Reed Me Baby

So apparently it’s going to take me 3 months to get a page written on here! Noah is 6 months old now and he’s changed so so much since the last time I wrote. I promise to update this more, by the way.
Let me just start by saying that I can’t believe how much I love him. It’s like more & more everyday- I just cannot stop kissing him and I tell him I love him probably 50 times a day. It’s ridiculous.

Here’s the brag section: Noah is now- able to sit up unassisted for a very long time and reach for things, etc. without falling over :). He’s smiling constantly and he laughs at just about everything and everyone. He hasn’t met a stranger yet. I’m really hoping that’ll continue. I was like that when I was little and it never really changed so hopefully Noah will be the same way. Let’s just pray that he’s not as open (and by open I mean brash and big-mouthed) as I am, and is more reserved with his opinions like his dad. Oh wait, Steve’s not reserved about his opinions either.. so I suppose Noah is in trouble.

Anyway- Noah is also sleeping through the night still although we’re having trouble with me having to go in there a couple times a night and change his very wet diaper, which wakes him up, which really wakes me up and it tends to be a half-hour to an hour before I can get him back to sleep and in his crib. That’s our big problem right now.. but it’s a very small price to pay compared to other moms who I hear have to get up in the middle of the night still to feed their babies! We feed him at 7:30pm and he doesn’t eat again until 7 at the earliest.. sometimes closer to 8, depending on when he wakes up in the morning.
I’ve decided he’s incredibly intelligent. He is so focused and aware all the time. He already has us wrapped around his little finger. At the last Dr.’s appt. the Dr. was writing in his chart and Noah stared at him so intently that the Dr. stopped and laughed, saying that Noah was making him nervous and that he felt like he might call him out for making a spelling error or something.

oops, it’s thurs. night and Kath & Kim is on so I’ve got to go, but I’ll update on the wonders of Noah again very soon! I can’t wait to post a picture of him for Halloween!!

Wow, Noah is now 3 months old! The time has really passed. Things are much, much easier with him now. He is still on about a 3-31/2 hour schedule but he’s sleeping through the night. We start our bedtime routine at about 7 with a bath and sometimes a story (if he’s not screaming b/c he’s ready to eat). Then at 7:30 I feed him and he goes right down to sleep in his crib. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that he’s sleeping in his own room and crib now! woohoo! We started that the night we got back from PA and it was the best night of sleep we’d had up until that point.. all 3 of us. We were ecstatic. I thought it would be really difficult not having him right there where I could see him but the monitor we have works really well and I can hear every little noise he makes.
Anyway, so he goes right to sleep by 8 or so and then we wake him back up at 10 or 10:30ish (depending on how fast he ate his 7:30 bottle and went down to sleep) and feed him his formula/rice cereal bottle. He loves that stuff and he sucks it down so quickly but it’s great b/c he doesn’t ever throw that up. I think since it’s thicker it’s just better going down and he really seems to enjoy it. The Dr. said it would help him to sleep through the night and also with his reflux and he was definitely correct. So after that feeding he goes right back down and sleeps til 7! It’s wonderful.
He now weighs close to 14 pounds, if not more. His double chin is the cutest thing. He’s SO expressive. His laugh is still kind of a coughing sound but he is starting to giggle a tiny little bit now. He’s smiling constantly. I love that I can smile at him and he’ll smile back.
Well, speaking of him, he’s waking up from his nap a little early so it’s time to go! Write more later!

