Before I jump to the negatives, let me start with the positives:
I am so grateful that I could enjoy 10 whole weeks with Nora. What a sweet baby girl she is. It has been a blast watching her transition from newborn to baby. I have savored every smile, every cuddle, every coo. I am also thankful that I have a job that has allowed me to take this time. Thankfully, I will be bringing Nora to work with me since the parents at the school fund a childcare/preschool co-op.
Despite all of this gratitude, I'm also afraid. I'm afraid that I will NEVER be on time ever again. The average time of day that I've gotten the two of us ready to step foot out the door is around 1:30 p.m. I'm going to have to wake up EARLY, and I don't do well with sleep deprivation. Not to mention, I'll have 1 million things to pack and carry every day (this from the parent who first went 30 minutes away without Nora's diaper bag and then, practically the next day, brought the diaper bag along sans diapers...).
Also, I get emotional thinking that someone else will be spending the most time with my daughter and, as a result, probably know her better than me :-( I'm terrified that I'll miss her firsts: first word, first time rolling over, etc. I hope someone else doesn't get her best. I'm equally terrified of the germs she'll encounter on a daily basis.
But, all that said, I'm ready for grown up time. I'm ready for a routine. I miss my friends at work and all the ministry opportunities. I'm grateful that my schedule is Monday through Thursday from 8:30 to 3:30. On Fridays, I plan to continue working from home for Life Training Institute, and Nora will hopefully be with her grandparents for the most part, which is really close by.
Please pray for me as I make this transition. Pray that Nora starts sleeping a little later in the morning so I'm not so sleep deprived. Pray that we figure out her eating schedule, since I plan to continue breastfeeding for as long as I can (or until I can no longer stay away from dairy, caffeine, chocolate, alcohol, etc.). Pray that the breastmilk will keep her well despite her new and sudden exposure to germs. And, most importantly, pray that mommy and daddy would be okay with this next step and that we'd trust the able caregivers who will be watching her during the day :-)
Ok, wish me luck.....
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
2 month update
Nora,
It's mom again. My, how you are GROWING. I continue to love you more than I could have ever imagined. When you smile, I smile. When you cry.....well, sometimes I laugh because you're even precious when you cry (that and I get to comfort you!). Luckily, you mostly smile -- especially in the mornings after a long night's rest. You continue to be a great sleeper. Just last night you slept for 10 hours!!!!!! But it came at a cost because you cried for hours on end yesterday. Also, you're sleeping in your big girl bed finally.
You love making noises and trying to talk to us. You think Mommy and Daddy are really silly. You're interacting with the world around you more and more every day and we couldn't be prouder. Mommy and Daddy are shamefully typical when it comes to your poop -- we get so excited for you! We don't even mind cleaning it up. But, we prefer that you keep it in your diaper and off the nursery chair and wall ;-)
At your 2-month appointment today, I found out that you now weigh 10 pounds, 12 ounces. You're about 23 inches. We have to work on your misshapen head. You greatly favor your right side so now your head is flat on one side. I'm sorry to embarrass you by sharing that with the world. But, we hope some time on your left side will fix things right up. We think you're still sensitive to dairy and so we're going to try supplementing your feedings with soy-based formula. We're also going to start giving you something for your acid reflux so you don't spit up so much.
Enough with the details! Here you are at 2 months old:
It's mom again. My, how you are GROWING. I continue to love you more than I could have ever imagined. When you smile, I smile. When you cry.....well, sometimes I laugh because you're even precious when you cry (that and I get to comfort you!). Luckily, you mostly smile -- especially in the mornings after a long night's rest. You continue to be a great sleeper. Just last night you slept for 10 hours!!!!!! But it came at a cost because you cried for hours on end yesterday. Also, you're sleeping in your big girl bed finally.
You love making noises and trying to talk to us. You think Mommy and Daddy are really silly. You're interacting with the world around you more and more every day and we couldn't be prouder. Mommy and Daddy are shamefully typical when it comes to your poop -- we get so excited for you! We don't even mind cleaning it up. But, we prefer that you keep it in your diaper and off the nursery chair and wall ;-)
At your 2-month appointment today, I found out that you now weigh 10 pounds, 12 ounces. You're about 23 inches. We have to work on your misshapen head. You greatly favor your right side so now your head is flat on one side. I'm sorry to embarrass you by sharing that with the world. But, we hope some time on your left side will fix things right up. We think you're still sensitive to dairy and so we're going to try supplementing your feedings with soy-based formula. We're also going to start giving you something for your acid reflux so you don't spit up so much.
Enough with the details! Here you are at 2 months old:
As a point of comparison:
(1 month)
One week:
Keep on growing String Bean (but not too fast!)!! Love, Mama and Dada
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
My photogenic baby girl
Here are a few of the shots from Nora's newborn photo shoot. They were taken when she was 1.5 weeks old. Jonathan and I had not slept that night -- oh and he was peed on by Nora during the shoot. Fun times!
But, I have to say, we were so pleased with the work of Willow Lane Portraits!!!!! Joy and Katie are baby whisperers!
Saturday, January 5, 2013
G-L-A-M-OR-OUS
As I sit down to write this blog with a glass of wine in hand, I tell myself that my life with Nora still holds a glimmer of glamour.
Then, I look down and realize I'm drinking a nasty glass of cheap white (that's all we can afford now that we have a child) while wearing my donut pajamas in the middle of the afternoon--and for the second day in a row...
As if that's not enough evidence to conclude that I'm (temporarily) living a glamour-less life, let me take a page from one of my favorite blogs and illustrate what happened when J and I went to change Nora's diaper Saturday morning:
Then, I look down and realize I'm drinking a nasty glass of cheap white (that's all we can afford now that we have a child) while wearing my donut pajamas in the middle of the afternoon--and for the second day in a row...
As if that's not enough evidence to conclude that I'm (temporarily) living a glamour-less life, let me take a page from one of my favorite blogs and illustrate what happened when J and I went to change Nora's diaper Saturday morning:
I had to illustrate this because we were too busy chasing the poop to take a picture of all the damage done by one tiny, 9-ish pound, sweet baby girl.
Yup, definitely no glamour here. Back to my wine—someone bring me a nice red #bringbacktheglamour2013
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
More Pics
We recently (and finally) downloaded the pictures we took in the hospital on Nora's birthday. Thought we'd share a few:
Dancing with my bump before the pitocin tried to kill me!
After the epidural saved me!
She's here!!!!
Footprints
Under the warmers.
First diaper. First of 5 million.
Not happy!
But momma is!
And so is her tired daddy.
She's perfect :-)
Bella Ri
Daddy Rick
Nonna
Meme
Grandpa
Family of 3
Leaving the hospital on Thanksgiving to claim my meal!
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