I'm already a terrible parent:
1) I caved and have introduced the pacifier to Norah (when I've clearly stated before I would never do such a thing).
2) During the night, I've let Norah give a few extra whines in hopes that she'll go back to sleep instead of nurse. (This has never worked, but I've still tried it more than once). And the MOST horrible confession - at the most frustrating moments I've even secretly hoped my breast milk would dry up so I would be forced to quit breastfeeding. But, I'm thankful I have an abundance and realize the benefits to breastfeeding..."this too shall pass".
3) I look forward to my nightly showers - the few minutes of alone time where I can just relax and unwind.
4) I'm excited to step away from being a stay-at-home mom and go back to work.
5) I've thought to myself more than once, "So when do Marshall and I get to take a vacation?"
Okay, so really I'm not a terrible parent. I'm just a new (typical) parent adjusting to a new lifestyle. Did I mention breastfeeding is hard? I do think though, realizing the areas of life I need to improve on...makes me somewhat of a decent parent. I have the desire to be a good mom, I just need a little bit of time (and a few breakdowns) to figure out what striving to be a good parent looks like...even if it is a lifelong process.
Hubby, what would I do without you?!
Norah gives a few "coos" to all her Grandparents. She's been told just how loved she is!
Love to all.
SLK
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Work - Part 2
I'm extremely thankful Marshall was hired at Market Basket for the summer. I think he'll end up enjoying the mindless job, and I know we will both enjoy the extra cash.
And me? I got a job, too! I was hired today for a new Target store opening up in a town about 20 minutes away (Greenland, NH). I filled out an online application while my mom was here, not expecting to be contacted so soon, let alone hired. But nonetheless, I'm excited. My official title is Guest Service Attendant which basically means I'm there to keep customers (known as "guests") happy. I have an orientation on June 9th where I believe I'll get a better idea of what exactly I'll be doing. The HR woman was very honest with me and said with this position and my degree, I have the potential to move up within the company. I've been interested in management for a while - so we'll see what happens. With both Marshall and I working, some planning and finagling is going to have to happen...but I know we'll figure it out.
Just wanted to share.
Love to you all.
SLK
And me? I got a job, too! I was hired today for a new Target store opening up in a town about 20 minutes away (Greenland, NH). I filled out an online application while my mom was here, not expecting to be contacted so soon, let alone hired. But nonetheless, I'm excited. My official title is Guest Service Attendant which basically means I'm there to keep customers (known as "guests") happy. I have an orientation on June 9th where I believe I'll get a better idea of what exactly I'll be doing. The HR woman was very honest with me and said with this position and my degree, I have the potential to move up within the company. I've been interested in management for a while - so we'll see what happens. With both Marshall and I working, some planning and finagling is going to have to happen...but I know we'll figure it out.
Just wanted to share.
Love to you all.
SLK
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Summer Work
Today was my first day at my summer job. I'm stocking shelves at a grocery store. I'm getting paid by the hour, working the same type of job that I worked in high school, and it's awesome. I'd forgotten how tiring standing on your feet for eight hours can be, though, so I'm sort of exhausted tonight.
Anyway, just thought you'd like to know that I'm probably the seacoast's most overqualified stock-boy. Hooray.
Stay Gold!
MMK
Anyway, just thought you'd like to know that I'm probably the seacoast's most overqualified stock-boy. Hooray.
Stay Gold!
MMK
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Birth Day!
How quickly time has passed. Three weeks ago MK and I welcomed Norah Ruth into the world. In just three weeks our little baby has developed tremendously! Norah looks and acts less like a wrinkly (generic) newborn and is becoming more of her own person.
Norah's body is longer, her legs are a bit more chunky (so cute...and quite similar in shape to her daddy's), and her face is longer/fuller. Norah is also awake for longer periods of time and more alert - maintaining eye contact. She has started to hold on to things (fingers, shirts, and even my hair!). She is great at holding her head up and throwing it around, and I'm convinced Norah is starting to discover she has a voice, making more of an "ahhh" sound at times instead of just crying (thank goodness).
I think Marshall and I are starting to pick up a bit on her personality, too. For the most part, Norah is an amazing baby in the sense that she is fairly content or can be quickly calmed when she is upset. She sleeps 2 to 3 hours at a time through the night, waking up to feed, and then falling back asleep. We are figuring out her cries and the type of calming techniques Norah finds soothing. Norah likes her food (maybe I should use the term loves?), hates the pacifier, enjoys being held, and for some odd reason...she is fascinated with her changing pad. HA!
We are falling in love with Norah more and more as each day passes. Hopefully she feels the same! :o) We love watching her grow and discover new things - and I know MK and I are both anxiously awaiting the day Norah can smile...and mean it!
