Shots

At Harper's 2 month check up, which was actually at 9 weeks (you have to be technical with their age, a lot happens in 1 week to these little bodies) she got her first round of shots. She did receive 2 in the hospital within hours of being born but I don't count those because I didn't have to suffer through them with her.

I hate shots. They make my palms sweat and my stomach turn. I usually pass out which surprisingly never once happened while I was pregnant, maybe I'm getting over my fear. But I was so nervous going into Thursday's appointment. I've heard different stories of how babies react so I was prepared or at least I thought I was. Before receiving her shots, I gave her the doctor recommended dosage of infant Tylenol and fed her half a bottle of 'liquid gold'. She was so happy cooing and kicking for the doctor and nurse and once the physical routine was over, I knew what was coming next. Poor Harper didn't. They laid her on the table and I cupped her head in my hands and kissed her forehead. Once the first needle went in her face turned bright red, her mouth opened and nothing came out for a few seconds and then I heard the most blood curling scream! She got 3 shots total and as soon as the nurse finished, I picked her up and held her to my chest. She eventually calmed down and she finished her bottle. I thought we were in the clear...thought.

She fell asleep during the car ride back to the office and slept soundly till about 6 that evening...when she woke up screaming. I assumed the Tylenol had worn off so I gave her another dose. That evening we went out to eat and though she fussed a little bit by the time we got home she was sleepy. The following day, Friday-our mommy-daughter day, she did alright but she did have a few outbursts. Like in the middle of grocery shopping at Target. Things took a turn that evening. She suddenly became very unhappy and refused to nurse, take a bottle or pacifier which is unlike her. I took her into her room to rock her thinking maybe she was just worn out. That's when she threw up. James grabbed the thermometer and yep, she had a mild fever. We immediately gave her a dose of Tylenol and changed her clothing and wiped her down with a damp face cloth. She eventually stopped crying and nursed and went to bed. Last night she slept 8 hours. I nursed her this morning when she woke up and she went right back to bed. She's still sleeping...

Poor baby, I hope she has a better day today.

State of the Baby

Harper Anne Jost

Age: 9 weeks 2 days

Weight: 11 lbs 4 oz

Height: 23"

Head cir.: 39 1/2 cm

Eating: Plenty

Sleeping: 7 hours at night

Favorite game: Playing on her play mat and kicking Mr. Alligator

Bunny slippers courtesy of Aunt Jessi

Trip to Kansas City

This past weekend we went to Kansas City to celebrate Judy's birthday with Jon and Bella who flew in from Nashville. We stayed on the Plaza and had a wonderful time together. Jon and Bella met Harper for the first time and we experienced a rare spring snow. Despite being cold, it was beautiful. Selfishly, I wish Jon and Bella would move back to Kansas. Maybe some day...

Here are a few snapshots of the weekend. Enjoy!

Bella seeing Harper for the first time. Minutes after this picture was taken, Harper blew out her diaper in true Harper form. At least she waited till after we got out of the car.

Bella really wanted to hold Harper, so finally when it was just the three of us I positioned Bella and laid Harper in her lap. I told the others and within minutes, cameras were out and we snapped this great daddy/daughter photo. Priceless.

The snow forced us inside so we found a mall and Ga'ma took the girls on the carousel ride.

I was on a mission to find the girls matching outfits.

World's best cousin.

Awwww.

Social Butterfly

To keep my sanity, we try to get out of the house as often as we can and while I can't document every occasion, here are a few photos we've taken recently out and about:

At Gama's surprise birthday party. Sleeping...

Visiting daddy at the Andover Y Bikeathon. James rode 100 miles and Harper came to cheer him on. Rhonda, you can't tell but she is wearing her Livestrong shirt!

Harper meeting her friend Alisa Turk (2 mo.). Amy, Leslie, and I got together with the kiddos to catch up. Harper and Alisa were due about the same time but Alisa came 4 weeks early. Check out all that hair! Harper is jealous.

Mommy and Harper at Deanna's birthday party at Yia Yia's. Harper slept the whole time. Before we know it she'll be throwing mashed potatoes and banging silverware on the table demanding MORE MILK!

