Nara
Our first child
Camping (4 months, 7 days)
We went
Camping at Cultus Lake! Nara
had a great time - she got to sleep in a tent, hear all sorts of nature
noises and go mini golfing!
I Have a New Shirt! (15 weeks, 4 days)
Some days you get a new shirt and you just
want to
show it off. New shirt day!
Tummy Time! (13 weeks, 5 days)
"The Books" say you should start exposing your
baby to
tummy time - put her on her belly and let he try to prop her head
up. At first she could only hold her head up for seconds but she
has developed more strength and control. One day I decided to
take out the camera and take some photos of her working hard.
Crib Time (9 weeks, 3 days)
We were going over to
visit family
and needs some up to date photos. We didn't have a lot of time so
we opened up the windows and took some close ups.
A Trip to Victoria (6 weeks, 3 days)
My mother kindly offered to host us, Jenny and
Helen's Mom for a
weekend in Victoria. It's Nara's first overnight someplace other
than the hospital and home so we packed the car full and headed over to
the island. We spent a lot of time at home, but one trip we did
make was to Butchart Gardens.
Taking photos of the gardens when you have a baby and Grandparents in
tow is very different from how I would normally shoot the garden.
Every shot from this trip focused on people and not so much the
background.
One trick I have yet to figure out is how to make a child smile on
command. There is the usual trick of dancing your keys near the
camera so the child will look towards the camera (assuming the child
has head control). That works, but it doesn't help if the kid is
stressed out from the new location or just tired. Oh well.
I think the better trick is to have a camera available to capture when
Nara is having fun. On Sunday we took the ferry over to Vancouver
and after Nara was fed she was in a predictably good mood.
Thanks for hosting us Mom!
Happy Birthday Diana! (4 weeks, 5 days old)
My Mom likes here Nara fix so we have taken to
shuttling back and forth
to White Rock. My sisters birthday was at the end of May (Mom
baked the cake and provided the sushi). Marcus is only 13 months
older than Nara so it scares me what we have to do in the next few
months - child proof our house at least! Our daughter sleeps much
of the day away - Marcus not so much. It's going to be fun!
Sometimes it was a race to see who could wash
their
hands first - my Mom or my sister. There is plenty of Nara time
to share! The house in White Rock is easier to photograph in
because of the big windows that let in so much light.
Grandpa doesn't come over (to Vancouver) as often as grandma so photos
of Nara with Grandpa are a bit more rare.
QE Park (24 days old)
We were looking through the photos and noticed
we don't have that many
of Nara with Helen's mom. We packed everyone up and drove over to
Queen Elizabeth Park for a few photos.
This photo session was an example of our new
parent
skills - we were out the door in less than half an hour and back before
feeding time became too urgent. This is made easier by a sleeping
baby but Nara had closed eyes for most photos.
More Photos around Home (12 to 14 days old)
Jenny is Helen's aunt and helps us get a
decent
amount of sleep from time to time.
Late afternoon light is best.
Bath time is one of the most photogenic periods.
Bath Time! (11 days old)
Some of my favorite early photos of
Marcus
are bath time. Turns out I couldn't take photos of Nara's first
(or second, or third) bath, because I was the one bathing her!
With a bit of planning (and more sleep by all) we got our act together
for the fourth bath.
Same procedure - start with a wipe clean
of the face. Wet, then soap, then rinse the scalp. Then put
the Baby in the water in wash everything else. It's important the
water starts at the right temperature and that you move quickly so that
the water doesn't get too cold.
I'm surprised that Baths don't turn into tears. Nara seems to
really enjoy the towel off at the end.
Visitors (6 days old)
Since we were home, we could entertain
visitors!
The Williams family (my sister, brother in law and nephew) came by with
my Mom for a short visit. My favorite part was my Mom and Sister
to racing to see who could wash their hands first to hold the baby
first. My sister won.
Timing is everything with these visits - Nara
was fast
asleep so didn't mind a bit of being passed around. Helen and I
had had some good sleep so we didn't mind seeing people. Our
visitors didn't stay too long so it wasn't to disruptive to our day.
Home From the Hospital
The hospital isn't magic. They can
measure
things - heart rate, temperature, weight. The have some
inoculations and tests, but the magic happened somewhere else.
Basically, they are a hotel with weird room service. Nara was
born near the full moon which meant the place was full which meant we
were going home. Nara's weight stabilized (with donor breast
milk) so we got a two days supply of top up, put the baby in a car seat
and headed home!
Being the Dad, it was quite nice to be home. I knew where every
thing was and how to get things. The place wasn't crowded, there
were no other babies and we could figure things out without
interruptions. It's a bit of a leap of faith, but everything
worked out fine.
Life At the Hospital
That first night with your own baby is
pretty surreal. You jump at any noise she makes and you really
feel at a loss about knowing what to do. You haven't yet
developed the reflexes to hold a baby way so transfers don't work out
well. Thankfully the nurses come by every hour or so to check up
Mom and Baby.
What would a hospital be without visiting
hours? Nara's schedule
moved to every three hours so with a bit of planning (and some luck) we
were able to have some visitors. Nara spent most of the time
sleeping so any time she had visitors and was awake was pretty rare.
A Baby is Born
Helen didn't have the easiest time. Labour
lasted 24 hours before
we went to the hospital and almost another 24 hours before the doctors
gave up on a natural delivery. When the doctors decided it would
be C-Section, things started moving very quickly - Helen went to the
operating room and I got changed into scrubs. By the time I got
in the OR, the doctors were well under way.
Helen and I have a good relationship with our
Obstetrician so he was patient with me taking photos. This is
Nara as she emerges from Mom.
Babies don't come out all perfect - besides the goop, they are often a
little blue (poor circulation) and they need help keeping warm.
Nara did well in her first two tests - Apgar 8 and 9. She had
lungs, but seemed to prefer to sleep.
Nara was obviously a big baby, but I was quite
surprised to the see
4.055 kilos - 8 pounds, 15 ounces. It makes it more obvious why
Helen wasn't making much progress with three plus hours of pushing.
And after a very short period of time, they
give us
the Baby! It's quite a shock - this bundle is yours - but you get
used to it quickly. There is a giddy happy feeling that somehow
manages to keep tired at bay.
After surgery finished we went to the surgical recovery room.
They leave us alone us with the baby! They encourage chest to
chest to keep the baby warm and encourage nature to take it's
course. This is a that magic window where the baby usually sleeps
for a while - after this it's three hour cycles until they are 18!
It was a very long day, but an amazing result at the end.
Tags: Queen Elizabeth Park(7), birthday cake(1)
People: Nara(39), Helen(7), Jennie(6), Janet(4), Theresa(4), Marcus(2)
From: John Harvey Photo > Pictures of People > Nara
From: John Harvey Photo > Nara
Absolutely marvelous pictures! I've been waiting to see the first photos. I knew John would have taken some, but also realized that schedules, feeding, and sleep take a while to become normal. Great job, Helen and John. Nara is lovely.
Joan Johnson
Monday, May 10th, 2010 at 13:01:49
Awesomeness! I can't wait to do it myself (the Dad thing, that is). :)
:D
Dom
Sunday, May 16th, 2010 at 19:34:14
She is Beautiful!! :D
Jessica
Friday, May 21st, 2010 at 15:37:16
Last Modified Saturday, January 21st, 2023 at 23:49:10 Edit
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