There’s nothing like a little end-of-the-week baby scare to get a soon-to-be-parent’s heart beating faster… Earlier in the week on Tuesday morning I had a bit of dark spotting (for...
Nia
I feel misled. Â I was told that pregnancy was magical. Â And I believed it – hook, line and sinker. Â I was ready to GLOW from within and feel an INSTANT BOND with my unborn fetus. Â Instead...
So here’s how we’re divvying up the overwhelming amount of baby-related information to learn in Novak land. Â It’s really quite simple, I take care of anything that has to do with...
If you remember back just 3 short weeks ago, Baby Novak was a 1/4 inch, lentil-sized blob with a little flicker of a heartbeat in the middle. Â Fast forward 3 weeks and we’ve got a 1 inch...
Baby Novak’s Brain! (a top view) As you all know, I’m quite impatient in general, so this whole baby gender thing has been on my mind since we found out we were pregnant 11 weeks ago...
A Joint Labor of Love One of Nick’s many roles in Manila is President of the US Embassy Club (USEC). Â USEC is the charitable arm of US Embassy – Manila that supports 13 local...
24 years my senior, I never expected for Marisa and I to become so close. Â I originally met Marisa during my volunteer work at Carewell. Â She was a frequent attendee and ended up...
Hi all- Â I hit the halfway mark of the pregnancy this week and thought I’d post another picture since I’m finally starting to have a legitimate belly. Â Just pulled out the first...
Little did I know that when I got back to the States I’d become a garage sale addict, but boy is it intoxicating to find great deals on barely-used baby stuff. Â Seriously, for those who...
I know you’re sick of hearing about baby and my amazing garage sale finds. Â The thing is, that’s what I’m obsessed with at the moment. Â I think garage-saling is my form of nesting...
Big day today.  After an extensive search, I finally selected my Prenatal Yoga Studio.  I ended up choosing Blooma in St. Paul, which is devoted exclusively to Pre and Post-natal Yoga, in addition...
As with all things in this pregnancy, I am finding it impossible to wait. Â Yes, I could hold out on you and not tell what the name is till the birth. Â But that’s just not my style...
One of the best pregnancy benefits I’ve experienced thus far has been an increased awareness of my body. Â I think this occurs naturally for most pregnant women, but to varying degrees...
As most of you know, Nick and I have been apart since early June. Â While we’ve both done pretty well with the separation, I was pretty bummed that he wouldn’t be here for my birthday on...
Hi Blog Readers – I just got my first US ultrasound done last thursday. Â Boy was the tech surprised when she casually asked if this was my first ultrasound and I replied that it was actually...
Have I mentioned that my husband amuses the heck out of me? Â Get this. Â He’s been begging me for months to find him a baby that he can practice diapering and swaddling on. Â He initially...
My belly is finally getting some substance to it now that I’m 2 weeks into the third trimester. Â Nick and I are currently in Bend, Oregon with Nick’s parents and I’m taking...
What a fantastic second week in Bend, OR! Â We got to check out a couple of the hot spots including Smith Rock (top 3 photos) where rock climbers do their thing. Â Unfortunately we went at a time of...
After 3 months of being transient, I am pleased to say that we are finally en route to DC where we’ll reside for the next 9 months. Â The car is stuffed to the gills with all my garage sale...
We had our 7th ultrasound of Nia today and I’m pleased to report that she’s thriving in my womb. Â She is up to a robust 5 pounds now and is measuring in the 78th percentile. Â I let her...
It’s been a heck of a week folks. Â Last Friday we pulled out of MN at 6 AM, headed for our nation’s capital. Â Given that I feel like humpty dumpty now at 34 weeks pregnant, I convinced...
With less than 6 weeks to go now, I’m starting to acquire quite the bump. Â Honestly, it doesn’t feel that much bigger than the 30 wk bump and I’m crossing my fingers that it just...
I’ve been a girl on a mission this last week. Â While the setting up house was important insomuch as it made Nick and I feel more at ease, the critical issue at hand was putting together our...
Fact: 10-15% of women are affected by postpartum depression (PPD). Fact: If you have a history of depression in your past, you are 30% MORE LIKELY than the average woman to get postpartum depression...
