to Orlando, Florida to attend the American Nystagmus Network (ANN) Conference.  The conference is held in various locations every other year and a few months ago we decided Justin would attend solo this year on behalf of our family as I would be 8 months pregnant at the time.  Justin was only 1 of 3 attendees who attended solo and while he said there were some awkward moments, he definitely thought the conference was well worth it and came home feeling encouraged.  The conference started Friday evening with a breakout session.  Justin attended the one for parents of kids with nystagmus followed by a dinner event which was really just networking for a few hours.  Saturday morning started with Dr. Hertle as the Key Note speaker via Skype followed by three breakout sessions throughout the day and again a networking hour in the late afternoon.  The breakout sessions were all excellent topics and we wish Justin had been able to attend all of them.  However, choices had to be made so we decided it would be best for Justin to attend the Everyday Living With Nystagmus, Building Confidence in Children, and Teen Panel sessions.  Justin took good notes even though I wasn’t able to attend, I felt that our whole family did and really will benefit from Justin’s attendance at the conference.  Justin got a chance to meet others with nystagmus and parents of children with nystagmus.  He even came across two sets of twins where one twin had nystagmus and the other did not.  He got to hear first hand the personal experiences of children with nystagmus and their parents.  Justin was really encouraged to hear and see that most the children really did thrive.  Yes, nystagmus is a challenge but it is not a limitation, just a challenge and ALL kids have challenges in some shape or form.  

Some of the children had had surgeries to correct their null point and dampen their nystagmus while others had not.  Some kids and parents felt that there was some improvement but overall nothing significant.  A lot of the kids who had surgeries to correct their null points had to have multiple surgeries.  And some kids eye movement was more noticeable than others.  Justin did hear that a lot of the kids nystagmus did dampen with time regardless of having surgery or not having surgery.  He also heard that a lot of the kids who had light sensitivity said that it got better over time.  Although many of the children’s experiences are similar (especially more so in the social area), I would say that each child’s experience is different (again medically, socially, emotionally).  Medically, Justin and I think the next logical step in the process is to take Avery to see Dr. Hertle, likely sometime in late Fall/early Winter.  We’re not sure at this time if we would have him do the surgery or not; however, we do think it is important to get his viewpoint on Avery’s particular case.  With regards to the social and emotional aspect, we’ll be constantly addressing them with Avery and others throughout her life and while it won’t be easy at times, I know we can handle it and I know Avery is going to be perfectly fine. Statistic say that 1 in 3000 persons have nystagmus, which is somewhat hard to believe considering I have never met anyone else with nystagmus and I had never heard of it before, and I would say that probably is the case for most.  Anyway, I do think that our family will attend future conferences as nystagmus not only affects Avery but our whole family and we are in this together as a family.

Justin took a bunch of good notes at the conference and I was going to include some of them, but after reviewing them I decided that it was more important to note here that we should go back and read not only Justin’s notes but the few material hand outs a few times a year so that we continually make sure we are putting them to practical use.  Note to self: the notes are in Avery’s medical binder notebook.