A few of my favorite baby things

These are a few of my favorite things!

1) Rock N Play

This was our life saver! Norah was not a fan or her crib. She wanted to be held close. We borrowed the Rock N Play a few days after arriving home from the hospital and it totally changed everything. Norah really liked it and she slept so well in it. I was pretty adamant about wanting her in her crib right from the start but I quickly learned that she had other plans. The Rock N Play was great because it could be moved from room to room easily. She slept in this until she was about 7 weeks old. I would highly recommend this to any new mama.

2) Tommee Tippee Bottles

I started pumping when Norah was about 3 weeks old and originally we tried using a different brand of bottles. Norah just wasn't a fan. I happened to have a Tommee Tippee bottle that was given to me when we registered at Target and I decided to try it. Norah took to it so well. I think these bottles are perfect for the breast feed baby.

3) Medela Breast Pump

This has been great! Thankfully our insurance company covered the cost of this bad boy. Check out www.inursemybaby.com . They did all the leg work in getting my pump. It was awesome! If you are pregnant and interested in a breast pump the wonderful team at www.inursemybaby.com will be happy to help you!

4)Swaddle Sleep Sack

These are great! However, I wouldn't use them for a newborn. The velcro is noisy. I started using these with Norah when she was about 2 month old and sleeping longer stretches at night. Norah is a master of getting out of her swaddle and these made it a little bit harder for her :)

5) Boppy Nursing Pillow

I love my nursing pillow. I would take it everywhere with me if I wouldn't get strange looks.

6) Aden and Anais Swaddles

These are perfect for a newborn baby. I loved them. They are soft and thin but they also keep baby warm.

7)Mam Pacifiers

In the hospital one of the nurses gave us some pacifiers. However, they were huge and Norah couldn't keep them in her month. Someone had given me a pack of newborn Mam pacifiers and these fit Norah's tiny month perfect. She has to be in the mood to take a pacifier but when she wants it this is the one she wants!

8)Newborn gowns

These are wonderful for those middle of the night feedings when its dark and you can hardly open your eyes. We had several of these and this is about all Norah wore the first several weeks of her life. 

This is not a complete list or final list but these are what come to mind when I think about the things that made life easier with a newborn! I hope that this blog post helps some of my new mommy-to-be friends out there! 

Norah-3 months old!

3 months feels like such a big milestone! Norah has grown and changed so much over this past 

month.  Here is a little update on our big girl.

Feeding: We continue to have success with nursing! We when through a stage where everything I ate seemed to bother her but I have made some adjustments to my diet and things are going well now!

Awake time/Skills: Norah loves play time. She kicks and wiggles. She has rolled over from her belly to her back once! I put her down on her play mat and walked away for a minute. When I walked back to her to check on her she was on her back. I couldn't believe that I missed it. I was so proud of her. She hasn't done it again but we are working on it! I normally rotate her from each activity throughout the day. That way she isn't always looking at the same thing. She does really well playing by herself and doesn't need to be held all the time. However, sometimes I just want to hold her :) She loves to stand up. She gets so proud of herself. It's so cute! She is normally awake for about an hour to an hour and a half.

Naps/Night time: Norah is not a morning person. So as a result of that she always takes a really good morning nap. I am very thankful for this! She generally goes down really easy for her naps and will sleep anywhere from an hour to 2 hours depending on the time of day. She wakes up one time during the night to nurse. As much as I would like to sleep through the night I am perfectly fine with her getting up once. My body as adjusted really well to running on a little less sleep and I am very thankful for that!

Personality: Norah seriously is the happiest baby! She smiles all the time and when she smiles she smiles with her whole face. Everytime she smiles I smile. I just can't help it! Yes, she cries too but it is normally because she is hungry or tired. She loves to talk and she loves to suck on her hands. I'm pretty sure she is going to be a thumb sucker.

She weighed in today at 11lbs 6oz and 23 1/2inches long! She is growing strong and is healthy! We are so thankful for her and the blessing that she is to us!

Norah-2 months old!

I cannot believe that our sweet girl is two month old! Time is flying by. She is growing and changing so quickly. I found her hospital hat the other day and it totally melted my heart. I had to pack away her newborn clothes and wash all of her 3 month clothes. Time please slow down. It is so much fun to watch her discover new things everyday. Here is an update on her!

Feedings: Nursing is going really well. Norah likes her milk :) She has since day one. She eats every 3 hours during the day and gives me longer stretches at night. She has doubled her birth weight already which makes me feel great! It helps me to know that I am doing something right.

Awake time/Play time: After Norah eats she is usually awake for another 30 minutes or so. Giving her total awake time around an hour. Sometimes longer. She loves her bouncer and is starting to really like her play map. She is noticing more every time I lay her on her mat and it is really fun to watch her discover things! She is starting to coo and she loves to stretch and kick her little legs!

