Bear

We hope everyone had a BEARY Merry Christmas!

I'm happy.

I'm so exhausted it's ridiculous.

I constantly have a headache and stomachache from lack of sleep. But as I sat at Darin's family Christmas party I couldn't help but think of how happy I am.

Before I had the baby I thought that December was going to be so nice because I was going to have all this extra time to really enjoy the holiday season and do all those Christmasy things to get me in the mood. Honestly, I thought a lot of things that didn't end up quite how I expected them to, before I had the baby.

Needless to say, I haven't really felt the holiday spirit as much as I was hoping. But Darins family Christmas party really changed that for me. It's the kind of Christmas party you see on the movies. The things I always wish my family did as a little kid growing up.

I was there with my sweet (and handsome, I might add) husband and darling baby girl, surrounded by family that love and support us.

We watched the kids sing songs (Once There Was a Snowman).

We watched them put on the nativity scene, little people style.

Mollee was our little Wiseman.

We play our Christmas bells, although it never sounds too pretty.

And we sing Christmas carols to the piano. Noone is embarrassed or shy. Everyone sings out in their full voices. And maybe everyones voices aren't the greatest (especially mine), but altogether, it's beautiful.

And then we get a Christmas message from Darins 91 year old Grandpa, who by the way, exclaimed that he IS going to make it to 100. I don't doubt it either.

He gave each family member a flashlight and talked about Christ's birth and how he is the light of the world. And when we are in different times of darkness we can "turn on our flashlights" to find the way.

There are no gifts to unwrap at this party, and that's almost the best part. This family doesn't need to give presents to show their love. You can feel it, just being in the house. I'm lucky to have Grandma and Grandpa Graham in my life. From the first time I met them they welcomed me with open arms and have been hugging me ever since. Thank you for bringing the Christmas spirit into my heart this year!

A few more...

Couldn't resist posting the third round of newborn pics I took. Enjoy!

Ok, I guess it wasn't a few, but I couldn't resist. She's just so beautiful.

Will I.....

Will I ever get anything accomplished again? Nora has been in our home for two weeks. It has been the longest and the shortest two weeks of my life. Apparently it hasn't been too easy on her either.

The last two weeks there has been a lot of crying going on at our house, and let's just say Nora hasn't been the only one shedding tears. It's so hard when your baby is crying from 7-10 at night and you're not sure what to do to help them. Luckily I think I've figured it out. While trying to remember everything you have to do for a baby, it slipped my mind that you are supposed to burp them. We knew that her tummy was hurting at night, but I had no idea it was because of me. Now that I've started burping her better, she seems to be a little happier.

You hear people say having a baby is hard, but you honestly have no idea how hard it is until you're doing it yourself. I'm lucky if I can get in the shower before 1 o' clock each day. I guess if I got out of bed before 11 it might be easier, but after getting up every 2 hours for at least half an hour at a time, it's kind of tough peeling myself out of the warm sheets. Especially when I'm cuddling with her.

I look forward to the day when I have a routine, and am able to get a little more accomplished. And at the same time I don't want that time to come. I want my little girl to stay tiny forever.

Because even though I'm exhausted, my boobs hurt, and I feel like a zombie, there is still nothing better than having her wrap her tiny hand around my finger.

Or to feel her soft skin, or see her eyes take new things in every day.

I know life will be normal again one day, and then I'll look back and miss these times, probably because by then you've forgotten how hard it was.

One thing I don't have to worry about is getting back to my pre pregnancy weight. I'm only 4 pounds away. My body isn't the same as it was before but at least I'm not worrying about getting the extra weight off. All I have to worry about is taking care of her.

I hope I haven't scared anyone pregnant or trying to get pregnant. I mean, I'm sure I haven't said anything that everyone doesn't already know. As long as you're aware that you're going to be exhausted, and that you're going to get peed and pooped on numerous times a day, then you should be alright.

It's rewarding. To know, at the end of the day that you're keeping this little person alive, is so rewarding. We couldn't have asked for a better Christmas gift this year.

So much to be grateful for....

There's no way I could go today without expressing gratitude to my spouse and eternal companion.

I mentioned in my last post how you don't know how much you can love your child till you're holding her in your arms. But I also have to say it's amazing how much the love for your spouse grows when you see him holding your daughter in his arms. You see this entirely different side of them. This softer side you weren't sure they had. It's amazing.

He has been so wonderful since I had the baby. He's up with me at night, he's helping me breastfeed, he's doing everything he can to help me adjust to this new life, even while he himself is trying to adjust.

