Loving the baby sling... wow!

Well, I'm trying out the baby sling I bought for the first time (and that's not me in the photo...), and it is going to be so nice! Any of you moms out there who remember (or are currently experiencing) the one-handed juggling act of doing things while holding your baby will appreciate this little device. It allows you to wear your baby while doing other things and have both hands free! So I'm typing two-handed, and NatureForce is content and sleeping right here on my front. Ahhhh....

I researched some different makes and models, and decided on a Hot Sling, because it had a higher ratio of positive reviews to negative reviews than any other pouch-style carrier. I got the hemp stretch natural padded, and it's lovely. It's very packable because it's not fully padded, but it has a ridge of padding in just the right place. It's useable from birth to about 30+ pounds, but of course by that time toddlers usually want to walk instead. Many of the mothers who use these slings talk about the convenience of popping the kid into the sling instead of wrestling a stroller, and although we didn't purchase it for a stroller replacement, it's going to be a nice thing to use for many different things.

Coming home

NatureForce and I arrived home from the hospital yesterday morning. It was a bit of a rush getting here. Paul had decided to sleep at home the second night and keep LittleMum with him instead of sending her back to my sister's. I asked him to be back to the hospital by 9 a.m. so we could leave by about 10, and he called me at 9:10. "Where are you?" he asked, which is his favorite query when he knows that I am wondering where HE is. He proceeded to tell me that he had just gotten out of the shower and hadn't left home yet, and of course it takes a little longer with a toddler in tow. So I greeted the pediatrician and my nurse midwife in succession, and they both gave us the go-ahead to go home, tried to feed NatureForce for the umpteenth time (she's getting anxious for Mama's milk to arrive), needed to get dressed and get her dressed, pack everything up, and eat my own breakfast! It was a little rushed without help, but we managed. Paul arrived shortly before 10 a.m., and although I didn't get a shower, we made it out of the hospital by about 10:10.

Perhaps I'll tell you in another post why I wanted to get out of the hospital on a "schedule." Some of you already know and are chuckling a bit at my insanity.

We did have time for a picture before we left.

It was so nice to be home and sleep in my own bed. We're loving our little NatureForce... she is such a sweetheart. Life is good.

More photos!

In considering the "photo post," I decided against a big long post full of individual photos. Instead, you'll see a new addition to our blog in the right sidebar (if you're viewing this post elsewhere, go to the blog). It's a "badge" from flickr.com, and you can see all the best pictures at Flickr when you click on it. Either click on the Sara's Pics link, or you can even view my photo stream as a slideshow. It will start to also cycle through my Toronto Trip photos from May of this year, so you can either enjoy them when they start, or click back in your browser.

Hope that makes sense! I'll be monitoring comments if anyone has questions. Enjoy our pics!

The baby is here!

NatureForce was born Tuesday, November 15th at 8:26 p.m. She weighed 8 lbs. 2 oz., was 20.5 inches long, and has beautiful long fingers and toes (10 of each...). She's got dark hair and has been a very good baby during her first half day of life. We're so happy to announce that she's joined our family!

More photos to come, but here's a little primer:

It seems that this is it...

This kid's sense of timing is interesting. It looks like we won't be going to Grandma Fisher's funeral after all. Some of you will be checking our blog a little later because you'll get my business newsletter today. All I can say is check back within the next day or so, and we'll probably have an announcement for you.

Waiting patiently

Dear readers,

I figured it was time for another update. I was hoping to have some news like, "the baby's here!" Well, not quite yet. She's quite content, it seems, to wait a bit longer. Her due date is officially tomorrow, so we're hoping she doesn't wait much longer than that!

In family news, my sweet grandmother Erma Fisher had a fall last Saturday and had been in the hospital until last night, when she quietly slipped away to join her late husband and my grandfather. She would have turned 97 years old next week, so she's lived a long, full life that we can really celebrate and honor. Maybe she's gone home at just the right time to send our little baby to us, but I know for sure that the reunion with Grandpa was a joyous one.

My Grandma's funeral is next Tuesday, and I'm a little uncertain what will be happening then. I hope to have an announcement very soon that the baby is here, get in and out of the hospital, and be there with my family. I have a brother coming from Texas and a sister coming from Arizona, so they could see the baby while they're here, which would be nice. But I'd like to have the baby come when she's ready rather than schedule the birth. And it would be okay if she waits until after Tuesday as well... I just don't know if she will. Send your prayers and good intentions our way!

As promised - the before picture!

Here I am with LittleMum today... Daddy's comment, "I'm not a photographer." Okay, so the quality is not great, but it gives you an idea what things have come to.

I'm still feeling good, and everything is looking good with the baby. We went to the doctor's office yesterday for my weekly exam, and the certified nurse midwife said, "just let me know if there's a date you don't want to be pregnant past." Well, I'd like the baby to come on her own, but we'll see how things progress this week.

In the meantime, I was thinking the other day after my last post that I should tell you how I get into bed with all those pillows (and our bed is very high as it is). I have to basically put one knee on the bed and launch myself over the left side pillows, then lie down in between. There's about a six-inch gap between left side and right side pillows, which gives me just enough support and cushioning. Ah...

We'll keep you posted!

Pillows, anyone?

Do any of you women remember trying to get comfortable in bed when you were pregnant? Thank goodness for pillows. When I was pregnant with LittleMum, I used a head pillow and two body pillows, one on either side. But this time around, it seems like I've increased my pillow use exponentially... I now have SIX pillows that I use nightly. I like to sleep on my left side, so I have a body pillow on my left to support my bulging belly and legs, a king-size pillow sham in between my legs, a body pillow at my back (right) with another pillow sham on top of it to support my back even more, and my normal head pillow with another head pillow on top of it. I've given up making my bed most days because it's a pain to configure my pillows again when I'm ready to go to bed. Poor Paul has his one pillow, and I've got my stacks. But it sure has made getting comfortable a lot easier.

Baby's kicking and screaming, "Let me out!"

Okay, no not really. But the baby is VERY active tonight. And tends to be more active in the evening than during the day. You can tell she's trying to get into a more comfortable position in her cramped quarters, because her movements feel like pushing and stretching to me, not really kicking. I can't imagine... I wonder if there are any in-utero babies who have claustrophobia.

I'm waiting up to see if I can get my husband up-to-speed on the whole blog thing so he can post pictures while I'm at the hospital. He's been distracted by reading a friend's blog and posting a comment, so I have been unable to encourage him to break away to make his first post to our blog. And I've got to get to bed soon... so maybe this won't happen tonight.

LittleMum and I met a friend of mine from years ago for lunch. We reconnected when I received her wedding announcement and bridal shower invitation in the mail. It was great to see her, and especially to hear the news that she is expecting a baby. Congrats to her!