Wilmer UMC

Korra is making her church debut at Wilmer UMC today.  Is it too much to hope she'll be sweet during the whole service (and the pot-luck lunch afterwards)?

Embarrassed Daughter

Is Korra going to be totally embarrassed one day by this blog?  Do you think she'll ever read it?

Baby Poop

I heard that parents talk about their baby's poop a lot.  I guess it's true because here's another post about Korra and pooping...

She cried for about an hour last night (3-4 AM, on and off) when she pooped.  Does it hurt her?  Scare her?  Why can't she just grunt quietly like the rest of us?

Facebook Timeline

Did you hear that all Facebook private messages sent before 2010 are now posted on your Timeline for everyone to see?!  Yep.  Not that I have anything embarrassing, but still- not cool.  If you want to hide them, here's a tutorial.

Blow-Out #2

After exploding out of her diaper, Korra continued to poop on Nate, Nate's dad, the counter, and even the floor while being changed!  Thank goodness it was in the bathroom!

Korra was so good for the car ride & then went and cried all night long. Oh, babies.

Babies, being so small, require a surprisngly large amount of stuff for a long-weekend trip. Korra has more luggage than nate & me combined.

1st Road Trip

We're heading to Mobile for a long weekend.  Here's hoping Korra loves road trips!

Good Night

She still woke up to eat every 3 hours, but she went to sleep without crying after every feeding!  Yay for sleep!

Infant or Adolescent?

Korra is pudgy, has acne, and cries all the time. Is our baby going through puberty?

Korra wanting to feed constantly for the last 4 hours makes me want to eat my weight in chocolate.

Baby Whisperer

In my desperation to get Korra to sleep better, I'm reading The Baby Whisperer.  Yes, it's come to that.

Fantastic (sarcastic)

Woke up to a clogged milk duct (ouch!) and that Mrs. Reynolds didn't come home last night.  Oh, and Korra won't go back to sleep.

Late Night Crying

Why does she cry so inconsolably at night?  Why when I finally get her to sleep, does she wake up screaming 5 minutes later?

A Few Pictures of Korra

Just in case you've been hankering for some pictures of my baby...

 Can you tell the only time I think to take pictures of her is when she's in her bouncer?  Oh well.

Documentation

Got Korra's social security card in the mail. Picking up her birth certificate now. She's official!

Unpredictable

I think this newborn thing would be easier if there was some consistency.  The length of her naps, what helps her fall asleep... nothing is predictable.

College Savings

Made a big adult decision and started researching college savings plans.

Nashball

Took Korra to watch the boys play Nashball.  She was very well behaved!

3 Weeks Old

3 weeks ago, I was just 90 minutes away from holding Korra for the first time.  This has been the longest, hardest, most wonderful 3 weeks of my life.

I Love My Mom

I hope to one day be as good of a mom as she is.

Gram

My mom's coming tonight.  I hope she can help us figure out how to get Korra to go to sleep without crying for an hour.

Bags of Pink

We've gotten 3 kitchen-sized trash bags full of pink girly hand-me-downs.  Korra can wear a different outfit daily for the next year and still not wear it all!

Spit-Up

The only time Korra seriously spits-up is right after a bath.  Coincidence?  I think not.

Check it off the list!

Added baby to insurance AND got my flu shot- all during one nap. Today has been very productive!

Not a Good Sign

Started crying as I drove past my school- so great is my aversion to going back.

And the winner is...

I ate, then slept.  Looks like we'll have to try for the payroll office another day.

Decisions

It's 9:30 AM.  I was up most of the night with a crying baby who is finally asleep.  Do I: a) sleep, b) eat, or c) go to the payroll office and enroll the baby on our health insurance because they close at noon?

The Reverse Nap Effect

My desire to nap increases exponentially the closer it gets to the time Korra will want to wake up to eat.

Belly Button Update

I'm back to having an inny, but Korra's still stubbornly refusing to loose that umbilical cord stump.

Cooking Dinner

Usually, I love cooking dinner.  Right now, not so much.  Mostly because Korra seems to have some sort of ESP that makes her wake up (and scream) the second I either start cooking or sit down to eat something I just made.  Thankfully, we've had some great friends bringing us dinner pretty regularly!

Baby Gadgets

3 baby gadgets we've loved so far...

Video Baby Monitor (so I can see if she's breathing!)

White Noise Machine (lulls her back to sleep when she gets fussy)

Itzbeen Baby Care Timer (tells exactly how long it's been since our last feeding- because it's easy to forget!)

PJ Lunch

You know you're the parent of a newborn when it's noon, you're still in your PJs, and you're eating cookie dough for lunch.

Blow-Out

Something for the Baby Book: first blow-out diaper.  Ewww.

Ben Folds Five AND Fraggle Rock?!

2 of my favorite things!  In one video!

30 lbs!

Of the 40 lbs I gained during pregnancy, I've lost 30 of them!

Answered Prayer

Last night was about as good as you can expect to sleep with a 2 week old baby.

Sleep Prayer

Praying fervently for a peaceful night of sleep for all 3 of us.  It's been a rough day.

Wedding Ring

When will my wedding ring fit again?  All the swelling's gone down in my feet, but I still can't get my rings on :(

Just. So. Tired.

Why won't this baby sleep?!

Fussy Babies

Bisa, Jenni, and baby Ellia came to visit today!  It was great to see them, but unfortunately, Korra and Ellia took turns crying pretty much the whole visit.  Oh babies.

Reunion

Tonight is my 10 year high school reunion.  I'm not going (you know, the whole two-week-old baby thing) but I'm looking forward to hearing all about it from friends who are.

Time Flies

I figured out why the days go by so quickly.  I don't get up until 10-11 AM, I take an hour long nap in the afternoon, and I go to bed about 8 PM.  If I don't count all the times I'm up for feedings, I'm only awake for about 8 hours a day...