I'm so blessed to be able to have him in my life. I'm so grateful that we were sealed for time and all eternity and that our daughter can be with us forever because of that choice that we made together. Darin, I love you so much and I'm so excited to start this new chapter in our lives.

And how do I even begin to talk about this little thing? I'm so grateful that she's here and that she's healthy. Even though she's only been in our home for a short time, I can feel the spirit that she brings. It's amazing how close to our Heavenly Father these little ones are. It makes me want to live my life that much better so that I can be an example for her as she learns and grows.

I love you Darin. I love you Nora. I'm thankful to have you both in my life and look forward to the memories that we're going to make together.

The Low Down

On November 19 at 10:30 pm I was waiting around to go see the midnight premier of New Moon with my sister. Luckily I didn't make it to the theater because of all days, that was the day that Darin forgot his phone at work. I got up to go to the bathroom and felt a little rush of liquid come out. I didn't think I had pee'd my pants but I wasn't sure and it has happened before. I took another step and felt a huge rush of liquid down my legs. I turned to Darin and said "I think my water just broke." I was laughing and he was running around the house like a nut trying to pack our bag for the hospital. (You think I'd have had that ready already). I couldn't do much because the fluid just kept coming. Diesel knew something was up and was whining and running around.

We finally got everything and made our way to the hospital. We got there around 11:05. We got into our room at 11:20 and they hooked me up to the heart monitors and checked to make sure she was head down which she was. My contractions were getting closer together and more painful. I was dilated to a 4. At 12:20 the Dr came in to give me my epidural and I was dilated to a 5. Once I had that I was feeling pretty good and was able to relax. At 1:00 our nurse came in to check me again and I was dilated to a 6 almost 7 and they said her head was still down and just a little bit longer. At 2 am I was trying to get some rest before I would have to start pushing. The nurse came back at 2:40 and checked me. SURPRISE! Just a little more than 3 hours after getting into our room I was completely dilated to a 10 and ready to start pushing. But she needed to check one more time to be sure she was head down and it's a good thing she did because our little girl was breech and backwards. All the checks they had done prior to that they thought they were feeling her head when really it was her little bum the whole time.

I asked the nurse what that meant for me and she said "C Section and right now". I was really scared and crying. Everything was just happening so fast. They finished up the final preparations and wheeled me into the operating room. At 3 am they started the surgery. Luckily my Dr was on call that night and was able to do the procedure. By 3:10 Darin was telling me that he could see her bum and legs and then her arms and head. They took her to the weighing station to be cleaned and weighed. I couldn't see her because they were still putting me back together and the drape was up. But Darin said she was so beautiful and we were both crying.

After what seemed like an eternity I was finally able to see her and I just cried and cried. You hear people say that you'll never love anything more than when you see your baby for the first time, but you honestly don't even know until you're going through it. Just thinking of it makes me cry. She was the most perfect little thing I had ever seen.

After 3 days in the hospital we're home now and adjusting to life with a baby. It's so wonderful and scary and completely unreal. Although I probably wouldn't have elected for a C Section ahead of time, it really went well. I can't complain about giving birth only 5 hours after my water broke. Our lives have changed as we know it, but I wouldn't want it any other way. She's the most perfect little angel we could have asked for.

Welcome

You might have come a bit early.

 

And you haven't been here long yet.

But you've stolen our hearts already.

Introducing Nora Lynn Oberg. Born November 20 at 3:13am. 5 lbs 12 oz. 19 in long.

What can I say.....

I'm an overachiever.

We have pretty much all of our Christmas shopping done and wrapped. It's such a nice feeling knowing that we'll be able to just enjoy the holidays and we won't have to be out in the hustle and bustle.

While finishing up some Christmas shopping I found this cute purse at Kohls. You can't Christmas shop without buying yourself a present, right? This was an $80 purse that I got for 6 DOLLARS! I was so impressed with myself. I love getting bargains.

And here's a few projects I've finished up recently.

Christmas tutu for the little gal. I can't wait to take her newborn pics, it's going to be so fun.

Frames we finished painting. I'll put her newborn pics in there once she comes.

Last frilly pillow I finished up. Pillows are fun and easy and only take a couple of hours to make.

I hope everyone is able to enjoy their holidays this year. I think it's a lot easier nowadays to get so wrapped up in all of the material things that you forget the important things. I'm going to try extra hard this year to remember the TRUE MEANING!