Hope's First Stroll Around Our Neighborhood

Summer arrived in all its glory this week. After a long winter and spring spent traversing the route from Fox Point to St. Joseph's Hospital, a warm evening stroll with our daughter and dog sounded just perfect to wrap up an amazing week for the Piper family. The sun cast some beautiful shadows accentuating the colors of the bushes and petunias that lace our front yard walk way, and we thought this would be the perfect time to do something that we've dreamed of for months, walk our daughter and dog around the neighborhood.

First things first- we needed to get the ol' battering ram ready to go. As parents of twins, Jeni and I do not own a singleton stroller. We do, however, have a front-and-back stroller that the car seats can snap into. This stroller I call, "the battering ram." This is the king-daddy of the tandem stroller options. It is narrow enough to fit through aisles at the supermarket and department stores, yet has a sporty feel that makes you want to snap in the car seats and stroll around the neighborhood in style. Best of all, the thing can fold down with a few clicks and cranks of plastic levers and fit neatly in the back of our new car. While we also have a side-by-side dual stroller that we received as a gift, Jeni and I opted to take out the battering ram as Hope seems to do well in her car seat (which naturally fits in this stroller). This all made good sense. We clicked Hope into the back section of the battering ram so that she faced us, and positioned her apnea monitor in the front seat. Armed with our arsenal of hand sanitizer and wipes, we were ready to go.

"Maggie, do you want to go for a walk?" Jeni beckoned. Maggie the dog, who right now is craving attention of her own, bounded for our mud room and sat pretty, eagerly awaiting the arrival of her broken-in leather leash. Alright, 4/5 of the Piper family were all set for their first summer stroll, what could be better?

And off we went, with wide smiles on our faces and the warm breeze blowing at our backs. Jeni and I held hands and Maggie trotted amiably at our side. That is until we realized that the battering ram does not have shocks comparable to our Toyota Matrix, and therefore whenever we went over the slightest bump in the road, the stroller shook a bit, causing Hope to let out a grunt and a tiny whine. Kaboom, we rolled over a big bump, and our sleepy baby all of a sudden was wide eyed and rearing to go. She began to squawk a bit, and I thought her aggravation clearly had to do with her less-than-smooth ride.

"Oh my gosh!" I heard a familiar voice yell out as our good friend and neighbor Carrie drove by us in her van. She pulled over and hopped out eager to greet our smiley happy family. Hope looked extra cute, but as we chatted with Carrie became increasingly aggravated and continued her symphony of grunts and groans. Carrie was kind enough to snap a picture, and we all agreed that Hope might benefit from the motion of moving, so we carried on our walk.

However, despite the motion (and Dad's best efforts to maneuver the battering ram away from any possible bumps in the road) Hope's squawks and squeaks turned into an all out wail. Jeni did the "sniff test" to see if diaper drama was the culprit, but came up empty-handed. Hmmm, what could be causing this much distress. Then Jeni peered down at her watch. Hope had last dined at 3:00 p.m. while we were visiting Grace in the hospital. It was now 6:00 p.m. Hope's unpleasant demeanor had nothing to do with the bumps, the walk, or sharing attention with Maggie. Our daughter was hungry and wanted to eat right now.

Consoling her verbally did no good, so Jeni did what any loving mother would do- scoop her baby up and carry her. This did solve the immediate problem of Hope fussing. However, Hope, now a rooting machine, tried to eat Jeni's bright pink sleeveless polo in the process. In the meantime, I am left pushing the battering ram, which now housed the apnea monitor, camera, burp cloths, hand sanitizer and wipes, but no baby, at the same time that I had Maggie. Some people who drove by us on the road began to laugh, as we were becoming a sight to behold. At least mom and the baby had matching hot pink tops I thought to myself.

Walking side by side my wife and daughter I trudged on with battering ram in one hand and Maggie in the other. What happened next was inevitable. See picture below.









With some skillful maneuvering between stroller stuff and dog stuff, I was able to get out the yellow bag and take care of Maggie's "business" and hold onto that, the dog, and the battering ram. Jeni had the baby, and everyone who passed must have had a good laugh. We saw out friend Carrie pass us again and wave. Little did she know of the debacle that had transpired since saw her only moments ago. Jeni and I could not stop laughing on our walk home at what a ridiculous sight we must have been. Dad pushing empty stroller with monitor and dog (which I now hooked to the side of the stroller to prevent having to put the yellow bag in the stroller itself), Jeni carrying a small baby, and a dog with its tongue hanging out trotting along, proud to be part of her family.