Below is a classic pose we caught Norah in tonight:
I also need to mention how much I love my husband. MK has been such a phenomenal husband and dad already. In just three weeks he has become the Diaper Changer Extraordinaire and has really learned how to meet my needs as a new mom. I can't even begin to imagine taking care of a newborn as a single mom...whew. I realize how blessed I am to have a loving husband who is dedicated to his family. Thank you, hubby, for all you have done and are doing. I love you more now than I ever have before. Let's continue to date each other, deal?! *winks*
Love and miss you all.
SLK
Norah's body is longer, her legs are a bit more chunky (so cute...and quite similar in shape to her daddy's), and her face is longer/fuller. Norah is also awake for longer periods of time and more alert - maintaining eye contact. She has started to hold on to things (fingers, shirts, and even my hair!). She is great at holding her head up and throwing it around, and I'm convinced Norah is starting to discover she has a voice, making more of an "ahhh" sound at times instead of just crying (thank goodness).
I think Marshall and I are starting to pick up a bit on her personality, too. For the most part, Norah is an amazing baby in the sense that she is fairly content or can be quickly calmed when she is upset. She sleeps 2 to 3 hours at a time through the night, waking up to feed, and then falling back asleep. We are figuring out her cries and the type of calming techniques Norah finds soothing. Norah likes her food (maybe I should use the term loves?), hates the pacifier, enjoys being held, and for some odd reason...she is fascinated with her changing pad. HA!
We are falling in love with Norah more and more as each day passes. Hopefully she feels the same! :o) We love watching her grow and discover new things - and I know MK and I are both anxiously awaiting the day Norah can smile...and mean it!
Below is a classic pose we caught Norah in tonight:
I also need to mention how much I love my husband. MK has been such a phenomenal husband and dad already. In just three weeks he has become the Diaper Changer Extraordinaire and has really learned how to meet my needs as a new mom. I can't even begin to imagine taking care of a newborn as a single mom...whew. I realize how blessed I am to have a loving husband who is dedicated to his family. Thank you, hubby, for all you have done and are doing. I love you more now than I ever have before. Let's continue to date each other, deal?! *winks*
Love and miss you all.
SLK
Monday, May 25, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
The King Beetle on a Coconut Estate
This song blows my mind like I can't even explain.
mewithoutYou - "the King Beetle on a Coconut Estate"
As the Moon rose and the hour grew late, the day help on a Coconut estate raked up the dry leaves that fell dead from the Trees, which they burned in a pile by the lake. The Beetle King summoned his men, and from the top of the Rhododendron stem: "Calling all volunteers who can carry back here, the Great Mystery’s been lit once again." One Beetle emerged from the crowd in a fashionable abdomen shroud, and said: "I’m a Professor, you see, that’s no mystery to me... I’ll be back soon, successful and proud." But when the Beetle Professor returned he crawled on all six, as his wings had been burned, and described to the finest detail all he’d learned. There was neither a light nor a heat in his words. The deeply dissatisfied King climbed the same stem to announce the same thing, but in his second appeal sought to sweeten the deal with a silver Padparadscha ring. The Lieutenant stepped out from the line as he lassoed his thorax with twine, thinking: "I’m stronger and braver and I’ll earn the King’s favor. One day all he has will be mine!" But for all the Lieutenant’s conceit he, too, returned singed and admitting defeat: "I had no choice, please believe, but retreat... it was bright as the sun, but with ten times the heat! And it cracked like the thunder and bloodshot my eyes, though smothered with sticks it advanced undeterred. Carelessly cast an ash cloud to the sky, my Lord, like a flock of dark, vanishing birds."
The Beetle King slammed down his fist: "Your flowery description’s no better than his! We sent for the Great Light and you bring us this? We didn’t ask what it seems like, we asked what it IS!" His Majesty’s hour at last has drawn nigh! The elegant Queen took her leave from his side, without understanding but without asking why, gathered their Kids to come bid their goodbyes. And the father explained: "You’ve been somewhat deceived... We’ve all called me your dad, but your True Dad’s not me. I lay next to your mom when your forms were conceived, but your Father is the Life within all that you see. He fills up the ponds as He empties the clouds, holds without hands and He speaks without sounds, provides us with the Cow’s waste and coconuts to eat, giving one that nice salt-taste and the other a sweet. Sends the black carriage the day Death shows its face, thinning our numbers with Kindness and Grace. And just as a Flower and its Fragrance are one so must each of you and your Father become. Now distribute my scepter, my crown and my throne and all we’ve known as ‘wealth’ to the poor and alone." Without further hesitation and without looking back home, the King flew headlong into the blazing unknown! And as the Smoke King curled higher and higher, the troops, flying loops ’round the telephone wires, said: "Our Beloved’s not dead, but His Highness instead has been utterly changed into Fire!"
