The Mythical Baby

Harper and I came home from the hospital this past Sunday and things are slowly returning to a "new normal".  Here is the outfit we picked out for her to come home in:

It's a "newborn" size, and it was almost too small for her.  The clothes were almost too small, not the bow.  The bow is JUST THE RIGHT SIZE.  She's just a very long, lean baby so far.  A trait she undoubtedly gets from her mother ;)  Please admire the nice golden tan on her face.  Jaundice is the only time my children ever get to "have a little color".  She'll be pasty like the rest of our family before too long.

Brandon wanted a picture of the first time we brought Harper home.  I love this picture because of Brandon's shirt.  Yes, that is Carlton from the Fresh Prince of BelAir.  This shirt is nice and big and soft, and I actually wore it the Saturday evening before Harper was born to go hang out with a bunch of friends from church.  The last couple of weeks of my pregnancy, wardrobe options were somewhat limited.  And Brandon was not crazy about me wearing his Carlton shirt.  He was afraid Harper and I were going to stretch it out.  (We did not). I think the phrase, "You're making Carlton look like Warren Sapp" was even uttered.  As you can see, Carlton survived.

Please note the CAR IN THE GARAGE.  My sweet husband cleaned out the garage enough to park a vehicle in it a week or so ago.  

Of all my husbands, he is my favorite.

We have this same picture of Brandon at the hospital with each of our babies.  The boys' pictures are framed on their dresser, where this one will end up as well.
Dane and Aidan came home yesterday after their Week of Visiting Fun Places.  They spent one night at a "slumber party" with a friend from church, then onto Cousin Camp at Aunt Val's, then off to Dallas for a few days at Camp Pappy with my parents.  It's been a nice few days of rest and taking care of Baby Harper for me and Brandon, but we were sure glad to see our boys.  We have missed them, and they are very glad to be back home.  So far, they are very sweet with the baby.  They love to help get diapers, help hold bottles, and hug and kiss their new sister.  Aidan's a little blurry here, but you can tell how proud he is of his newly acquired Big Brother Status:
Harper is so far proving herself to be perhaps the best baby in the world.  Every new mother in the midst of the first few weeks with a new baby hears stories from other moms about their own babies.  War stories are swapped about how the baby is sleeping at night, nighttime feedings and fussiness, how often they wake up, etc.  Moms talk about the endless weeks, and sometimes months, of sleep deprivation and delirium.  

And there's always one annoying mother in the group who talks about her baby, and how her baby slept through the night when they brought her home from the hospital.  And about how perky and well rested the whole family is.  The Mythical Baby.  The one new moms hear about, but no one actually believes exists.  Sort of like unicorns or the Loch Ness Monster.

We have The Mythical Baby.  

Since we brought Harper home, she has only woken up once at night to eat, she takes a bottle, and immediately falls back asleep until we wake her up in the morning for another bottle.  Brandon and I are both sleeping.  Harper is sleeping.  It's a beautiful thing, and we're really hoping that it lasts.  Last night she slept from 11 pm until 6:30 this morning.  Yes, she is a week old and slept through the night.  And her mother is rested and showered and has energy.  Still very sore and recovering from a c-section, but not delirious with exhaustion.  We are praying this continues.  The boys are home now, and I know my days of sitting on the couch holding a sweet baby while watching NCIS re-runs are numbered.  I'm going to need all the sleep I can get to keep up with this brood.