First Visits

Well it did not take long for Callie to feel at home. Within a few days of departing the hospital she was ready to kick her feet up and relax on the couch with her parents. We thought the couch got a lot of use before, but now we don't ever seem to leave it. So here she is, ready to greet her first visitors.




The first visitor arrived all the way from Hermosa Beach, California. In fact, her bags were packed before Callie was even born. We were all so happy to have Gretchen fly in and spend time with all of us.


Of course, as you can see from this picture, Gretchen was focused on one little person in particular. She and Callie got to know each other through long naps on the couch. Here Callie demonstrates one of her favorite napping positions that we have dubbed The Frog. Somehow this is comfortable for her. Go figure.


Although our world has changed, we have not given up our devotion to College Gameday on Saturday morning. Especially now, since for the first time ever, Chris, Lee, and Kirk will be spending their Saturday only a mile or so from our house in Lexington. C'mon Cats!! (University of Kentucky is currently ranked 7th in the BCS standings, for anyone who is interested) Who knew we would become such huge fans of UK sports? In honor of Gameday, John decided to strike a Heisman pose with Callie.


Apparently, Callie is not ready to shower by herself. And from what this picture tells you, she isn't all that excited about her first bath either. In fact, we have noticed two things in particular that Callie does not like. Baths and sleeping through the night. But really, doesn't she look cute here?






This past Saturday, Callie's Nana Taffy flew into Lexington Bluegrass Airport to meet her first granddaughter. We are fortunate to have her in town for over a week to help us out as we get used to life with a newborn. And Nana Taffy is getting the chance to spend some quality time with little Callie. They make a great couple, that's for sure.



As we write this, Callie is now over 12 days old. She seems to be handling the double digits well. The picture below shows her chilling in her hip seat that vibrates, plays music, or vibrates AND plays music. Clearly a must have for any newborn.



Stay tuned for more pictures as Grandpa Jay rolls into town and Callie prepares for her first trip to the West Coast. Oh, and if you tune in College Gameday on Saturday morning, it's possible she will be the little baby in the front row with the face paint and a huge foam finger, yelling, "C'mon Cats!"

From Hospital to Home

So here we are with the second installation in the life of Callie. The following photos will give you a glimpse into her first few days at the hospital and her venture home.

As you can imagine, being in a cramped space for nine months would give anyone a good reason to stretch out. You can see how long she is...and there is a definite resemblance between her long skinny legs and those of her father. Hopefully she'll be able to put them to use on a soccer one day.



There was a lot of time to get acquainted during our stay in the hospital. Callie stared at us when she was awake, and we stared at her just about the entire time. An incredible experience through and through. What's nice is that John looks somewhat okay in this picture despite the fact that he had not showered in a while.


Well, we had to stay in the hospital an extra day because Callie had jaundice. We decided to spare you the pictures of her yellow skin, but we had to show you what she did during that last day at Central Baptist. This was a long night because she is definitely a wiggle worm, and the mask she had to wear to protect her eyes continuously fell off. It also lit up the entire room like a Christmas tree. But all in all, it was worth it. Just so you know, the pediatrician stated that her response to the treatment "exceeded expectations." Callie's competitive parents were quite pleased.


With the blue light treatment complete, it was time to head home. We are obviously biased, but this is a pretty cute picture of a baby in a car seat. Really.









Being at home made all the difference. We were able to get more rest and the environment made it easier to address Callie's needs. And now that we are home we can introduce Callie to some of our little traditions. Here are John and Callie on the first official outing of the Bowes family on a hot Sunday morning in Lexington.


Believe it or not, this is only day 4 of Callie's life. It is hard for us to believe that it has only been 4 days. She is sleeping quite a bit, but when she is awake she has her eyes opened wide and is full of expressions. We constantly watch her in amazement.







As we mentioned earlier, she spends a lot of her time sleeping. And one of her favorite sleeping spots is the beautiful Moses basket made for her by Grandma Gayle. Although she is quite long, as you can see she still takes up barely half of it.




The final picture shows Callie at her most casual. When she's not sleeping, feeding, or getting her diapers changed, Callie likes to chill with her pacifier on the couch. Clearly she takes after her parents in this regard.



Stay tuned for more pictures to come. We are less than a week into this wonderful new life and can't wait to share more of the adventure with you.

She's Finally Arrived!

Well, the big day arrived this week. Callie Alexis Bowes arrived at 5:56am on Wednesday, October 3rd, and her parents could not be happier. She was a robust 6 lbs. 15 oz. and measures 20 3/4 inches. Right now we are still in the hospital but get to go home in about 24 hours. We have a few pictures to share and some stories to tell.


Here is Callie, our little burrito of good times. She does love being swaddled. And she also apparently enjoys keeping her eyes open. In the first 24 hours of life she may have slept 4 hours all told. I seem to remember someone saying that newborns would sleep quite a bit on the first day. Interesting.



And here is our first family picture. Sarah looks fantastic, which is especially impressive since this picture comes after 25 hours of labor. That's right, Callie, your mom dealt with 23 hours of contractions and 2 hours of pushing. And after all of that work, this family moment was a brief time together before the doctors had to take Callie away for observation. Callie's umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck at birth, which made her head a dark shade of purple and her doctors and parents a bit nervous. And she did not get to our room in the hospital until about five hours after the birth. Not so much fun for Mom and Dad, but it was all for a good reason.


Mom has had some quality time with Callie throughout the first 24 hours of her life. Sarah is an absolutely amazing mom, and she has been tending to Callie's needs with tremendous amounts of patience and love. And it should also be said, Sarah is tough. This comes as no surprise to most who know her, but I figured I would point it out again. I could not have done what she did over the past 72 hours, much less the past nine months. Wow.


Finally, here I am with Callie. I have the easy job. Indeed, I got more sleep last night than Sarah and Callie combined. Granted it was 3 hours and then 2 hours later on, but that is a good night's work in our new world. I just sit back and watch in awe as both Callie and Sarah do their thing. And I just want to add a quick shout out to the folks at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington. If our families on both coasts are worried about us, no need. We are being taken care of extremely well by the nurses and doctors here. If you happen to be in labor in Lexington, you could not choose a better place than Central Baptist.

So there are the first of many pictures. We have been snapping away, trying to capture Callie when her eyes are open and when she does not look moody. Obviously we think she is the cutest thing ever. More to come.