Why not be utterly changed into Fire?
mewithoutYou - "the King Beetle on a Coconut Estate"
As the Moon rose and the hour grew late, the day help on a Coconut estate raked up the dry leaves that fell dead from the Trees, which they burned in a pile by the lake. The Beetle King summoned his men, and from the top of the Rhododendron stem: "Calling all volunteers who can carry back here, the Great Mystery’s been lit once again." One Beetle emerged from the crowd in a fashionable abdomen shroud, and said: "I’m a Professor, you see, that’s no mystery to me... I’ll be back soon, successful and proud." But when the Beetle Professor returned he crawled on all six, as his wings had been burned, and described to the finest detail all he’d learned. There was neither a light nor a heat in his words. The deeply dissatisfied King climbed the same stem to announce the same thing, but in his second appeal sought to sweeten the deal with a silver Padparadscha ring. The Lieutenant stepped out from the line as he lassoed his thorax with twine, thinking: "I’m stronger and braver and I’ll earn the King’s favor. One day all he has will be mine!" But for all the Lieutenant’s conceit he, too, returned singed and admitting defeat: "I had no choice, please believe, but retreat... it was bright as the sun, but with ten times the heat! And it cracked like the thunder and bloodshot my eyes, though smothered with sticks it advanced undeterred. Carelessly cast an ash cloud to the sky, my Lord, like a flock of dark, vanishing birds."
The Beetle King slammed down his fist: "Your flowery description’s no better than his! We sent for the Great Light and you bring us this? We didn’t ask what it seems like, we asked what it IS!" His Majesty’s hour at last has drawn nigh! The elegant Queen took her leave from his side, without understanding but without asking why, gathered their Kids to come bid their goodbyes. And the father explained: "You’ve been somewhat deceived... We’ve all called me your dad, but your True Dad’s not me. I lay next to your mom when your forms were conceived, but your Father is the Life within all that you see. He fills up the ponds as He empties the clouds, holds without hands and He speaks without sounds, provides us with the Cow’s waste and coconuts to eat, giving one that nice salt-taste and the other a sweet. Sends the black carriage the day Death shows its face, thinning our numbers with Kindness and Grace. And just as a Flower and its Fragrance are one so must each of you and your Father become. Now distribute my scepter, my crown and my throne and all we’ve known as ‘wealth’ to the poor and alone." Without further hesitation and without looking back home, the King flew headlong into the blazing unknown! And as the Smoke King curled higher and higher, the troops, flying loops ’round the telephone wires, said: "Our Beloved’s not dead, but His Highness instead has been utterly changed into Fire!"
Why not be utterly changed into Fire?
Sunday, May 17, 2009
From Mom
I realize I haven't written a blog since before Norah was born. Life has been busy but amazing. I'm not even sure what I should write about or where to start.
As you read from Marshall's blog, the labor and birth of Norah was a positive experience and given the opportunity, I don't think we would change one bit of it. I had hoped for a waterbirth, but I am more than content with how Norah and I (and Dad!) were able to manage the 9 hours of labor and the 20 minutes of transition. Transition happened so fast, there was no time to prep the tub - and I couldn't even wrap my mind around how I was going to carry myself from the bed to the tub. Just a few comments in response to some general questions I've been asked:
Pain. This is a huge topic and buzz word surrounding childbirth. My experience was NOT painful. The surges (or contractions) I experienced during the 9 hours were extremely manageable, which I attribute to hypnobirthing and the use of different laboring techniques (jacuzzi, shower, birthing ball, etc.). Once the bag of waters was broken, things definitely got more intense but I still can't label what I was feeling as pain. I've retold our experience many times to people, and the only word that seems to fit that last 20 minutes when I was pushing is INTENSE. And to label how I felt after Norah was born - RELIEVED! (I do believe I made the remark, "I'm good with only having one child"...HAHA!)
Breastfeeding. Yes, I believe breastfeeding is natural and that God gave women breasts for a reason (not just for sexual attraction). So, I feel like I should use them! However, I've experienced firsthand that just because breastfeeding is natural does not mean that it is easy! Breastfeeding WAS PAINFUL the first week or so. My nipples have begun to hurt less, but I'm producing more milk than Norah can take in (moderate-to-serve engorgement). It's somewhat painful, highly uncomfortable, and super frustrating. I've been pumping and putting the excess milk in the freezer. We definitely have a good supply started and I am literally counting down the days until we are able to introduce a bottle. Norah and I have also been struggling with positioning (she only wants to eat in one position - with me laying down). This struggle is not conducive to having company or leaving our home to run errands. But yes, I know, this too shall pass. And yes, practice, practice, practice! We are both hanging in there, and I know the health benefits of breastfeeding outweigh any frustrations we may encounter.
