Noe News is Good News

Is that baby here yet?

I wasn't aware that my midwife had a different due date for me than my supervising doctor... this whole time I thought it was April 6th but my midwife had me down for April 11th. It just goes to show that you really can't go by due dates. Who knows how far along I really am? So I have let it all go- Lyla will get here when she gets here. That's not to say we're doing just about everything to get things moving but we're ok if she takes a little bit longer especially now that there doesn't seem to be any concern that I will be needing a c-section! (for those of you who don't know we are going in for a VBAC after 2 c-sections) To be honest, I feel great! I can't believe how great I DO feel! I feel energetic and mostly comfortable. I never remember feeling this way with my other two pregnancies! I'm enjoying lots of one on one time with my other 2 babies and trying to be the best mommy I can be to them so that this will be a time of happy memories for them. Joselyn and Landen have been so sweet. Joselyn often gives me sweet shoulder massages and even foot massages. Landen has just been happy and cheerful. They both love to talk to Lyla and tell her they can't wait for her to come out so that they can give her lots of hugs and kisses. They are so sweet! 

The questions keep coming... "is she here yet?" and people keep saying "I can't believe you're still pregnant!!" It's to be expected :) As my doula always says "Babies are born on their birthdays" :) And this morning she shared with me a website where you can keep track of Lyla's progress until her birthday comes. So until then, if you're curious (and have a sense of humor) just visit this website:

http://www.haveyouhadthatbabyyet.com/

hee hee :)

Until then, I'll be starting new hobbies... I just bought a TON of stuff to make hair accessories for my two girlies!! Feel free to stop by and keep us company too!! I can't promise a spic and span house but you probably haven't seen it yet and I could probably use your decorating advice!

The First NoeL Part 2

According to dictionary.com, Noel means the following:

1. The Christmas season
2. A Christmas song or carol
3. Male name

c.1390, from M.E. nowel, from O.Fr. noel "the Christmas season," var. of nael, from L. natalis (dies) "birth (day)," in Eccles. L. in reference to the birthday of Christ, from natus, pp. of nasci "be born."

It's pretty interesting that Noel signifies "birth" and "Christmas season"... because that's exactly what's going to happen for our little Landen! I thought it would be cute to make a little onesie with 'The First NoeL' on it, so since I had the materials handy (a onesie, transfer paper and an iron), I designed an image this morning using photoshop! Then I printed it on iron-tranfer paper, then ironed it onto a one of his little white onesies! It seriously took less than 10 minutes altogether.

I've gotta thank my sister Amaree for bringing this little detail to my attention!

Last minute preparations

Tomorrow is my last full day of being pregnant! (hopefully for at LEAST a year) This being the case, the Noe family has been working hard making last minute preparations for the arrival of our baby boy. Adam has pretty much overhauled the house and I feel like it is finally clean enough for a newborn. I'm so blessed to have such a great husband... he's put up with a LOT this pregnancy. Bad mood swings, crazy emotions, a dirty house, and a wife who lays around in her lounge clothes all day with no make-up. I'm SO going to work hard to look good for him when this baby is born! As for now, I've been working on some easy stuff- laundry and FINALLY packing my hospital bag. I guess I put that off because I had a feeling I wouldn't be going into labor early. It sure was fun putting Landen's little outfits in my suitcase! Teeny little clothes are so much fun... and it will be MORE fun when he's actually in them! My sister Chelsea got him this cute little monkey outfit from Gymboree... and my mom got him the blanket to match. He will look OH so cute in that little monkey hat!

I also have to pack up a bag for Joselyn. She will be staying at Adam's parents while I'm in the hospital. It will be her first sleepover! Adam and I are a little nervous. We don't know how she is going to take all of this, but I feel comfort in knowing she's in the good hands of people she loves very much- and they love her too! It's going to be interesting to see how she handles this new addition to our family. We can't help but feel she knows there is a change coming. She has been acting really different. A little clingy at times, a little distant at times, and definitely a little more defiant. And at the same time, she seems to be preparing herself to be a big sister... bringing her babies and stuffed animals to me with her blanket wanting me to swaddle them. Then she carries them around, pats them on the back and says "awww....." She feeds them her bottle and tries to give them a pacifier. So motherly for a 13 month old, no?

