November 30, 2020

 Dear Nora,

You're three months old, and I can definitely tell you're getting older.

You are such a smiley, happy girl!  You smile all of the time.  There are lots of times when I feed you in the morning that it takes a little bit of extra time because you can't stop smiling and focus on eating.  You haven't stated to completely laugh yet, but I can tell you're really, really close.  You coo all of the time and love talking to us.

You still are on a great schedule and sleep super well.  You eat 5 ounces about every three hours and take naps in between.

I haven't weighed you in a while, and I don't think you've gained a ton of weight, but I can tell you're getting a little bigger.

I've started putting you in the bumbo to sit up.  You still need a little help and can't sit for too long, but I can tell you like it so much more than just laying down all of the time.

Even though you're still so small and can't interact much, you provide all of us a ton of entertainment.  In the mornings, I usually will feed you and then while I'm getting ready I put you out in the family room to play.  Usually Ari and Charlie will immediately gather around you and play with you or by you the rest of the morning until you go to sleep.  Charlie loves, loves to lay by you and hold your hand.  Ari loves to see you smile and hold you.

You came with us to get your first Christmas tree, and you did amazingly well!  You slept on the way there, so you were super happy and awake when we went outside.  I put you in the carrier and your little snowsuit and because you're getting older I carried you in the holder so you were facing out.  I'm pretty sure you loved it!  You didn't cry at all, and we probably could have stayed outside a little while longer.

We love you, Noralee!

Love,

Mom

November 2, 2020

 Dear Noralee,

We've made it to two months!

You are such a sweet, super easy going baby.  We love having you in our home!  You have a great brother and sister who take such good care of you.  If you're every crying they always make sure Dad or I are taking care of the situation or try to solve the problem themselves.  They love to snuggle and hold you and help feed and burp you.

I don't want to jinx this by writing this down, but you are an amazing sleeper!  Like, super, super good.  You already usually sleep through the night.  Sometimes Dad will put your pacifier in, but we don't have to feed you.  It's so, so nice!

You went to your two-month appointment last week, and you are growing and doing great!

You went on your first big trip, and, of course, did amazing.  We went to St. George a couple of weekends ago, and you fit into our family just great by being able to be in the car for a long time.  We had a fun weekend and it was so nice enjoying some warmer weather.

You had your first Halloween.  You were Toad from Mario because Mario is Charlie's absolute favorite thing at the moment.

I really don't have much else to update you on because all you really do all day is eat, sleep, and poop, which is just fine by me.

We love you so much, Nornor!

Love,

Mom

September 29, 2020

 Dear Noralee,

You officially have a name, which means you're here!  Your full name is Noralee Rose Whitesides.  We named you after both of your grandmas and your great-grandma on Dad's side.  It's crazy to think you've already been here a month but also that it's also only been a month.  You've blended in with us all just fine, so it's hard to imagine life without you.

You were born on August 24, 2020, at 7:51.  You were 7 pounds, 6 ounces (1 ounce short of Charlie) and 19 inches long.

This was the smoothest delivery process we've had.  Everything went exactly as we had planned.  On Sunday evening we dropped Ari and Charlie off at Grandpa and Grandma Whitesides' house and had our last good night's sleep for a little bit.  We woke up at 4:00 and left our house at 4:30 to be at the hospital by 5:30.  When we got there we went right in and got everything going, and I went into the operating room around 7:00.  They probably cut me open around 7:30 and pulled you out about 20 minutes later.  It was so, so, so good to hear your cry!  They took you and cleaned you off and made sure everything was okay.  My body was reacting somewhat negatively to you leaving and I was shaking quite a bit and I didn't feel like I'd be able to hold you.  So Dad brought you over to me and I was able to see your beautiful face and give you lots of kisses.  After they got me sewed up we went to the recovery room and I finally got to hold you!

We made it to our room and with the exception of checking in on us every once in a while or to give me medicine, Dad and I mostly just got to hang out with you, hold you, and do whatever we wanted.  It was really nice to have some peace and quiet and just relax with you.  We weren't expecting this but they let us go home the next day.

We got home somewhat late on Tuesday night, so Ari and Charlie still stayed at Grandpa and Grandma's house.  Dad had a couple of errands to run on Wednesday and then he picked Charlie up and brought him home first to meet you.  It was the nicest thing!  He brought you a balloon and was so excited to meet you.  He thought you were pretty cute.  In fact, for about the first two weeks you were home every morning he would come into our room and say, "Hey, little cutie!" or "Good morning, little cutes!"  Then Dad went and picked up Ari from school and she brought both of us some flowers.  The first thing she wanted to do was hold you, and she did a great job!  We spent the rest of the day (and really most of our time since then) gathered around you soaking in your sweetness.

