Farewell 2008

Well many of you will probably be staying up late tonight. Not me, LOL! I remember in 2001 I asked Paul to wake me up a little before midnight so I could see the fireworks (we were in downtown Chicago), but the last few years I have been content to forego seeing in the new year. I have been trying to stay up a little later though. My body has gotten used to going to bed at 8:30pm (or earlier). I am trying to switch my body to a 9pm bed time. 9:30 used to be my usual bedtime prior to becoming a Mommy.

2008 has been a GREAT year for us. "Smaller" blessings would be my promotion and tenure and Paul's completion of his master's degree and beginning his PhD at PSU. In a "normal" year those would be considered BIG blessings, but in comparison to Nadia, they seem small. What a blessing Nadia is! For 20+ years I have longed for the day I'd become a Mommy, and on June 24, 2008 I finally held my baby in my arms. Paul wasn't sure I'd remember that as I was still coming out of the anesthesia (although this was 4 hours after her birth), but I certainly remember it!!!!!!!!! I know others think the year wasn't that great due to the economic woes and such, but that stuff really is unimportant in my mind compared to the birth of our sweet little girl.

She's grown SO much in 2008. On 12/24/07 Dr. A said she was 1.25 inches long (crown to rump so she was a bit longer head to toes), and on 12/30/08 she was 26 inches long! I am quite certain she won't grow 2 feet any other year of her life. :-) This morning she was using her hands to take each of the rings off the classic Fisher Price Rock-a-Stack toy. Her use of her hands has improved tremendously the last couple of months! And the list could go on. That's just one small example. I rarely take photos w/o her clothes on, but I took this one this morning to #1 show her four bandaids :-( and #2 to show how her belly button now almost looks like an innie which is such a big change from when she was a few weeks old and it looked like SUCH an outie.

Of course she's not been feeling that well since her shots. The upside is that Mommy and Daddy have been giving her lots of TLC - extra cuddling time. :-) She didn't do badly last night considering. She went down at 6pm and then woke up at 9pm and Daddy fed her and then Mommy rocked her. Then she slept until 6:45am. Today her nap schedule has been totally out of whack, but we're just going with the flow since she's recovering from her shots.

Today I met my new primary care doctor. I like her. I was impressed that she had studied my chart prior to meeting me. I had a tetnus shot today (also diptheria and pertussis) that they had recommended I have soon after delivery and it never happened. I can't remember when I had my last tetnus shot, but I don't think I've had one in PA which means it's been more than 12 years. She gave me a referral to see an Orthopedic hand doctor (my appointment is scheduled for February 10) and also had bloodwork done today to check my thryoid as evidently that can cause carpal tunnel as well.

One of the toys I ordered Nadia after Christmas came in the mail today. I think it's really neat. I hope she likes it! It's called the Mozart Magic Cube. It plays 8 different Mozart compositions. There are 5 different instrument buttons - harp, flute, French horn, piano, and violin. If you press one instrument then only that instrument plays the song. If you press another button then that instrument joins in. If you press an instrument already playing then that instrument stops playing (but the others that you have pressed keep playing). The sixth side is the orchestra button which plays all instruments. Each side also lights up when played, and there is a picture of each instrument on each side. I like that it goes through 8 different pieces (March in D, Der Vogelfanger, Non Pie Andre, Landler, etc.) as the Mozart song that came with her gym is one I have heard WAY too many times, LOL.

She nursed for 14 minutes this morning! When she was really little 45-60 minutes was the norm, but for a few months the norm was 20-30 minutes. The last couple of weeks 10 minutes would be a LONG time. The length had been dwindling each day, but thankfully now it's increasing. I was pleased yesterday morning even though it was less than 10 minutes; so I was really pleased this morning with 14 minutes. I think that means my milk supply must be increasing. I sure hope so as I am getting very, very tired of pumping. I hope all this work pays off and we can start decreasing the amount of formula she has each day in the very near future.

2008 will be a year I will not forget. I am so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so very grateful for this precious gift from the Lord. I look forward to making many precious memories with her in 2009. As 2006 came to a close I was very, very, very, very, very, very discouraged. As 2007 came to a close I was filled with great hope as I knew this little one was growing inside me. As 2008 comes to a close, I am filled with great joy over Nadia Renee, whose name means "hope reborn." I admit now that I am not so sleep deprived, I find myself hoping more and more for a sibling for Nadia, but the desire to ttc #2 is not filled with the desperation I felt after years of unsuccessful attempts to conceive or adopt #1. I do hope and pray we have or adopt another baby some day, but I can handle only having one child much better than I handled not having any. I am so glad to be entering 2009 as a Mommy!!!!