This whole pregnancy has been a blur... it's gone by so much faster than Joselyn's. I didn't do a pregnancy book, and I didn't obsess over his developments. But this excitement I feel knowing it's SO CLOSE is the same.

I'll probably do one last small update tomorrow and then the next time you read my blog you'll be looking at pictures of the newest addition to the Noe Family!

The First NoeL... and the greatest parents ever

Ok, my sister Amaree just called me laughing. She was listening to Christmas songs on the radio as she was out and about vacationing in Utah when she heard "The First Noel". As most of you know by now, the name we have picked out for our little boy (unless some crazy thing happens when he's born and it just doesn't fit him) is Landen. Well my clever sis realized that when written Last Name-first initial form, our little boy will be the First "Noe, L" in our family! How fitting- being the Christmas season and all! (and most of you may not know that although we are delivering on the 17th for a scheduled C-section, his due date is Christmas Eve) We'll always have that story to tell him and I think it's great... if I get the chance I may even make him a little onesie for the hospital with "The First NoeL" on it. Cute, huh? You can always count on a Kravetz to figure something like that out.

Tomorrow is my last Doctor's appointment and I couldn't be more relieved... everything in life just gets tougher and tougher every day and knowing I only have a week left at most to see my little boy and of constant aches and pains from pregnancy gives me much comfort. I won't use this space to complain tonight though... I have a lot to be grateful for right now.  I must admit that I often worry about how things are going to be after the C-section with Joselyn around. How am I going to put her in the crib for naps when I can't pick up anything more than 10 pounds or go up and down the stairs more than twice a day? (although I think I am quite blessed she only weighs 20) How am I going to pick her up to comfort her? Chase her down when she tries to put something crazy in her mouth? One thing I didn't even THINK of was what I was going to do about feeding her and making her meals. Not that I make her fancy meals to begin with, but it is definitely something to think about... and my parents did. Tonight they stopped by with a bunch of food from Sam's Club... the kind of food you would need when you don't have time or energy to fix anything... fruit cups, Easy Mac, Frozen cassoroles and Lasagnas, other Frozen meals, snacks, etc. I was speechless. Definitely not something I was expecting and the thoughtfulness brought tears to my eyes. It is also a big financial burden off of our shoulders. My heart is full of gratitude tonight for wonderful parents who love me so much and take care of me even though I don't live at home anymore and have my OWN little family. How sweet of them to think ahead like that. How can you thank parents for all they do for you? I just don't know if it's possible. Thanks, mom and dad. It meant so much to us! More than you could ever know.

The pile of non-perishable food on our kitchen table... notice I had a sweet tooth and went ahead and enjoyed a pudding cup!

Our freezer stocked full of frozen meals... and a free Turkey from Adam's work!

I think this means she likes it...

Last night my sweet mother bought Joselyn a new car seat. She's getting too big for her carrier (although she could continue to use it for a few more months if we needed her to, our baby boy is going to need it in 2 weeks) and she is too small for the 2 car seats that my sister Chelsea donated to us... and she wouldn't fit those for at least 6 more months I'm guessing. So we had to go with a convertible car seat and my mom offered to buy it. So sweet. So we went to Babies R Us last night and picked out this car seat... it had very good safety ratings, really cool features and I liked the way it looked. I also had a 15% off coupon so I say we did pretty darn good on the purchase! Our next step was to test it out on Joselyn.

I had my second to last (YAY!) doctor's appointment this morning and so decided to install the car seat for her to use on the way there. I put her in it and she immediately beamed. She could see what was going on in the world and look at me too (I put it on the opposite side of the drivers seat in the back). She smiled the whole way there. When we got to the doctor's office I realized I had forgotten her beloved blankie... this meant trouble. She was cranky the whole time, and tired, and I knew I was going to have to listen to her cry the whole way home. Adam was there to help me during the actual visit but once we got her in her seat for the drive home I was on my own. This was a miracle... she NEVER falls asleep without her blanket and it took less than a minute for her to zonk out on the way home. That seat must be very comfortable! It was just so cute I had to take a picture.

