One Month Old

I think she looks 100% like her daddy!



Sariah...

• May be small, but is full of personality! When this little girl is not happy about something, she will let you know with her whole body.
• Has gained more than two pounds since birth - daddy says that mommy has super milk.
• Falls asleep just a few seconds after mommy puts her in the Moby wrap.
• Is starting to smile on purpose these days!
• Does not love her pacifier and only keeps it in her mouth for about 30 seconds.
• Loves to look at her daddy when he is talking to her. We never new a newborn could be so focused!
• Surprises us with poopy diapers at least 4 times a day. We go through a whole lot of diapers in one day.
• Can now go about 5 hours without eating at night.
• Has the cutest lips on earth and when we talk to her she makes a little "oooooooh" shape with her mouth - mommy loves it every time!
• Loves to be bounced on the exercise ball. We are not sure what we would do without our giant, red ball.
• Was born with her hand against her face and she never liked to have her hands swaddled. She sleeps with both hands up, close to her face.

Our Little Girl!

Sariah Faith is Here

John and I are so excited to announce that our daughter, Sariah Faith Nobile was born on September 17th at 5:54am. She weighed 6 pounds and was 19 inches long.

Birth Story:

My water broke at 2:00AM, Monday morning and I called my midwife to let her know. She said sometimes it takes a while for contractions to start, so I could go back to bed and try to get contractions going in the morning. She told me she would call me at 8:00AM to see how things were progressing.

About 10 minutes later, contractions started on their own and very quickly became super intense! I started to walk around the house and John kept trying to convince me to go to sleep and relax. I was so excited that we were going to have a baby soonish...at least in the next 48 hours, there was no way I could go to bed and sleep. About 15 minutes later, the contractions were so intense and my lower back hurt so bad I decided a warm shower might help. John headed over to the kitchen and started washing the pile of pots and pans we had used to make apple sauce and apple butter the previous night. I love him for knowing that I would not like to come home with a baby to find dirty dishes in the sink. 

I had texted our doula twice, but she had not called back...so I just swayed my body under the warm water for about an hour until I could no longer stand without holding on to something. The contractions were only lasting about 30 seconds, but they were coming every 1.5 minutes. I remembered that we were told to head over to the Birth Center when contractions were lasting about a minute and were 4-5 minutes apart...so it seemed that my labor was not following the 'normal pattern' we were anticipating.  

At some point, I started to moan and groan pretty loud in the shower and told John to call the midwife and let her know the contractions were really intense and I could not endure it until 8:00AM. I knew I was going to have to get out of the shower in order to head over to the Birth Center, but I could not imagine HOW I was going to get out of the shower. I am so thankful our doula helped me find a breathing pattern that helped me through the phone! We headed out to the Birth Center at 4:30am -John had packed everything in the car, had his shoes on, the car running and the front door open because I had to somehow get out of the shower, put some clothes on and get to the car before another contraction came. The 5 minute drive was really hard as I went trough three contractions, but I was so happy that we had made it to the birth center where my doula and midwife waited for our arrival!

I got in the tub right away (I think) and it felt wonderful to let my body float and relax a little. John rubbed my lower back during each contraction and it was so encouraging to hear him say that he was proud of how hard I was working! I was in the tub for about 40 minutes when I felt like I had to push, so the midwife decided to check me. I was terrified she was going to say I was only 4-5 cm dilated because I didn't think I could handle the intensity of the contractions for another 10 minutes. Seriously, I felt like I was getting hit by a train every few minutes and there was hardly enough time to catch my breath before another contraction came along. I was super surprised when she said I was ready to push! Praise God for the quick progress because I was starting to think that trying to go through labor and birth the natural way was a stupid idea. At that point the Epidural sounded like a miracle drug from Heaven. 

Through many grunts I pushed for about 14 minutes and Sariah was born! John and I were in complete disbelief of how fast everything had gone and as I sat in the tub, holding Sariah I kept repeating that I couldn't believe I had just had a baby!

Up until I started to push, John was completely oblivious to the fact that labor was not going to last 12+ hours. He remained calm the whole time because he thought we were still in the beginning stages of labor so he was pacing himself for the long marathon ahead.

The minutes and hours after Sariah was born were completely magical! John and I could not stop looking at her perfect lips, toes, ears, hands...She is so precious!

