I have been so consumed with trying to get Ellie on the perfect schedule that I forget that she is only a little over two weeks old and is hello! a baby. I realized yesterday that I had been living in fear. Fear that I am not going to do things right. Fear that she is going to "snack" with her feeding. Fear that we won't achieve my goal.
Taylor and I decided that we were going to do things the "Babywise" way. Babywise is a GREAT book about how to train your baby to sleep through the night by 8-12 weeks old. However, I strayed from the book because I was trying so hard to achieve everything within a few weeks time (with the exception of getting her to sleep through the night). But I strayed from the fact that it is way MORE than okay to snuggle snuggle snuggle Ellie. God is definitely teaching me love and patience, and even expectations. The same way you can't expect your spouse to be perfect once you get married, you can't expect perfection from your child. I know it is silly to talk about this because Ellie is only a couple of weeks old. But it is a definite lesson to learn, and definitely one I am glad God is speaking to me on now, because it will matter later as Ellie grows older and pursues interests of her own. Man, it is still weird to think that Taylor and I are parents now and we have a DAUGHTER! Man, I am enjoying God and his blessings.
The past couple of nights we have been getting much needed rest. Nanna has been watching her at night and bringing her to me when she is hungry. Taylor and I were also able to go on a date tonight. Originally we were going to go see The Book of Eli, but it was sold out so we went to eat some sushi and dessert at GZ's. It was really nice :)
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Week Two
Ellie is now 2 weeks and 1 day old. Time is going by super quick. As I was kind of complaining to myself about the huge amount of lack of sleep (my own fault really for not sleeping when Ellie is sleeping) and her fussiness (which isn't bad at all), God used a facebook comment to remind me to enjoy every single second of it because it doesn't last long. It is so true! So I am going to enjoy every single second of it, because it doesn't last long. She is already growing so fast. Pretty soon she will be holding her head up and making sounds. Even in her fussiness, I am going to enjoy it because God does call us to rejoice in all circumstances, and she is really cute.
Now I talk about her fussiness, but she really only has one fussy time, and it is after her last feeding of the night. Strange. It does make it hard though cuz that is when Taylor and I are the most exhausted. We are learning.
Her two week check up went great! She has gained an entire pound since leaving the hospital. Her birth weight was 6.13, she left the hospital at 6.5, and now she is 7.8. Yay!! She is growing! She is almost out of some of her clothes, which means she can now fit into some other clothes!
Nana (Taylor's mom) arrived last night! So that is super exciting. Already having a lot of fun! More snuggle time for Ellie :) Papa arrives on Sunday to meet baby girl. So we should be having lots of fun the next couple of weeks, and I can get a little bit more rest.
Now I talk about her fussiness, but she really only has one fussy time, and it is after her last feeding of the night. Strange. It does make it hard though cuz that is when Taylor and I are the most exhausted. We are learning.
Her two week check up went great! She has gained an entire pound since leaving the hospital. Her birth weight was 6.13, she left the hospital at 6.5, and now she is 7.8. Yay!! She is growing! She is almost out of some of her clothes, which means she can now fit into some other clothes!
Nana (Taylor's mom) arrived last night! So that is super exciting. Already having a lot of fun! More snuggle time for Ellie :) Papa arrives on Sunday to meet baby girl. So we should be having lots of fun the next couple of weeks, and I can get a little bit more rest.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Sleep Deprived
Man, the past few nights have been such a blur. Every single night since her birth has been so different. It is crazy. She is still a sleepyhead. I think that my disrupted sleep and lack of taking naps during the day has finally caught up with me, and I finally had a bit of a breakdown. I am second guessing myself at times. Is she getting enough food? Is she eating as often as she should be? Does she have gas? Did she just spit up her entire dinner? Aaahh!! And the four o'clock in the morning changing sessions are interesting...lol. She chooses those times to make sure we are on our toes and pees and/or poops in between a diaper being on her booty. But she is still a cutie and we love her sooo much.
We took her to do the PKU prick. She did awesome! The kid before us cried and cried. But Ellie was more frustrated with the nurse squeezing her foot than anything, hardly cried at all! I'm excited to see her personality begin to develop.
We received more gifts from friends and neighbors, which we appreciate so much! We are definitely thankful for the generosity and support, and we pray God's abundant blessings on those who have helped out!
