Todd's Tatler

When my mom was here helping us adjust to our new life as parents we came up with the idea of photo documenting Caleb's growth using the Bible. Look how much he has changed from early April till today!

Our dear son is starting to interact with us. Its great fun playing with him. He loves to be entertained. Everyday we dance and sing and pretty much make fools of our selves. Here are a few video clips of Caleb laughing and having fun.

Here is Mom playing with him:



And here is dad playing with him:

Caleb has lately gotten into the habit of going number one and not number two till we change his diaper. Ive wanted to wait a little longer before changing him so we wont use up so many diapers.

Anyway, so last night he had a dirty diaper and wouldn't eat until it was changed. Amanda started to change his diaper when I said quite prophetically, "Aim well and true, son." Of course he only had a wet diaper. Amanda was getting ready to put the new diaper on when he scrunched up his face and pushed with all his might. The result was projectile poop. He must have shot it at least two feet. It got the bed, the floor and all over Amanda. I couldn't hardly stop laughing to clean it up.

I guess I wont be suggesting anything like that to Caleb anymore.

Bombs away.

So I'm pretty sure that we lucked out in Caleb. Nothing seems to phase this kid. Loud sudden noises happen and he doesn't jump. He is pretty well laid back, and yes he passed his hearing test at the hospital. We've gotten in a routine with him now at night. The first two days were kinda rough because someone had to hold him for him to sleep. Now we set him in his bassinet and he sleeps till he wakes up hungry. He is fed, diaper changed and goes back down to sleep till the next round. How lucky is that? I hope this isn't the calm before the storm though.

So Sunday we brought Caleb home. Amanda later said that we probably should have stayed over night again so she could get her pain meds and so that they could monitor Caleb just a little bit more. The reason for the latter is that sometimes it's hard to tell if he is breathing. So anyway, we brought him home. That night was pretty long. We alternated about every hour watching him so that the other could sleep a little. I think that I got more sleep than Amanda since it seemed that he was nursing all night long.

On Monday Amanda's mom flew in to help out. This is a good thing. That night we went into bed around 9ish while she played with him and kept him awake. He fed again around midnight and Amanda brought him in around one. Amanda was exausted so I woke up and stayed up with him till about six, only snoozing a little when he nursed in the middle. About six he nursed again and after Amanda's mom took him and let us sleep. I didnt wake up till about 11:30. That was a nice long uninterrupted sleep. So he is home. Being tired is starting to become natural. Welcome to the club right?

Saturday. AM. 5:03................................................

Another Harper was born. Caleb Michael made his way into our lives. Thursday evening Amanda started to have pre-labor contractions. They weren't strong, and only had a couple an hour. That continued all night. Every so often she would kind of groan in her sleep because of them. I kept waking up asking if she was ok, and she was. I was lucky enough not to have classes on Firday so I took Amanda up to hers. I got some stuff done around the house and picked her up in the early afternoon. She was still having contractions but still the pre-labor ones.

We had a relaxing afternoon. She watched While You Were Sleeping, and I worked from home. About seven or so she decided to lie down for a little bit. A little bit later she came out saying that the contractions were getting stronger and closer together. At that point we started timing them. After about six or so being relatively close she took a hot shower to help with the cramping. They kept getting stronger and stronger. by ten thirty or so we time them again and they are getting closer together so we called the doctor to let them know we were going in. We get into the hospital around eleven thirty that night. Here is where the fun begins.

When we get in they check Amanda out and say that within a few hours we should have a baby. Contraction after contraction and we werent getting closer. By four in the morning the doctor tells Amanda to start pushing with each contraction. I dont think I've seen someone's face get so red. It hurt watching. By 4:30 the doctor checks the position of the baby and realizes whats wrong. Instead of being face down with his chin tucked so that his head could go through easily, Caleb was face-up with his chin up. Thats why there wasnt any progress being made. I must say here that up untill this point Amanda did not receive any medication. To say that she is a warrior is an understatement.

So the doctor says that there are basically two options, a c-section and using forcepts to help the baby through. The c-section was the last resort in the event that the forcepts didnt work. So they wheel Amanda into the operating room to get her set up. There they give her an epidural to numb her for the procedure. I on the other hand am changing into scrubs so I can be in the same room. I get in the room and they get underway. It was interesing to be in the procedure. The whole time I kept thinking, all this medical advancement and we have to resort to using pliers deliver the baby. Needless to say the forcepts worked. The poor little guy has a nasty bruise on his head. Good thing that will go away in a few days.

So his stats:
Weight: 7 lbs. 3 oz
Length: 19.5 inches
Official time: 5:03 AM

So there is the story. Little Caleb is here to stay.
Now I'm going to sleep.

So last Thursday Amanda had quite the adventure at home after she got back from campus. To start the story, the kitchen sink faucet hardly has any water pressure at all. This makes it difficult to do dishes so we tend to let them build up cause neither of us wants to deal with the horrible water pressure.

So Thursday came along and it was time for the dishes to be done. Amanda, bless her heart, got home from school and did them instead of doing homework or taking a nap. After doing the dishes she needed to get ready for work so she hopped in the shower like she normally does. As she was about to dry her hair she heard some water running. She checked the shower, and nothing. She checked behind the washer, and nothing. Checked the kitchen sink, nothing. Then she opened up the utility closet and she is met with steaming hot water gushing from the water heater. By that time enough water had leaked that the carpet was wet.

Not having had any experience with something like that before she frantically looked for something to turn it off. Not seeing anything she ran for the cleaning bucket to catch the water. After placing the bucket she inspected the heater again and she saw a lever on the top. She figured, what the hey, it's worth a try. So she flipped it. As she was reaching to flip the lever her wrist touched one of the pipes and she got burned, though she didn't realize it at the time. After flipping the lever she wasn't sure if she had done the right thing since the water didn't stop right away but was still dripping. She ran and got some towels to soak up some of the water and also took advantage to dump out the bucket. By that time the water was at a heavy drip. It was then that she hopped online and told me about it. I called Uncle Jim who went down and fixed the valve.

Needless to say Amanda didn't make it to work that day. She wound up having a burn on her wrist about the size of a quarter. It bubbled up to a blister that night but now it's healing quite nicely. The worst part about the whole danged thing is we didn't get a chance to get the sink fixed, so we are still stuck with no water pressure in the sink. Looking over right now to it, I can see some dishes that I've got to do.

They can wait a little longer.....