A couple days after you were born you had your first doctor's appointment and we found out you had jaundice.  Dad or I had to take you to the hospital every day for five days to get your blood drawn.  The one day I went it was really fast, but there were quite a few times Dad took you that were awful.  He said you cried and cried, so we're very happy that's all taken care of.  You had a to have a billie blanket for a couple of days, but it got everything taken care of.

You are such a good baby, Nora!  You really only cry if you're hungry or have a poopy diaper.  You're pretty good at putting yourself to sleep.  You still wake up about two times a night, but once you're fed you go back to sleep pretty easily.  If Dad or I are still kind of tired when you wake up to be fed, we've found that if we let you snuggle with Dad you fall right back to sleep for sometimes a couple of more hours.  You definitely like being warm and snuggling.

You've already been on your first big trip!  This past weekend we went to Rexburg, took the camper to Heise Hot Springs, and spent a day driving around Yellowstone.  We had so much fun, and you did so great!

We all love, love, love having you in our home and it's so fun to have your sweet spirit here!  We love you so much, Noralee!  I'm so excited and honored to be your mom and hope I can do my best to teach you everything you need to know!  Welcome to our crazy family!  Buckle up and get ready for an adventure!

Love,

Mom

August 10, 2020

Dear Babycita,

We're down to 2 weeks!!!  We're all so excited for you to come!  We're super close, and I'm still feeling fairly good.  I wanted to write down how I'm feeling to remember for another time.

-I'm still sleeping pretty good.  I wake up quite a few times throughout the night to go to the bathroom, but other than that, I'm usually pretty comfortable and don't spend too much time awake at night.

-My heartburn isn't bad at all.  I sometimes take Tums before I go to sleep, but I usually feel pretty good.  I was planning on getting a recliner for the last two months of pregnancy (mostly based on my last two pregnancies), but I haven't had to worry about that at all.

-I can still breathe good.  With Ari and Charlie the way they were positioned was high enough that towards the end of my pregnancies it was kind of hard to breathe and I got tired really easily.  But you must be positioned just perfectly that I haven't had any problems with that at all.

-I still rarely wear maternity pants.  That's mostly because I have this one pair of shorts that surprisingly still fit pretty comfortably with just a pants extender and I hate wearing the stretchy part of maternity pants over my stomach.  I do wear them every once in a while but mostly when I'm washing my regular shorts and need something else.

I love you so much, Baby!  I can't wait to meet you!

Love,

Mom

July 12, 2020

Dear Baby,

We've made it to 32 weeks - 2 months to go!  I went to a doctor's appointment last week and found out my due date officially changed to August 31 rather than September 4.  I've decided to have a c-section which they can do a week before my due date, so I'm getting everything scheduled for August 24.  I can't believe things have moved so quickly!  I'm getting super excited but still have a ton of stuff to get ready before you come.

As you continue to grow and this pregnancy goes on, I keep thinking of all of the differences between you and your brother and sister.  Both of their pregnancies were super similar and yours has not been like theirs at all.  This is mostly for my remembrance, but here's a list of differences:

-I finally passed my glucose test on the first try!!!  I've never been able to do that before.  I always pass it on the second but still have to take it.  I have no idea what the difference was this time, but I'm just fine with it.
-We've made it to (almost) 33 weeks without any problems.  There have been times I couldn't feel you, but I've never had to go to the hospital.  By this time with Ari and Charlie I'd already been to the hospital a couple times for different things.  I'm nervous even writing this because I don't want to jinx it, but I really feel like everything will go normally this time.
-Even though I had problems feeling both Ari and Charlie move at different times, they moved so differently than you.  You are fairly inconsistent, and I think that's why I was quickly able to figure out there was a problem with them.  Sometimes you don't move at all when I expect you to and others you move like the craziest baby ever.  There have been multiple times I've seen different parts of you pop up out of my stomach.  It's pretty crazy!
-I'm still sick (which didn't happen with the others).  But if I take my medicine I feel pretty good.
-I could be remembering things differently, but I feel like I've been sleeping better with you than I did with Ari or Charlie.  With Charlie and I had a ton of body pillows I'd have to sleep with and take with me whenever we traveled.  With you, I just sleep with a small pillow and have been able to sleep pretty well.
-I also feel like I haven't been nearly as emotional this time around.  I cried A LOT with Ari and Charlie at the most random things or nothing at all and even though I still cry every once in a while, it's definitely not as much and feels quite a bit more justified.