Ellie and I are definitely missing Taylor. He has been working overtime. 7-6 M-F, and 7-12 on Saturdays. We can't get enough of him in the evenings. My grandmother came by to visit and meet Ellie yesterday. It was a short, but sweet, visit. Boozie was amazed about how tiny she was and couldn't wait to give Ellie a perm on her long hair! My mom is still here, and has been such a great help! Her meals have been wonderful and good to the heart.
Well, I am off to enjoy a movie with my husband and mother before Ellie's next meal. Enjoy your Friday night!!
We took her to do the PKU prick. She did awesome! The kid before us cried and cried. But Ellie was more frustrated with the nurse squeezing her foot than anything, hardly cried at all! I'm excited to see her personality begin to develop.
We received more gifts from friends and neighbors, which we appreciate so much! We are definitely thankful for the generosity and support, and we pray God's abundant blessings on those who have helped out!
Ellie and I are definitely missing Taylor. He has been working overtime. 7-6 M-F, and 7-12 on Saturdays. We can't get enough of him in the evenings. My grandmother came by to visit and meet Ellie yesterday. It was a short, but sweet, visit. Boozie was amazed about how tiny she was and couldn't wait to give Ellie a perm on her long hair! My mom is still here, and has been such a great help! Her meals have been wonderful and good to the heart.
Well, I am off to enjoy a movie with my husband and mother before Ellie's next meal. Enjoy your Friday night!!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The First Week
Crazy to think that our baby girl is going to be one week old tomorrow! Makes me kind of sad. Taylor was talking about how excited he was to be able to play with her when she gets older, and I was just thinking can we go back to yesterday, because our little girl will never be one day old again!
Since coming home from the hospital, our little girl is falling into quite the schedule. She is eating great! And she is sleeping really good too. The first night home was good considering. A little more unpredictable then the nights in the hospital. But the past few nights, it has been almost like clockwork.
She has been doing a lot of grinning which brings such joy to our hearts. She is so alert at times, and her eyes just watch you and look around and of course I am biased, but are just beautiful little eyes. Yesterday, she found her thumb and had it in her mouth for a couple seconds, maybe by accident, but hey! It was there. And then Taylor caught her finding it two more times. She hasn't kept it in, but she definitely has it in!
Taylor has been doing a great job! I can probably count on my hand the number of times I have changed a diaper before Ellie, and Taylor had never really had anything to do with it. But he has really jumped on it and is becoming quite the changing pro. She got him pretty good the other day with a stinker!
I had an appointment with the lactation nurse on Monday. And she was very impressed with Ellie's growth and progress. When we left the hospital, Ellie weighed 6 lb 5 oz, so she had lost 8 ounces, which is normal. But on Monday, she was 6 lb 11 oz. So she had gained 6 of the 8 ounces back. My lactation consultant said that that is great progress, and the expectation is for them to get back to their birth weight by the 2 week appointment, and she has already gained 6 of the 8. So she has one week to gain two more ounces. I think we can do it! So that report was great.
Other than that, we are getting used to our new "normal." My mom has been here since her birth, and has just been great, fixing awesome meals and snuggling Ellie every chance she gets so I can get a little shut eye. She tells her stories and Ellie just listens and watches. My dad was here for a few days, and is a little nervous around her, but she definitely has him whipped :) My grandmother is going to meet her on Thursday. One of the women in the family that Ellie is named after. My grandmother is Mary Louise, so they have the same middle name. My grandmother goes by Boozie, which was a nickname given to her because a relative couldn't properly pronounce Louise. i don't think Ellie will have that nick name though :)
Since coming home from the hospital, our little girl is falling into quite the schedule. She is eating great! And she is sleeping really good too. The first night home was good considering. A little more unpredictable then the nights in the hospital. But the past few nights, it has been almost like clockwork.
She has been doing a lot of grinning which brings such joy to our hearts. She is so alert at times, and her eyes just watch you and look around and of course I am biased, but are just beautiful little eyes. Yesterday, she found her thumb and had it in her mouth for a couple seconds, maybe by accident, but hey! It was there. And then Taylor caught her finding it two more times. She hasn't kept it in, but she definitely has it in!
Taylor has been doing a great job! I can probably count on my hand the number of times I have changed a diaper before Ellie, and Taylor had never really had anything to do with it. But he has really jumped on it and is becoming quite the changing pro. She got him pretty good the other day with a stinker!
I had an appointment with the lactation nurse on Monday. And she was very impressed with Ellie's growth and progress. When we left the hospital, Ellie weighed 6 lb 5 oz, so she had lost 8 ounces, which is normal. But on Monday, she was 6 lb 11 oz. So she had gained 6 of the 8 ounces back. My lactation consultant said that that is great progress, and the expectation is for them to get back to their birth weight by the 2 week appointment, and she has already gained 6 of the 8. So she has one week to gain two more ounces. I think we can do it! So that report was great.
