Three Months In

Norah’s baptism was last weekend – thanks to all those who attended or sent good wishes on her special day. It was a very nice ceremony, which Norah slept through. She did wake up in time to say hi to Jesus at the end, though. She wore the same gown I (Dan) wore for my baptism, handmade by Grammy J.

Aunts... and uncle and cousin

It was great to see everyone. Our house was really packed with people for once. We got a lot of help in cooking and cleaning from Janis, Maggie and Laura. It was fun to show off our new house to all our family and friends that could come out. It was also nice to show some Fresno hospitality to Matt, Jeannie and little Ember, all of whom stayed with us. Grammy J was in heaven having both of her boys and both of her granddaughters in the same place. Grandpa Big Mike was able to meet Norah for the first time, and they really hit it off. We had not seen Ember since her baptism a year ago – she has grown significantly since then! The cousins seemed to enjoy meeting each other, though finding a time when one of the two wasn’t eating, sleeping or crying was difficult. Still it was a great family gathering.

Norah and Ember play in the grass with their grandmas... The happy family

In other news, Norah is three months old today! She is doing lots of fun stuff now. She smiles a lot, giggles, holds her head up well and has even rolled over twice (though never when I have been around). In addition to the baptism, she has had a couple of visits from out-of-town great aunts and uncles recently. Barb was in from Boise, and Linda and Scott were in from Columbus, OH a few weeks ago. Norah does pretty well with the attention, though we’re afraid her ego may get out of hand with constantly hearing how beautiful she is.

Norah and Daddy work on their neck strength... Practicing standing with Mom

Kristin is back at work now, so Norah has gotten a lot of quality time with Grandma Janis and Aunts Maggie and Laura. Maggie and Laura got free lessons in not dawdling while diapering. Norah really enjoyed teaching them J I’m starting another semester at Fresno State tomorrow (Yay!). It will be good to get back to my classes, but I have very much enjoyed the summer off with Kristin and Norah.

All in all, the first three months have been a whirlwind of fun and learning. We know we’re only at the tip of the iceberg, too. There is a lot more fun in store for the three of us – we’ll try to keep blogging about it regularly. Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers sent our way.

Watch Me as I Grow!

One..two...and three weeks old

Norah is now eight weeks old, and already we can’t imagine our lives without her. Even though Dan and I haven’t been able to sit down and eat an entire dinner together practically since she was born, the last eight weeks have been an incredible time for us. As you can see from the pictures, Norah has grown a lot.

Four..and five weeks (not sure why this one is loading sideways)

She is developing quite a personality, and is even almost sleeping through the night. (I’m totally jinxing myself by writing that down, since she’ll probably be up every two hours tonight!) I’m still on maternity leave from work, so I have gotten to spend lots of quality time with her during the day. Dan gets his Daddy time in the evenings and on the weekends. By then, Norah has gotten a little tired of hanging out with me anyway, so she’s happy for the change of scenery. Dan and I have learned a few parenting tricks—diaper changing and bath time have gotten much smoother as the days go by. At the same time, Norah continues to find ways to keep us on our toes. Right now, we’re just having lots of fun and are thankful that we have a few more months before she goes mobile.

Six..seven..and eight weeks

Norah Claire - 1 month in...

It’s been a while since our last entry, but with good reason. We’ve got a whole new person to take care of! Norah’s arrival was a few days early and relatively quick by all accounts, though I (Dan) hesitate to refer to a 13 hour endurance event as “quick”. One month removed, Kristin has forgotten most of the more uncomfortable parts (Yay drugs!), and still managed to look great just a couple hours after the birth. We have a pretty big baby. She was born at 8 lbs 11oz. By her 1 month check up she weighed 10 lbs 9 oz – in the 90th percentile. She’s proportional though, because she’s in the 90th percentile in height too. We have no idea where she gets that.

On the way to the hospital (6 hours into labor)... Norah at one hour old... First day home (1 day old)

The first few days at home were quite an adjustment. We had to get proficient at changing diapers, interpreting cries, dressing the baby and often all three at the same time. She really likes to kick and squirm, something we suspected before she was born. Now she just has more room in which to do it.

First night (not much sleep for mom and dad!)... First (sponge) bath... Out for a walk

Norah got to meet a lot of relatives right away. Aunts Maggie and Laura were able to see her soon after her birth as were Grandma Janis and Grandpa Jim. Great Grandma Nell, Aunt Sue and Uncle Lee came down to Fresno to meet her too. Grammy J(udie) flew out to meet her newest granddaughter a few weeks later. Norah still has a lot of relatives that she is very excited to meet over the next few months.

Aunts... and Grandparents

Norah is sleeping well at night now. We wake her up once a night to feed her and then she gets to be Kristin’s alarm clock at about 7:30 in the morning. The two of them spend their days together taking walks, playing with toys and trying to prevent any melt-downs. I get my baby time when I get home from work, and Norah is excited to get a change of pace. She’s starting to eat from a bottle occasionally now, so I even get in on the feedings (conveniently not the 3am ones).