Noah is here! I looked at my last post and just had to laugh. I was 3 days away from going into labor and never would’ve guessed it’d be that soon!
Anyway, I did go into labor and we had an emergency C-section b/c Noah’s cord was wrapped around his neck and his heart rate had gone down for a bit. It wasn’t a huge emergency since his heart rate did in fact go back up after that but we all thought it best to go in after him just in case. It was the weirdest experience too.. the C section itself. It’s not really something you can explain as far as how it feels. It was a tad scary but I didn’t really have much time to get scared since they told us we’d be going in about an hour before we did.. then before I knew it, Noah was out!
Since then we’ve come home and things have been very up & down. First and foremost, he’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Last week I was rocking him and just looking at him and I started to cry. I cannot believe he’s here and he’s ours! IT’s just the biggest miracle ever and I can’t thank God enough (although to be honest i’ve been neglecting God a little bit.. i barely have time to sleep so i’m not making enough time to pray or read my bible, but hopefully that’ll change soon).
Noah had jaundice at first and that was a little scary since it got worse once we went home. But the Dr. said it’s just breastmilk jaundice which is very common, especially in babies that are a little early. We unfortunately had to supplement some formula in so that he’d get better but now it’s good b/c he’s used to both breast & bottle and can do either successfully. Plus, Steve was then able to feed him every once in awhile and it gave me a nice break. One one hand, I love breastfeeding because it makes me feel so connected to Noah and just to the Earth in a weird way. Like it’s such a miracle that I can have a baby and my body alone can take care of his. I probably sound stupid, but it’s just a powerful thing to behold I think.
Lately though, it’s been tough getting up at night. We’re on a fairly regular 3 hour schedule although it gets changed around a lot based on when he decides he can go for 3 and 1/2 hours or can only make it to 2 and 1/2… but for the most part we’re on a fairly regular routine. On his good days he wakes up like clockwork at exactly 3 hours after the last time I started to feed him and I could set my watch according to our feeding times. Other days it’s hectic and it’s all I can do to get him to go to sleep between feedings!
This parenting stuff is much harder than I thought it would be. I mean, I knew it would be tough but I didn’t imagine the toll it would take on my body. Everyone keeps telling me I need more calories to keep my milk going and keep the baby fed properly so i’m trying to eat more- while not having nearly enough time to cook proper meals for myself! That’s a big struggle. So it ends up being the same amount of food I’d normally eat just b/c I don’t have the time to eat any extra.
Then there’s sleep. Again, I hear over & over that I need a good amount of sleep so I can be clear minded to take care of him and again with the milk supply… sleep is important to get. But how can I get sleep when I have to spend 8 hours a day feeding/burping him, then changing him, giving him a bath, getting him to go to sleep, taking care of my own hygiene, and the house, too?? It’s very tough.
I know I sound like i’m complaining, but for all the stress and exhaustion, there are moments with Noah that make it all melt away. Whenever he smiles (which i’m convinced are simply gas smiles at this point but they’re still beautiful nonetheless) I am simply in awe and could just eat him up! When he’s sleeping soundly and making those little whimpering mouse noises, I could sit & stare at him for hours just marveling at what a miracle he is. And when he’s wide awake, looking around at the world and at me, he makes the most hilarious expressions and noises, it’s entertainment that only people close to him would find amusing- but of course his parents could talk about his faces all day without getting bored. The best though, is when he falls asleep in my arms with his head on my chest, just close enough that I can kiss his head and smell his wonderful baby hair. He keeps wrapping his one arm around the side of me and he’ll periodically move his fingers back & forth like he’s scratching me (which he sometimes does.. those nails are sharp! I try to cut them but geez they grow fast).
Sigh… anyway I’m a very proud mom (sounds so weird huh?) and Steve is an equally proud dad! We’re so happy (exhausted, but happy) and we’re very excited for everyone to be around to watch Noah grow up with us!
I’ll keep everyone updated on the milestones! His first round of shots are on Friday :(. We’ll see how that goes… can’t be any worse than the circumcision!