Other than that, we are getting used to our new "normal." My mom has been here since her birth, and has just been great, fixing awesome meals and snuggling Ellie every chance she gets so I can get a little shut eye. She tells her stories and Ellie just listens and watches. My dad was here for a few days, and is a little nervous around her, but she definitely has him whipped :) My grandmother is going to meet her on Thursday. One of the women in the family that Ellie is named after. My grandmother is Mary Louise, so they have the same middle name. My grandmother goes by Boozie, which was a nickname given to her because a relative couldn't properly pronounce Louise. i don't think Ellie will have that nick name though :)
Hospital Stay
I had to stay two nights in the hospital because of the Group B, and they wanted to keep an eye on Ellie. The first day was really good. We had a few visitors (thank you all for who stopped by!!) Ellie was able to latch on right away, which was HUGE blessing. I wasn't too worried about the labor part (of course until it was happening), but I was worried about whether or not she would be able to latch on right away, and she did! Prayer answered!
She was just so cute as a button. She smelled so good after the nursery nurses would bring her in after bath. She would be so alert and just looking around. Her little cries sounded like mouse squeaks, SUPER CUTE! The very first night went great. Of course, I was waking up like every hour expecting the nurse to bring her in. After about four hours though, I had to go in and ask for my girl. I don't know why they waited. I guess she wasn't hungry.
We were definitely ready go go home the very next day, but we had to wait until Friday. I was doing good. Because I didn't have the epidural, I was able to get up and move around right away. Everything was great with Ellie. All the nurses commented about how she content she was. Everything cleared for her to go home, no Group B or jaundice. So home we went!
She was just so cute as a button. She smelled so good after the nursery nurses would bring her in after bath. She would be so alert and just looking around. Her little cries sounded like mouse squeaks, SUPER CUTE! The very first night went great. Of course, I was waking up like every hour expecting the nurse to bring her in. After about four hours though, I had to go in and ask for my girl. I don't know why they waited. I guess she wasn't hungry.
We were definitely ready go go home the very next day, but we had to wait until Friday. I was doing good. Because I didn't have the epidural, I was able to get up and move around right away. Everything was great with Ellie. All the nurses commented about how she content she was. Everything cleared for her to go home, no Group B or jaundice. So home we went!
Labor and Delivery
I'm a little behind in my posting, but I will try to catch you up, but use different headings so you know what I am talking about :)
SO, the biggest news is the new addition to our family: Miss Ellie Louise.
The appointments leading up to her arrival were, hmm, what's the best way to describe it, not really saying anything. I was 0 dilated and pretty much a 0 effaced at each appointment, even on December 31st (which was the last appointment before my due date, which was January 7, 2010). I decided to try all the old wives' tales theories on how to naturally induce labor, Mexican food, walking a ton, the "other type" of exercise, etc. Lol. I wasn't too worried though. I knew she would come when she was ready. Even though I was a 0, from what I could tell, that meant absolutely nothing. There are women who have been dilated to 2 or even a 4 for weeks before they actually go into labor. Some women have the water broken then go into labor. Others go into labor, then have their water broken. God created every pregnancy unique and different, just like He created every child unique and different.
My pregnancy was pretty textbook I would say. I had the morning sickness right at the 6 week mark. Then I was absolutely sick for 8 weeks until the 14 week mark. Those 8 weeks seemed long. I was sad I couldn't really hold down any of my husband's fabulous cooking :( And for those who don't know. I was blessed with marrying someone who is an excellent cook, and actually does most of the cooking. LOTS of grilling, and LOTS of meat, which was great until my morning sickness, which unfortunately left me getting sick with red meats. Even now....
We decided to not find out what we were having, which I am very thankful for! I wouldn't change it for anything! We very much enjoyed being surprised, and we will be surprised with the next one as well. It was super hard for me during all the ultrasounds, because I am normally a planner. So going against my character was fun.
So anyway, back to her arrival. So nothing nothing nothing. I wasn't experiencing any contractions or pain or anything. But, on Wednesday morning after midnight, my water broke, and off to the hospital we went. I had Group B strep, so we had to get to the hospital pretty soon after my water broke to get me on antibiotics so I wouldn't transfer anything to the baby.
