Another Harmon first

Harmon had rice cereal for the first time last night! At his four-month appointment on Friday, we anxiously were awaiting the go ahead from the doctor. He’s been inhaling seven-to-eight ounce bottles at almost every feeding and still seems hungry afterwards, so we were happy to move forward with the cereal—at least for his sake. For us, it was hard. Kevin keeps saying Harmon will be eating a steak next week! And, last night, in Babies R Us, there was a brand new baby boy who was so sweet and it seemed like just seconds ago, Harmon was that small. Small he isn’t, though. At his appointment, he weighed in at 16 pounds, 11 ounces and measured 27-3/8 inches long! All this stuff got me thinking about all his firsts. Granted there are lots more to come but I wanted to document some here, while I’m thinking about it!

Lifting the head:
Since Harmon was so big when he was born, he was lifting his head while we were still in the hospital. I remember being in the bed and looking at Kevin holding Harmon and seeing him using that big strong neck!

Rolling over:
This one is kind of odd! On Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2005, Kevin and I were watching the Miami-Michigan basketball game and Harmon was sleeping on his belly on the couch with me. I got too distracted enjoying my delicious Starbucks lite mocha frappuccino and barely noticed Harmon rolling to his left and almost off the couch. Luckily, I reacted quickly and caught him! The next day, Harmon was lying on his belly in our bed, parallel to Kevin and awaiting his bottle. When I came in from the kitchen, he had rolled to the right and did some additional moving. He now was perpendicular to Kevin! Finally, the real “first” rollover came on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2006. Right after his bath, I was getting him dressed and he rolled to the right, from belly to back. Since then, he’s continued to roll belly to back and is working on back to belly!

Smiling:
The first “real” smile, not related to a bodily function, came Sunday, Dec. 18, 2005. In fact, it came AFTER a diaper change! Kevin and I were just playing with him on our bed and he began to smile. It was so wonderful—and a great payoff after those first five weeks—to finally see a real smile! We can’t get enough of it!

Sleeping through the night:
We are SO lucky with this first as it occurred at only seven weeks! Since I wanted to extend my leave past the paid eight weeks, Kevin and I stockpiled our vacation time. Kevin decided to use five weeks of his time between Nov. 12 and the end of the year. As his time off was coming to an end and the first day back at work (Jan. 3) was looming, we began to wonder how Harmon would do with the sleeping thing. Well, we put him to bed the night of Jan. 2 and he’s slept through the night ever since! I thought it was just to give Kevin a break, but he continues to be a great sleeper. Every once in a while, he’ll wake up around 5:30 a.m. but that’s it. He even adjusted to his crib quickly and, more importantly, putting him to bed has become one of the easier things to do!

OK, so that’s all the BIG firsts so far. Here are some other smaller milestones:

First bath (Thursday, Nov. 17, 2005): We used the infant tub that goes in the bathtub and it was a disaster. He cried FOREVER! After a few more attempts at this, my Mom bathed him in the sink when she was visiting one day (Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2005) and he was a little angel! Turns out he likes this method much better so we continue to use it. Pretty soon, though, he’ll be too big for the kitchen sink!

First time out sans Harmon (Saturday, Nov. 19, 2005): Harmon was a week old and Kevin and I just had to go see Michigan lose to Ohio State AGAIN in football! Although he was in great hands (my Mom, Dad and sister, Stacey, were fawning over him at our house), I still wondered why I left him. The game wasn’t worth it and I was still way sore from the c-section. Maybe a win would have made me feel a little different! Our next time without Harmon was a yummy dinner at P.F. Chang’s for our annivesary (Dec. 2). Not only did Kevin’s parents watch Harmon (they were in town for their first visit with the little guy), they treated us for dinner, too!

First day out (Monday, Nov. 21, 2005): On Harmon’s first, non-doctor-related trip out of the house, we went Christmas shopping at Briarwood Mall. We got a few things done but kept looking at him like he was a ticking time bomb! We fed him and changed him while we were out (the first time for that, too) and even ventured to Qdoba for some quesadillas!

