Sweet Norah Jane

It's official...I'm the worst blogger ever. But instead of trying to set high hopes for myself of being a consistent blogger, I'm just going to use this as a place to write down memories for myself every now and then.

Our sweet Norah girl is 10 weeks old, and what an amazing whirlwind these last 10 weeks have been. Our lives have forever changed, and I don't think we've even realized what that fully means yet. But I already can not imagine life without this sweet girl. I want to record some of the things she is doing now, because she's already growing and changing way too fast, and I can barely remember what she was like when she was first born. 

Norah, at 10 weeks you:

- are a happy baby. The only time you really fuss is if you are overtired, and we try very hard to avoid this state. You are sure to let us know if you are hungry or bored, and you definitely have some lungs on you, but these problems are quickly solved. You are not hard to figure out. We have only experienced an inconsolable cry (lasting longer than 3-5 minutes) once or twice in your life, and we are very thankful for the Lord's grace in this so far. 

- are a good sleeper. Your first week of life you were sleeping 6 hour stretches, and the doctor told us we needed to wake you up sooner than that to eat. Wow. The last 4 weeks or so, you generally only have one nighttime feed, and one early morning feed, and you almost always go right back to sleep after these feeds. 

We are currently working on sleep training, and are teaching you to take naps in your crib, fall asleep on your own, and soothe yourself back to sleep when you wake yourself up. This has not been an easy process, and I feel like I have spent the majority of my days getting you to sleep. A couple of nights ago, you were extremely overtired and would fall asleep, but wake yourself back up every 5 minutes. Your daddy and I were desperate, so we let you cry it out in your crib. I cried with you. You lasted 2 hours before I finally came in and picked you up. The next night when you woke yourself up, we let you cry, and it lasted 45 minutes. Tonight was 20, so hopefully we're making progress! I hope so, because this is probably harder for your mama than it is for you!

- your favorite places are your bouncer and your changing table (although you almost fell off today when I went to get something from your closet, so this may not be a place you hang out at very long any more!). 

- recently found your hand, and you love it! You also just starting loving looking at a mirror and talking to the "other" baby. You will last so long doing this!

- had your first sickness already! At your 2 month checkup the doctor confirmed that you had a minor ear infection and diarrhea. This only really affected you for a couple of days, but those days were hard and you were pretty irritable. We are just glad it cleared up quickly and you didn't have to take any meds!

- are a daddy's girl, and always light up for him, and look for him when you hear him enter the room. Up until just recently, he could soothe you just as well, if not better, than I could. And he loves you right back. You melt his heart already girl. 

- are starting to mimic the noises I make to you. You can do it sometimes, and other times you just move your mouth like you're trying to get it out. I may look like a fool saying "goo" to you all the time, but it's so fun when you say it back! 

You are such a blessing, and I want to remember each and every sweet moment with you! Now for some pictures...

                                           {2 month picture. It was done super quickly
                                                because this was ear infection day. }

                                                            {Sweet Smiles}

                                                        {I love this little cutie}

25 Weeks

For those of you who haven't seen me in person in awhile, you might be surprised by how much my belly has grown!! It still surprises me almost every day! Baby girl is just starting to really put on weight and subsequently, so is her mama :).


I can't believe I am almost 26 weeks...I know sweet baby girl is going to be here before we know it! She has been such a mover lately and I feel like I've spent so much of my week just sitting or laying down and watching my belly. We can not only feel her kicks and movements, but can see her move and switch positions. If I'm getting this much joy from watching her inside my belly, I can't imagine what it'll be like once she's out!


Recently I have begun to feel the beginning of a season of preparation. So much of my life and time and energy right now is spent preparing for her to be here, and I don't see that changing until she's here. I am beginning to figure out how long I can take off work and how my job will look while I'm gone, we're starting to look into labor preparation classes, and we just bought a crib! I have big dreams in my head for a nursery, and am ready to move into our new place so I can start actually making some of these ideas come true. Needless to say, Justin and I are not physically anywhere close to being ready for her to be here, but emotionally we already feel like she is part of our family and can't wait to meet her!

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along: 25 weeks

Fruit/Veggie size: Eggplant (whoa!!)

Baby changes: Baby is beginning to gain weight and her skin is beginning to look less wrinkly. Baby's nostrils are starting to open and she is beginning to practice how to breath. 

Best moment this week: Her sweet movements. This may be the best moment every week, but in this past week her kicks/movements have gotten a lot stronger and have made us wonder aloud many times "WHAT is she doing?!"

