Welcome to Our Family, Harper True

I'm going to let Mom take the reigns on this one. Harper True Gentry joined our family on Tuesday, Septemeber 14, at 9:32 a.m. The official stats came in at 7 lbs., 3 oz. and 20 inches, and she is absolutely beautiful and perfect with a head full of dark, curly hair; you know Olivia is really getting the shaft on this whole hair deal when her newborn cousin can pull off a bow easier than she, but I digress. I really had no idea that I would fall so in love so quickly. I mean, I fell in love with Olivia right away, which was expected, but I never expected to or have fallen in love with someone else's baby until I met my niece. The feelings were almost as overwhelming and emotional as I felt when I met Olivia. She really is perfection in its truest form.

So, I'm sure you want to hear the story, and even if you don't, here it is for posterity's sake: I spoke with Stephanie around 6:30 on Monday evening, and she was worried about going past her September 20th due date. After returning from the gym, and thankfully taking a shower, I got a call from a strange number around 10 p.m. It was Steph and Ian from the hospital. For those of you have had a baby, you are going to be jealous of this account. Anyways, Steph and Ian were instructed to head to the hospital after Steph hadn't felt Harper for a few hours. They figured they would go, be monitored for a bit, and head home, so Steph almost didn't even bring her bag. However, after being hooked up to the monitor, Steph was informed that she was having contractions and that she was 4 cm dialated; however, she wasn't feeling any pain. Mom and I arrived at the hospital around 11, and Sharon and Carl, Ian's parents and cherished members of our family, arrived shortly thereafter. Steph was fine - joking, hanging out, e-mailing, etc. It was entertaining to watch each nurse's confused face as Steph explained over and over that she wasn't feeling any significant pain. Dr. Dawson, mine and Steph's absolutely amazing and laidback doctor who, unfortunately, was not the one to deliver Olivia, commented that he hadn't seen a more perfect baby on the monitor, based on heart rate and other vital signs, in a long time. So, long story short, after a little nap, Steph felt about 15 minutes of pain between breaking her water and getting the epidural. Sharon and Mom got an hour or so of sleep in the waiting room, during which I could not fall asleep with all that was going on around us. Just so you know in case you ever need to kill some middle of the night boredom, from about 3 a.m. to 7 a.m., labor and delivery at Northside Hospital, aka The Baby Factory, is the happening place to be. I watched at least 9 women check in, all of whom made a mad dash for the bathroom as soon as their feet hit the door, and two of whom had to sit in the waiting room and labor for about an hour because there weren't enough nurses on staff. I would not have been as nice in that scenario! Mal rolled in about 8 a.m. after catching some zzz's and before heading to work. We had a small scare at one point when Harper's heart rate dropped, and there was talk of an emergency c-section, but after putting Steph on oxygen, Harper's heart rate returned to normal. Stephanie began pushing about 8:50 a.m., and Mom tearfully came out to the waiting room about an hour later to announce Harper's arrival. It was a tear fest. Steph pushed for about 40 minutes, during which she claims she felt pretty much n0 pain, and with the help of forceps, she welcomed Harper at 9:32 a.m. Steph is a delivery rockstar! A c-section recipient myself, I had no idea how serene and amazing the experience can be. We all got to go into the room and watch the nurse bathe and check Harper, and Stephanie was just sitting there looking so peaceful and happy. Ian looked just as elated and excited to start caring for his little girl. At one point, I stepped back to take a picture of the scene, and I was able to just take in how loving and special and perfect that moment was. I have never seen so much love, happiness, and peace in one place; I know the word love has been repeated several times, but really, that is the only word to describe the feeling in that space and time. It was a really beautiful experience.

After we got to Steph's recovery room, it felt like we all just sat around and stared at Harper for hours. We got some food into Steph - real pepperoni rolls all the way from WV courtesy of Mal, and Aunt Marsha visited to meet her 2nd great niece. It was hard to leave, but I was finally able to tear myself away just to grab Liv and Steve and head right back to the hospital. By the way, I don't recommend staying up for 38-hours past the age of about 20; by the time we got home on Tuesday night, I literally was not making sense. Back to the real story, Steve is very excited to be an Uncle, and Liv has been talking about Harper for months. It was funny to watch Olivia look from Steph to the baby then back to Steph trying to figure it all out; it was a look of how in the world did that baby get out of your stomach. Olivia was very excited to meet Harper, and she immediately bent down to give her a kiss; we had to practice being very gentle, but Liv was really good with baby Harper. Liv seemed very concerned about Steph and kept saying Steph's name, as if she knew that something was up and that Steph needed some extra concern. I am really happy that Liv is going to have a cousin close in age with whom to grown up, and I know that there is trouble to come from these two together. Although Olivia was very excited about Harper, the balloons in the room were quite a distraction, and one of the first things she said was, "Livie have balloon." Of course, Steph immediately gave in to Liv's request and let her take whichever one she wanted. Liv also found the hospital bed very entertaining, and she really wanted to put her baby in Harper's bed. Olivia entertained everyone with her pronunciation of orange and lots of spinning and dancing. It is so funny because Liv has been the only baby in the family for a couple of years, so Steph, Mom, and Sharon have all accidentally called Harper by Olivia's name. I think that we are all suffering from sheer exhaustion and overwhelming euphoria, especially Steph and Ian. We are all so excited to welcome our niece, 1st grandchild for Sharon and Carl, 2nd grandchild for my parents, cousin, and, of course, daughter to the family. My Dad even drove down from West Virginia to meet Miss Harper True. Liv hasn't seem him in a year, so that was nice for her as well. I just couldn't keep my hands off of little Harper; I could have held her all day without getting bored. Liv didn't seem to mind either, so that is a good sign. We love you, Harper, and welcome to the world.

Liv on the way to the hospital to meet her cousin:

As I finish this, Steph, Ian, and Harper are on their way home. Steph is a little more tired today since Harper wouldn't sleep unless she was being held last night, meaning Steph got very little sleep. I hate to tell ya, but this is just the first of many sleepless nights. Every single one is worth it though, as I am sure you already know. One lesson learned: Watch how many Percocets you take before taking a newborn h0me, especially if you plan on sitting in the backseat, which makes you horribly carsick. *smile*

Final Thoughts: I have never seen my sister look so beautiful; she is literally glowing. She and my brother-in-law are so happy, and they are doing so well with little Harper. According to my Mom and everything that I witnessed myself, Ian was amazing during the labor and delivery. I know I have said this about others as well, but motherhood seems so natural for Steph. She is incredibly calm and holds Harper like she has been doing it her whole life; I really am in awe. Steph, I love you so much, and I am so very excited that we get to share the experience of motherhood with one another and raise our girls together. Steve, Liv, and I are so lucky to have you, Ian, and Harper, and we cannot wait to start this journey with you - with the exception of the teenage years when all we will get is eye-rolls and "Whatevers"; although, I am already getting the eye-rolls. I am here when/if you need anything. We feel so blessed to have a healthy Harper with us now and to add one more little girl to our estrogen-filled brood. You both are already amazing parents. Congratulations to you and Ian, and welcome to our crazy, but full-of-love, family, Harper True.