First “real” restaurant meal (Thursday, Dec. 8, 2005): Harmon and I went to visit Kevin at work and, after seeing Kevin’s co-workers, we had a great lunch at the Cottage Inn. Although we made it a quick lunch (God forbid Harmon should wake up), we thought it was great to have our first, real sit-down meal with him at the same restaurant we had our rehearsal dinner! After that lunch, we got more used to taking him to restaurants and had visits to Border Cantina on Dec. 14, Pizza House on Dec. 23 and 31 and El Taco Loco on Dec. 30.

First night in the crib (Saturday, Jan. 7, 2006): Although I thought this would happen our first night home, it turns out I’m a sucker for Harmon! At eight weeks, we put him to bed in his crib and he slept like a little lamb. Guess that Sealy mattress is more comfortable than the Pack ‘n Play!

And, for good measure, here are his monthly stats:

Friday, March 17, 2006 (four-month appointment)
16 pounds, 11 ounces and 27-3/8 inches

Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2006 (two-month appointment)
13 pounds, 13 ounces and 24 ¼ inches

Thursday, Dec. 15, 2005 (one-month appointment)
11 pounds, 9 ounces and 23 inches

Saturday, Nov. 12, 2005 (birth weight)
9 pounds, 4 ounces and 21 inches

Valentine's Day

The first time Kevin ever got me flowers was for Valentine’s Day in 1995. Although we met in September 1994, we were both so slow in sharing our true feelings for each other. I knew how he felt after he sent me flowers when I wasn’t expecting them. I thought for sure they were for one of my college roommates, who had been dating her boyfriend for what seemed like years but, no, they were for me! And, 12 years later, he continues to do things that are unexpected.

Being that we now have our lovely Harmon, I asked that he please not do anything for Valentine’s Day. And, I was serious in this request. I mean, it’s not like we have a money tree growing in the back yard! And, if we did, I wouldn’t still be paying on loans from my MBA program! I simply thought we could go to dinner (with Harmon, of course) or get some take-out from one of our favorite restaurants. Of course, Kevin had other things in mind.

On Saturday at noon, FedEx pulls up in front of our house and Kevin tells me to answer the door because it’s my early Valentine’s Day present. Much to my surprise, it was a CRAZY DELICIOUS Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake straight from the Cheesecake Factory (and, by the way, metro Detroit, get your act together and get a Cheesecake Factory around here)! We first had this glorious dessert a couple of years ago when were on vacation in DC. We were there one week and either dined in or got take-out that involved Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake FOUR TIMES! If you haven’t had it before, you MUST try it. I’m not a huge fan of cheesecake in general but this stuff is truly sinful!

As if that wasn’t enough, yesterday I got a call from the front desk at work saying that flowers had just been delivered. When I went down to get them, the card read “From your boys! Love, Kevin and Harmon.” There were six beautiful read roses that adorn my desk and make it a little easier to be there this week!

And, to top it off, Kevin left work early, swooped Harmon up from day care and brought home delicious take-out from our new favorite Chinese restaurant (it’s been a long, hard search), Middle Kingdom.

So, overall, a pretty good Valentine’s Day! The best thing, though, for the both of us, was the Valentine that little Harmon made for us at day care! (above) It was waiting for Kevin when he picked him up and then Kevin re-planted it just under his Bundle Me so it was front and center when I peeled it back to give Harmon the one million hugs and kisses he gets when I get home. It was the sweetest, cutest thing I had ever seen and, although he really had no idea what he was doing, it was the nicest Valentine I had ever gotten. Just looking at those little handprints melted my heart! I am such a sucker for this kid.