Thankful for Insurance

Got our hospital bill in the mail today.  Before insurance, the total for my 48 hour hospital stay is $9634.35.  That's just insane.

Smells Like Cabbage

In an attempt to relieve some breastfeeding-induced pain, I have cabbage leaves in each bra cup.  Felt really good at first (they were nice and cold) but now I have to deal with the fact that my chest smells like cabbage.

Photoshoot

Our wonderful neighbor Laura took some fantastic photographs of Korra on Wednesday.  Here are a few of my favorites!

Belly Button Bonding

I think Korra and I are both going to have our big belly button moments on the same day- you know, like a mother-daughter bonding thing.  I'm very close to having an innie again (though I doubt it'll ever look quite the same) and I hope she's close to losing that umbilical cord stump.

Vitamins

Korra REALLY hates her baby vitamins.  She spews them back out at me and screams bloody murder.

Sound Machine

Korra's really digging the ocean sounds from her white noise machine.  Too early to hope it's a cure for fussiness, but thankful it's working for now.

Uncle Brian

Korra's going to meet her Uncle Brian for the first time this morning!

Baby Bodily Functions

In a 10 minute span, Korra pooped on Nate and vomited on me.

Ode to Bouncer

I love the vibrating bouncer seat and the 2 (and counting!) hours of peace it has given me!

Gaining Weight

Korra's packing on the pounds! At the doctor today she weighed 7 lbs 12 oz!

Growth Spurt

So this is the growth spurt they talked about.  All we do is eat and cry (and by "we" I mean both Korra and me)

Rough Night

Korra fussed on and off from 2:45 AM until about 9.  Nate and I are totally exhausted.

Cloth

Trying out our cloth diapers for the first time!

First Outing

Took Korra on her first outing. Went to Target & Jersey Mike's in Auburn. She was SO good- slept through it all!

Amazon Prime

Cancelled our Netflix and upgraded to Amazon Prime.  So far, really enjoying the content but sad there's no "Recently Watched" category.

Crazy Pathetic

Hormones must still be crazy- cried while watching Yours, Mine & Ours.  Pathetic.

Snuggly

Is there anything more wonderful than a newborn sleeping peacefully on your chest?

Hiccups

Korra has the most severe hiccups all the time.

Moby

Tried the Moby wrap.  Korra and I both approve.

7 pounds!

Went to the lactation consultant this morning and Korra has already surpassed her birth weight.  My big girl is a full 7 pounds now!

40 Weeks?

Today was my due date.  It's so crazy how much has changed in less than a week.  Just look (taken on Friday)...

And now I have this (taken on Tuesday)...

Leaking

I was not prepared for the amount my body would leak fluids in various places- beginning with my water before labor and now my milk.  I'll be really excited when all bodily fluids are once again under my control.

Sleepy Girl

All Korra does is sleep and eat.  That's perfectly fine with me.

Little Sounds

Slept a little less well last night but not because of crying.  I guess I was just so tired on Monday night, I didn't notice all Korra's little noises but last night every little whimper and squeak woke me up.  And heck, if that's all that interrupted my sleep, we're doing really well!

She Looks Like a Baby

Lots of people have been speculating about whether Korra looks like me or Nate.  Personally, we both think that at this point, she just looks like a baby.  She's nicely symmetrical and doesn't have a cone head, but I think we have a little while before we'll know what she really looks like.

Korra Mae

We got to the hospital at about 6:30 on Saturday night.  Blessedly, labor was short (less than 6 hours from when I started to feel mild contractions) and by 10:08, Korra Mae was born.  Nate was amazing and with his help, I was able to give birth without any medication.  The whole experience was totally surreal and all I could think when it was over was, "I did it!"  I've had quite a few "I did it!" moments over the past few days. Like breastfeeding successfully or even just touching my own feet (which are back to their usual size!)  We're all starting to adjust to this new life together, but we couldn't be happier.  I'll try to remember to take more pictures and post more often, but no promises.

Promise to go back & recount the past days events, but for now I'll just say Korra Mae & I are hoping to be discharged soon

Heading to Hospital

Having some contractions about every 5 minutes.  Hoping this is it and heading to the hospital!

Waiting and Waiting

3:08 PM

I'm glad we're waiting at home instead of at the hospital, but I'm still feeling really anxious.  I'm anxious for labor to really begin and then I'm even more anxious about how things will go once we get to the hospital (especially if we have to go before labor's in full swing).  I do not want to be pressured to do things I'm not comfortable with and I worry the longer we have to wait, the more likely there will be interventions I'd rather not have.

Doula

1:20 PM

Thanks to an amazing friend (Danielle), I was put in touch with a lady in town who is a doula. We've been chatting on Facebook, but haven't had a chance to meet yet.  After my terrible conversation with the on-call doctor (who's not even from my practice), where he tried to scare me into checking into the hospital immediately, it was such a blessing to be able to call Doula Katie (her name is Katie, too).  She reassured me that I'm being perfectly safe by staying at home until labor really starts AND she agreed to come to the hospital if I need her to help me stand up to this on-call doctor.

My Water Broke

9:15 AM

I'm writing this now, but I don't think I'll post it until later.  I don't want everyone who reads it to be as anxious as I am.
At 5:20 AM, I woke up from a light sleep.  I went to the bathroom as usual to find that my water had broken.  Now I'm not talking about the gush you see in movies.  It's the faintest trickle that has had me feeling like I'm peeing on myself for the past 4 hours.  Nate and I tried to get some more sleep, but no luck.  Still no contractions, so we're just going to hang out, go for a walk, and wait until labor progresses (or starts!) before heading to the hospital.