Movement: See above!

Food craving: None, my hunger has just significantly increased. I feel myself getting a little anxious whenever we leave the house because I'm thinking about the next time I'll eat, if I'll get hungry, if I need to bring any snacks with me, etc. 

Sleep: I generally wake up once a night to go to the bathroom, but not every night. The last two nights baby girl has woken me up around 5am with the most intense movements I've felt yet, and I've woken Justin up and we've laid there and just reveled at this miracle inside me.

Clothes: I am in a lot of maternity clothes, although a lot of my normal clothes still fit, which is good because I don't have very many maternity clothes, so if you have some you would like to pass on, please do! (And thanks to my sweet friends who already have :)). 

I am in the middle of re-arranging my closet and creating a section of everything I can wear. Mornings are starting to take too long because I try on too many clothes figuring out what fits me and what doesn't. 

Symptoms: Still a fairly easy pregnancy, though I am beginning to have more discomfort. I have been experiencing some indigestion, mostly at night when I go to bed. It's a catch 22 because I'm always hungry right before I go to bed, but if I lay down shortly after I eat, I'll have indigestion. 

I still have varicose veins on the back of one of my knees, and they have caused me slightly more pain, but nothing crazy and most days I don't even remember I have them. 

What I'm looking forward to: Decorating her nursery! And officially deciding on a name! We have some ideas and think we may know what her name is, but have not committed to a name yet. We have been praying for her name since we found out we were pregnant, and really have been asking the Lord to show us a name that fits this specific child of ours. We want a name with meaning that we can pray/prophesy over her life, so this is no small decision!

LONG Overdue...21 Weeks

It's official...my goal of blogging about this pregnancy has not gotten off to a great start. But I'm only halfway to the end, so there's still hope!

I am now 21 weeks and have officially made it halfway...crazy! I can't believe it's gone by that fast and I'm sure I will be holding my sweet baby girl before we know it.

That's right folks, we are having a baby GIRL! We found out about a week ago, and we couldn't be more excited. I had a feeling for most of my pregnancy that it was a girl, and although Justin had no feeling either way, I do think he was slightly surprised. The world of girl is (obviously) more unknown to him, so being able to raise a little girl well seems a little more difficult, but we realize that either way, we need the Lord's strength and wisdom to raise any of our children well. We have a few ideas for a name, and will share once it becomes official. We are praying that the Lord will give us a name with a significant meaning that we can pray/prophesy over our daughter's life. Pray for this with us and let us know if you have any ideas!

So far, this pregnancy has been better than Justin and I could've ever asked for, and we are so blessed the Lord has chosen to make this a fairly easy road for me. My main symptom in the first trimester was fatigue, and I rarely, if ever, dealt with nausea or morning sickness. And second trimester has been even better. Recently, when people ask me how I'm feeling, I have to stop and think "oh yeah, I'm pregnant", because I seriously feel almost 100% all the time. Praise the Lord.

As this baby continues to grow inside me and we feel her sweet movements daily, Justin and I are falling more and more in love with her. We are already so anxious to meet her and hold her in our arms, and we are beginning to feel more and more like a family of three. The Lord perfectly planned the timing of this pregnancy, and we could not have planned anything better ourselves.

Now for the Pregnancy Highlights of the week:


How Far Along: 21 weeks


Fruit/Veggie Size: A large banana


Size: About 8 inches long and 11 ounces


Baby Changes: Eyebrows and lids are present now. Arms and legs are finally in proportion. Neurons are now connected between the brain and muscles, and cartilage throughout the body is turning to bone.


Best Moment This Week: Getting smiles from strangers out in public. It's just starting to be obvious that I'm pregnant, and most likely everyone I come into contact with can tell. I'm sure this is just the beginning of this :).


Gender: A precious baby girl!!


Movement: I have been able to feel our little sweet pea move every day and it never ceases to amaze me. Justin has also felt her on a daily basis, and we think she is beginning to respond to his voice when he talks/sings to her. He's going to be a great daddy :).


Clothing: I am still in all my normal clothes. Just in the last few days have some of my pants not been able to fit, but overall, everything still fits. I have been given a few maternity tops and dresses, but I'm hoping I still get to hold out on wearing those for a little while since I might be wearing the same few outfits once I'm in all maternity!


Food Craving: None that I can think.


Food Aversions: None, I'm just more picky in what I want to eat at any given time. Certain foods don't sound good to me at certain times, and this is not usually normal for me.