Tough week

This past Monday, I went back to work. After being off with Harmon for three magical months, I finally had to crawl out of bed with him, take a shower and join the working world again (albeit 80 percent time instead of full time). Although there were some long days early on, those three months went by WAY TOO FAST! And, as Monday, Feb. 6 (ironically, my Mom’s birthday) approached, I was miserable – crying at no particular time for no particular reason. Although Kevin and I have worked out a pretty good schedule, day care still is involved. Here is how our week worked (and will work) for the foreseeable future:

Monday
Kevin worked from 7 a.m. until noon and I worked from 12:30-5:30 p.m. So, Harmon was with at least one of us the whole day. On Monday, Kevin spent six hours with Harmon – the most time he’s ever spent with him alone. As I left for work that day, Kevin said dinner would be ready when I came home. I laughed! Little did he know! Of course, when I got home, there was no dinner. Not that I cared, it just was funny!

Tuesday
We both worked 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. so it was off to dreaded day care for Harmon. We decided to both go to drop him off the first day and I managed to hold it together – for a while. The teacher was alternating between giving me hugs and Kleenex all the while promising that she would take care of Harmon as if he were her own. Everyone was very nice and they encouraged me to call later and get updates (which I did). And, of course, Harmon was all smiles. He has no idea about strangers yet! So, we got up the courage to leave and I didn’t even make it out of the center before losing it. I cried for a good, long while and as I got to work, I was happy about my new, earlier start time as no one would see how good I didn’t look. Although I felt incredibly guilty AND like I was the worst mother in the world, the day wasn’t as bad as I expected – until my phone rang at 5 p.m. It was the day care center telling me that Harmon had just awoken from his nap and he wasn’t happy. Furthermore, he was out of bottles (I had packed him three six-ounce bottles). OK, he’s three months’ old and a very good eater and, at home, he can eat five ounces and go three hours between feedings or six ounces and go four hours. As long as he is having his last bottle around 10 p.m., we’re happy! So, we fed him five ounces at 6:30 a.m. thinking he would eat again at 9:30 a.m. After that feeding, he would eat around 1:30 p.m. and then again at 5:30 p.m. – just before I came to get him. I guess that’s not the schedule day care had in mind! They started off well with him eating at 9:15 a.m. but then he proceeded to gorge himself on Enfamil lattes (must give credit to my Mom for this one) at 12:15 p.m. and 2 p.m. MY GOD! Let’s do the math, people – that’s 23 ounces of formula in eight hours – roughly three ounces an hour! JESUS! You would think that would be enough but, no, when I left work immediately to go get him, he was ready for more. By the time we got home, he was in a full-blown fit, that is, until another six-ounce bottle appeared! So, minus, the gorging, the first day of day care went OK.

Wednesday
We both work 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. but, but, Harmon is with my Mom. She came over today to watch him, which is enough in itself, but she brought banana bread for breakfast, chicken soup for lunch and lasagna for dinner! And, even though I told her no cleaning was allowed, I’m not sure she can control herself! Having Harmon with my Mom is the best thing in the world! After all, she did a decent job with me, right?

Thursdays
Kevin will work 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. (his usual late Thursday) and I will work 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Harmon again will be at day care so hopefully we can get this bottle thing under control!

Fridays
Kevin has a regular 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. day and I AM OFF WITH MR. MAN! I cannot wait for Friday so I can snuggle and play with my boy! If he thought he was tired after day care, wait until Friday night!

Overall, I think this deal can work. I know it will get easier (can someone tell me when?) and it will be good for all of us to get on some type of schedule. And, one day, when Harmon is in school and it’s not cool to hang out with Mommy anymore, I’ll need to be my own person again, blah, blah, blah. Plus, when it comes right down to it, we can’t afford for me not to work so we’ll all just have to suck it up. Whatever the little man requires is what we’ll do!

Harmon's fun toys

On Jan. 25, Mommy, Daddy and Harmon went to a baby shower at the U-M News Service. Daddy's co-workers gave Harmon an "exersaucer." He can't wait to play with it. Harmon is excited, too.

You guys wanna see my video?

"How much you wanna make a bet I could throw a football over them mountains?" Or be the cutest baby on the planet. To see, click here.

