Our First Big Outing

I thought I would record the events of tonight, and who knows - if I start to blog more, maybe I will have quite the collection of memories. ***I do talk about nursing, so you have been warned. (-:

Tonight, on the eve of Norah's one month birthday, we went to a wedding - with her. The wedding started at 5:00, and our plan was to leave the house at 4:20, but no surprise, that didn't happen. Between us scrambling to get everything ready to go, and then her not wanting to go in the carseat, we ended up leaving at 4:38. We made it to the church and Mark dropped us off. We sat in the last row, in the event that a meltdown ensued. Mark came in and we were all seated before the wedding started. #win

Norah was asleep and remained asleep during the entire wedding. She didn't cry or cause a ruckus. Afterward, she had her own little receiving line, as many people hadn't met her yet. She's quite the famous baby and so many people have prayed for her and love her. We are so thankful. She slept through that as well. #win

We walked to the reception, where she continued to sleep like a little angel baby. Pretty quickly after arriving at the reception, I realized we hadn't packed her wet bag. Norah wears cloth diapers, which means you bring home the dirty diapers to wash instead of throwing them away, and the wet bag is a way to transport the dirty diapers. (Kind of an important accessory.) So, I approached a catering lady and asked her if she had a plastic bag or ziplock that we could use, and explained the situation. Thankfully, the lady came through for us and brought me a ziplock baggie. #fail that ended with a #win

Things went well until we decided to change her diaper and feed her. Mark took her to the men's bathroom, where they had a fancy foyer area with a sofa that he used (he brought a changing pad, too!). He was almost home free when she started peeing mid diaper change, and apparently, said fancy sofa was at a decline, which meant the pee flowed up her back, wetting her super cute romper, and even managing to get on the back of her head. Meanwhile, I'm waiting for him to change her so I can then feed her. Unbeknownst to me, the "diaper change" had turned into a total outfit change. When Mark finally emerged from the bathroom, she had a new outfit on, and a new headband (even though the front of the headband was on the back of her head - at least he tried), and her hair felt odd. I eventually had the suspicion that he had used a wet wipe on the back of her head, which he confirmed via text when I asked. #fail

So, my turn in the bathroom. I went to the ladies bathroom to feed her, which also had the fancy sofa area. The first time went okay, but then upon returning to feed her later, things went downhill. Nursing at the reception was not easy. Between obstacles like trying to be modest and Norah being frustrated (I think maybe somewhat due to me wearing a dress that was not super conducive to nursing) we had a bit of a difficult time. Girlfriend was not always happy, and actually got pretty darn upset. After a pretty dramatic cry, she just quit - perhaps exhausted, and finally relaxed. So I had her held against my chest, and at this point I had multiple items in the bathroom - my phone and a pacifier cleaner wipe, my sweater which I had taken off, and a breast pad which I had just taken out. So I managed to hold her and collect those items and walk out of the bathroom (yes I knowingly walked out with the breast pad in my hand). #fail

I handed her back to her daddy and went back to the bathroom to fix the breast pad situation, etc. After fixing myself, I went back to the table where I noticed these straps hanging off the sleeve of my sweater, and messed with it a bit and then realized my sweater appeared to be on inside-out, which I had my friend confirm for me. So, I fixed it. #fail

After dressing for the wedding but before arriving, I realized that I had breast milk on the front of my dress. It dried, but was still there. After the nursing debacle in the ladies restroom, breast milk got on the other side of my dress, so bright side - things were at least a little more even? #fail

Also, bonus of the evening, my nursing bra kept showing. #fail

But, after all of that, Norah ended the wedding as a content little baby, and Mark went and got the car for us. We all loaded up in the car and went home, alive and well. #BIGWIN

As I was picking out her outfit for the wedding tonight, I got a little emotional. Just the fact that I was able to have a baby to pick out an outfit for a wedding...man. I am so, so thankful. I love our little adventures with our miracle.

After getting home, we gave Norah Bean a bath. Is this not the cutest baby you have ever seen?

Tomorrow morning, we go to church. I wonder what kind of adventure that will be? I am so thankful for our adventures with our Norah girl. Thank you, Jesus, for this precious gift.

~Kathryn