Family of Four

Hi, we're the Loertscher family and we are now a family of four.

Nora is the little sister, just a few days old. She is adorable and loves to be held, particularly by Daddy. She is a great eater (as long as she stays awake) and prefers mom to the bottle. She doesn't like wet diapers, having her diaper changed, and being laid down before she is ready to sleep. Fortunately for all of us, Nora is starting to figure out that nights, not days, are when you sleep for long stretches.

Zeke is the big brother and is such a great helper. So far since we've all been home together, he has retreived diapers and burp cloths and blankets, emptied the dryer for Mommy, and put up with a lot of 'not right now, I'm taking care of Nora.' He loves to hold his sister, give her kisses, and just look at and talk to her. We're working on keeping him off of the play yard that is Nora's downstairs bed.

Manndi is the mommy and Aaron is the daddy, now of two kids. Between the hospital stay, Nora being ready to play at 3 am, late night feedings, and slightly different eating habits, we have been missing sleep all week. However, the regular routine is starting to come back and Nora is sleeping better at night, so we are encouraged. We are grateful for a relatively easy delivery that was better than we hoped for, a short hospital stay, two healthy kids, and the generosity of family and ward members in keeping us fed and Nora clothed.

A Nora Story

Nora was born Monday, 8 lb 5 oz and 21.5 inches long, and perfect. Here's how she got here:

I was induced at one week past my due date. We got started at night, taking the slow and patient route because of my previous cesarean. It was a long night (hospital beds are so uncomfortable, and I'm sure the couch Aaron was on wasn't much better) but we had made progress by morning. My dr broke my water around 9 am the next morning, and we added pitocin by 11 or 12. By 2ish the contractions were hurting a lot and we were reminded a lot of our experience with Zeke, starting to wonder if maybe we were destined for a repeat surgery. By 3:30 I was in an amazing amount of pain with each contraction, and beginning to wonder how much longer I could take it, even with Aaron's perfect coaching. I was given some oxygen to help Nora's heart rate stay stable during the contractions, and then my body started to push on its own. Weird experience that scared both of us when it first happened! We pushed for 15 minutes, and Nora was born at 4 pm. We still almost can't believe we had the successful unmedicated VBAC we hoped for!

'Niece Watch' Update

Dear aunts and uncles and cousins who live far away,
I'm sorry I missed you while you were visiting last week. Next time you come I'll be ready to play!
love, Nora

Growing

Here we are as we started this journey last November....

and here we are today.

So much growth in so many different ways!

And we're only at the beginning of another journey now: our family is about to grow.