We’re now officially considered “full term”. I was 37 weeks this past Wednesday, so that is very exciting. That means, if he does go ahead and induce us, we only have 2 more weeks to go!
Our doctor will not be back from his conference until April 3rd though, so we’re really hoping that if we go early, it’ll be after that! Our appointment with him is not until Monday the 7th. We’re expecting that he’ll tell us when we’ll be induced at that appointment and it should be sometime that week.. somewhere between the 9th and 11th.
This week we had to go to a different doctor since ours is gone. That was a different experience. He checked my cervix and I’m apparently 50% effaced. That, however, doesn’t mean a whole lot since women can be like that for weeks, or sometimes it won’t happen until they’re in labor. The main thing is, he’s moving down and getting ready to come out so that’s a great sign!
It’s amazing how much differently these doctors do things. This doctor seemed to think that our doctor is off his nut. He didn’t understand why he’d been having me come in for non-stress tests. This all made me feel better about our doctor though b/c I know he’s super cautious. He’s particularly good with high risk people and I think with a “normal” doctor I wouldn’t have had so many sonograms or checkups and I’d feel a lot less like I was being well taken care of. Dr. Nour (ours) is probably overly careful about things but that is the way I’d prefer it to be. …..which is another reason I’d really like to have him be the one to deliver Noah. I feel comfortable with him and I know Steve does, too. We trust him and I know he was planning to do everything the way I wanted (as far as the whole “birth plan” goes). I’m not sure another doctor would do things the same way. Our doctor, for example, doesn’t use forceps or vacuum extraction, he said I’d be able to have an epidural at 2 cm dilated, he doesn’t do an episiotomy unless absolutely necessary, etc. etc…. So we’re really hoping things will work out for us.
As of right now, we’re planning to have a game night with some friends and relatives of mine who are going to be here from out of town, and that is scheduled for next Fri. the 4th. So I’m assuming I’ll go into labor that day.

In the last 24 hours I’ve thought several times that I should tell Steve I think we need to go to the hospital. But then I figure out that the pain is just gas or something like that. It is constant or at the very least it’s not something that’s coming & going like a contraction would. I keep thinking back to this time last year when we had the miscarriage and I know exactly how that felt. The problem is, it felt like gas pains! I spent a long while in the bathroom until I finally figured out that the pains were coming & going every half hour, then 20 minutes, then 10, etc. etc. and when they were finally about 10 apart- I realized what was happening. This time however, I’m supposed to feel tightness in my abdomen along with the pains and I have never had that combination. I’ve felt tons of contractions but there has been no pain (discomfort, but not pain). Then I’ve felt tons of weirdo stabbing pains, but they’ll go away immediately or they’ll stay in a certain area for a good hour (gas pains I assume). None of these are labor pains, obviously, so it’s just a matter of waiting until both the pains & the contractions are happening simultaneously and realizing it quickly enough to get to the hospital in plenty of time! My worst fear is that I won’t realize it early enough, or that I’ll think it’s just gas and won’t go to the hospital. Then when I do finally figure it out, we’ll get there and I won’t have time for an epidural and we’ll be rushed into labor & delivery… and I’m not into the rushing. I want a nice period of labor where I can process things and remain in control and calm. I guess God has a plan for us and whatever happens happens, but it’s still crazy that we’re now waiting for it any day now. I can’t believe it’s almost here! Our baby is going to be out in a matter of 2 weeks or so!! That is just insane and exciting and a tad bit terrifying

