Noah is 2 months old!!

Noah is now smiling and cooing completely rewarding us for our efforts as we kiss and zerbert his cheeks. He is staying awake most of the day and starting to sleep longer hours at night. He finally has chub on his legs, arms, belly and feet perfect for squeezing which has made daddy very happy.

The Way I See It...

Disclaimer...I will be mentioning breasts ;)

From the moment you become a parent you immediately want whats best for them. It's amazing how quickly you feel this. I want the best for Noah in all regards. So when it came to feeding I knew that the best was breast. I had all intentions of breast feeding for a full year. Well because of my gestational diabetes, that plan kind of got a wrench thrown into it. When a baby is born to a mom that has gestational diabetes, they immediately check the babies levels to make sure that they are safe and balanced. When Noah was born, his glucose levels were great. I nursed him immediately and thought all was good. When they went to check him again his numbers had dropped way below the safe number they usually like newborns to be at. So to avoid IV fluids they gave him formula to see if this would bring up his numbers. Thankfully it did. For the next 24 hours we had to continue to give him formula after he would nurse from me because his numbers kept getting low without it. After the 24 hours he stabilized, But to be on the safe side we continued to give him a bottle of formula after he would nurse. After day 4 I started to get worried because my milk supply was just not coming in. I immediately contacted a lactation specialist to see what needed to be done to get this process rolling. When we met, we found that Noah had a great latch and rooted very well. So she made some suggestions and sent us on our way. Well I guess my milk came in but really light. He was barely getting a full ounce from nursing. I was getting frustrated because I really wanted this to work, but was getting exhausted from the 1 1/2 hour feedings I was doing trying to get him to nurse. Back to the specialist we go. We met with another specialist that recommended we use an SNS device because the consensus was that Noah was a Lazy nurser and didn't want to work for his food, therefore not stimulating me enough to get what they call let downs for milk. Now I'm not going to go into details on what this is (some of you probably know). I will say it's the most stupid and frustrating contraption to exist. I made it two days and said NO WAY. I realized my feeding times with Noah should NOT be frustrating, and I should not be dreading the feeding hours. Plus he was so much happier just getting a bottle. So we made the decision to not go back to the specialist and I would pump, nurse whatever i could give him and supplement him with formula. Ok maybe this wasn't the best idea because feeding times were still taking FOREVER. After a breakdown of tears for the umpteenth time we then decided that I would just pump and give him what i could and continue formula.

Ok so now feedings were cut down to 1/2 hour to 45 mins. Much better!!! Pumping, well that sucked!!!! Especially when you barely pump enough to feed your child. Even if I pumped all day long, I don't even think i would get enough. So the decision ended up that I would pump to 6 weeks and then that was that!! DONE! I was done crying, I was done being frustrated and I was going to enjoy my child and the time I spent feeding him.

Can you just say OMG!! How exhausting the First 6 weeks were. Noah is now 8 weeks old and Mommy and baby are much much happier. It took me a bit to realize that there was no need to beat myself up because nursing didn't work for me. I've come to realize that nursing doesn't come easy to every mother either. I've talked to many that share the same stories and same frustrations i experienced. Some fought through it successfully and some made decisions like we did. I knew that even on formula, Noah is going to be a happy and healthy baby. We bond during his feedings. I get to kiss on his sweet head and sweet face while he's getting his bottle. He watches me as I talk to him and I know he doesn't feel like he's missing out on anything. We are in a wonderful place and I am happy.

So the way I see it, Every baby is different, every mommy is different and every experience is different. Whether you're a new mom or an experienced mom, you just never know how things will turn out when it comes to the big "N". Just remember to trust your motherly instincts. You know what is right for you and your child and you will always do the right thing even if some may not agree with it. Never beat yourself up for making the decisions you do. You know you're a wonderful mom and no one can ever take that from you.

Happy 1 Month Noah!

Wow really 1 month? I'm not really sure where this month has gone. Being a new mom your days literally all run together as many of you moms know. I can't say this first month has been the easiest of months and of course we are operating on minimal sleep, but we wouldn't change a minute of it if it means we get to see this sweet face every single day!!

Happy 1 Month Little Man. You've changed so much already and we are savoring every day with you since we know how fast they will be flying by us.

7 pounds 12 ounces

20 inches long

Sneak Peek!

WELCOME NOAH MICHAEL!!!

After and early morning induction

mild labor in the morning

then feeling 3 major contractions over a 10 minute period of time after my water was broken and asking immediately for an epidural

In epidural Heaven

then pushing for 2 1/2 hours vs the 1/2 hour they thought I would push (Noah decided to be face up entering the world)

Noah Michael entered the world on April 6, 2011 at 7:23 pm 6 lbs 5 oz 19 3/4 inches long.

