Influenza

Snuggling makes the flu almost bearable

Sweet Nora had the flu last week...straight up influenza. It was sad to see her so out of sorts, uncomfortable, and without her usual cheerful energy. She was easy to upset, wanted to be held almost constantly, and didn't sleep well over night. 

Our pediatrician and nurses were wonderful and we were able to get Nora on some medicine that helped quite a bit. Lots of napping, reading books, and snuggling on the couch while watching The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse also helped to get our little girl back on a healthy track. I'm so thankful that I was able to work from home for the week so that I could be with Nora. 

Flu Day 1-4

One week later, we are now back to playing with our toys, giggling, running around, and eating with enthusiasm! :) Hoorah for healing medicine and bodies!

Mommy's Bed

Last week Nora woke up at 3am very upset. Thankfully this isn't something that happens often, but when it does it usually takes some time to comfort Nora and get her back to sleep. So 3am becomes 5am and it's just me and Nora; Jeff is out of town. Nora and I both need some sleep and I do something that so many people say you shouldn't; I bring Nora into our bed.

Honestly, it makes me nervous me to have Nora sleep in our bed. But we were both so tired and no sleep was coming so to Mommy's bed we went. 

After creating what I hoped was a safety zone of pillows around us to prevent falling off the bed, I sat up against the headboard with Nora on my chest and felt my sweet girl relax and go to sleep. I half-dozed a bit, frankly enjoying a snuggle with my babe. Eventually Nora wanted to sleep on the bed so we shared the mattress with me in a "C" around her and my hand on her chest, hoping that would provide some added safety. Nora was fast, fast, fast asleep.

When it was time to rise and shine, Miss Nora was not interested. This is her after my attempt of waking her:

Still out like a light! Although it was helpful to get some rest (for both of us!) and I did enjoy the baby snuggles, I hope that sweet slumbers in her crib continue to be the norm.

Until it is time for Saturday morning cartoons in bed. Can't wait for that!

November 17

Nora slept until 4:30am!!

4 weeks

Here we are, 4 weeks since Nora was born. Time is flying! Well, except on the nights she doesn't want to go to sleep. Then time stands still. :)

At this point, I think we are starting to get used to living life in 2.5 - 3 hour increments. I know her schedule is bound to change as we get used to this one, but I'm going to appreciate feeling relatively in-sync with her right now. She still sleeps quite a bit, but we have been getting some more alert times with her during the day. During these times we snuggle, read, have tummy-time, lay on the play mat, and sing songs. Jeff and I have realized that we really only know the first line or two of most nursery rhymes/songs. As a result, we make up a lot of words to the tune of lullabies. It works now, but eventually Nora will understand what we are saying so we'd better bone up on the lyrics.

She is gaining weight, which is wonderful! We're slowly but surely moving out of preemie clothes and into the newborn ones. Her cheeks are getting chubby and she is fitting better in her torture chamber, I mean her car seat. She still prefers taking the bottle from Jeff, but I'm hoping that by October (when Jeff starts traveling) that this will not be the case. Everyone send us good "take the bottle from mommy in less than an hour" vibes, ok?

Those are some updates. What kinds of things do you all want to know about little Nora as she grows? We're taking suggestions for topics.

Love y'all!