As for the doctor's visit, nothing to tell really. The only thing I got out of it progression wise was "Wow... you're baby is getting BIG!" So I'm gonna have a big baby... but he's probably not going to come early. BUt still... 2 MORE WEEKS. This time in two weeks he'll probably already be here!! Next week we will go over all the details. So exciting!

Tornados and Pregnancy

There's got to be a connection between being pregnant and having dreams about tornadoes and celebrities. When I was pregnant with Joselyn I had a dream about them both - and even have had a few friends who have dreamed about celebrities while pregnant as well. (I dreamed about both Paris Hilton and Jessica and Ashlee Simpson)

As I laid down for a morning nap this morning, I was waken up by a phone call right in the middle of a dream of running away from 10 tornadoes. I was running away from them, pregnant belly and all, to a safe shelter right in front of me while Joselyn and Adam were in an all-glass McDonalds close by. I had left them to go get something out of the Cherokee and a man I knew who was with us on this big group trip (I can't remember ALL the details of who people were etc) warned me about the coming tornadoes and was helping me get to a huge concrete building with NO windows... where my brother Seth was hanging out. I looked up in the sky to see a cluster of about 10 tornadoes heading our way just as we got into the building. I remember being really scared because Adam and Joselyn didn't know about the tornado and were in an all-glass building. Scary dream, huh?

I've been getting really giddy about meeting my baby boy... 16 days left! At most!! So excited... I've been able to do a little but more shopping for him (for Christmas) and that always makes things seem more real to me.

My fingers hurt...

I have been slaving away making my "child-proof" Christmas ornaments! It's been a lot of fun and I am pretty happy with the results so far. They are definitely not worthy to sell or anything like that, but they are cheap and fun to make. I think I may have to take a break for a while though because my fingers hurt from using a needle and thread so much!

In other news, I have 26 days until my baby boy makes an entrance into this world! That day is going to be here before I know it and there is still so much to do and so much to buy! So to all my friends and family- if for some reason Christmas gifts/cards are late this year you'll know why!!

I slept SOOOO good last night. I am so grateful for that. I woke up a few times to toss and turn, but didn't have to get out of bed ONCE to use the bathroom or go rock Joselyn back to sleep since she also slept through the night last night. (She has been waking up 2 or 3 times a night the past few nights screaming at the top of her lungs until we go comfort her- I'm guessing because of bad dreams or teething pain??)

Well, lots and lots to do today, including Joselyn's first year DR appointment, so I'm gonna go and get ready!

34 Week Pregnancy Update

I had a Doctor's appointment today. Pretty uneventful, really, except I have gained a lot more weight already than I did with Joselyn! Ouch! Don't really want to talk about it... as soon as I get clearance after the birth (probably 8 weeks since I am having another c-section) I am getting back into shape! I am determined. Adam has promised me that he will be 100% supportive and even change his diet for me! You know I am going to hold him to it!

I am getting really giddy about the arrival of Landen. (our intended name for the baby- of course nothing can be 100% until we meet him!) I have been doing a lot of organizing and window shopping for him. Today Joselyn and I went to Babies R Us to take a look at some things and I was really blown away by all the cute things they have now for baby boys. The Amy Coe lines there are precious. Target also has some cute Dwell stuff that I am eyeing. I'm all about simplicity and modern stuff right now and that seems to be what is in style. I love that I have a girl AND a boy to dress up now! That's got to be one of my favorite parts about having a baby! Another favorite thing is decorating the nursery... unfortunately (well, in some terms), baby Landen will be sharing a room with us until we can either find a bigger place or get Joselyn's room made into a shared space. I would rather not have to do the latter because it would mean re-doing everything and I am quite happy with how her room looks right now. We'll see and play it by ear, I guess! I am just getting really excited to meet Landen... and VERY ready to be over with this pregnancy thing for a while. I can't believe I still have a little over a month left! Ugh.