Mommy and Noah

(yes I was up at 3:30 am that morning to make sure my hair and makeup was done. Surprised it held so well. The joys of planning your labor)

Daddy, Mommy and Noah

One small happy family of three :)

We could not be more thankful of the blessing that has been given to us in Noah. Even though we are sleep deprived, completely out of our element trying to figure out if you're cold or hot, or hungry or need to be changed, we could not picture our lives now without you in it.

Fresno Baby Shower Recap

On Sunday March 13th my wonderful friends Nicole, Heidi & Allison along with my ever so talented and amazingly creative sister Lisa threw me a wonderful baby shower out here in Fresno. It was such a great afternoon with more family and friends, some friends I haven't seen for a few years and some that I haven't seen for over 10 years! I'll be honest I did cry a bit when Diana, our college momma from Texas who lives in Bakersfield now, walked through the door. Hard to believe that 13 years can pass by so fast.

The girls did such a fabulous job. They knew about my obsession with Black and White Damask and built a whole shower around it. My sister was the creative driving force behind all the decorations for the day and completely out did herself. I am always in amazement of her talents.

The spread was great and also diabetic friendly (thanks Allison) so that I could easily partake. You also couldn't over look the dessert table filled with chocolate truffles as well as some of the most amazing cupcakes from The Sugar Shack. Yes I did splurge and have a cupcake. There is no way I can pass up a Red Velvet cupcake especially ones as good as these were!!

Ok ok I know pictures picture pictures!

Well here you go.

Great Spread especially for the party pooper Gestational Diabetes mommy to be ;)
(Not shown was the great cheese & crackers platter and the Chinese Chicken Salad)

Centerpieces made by Lisa
(Mugs from Pier 1 Imports)

All Decorations and tags made by Lisa

Hershey's Kisses with "Kisses from Noah" on the bottom of each one
White & Blue Damask with Blue accent candle tins with the "Love Spell" Scent
courtesy of my sisters company Quartz Mountain Candle
Like I said, she's amazing!!!

Chocolate Truffles and Cupcakes from "The Sugar Shack" in Fresno

All in all it was another special day for me as we celebrated the upcoming birth of our little boy Noah. I am so thankful and blessed for all the people in my life and thank all of you that came out to help celebrate. It truly meant so much to me.

Belly Sessions

A few weeks ago Me and the hubs did a belly session with a great photographer in our area Whitney Frank I always wanted to do pregnancy pictures, but I was never big on doing the bare belly Demi Moore Naked pose ones and I also wanted Stevo to be a part of it. I came across Whitney through a friend who was also pregnant and had just done a session with her. I really wanted something outside with nature where colors were vibrant and it we could feel more natural. We decided to head down to Woodward Park in Fresno which has a ton of variety when it comes to the ideas I wanted. She said she had some great spots in mind. So we set a date.

So the Day comes and of course I decided to pack it with timed appointments that DID NOT run on time. I had a hair appointment so I could have some pretty hair. My usual on time stylist just happened to be 45 minutes late this day. Ugh! It's a good thing she's fast. She even gave me a free conditioning treatment cause she felt bad. Then I rushed home to grab my lunch and head off to my 1:30 diabetic clinic appointment. I figured that couldn't take that long and meeting Whitney by 3:00 was gonna be no problem. WRONG!!! I walked into the office and it was PACKED!!! OMG!!! Not only packed but their computers were having issues downloading glucose readers so that set them behind. When I finally got to see the RN it was 2:45. I had already called Whitney and thankfully we were able to push it to 3:30. The meeting with the RN was short. Phew!!! So I went to the front desk to get my next appointment. Granted it was 3:05 at this point. Still had plenty of time. Then they informed me that I still had to sit down with the Doctor...ah WHAT??!! The panic on my face must have spoken for me cause the assistant asked if I was ok. I said I can't see the Doctor today. I have a set appointment that i already pushed to 3:30 and I couldn't change it. I begged and said I'll even come back next week if I have to. She smiled and said, "well then that's just what's gonna have to happen." I got my appointment for the following week and sped home. Thank goodness I was already dressed and Stevo was waiting for me outside. I ran upstairs, grabbed some make up for touch up and we were off.

So after the panic I finally calmed down, we met up with Whitney and had a fun time shooting! We shot in 3 different spots and they all met the expectations I had in mind. Now the great part. We only had to wait a few days for Whitney to process our pics!! LOVE IT!!! Even better I loved them!!!! She got some great shots and Now I'm even more glad that we did the belly sessions. I'm looking forward to after Noah's born when she comes over and shoots him in his first week of life!!

Here are a few of the great shots she took and are my favorites!