I am officially registering a complaint! At 36 1/2 weeks, pregnancy is no longer fun. Â Yes, up until Saturday, I would have told you that I was having a jolly good time being pregnant. Â I felt like...
Well folks, we’ve reached the 37 week mark and with all the recent pain in my legs from her compressing my sciatic nerve, I’m VERY ready for her to come out. Â And technically, I’m...
A Brief History of My Relationship with My Body I’m sure you’re wondering what the heck I’m talking about when I say “my relationship with my body’. Â Surprisingly, we...
In case it isn’t obvious, I’ve got some MAJOR control issues surfacing around this whole birth thing. Â This is frustrating for a variety of reasons, but most notably because I’ve...
Baby is slowly starting to make her way down. Â Hopefully it’ll be any time now that we’re welcoming Nia into the world. . .
So, tomorrow (October 21st) is my official due date. Â I had what I **HOPE** will be my last Doctor appointment this morning and was THRILLED to finally get some uplifting news. Â Here’s what...
We are delighted to announce that after a 14 hour labor, we welcomed a healthy baby girl into our family. Her name is Nia Marisa Novak and she weighed in at 7 lbs 8 oz. She was 20 inches in...
It’s hard to believe, but Nia turns one week old today! As most parents would attest to, it’s been a complete and total blur. Nothing could have prepared me for the delusional state...
I was starting to go a bit stir crazy in the house and decided it was time for Nia and I to take our first outing (Dr’s visits don’t count). Â It was a WILD adventure. Â We started by...
So, I’m afraid I’ve hit my max. Â With a diagnosis of Shingles yesterday, a dead car battery today and Nick going back to work on Monday it’s just not looking so optimistic for Mama...
Oh friends, it’s starting to become laughable how many things have not gone according to plan. Â Of course, I’m still shedding a few tears over each miss but I expect that I’ll...
So last night I decided to make my first solo trip out to Target to get some miscellaneous baby items I needed in Minnesota. Â My Mom was happy to watch Nia for a bit and I was excited to get out...
Nia got to meet her Minnesota Aunties for the first time this past weekend. Â They’re helping me take care of her while I get a hang of this parenting thing. Auntie Emily Auntie Beth Auntie...
Well, we finally got Nia’s Photo Shoot proofs back. Â Actually, they were better than I expected given how uncooperative she was. Â You can see all 16 final shots HERE. Â Would love to hear...
We are in the habit of making videos for Nick each day. Â This one was so good I thought we’d share it with a wider audience! Warning: Projectile Vomiting at min 00:25. Â Watch at your own...
We have lots to be thankful for this year, including this little munchkin!
“Hey, where are we? Â Who are all these other babies? Â I’m going to be extra cute to make sure I get noticed!” “This yoga stuff is a piece of cake. Â All I have to do is lay...
Friday was a big day for little Nia. Â It was her first visit to see Dr. Tonnie at Wellness Wave. Â As many of you know, I’ve been doing Network Spinal Analysis (NSA) with Tonnie for several...
Since Nia and I are spending Christmas Day with Nick in DC, we celebrated early with the Miller family. Â Nia was the belle of the ball in her new Christmas dress (and by new I mean ‘new to...
So we started at the gym this week. Â I was beyond excited to find a place that would accept an 10 week old. Â I’m allowed to leave her for one hour, which is the perfect amount of time for me...
Big week in the Novak house – Nia has learned to roll at 14 weeks old! What amuses us most about this is that she has to get really agitated before she’ll start contorting her body...
We are pleased to report that we made it (mostly unscathed) through the first 100 days with our little one. Â We attribute our success to 1.) Our parents’ assistance, 2.) Caffeine and 3.) These...
We’ve hit the 4 month mark! Â We celebrated this milestone by retiring the first of our 3-6 month clothes that she’s already outgrown. Â Our little girl is growing steadily –...
Had to share these adorable photos from a fantastic week with Grandpa and Grandma Novak! We are so lucky that they’re willing to travel all the way from Oregon to see us!
Nia and I recently started attending Mommy & Me Movie Days at the Regal Potomac Yard Theater in Alexandria. Â They take place every other Tuesday for the first showing of the day (usually around...