Norah is sleeping beside me as I write this blog. I can't stop staring at her. She is so precious and perfect. How was this little one inside of me for 10 months? How did God know I would love her so much right away? Is she capable of loving us right away? How am I ever going to be a good mom? Whew, it is all a bit overwhelming, but God knew Marshall and I needed Norah in our lives. I'm so humbled by his graciousness and know I need to strive to be a better woman for Marshall...and now for Norah.
Norah's Grandma Wiley arrives tonight! HOORAY! Marshall is currently in route to pick her up from the Boston Airport. I am so excited and can hardly focus on anything. I know my mom is going to be a bundle of emotions when she meets Norah. She has been talking about her visit ever since we booked the tickets (over a couple of months ago). Her only baby now has a baby of her own. We will make sure to post pictures of her visit!
I hope you all are well. I just want to say a special thank you here to all of the people who have extended their support to us. We are so blessed to have you all in our lives.
Love to you all.
SLK
As you read from Marshall's blog, the labor and birth of Norah was a positive experience and given the opportunity, I don't think we would change one bit of it. I had hoped for a waterbirth, but I am more than content with how Norah and I (and Dad!) were able to manage the 9 hours of labor and the 20 minutes of transition. Transition happened so fast, there was no time to prep the tub - and I couldn't even wrap my mind around how I was going to carry myself from the bed to the tub. Just a few comments in response to some general questions I've been asked:
Pain. This is a huge topic and buzz word surrounding childbirth. My experience was NOT painful. The surges (or contractions) I experienced during the 9 hours were extremely manageable, which I attribute to hypnobirthing and the use of different laboring techniques (jacuzzi, shower, birthing ball, etc.). Once the bag of waters was broken, things definitely got more intense but I still can't label what I was feeling as pain. I've retold our experience many times to people, and the only word that seems to fit that last 20 minutes when I was pushing is INTENSE. And to label how I felt after Norah was born - RELIEVED! (I do believe I made the remark, "I'm good with only having one child"...HAHA!)
Breastfeeding. Yes, I believe breastfeeding is natural and that God gave women breasts for a reason (not just for sexual attraction). So, I feel like I should use them! However, I've experienced firsthand that just because breastfeeding is natural does not mean that it is easy! Breastfeeding WAS PAINFUL the first week or so. My nipples have begun to hurt less, but I'm producing more milk than Norah can take in (moderate-to-serve engorgement). It's somewhat painful, highly uncomfortable, and super frustrating. I've been pumping and putting the excess milk in the freezer. We definitely have a good supply started and I am literally counting down the days until we are able to introduce a bottle. Norah and I have also been struggling with positioning (she only wants to eat in one position - with me laying down). This struggle is not conducive to having company or leaving our home to run errands. But yes, I know, this too shall pass. And yes, practice, practice, practice! We are both hanging in there, and I know the health benefits of breastfeeding outweigh any frustrations we may encounter.
Norah is sleeping beside me as I write this blog. I can't stop staring at her. She is so precious and perfect. How was this little one inside of me for 10 months? How did God know I would love her so much right away? Is she capable of loving us right away? How am I ever going to be a good mom? Whew, it is all a bit overwhelming, but God knew Marshall and I needed Norah in our lives. I'm so humbled by his graciousness and know I need to strive to be a better woman for Marshall...and now for Norah.
Norah's Grandma Wiley arrives tonight! HOORAY! Marshall is currently in route to pick her up from the Boston Airport. I am so excited and can hardly focus on anything. I know my mom is going to be a bundle of emotions when she meets Norah. She has been talking about her visit ever since we booked the tickets (over a couple of months ago). Her only baby now has a baby of her own. We will make sure to post pictures of her visit!
I hope you all are well. I just want to say a special thank you here to all of the people who have extended their support to us. We are so blessed to have you all in our lives.
Love to you all.
SLK
Friday, May 15, 2009
Hot Mess
Behold, the look of a little girl who has been cleaned, changed, and swaddled after expressing the contents of her bowels both into her diaper and onto the unclothed chest/stomach of her father:
There's nothing quite like the feeling of using your hand as a dam to keep your daughter's runny, seedy poop from dripping down from your stomach onto your shorts and the floor.
Oi.
There's nothing quite like the feeling of using your hand as a dam to keep your daughter's runny, seedy poop from dripping down from your stomach onto your shorts and the floor.
