The Holiday Season - Part I

Dear Friends and Family,


November was a month spent getting used to new routines and preparing for the holiday season. I (Steph) returned to work on November 1st after six weeks of maternity leave and had to (sadly) drop Noah off at daycare for the first time. After spending every day with him for a month and a half, it was very difficult leaving him in the care of others. The transition was made easier because Noah's classroom has cameras mounted that enable parents to watch remotely. Whenever I found myself missing Noah, I would login to our account and spend a few minutes watching him play and sleep. As hard as it was leaving Noah I was glad to return to work. It was nice having conversations not related to diaper changes, feeding schedules, and bath time. 


Throughout the month Jorge kept trying to push Noah beyond the limits of his size and age (I'm assuming this pretty common for dad's to do with their sons). Jorge is convinced that Noah will be walking sooner than any known baby, but we all know that that's pretty unlikely. It is fun watching Noah stand on his feet. We have definitely noticed his legs getting stronger. 


It seemed every weekend in November was spent running around NC. The weekend before Thanksgiving Noah took his first trip to Jacksonville, NC to visit Jorge's family. Noah met his great-grandparents for the first. It was awesome seeing Noah and his great-grandfather together. It would be nice if we lived closer and make these visits more frequent but not seeing everyone very often makes each visit that much more special. 


Thanksgiving weekend my family (mom, dad, brother, and brother's girlfriend) came down from PA and NY. It was the first time my brother and his girlfriend met Noah and they were very excited to meet the newest member of the family. On thanksgiving, we dressed Noah up in a turkey themed outfit (I think it is absolutely necessary to dress little babies in ridiculously cute holiday themed outfits. Your kids may wince with embarrassment when they are older but its definitely worth it) and traveled to Wilson, NC to chow down and give thanks with my extended family. From Wilson we traveled to Greensboro, NC to enjoy our second dinner and dessert with some more of my family. We couldn't stay out too late though, because we had to get plenty of rest in order to have the energy to battle all of the shoppers out in full force on Black Friday. It was definitely a busy day  but there's nothing more fitting than spending Thanksgiving with so many people that you are thankful to have in your life.

The day after Thanksgiving we took part in the awesome shopping of Black Friday. Jorge and I missed it last year because we were on our cruise. So we were especially looking forward to going out this year. There is just something fun about getting up early to buy things that you can get any other day but for some reason they are more appealing on the day after Thanksgiving. 

Now that Noah is around we couldn't wake up at 4 AM to hit the stores like we usually do but it wasn't that bad getting to the stores around 10. We managed to get to the stores when there was a lull in the major crowds arriving. We tackled the mall and new outlet shops before stopping and refueling with a quick bite to eat. I don't think anybody did too much damage to their bank accounts but we all definitely took advantage of the sales. 

After all the shopping we went home to rest for a bit before heading out to the NC State vs. Fairleigh Dickinson basketball game. Noah wore his Wolfpack onesie and was super excited to be in such a different environment. He was so excited that after being awake for only twenty minutes he needed a nap. I think the big crowd, loud noise, and bright lights may have overstimulated him a bit. Going to this game made us look forward to football season when Noah will get to go his first ACC football game. 


Overall November was another month that left us counting our blessings. In our next entry we will talk about our fun in the snow and the best holiday of the year, Christmas!


Love Always,


Stephanie, Jorge, and Noah

October Wrap Up

Hello Everyone!


We hope the rest of October has been great for all of you. We have had a busy past couple of weeks. Our friends, Erica and Chris, flew down from NYC to spend some time with us and more importantly, to meet Noah.  We all had a great time and although they both loved holding Noah, neither was ready to change one of his stinky diapers! Also in the past couple of weeks, Noah met his Grandpa Willy for the first time. Seeing the two together was very cute but Noah's tiny size made his grandpa a little nervous so Noah spent most of the afternoon in the arms of Grandma Omega. 

Chris and Erica with Noah

In the midst of all of our visits we had some important business to attend to. Noah had a couple of doctors appointments as follow-ups to the ultrasounds we had in which the doctors observed a multi-cystic right kidney. We went to the Duke Children's Hospital where Noah had some tests run. After running the tests, the specialists concluded that Noah was born with only a left kidney. Fortunately, there are no long term implications of having a single kidney and God willing Noah will live a long healthy life.


I (Steph) return to work on November 1. I am happy to return to my colleagues and to regular adult conversation but definitely sad to see the end of spending all my time with Noah. With my return to work, Noah will be starting daycare. We already had a practice run with Noah spending a few hours in daycare last week and he did great! The daycare is about five minutes from my job so I can take time during my lunch break and visit him. 


As with all new babies we are having an ongoing debate over who Noah looks like - me or Jorge. Unfortunately Jorge has no baby pictures so we can't really do an accurate comparison. But after comparing Noah to my pictures I don't think there is much of a need for Jorge's picture. Noah obviously look just like his mother :) In all fairness, I think that Noah has Jorge's nose and chin and he has my eyes and ears. Overall, he is a perfect combination of the two of us. 

