Pilgrims at Oak Ridge

In what is sure to be the first of many "do my kids look alike?" posts, here are a few shots to compare Judah with Naomi in their first few days. Judah is the first photo, and Naomi the second. Although he was bigger, I think her face is a little rounder. Plus she has more hair. But I think the nose is the same. What do you think? Either way, all I have to say is that Jeff and I make very cute babies.            

1. My days are mostly filled with holding and nursing a sweet baby girl. She is eating really well, sleeping so-so, and generally being exceptionally cute. We love our sweet baby and are enjoying having her as part of our family. 2. Judah has done really well with her. I imagine that it helps that Jeff works from home and so he has been able to help me out a lot. But he is very sweet with her and will help me burp her or hand me things. Our next door neighbors also got a trampoline for Christmas, and that has been a nice way to let him get some energy out. Today I stuck Naomi in the moby and we three went over for some play time after lunch. Naomi and I just watched Judah run around. 3. Now that I have a slightly neurotic dog, a newborn, and a two year old who goes to bed fairly early I find myself highly annoyed at people who set off fireworks. I mean, first of all, it isn't even New Year's Eve yet.  And secondly, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. I guess that since I used to love settin...

       

Playing with Nana  

I couldn't quite get this posted last night, but here is the photo - Naomi meeting her Uncle Abram.  

While my little one is snoozing and it's still fresh in my mind, I thought I'd share the story of her birthday. For anyone who cares, you can read about Judah's birth story here . The last few weeks of this pregnancy were tough on me. I had been praying during this whole pregnancy to go into labor before the due date. For many reasons - first of all, I was hoping for a slightly smaller baby this time around. When you are trying to VBAC, induction can increase the risks of bad outcomes, so I wanted to avoid the need for induction due to being overdue. I was also having lots of back and pelvic pain, not sleeping well, and the fatigue that comes along with the end of pregnancy. My dear husband was a saint - putting up with a very emotional wife those last few days. (Jeff says he knew it was a girl because surely I had double the female hormones making me extra emotional!) As the due date got closer I was having more and more anxiety that this was going to go down just like l...

In which I attempt some DIY newborn photography. We got a few good shots, but maybe we'll try again tomorrow.  

We didn't do too much today. Naomi had her first doctor's visit and we ran a few errands. Judah is currently hanging out with his Nana, so it has been a relatively smooth transition. Although Naomi mostly wants to be held while she sleeps, which makes it difficult for me to also sleep. But she continues to eat really well.   She loves staring at the Christmas tree, too. She will be so sad to learn that it doesn't stay up all year round.    

With the big brother and Nana.

Home!  

with Nana and Papa  

I will post more about her birth later, but here is what I spent December 18 doing. Naomi Ruth was born on 12/18 at 2:05 pm via a successful VBAC. She weighed 7-4 (a full pound lighter than Judah!) and came out squawking with a head full of hair. We love her dearly.

The lone pic I took on the 17th. Because it was a long day involving lots of contractions that went no where and a fussy, feverish boy. Little did I know that very soon things were going to change!

Our sweet boy is a little under the weather. Although I hate to see him sick, he does get very snuggly when he's not feeling well. Which has its benefits.   It's been great having a new pastor at our church. He comes with a family full of kids, including this cutie.  

I am very, very grateful for such a wonderful husband. He has had to put up with both a grumpy, 39-week-pregnant wife AND a toddler with a cold. He graciously agreed to take Judah with him on some errands this morning which gave me some free time to go on a long walk, do a little cleaning, and take a bath. It was glorious. Also glorious was the foot massage spa treatment I had this afternoon that he encouraged me to have. I did still get some good play time in with my little guy, who has been fairly happy in spite of the snotty nose he is now sporting. I'm very indecisive as well, so I'm posting three images from my day.