Sistahs

Tim gets the credit for snapping this photo of our girls snuggling up together on his lap.  You can't see it in the picture, but Norah had her arm around Audrey, too.  So sweet.

And this is just a random cartoon I found on a homeschool blog I've been reading, and it cracked me up.  I love it.  Come to my house and I'll show you how not-wasted my life is. :)

Photo by April Spreeman

My Favorite Pictures of the Week

Intense concentration...working on a craft. Complete with a streak of marker across the cheek.

The best kind of nap...on Daddy's chest.

She asks for "bows" in her hair nearly every day now. LOVE this grin.



And I didn't know it was possible for a 3-week-old to have cheeks this chubby. They are SO kissable!

Got Milk?

I do. Loads of it.

(Disclaimer for any male readers out there...this post is primarily related to breast-feeding, so if that makes you uncomfortable, I recommend you stop reading now.)

This is a good summary of how I felt when I was nursing Audrey: (click on the comic strip to see it larger.)

The girl would eat for a solid hour, every single feeding. And did so for the first 4 months of her life. I hardly got anything else done.

Norah, on the other hand, is a voracious eater. Can you tell? This was taken at UNDER 2 weeks' old. She doesn't even look like a newborn.

No offense at all intended to formula feeding moms, but this is more how I feel about nursing this time around:

Funny, eh? :) I know some of you can relate.

I took Norah in for a follow-up jaundice and weight check when she was 3 days old. The lactation consultant warned me that she was probably still losing weight, since my milk was only starting to come in, and they didn't expect her to get back to her birth weight until she was 2 weeks' old or so. Surprise! She was already back up to 8 pounds. (Born at 8 lbs 5 oz, left the hospital at 7 lbs 15 oz.) I fed her there in the office, (on one side only, for about 15 minutes,) then I asked them to weigh her again. I get curious to know how much she's getting. The lactation consultant about fell off her chair. 8 lbs 3 oz. Apparently I wasn't "supposed" to be making that much milk that early on. And apparently little Norah's stomach is only "supposed" to hold about one ounce, (certainly not 3!), at that young age. Apparently we like to defy all those rules.

I stopped by one more time last week, since we found out our new insurance will cover 90% of the cost of a new pump. Decided, just out of curiousity again, to weigh the "little" peanut and see how she was faring. 9 lbs 7 oz. Not even 2 weeks' old yet. Seriously!?!?

The crazy thing is, she is totally content to nurse for 5-10 minutes and be done. She's averaging every 2-3 hours during the day, and giving me a few 4-4.5 hours stretches at night. If I hadn't had her weighed to know how much she's growing, I'd be worried that she was just snacking and not getting enough of the good stuff. But my goodness, she's efficient. And I don't mind one bit. It's a pleasant change this time around, and the Good Lord knows I have other things to do with the extra time!

Somewhat related to milk...Audrey found a leftover piece of Alpha Bits cereal on the floor last week. She handed it to me and said "Ice Cream."

"Yes, Audrey, I is for ice cream!" So proud of my girl...not only does she know her letters, she has mommy's sweet tooth! :)

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

So how many words do 77 pictures equal? :) I get a little camera happy...look at as many or as few as you like.

Sisterly Introductions

So far things are going really really well. How could they not, with a little girl as sweet as this?
The first meeting went incredibly well. Audrey came into the hospital room and said "Hi No-wah!" Then she noticed Norah's hat, and said "hat, baby!" My parents brought her over to the bed, she climbed right up and stared at Norah's face and announced, "baby sleepin!" It took multiple attempts to get this picture, because Audrey simply would NOT look at the camera, which is very atypical for her. She was absolutely mesmerized by Norah and wouldn't take her eyes off of her! We finally convinced her to look up...and captured the grin of a lifetime. I love this picture.

I came home from the hospital a day early, since I was feeling good, and frankly I've stayed over a few too many nights at that hospital over the past few months. (And seeing as I battle insomnia from the comfort of my own home, you can imagine how well I sleep in the hospital. I was going on 2 hours of sleep over a period of 48 hours.) Plus, I knew it would be better for Audrey if I could be home sooner rather than later, so we could get back into some semblance of routine.

Here's what day #1 looked like at home:

Lots of spontaneous (and gentle!) kisses.

Many big grins.

And new vocabulary words by the minute. I've never heard Audrey say the word hiccup, and didn't even know that she knew what they were until she started saying it to Norah here. You'll have to crank up the volume because we had visitors and the background noise is kind of loud, but if you listen closely you'll hear Audrey say Norah's name a few times, as well as the word hiccup.

I have much more to say but will have to do so later. I've been working on this post for the last 3 days! Things are going to take a little more time now...

It's a.....

GIRL!!!

Norah Louise was born early this morning, at 2:21 a.m. She weighed in at a whopping 8 pounds, 5 ounces, and is 20 3/4 inches long. She's beautiful. Her face is a little bruised, likely from being in my pelvis for the last 2 months, but her head was surprisingly non-cone shaped. That probably has something to do with the fact that I only had to push for 10 minutes. :) :) :) We are all doing great. Norah Lou is already a fabulous eater, praise the Lord for that! She's nursed for over half her life already. :) And she has a little bit of fuzzy (maybe red!) hair. And has sucked her thumb twice. Norah means woman of honor, and Louise means famous warrior, which we found appropriate seeing as how this little one has been through a near battle already, through the events of this crazy pregnancy. Louise is also special because it is the middle name of my grandma, on my dad's side.

Labor went great. I started having "real" contractions at 11:53 p.m. The first 2 were only 3 minutes apart, so after about 5 or 6 of them I woke Tim up and we called my parents to come over and stay with Audrey. Uncle Kyle beat them to our house. I was still feeling pretty good, and Tim had to persuade me to get my stuff ready and get out the door. I could tell he was getting nervous.

We got to the hospital and I tried to explain to the nurse that I would probably go pretty quickly. We were pushing them to get an IV lock in me ASAP; with my history of blood loss after my last delivery, we knew there might not be enough time later, and really wanted access for the necessary medication post-delivery if it was needed. She said she needed to call the doctor first to get an order, and before she could do that she needed to check me to see how far along I was. I don't think she fully understood what I meant by "quickly" until she checked my cervix about 20 minutes later and said I was dilated 9 1/2 cm. She finally called the midwife. (I didn't know the doctor on call, and wanted a natural delivery, which I knew the midwife would be supportive of, so I requested her instead of the doc. She was fabulous!)

The most nerve-wracking part of the experience was finding out I was so close to delivering and not having the midwife there yet. Thankfully she arrived in time. She told me we could do things however I wanted to do them, offering to check me again to see if I was fully dilated yet. I was, and she offered to break my water, but only if I was willing. My contractions were getting quite a bit longer and stronger, so after a little discussion, I agreed, and little Norah was born after only 5 or 6 pushes. My mom and Tim were both in the delivery room, and incredibly supportive!


I should probably try and get some rest now, though the sun is coming up and the adrenaline is still going strong. Big sister will be here in a few short hours to meet this one who's going to rock her world. I'm looking forward to the introductions, and will post more later!

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers. They worked!!!