It is officially the first day of Spring!! Yay! It seems like the winter lasted forever. I’m so glad it’s over. Now our baby will officially be born in the spring. And as long as i don’t have the baby by midnight tonight, he will be an Aries. Not that I care about things like that, but I got the cutest little GAP onesie that says Aries on it and it has the lamb with a cute description of how his personality should be. I got it a couple weeks ago- trying to will him to wait to come out for as long as possible!
Speaking of that, I’m still having contractions. However, I’m getting better at identifying them and right now we’re working on timing them & all that sort of thing. They don’t hurt right now though so that’s a good sign. Dr. Nour said they should “take my breath away” when it’s labor contractions. As uncomfortable as I’m getting, I know I will still miss being pregnant when he comes out. Right this second, for example, he has the hiccups. It’s the funniest feeling when he gets them.. Steve almost can’t feel them unless I hold very still and am lying down. They feel plenty hard enough for me, but it’s way down in there and doesn’t move the belly much. Last night (and every other night/day for that matter) however, you could see his movements quite well! Steve was talking to him with his face right about at my belly button and Noah moved some part of his body right into Steve’s face! It was hilarious.. Steve’s eyes got really big as the belly seemed to grow towards him all of a sudden. He was like “he kicked me in the face!” Of course, he didn’t actually kick him, more like backed up against him since I think that’s his back/butt area. But still.. it was great.
Lots of things seem to be happening this week… March 18th was our old anniversary. It’s officially been 12 years since Steve & I started dating. That’s so weird. We went to the doctor that day and celebrated by getting stuff to make chicken quesadillas.. Steve did it almost all by himself, insisting that I sit down and take it easy. It seems crazy to think back to a few years ago before we were married, or even back to high school and if you would’ve told me then that we’d be celebrating our 12-year anniversary this year, I don’t know if I would’ve believed it. It was also the anniversary (unfortunately) of our night spent in the ER with the miscarriage last year. It’s like we’ve come full circle though. Last year at this time I was about as miserable as you can get. We lived in that house we hated, I had no idea what I was going to do about my job situation, the pain of the miscarriage was worse than I ever could’ve imagined, and everything just sucked.
But now we are in our house that we love, we’re having our baby boy and couldn’t be more excited, I’m officially nine months pregnant now!!, Steve loves his job, I’m done working and am able to focus on the house & getting ready, and overall things are really great! What a difference a year makes, huh?
In other news, Steve got his “lawn tractor”, aka lawnmower, and he is absolutely thrilled about it. I took pictures of him riding around the yard in it on the first day he got it.. he fertilized the yard with his dad. He keeps insisting the garage now smells like “new lawntractor”.. as if I’m supposed to know what that smells like. I guess it’d be like me getting a new pair of shoes and saying our closet smells like new shoes. ?? maybe..
Anyway, it’s a nice sunny day out and I’m still trapped in the house, ordered to stay off my feet as much as possible. I’m reading my book… which reminds me, I need to go & finish it. I’m almost done. It’s the latest Nicholas Sparks book! I have to get it finished and add it to my collection of all the other books he’s written. The only one I don’t have and have not read is the one about he & his brother on their trip. I heard it was good but it’s not the type of book I’m generally drawn to so we’ll see. I may have to get it just b/c I have all his others and I need to complete my collection.
Hope everyone is having a wonderful first day of Spring!!!

Well it’s been quite an interesting week!
First we had the big baby shower event!! It was absolutely wonderful. Michelle and the grandmas did a great job planning and the place looked awesome. We all had a good time and we got lots of nice gifts. We (I’m speaking for Steve, Noah & I) felt very loved. I think there were around 50 of us there. I tried to count but it was a little difficult.. that number includes the kids that came and excludes the people who just dropped by real quick and left. All in all it was a room full of women that are close to us and that is just a great thing. Aside from them (several were sick and couldn’t make it or had other obligations)- we’ve gotten 15-20 other gifts!! So we’re very blessed.
Rhonda & I went and took back all our duplicates (and some of the 50 million bibs we got) and were able to buy some of the big things that we hadn’t gotten yet, like the mattress, bedding, and pack n’ play. As of right now, we’re absolutely ready for Noah to get here- room and stuff wise! I spent the past few days washing everything with our new baby-friendly HE laundry detergent and setting everything up.