Steph as a baby

Noah during bath time

With the end of October comes everyone's favorite day to dress up - Halloween! For Noah's first Halloween he was a lion. He was definitely the cutest little lion that we had ever seen. 

Well that wraps it up for the month of October. Here are a few more cute pictures we snapped of Noah this month.

Noah taking a cat nap in the clothes basket. 

When he's hungry he will suckle on anything you put in front of him. Looks like he'll have a big appetite like his daddy.

Yeah, he's definitely going to have a big appetite!

Thanks for reading and God bless!!!

Love,

Steph and Jorge

Noah Tracking A Toy With His Eyes

Family and Friends,

Here is a video of Noah looking at one of his toys. When we move the toy back and forth Noah follows it with his eyes. We love playing with him and improving his gross motor skills. We even have alphabet flash cards (courtesy of Steph's mom) that we will be using so that he can become familiar with letter recognition as soon as possible. 

The First Weeks

Hi Family and Friends,


Well, we've survived 3 weeks of parenting! Although the shock of becoming parents definitely has not worn off (and we're sure it probably won't wear off until for a long long time). The hardest adjustment has definitely been lack of sleep. It's been rough for me (Steph) adjusting to cat naps whenever Noah sleeps instead of my customary 8-9 hours of sleep a night. So far, Jorge hasn't had to get up in the middle of night since I am nursing and handle all of the feeding. Although, he's been getting minimal sleep trying to balance work, grad school, and spending time with Noah. We're just both super happy that Noah is a pretty quiet baby and isn't up all night crying. 

It's been a little scary for us (mostly me) realizing that we have this little life to take care of but I think we're doing a pretty good job. Noah makes it easy for us since (so far) he has been a really well behaved baby. It's also been really helpful having help for the past few weeks. My mom was here for the past week helping us get adjusted and my Aunt Karen has been coming a few days a week to help with odds and ends around the house. Jorge's mom also stayed for a day to help and see her grandson. Even without their help, it's been really nice having experienced moms ensuring me that I'm doing everything right. 

It's also been fun experiencing all of the things associated with caring for a new baby. We have had some hysterical moments changing Noah's diaper since he seems to like produce projectile poop during diaper changes. Along with spraying pee, which is typical with little boys, Noah likes to spontaneously poop. Our first experience with the projectile poop was totally  unanticipated and Jorge and I were both completely shocked when he pooped and the debris landed a clear foot from the source. Needless to say, we've become much more careful when changing his diaper to avoid making messes in the nursery. We've also come to enjoy bath time with Noah. He really enjoys the warm water sponge baths and now that his umbilical cord has fallen off we can start submerging him in water for a more thorough cleaning (although we're going to have to figure out how to combat projectile poops during bath time).

We actually ventured out with Noah last weekend when we took him to Elon University for his first college campus tour (we're starting early!) Unfortunately, the fresh air soothed him to sleep and he missed most of our walk around the scenic campus. Since it's getting chilly outside we're going to have to choose his outings carefully although his Granny (my mom) was willing to drive an hour to take him on his first trip to the zoo! I know she can't wait for him to get a little bit older and more aware of his surroundings because if she had it her way she would take him around the world. 


As a follow up to prenatal reports about Noah's cystic right kidney, we took Noah to the hospital for an ultrasound. It turns out that Noah's right kidney failed to develop and therefore he must rely on his normal left kidney for fluid filtering. We aren't terribly concerned since he uses the bathroom normally and the doctors have assured us that a person can lead a normal life with a single kidney functioning at 50%. Unfortunately for Noah he won't be able to participate in any contact sports (i.e. football and boxing) but all things considered this is something that both Jorge and I can live with. Despite the positive prognosis please continue to keep us all in your prayers as we continue to grow (us as parents and Noah as a healthy little boy)


God Bless,


Steph and Jorge

Noah's first few days!!

Here is our little boy a few minutes after he was born.  They just finished cleaning him up a bit.

Grandma & Grandpa meeting their grandson for the first time!

Noah is on his way home.  Can't you just see the anticipation in his eyes!

















Stephanie welcomes our son Noah home for the first time.





























Mommy and Daddy taking some time with their little boy!
It's truly the greatest feeling in the world!

The story of Noah

As you all know, Stephanie gave birth to our beautiful baby boy Noah on September 14th at 10:25 pm.  The hours leading up to his birth were full both of anxiety and excitement.  Here is a recap of the greatest day of our lives, through my (Jorge) eyes.

On Monday night, I stayed up till nearly 2am watching Monday night football.  Steph was quite irritated with me because she was concerned that I would be too tired to drive to work that morning.  But she knows that under no circumstances will I ever miss a Chargers game.  So 3 hours later at 5am I had to get ready for work as usual. Surprisingly, I was not tired at all and proceeded with my normal morning routine.

I left the house at around 6:15 am.  Fifteen minutes into my drive, I felt my phone ring on my lap.  Before I even looked to see who it was, I knew it would be steph.  When I saw that it really was her, I knew she had to go to the hospital.

SIDE NOTE: The reason I knew is because I told her 2 weeks earlier that she was not allowed to call me unless it was to tell me the baby was coming.  I know it seems crazy to tell your wife that, but I had to tell her that because every time she would call me, I'd get overly excited just to hear her say something like "Don't forget to stop by the store today."  So i just had to tell her to text me only until that moment comes.

