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!

The Nursery

I forgot that we never posted pics of Nora's room! I have to say that the hard work all came from Jeff. He painted the walls, stained the crib, put together the book case, hung things on the walls, and installed the new light fixture. How awesome is he??? Totally awesome. We hope that Nora finds her room to be cozy and relaxing - and sleep inducing at night! :)

2 weeks along

So it's been a couple of weeks since little Nora entered our lives. To say we are completely smitten by her is an understatement. It was love at first sight and we just keep falling deeper and deeper with every coo and snuggle.

Nora has stolen the hearts of pretty much everyone she has met so far. Grandma Linda and Pop Pop Saul fell for her during their visit. Grandma Wells is head over heals in love. The folks at Kristen's work oohed and aahed over her. Friends have been generous with their words and actions. She certainly is going to have a wonderful family and extended family along side her as she grows. How lucky are we?

Some little notes about Nora:

• She likes to be swaddled, but only if her arms are free
• She likes to put her hands up by her face
• She grunts and coos in her sleep
• She loves to snuggle
• She had her first explosive poo that oozed out of her diaper
• She hates her iron vitamin (blech!)
• She likes to have stories read to her
• She eats every 3 hours
• She squeaks sometimes. It's adorbs!
• Mama's voice makes her smile
• She loves Daddy's one armed holds

Happy Birth Day!

NORA BENDON HYMAN

Born: August 3, 2011

6:28pm

4lbs, 10oz

Our sweet Nora is here! She came via Plan C...

Plan A was to have Nora on or near her due date, August 24. At our 9 month sonogram we learned that she had fallen into the ninth percentile for size. Being below the tenth percentile is a concern. Our doctor said she felt it would be best to deliver the baby as soon as I hit full term, which is 37 weeks and was just 5 days away. Holy cow! In 5 days! We were working under Plan A and still had some things to do. We hadn't put the car seat in the car yet. We still had our newborn class to attend. We still needed to grocery shop so we could cook and freeze meals. And, and, and! So Jeff and I buckled down and squeezed in 3 weeks of plans into 4 days. Phew!

Plan B was now in effect: go into the hospital on Tuesday night to get the cervidil inserted then get the pitocin started first thing on Wednesday morning. It turned out that labor and delivery was so full that we couldn't get in on Tuesday night. This wasn't nerve-wracking at all! :) When we called Wednesday morning, the initial response from the hospital was, "We'll call you when we can fit you in." What the what?? Thankfully, we got a call 5 minutes later that gave us the go ahead.

When we arrived, we got settled in and saw our doctor. After a really uncomfortable effort to get my cervix opened a bit (don't worry, I won't go into it here), we went right for the pitocin. As the contractions began to show up on the monitor we also saw that Nora was having "decelerations" after each one. I wasn't feeling the contractions at this point. We stopped the pitocin to see if she'd get back to a normal heart rate. Her heart rate did go back to normal so we started the pitocin again. The decelerations began immediately. Pitocin was stopped and we went to Plan C...

C-Section.

Once this decision was made, things moved fast! Jeff got dressed in scrubs, I was prepped, and off to the operating room we went. It was all very sci-fi looking with the machines and lights and tiny operating table. After a quick spinal, I was put into position and thus began the birth of Nora. With Jeff by my side supporting and loving me, Nora joined us with a wail! What a wonderful moment in our lives. We will never forget it.

Final Pregnancy Days

Today could be the very last full day of being pregnant (and not being in labor) for me. I cannot believe it! I have been so thankful to be able to experience pregnancy and have really loved it. Yes, I felt exhausted at the beginning and have had heartburn for months on end, but I've also been able to see my belly grow and feel and watch Baby Girl BH moving around inside of me. It has just been the best. I'm a little sad for it to be over but am eager to meet our little one!

A few final pregnancy notes and stats:

Weight gained: 28 pounds

Cravings: apparently those will forever and always be tater tots and potatoes in general. Sabra hummus def tops the list, too. I've also always up for Ramen at our local spot, Doodles.

Symptoms: a bit more belly and back soreness over the last couple of weeks, heartburn, a little less energy, sweating.

What I miss: sleeping on my stomach, sleeping without having to go to the bathroom several times a night.

Thanks to all of our friends and family who have been such wonderful supporters through these 9 months. Know we appreciate it and love y'all!

Now let's have a baby!!!

Some Unexpected News

Jeff and I went to our 9 month appt on Thursday to find out that Baby Girl BH needs to come early. Although the amount of amnio fluid present is good and her heartbeat is strong, she is very small. We find out on Tuesday afternoon if I'll go to the hospital on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning to get induced. As you can imagine, this came as a pretty significant surprise. At first it was a little scary, but we are confident that our doctor has the best in mind for us and our little girl.

So...we thought we had 4 weeks to prepare. Turns out we have had 5 days to get all of the final prepartions completed. Needless to say, we have been wildly busy! We have...

• Finished hanging things in the baby's room
• Lined up the dog sitter
• Grocery shopped
• Cooked meals to freeze
• Packed for the hospital
• Finished the laundry
• Changed the sheets on all the beds
• Got caught up on bills
• Got Jeff's car cleaned and installed the car seat
• Set up the pack-n-play
• Introduced the dogs to a fake baby, in hopes of getting them a little acclimated

Most of our list is complete. We still have a few things to do, including a little bit of cleaning, but things are looking good. Especially considering the unexpected news and shortened timeline.

We'll do our best to keep everyone posted on Baby Girl BH's arrival.

More Showers

This is my surprise face. This is how I look when my co-workers throw me a surprise baby shower. How nice are they?? And sneaky. :)

My book club also had a shower for Baby Girl BH as did our neighbors, who are affectionately called "The Reservists" (we live in a neighborhood called The Reserve").

Some highlights from the showers:

Work: We had a beautiful cake that was created as a jack-in-the box with a giraffe popping out. We were also given one of the gifts we were most excited to get, which is the space themed play mat.

Book Club: Can you guess the theme? Books! We got loads and loads of beautiful books that we have been reading to Baby Girl BH each night. It's become a nice way to end our day.

The Reservists: Tater tots (my pregnancy craving) and vegan cupcakes. Oh yea, it was good eats! I was also the winner of our baby bottle drinking bracket.

We are so touched by the generosity of our friends. We are lucky that Baby Girl BH will be surrounded by so many people who care about us and who will care about her, too.