Naps/Night time: Norah is good sleeper. She normally naps for about an hour and a half to two hours.  After her late night feeding she will give me a nice 5/6 hour stretch and then wakes for a feeding. After that feeding she will go another 4 hours!

Personality: She is such a happy baby! She has been smiling at us(on purpose)since she was a month old and that is my absolute favorite. She likes to know what is going on around her. She enjoys sitting up while in our laps and she is constantly kicking her legs. I'm not sure where she thinks she is going, but she sure is trying! She loves her daddy and we love it when daddy comes home from work.

I absolutely love being Norah's mama. She is such a joy!

Body after baby....

Oh yes...You read the title correctly. The body after baby blog post. Ive been thinking about this post for the past several days and I think it is important for women to be honest about our postpartum bodies. So here goes nothing.

I gained 60lbs while pregnant......Okay you can close your month now. I was equally as shocked. I did really well with my weight gain until just over half way through my pregnancy. Im not going to lie.... I ate what I wanted. I have a major sweet tooth and it went off the chain during my pregnancy. Not only did I have zero self control but other people always seemed to encourage me to eat what I wanted. And I would listen to them. My doctors were always bringing it up and rightly so. I walked a few days a week and tried not to snack. However, the number on the scale just kept going up. I hated that part of my doctors appointments. At my 37 week appointment the doctor told me she could tell I was bothered by the weight gain because I mentioned it to her several times. She was so encouraging when she told me that it would be ok. I obviously needed to be aware of what I was eating but I would be able to lose the weight.

By the time I went into labor I was extremely swollen. I honestly didn't realize how swollen I was. After giving birth I was even more swollen. I had already mentally prepared myself for the worse when it came to how I would feel about my new body. About a week after Norah was born I began to notice that my new shape was taking place. The swelling was going away and I was beginning to feel more like myself. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror one night and the first thing that came to mind was that I didn't look near as "fat" as I thought I would.

Two weeks post delivery I got on the scale. I had lost 40lbs. I was shocked. I couldn't believe how fast I dropped the bulk of the weight and it proved to me that I was carrying around a lot of water weight.  I still have 20lbs to lose to be at pre baby weight but honestly I'm not that worried about it.

Yes, I have some killer stretch marks and my tummy is squishy. But you know what....I'm ok with it. Every time I look at those stretch marks and my squishy tummy I am reminded of my sweet baby girl.

Every single pound was worth gaining for her.

Norah's first 3 weeks

My baby girl is 3 weeks old today. This blows my mind! Here is a little update on life in our house.

Feedings: She eats life a champ. She is currently weighing in at 6lbs 14oz. Baby girl likes her milk. I am so thankful that nursing has been successful for us.

Sleeping: She is on a 3 hour schedule and at night she goes right back to sleep after she eats. I am very thankful for this. During the day she has some good awake time and then back to sleep for our little princess. I swaddle her and the little stinker always gets her arms out. She wants her hands right by her face. I can't blame her. I sleep with my hands by my face too :)

Personality: Its been fun to watch her personality develop. And I know we will only see it more and more as she grows. She is so sweet and likes to cuddle. We love that!! She makes the funniest noises and faces. I could stare at her all day. I feel like each day she is more alert and aware. She will look right at us and listen to us talk to her. 

Daddy is totally smitten with her. It's so sweet to watch him with her. His favorite thing to do is kiss her face. Listening to him talk to her and sing to her does a mamas heart good. He is a wonderful father and seeing how in love he is with Norah makes me more in love with him.

I am also smitten with my baby girl. She constantly makes me smile.  Even though I feel slightly sleep deprived I am loving motherhood. It is the most rewarding thing I have ever done. Sure, wiping poop off the wall by her changing table at 5:30am after she had a blow out isn't anyones idea of fun. However, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I am so in love with Norah. 

I am thankful with how the Lord has blessed our little family. He has given us far more than we deserve.

Norah is here-Birth Story!

I cannot believe that my baby girl is a 1 week old! Time is already flying by. This sweet little girl has stollen our hearts!

Here is her birth story.

On Saturday November 9th I woke up around 8am. I got up and quickly noticed that something didn't feel normal. We were actually staying at Ethan's parents house because there was a family event happening there that morning. I went to the bathroom and was pretty sure that my water had broken. I got Ethan and we decided that I would call my doctor. With Norah being our first I wasn't really sure if my water had actually broken or not. I wasn't having any contractions. Plus I was 37 weeks and 1 day and I didn't think Norah would be early. I had been telling myself she was gonna be late so I wouldn't get my hopes up about an early arrival. After talking to my doctor and doing my hair and make up :) we headed to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital around 11:00am. They checked and told me that my water hadn't broken and that I wasn't dilated. They let me walk around for a while and then they checked again and still the test said that my water had not broken. This was totally discouraging. Leaving the hospital was like taking the walk of shame. 