Like everything in our lives recently, things never really seem to go according to how they were once envisioned in our minds. However, things are going very well and we are so blessed for the curve balls we are thrown each day that provide so many countless smiles.






While we have been talking a lot about Hope's homecoming recently, Gracie too has been making tremendous strides. She is now nippling all of her feedings and is 4 pounds 5 ounces. You go Grace. These days, I'm not sure who's more cheeky, Gracie Girl or her sister. Soon enough Gracie Girl will be in one seat of the stroller and Hope in the other, and with Maggie at our side we will stroll through the Village of Fox Point together with wide smiles on our faces.

Tired Wednesday

Ok... I'll admit it- having a newborn baby around the house is A LOT of work (and we are so blessed that we will soon be having two newborns!). Like any adjustment, however, I am confident that we will get used to it and figure out systems that work for our family.

Hope had a wonderful first night's sleep, however, her mom and dad could not say the same. It seemed like Hope was constantly making little grunts and groans that forced Mom and Dad to get out of their bed and check on her in her basonette. Her toots, gurgles and squeals seemed more reminiscent of a geriatric man than a newborn girl. Hope managed to get up twice to feed during the night- keeping relatively constant with her 3-4 hour feeding schedule.

Tonight there are bottles in the fridge, hence your's truly is on duty. While exhausted, a deep sense of peace is beginning to settle in. This won't fully be the case until Grace comes home, but after 70 days with daughters in the NICU you have to put the three hours of sleep aside and rejoice in your family coming home.

Hope's first day in her new home included a nice visit from Grandma Cris and Grandpa Bob. She also enjoyed listening to (and sleeping through) most of her second Brewer game (incidentally the Crew is 2-0 with Hope at home :) ). In addition, Hope met her new pediatrician, Dr. Boldt, and seemed very pleased to show off her beautiful bright eyes for her doctor. After her appointment, Hope returned to familiar territory as the three of us went to visit Gracie. It felt weird picking up the beige phone to gain access to the NICU and saying, "Will, Jeni and Hope Piper to see Grace." Hopefully we won't have to do that for much longer. Grace continues to progress slowly but surely on her nipple feeds and is still on track to come home sometime next week. Feel free to vote for when you think Gracie will come home in the poll on the right.





Hope is energetic as she meets Grandma Cris and Grandpa Bob.







Grandma Cris enjoys holding her granddaughter for the first time.









Daddy is proud that he was able to dress Hope in a coordinating watermelon sleeper all by himself. I always say, you learn something new every day!




This picture says it all! Jeni rests her eyes for a moment while relaxing with Hope after her feeding.

Hope

Two Easters ago, our pastor, Scott Stoner, preached a sermon that really hit home to me, and that I remember vividly to this day. In his sermon, Scott talked about four lights that often shine in our lives- faith, love, peace and hope. He used a four candle candelabra as his visual aid to illustrate his point. At various times in our lives some of these candles will burn brighter than others, and may even burn themselves out. The light of faith can flicker in and out. Sometimes we may be at peace, and at other times feel restless. Love can be both joyous and painful when hurt by a loved one. However, the light that never goes out and the light that always burns brightly is the light of hope, the idea that God's love can forever provide us with something to hold on to. The light of hope can relight the other candles, even in the darkest of times.

I can say that the light of hope has helped me get through the past 8+ months of Jeni's pregnancy, being diagnosed with monoamniotic twins, a nerve racking in-patient stay in the antepartum unit and a hard-fought battle in the NICU. The light of hope helped us persevere through PDA surgeries, infections and being on and off of feedings and respiratory support. The light of hope beckons us to realize that better days are ahead.

Jeni and I felt the light of hope today when our daughter Hope came home. Grace is on track to be released in a week or so! She started her trend event monitoring today and is hopefully going to do all nipple feeds as early as tomorrow. Hope is having a great night thus far. She watched a great Brewer game and has been enjoying life in her pack 'n play, and even more so in her mommy and daddy's arms.

In both dark times and times of great joy, we thank God for Hope.

Enjoy today's photopalooza of Hope's homecoming day. One down, one to go!
Hope's first time in her car seat.