I can't wait to meet you, Babycita!  We already love so much!

Love,

Mom

June 2, 2020

Dear Baby,

Here's an update for you.

I'm 26 weeks right now.  I still have nausea, but as long as I take my medicine, I'm usually okay.  I've switched my doctor, so I had my first appointment in about 6 weeks last week.  You're still doing great!

If I don't push myself too hard or do anything crazy, most days you move like a crazy lady.  I can tell you're still pretty small and can usually easily figure out where you are in my stomach.  The other day I was easily able to feel some body part of yours (I really think it was your back), and it was super crazy.  As you get a little bigger though it's easier to feel and see you move.  Everyone in the family loves to watch my stomach move and feel you kick.  Today Dad wanted to feel you, but I told him because I was standing up I hadn't really felt you in a while.  He tried finding you in my stomach and must've pushed a little too hard and woke you up.  You definitely let him know you were there with a big kick.

Ari and Charlie are so excited to meet you!  They both pray for you all of the time.  Charlie likes to give you kisses and Ari regularly asks how you're doing and if I've felt you lately.  We love coming up with different names for you.  Ari's come up with Sparkles, Summer, Felicia, and Peach.  Charlie likes Fig the Fox.  I keep telling the kids you'll come at the end of the summer.  It's crazy to think that we've just started summer, and in three short months you'll be here!

We love you, Baby!

Love,

Mom

April 15, 2020

Dear Baby,

I'm excited to finally announce that we know what you are!  And...you are a GIRL!!!

I went to my ultrasound today, and although I haven't met with my doctor yet, the ultrasound tech said as far as he could tell everything looked great!  It's always a nerve-racking time not knowing how everything will turn out, and it's such a relief to be able to briefly see you and know everything's going well.

I had to go to my ultrasound by myself today because of coronavirus.  I was sad Dad wasn't able to be there with me, but it was so fun to have lots of pictures to show him and Arien and Charlie.

Everyone came to the hospital with me and just waited in the car so they wouldn't have to wait any longer to find out what you were.  Before I told them I made everyone give their final guesses.  Dad guessed you were a girl, Charlie guessed you were a boy (not surprised), and Ari (very surprisingly) guessed you were a boy, I think because she didn't want to be disappointed if you really were a boy.  Ari was so excited and surprised when I told her she'd be getting a sister, sometimes she talks about a lot.  I don't think the rest of us really truly cared if you were a boy or a girl, just that you were healthy.  But I'm very excited to have another girl join our family!

I love you so much, Baby Girl, and I can't wait to meet you!

Love,

Mom

April 9, 2020

Dear Baby,

Here's a quick update on what's been going on in our lives.

I felt you move for the first time about ten days ago, when I was 17 weeks (the earliest of any of my pregnancies).  They're still just really little movements that I can only feel every once in a while, but it's still so nice knowing you're there.

I went in for my second appointment about a month ago.  That's when I was supposed to be able to hear your heart for the first time, so Dad came with me.  I don't know if you were just hiding or what, but they had a couple of people check for the heart beat and couldn't find it.  Not the funnest thing.  But then the doctor came in and did an ultrasound to check on everything, and you were doing just fine.  It was so, so good to hear your heartbeat and so fun to get to see you!

I was supposed to have another doctor's appointment last week, but life is kind of crazy right now.  There's a virus going around that we have to be really careful not to get so we've all been encouraged to stay inside so the doctor didn't want me to come to the office if I didn't have to.  So I missed getting to hear your heart again, but it's nice being able to feel you move.  I'll get to schedule an ultrasound to find out what you are and make sure everything's going well.

I love you, Baby!!!  Keep growing big and strong.

Love,

Mom

Letter from Grandma

Dear Baby,

It makes my heart hurt so much that you won't even know your Grandma Becky while you're here on Earth, but I hope I can do my very best to help you know how great of a person she was and how important she is to me.

Grandma Becky was kind and always tried to take care of others.  She was such an example to me of service and was always trying to help those around her with anything they needed.  She was so good at taking meals to people, chatting with them when they were sad, and checking in on them when they were needing some extra love.

Grandma Becky was always up for an adventure!  She would go on any crazy outing we invited her even if it was at the last minute.  She never wanted to miss a moment of fun or time spent with her family.  We went camping, on a cruise, to Disneyland, to St. George, to see the solar eclipse, she visited us when we lived in Oregon (two times!), and so many other adventures!

