Monday, May 14, 2012

Beautiful!!!!





Kick Him in the Coconuts

So, you know that we have all been worried about Caleb and his reaction to Hannah.  He is the youngest.  Even though he is only a minute younger, trust me when I say that he is still the youngest.  He still does all those youngest things.  He still cuddles with Jamie and I each night.  He still regularly crawls in my bed to snuggle with us.  It is all the things you would expect any "youngest' to be.  He was not a big fan of me having another baby.  While the Isaac and Eli were praying for a baby for over a year before I got pregnant, Caleb was praying for a puppy.  He said we had enough kids.  Then, of course when he found out that we were having a girl, he really wasn't happy.

However, since her birth, he is a changed kiddo.  He is head over heels in love with her.  He follows her wherever she is.  He wants to sit by her, feed her, and hold her constantly.  It is so sweet it almost makes me cry.

I think this conversation between Caleb and Jamie says it all.  Jamie asked the boys what they would do when Hannah had a boy that wanted to go on a date.  Caleb said, "I will kick him in the coconuts!"  I of course laughed uncontrollably.  I know it was probably inappropriate, but that is love in the purest form.  Jamie continued to ask questions about about Hannah and the future.  He asked what he would do if a boy was every mean to Hannah and broke her heart.  Caleb responded, "I would kick him in the coconuts 2 times and I would't even warn him!"  So, people, I think we know that his love runs deep!!!

I think I have some love-struck boys!  Man..... is she in trouble when she gets older.

Bliss!!

So, I've been a little busy taking care of Hannah and recuperating, so I've missed some very important blogs.  I'll do my best to catch up today.

First of all, I must admit I was a little nervous about the birth of our baby girl.  As I recall, I had a real struggle after the boys were born.  However, this was such a different experience entirely.  I couldn't have asked for things to go any better on delivery day.  I was prepped and ready to go in less than an hour.  She came out screaming like I'd never heard before.  It was music to my ears.  When the boys arrived, they had such a pitiful weak cry.  I knew from the second I heard them that I had a long road of recovery in front of me.  But Miss Hannah, no, she made sure that everyone knew her lungs were perfectly healthy.  She came out loud enough to be a cheerleader.  It was truly amazing.

While they were finishing sewing me back up, the NICU nurse came in to tell me that her blood sugar was low, and that they were worried about her.  She needed to eat immediately to get it up, or they were going to put her in the NICU to give her some nutrition to get the blood sugar up.  I had my heart set to nurse, so I was a little sad that her first feeding would be a bottle, and nearly heartbroken that she could end up in the NICU.  She said if they finished in time, I could try to nurse her.  Sure enough, they finished just in time, and Hannah was brought to me after just a few minutes and we had our first feeding.  Her blood sugar went up, and all was right in the world again.   It was so nice to be in the room, just Hannah, Jamie and me.  I got to be the first to really "check her out".  With the boys, it was really days later when I got to see everything in person and commit their little features to memory.

Now, I must admit, not everything has been perfect since the delivery.  We still had some blood sugar issues.  Apparently that is a problem with chubby babies, and she certainly has some chubby cheeks.  We ended up getting a bottle after all, and now that she has had the ease of a bottle she no longer wants to nurse.  She is such a lazy bones ;)  In the scheme of things, that is nothing.  We had a little scare with a heart murmur, but all of that appears to be resolving too.

I was worried about how the boys would react to her, but they are truly smitten with her.  She is so loved and they are adjusting to having her here perfectly.  I really thought the newness would have worn off by now, but they are still loving her and begging to hold her.

I can honestly say that this was just bliss, no other word to describe it.  All the worries that I had were in vain.  She is perfect and her delivery was as easy as it could be.  I even got to go home in about 48 hours.  Unbelievable, since I had to stay for a week after the boys were born.  Hannah and I are bonding at home and enjoying some girl time.  Thanks to all those that said a prayer for us.  It worked.  She is here and God is so good!!!  Just BLISS!!
- Tonya

Thursday, May 3, 2012

It's true...another girl can steal my heart!

I never thought that another girl would steal my heart.  I met Tonya some thirteen years ago, and I knew that I loved her from that time.  I knew that I would love no other girl.  I was positive that no one else would ever win my heart like she did.

Man...was I wrong!

This afternoon at 12:51, I was proved to be a liar!  Miss Hannah Elizabeth Campbell entered  the world at a whopping 9lbs 11oz and 21 1/2 inches long.  She came out screaming, letting everyone know that she was here and everyone was to take notice.  She has spent all evening in the arms of family that absolutely adores her every move.

It's amazing how God takes care of everything.  I was so worried about how Tonya was going to do and how Hannah was going to come through everything.  Then I worried about how the boys were going to feel and if they were going to be OK.  Any of you that knows me well knows that this is exactly how I am.  I worry about everything.  Everything went perfectly, I couldn't have scripted it any better!

I don't what what she will be when she grows up.  I don't know who she will fall in love with or what her favorite things will be.  I do know this though, one day she will find someone that will look into her eyes, like I looked into Tonya's eyes, and fall head over heals in love with her.  It's easy to do...because I did it today!

Miss Hannah, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  Daddy loves you!


Wednesday, May 2, 2012

It's Go Time!!!!

All day long I've had my mind running all over the place.  I'm a mixed bag of emotions and it's been really hard to control them all.  I've tried to stay busy all day so I don't sit and think to much.  However, now is the time to sit and think.

Tomorrow morning, my entire world will flip.  I get the awesome blessing of witnessing my baby girl being born.  I had truly given up on the idea of a girl, or another child, to be honest.  However, somewhere in God's awesome plan, he thought it was right to give us another one.  Why, I'll never know.  I do know this, I am so happy that it has worked out this way.

I love to hear my boys talk about her already.  Eli's ready to play with her the moment she's cleaned off.  Isaac says that we'll be watching Baby Einstein and Caleb, in his usual way, doesn't say alot, but I can tell he is nervous.  (I can't blame Caleb, I'm nervous too.)  The boys have seemed so intrigued by the whole process.  They are going to be such wonderful big brothers.

Tonya...what can I say!  I've never seen anyone take the responsiblity of carrying a child so intent.  She knows how to get healthy babies here.  If they want her to stand on her head, she will.  Whatever she has to do she will do it to make sure everything turns out perfectly.  But that's my sweetie, she's such an over achiever.  She is truly wonderful.

I'm not sure what she will look like or even what her middle name is at this point.  I do know that she is entering a family that has the most abundent amount of love to give and we can't wait to give it to her.

If you are reading this, I truly ask you to pray tomorrow!  Pray that Tonya comes through wonderfully, Hannah is healthy and happy, the boys are excited and cooperative, and that the Dad can keep from acting like a blubbering fool!  ;)

T-Minus 14 hours and counting!  I'M EXCITED!

-Dad