What I miss: Being able to run an errand/go into a store without having to go to the bathroom at least once while I'm there, even if it's only a 5 minute trip.


Sleep: I have to wake up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night about once every other night. I can't complain!


What I Am Looking Forward To: Beginning to plan and prepare her nursery! I am starting to brainstorm some ideas...decorating for a little girl is going to be so much fun!


Symptoms: Not many. Like I said, I have felt pretty much normal throughout this second trimester. Some symptoms are frequent urination, nasal congestion, increased appetite, and some varicose veins on the back of one of my knees (which have been painful a few times). 

14 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 14 weeks and 5 days. Official

ly in my 2nd trimester!

Fruit/Ve

ggie Siz

e: Lemon

Size: About 3 1/2 inches

Baby changes: The baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his/her thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his/her facial muscles are getting a workout as his/her tiny features form one expression after another. He/she's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his/her body.

Best Moment this week: Feeling the baby move twice this week!

Gender: We find out in just 6 weeks!!

Movement: Last Saturday I felt the baby move for the first time!! I was sitting on the couch reading, when I felt like I had some gas bubbles/gurgles in my stomach/lower abdomen. I paid attention to it for awhile, since I've read that it may feel like gas in the beginning, and quickly realized it was happening in the same concentrated place, and it lasted for about an hour! Justin even got to feel it, and it was just such a sweet surreal moment for both of us. I can't wait for more!

Food Craving: I'm still craving tons of milk. Other than that, I've just wanted any drink besides water, so it's been a discipline to make sure I'm still drinking plenty of water.

Food Aversions: Chocolate Chex (GF). One morning last week, after eating these for breakfast, I had to suddenly pull over on the side of I-35 during morning traffic and, let's just say, it was not pretty. Ever since then, I can't bring myself to eat them again.

What I miss: Nothing I can think of off the top of my head. I am really getting more and more excited about this sweet baby joining our family and am already anxious to meet him/her!

Sleep: Still waking up once a night to go to the bathroom. And I have been having very vivid dreams, most of which I can remember when I wake up.

What I am looking forward to: Feeling this baby move more...I can't wait to be able to feel him/her every day!

Symptoms: Fatigue has gotten slightly less, but is still very existent. It's common for me to very suddenly be hit with a wave of sleepiness, and not be able to do much until I at least lay down for a few minutes. I have had headaches the last few days which have been very rough, but I think this may be due to

my lack of water consumption.

Also, I've had irritated gums (which supposedly is due to hormones), and a constant stuffy nose (also due to hormones).

11 Weeks

So I've decided to blog about this pregnancy, mostly for my sake and for the grandparents. I know if I don't do something like this, it will just fly by and the baby will be here before I know it! I want to make sure I stop and enjoy the miracle of this precious life growing inside me!

I found these "Pregnancy Highlights" on another blog, and decided it would be a fun and easy way to track this pregnancy. Enjoy!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 11 weeks and 4 days. I'm halfway through my third month...crazy!

*(This picture was obviously taken at 10 weeks, but I still look the same!)

Fruit/Ve

ggie Size: Lime

Size: Just over 2 inches.

Baby changes: Hair follicles are forming, and fingernail and toenail beds are beginning to develop on his/her no longer webbed feet and hands. His or her body is straightening out and the torso is leng

thening. His or her head is half of it's body's size right now!

Best Moment this week:

Our first ultrasound (This was almost 2 weeks ago, but I spent all week showing off our pictures!). It was an amazing moment and made this feel so much more real. Everything looked GREAT and the baby looked super healthy! Yay!

Gender: We are choosing to find out! We don't have any hunches yet...

Movement: None

Food Craving: Milk (we have gone through SO many gallons!). French fries and lemonade from Chick-fil-A. Other than these, I haven't had any other consistent cravings, it's just usually once I see or think about something that I want, I have to have it!

Food Aversions: Potato Salad! And smoothies. I used to love them and just haven't been drawn to them lately.

What I miss: Having energy!

Sleep: I am no longer sleeping through the night :(. I have to wake up to pee at least once a night.

What I am looking forward to: The end of my first trimester and not having to take a nap everyday!

Symptoms: Justin and I both feel like I have had a really great pregnancy so far. I only had a rough 2 weeks in the very beginning of feeling nauseous and sickly, but since then, all I've experienced is fatigue. I am trying to sleep 9-10 hours a night, and am taking a nap almost every day. But other than that I can't complain!

And as you can see, I'm already starting to show! I didn't think I'd have a little bump this early, but I guess this baby has nowhere to go but out!