One Month With Norah Finley

Oh my sweet Norah Finley. One month with her in our family. Spoiler alert: she is a perfect addition.

I spent a lot of the pregnancy worried, anxious, uncomfortable, nauseous. I wanted so hard to enjoy this time with a precious life growing inside of me but I struggled a lot. I started to wonder how this baby would fit into our family. Did I have enough love in my heart for another child? Did I have enough patience to stay sane? Would I have enough energy to survive? How could I enjoy having so many small humans that would need so much from me?


And then this tiny little baby came storming out into this world. It was one of the most wonderful and exciting moments of my life. Pure joy (and a little confusing, but perhaps I will save that for a birth story one day). From the moment she was born I was so in love.


Norah Finley is adored by everyone in this household. I was mainly concerned about Cooper. I really had no clue how he would react to having a little baby in the household. He wore the role of little brother so well. Turns out he loves her. He gives her plenty of kisses and attention, but at the same time not too much. He respects her space and isn't overly interested to the point that I have to keep him away. He checks on her sporadically throughout the day but goes on with his important business of running around the house and keeping up with his matchbox cars. Hannah, as expected, is an adoring big sister. Both her and Cooper take pride in their important role of diaper disposers. Hannah is always eager to help out in any way she can. Need a blanket? Hannah to the rescue. Pacifier is lost? Hannah will find it. Need baby wipes? Hannah has you covered. Funny because Hannah's strong suit isn't exactly listening and obedience right now, but if it involves helping with the baby she is all ears and right on it.


Little Norah, our tiniest baby. Our first kiddo to leave the hospital under 8 pounds. Everything about her seems so dainty. She is a chill little one; there was one week were she was a little fussy but so far she has been pretty content. She is a fantastic sleeper, waking up once in the middle of the night for a feeding. I was worried at first that she would never sleep anywhere other than my chest but now she loves her own bed and space and I actually wish she would sleep on me more. She is the best nurser I have had. She seems to fit right into the flow of our family. Getting out of the house of course has its extra challenges. We are definitely outnumbered so things are naturally not as easy but generally speaking life continues on as normal. I like to use having three kids as an excuse to having an extra cup or two of coffee a day. I also feel less pressure to make it to preschool drop off and pick up on time. One day we will get in a better flow of making it out of the house in a timely fashion.


So far Norah is a healthy gal. She is growing fast and doing well. She is super bright eyed and will generally stay awake for at least an hour after every feeding. She loves to lay on the ottoman in the living room and observe the chaos of kids around her. She reserves her new developing little smiles for Daddy; she is easily soothed by him. Her biggest talent is pooping, what a pro.  I am soaking in the now totally loving this newborn stage. I remember with Cooper feeling the desire to rush past it but this time I really am enjoying her in this tiny little state of life. I suspect this will be our last baby which finds me a little over sentimental. As much as I look forward to seeing her and her personality grow I wish time could slow down a little and hold on to my tiny little newborn longer.


Sweet Norah Finley, we love you immensely. I am so glad you are a part of this family.