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