Oi.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Six Days
We're six days into this whole parenting thing and I can say with a fair amount of confidence that we haven't yet done anything to really mess up our daughter's life or future. Go us. Norah still doesn't do very much. She spends a good deal of time lifting her arms up above her head and raising her up knees to her tummy. She also constantly changes the pace of her breathing, hiccups, and squeaks as she moves around. As I write this, she's flailing about on the couch beside me and grunting. Wait, now she stopped and appears to be sleeping. Apparently grunting that hard can be exhausting.
Dad and Jody came to visit this past weekend. They had a few days to kill between Grace's graduation from the University of Illinois-Chicago and a conference Jody is attending in DC this week. With Norah having only been alive for three days when they arrived, their visit was, of course, the first time she'd met any of her grandparents. We were very glad to have them here and thoroughly enjoyed their company. Seeing them each hold their first grandchild was, understandably, quite moving and memorable.
The first picture there shows Jody holding Norah whilst sporting a fancy new quilt made for her by my grams Kole. It matches the quilt that grams made for Sarah and I when we were married. How thoughtful and wonderful she is...
Sarah's mom comes to visit on the 17th. Justin and Carrie come in late July. My mom is coming sometime between now and September? Who else wants to come to the 'Shire for a visit? It's a lovely state in the summer.
The monotony of the NFL off-season has recently been broken in our house as we've been watching quite a few Nascar races and the playoffs for Lord Stanley's Cup. I'd forgotten what a totally BA sport hockey is. Watching all of these playoffs games makes me miss the summers I spent playing roller hockey in the church and high school parking lots back home. Ah, youth.
I realized the other day that I haven't offered up a "this is what I'm listening to this month" playlist on this blog like I had intended to do with every month this year. So it goes. I've never really been one for following through on long-term goals, anyway. The future is for suckers. Live in the now, you know?
But, for those of you who may be wondering, I've pretty much exclusively been listening to the new mewithoutYou album for the past month. The album is called "it's all crazy! it's all false! it's all a dream! it's alright" and has a lot of lyrics about fruits, vegetables, farming, and animals that are all actually metaphors for Jesus and stuff. Do yourself a favor and check it out: http://www.myspace.com/mewithoutyou
Here are some more pictures of the adorableness:
God is good.
Stay Gold!
MMK
Dad and Jody came to visit this past weekend. They had a few days to kill between Grace's graduation from the University of Illinois-Chicago and a conference Jody is attending in DC this week. With Norah having only been alive for three days when they arrived, their visit was, of course, the first time she'd met any of her grandparents. We were very glad to have them here and thoroughly enjoyed their company. Seeing them each hold their first grandchild was, understandably, quite moving and memorable.
The first picture there shows Jody holding Norah whilst sporting a fancy new quilt made for her by my grams Kole. It matches the quilt that grams made for Sarah and I when we were married. How thoughtful and wonderful she is...
Sarah's mom comes to visit on the 17th. Justin and Carrie come in late July. My mom is coming sometime between now and September? Who else wants to come to the 'Shire for a visit? It's a lovely state in the summer.
The monotony of the NFL off-season has recently been broken in our house as we've been watching quite a few Nascar races and the playoffs for Lord Stanley's Cup. I'd forgotten what a totally BA sport hockey is. Watching all of these playoffs games makes me miss the summers I spent playing roller hockey in the church and high school parking lots back home. Ah, youth.
I realized the other day that I haven't offered up a "this is what I'm listening to this month" playlist on this blog like I had intended to do with every month this year. So it goes. I've never really been one for following through on long-term goals, anyway. The future is for suckers. Live in the now, you know?
But, for those of you who may be wondering, I've pretty much exclusively been listening to the new mewithoutYou album for the past month. The album is called "it's all crazy! it's all false! it's all a dream! it's alright" and has a lot of lyrics about fruits, vegetables, farming, and animals that are all actually metaphors for Jesus and stuff. Do yourself a favor and check it out: http://www.myspace.com/mewithoutyou
Here are some more pictures of the adorableness:
God is good.
Stay Gold!
MMK
Thursday, May 7, 2009
How it Happened...
So here's the story of how Norah was born. I'm sure some of you have been wondering.
We were at home on Tuesday night just watching TV and hanging out. Sarah had been having some cramping and mild contractions for a couple of days, but started to have some fairly intense contractions around 10pm on Tuesday night and told me that it might be time for us to go to the hospital. We'd already packed up a bag with clothes and things to take with us, so we left fairly quickly after that. We got to the hospital around 10:30pm and got Sarah checked in and examined within about half of an hour. She was five centimeters dilated (which is considered "active labor) when she was checked in, so they took us to our room and set her up for the process of working through her labor. Our intention was to have a water birth with Norah, and we were lucky that there was no one else using the water birthing room when we arrived. It is the nicest and biggest room in the birthing center at the hospital, and having it to ourselves made the process of labor seem less overwhelming or impossible.