Harper and daddy ready for bed. You would think all the partying would have her worn out, quite the opposite. She sleeps through most outings and wakes up when we put her in her PJ's. Here she is plotting to stay up till 3am like most nights. That little stinker!

I'm back!

This is my excuse for not blogging the last month (or so)-


Isn't she precious? We think so! I can't believe Harper is already one month old. I wish I could slow down time because it's already going by way too fast. Each day it seems she has a new expression or sound. It's obvious she knows who I am when she looks at me, I love the bond that we share. Despite being sleep deprived, we are doing well. She really is a good baby, if only she could get her nights/days straightened out. Currently, she likes to be awake late at night into the early hours of the morning but then she'll sleep for 5-6 hours. A friend recommended reading Baby Wise to help her establish more of a schedule so I've started reading it and today was day one. Basically, the idea is to have 2 1/2-3 hour cycles consisting of eating, playing, napping except for at night we are to feed her and put her to bed without play time. I think our biggest struggle will be keeping her awake for play time after her feedings because she typically falls asleep during her feedings and it's very difficult to wake her. She takes after her daddy, he can sleep through anything (including Harper's 2am wake up calls). Thankfully, we've had a lot of support from family, friends, and neighbors who have come over to watch Harper so I can shower, run errands, and do basic house chores. We've also been able to get out of the house quite a bit with trips to Target, church, going out to eat, and Shocker basketball games. I may be exhausted but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Being a mommy is AWESOME. It's also time consuming so while I'm busy being a mommy, I'll try to do a better job of keeping the blog updated. Until next time, here are some more photos (since that's all you really want anyway)!

My favorite! 3 days old.

Chubby cheeks! 1 1/2 weeks.

2 1/2 weeks.

Like father, like daughter. 3 weeks.

Pretty in pink. 3 weeks.

Introducing Miss Harper Anne Jost

Week (or two) in review

Highlights from the last 2 weeks:

36 week Dr. appointment went well though I was not dilated and still measuring 2 weeks big. Not that I was disappointed by any means, at the time we were still trying to get the nursery ready and pack my hospital bag.

Carpet has been installed, Kyle has moved downstairs, and the nursery furniture arrived. The room has come together very quickly but it looks great! The rocker won't arrive till the end of January and I have yet to put anything on the walls but we're getting there.

BSC Christmas party 2009 was a small gathering this year but it's always good to see everyone and catch up. Jessi was also in town so I got to spend some time with her, twice.

Courtney, Rhonda, Hillary, Amy, Katie

And then came Christmas! The Jost family, Judy, Jon, Bella, James, and I, lit the Christ candle and read scripture at the Christmas eve service. Considering we hadn't really practiced much and we were dealing with a 3 year old it went really well! I have the service on DVD if anyone wants to see it. Christmas Eve we had Christmas at the Koser's complete with our traditional fondue dinner. This year Judy, Jon, and Bella joined us. We also acknowledged this was James' 11th Christmas fondue dinner with us. One of the highlights of the evening was the chocolate fountain malfunction. It was still good though!

Note: I look huge!

The following morning we celebrated Christmas with Judy and we got new point and shoot cameras and Bella was entertained with her new baby doll and doll house. The rest of the day we spent eating, napping...eating some more, and we had a great game of mexican train dominos with my parents too. It truly was a wonderful day and James and I feel so blessed to have such great families.

Saturday we had Christmas with Gary and Janet. As always, we had a wonderful meal and assortment of cookies, Grandma's famous chocolate chip cookies included! I managed to take a 36 1/2 week photo with their electric blue Christmas tree, it's so beautiful!

I couldn't resist, the cutest lil' crack I've ever seen!

And that brings us to today-I had my 37 week appointment and I have started to dilate! It will probably be another week or two but we're ready. Bags are packed, pack n' play is in the bedroom, her bed is made, all the clothes and blankets have been washed. They say time slows down in the last few weeks but I feel like I've been in fast forward mode. It won't be much longer now!