Thanksgiving Weekend

I have to admit, I was a little nervous about leaving our little nest for the weekend. I was pretty freaked out about whether or not we'd bring everything we needed to bring and how Nolan would adjust to the change in scenery.

It turned out I was nervous for no reason. He adapted just fine. He still got up every 2 hours all night, but that's not at all different, so it wasn't a big deal. I am continually amazed at the difference in size and development 7 months makes between Aubrey & Nolan.


We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with my immediate family. My mom had surgery the day before Thanksgiving, so we relegated her to the couch and split up the dinner between us. It turned out wonderfully. I am so grateful to have such a great family full of people I love. We all get along so well. . . it's a real blessing.

We spent Friday in Ogden visiting with Kim's family and introducing Nolan to family he hadn't met yet. Here he is with Helaina and Isabella:



And with Ben and his grandma:


We spent saturday and Sunday nights up later than we should have been playing some shang hi. Nolan helped his daddy cheat a little. . . I maintain. At least on Saturday when Ben won. . .

Growing Like A Weed

We went to Nolan's 2 week appointment yesterday and were very excited to see how much he had grown. It was even more impressive than I had expected.

He's up to 9 lbs, 13 oz and 21.5 inches long. That's more than 2 lbs of weight gain and 2.5 inches in 2 weeks! And, on top of all that, he just gets cuter every day. Here's a little proof:

2 weeks today

People have been telling me since the beginning that the first 2 weeks of parenthood are the hardest. There is very little sleep. It is much more difficult than it would seem to sleep when the baby sleeps. The physical recovery is hard, made worse by lack of sleep. Life falls into an insanely tedious pattern of feedings, diaper changes, and sleeping at all the wrong times. And then there's the crying. . . Seriously bizarre behavior.

I know that as c-sections go, I have had a really good recovery. I know this partially because I went to see my doctor this morning and he told me how well my incision had healed. He told me that I would take some time to get back to my old self, but as of now I am allowed to pretty much do anything, as long as I feel like I can do it. It is amazing to me that it has been 2 weeks. It has flown by in a way I can't possibly describe (though if you have kids of your own I'm sure you know what I mean).

I am constantly amazed at how little sleep I am able to survive on, how alert I am capable of being at 3 am, and how amazing my wonderful husband has been in getting through these first 2 weeks. I am constantly in awe of the little man that lives with us now. I can stare at him for hours. And we've definitely become those annoying parents that think their child is brilliant and amazing even when he's doing the most normal and mundane things.

If what everyone says is true, and these are the hardest 2 weeks, I am really looking forward to what will be coming in the future. It's certainly a change, but it's an awesome one.

The Announcement

Ben created the announcement for Nolan before he was born. . . in that long week of waiting between when he was due and when he actually made his appearance. But we needed to add the pictures. We've finally done that, and here are the results:

Week 2

On an outing to the park to watch his cousins play. . . all decked out in a little outfit from Old Navy

Several wonderful people made Nolan some great quilts to welcome him into this world. We thought we'd take his picture with a couple of them this morning.

Grammy Hess made him this darling cross-stitched Eeyore quilt

A family friend of Ben's family made this Noah's Ark quilt

Vanessa made him this awesome doggie quilt

and Grandma Webster made this flannel rag quilt

He was a very patient model for all of them

Day 4 & 5

As a substitute for anything resembling meaningful posting at the moment, I have more pictures to offer.


All dressed up in his outfit to come home from the hospital on Monday, he looks thrilled to have his picture taken. . .

At this age there's no getting his attention, so I was happy to get shots this good.
Nolan has proven to be an extremely mellow kid, seldom crying, even in situations where you would certainly expect it. When grandma and I gave him his first bath, he clung to my arms for dear life, and certainly looked freaked out, but didn't cry a bit. Same for the one we gave him this morning. I'm hoping it's a trend that continues as he gets older.

Day 3

A couple of pictures of Nolan's 3rd day on earth. . .

Smiling in his sleep

With his eyes open. . . which happens surprisingly often.

Finally Here!

Baby Nolan finally made his arrival on Thursday, November 1st at 6:24 pm. I ended up having a c-section because his fluid levels were really low and he needed to get out right away.

On the plus side, I never had to go through labor. And we knew, a few hours in advance, when he would come into the world. And despite the fact that his cord was wrapped around his neck twice and his leg once, he came into the world safe and sound and screaming. But he's done very little screaming since. He's a very mellow little fella who is taking to nursing like a champ and charming the pants off of everyone.

On the down side, recovery from a c-section is decidedly un fun. I will be really glad when things heal well enough for me to get in and out of bed on my own again.

But, without futher ado, here are some pictures of the little tike over the last couple of days.

I'm sure you all will get sick of seeing his little face very soon, but in the mean time. . . Isn't he darling?! We're not sure where the strawberry blond locks came from. They are a mystery, but he's definitely a little Hess boy in every other way.

Getting cleaned up in the OR.
Dad was brave enough to watch him be pulled out.

This is how he gets from place to place in the hospital

Close up

Look at the difference 7 months makes in the size of a baby.

Crazy