Back by Popular Demand

Here are some new pictures of Natalie, and for a special treat- a video taken yesterday during her "awake time". Happy Thanksgiving!


Going for a walk.


Mommy and Natalie - two weeks old today.


Natalie and Je Je (Lubke)

Relaxing Saturday

We spent a nice relaxing Saturday at home today. Natalie had another good night last night giving mommy about 3 hours of sleep at a time. We "slept in" until about 10 and then got up and had some breakfast. Natalie was wide awake for a couple hours before napping again right after lunch. Nick and I watched Kung Fu Panda while she slept. Pretty cute movie. Daddy and I even got in a little nap afterwards. After her nap we got all set to go for our first walk in the stroller. It was a little cool, but she had her hat on a a blankie wrapped around her, so she was good to go. She wasn't real sure about the walk at first, but the soothie pacifier helped her to enjoy it for the most part. :) She doesn't take it very often as she knows it doesn't deliver the goods.
The she played with daddy while I cooked dinner and napped while we ate. We are now watching the Tech/OK game winding down our day. Go Red Raiders!
Not much else to report. A couple days ago we gave Natalie her first sponge bath and she was not a fan. Maybe when she can get submerged in all warm water she will enjoy bath time a little more. :)
Enjoy a couple more pictures!

Learning

Natalie is still doing well. A little more fussy the past night and day, but still doing great. Mommy, Daddy, and Natalie are continuing to learn as we go and are excited about Je Je coming to visit on Sunday. Here are some new pics for your viewing pleasure. :)

Reflections of a New Mother

How someone can go through this experience and
not believe in God is beyond me.

Wow. It’s already been a week since we headed to the hospital to deliver our sweet little girl. The time has flown by so quickly, and all the days seem to have blended into one big long day. I guess that’s what happens when you only sleep for a maximum of three hours at a time. (It’s totally been worth it, though.)

I will spare you the details of labor and delivery. It was the most horrible and wonderful experience of my life and I feel that EVERY woman who has ever birthed a child is a true hero – my “war” was 15 hours with 2 hours of pushing. I was blessed with a wonderful coach – Nick was truly amazing and I don’t know what I would have done without him there (or God [I prayed a lot], or the epidural). I LOVE YOU! You can ask him how many times he had to count to 10. :)

I also want to mention that my prayer was answered, and I did not have to be induced or helped along in any way. Just like her daddy, she waited until a deadline had been set, and then waited until the last possible second. Literally. I had minor contractions all day long on Monday, and they started getting intense around 5pm. We were scheduled to be admitted to the hospital at 6pm.

Anyway, enough about that. I know what you really want to know about is Natalie. She is just wonderful and has been a great baby so far. She doesn’t fuss much at all, and 95% of the time it is because she wants to eat. She has been eating like a champ (keeping mommy very busy) and had already regained 2oz at her first doctor’s visit on Friday! She was so much smaller than I expected her to be. At the beginning of October when we had our last sonogram, they estimated her weight at that time to be 6lb 6oz and guessed that she would be around 8lb by delivery. So, when she came in at 6lb 14oz I could hardly believe it! She is long and skinny - 20 ¾ inches. Long fingers, long legs, long feet, and long monkey toes like her daddy.

Although I was scared out of my mind, what they say has been true so far. It just comes to you. I guess God just gives you exactly what you need when you need it. I just try to be as calm as possible and try to put myself in her shoes when something is the matter.

The hardest thing for me has actually been making myself rest and take it easy. For those of you who know me well I am an achiever by nature and feel like I need to be productive in some form or fashion every day. Napping during the day is something I must make myself do even though it’s so tempting to get something else done.
Nick has proved to be a wonderful daddy just like I knew he would. He is a natural and it is a joy to watch him snuggle with her, kiss her, and talk to her. And he is a pro at swaddling her – much better than I am.

Well, I guess that is about it for now. This post is long enough for one day. Enjoy the new pictures of our little snuggie.

