06/19/2024
On June 13, 2024 our lives changed forever in ways we couldn’t even imagine. We welcomed our firstborn child, our daughter, Olive June Harper, into this world. She decided she wanted to share a birthday with my mom, which was a wonderful surprise, so she came two days before her due date. Birthing my daughter was not only the most transformative experience of my life, but also it was the most magical thing.
Olive means peace, and that is something she has brought us throughout my pregnancy. Olive reminds us of the ties we have to Ojai, CA - a place of healing and spirituality. Matt’s mom’s maiden name is Oliva, which means “olive” in Italian, so it’s also a tribute to her and her heritage.
June holds special meaning for us too. In Persian, “joon” means the essence of life or soul, and is also used as a term of endearment. June is my mom’s birth month, so it’s a tribute to her in that way, and even more-so now that she and Olive share the same birthday. Lastly, and coincidentally, I wanted to honor my first baby that went to Heaven on June 13, 2007, and this truly became a full circle moment when Olive was born on that exact day, 17 years later.
We faced a few challenges and scares during the labor and delivery process, one of which put our baby girl into the NICU for the longest eight hours of our lives, but we thank God everything worked out, and we have a healthy baby with us at home now.
I had the best birthing team and could not have done this without them. I want to give a special thank you to my husband by .g.harper, my doula Lauren .ruth.birth, my parents, and the staff at Sky Ridge Hospital for taking such great care of my girl and me, and for loving on us so dearly. We are soaking up all the newborn snuggles and enjoying every second with our girl. Dreams do come true.