Over the course of the next nine hours, Sarah dealt with her labor, increasing contractions, and fought off exhaustion. Since she went into labor about the time of night she'd normally be going to bed, she didn't have a chance to sleep or rest much before hand. As you can probably imagine, being in labor isn't really conducive to sleeping, either. By 8:30am on Wednesday morning when Norah was born, we'd been up for 24 hours straight.
Like I said before, Sarah was in labor for about nine hours starting at 11pm on Tuesday night. Of those nine hours, she spent about four hours in the jacuzzi, one or two hours in the shower, and a couple of hours in bed or squatting on an exercise ball. While using the jacuzzi or shower during the laboring process are not techniques that are specifically unique to water-birthing, they fit well with our hopes for the birth and, perhaps more importantly, seemed to really help Sarah deal with the contractions she was enduring. I didn't do much, for the most part, but just tried to help with my presence, some encouraging words, and some light-touch massage. There's not much for a partner to do during the laboring/birthing process except to be a go-fer and do what he or she is told. So it goes.
Anyway, the midwife came in to check Sarah's dilation at 8am on Wednesday morning. Sarah was 8 centimeters dilated, but her water still hadn't broken. We decided to have the midwife break her water as they began to fill the rather large water birthing tub with warm water. The tub generally takes 20-25 minutes to fill, so we thought we'd have plenty of time to get it filled and Sarah into it before she really had to start pushing. While it was a good plan, it didn't really work out once the midwife broke her water. Sarah's amniotic sack and fluid was acting as a buffer and keeping Norah's head from dropping fully down onto the cervix. Once Sarah's water was broken, though, Norah dropped right down and started putting pressure on the cervix to the point that it dilated the final two centimeters in a matter of minutes. Sarah's contractions were markedly more intense immediately after the midwife broke her water, and Sarah began to push the baby out just three or four minutes later. There wasn't time to get her into the water, so she delivered the baby while lying on her side in bed. She only had to push for about 20-30 minutes before Norah was out completely at 8:30am on Wednesday.
Sarah used no pain medication and did not have an epidural at any point in the process. She delivered Norah as naturally as possible and did a wonderful job. I can't remember a time in my life when I've been more proud of anyone than I was of Sarah while Norah was being born.
Norah was 7lbs and 11oz when she was born, and 20 inches long. She's got "fair skin" according to one of the nurses, and hair that is lighter in color than I expected it to be. I thought she'd look more like Sarah (with dark hair and eyes, and olive skin), but maybe not? Who knows... I guess we'll see.
And just so everyone is clear... She's pretty much totally awesome.
We were at home on Tuesday night just watching TV and hanging out. Sarah had been having some cramping and mild contractions for a couple of days, but started to have some fairly intense contractions around 10pm on Tuesday night and told me that it might be time for us to go to the hospital. We'd already packed up a bag with clothes and things to take with us, so we left fairly quickly after that. We got to the hospital around 10:30pm and got Sarah checked in and examined within about half of an hour. She was five centimeters dilated (which is considered "active labor) when she was checked in, so they took us to our room and set her up for the process of working through her labor. Our intention was to have a water birth with Norah, and we were lucky that there was no one else using the water birthing room when we arrived. It is the nicest and biggest room in the birthing center at the hospital, and having it to ourselves made the process of labor seem less overwhelming or impossible.
Over the course of the next nine hours, Sarah dealt with her labor, increasing contractions, and fought off exhaustion. Since she went into labor about the time of night she'd normally be going to bed, she didn't have a chance to sleep or rest much before hand. As you can probably imagine, being in labor isn't really conducive to sleeping, either. By 8:30am on Wednesday morning when Norah was born, we'd been up for 24 hours straight.
Like I said before, Sarah was in labor for about nine hours starting at 11pm on Tuesday night. Of those nine hours, she spent about four hours in the jacuzzi, one or two hours in the shower, and a couple of hours in bed or squatting on an exercise ball. While using the jacuzzi or shower during the laboring process are not techniques that are specifically unique to water-birthing, they fit well with our hopes for the birth and, perhaps more importantly, seemed to really help Sarah deal with the contractions she was enduring. I didn't do much, for the most part, but just tried to help with my presence, some encouraging words, and some light-touch massage. There's not much for a partner to do during the laboring/birthing process except to be a go-fer and do what he or she is told. So it goes.