She's Home

Welcome Natalie Shea Moss

I am at Panera using their Wi-Fi before I head home for a shower and back to the hospital. Candace and Natalie are doing great. More will be written in the days to come, but for now- enjoy the pictures.
nick

Not Yet

Hello all- this is Nick writing.
We are heading to the hospital at 6:00p.m. tonight. Natalie has decided that she does not want to come out, so the doctor is going to make her! So.....sometime tomorrow Natalie will join us on the "outside."
We trust that God will work out all things for the good.
Please keep us in your prayers.

Natalie will make her blog debut in just a few short days.

nick

Still living the high life

We just got back from our doctor's appointment, and Miss Natalie Shea is still sitting high. She really hasn't dropped at all. I guess I have made such a good home for her that she has no desire to leave it! She seems to be such a mellow baby, and I hope that remains once she comes into the world.
I still want her to come out on her own, but the doctor went ahead and set up an appointment for me to be induced - he says the risks of letting me go longer are greater than the risks of inducing. I will go in on Monday evening at 6:00pm, and then be induced sometime on Tuesday morning. So, no matter what, it looks like she'll arrive by November 11th.
It still hasn't really hit me. I came to work again today just like every day for the past 9 months. It just doesn't seem real that this is my last day of work in 2008! It will definitely be a nice break from the office, but I already know it will be SO hard to come back. But I know I have to, and the bank account will be begging me to by then anyway. Boo for unpaid maternity leave!
Anywho, that's about all I know. I'll be heading to the grocery store after work since our frig is bare, and then it's home to wait and wait some more!

Lastly, congrats to our friends Greg and Elizabeth on the birth of their first child, a son, Theodore Williams Prauner born November 4th!

Yikes!

Look at my baby countdown!!! Ahhh!

Still nothin' though. I figure she'll be like her daddy and wait until the last possible second. He is a procrastinator deluxe.

I really do hope she comes on her own, though. I really want the satisfaction of seeing the look on Nick's face and/or hearing the panic in his voice when I say "it's time". Aren't I awful? :)

We'll keep you updated!

Living like each day could be your last

It's just a bizarre concept going from day to day wondering...could today be the day? Nick and I have decided that we are still in state of denial that this life altering event is going to happen..and soon. I have still been feeling good, so day to day life keeps going on as usual without the hint of the inevitable rapidly approaching - clean the house and do laundry on Saturday, church and youth on Sunday. Back to the old grindstone on Monday! It's just strange to think that sometime within the next week I will be in the hospital with a baby in my arms and my life changed forever. We do have the bags packed for the hospital, and I did stock up on toilet paper and paper towels yesterday.:)The room and baby paraphernalia have long since been washed, organized, and taken care of, so I guess we aren't completely in denial.
It is also strange (but awesome!) to think that no matter what, this will be my last Monday at work in 2008! My doctor will not let me go over a week past due and told me at my appointment on Friday that if I did not have her this week, he would schedule me to come in on the night of the 10th (next Monday) to prep me to be induced on the 11th. I figure I would take next Monday (if it come to that) and rest before going to the hospital that evening. I would really prefer things to happen on their own accord, so please pray that Natalie would decide to join us before that time. :)
In other news, I neglected to mention that a week ago the ladies that I manage threw me a surprise baby shower at work. It was really nice and they did a fabulous job! I was clueless until the end. It was so much fun....I have never had a surprise anything like that before. They even got Nick in on it, and he came up for it. Instead of a cake, they had made cupcakes and then spelled out Natalie's name on the goodie table. I thought that was such a neat idea! We were blessed primarily with lots of clothes - which we really needed, so that was wonderful.
And, speaking of showers, my good friend from high school who had a sweet little girl in September - Emma Ann - called me and said she and her mom were going to throw a baby shower in Texas, minus me. My mom is going to drive down and open gifts and enjoy the day. I am glad she will get to do that. They are having it on the 15th, so she will be able to take some pictures of her new granddaughter with her to show everyone. :) That was sure sweet of them to do, and I hope my mom has a great time!
It's a big week this week. My Grammie (mom's mom) turns 89 today! And Happiest Anniversary wishes to Gary and Nadine (Nick's mom and dad) on celebrating 30 years of marriage tomorrow! The tile is supposed to come in either today or tomorrow, and then they will come and put it up tomorrow or Wednesday!