After writing about James’ birth story and how he met his big sister, I realized there were still a few cute/funny stories I hadn’t mentioned about our hospital stay:
Great Minds Think Alike
Before we left for the hospital in the wee hours of Thursday morning, Heather laid out a dress and cardigan for Annie to wear on the big day. She’d picked the outfit up at her beloved, “Tarjay,” and knew that Annie would look really cute in it. Later, after I complimented Heather on her good taste, she told me that – despite how well the dress and cardigan went together – they weren’t a set and she’d found the items on different racks.
Many hours later my sister, Monica, and her kids arrived at the hospital, so I went to welcome them. Upon pushing into the waiting room I did a double take – Annie and her cousin, Michaela, were wearing the exact same outfit right down to the cardigan!
I looked to Monica, who laughed, embarrassed.
“Target?” I asked.
Monica nodded and said, “I don’t know how this happened. I didn’t find the cardigan anywhere near the dress!”
When we look back at photos from James’ birth day many years from now I’m sure we’ll be baffled as to why Annie and Michaela were dressed alike.
Annie the First
I mentioned yesterday that James “gave” Annie a Sofia the First dress as a present. Annie, of course, insisted on wearing it right away, and today I realized I took a photo of our little Sofia on my iPhone:
The craziest part is that after I took this photo Michaela showed up wearing the same dress! Just kidding. Now THAT would have been something.
Born To Rock
Maddie and Annie were both born with a lot of hair, and James was no different. Our nurse was so impressed with his luscious locks that after giving him his first bath she styled it into a faux hawk.
He’s already cooler than his old man.
Have One On Us
I mentioned on Monday that, because every last room in postpartum was filled, we weren’t able to move into one until the following afternoon. What I didn’t mention was what we did that first night.
For a while it looked like we were going to spend the night in Recovery (with me trying to doze as I sat upright), but around eleven-thirty our nurse said they had a room. It was normally used for imaging, but on rare nights when Postpartum was full, they sometimes put patients in it. “I must warn you, though,” she cautioned. “It’s small and doesn’t have any windows.” What it did have was a private bathroom and a pull out chair I could sleep on, so we were ecstatic.
The next morning a hospital administrator nervously shuffled into the room, apologized profusely, and promised that we’d be the first family moved into Postpartum. When he finished talking he stared at us as if waiting to be chewed out, but when we told him not to worry about it he broke into a smile.
“Wow. You guys are being really great about this. Can we pick up your parking?”
Heather and I looked at each other. “Uh, sure!”
“How about a free meal?”
“Okay!”
“And a Starbucks coffee?”
“Yes!”
The administrator handed us some vouchers and left. I then turned to Heather, way too excited.
“I feel like we’re in Vegas and just got comped!”
Heather shook her head and told me not to use them all in one place.
I may have enjoyed “living large” at the hospital thanks to my vouchers, but I’m much happier to have James home, safe and sound.
Molly says:
That you guys were nice about the hospital room makes me like you even more. Congrats again on your gorgeous expanded family!
DefendUSA says:
What a beautiful boy! I admit, I am a little jealous. I coulda had ten but my body and my mind would not have survived!
amourningmom says:
Great minds do think alike – what a great story! Annie and James will love hearing about those stories for years to come.
Hope everyone is getting at least a little sleep and that Heather is recovering well. Sending hugs and hope.
Michelle says:
That was so fun to read! I’ve been reading you guys for years- it’s part of my early morning quiet before my girls get up. Anyway, I love that Mike is still writing everyday as Heather recovers. Always starts my day out great. Even though I don’t know you, I feel as if I do, and my heart is just so full of happiness for your family. Thanks for sharing these moments!
Rah says:
It’s cool about the twin dresses–what a great story to tell in the future! James looks a lot like you, Mike. And Annie looks like she is settling into the big sister role with aplomb.
Kelly says:
Everything about this made me smile. I could not be happier for you guys!
Casey P says:
Love the “feeling like we’re in Vegas and just got comped” part. Great post!
Colleen says:
What a cute story!! I have to say- Sweet James looks just like his mommy in this picture! Such a cutie!!
Tracy says:
Haha! California is so different – can’t believe the hospital charges for parking! LOVE the twin dresses. That is too cute. Your son is gorgeous!
Sandy says:
I live in the south and our teaching hospital and major medical center charges for parking. Pretty sizable fee too!
Love the girls having the same dress.
Hayley says:
England charges for parking. My local hospital you pay before you go in which is really stupid as who knows how you’ll be there!!!
Brandy says:
So great! I love me some Tarjay too and my Livi Ann has the same shoes as your Annie! Of course she thinks they’re AWFUL because they’re a little on the roomy side. I tried to explain that mommy doesn’t buy them just the right side, otherwise she would be out of them before the month was up. That didn’t go over real well but I’m working on it. LOL. Congrats again!