It’s a good thing we have everything almost ready to go too because we had a doctor’s appointment today just for me to get a non-stress test and it was interesting to say the least. I wasn’t even supposed to see the doctor actually.. just get hooked up to the monitor and they were going to make sure i wasn’t having contractions and that the baby is moving a good amount. Well, he was definitely moving a ton so that wasn’t a problem. However, I was apparently having contractions, which IS a problem. I had several in the 20-25 minute span that i was lying there so the doctor did end up having to come in and he checked my cervix to make sure it wasn’t opening. He put me on “take it easy” rest… i’m to limit my walking/standing and drink as many fluids as I can stand. He’d really like for us to wait a good 2 more weeks before delivering but we’re not sure how much longer Noah is going to stay put.
It was very scary being there on my own and being told all this. I freaked a little and started turning all red and sweating.. to which the dr. said i should sit up and take a breath or i’d faint…. which I never do. He plans to see us again on tuesday to make sure things are still ok and i need to monitor my contractions all the time- which is proving to be a lot more difficult than i thought. I can hardly tell when i’m even having one so timing them and keeping track of how many i’m having is really not easy. BUT i’m trying my best.. and hopefully when it’s labor contractions I’ll know and we can get to the hospital in time. I’d really hate to have to get there late b/c I didn’t know I was in labor and not be able to get an epidural! I know i’m a big wuss but I really don’t want to go through all that pain if I can avoid it.
Anyway, it’s not nearly as big of a worry now as it would’ve been a couple weeks ago. The Dr. said I’m good to go anytime really and that the baby will be fine.. so that’s fantastic. Plus, the room is all ready for him so that’s another thing I can scratch off my worry list. We’re just about as ready as we’ll ever be so I guess it’s just a relaxing/waiting game at this point! I’ll keep everyone updated as best I can… and keep your phones on just in case!!

We are 6 days away from being “home free” as far as Noah is concerned. From week 34 on, we can safely deliver without the Dr. feeling the need to stop the labor. Noah looks really great! He’s the right size, shape and he’s so cute (if i do say so myself!). We did the 3 and 4D sonograms today and it was all I could do not to choke up while she was showing him to us. His tiny hand was over his face a little but we moved around some so we could get a good look at him. He has Steve’s big adorable bottom lip and it looks like maybe my nose although that could change. The only thing we’re waiting on is to see if he has the big “Reed eyes” or more boring normal ones like me
His feet are most definitely lodged up in the right side of my ribcage which explains a LOT! I’m constantly wanting to push down over there. I’m really looking forward to when he drops down (lightening is what the official term is for that) lower into my uterus so that I can breathe better again and he won’t be so stuck in my rib area. The ultrasound tech was saying how my torso is just so short that he’s all bunched up in there and that’s causing some sharp pains for me. It’s all ok though and perfectly worth it if he is going to be good & healthy.
Anyway, I’m getting more & more exhausted lately and having trouble with my appetite so I think I will go take a nap before lunch & work later on. But I hope everyone has a wonderful day! I will update more later.. especially after the shower next weekend!!!! SO excited about that