Mom puts Hope in the "family wagon" for the first time.

Hope Laila Piper's first trip to our house.

Uncle Jon enjoys seeing Hope.

Grandad Don enjoys holding his granddaughter for the first time.






Grandma Barb looks lovingly at granddaughter Hope.



Hope takes her first nap in her pack 'n play.


Maggie the dog welcomes Hope home.

Preparing for Hope's Homecoming

You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you why, Santa Claus is coming to town... he's making a list, he's checking it twice, he's gonna find out who's naughty and nice, Santa Claus is coming to town...

Since I have developed a reputation of getting jingles stuck in our readers' heads (note blog entries that have included the Jeffersons and Laverne and Shirley theme songs), here's an out of season Christmas tune for you (sung by one of my favorite artists, Bruce Springsteen).

For some reason the past three days have made me think of this little jingle, as I feel like we're gearing up for Christmas. In many ways each day has felt like opening up one of those little cardboard doors in an advent calendar and eagerly looking at what chocolate surprise would be waiting for you inside. Each day of preparation brought with it its very own sense of joy (and sometimes frustration).

Monday: Monday's "advent calendar chocolate" would be shaped like a garbage can. Our saga began with the hauling of the trash. For the past three springs I have done some volunteer work with a group called Friends of Milwaukee's Rivers and have lead students and adults on river clean up expeditions to beautify neighborhood parks. I have also helped institute this same idea as a service learning project for the fifth graders at my school. With this in mind, I've seen some mammoth piles of garbage and recyclables being hauled out of parks and river banks. However, the "mound o' muck" takes on a whole new meaning when it is your own stuff. What we left out to be taken down to "trashy town" was nothing short of a gargantuan heap. It made me feel bad to throw out so much damaged stuff, but at least we were able to separate the recyclables.

In the afternoon we also made a run to Baby's 'R Us and bought a TON of stuff, including nearly 900 diapers! Jeni and I played "Price Is Right Showcase Showdown" (be closest to the actual price without going over) to guess the bill and determine which one of us would have to go to the grocery store. Jeni underbid, but I overbid by $50, so I was off to the Pick 'N Save Monday afternoon.

Tuesday: Tuesday's "advent calendar chocolate" would have to be a butterfly (wrapped in shiny pink foil). Jeni put the finishing touches on the baby's room. While I have done my best to be the supportive husband, I quickly realized that decorating a nursery for two little girls put me way out of my element. Jeni, however, had a vision and was able to make everything look very special for the girls.


Hope's bed along with the book case and dresser. Note: Jeni labeled some of the drawers so that Dad can find items easily.







Gracie's crib set up.









Pretty butterflies hang down from the ceiling.






A closet filled with little girls clothes. Being an only child, I never had a sister growing up, so Jeni is helping me learn how to put together matching outfits for little girls.



Well, with Jeni working on the nursery, and us getting everything else set to go, that gave Dad a few hours off in the evening. Hmmmm. Anyone want to guess what I did? I went to the Brewers/Blue Jays game with my buddy Jon. The crew won 7-0 and it was a real home run fest (with shots by Fielder, Branyon, Council and two from Ryan Braun). During the game, Jon and I took a walk around the stadium and we found ourselves standing against the far fence underneath Bernie's slide behind left field. The cool summer breeze drifted in and I looked over the stadium, which was surprisingly crowded for a Tuesday night. Families scurried up and down the aisles with hot pretzels and nachos. Leaning back against the fence I took a deep breath and just felt a wonderful sense of peace and tranquility, like for once, everything would be ok.

Wednesday: Today's "advent calendar chocolate" would be a stork, as this afternoon Hope will be coming home. The house is in good shape. If we had a dollar for every person who has told us to "get ready to get no sleep" we would easily be able to buy another humongous heap of diapers! The reality is, like with preparing for Christmas, when the event actually arrives, all bets are off and things just happen. You learn to go with the flow. We have prepared as best we can for Hope's homecoming (and Grace's soon to follow). We've made our lists, checked them twice, and taught Dad how to coordinate a girl's outfit with onesie, pants, and even pink socks. For now, we just have to take a step back, a deep breath in, and enjoy the gift of the beautiful day that God has given to us.



Our home ready for its newest member to arrive on a beautiful sunny summer morning.