This has been a month of incredible development! This month Nora still eats every 2.5-3 hours, poops a couple times a day, and sleeps 12 hours at night (this month with MANY interruptions). Nora weighs 16 lbs 4 oz (51%) and is 27 1/4 inches long (92%). She finally mastered rolling both directions and can now move across a room. Nora sleeps on her stomach and started wearing her 9 month clothes. Sadly, they are summer styles, so we have had a to buy a few long sleeve onesies to keep her warm enough. Lastly, Nora got her first two teeth! This has been a sleep SINKER. One night she woke up crying every hour. Jesse and I were going crazy until we finally saw that first tooth. Sleep has improved, but the doctor told me the top teeth will be close behind. Yikes!
This month Nora eats every 2.5-3 hours, poops every day, and sleeps 12 hours at night (the longest stretch between feedings 10 pm – 5 am). Nora weighs 14 lbs 12 oz and is about 26 inches long. She has made two big accomplishments: she started rolling from her back to her stomach and she found her toes. She loves to grab and look at her toes, and she can even suck on them. One big event was that Nora was dedicated at Bethlehem Baptist Church. She loved having the support and prayers of so many family members and friends!
This month Nora eats every 2.5-3 hours, poops every other day, and sleeps 12 hours at night (the longest stretch between feedings being 9 pm – 5 am). At her 4 Month check-up Nora weighs 13 lbs 6 oz (32%) and is 25 3/4 inches long (93%). When being held, Nora now likes to stand instead of sit. At night she is moving around in her crib, so we unswaddled her arms. After meeting her new cousin, Joshua, she got her first Lashbrook family cold with a stuffy nose and cough. It was so sad! We traveled two weekends in a row, and it was a little too much. Nora also switched to her 6 month clothes because she was too long for her 3 month pajamas.
This month Nora eats every 2-3 hours, poops every 1-2 days, and sleeps 9-10 hours at night. She weighs 11 lbs 7 oz. Her most impressive skill is bringing her hands together. This means she can grab her toys, mommy’s face, and anything in her path. Nora no longer likes to be held laying down. Instead, she always wants to be sitting up though her head still gets heavy sometimes. Lastly, we have moved from occasional giggles to daily laughs. She will laugh at tickling on her changing table and daddy talking in silly voices.
Today I took this picture of Nora (cute outfit, huh?). I planned to post it with a witty comment like “Don’t give up friends, my heart belongs in Minnesota”. It is -4 degrees. It feels like -19 degrees and that is the highest the temperature has risen in days.
But…Nora had other plans. Not five minutes after this picture was taken Nora had a huge blowout. The kind of blowout where every piece of clothing went directly into the washing machine and still didn’t come clean. I’m pretty sure Nora wanted to share a different message: poop on Minnesota…and bring on spring!
This month Nora eats every 1.5-2 hours, poops 1-2 times a day, and sleeps 7-8 hours at night. She weighs 10 lbs 3 oz (23%) and is 22.5 inches long (52%). She has mostly outgrown her newborn clothes and is wearing 3 Month though they are a little baggy. A few of her accomplishments include: her first road trip (to Neenah), following faces and toys with her eyes, and smiling the most beautiful smile with the cutest dimples.
After one month Nora eats every 2-2.5 hours, poops MANY times a day, and sleeps one 5-6 hour chunk. She is a very sleepy, happy baby and mostly cries when she is tired or hungry. Her cheeks are more chunky, but she still has skinny little legs, so she is still wearing newborn clothes. We love her yawns and ninja sneezes (the combination of a sneeze and a yell). She had many firsts this month including meeting 3 of her 4 living great-grandmothers. We have so appreciated the outpouring of love, help, meals, and gifts. A little girl could not be more loved.
For 39 days I have spent every waking hour (and many sleeping hours) feeding, diapering, rocking, and caring for our new baby. In short, I have been a mother with all the jobs of a mother. Today I left Nora with Jesse for the first time and no one who saw me knew I was a mother.
It was hard…and weird. I drove the Camry instead of the minivan. I carried a clutch instead of a diaper bag. I got a pedicure without worrying that Nora would cry or need changed or need fed. In the past I always brought my own nail polish to be practical and be able to touch up my toes between pedicures. Today I used one of their colors…pink to remind me that I can be pretty…even when I smell like milk. I wore my hair down and curly not in a ponytail or bun. I went to Starbucks without carrying a heavy carseat. I relaxed…and tried to remember my other identities. I was a wife, a woman, a daughter, a sister, and a friend.
And feeling blessed, I came home to be a family with a sleeping daughter and a father who loves Nora and a husband who loves his wife.
I went into labor at 8 pm on Tuesday, October 15, 2013. I was 40 weeks and 3 days pregnant with Lil’ Sprout. I was sitting on an exercise ball playing Skip-Bo with Jesse (he let me choose the game). My first contractions were 5 minutes apart lasting 45 seconds. I remember saying to Jesse, “I can’t believe this is happening so fast…” Three hours later we headed to St. Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul. I was nervous about going to the hospital so early because I didn’t want my labor to stall, but Jesse was concerned that we were already in active labor and things were getting much more intense.
When we got to the hospital I was between 4 and 5 centimeters dilated, and the contractions were speeding up. My goal was to labor naturally without any pain medication and attempt a water birth. Two hours later I was 7 centimeters, so they started filling up the tub. My mom arrived from Wisconsin right as I got into the tub. At this point the midwife decided to break my water. Sadly, there was meconium in the amniotic fluid, so I had to get out of the tub.
At this point I was 9.5 centimeters dilated and ready to begin pushing. For those of you wondering about Jesse, he did great. He was by my side the entire time and didn’t even faint! We pushed for 2 hours…with no progress. The baby was not descending into the birth canal. Pitocin was recommended to intensify my contractions (ha, ha, they were already intense).
This was when the baby’s heart rate began to show some stress. Next an epidural was recommended to help the baby rest. Getting the epidural was the most difficult part of my labor. My contractions were so close together and so intense that it was difficult to hold still while the medication was inserted. After resting for about 20 minutes, the midwife continued to notice issues with the baby’s heart rate, and a c-section was recommended. An OB/GYN was brought in and agreed with the recommendation. Nora Kate was born at 8:46 am on October 16, 2013 via c-section. She weighed 7 pounds and was 20.5 inches long.
The Other Side of the Story:
We were SO close. At many times throughout the night, it felt like the birth of our baby was imminent. I spent hours preparing for a natural childbirth. I read books and blogs, attended classes, and did prenatal yoga once a week (even at 40 weeks). I listened to people’s birth stories, practiced my breathing, and prepped my husband. I never prepared for a cesarean birth. It was very emotional for me AND for Jesse. A friend said it best, “Being sad about the birth process is perfectly okay-and being delighted with your baby at the exact same time is perfect too. You can be BOTH.” So, here I am…being both.
We have been blessed with many babies in our lives. Jesse’s brother has a son and daughter, my brother has a son, many of our friends have babies, and some of our friends have many children.
In the past few months we moved our office downstairs. We painted the nursery. We set up the crib. Jesse’s mom made curtains. Friends and family have generously lavished us with gifts.
Still the question remains, “Are you ready?” The honest answer is probably not, but ready or not Lil’ Sprout will soon be on the way.
From our Annual Second Grade Hobby Lobby tripMy sister-in-law, Alaina, helped us paint the fun dots on the wall.A librarian can’t just have a bookshelf…I needed a book wall.