Martha says:
That’s a really cute story about the dresses, maybe they had called each other before hand You can sure see the family resemblance between Annie and Michaela!
Maris says:
Such cute pics!
Faith says:
Brautiful! And who doesn’t love some free Starbucks?!? So happy you are all home safely and settling in.
Meg says:
Loving the mohawk, and the identical outfits are too cute! My sister and I were often dressed alike growing up (even though we’re three years apart), and we still wind up coming home with similar outfits from department stores… even when we weren’t shopping together. More than once, we’ve met up wearing the same shirt in two different colors. Old habits die hard!
Lindsey says:
Your posts are always fun to read. You and Heather have very similar writing styles and senses of humor….must be why you chose each other. Love the picture of Annie and her cousin in the same outfit — Annie’s ringlets are to die for! You guys have great hair genes. That little James looks so much like you Mike! I can never write a comment to you all without a ton of exclamation points! Love to your sweet family!!!
Kristen says:
Mike! I was just perusing Huffpost while at work and was shocked to see yours and sweet Maddie’s face on the cover of HuffPost Parents. And what a sweet article. Just wanted to commend you, I think many people will appreciate your words.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-spohr/nicu-nurses-on-the-wings-of-a-nightingale_b_3353060.html?utm_hp_ref=parents&ir=Parents
Diane B. says:
Thanks for the link, Kristen. Beautiful article.
Tracey says:
I saw a link on Facebook to the HuffPo piece – it was excellent – and made me cry…..
Elizabeth McKinney says:
Aww, sweet Mohawk! I definitely see a strong resemblance to Maddie in that picture!
Paula says:
Next time I can’t find good parking at my hospital I won’t bitch because all parking is free. Even valet is free they just ask for a good will donation.
I am so happy for you both.
Annalisa says:
Whenever the duplicate outfit has happened to me, I always joke that myself and the other person agreed to do it via telepathy.
Just how crowded was the hospital? I remember it being crowded the four(!!!) days we were at ours, but we still got private rooms after the first four hours in the L&D waiting room. I guess we were lucky (that, and I was pretty grumpy since the induction just wasn’t progressing no matter how much pitocin they threw at me… they probably didn’t want me to scare the other moms out :P).
Steph says:
What a cute faux hawk! I just assumed you purposely dressed the cousins alike. I did that with my daughters and their cousin when they were younger. Too cute. Loved your nurse article that is linked in another comment. When you first posted it, I sent it to my mother, a fabulous nurse and she LOVED it. Hope Heather is doing better. Sending restful, recovering prayers your way.
Glenda says:
What a cute story! The girls dressed alike is so cute! James hair = love it!
I’d like to hear the story how you and Heather came up with the name James Asher, which by the way I LOVE!
Love, love the photo of the day!
Alexis says:
So funny! Glad you were able to write this post.
Kathryn says:
Everything about this post is so charming! What a great birthday and hospital experience, complete with “twin fashion,” princess dresses and comped starbucks. So happy for your family! You two make such beautiful children!
Jackie says:
Too funny – I saw that dress yesterday at Target, but it was displayed with a white cardigan, and I thought about how much cuter Annie’s cardigan was with it!
Tracey says:
Diggin’ the Mohawk! Great story as usual, Mike!
Emily says:
Those are wonderful stories! Thanks for sharing. You’ve done a great job writing the stories surrounding James’ birth. I’m impressed…with 2 children around, you’re doing fantastic keeping up with the blog. I’m so happy for you all!
Sam says:
Congrats! Annie and her cousin look so much alike that they could easily pass for sisters even without the matching dresses!
Cierra says:
My momma and aunt are Irish twins and they still end up wearing the same outfits! They are in their forties! My sister and I do too!
Catherine Rose says:
Hi Mike and Heather, I love story about the hospital. I had a traumatic first pregnancy / NICU stay and then with my second child ‘got to take home after 4days recovery’. I felt like I had won the lottery to have Jessica home so quickly. Hope you’re all settling into home and getting some rest. Catherine
Lauren says:
Ha! The same thing happened to us recently! I was being admitted this month for radiation–I had to be in isolation for three days because I’d be a human glow stick and we have small babes at home–and there was a big mixup in admitting and my husband and I sat there for quite a while. But we had been warned this would happen because of some silly policy and so fully expected the wait. What we didn’t expect was a free parking voucher and a $5 coupon to the cafe or gift shop!!! I swear it was like winning the lottery. And I bought the biggest bacon cheeseburger for $4.71 in the cafeteria on the day they let me out if hospital prison and do you know what? It tasted like victory.