Future Domer... and Catnap

Posing for the camera

Norah got me a great Father’s Day present – a hammock for the back patio. I think it may have been a little self-serving on her part though. It seems to be one of her favorite places to take naps with me.

Father's Day... and One Month Old

Kristin and I are so happy to have Norah in our lives. She’s happy and healthy and we are very blessed. Thanks for all the congratulations from our friends and family. We’ll try to update this more frequently so you all can see how she is growing.

We had some professional pictures taken by Nick Gennock. He did a great job. In order to see them follow this link.

It's a Girl!

Norah Claire McCoy

May 23, 2009

8 lbs. 11 oz.
20.5 in.

DD minus 2 weeks

We’re now 38 weeks in, meaning Baby McCoy could make his or her appearance at any time. As a result, we’ve been working hard to get the nursery ready. (And when I say we, I mostly mean Dan—at least as far as all the physical labor goes.) These projects may explain the dearth of blogging lately (sorry to everyone who was waiting!). Mike and Judie put in a nice new ceiling fan when they were here in December. The old pink and green wallpaper is gone—thanks to a lot of help from both of our families—and replaced with a fresh coat of sunny yellow paint. (See the picture for a glimpse of the nursery in its lovely original colors!) Dan did a great job with the painting, even though the pink trim took about five coats of paint to cover.

Stripped wall paper and the first coat of paint

Kristin even got her hands (a little) dirty

After a lot of finagling, we found a good arrangement for the furniture. It’s a good thing Dan is a very patient person. (Kristin: “Hmm… I’m not sure if I like the dresser where it is—let’s try moving it over there.” Dan: “Sure sweetie, good idea!” Kristin: “Now that you’ve moved it, I realize that it looks better where it was before.” Dan: “I completely agree—just give me a minute to catch my breath and I’ll gladly move it back.”… and so on with the crib, bookcase, changing table, and chair.) Now we just need to get a few decorations for the walls, and the room will be complete. We’re actually planning to wait until after the baby is born for those last details so we can add a few personalized (and less gender-neutral) touches. After all that hard work, I’m not sure how much time baby will be spending in the room during the first month or two, but we’re glad to have everything ready just the same!

Finally ready (as we're going to be)!

Dan here - Baby McCoy is in the last few weeks of intense growth (gaining ½ pound each week!). Kristin’s really excited about that part. There is some small difference in these photos taken two weeks apart. I attribute most of that to differences in angle and lighting, though. (It’s probably safer that way.)

36 Weeks... and 38

Truthfully, we are both excited and a little nervous about the arrival. The house and nursery are ready, and we’ve taken about every class we can to prepare. The rest is on-the-job training. I think we’ll do great. I plan on riding Kristin’s coat-tails as far as I can. For now, I guess we just try to get some sleep. It won’t happen again for a while.

Childbirth Class

29 and 32 weeks (not much room in there any more!)

We just started the 33rd week of pregnancy, so to help us get ready for the (quickly approaching) birth of Baby McCoy, Dan and I took a childbirth class this past weekend. In addition to getting a tour of the birthing center and watching some videos of women in labor, we also learned quite a few techniques for (trying) to stay calm during the labor and delivery process. We did pretty well with the breathing and mental focus techniques, though we’ll see how much of it we remember on delivery day. Actually, Dan will be in charge of remembering all the details. I just have to be there and wait for the baby to arrive:)

Dan says that he is undaunted by all his responsibilities as my labor coach. Since he’s usually pretty calm in stressful situations, I’m pretty confident that he’ll do fine. (Keeping a laboring woman happy can’t be tougher than navigating Iraqi roads while watching out for IED’s and talking on the radio, right?) He did, however, say that I can’t use his exercise ball as a birthing ball, and he’s a little worried that I might squeeze his hand kind of hard during contractions. I don’t know what he’s so worried about.

In another fun discovery about the birthing process, Dan was very excited to find that his hospital bracelet makes him eligible for a free burrito at Chipotle. He assures me that I will also be well taken care of. There is a fridge stocked with Jell-O, popsicles and three flavors of broth in the birthing center (Yay!). That sounds almost as good as a burrito.

All in all, we feel much more prepared for the whole experience. Plus, the class made delivery day feel a lot closer. Now we just have to finish the nursery!

Babymoon Part 2

With just two more months until Baby McCoy makes his or her big debut, Dan and I took one last quick weekend trip away. This time, we headed to Monterey for some beach time and relaxation. It was a beautiful spring weekend at the coast, and we enjoyed the chance to read, take a nap, and eat lots of good food! Our next several weekends are going to be filled with baby preparations… thirty-one weeks down, and just about eight more to go.