She loved going on a trip or adventure, but it didn't have to be anything too crazy or extravagant for her to have a good time.  Because of her life circumstances and living by herself, we spent a lot of time with Grandma Becky, which will always be so special to me.  She would come over for dinner at least a few times every month, usually when I had accidentally made too much for dinner and we needed a little help to eat it all.  She loved spending time with Ari and Charlie and watching them while Dad and I went on a date or just inviting them over on a Summer day to play in the pool and have treats.  We would usually go to the pool in the summer time once every week or two, have lunch in the park, go to the dam, go for walks with Zoey, or just hang out while Ari and Charlie played outside.  She loved having ice cream or any treat.  She loved going to Edith's and out to eat in general.  It's all of these little things that I will miss the very most.

I'm so very sad that you won't know Grandma Becky here, but I want you to know how special I know you are to her.  Although you may not physically know her, I hope you will know that she will always be there for you when you need help and loves you so much and wants the very best for you.

Love,

Mom

February 23, 2020

Dear Baby,

It's hard to believe I'm actually writing this.  I created this blog name about 6 years ago when I was pregnant with your sister Ari and knew that someday you'd join our family, and I'm so excited to finally say you'll be joining us later this year.

I'm much later to write this first post in my pregnancy than I was with your siblings, but probably for a few different reasons - it's been a crazy year, I've been sick, you're the third kid (I guess that's something you'll just have to get used to).

Let me start from the beginning.  Most of this information is for you to have someday, but some of it's for my memories, too.

It was right before Christmas that I knew I'd be finding out if I was pregnant or not, and if I was, I was hoping to surprise Dad because I'd never been able to do it before.  Because of some different circumstances, I was by myself in Idaho Falls with Grandma Becky at the hospital.  I took an early pregnancy test and either it was too early or it didn't get saturated enough, but for some reason it said I wasn't pregnant.  Although I was a little disappointed, I was mostly okay with it because of all of the craziness that was happening then and that I knew would be happening later on.

The rest of the week happened, we were still in Idaho Falls, and my period still hadn't started.  We got home on a Friday night and Dad kept asking me if I thought I was pregnant (I hadn't told him about the earlier test), and I kept telling him no because I thought I wasn't.  But I kept wondering if maybe I was since the next day I would be three days late.  I was going to wait a few more days to see if it happened, but I knew if I didn't take a test it would drive me crazy.

So Saturday morning I woke up early before Dad and went into the bathroom to take a test.  And it said YES!!!  I was so, so surprised.  The whole point of taking the earlier test was to surprise Dad, but I was so shocked I couldn't help but wake him up right then and show him the test.  It was pretty crazy.  And I was so happy!

This pregnancy has been quite a bit different.  At the beginning I wasn't nearly as sick and it took a while longer than with the other two for it to start.  Which I was very grateful for.  I'm still convinced you knew everything that was going on at the moment and held off as long as you possibly could, and I love you so much for that.

Another reason I've been putting off writing this is from all of the feelings that will probably come.  It's really sad for me to write that about a week after I found out about you my mom, Grandma Becky to you, passed away.  I'm so grateful for the time you're spending with her now, but it's so hard for me to know that she won't be here when you're born and you won't know her while you're here.  It's been interesting, sad, happy to see how life progresses and when one life ends another begins.  I miss her so much, but I'm so grateful I'll have you and the rest of our family.

I'm now 12 weeks pregnant (your official due date is September 4), pretty sick almost every day, all day, but I still feel like it's been different than with my other two pregnancies.  I feel pretty nauseous all of the time, but have only thrown up a few times.  I've found that sometimes Gatorade helps, so I go through a lot of that.  I haven't had a lot of cravings except that when something sounds good I definitely take advantage of eating it and a lot of it because I don't know when that feeling will come again.

You have two older siblings, Ari and Charlie, and I hope they will be your best friends.  Ari is so incredibly excited for you to join our family.  She loves learning how you're growing and she prays for you every day.  She would really, really like a girl baby, but if you're a boy she said she'd be okay with that, too.  Charlie has absolutely no idea what's going.  He talks about you, but I don't think he really knows what a baby in my tummy means.  He is convinced he has a baby in his tummy too that sometimes talks to him and loves to eat bananas, fruit snacks, and gold fish crackers (conveniently his favorite foods, too).  Ari wants to name you Baby Ashley and Charlie wants to name you Jojo, which is also the name of his baby.

I'm so grateful for you, Baby, and I can't wait for you to join our family!

Love,

Mom