On my way home, I made several calls to co-workers to make sure that my students would be well-taken care of in my absence.  Luckily, I work with wonderful people.  When I got home, Steph had just gotten out the shower.  By this time, she had only been experiencing severe lower back pain and wanted to go to the hospital for a check up.

When we arrived the nurse checked to see how much she was dilated.  I believe she was a little more than 3cm.  Afterwards, the nurse had us walk around the hospital for 1 hour to see if Steph would dilate more.  After our very uneventful 1 hour walk around the 3rd floor, the nurse found that Steph had dilated up to nearly 4cm.  To our excitement, the nurse told us that Steph was not going back home and it was time to prepare for the arrival of our baby.

For the next hour or so, Steph layed in the bed relaxing while I anxiously paced around awaiting our next move.  Moments later, the doctor came in and informed us that they would go ahead and break Steph's water.  The nurse asked Steph if she was interested in receiving an epidural.  At that moment, Steph declined saying that she would go as long as she could without it.  BIG MISTAKE!!!

About an hour later, Steph's water was broken. Prior to this moment, Steph's pain was limited lower back pain and pelvic pressure -- overall, pains she could deal with.  What happened next was CRAZY!!! Literally 2 minutes from the moment her water was broken, Steph started experiencing SERIOUS contractions.  What was unusual was that her pain was all in her legs.  Needless to say, she was begging for an epidural within seconds.  It took a while for the doctor, who was administering the epidural, to arrive.  During this time, it was very hard for me to see Steph in so much pain, knowing that there was nothing I could do to make it go away.  All I could do was be as supportive as possible.

After the epidural was in place, it took about an hour for it to take full effect.  Thank the good Lord for this medical miracle because I can't imagine what Steph would have endured without it.  For the next few hours, the goal was to make Steph as comfortable as possible until it was time to deliver the baby.

Finally, the time was upon us.  At 8pm, they started prepping Steph for delivery.  At around 8:30, she started pushing.  Steph was absolutely AMAZING throughout the entire process.  Despite all her pain and exhaustion, she kept on pushing until 2 hours later -- she gave birth to our beautiful son Noah Gabriel.  At exactly 10:25 pm, our 7 lb 15 ounce and 21 inch bundle of joy came into our lives.  It was the most amazing moment of my life to see my son for the first time.  I immediately thanked God for allowing Steph to make it through the labor process without any complications and for giving us a healthy baby boy.

Within seconds of his delivery, Steph was holding her son.  I stood beside her as she cried tears of joy and I couldn't help but shed a tear or two.  (THAT'S RIGHT, I'M NOT ASHAMED TO ADMIT IT!!!)
Each of us held our baby over the next few hours.  At 1:30am, I went home to get some rest.  While I certainly didn't go through half as much as Steph did, my feet were killing me because I had been on my feet for approximately 12 hours in dress shoes.

AND THAT WAS DAY 1 OF THE NOAH SAGA!!!

Home Repair vs. Nesting

Hi Family & Friends,

Over the past couple of weeks we have had new windows put in throughout the house. Jorge and his Tio Ezriel worked hard to install new windows, new indoor and outdoor trim, and new storm doors. As a result of the window installation the inside of the house was a complete mess which was totally conflicting with my desire nest and get the house ready for the baby.  Every day when I came home from work the house would be blazing hot and there would be dust and dirt everywhere! I usually had to escape to the the nursery (which was the first room that was completed). Fortunately, the glider is a comfortable spot to kick up your feet and relax after a long day at work. 


As you can see in the picture the nursery probably got the worst of the mess because a lot of dry wall work needed to be done. All of the dry wall patching created a coating of fine dust on every possible surface of the room. Once the window was installed we (as in Jorge) had to repaint the wall around the window. We also shampooed the carpet and wiped down the walls just to make sure that the room would be dust free whenever we brought the baby home. 

All in all, Tio Ez and Jorge worked really hard and did a great job. They even managed to avoid getting stung by wasps living in massive nests in the bathroom and laundry room windows (see picture). Tio Ez finished everything up last Thursday and we have slowly restored the house back to order. The only thing left to do is prime and paint the walls around the bathroom window and then we are done! (That is until the next DIY issue comes up) 


Last week Jorge returned to work. This semester he is teaching two Honors Precalculus and one Algebra I class. He is glad to see his students again but he definitely had a stressful couple of days getting his classroom and lesson plans ready. This week is likely to be my last week at work (I am 38 weeks along now). I may go in a couple days next week if the little one hasn't made his/her grand entry yet. I know I should be at home resting but if the baby comes past the due date I do NOT want to be at home doing nothing for another 2-3 weeks. 


We are hoping the baby comes sooner rather than later because we are SO excited to meet him/her. Steph and her mom are a little bummed that he/she wasn't born today (8/29) because today then they would have shared a birthday with Steph's favorite singer ever Michael Jackson! Oh well, it wasn't meant to be. Anyway, hopefully the next entry will be announcing the arrival of the little one!


Love Always,


Steph and Jorge