We were at the birth center for about 3 hours before heading home and life with a baby has been a wild roller-coaster ride. We are completely sleep deprived and completely in love with our daughter.

Stay tuned for photos of Sariah!

Pregnancy #1: Third Trimester

The third trimester was filled with excitement and anticipation to finally get to meet little Sariah!

• I experienced a lot of hip and pelvis pain. I guess that is just what happens when ligaments and joints are loosening up for birth.
• John and I attended a great birth class, learned lots of practical information and got to meet other soon-to-be mommies and daddies.
• Chocolate became a bit too yummy!
• I started a TO DO list for after I have Sariah. I wanted to make sure I have some small goals to work on even when I am tired and sleep deprived.
• We finally made a decision to use the Flip cloth diapers.
•  I had to focus to not pass out after fasting for more than 12 hours for a glucose test. While the needle poking and sugary drink were not pleasant, that worst part was not eating for so long.
• None of my bras or underwear fit anymore. 
• We were still able to enjoy the outdoors and to my surprise, I managed to hike a few mountains.
• John and I celebrated our 4^th anniversary at the coast and I loved the fresh sea food.
• We were abundantly blessed at two baby showers. Sariah’s wardrobe is not lacking anything!
• Everyone says I look tiny for being in the third trimester, but I feel a little bit like a whale at times and definitely miss my old body.
• We started planning for birth and postpartum. I am so glad John will be able to take some days off to stay home with us!
• I started feeling a bit more tired, especially during Sariah’s growth spurts.
• Very few clothes still fit me.
• The nursery is done and all the baby clothes are washed and put away.
• John helped me cross off things from my TO DO list.
• I do not want to cook anymore...it's too much work.

These Last Pregnancy Days

I am about to enter week 39…and I feel as though I may explode before week 40 gets here. I am a little nervous Sariah will not come until week 42, but I am also trying to convince myself to be patient and trust that she will come when she is ready.

 Now days, it is hard to accomplish pretty much anything. Little tasks like washing the dishes seem like a huge adventure and I have to sit down and rest afterwards. Needless to say, I feel exhausted at the end of the day when I go on a 2.5 mile walk, do the laundry, clean the bathroom (including the bathtub), vacuum, cook dinner and wash the dishes. I don’t know how women survive these last pregnancy days when they have other little ones to take care of all day. Seriously, how do you do it?

 I also don’t know what I would do without John. He has encouraged me to take baths, nap during the day (I can’t ever nap during the day), continue going on walks … and I love it when he offers to rub my feet at night! He also puts up with my moodiness, exhausted complaints about how my whole body hurts, helps me get up to go to the bathroom at night and constantly tells me that I look absolutely beautiful when I am wearing sweatpants, a t-shirt that no longer covers my belly and my hair is everywhere from lack of brushing. I am a lucky woman!

 Despite the tiredness and discomfort, I am oh so happy to know that I will be meeting my daughter very soon! The fact that we are going to be parents still feels like a dream. We are blessed beyond measure and I cannot believe God has entrusted us this little life. I am so humbled and thankful!!!

The Art of Juggling as a Man

Lists, Post-it and Baby

I like making lists and checking things off as I accomplish them. People often comment that I have a great brain that remembers everything, but really, I am not sure what I would do if I was not able to write everything down on a million post-it notes of all colors and sizes.

With only two more weeks until Sariah’s due date, I am a list making machine! Pink post-its are currently covering our desk as I try really hard to remember EVERYTHING that needs to be done before our little girl arrives.

I told John last night that I don’t think I have enough time to get everything done and he asked me to name a few things that still need to get done. So here is what I shared with him:

·         Finish the art project for Sariah’s bedroom

·         Print and hang family photos in the hallway

·         Do the laundry

·         Order a breastpump

·         Find a Pediatrician

·         Buy cloth diapers

·         Put away the pile of things that are on the floor in the nursery

·         Finish a few photoshoots

·         Clean the house - again

·         Prepare and freeze a few meals

·         Throw away the recycling

As I told him the things that must absolutely get done, I realized that none of these things are absolutely crucial. Yes, I need to choose a pediatrician and it would be helpful to have a few meals ready to go in the freezer, but those things are not essential.

So, I am trying to focus on the important things (like investing in our time together because we will soon have a third person living with us) and not get overwhelmed by little things like throwing out the recycling and hanging photos on the wall.