Anyway, the midwife came in to check Sarah's dilation at 8am on Wednesday morning. Sarah was 8 centimeters dilated, but her water still hadn't broken. We decided to have the midwife break her water as they began to fill the rather large water birthing tub with warm water. The tub generally takes 20-25 minutes to fill, so we thought we'd have plenty of time to get it filled and Sarah into it before she really had to start pushing. While it was a good plan, it didn't really work out once the midwife broke her water. Sarah's amniotic sack and fluid was acting as a buffer and keeping Norah's head from dropping fully down onto the cervix. Once Sarah's water was broken, though, Norah dropped right down and started putting pressure on the cervix to the point that it dilated the final two centimeters in a matter of minutes. Sarah's contractions were markedly more intense immediately after the midwife broke her water, and Sarah began to push the baby out just three or four minutes later. There wasn't time to get her into the water, so she delivered the baby while lying on her side in bed. She only had to push for about 20-30 minutes before Norah was out completely at 8:30am on Wednesday.
Sarah used no pain medication and did not have an epidural at any point in the process. She delivered Norah as naturally as possible and did a wonderful job. I can't remember a time in my life when I've been more proud of anyone than I was of Sarah while Norah was being born.
Norah was 7lbs and 11oz when she was born, and 20 inches long. She's got "fair skin" according to one of the nurses, and hair that is lighter in color than I expected it to be. I thought she'd look more like Sarah (with dark hair and eyes, and olive skin), but maybe not? Who knows... I guess we'll see.
And just so everyone is clear... She's pretty much totally awesome.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Norah Ruth Kole
Our daughter was born at 8:30am this morning after about nine hours of labor. It's been a long day with a lot of emotions and very little sleep. There is a lot that I could describe and write here, but I don't have the energy for that tonight. These pictures will have to suffice for tonight (and maybe tomorrow). Enjoy, everyone.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Forgive me, I'm hormonal.
Ramblings... (20 thoughts I need to get off my chest):
1. God is true, but "Christian" definitions and views of who He is may not be. Therefore, there is value in constantly challenging faith and beliefs.
2. Judgment is included in God's job description, not mine...or anyone else's.
3. Having a "godly" conversation doesn't mean God's name has to appear in every other sentence.
4. Just because my faith (and life) looks different from other "Christians" doesn't mean I still need to be converted.
5. Pregnancy is not an illness. Get this, it is actually quite natural!
6. If I had a dollar for each time someone told me to get as much sleep and rest right now as I can, I'd be a millionaire.
7. Likewise, if I had a dollar for each time someone told me the waiting is worth all the joy this baby will bring to our lives, I'd be a billionaire.
8. If I had a dollar for each time someone asked me how I was feeling...I'd be more than a trillionaire.
9. Who do I need to talk to about receiving payment for the three previous rants?
10. I have a supportive and caring husband, I hope I quit taking that for granted.
11. Elizabeth and Sarah have been such a huge part of my support system here in New Hampshire. They are both compassionate, caring, honest, fun, and genuine. In addition, they both have had babies in the last year - they get it. I will be forever grateful to both of them.
12. I semi-want to delete my Facebook account.
13. I miss being close to Amy.
14. I think the next date Marshall and I go on will be to see Transformers 2 (June 24)...I CAN'T WAIT! WOOOT!
15. Sometimes, when comments are made about the gender of our baby (example: "I know without a doubt the baby is a ..."), I want to respond with, "Well, actually the doctors think our baby is a hermaphrodite." I'm evil, I know.
16. My mom has been so great throughout this whole pregnancy deal. I know the distance has been difficult for both of us. She is a great listener (I don't know how many of my rants she has listened to...without complaint). She's given me my space when I need it, but is always willing to share her knowledge and experiences if I ASK for it. I love her, and I am so thankful she'll be here to visit soon.
17. I believe the rights Marshall and I are given as a heterosexual couple should be extended to same-sex couples. And yes, I think God wants the same.
18. Chewing ice is my new favorite pass time.
19. I feel like my BA in Health Promotion is worthless. Jobs I find appealing generally require a masters or a crap ton of experience - both of which I DON'T have...sigh. I'm not sure I'll ever be a career woman, and I think I might be more okay with this than I realize.
20. Sometimes it just feels good to rant in a blog - to no one in particular.
SLK
1. God is true, but "Christian" definitions and views of who He is may not be. Therefore, there is value in constantly challenging faith and beliefs.
2. Judgment is included in God's job description, not mine...or anyone else's.
3. Having a "godly" conversation doesn't mean God's name has to appear in every other sentence.
4. Just because my faith (and life) looks different from other "Christians" doesn't mean I still need to be converted.
5. Pregnancy is not an illness. Get this, it is actually quite natural!
6. If I had a dollar for each time someone told me to get as much sleep and rest right now as I can, I'd be a millionaire.
7. Likewise, if I had a dollar for each time someone told me the waiting is worth all the joy this baby will bring to our lives, I'd be a billionaire.