Healthy Harmon

Harmon gave us a little glimpse of this face (left) today during his two-month appointment. He received three immunizations and was a very good boy through it all, save for a little bit of crying. He continues to be our strong and healthy boy. Today, he checked in at 13 pounds, 13 ounces and 24-1/4 inches long. At birth he was 9 pounds, 4 ounces and 21 inches, and at one month, 11 pounds, 9 ounces and 23 inches.

Carr Wash and a sleepy baby

Tonight we were looking at past photos of the Carr Wash for Kids. I told Aimee we should take her Jeep Wrangler, with license plate UM4ME, through the wash next year. She said she would, but she is afraid the players wouldn't finish washing it ... Harmon has turned into our good sleeper. He has slept through the night 4 of the past 5 nights, including 8 hours last night ... Check out his cool kicks.

Goodbye 2005 ... We'll miss you!

I'm always a little melancholy to see yet another year come to an end and 2005 was no exception. 2005 was a great year for us. Kevin got a great promotion, we bought our first house, Isabel had a healthy year and, most importantly, we were blessed with the arrival of our perfect little Harmon! Hope all our family and friends have a happy and healthy new year and hope to see you all soon!

AND, hope 2006 is good to Michigan football. As you all know, 2005 was not!

Did you know?

A little info about Chuck Norris to ring in the new year. Here is a little teaser:

When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.

It's all my fault

Back in April, we went to my cousin Paul's wedding in Omaha, Neb. It was only 60 miles or so from Lincoln and the University of Nebraska. So we drove there, toured the campus and looked around the bookstore. Just for grins, I tried on this Cornhuskers' hat. Who would have known it was a foreshadowing of the Dec. 28 clash of the 7-4 titans. So, it is all my fault that Michigan lost to Nebraska. Or Jim Hermann. Or the officials. BTW, it is embarassing to lose to a school that allowed this to happen. Or just learned the forward pass.

Harmon's birth story

Harmon turned six weeks old on Christmas Eve. Because of time spent on diaper changes, mixing bottles, and getting ready for and celebrating the holidays, we have had scarce time to finish his birth story. If you are interested, the following is his mommy's account of how Harmon came into the world.

Harmon’s Birth Story

Throughout my entire pregnancy, Kevin and I would have bet money that our baby would arrive early. As October turned to November, however, and my due date of Nov. 10 loomed, there was little to no progress. At my last appointment before the due date, Dr. Jane Nicholson suggested we schedule some tests for Nov. 15. The results of those tests would help us decide when to induce labor.

On the morning of Nov. 10 I noticed some fluid leakage but, being that it wasn’t a lot, I thought nothing of it. The next morning, I again noticed some leakage but this time it was a bit more. Since I still was working full time at the Kellogg Eye Center, I headed into the office but was very tentative. Throughout the morning, I spoke with a couple of my girlfriends and by 2 p.m. they both convinced me to call the hospital. I called and spoke with the nurse and she suggested I come in for a check-up “just to be safe.” I then called Kevin and told him I would pick him up at The Record and then we could go to the hospital together.

After we checked in at 2:30 p.m., a nurse said she thought it might not be fluid. But a midwife did another exam and determined that the leakage was amniotic fluid—my water indeed had broken. I was hooked up to a heartbeat monitor and the nurse commented, matter-of-factly, that I had just had a contraction. I felt nothing, but I sure felt them later. At this point, I was admitted.

After five attempts (up and down both my arms) from two different nurses, my IV finally was in place so the fluids and Pitocin started to flow. My family arrived and I was able to spend some time with them and Kevin was able to call his family before the contractions began to intensify.

Around 10 p.m., after everyone was gone, I asked the nurse for some morphine to help with the contractions and it didn’t help at all! I dealt with the contractions during the next few hours and, at around 3 a.m., I couldn’t take it anymore and asked for an epidural. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite what I expected and that was mostly because IT DIDN’T TAKE! After about two hours of some of the most intense pain I’ve ever experienced, the anesthesiologist determined that I would have to have a second epidural. After epidural number two, which I received at 5:30 a.m., things were much better.