New Words and Pregnancy update

Some new words in Joselyn's vocabulary:

"kih-ee" = kitty
"dah-ee" = doggie
"bah-oooooo" = balloon (with nice round lips and extended "oooo"... SO cute)
"bah" = ball

Joselyn really has been trying to communicate lately. We love her little baby babble! It's the greatest because we can tell by her facial expressions that she is really trying to get something across. She gets a serious look on her face. Adam and I just respond like we know exactly what she is talking about! She also tries to say words that we say. She does a pretty good job mimicking. Then there are the words she KNOWS. The recent words added to her everyday talk show what her current favorite things are!! (include baby in that too, because she REALLY likes babies... but it is old news that she can say "bay-ee"... she was doing that months ago). She also has started saying "awwwwww!!" to cute things such as kittens and puppies. Love that little girl.

In other news, I felt like it was time for another pregnancy update. I am now 33 weeks along which means I don't have much longer! My baby is supposed to be about 4 pounds now. He's getting big! And SO AM I. I am huge! The other day at Atlanta Bread Company, some worker had the nerve to say "You're HUUUUUGE!! You having triplets or something?" Nice. The extra weight has definitely made things a little harder for me lately... such as chasing after Joselyn who has learned to run, changing diapers, SLEEPING, cleaning etc etc. Adam has been giving Joselyn baths for months now, but he may just have to start taking over all the other chores as well! A few nights ago I was in TEARS because I just couldn't get to sleep. Oh the joys of being in your 3rd trimester. (The first 2 are never that bad for me) I just can't wait for Landen to make his arrival so I can be done being pregnant for a while. I feel like I never really got a break!

I am having some really bad heartburn with this pregnancy. It's been YEARS since I've dealt with it. I hear there really is a connection between Heartburn and babies having lots of hair. If this little boy is born with more hair than Joselyn, I don't know WHAT I'll do. I'll either have to put bows in his hair (nah, wouldn't torture him like that!) or cut it all off and graft it into Joselyn's head so PEOPLE WILL STOP CALLING HER A BOY!!! Oh, I really can't stand that burn.

I have started my nesting phase. I am wanting to organize everything. My house is NOWHERE near clean since I have a really hard time doing a lot of cleaning at once, but I have decided to do a little here a little there and that has worked out really well for me. I am usually the type of person who likes to get everything organized all at once. It just isn't happening. There is so much that needs to be done though before his arrival and it is creeping up on me fast!

I have really been in the mood for "documenting" lately... hence all the blog posts. What's funnier is that I also have a secret personal blog that I use for my own journal to document the more personal things in my life, and I have started writing more in that one too! A lot of blogging going on in my life! I guess I am just in a very contemplative state lately and feel like I need to remember every moment of what is going on in my life- and treasure the sweet moments and learning experiences which I am so grateful for. So I hope you don't mind my over-abundance of words/pictures/videos lately. All of this will someday be a nicely bound book that my family can enjoy for years to come!! In fact, the first edition is due out this Christmas! Can't wait! I've been working SO hard on it!

Pediatrician

Today I had an appointment to meet with a pediatrician that was recommended to me by my doctor. Finding a good pediatrician is very important to me, as it probably is for most parents, so I went prepared with lots of questions to make sure that this doctor would be the right one for my baby. This is the only doctor I had set up an appointment with and Adam wasn't able to make it, so I was a little bit nervous about making a judgment on if this would be the right doctor.

When I walked into the office, I saw an old friend of mine with one of her kids who was there to see HER kids pediatrician... the same one I was about to meet! She told me she loved him and named a few others who I knew and were using him as a doctor. I felt so much better knowing someone I knew had been going to this doctor for a while and that there were other people I knew using him as well. As soon as I met the doctor, I knew he was the right one. I didn't even have to pull out my list of questions because he answered every single one of them before I could even ask them! He is super friendly and has a face and personality I know my kids will fall in love with.

It feels very good to have that part of my preparation taken care of! One less thing to worry about... in fact I can rest assured knowing that I will absolutely love my baby's pediatrician! And even though Adam wasn't able to be there, I know he will like him too. He told me a lot of the same things (about his philosophies on taking care of babies) that Adam tells me time and time again. So happy about it :)