8. If I had a dollar for each time someone asked me how I was feeling...I'd be more than a trillionaire.
9. Who do I need to talk to about receiving payment for the three previous rants?
10. I have a supportive and caring husband, I hope I quit taking that for granted.
11. Elizabeth and Sarah have been such a huge part of my support system here in New Hampshire. They are both compassionate, caring, honest, fun, and genuine. In addition, they both have had babies in the last year - they get it. I will be forever grateful to both of them.
12. I semi-want to delete my Facebook account.
13. I miss being close to Amy.
14. I think the next date Marshall and I go on will be to see Transformers 2 (June 24)...I CAN'T WAIT! WOOOT!
15. Sometimes, when comments are made about the gender of our baby (example: "I know without a doubt the baby is a ..."), I want to respond with, "Well, actually the doctors think our baby is a hermaphrodite." I'm evil, I know.
16. My mom has been so great throughout this whole pregnancy deal. I know the distance has been difficult for both of us. She is a great listener (I don't know how many of my rants she has listened to...without complaint). She's given me my space when I need it, but is always willing to share her knowledge and experiences if I ASK for it. I love her, and I am so thankful she'll be here to visit soon.
17. I believe the rights Marshall and I are given as a heterosexual couple should be extended to same-sex couples. And yes, I think God wants the same.
18. Chewing ice is my new favorite pass time.
19. I feel like my BA in Health Promotion is worthless. Jobs I find appealing generally require a masters or a crap ton of experience - both of which I DON'T have...sigh. I'm not sure I'll ever be a career woman, and I think I might be more okay with this than I realize.
20. Sometimes it just feels good to rant in a blog - to no one in particular.
SLK
Monday, May 4, 2009
!!!
No baby yet. We're entering day five of BABY WATCH '09 as we're now five days past the due date we were given by our doctors. I'd work on creating some sort of flashy graphic for BABY WATCH '09 like they have on the evening news, but I've been too busy answering questions from people who'd like to know if we've had the baby yet.
"Yes! We had the baby yesterday, actually! That's why I'm sitting in my office right now doing paperwork!"
"Sure did! I left Sarah and my newborn child at the hospital, though, so I could come back here and watch TV on my couch."
Here's the deal, everyone... You'll know when stuff starts happening and when we have a child. This isn't one of those life-events that goes unshared. This isn't one of those things that we're going to keep to ourselves. If you're close to us at all, or if it matters to you personally that you know when the kid is born (aka you'll inherit a title when it's born), you're probably either on our call list or on the email list for birth announcements. Until then, though, you'll just have to be as patient as we're trying to be.
In the meantime, check out how good we look by following this link:
PICTURES OF HOW GOOD WE LOOK
Our friend wanted to take some pictures last weekend and needed some models. We weren't doing anything and thought it might be fun to get some decent pictures of us as a pregnant couple. They turned out pretty well.
Sarah let me sleep in until 11am both mornings this weekend. It was great.
If I could have any superpower in the world, I would have the powers of the X-Men's Professor X. Telepathy AND telekinesis?!?! Check and mate, fool.
I just Google image searched the phrase "hurry up baby." Here's what I found:
Clearly, I'm out of things to say. This weekend was pretty boring, otherwise I might have more to report right now. As it is, I think I'll head to bed.
Ugh. C'mon, child. Not even born yet and you're already being lazy? Geez...
Stay Gold,
MMK
"Yes! We had the baby yesterday, actually! That's why I'm sitting in my office right now doing paperwork!"
"Sure did! I left Sarah and my newborn child at the hospital, though, so I could come back here and watch TV on my couch."
Here's the deal, everyone... You'll know when stuff starts happening and when we have a child. This isn't one of those life-events that goes unshared. This isn't one of those things that we're going to keep to ourselves. If you're close to us at all, or if it matters to you personally that you know when the kid is born (aka you'll inherit a title when it's born), you're probably either on our call list or on the email list for birth announcements. Until then, though, you'll just have to be as patient as we're trying to be.
In the meantime, check out how good we look by following this link:
PICTURES OF HOW GOOD WE LOOK
Our friend wanted to take some pictures last weekend and needed some models. We weren't doing anything and thought it might be fun to get some decent pictures of us as a pregnant couple. They turned out pretty well.
Sarah let me sleep in until 11am both mornings this weekend. It was great.
If I could have any superpower in the world, I would have the powers of the X-Men's Professor X. Telepathy AND telekinesis?!?! Check and mate, fool.
I just Google image searched the phrase "hurry up baby." Here's what I found:
Clearly, I'm out of things to say. This weekend was pretty boring, otherwise I might have more to report right now. As it is, I think I'll head to bed.
Ugh. C'mon, child. Not even born yet and you're already being lazy? Geez...
Stay Gold,
MMK
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