Stella Noel

I woke up at 2:35 am on 1/18 with the third really strong contraction. I went back to sleep after the first two, but this one got me up.

At 4:30, I started to need moral support, so I woke Jacob up. Not long after, it was MOST DEFINITELY time to get to the hospital. We dropped Zade off at the Bonds' house (thanks, Alysha!) and went to the hospital.

40 minutes later, Stella Noel was born! I thought I still had hours and hours of labor left, but I'm so glad it was only 40 minutes.

She weighed 7 lbs, 11 oz. Measured 19 inches. Born at 6:33 am. Wonderful!

2009 goals

I'm huge on making goals; I make them all the time, except at New Year's because, like everyone else, I never keep the New Year's goals.

Here are my current goals for the next year or so:

1. Have a baby and figure out HOW to be a mom to two small children

2. Grow a 4'x4' square foot garden

3. Train for the February 2010 Cowtown Marathon

4. Bake 52 types of bread

5. Read 52 books

6. Try 52 new recipes

We'll see what happens. I plan for January and February to be mild, goal-wise, as I have a baby and recover and try to adjust to a new life with two kids. March will be when I start my garden and running.

Surreal

Being pregnant is surreal, kind of like a science fiction story where the rules of reality are casually changed.

Take last night, for instance. Normally your stomach does NOT suddenly bulge out the size of a rather large grapefruit, but when you're pregnant, hey, that's normal. Normally, in fact, your stomach is generally quiet and still. Not so when you're pregnant and the baby's moving or your muscles decide, on their own, to tighten.

But like the science fiction, it's all perfectly "normal."