At 10 a.m., the doctors came in to check my progress and, much to my surprise, I was fully dilated to 10 centimeters! I was told to try to take in some fluids and build my strength before I started pushing. Ironically, the pushing began just before kick-off of the Indiana at Michigan game, which was the first home football game I had missed in 15 seasons! With the game on TV in the background, I pushed for the next FOUR HOURS in every imaginable labor position but the baby did not want to budge.

Dr. Anna Griffith, who was the on-call partner in Dr. Nicholson’s practice, suggested five more big pushes and if there was no progress I would have to undergo an emergency c-section. After these five pushes and no movement, it was off to the operating room! Once my anesthesia was in full effect, Kevin was allowed to join me in the operating room and the procedure began.

Although I felt a lot of pressure, pulling, tugging, etc., it seemed only moments before Harmon Spencer Bergquist made his entrance into the world! At the sound of his loud and healthy cry at 5:16 p.m., I began to cry. Nine months of careful preparation (and careful consumption of Diet Coke) and he finally was here! Although Kevin did not want to leave me, he observed the weigh-in—9 pounds, 4 ounces and 21 inches long. Kevin brought Harmon over to me and fed him his first bottle and then we had our first family photo taken, complete with me spread out on the operating table. Then the three of us were moved to the recovery room.

For me, the rest of the night was spent in bed, coming down from my wonderful epidural and holding Harmon when the pain would subside. In the wee hours of the morning one of the many wonderful U-M nurses gave Harmon his first sponge bath and his first immunization shot. Also in the wee hours or the morning, the nurses forced me to get up and walk around. Although the incision hurt, what hurt more was the incredible shoulder pain, which I was told was a side effect of the c-section—who would have thought? The rest of the night I finally was able to sleep, although I can’t say the same for Harmon and Kevin.

Early Monday morning, the doctors on call stopped by to check on me and, being that I was doing so well, they began my discharge paperwork. Harmon had to have a hearing test and get some blood work done to check for jaundice and, with both being perfect, we all were given the OK to leave. Kevin and I dressed Harmon in his orange kangaroo going-home outfit and then I had a fun wheelchair ride out to the car.

For the first few nights at home, Kevin and Harmon slept in the living room and let me sleep in the bedroom to recover. Harmon woke up around 2:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. for the first two weeks and has moments when he sleeps almost through the night. We are so blessed, and Harmon is a dream come true.

Harmon's first Christmas

This morning, Harmon woke up to his first Christmas. Santa was good to him this year, as he received an activity gym, Octotunes, exersaucer (which he will use when he gets a little older) and radio for his nursery. Both boys in the house (daddy, too) have been sick the last few days, and Harmon was a little fussy while opening his presents. He has a cough and has been congested. Mommy got a sneak preview of the 2006 Michigan football t-shirt. Mommy and Daddy got the best present this year with our beautiful baby boy. For all of our X-mas photos, click here. Merry Christmas!

Harmon's official photographer

We have tried to put up as many photos of Harmon as we have, and his Aunt Stacey also has some fantastic photos on her site. To see her Harmon collection, click here.

Harmon's perfect record is Oh-for-OSU

Back before we knew what the gender of the baby was, we used to alternate between boy and girl every other day. Harmon was undefeated during the 2005 Michigan football season, both home and away, while he was still in the womb. Today was his first game as a Wolverine fan on the outside; the result? Harmon may just have to go back inside for the bowl game. Oh, heck, it doesn't matter. But he is 0-1 against Ohio State, which is pretty close to the ledger of one Lloyd Carr (1-4) during the past five years.

Harmon Spencer Bergquist

Harmon Spencer Bergquist was born at 5:16 p.m. Nov. 12 at the University of Michigan Hospital. He weighed in at 9 pounds, 4 ounces and 21 inches long. He was due Nov. 10 and after a prolonged battle with his mommy, came via c-section just short of 27 hours after we went to the hospital. Mommy and baby are resting and doing well. For photos of our handsome baby boy and his proud parents, click here.