Ethan and I were starving at this point so we went and got lunch. After lunch I started feeling like I was cramping on and off. I thought it was because they had checked me and didn't think much of it. We made it home and decided to just lay low and rest. The cramping continued throughout the afternoon and little by little began to bother me more. Around 7:30 we headed to the mall to walk around and get out of the house. At this point I was pretty uncomfortable but I wasn't sure if these cramps were contractions or not. I called my cousin who is a NICU nurse and she encouraged me to start timing the cramps because she thought they sounded like contractions. So I proceeded to time them for the next hour and a half. They were coming pretty strong and I had to stop and breath through them. They were coming every 4/5 mins and lasting for about 30 seconds. I decided to call my doctor again and after talking with him we decided that I should go ahead and head back to the hospital to be checked.

So Ethan and I made our way back to the hospital. The contractions were strong and I told Ethan that if this wasn't the real thing I would never survive actual labor :) We arrived at the hospital around 11:30pm and when the nurse checked she told us that my water had broken and I was almost 2 centimeters dilated. Ahh!! I'm pretty sure that my water was broken all along and that for whatever reason it just didn't show up when they tested me earlier that day. I am actually really thankful that they sent us home because this gave me the chance to spend those early laboring hours at home and not in a hospital bed. 

At 3:30am I had progressed to 5 centimeters and was able to get my epidural. At this point my contractions were coming every 2 mins and lasting for about a minute so there was no resting in between. I was so ready for the epidural. Labor is no joke. Once my epidural kicked in I was able to rest. Not sleep. There is no way that sleep can really happen in a hospital.

Around 7:30am I began to feel pressure so I asked my nurse to check me. When she did I was complete and ready to push! I had no idea that this moment would bring so much emotion. I was in tears. I was gonna meet my baby girl. My sweet nurse began to get everything in place and around 8:00am I began pushing. Honestly the hardest thing I have ever done. They told me I was a great pusher. However, they probably tell every women that. Ethan stood right by my side and was a fabulous coach. Could not have done it without his encouragement. He was my biggest fan and just what I needed in those moments.

At 8:59am on November 10th we welcomed Norah Rose into the world! I remember my doctor telling me to look after I had finished a seriously hard push and there she was! 

My doctor quickly handed her to me and tears filled both mine and Ethan's eyes. It was the sweetest moment I have ever experienced. We were in love from that second on! It is amazing how much love you can have for this tiny little life. So precious! 

Norah weighed in at 5lbs 9oz and 18 3/4 inches long. Our tiny little peanut. Before they put her on the scale I guessed 7lbs 1oz. I was way off. I still can't believe how tiny she is!

I am so thankful that I had such a smooth labor and delivery. I could not have asked it to go any better. I am very blessed.

Norah is healthy and strong. Even though she was a little early. She didn't have any problems. She was just ready to make her arrival and I am so glad that she did. Our lives are forever changed and they have changed for the good. Norah has our hearts and being her mommy is the most rewarding thing I have ever done!

We are madly in love! 

Welcome to the world Norah Rose! You have our hearts sweet girl!

35 weeks

Sorry for my lack of pregnancy updates. It has nothing to do with not having the time. I have just been slacking.

Today marks 35 weeks of pregnancy. I am excited that the end is near and that meeting our baby girl is in sight! I'm ready to hold her, kiss her, watch her daddy hold and kiss her! We are ready to begin our life as a family of 3. I know that I cannot fully prepare for the change that is about to take place in our life. I know that it will be one of the most rewarding yet challenging things we ever experience but I also know that God's grace is sufficient. As Ethan and I prepare to step into this role of parenthood we know that the mistakes will be many, but that the love will be even greater. As we pray for our baby girl we pray that she will come to know Christ at an early age and that she will commit her life to faithfully serving Him. As I think about the love that we already have for her I can't help put think about how much more Christ loves us. I pray is that as Norah's mommy I will point her to Jesus every day.

My pregnancy is still going smooth. We are so thankful for this! Here is a little update for you.

Norah:

1) Most active at night when I lay on my side

2) Head down as far as my doctor can tell...woo hoo!

3) Growing right on track

4) Heart rate in the 140's

5) Totally crammed in mommy's belly

6) Her hospital bag is packed and ready to go

Mommy:

1) Swollen feet-always

2) Gained far more weight than what my doctor would like

3) Major sweet tooth-maybe this is why my weight gain is high... :)

4) Sleeping fairly well

5) I can no longer see my feet when standing

6) My belly button has yet to pop out...I am pretty proud of this!

Here is a 34 week belly picture that I took last Friday

The weather has been so nice here the last few days! Perfect for this hormonal pregnant girl. Today Ethan and I enjoyed a lovely lunch date and walk downtown. It was fantastic. I love days like today where Ethan and I can enjoy time together with no interruptions.