This past month had been very bumpy, but not because of Nora. Sweet Nora Jane has brought all the sunshine we’ve experienced this past month and everything about her has been heaven sent. Heavenly Father knew we needed an easy newborn because of the timing of when Nora would come join our family and boy has she been an angel.
Once again I was blessed with a very quick and easy delivery (details in a birth story blog post to come soon) and from the first moment things have been so special. Each child is so uniquely special and each birth experience is equally as special as the next. Nothing compares to the life changing nature of experiencing your first child, but this time was different in a really neat way for us. Possibly because our first time around we were so caught up in what we didn’t know and had never experienced, this time has felt more peaceful and spiritual for me. I feel less anxiety and more joy to simply be blessed with another opportunity to add to my family and raise a daughter of God. Not to mention the joy I have felt this past month spending time with Blake at home as a family of four. There is nothing better than sitting on your bed with all three of your people just laughing and cuddling and soaking up some morning light. (Have I made you want a newborn yet?)
Nora sleeps a lot during the day still, and when she is awake she always wants to be held. At night she sleeps so well, even sleeping for as long as 5-6 hours at a time between feedings! I almost hate to admit it, in (irrational) fear that I will jinx it. Nora eats really well also, which has been such a blessing! At four days old we had to take her to get her tongue tie clipped, which was not fun, but it helped enormously with making breastfeeding less painful and it needed to happen. (To any who haven’t experienced that pain, I can honestly say it is one of the most excruciating pains I have experienced.) By two weeks Nora had made it back to her birthweight exactly, which is so exciting for us. 7 lbs and 11 oz. 33% weight 75% height.
The most common question I have gotten is about whether the transition to two kids is harder or easier than I thought it would be. In most ways it has been easier, simply because Nora has slept well, hasn’t had health issues, etc. An expectation that has been accurate so far is my losing essentially all of my free time. I knew it would happen, and yes, it did. I’m burnt out more often than I was before, if I’m being real. But if I am looking at the bright side, it truly makes me feel more fulfilled and even more rooted in my calling of motherhood. This is what is most important and if it comes down to it, i will eliminate whatever I need to from my life to do my best as a mother (as long as I am not a TOTAL zombie).
Sweet Nora is stoic, calm, and the sweetest. I think her first smile might have happened the other when Evelyn and I were up really close to her face and Evelyn was talking to her. Evie is already helping a lot, and although she does not love sharing our attention, she loves talking to Nora and having her around! I posted a video on Snapchat the other day of Nora fussing during tummy time and Evie running over, lying down next to her and saying, “Hi!! I come here to help you!” Once again, have I convinced anyone to have kids?
I’m sure there is more that I will want to share but at the moment I can’t think of anything else so I’ll just have to write more later!