Now that we’re almost to 32 weeks it’s starting to seem very real and like it’s coming up very quickly! I was talking to a lady about our age on this new site that Missy introduced me to (called mamasource) and she had two premature births, one at 32 weeks and the other at 34. That got me to thinking, I really should probably pack my bags & get things as ready as I can, shouldn’t I? It seems like it’s way too early for any of that but I suppose it’s better to be safe. I need to re-wash all the clothes we got for him before he can wear them and .. oh there’s just a ton to do really. I absolutely cannot go into labor before our shower though! We still need lots of things.. like a mattress for the crib maybe.. hehe. That might be good.
I’m also getting very excited because my shower is coming up soon, too! The invitations were sent and I’ve got several people telling me they’ll see me there and that is so exciting! I don’t know what other word to use for it. I love baby showers.
Valentine’s Day has now come & gone and I have to say that Steve did an excellent job this year. We’ve both kind-of let that day fall through the cracks when we didn’t have a solid plan or didn’t figure out which day we could celebrate it with our schedules & all, but this year we figured it out ahead of time and it was wonderful. We used his Outback gift card that he got for being safe at work all year (great, huh?). And we opened our presents when we got home (this was on Tuesday). He went ahead and gave me my joint present. It was for both Valentine’s Day and for having the baby. He got me a diamond necklace that matches my ring & earrings and it’s really perfect and beautiful and I just love him :). I’m usually not so mushy about things but here lately I’ve been tearing up just thinking about how great he’s been. This has been by far the hardest year for us and he’s seen me at my absolute worst! Two trips to the hospital (both grissly trips at that), lots and lots of pregnancy issues, loss, hoping again, putting baby things together, getting me a snoogle to help with back pain…. I mean he’s just been all over the place and I’m so proud of him. He’s put up with my terrible mood swings and crying all the time for no reason at all. And he’s been surprisingly good about helping me get ice cream when I want it :). Right now he’s being the cutest with constantly wanting to feel the baby move and talking to him and saying good night to him. And every time he does those things all I can do is smile and think about how lucky I am. See, tearing up right now!! geez these pregnancy hormones..
Steve has even been all about holding baby Adam (Mel & Jason’s son). Last weekend we had a nice visit with them and it was good to talk to new parents and see where they are and where we’re going to be shortly. Steve’s all convinced that he’ll be just fine to hold the baby on his lap and play video games at the same time. He says when he comes home from work in the evenings, Noah is going to be HIS! and I can’t wait to remind him that he said that as soon as Noah’s diaper explodes between the hours of 6-9
We’re trying to figure out when we’ll be able to go out & have date nights again after he’s born, too. Because of course it’s important to make sure we still have a love life of some kind!! The great thing is, I’m sure we’ll have tons of volunteers (esp. the grandmothers) for babysitting whenever we feel we need a break, so that’s helpful. I won’t want a break for a good few weeks I’m sure, but after that we’re pretty sure we’ll be fine going on a vacation or two during the year. There’s just a lot to look forward to, and I’m hoping we’ll do a good job keeping Noah as our #1 priority but also making sure we keep each other there, too.
Lastly, we have the 3D ultrasound to look forward to and we’re very excited about that. There are so many things adding to our excitement.. i feel like my head is going to spin off! Between the shower, baby Adam, the 3D ultrasound, the 32 week mark, and all his movements (he flipped by the way! he’s vertex now, so no C-section hopefully)- we’re so ready to get this show on the road!!

We had our 28 week appointment today, even though i’m not technically 28 weeks til tomorrow. But still.. we’re in the home stretch!
I’m so incredibly excited lately. Especially after Mel had Adam this past week, it was just so nice to hold him and see how happy they all are. He’s the cutest baby. When I was sitting down and holding him though, Noah seemed to either get frustrated that someone was sitting on his head or he was a little jealous because he bumped the crap out of me and shook poor little sleeping Adam! Steve insists that the two of them are going to have awesome little “baby fights”. Jason told Steve that we’ll have to cut Noah’s nails on a regular basis so it’ll be fair. Boys are dumb.
Anyway, Noah’s moving around a ton and lately he’s literally stepping on or bumping up against my bladder periodically which feels really not good. It makes me feel like I need to sprint for the bathroom but then goes away just as fast.
Yesterday I woke up and I was on my back and my belly just felt really super weird like he was totally sideways in there on the top half. It felt like there was nothing below my belly button.. like he was all sideways above the navel and that whole area was really hard. VERY weird feeling. I turned on my side and tried to go back to sleep and he must’ve shifted somehow b/c when i woke up it was back to normal. I can feel where his head is right above my belly button and to the left. Dr. Nour said that’s probably what’s causing my sharp pains in the rib area… combination of that and maybe acid reflux (which i’ve never had before). I’m hoping that he’s practicing his turn so he won’t be breech anymore and we can have a normal labor. We’ll see. It would be nice to schedule it, but I’d rather be scheduled to be induced rather than a C-section.
Last night we were trying to go to sleep and Steve had his hand on my belly and we felt his little hiccups. It was the coolest thing. I think he had them the night before for a few minutes too but this was for quite a bit longer and it was pretty obvious. It was either that or he has a really good & consistent boxing rhythm.

Anyway i’m very excited to be in the third trimester now and am so looking forward to having him out. I love being pregnant, even though I have just about every problem you can find in a book- but i’m getting really anxious to see him and hold him and watch Steve change his diapers.

I’ve made it all the way to this trimester with no strangers touching my belly either so i’m pumped about that, too. Lots of people are asking me if it’s a boy or girl and when i’m due but so far only family & friends are rubbing the belly and that’s the way I’d like to keep it. Those poeple at the library where I work are not the most sanitary sometimes and I think I might smack their hand away if they try to touch me. I’m a little overprotective right now.. even though I know very well that they won’t hurt the baby. But still, they could be dirty which could get me dirty and make me sick which would be bad for Noah… so… yeah i’m rationalizing it that way.

Overall i’m just happy right now and anxious and ready for 4 weeks to get here so we can see him in 3D!! The time has been flying by so I’m sure these 4 weeks will be no different.

Thursday was our last Dr.’s appointment. Overall it went well, although we ended up being there almost 3 hours or something crazy. It was apparently the only day he would be in the office because of Christmas & New Years being in between. Ordinarily, Steve & I would’ve taken one look at the room full of people and rescheduled, but this was our 24 week appointment which meant I needed my Rhogam shot.
Since I’m Rh-negative, I have to get a shot to protect the baby (& future babies) from my own body wanting to work against them. If Noah would happen NOT to be Rh-negative, my body would sort-of reject him and that’s definitely not good! I guess my mom had to do the same thing, although she didn’t remember until I was pregnant the last time and told her how I needed to get a shot after the miscarriage. It’s really a pretty common thing and my Dr. seems very on top of it. I got the shot right there in the office so I feel much better now.
He also said he’s very happy with my weight gain, which is a load off. Things seem to be going perfectly so I don’t have to go back for another 4 weeks! I have to admit, it’s been nice going in more often b/c of all the ultrasounds we’ve been able to do but now that things are going so well, he didn’t do one this week. I was a tad disappointed but then I remembered that most women only get 1-3 ultrasounds in a normal pregnancy so I should count myself lucky.
The due date & everything is still fine and after this next appointment I’ll have to start coming in every 2 weeks since I’ll be in the third trimester.
I’m really getting excited for Noah to get here. I love being pregnant, but then when I see babies around I just can’t wait to get my hands on him. Steve is getting really excited, too which is wonderful for me to watch.

Christmas was really great this year. It was nice to see all our relatives & especially our friends who aren’t living around here anymore. We’ll get to see a few more tonight for New Years that we haven’t seen in quite awhile so that’ll be nice, too.
It was great to be able to see Billie & Dan. Bills got to feel Noah kicking and Dan got attacked by Mel & I b/c he said our bellies were scary. We gave him a belly sandwich hug that he did not enjoy one bit.
It was SO nice to talk to my girlfriends again, too. Especially with Mel & Angie & the girls about pregnancy and babies & all that girly stuff that Steve isn’t into. I feel so much less crazy after talking with my girls :). I know after having nice talks like that, that I’ll be fine when Noah comes… I’ll always have them to call & vent to or whenever we have a huge milestone they’ll be so excited & understanding… (sigh).. can you tell I’m very happy & emotional!? I swear this has been the craziest rollercoaster of emotions this year-Ever. You go from thinking you can’t get much lower or have things go anymore wrong-to feeling very lucky & blessed… all in the span of what feels like a few months. Throw in pregnancy hormones and you’ve got yourself a few emotional breakdowns!
I’m just glad we’re ending 2007 on a good & happy note. We’re very much looking forward to the anticipation, exhaustion, elation & tough times of 2008 though! Happy New Year everyone!!