They got me hooked up to the IV and monitors and stuff, and then the waiting began. My parents arrived shortly close to 3 in the morning. At that time, I was just super tired. The contractions were getting harder and closer together, but I was managing. By 5 in the morning, I was dilated to a 3, and the pain was getting harder. I decided to take a little bit of pain medication to take the edge off. Taylor hated that because I became unresponsive completely. With the next pregnancy, I don't intend to take the pain medication because of that reason. The drug also made the baby super sleepy, and the doctors were concerned about her heart rate. Another reason I probably won't do that. By 6 in the morning, I was a 4. Even though I was progressing, the doctor said I wasn't progressing fast enough, so they said they were going to start me on pitocin. They didn't really give me a chance to respond. I was hoping not to have it, but because of Group B and my water breaking 6 hours prior, I think there was concern though.
Then, it got tough. I had decided not to do the epidural. But towards the end, the pain was getting really hard to breathe through. For those who are expecting, it so important to breathe. When you are breathing through the contractions, it works a lot better than screaming through them. So I started to ask questions about the epidural. My doctor had told me that she would be back at about 11:30 to check on me; she worked at the other hospital. By the time I was ready for an epidural, about 9:30, they checked me and I was at an 8. So then things got super hectic, and they made the call to the doctor.
In the room with me, I had Taylor, my mother, my sister, and my best friend, Angie Moughon. Both my sister and Angie made it into the room in the nick of time. Angie came as they were getting me ready, and Ginny came in minutes before I actually delivered. I was so thankful that they were all there. Taylor obviously being a huge encouragement and telling me to breathe. My mom was able to just comfort me. Angie was the huge support in saying "you can do it!" By the way, she had her little one in the Baby Bjorn throughout the delivery. Super crazy and awesome. And I am glad my sister was able to experience it with me. My doctor even said afterward about how awesome my support system was. She said that often times, people that are there do not do a good job of supporting the mom, and she said she thinks that part of the reason the delivery went so well was because of my great support system.
I will leave the rest of the details out, but Miss Ellie came into the world at 9:52 AM on January 6, 2010, weighing at 6 lb 13 oz and 21 1/2 inches long! When she came out, my doctor said, "Okay Dad, what is it?" Taylor peeked over and said "A Boy." And the doctor said, "Nope, try again." Taylor looked and said "Oh, its a girl!" So, we have our girl!
SO, the biggest news is the new addition to our family: Miss Ellie Louise.
The appointments leading up to her arrival were, hmm, what's the best way to describe it, not really saying anything. I was 0 dilated and pretty much a 0 effaced at each appointment, even on December 31st (which was the last appointment before my due date, which was January 7, 2010). I decided to try all the old wives' tales theories on how to naturally induce labor, Mexican food, walking a ton, the "other type" of exercise, etc. Lol. I wasn't too worried though. I knew she would come when she was ready. Even though I was a 0, from what I could tell, that meant absolutely nothing. There are women who have been dilated to 2 or even a 4 for weeks before they actually go into labor. Some women have the water broken then go into labor. Others go into labor, then have their water broken. God created every pregnancy unique and different, just like He created every child unique and different.
My pregnancy was pretty textbook I would say. I had the morning sickness right at the 6 week mark. Then I was absolutely sick for 8 weeks until the 14 week mark. Those 8 weeks seemed long. I was sad I couldn't really hold down any of my husband's fabulous cooking :( And for those who don't know. I was blessed with marrying someone who is an excellent cook, and actually does most of the cooking. LOTS of grilling, and LOTS of meat, which was great until my morning sickness, which unfortunately left me getting sick with red meats. Even now....
We decided to not find out what we were having, which I am very thankful for! I wouldn't change it for anything! We very much enjoyed being surprised, and we will be surprised with the next one as well. It was super hard for me during all the ultrasounds, because I am normally a planner. So going against my character was fun.
So anyway, back to her arrival. So nothing nothing nothing. I wasn't experiencing any contractions or pain or anything. But, on Wednesday morning after midnight, my water broke, and off to the hospital we went. I had Group B strep, so we had to get to the hospital pretty soon after my water broke to get me on antibiotics so I wouldn't transfer anything to the baby.
They got me hooked up to the IV and monitors and stuff, and then the waiting began. My parents arrived shortly close to 3 in the morning. At that time, I was just super tired. The contractions were getting harder and closer together, but I was managing. By 5 in the morning, I was dilated to a 3, and the pain was getting harder. I decided to take a little bit of pain medication to take the edge off. Taylor hated that because I became unresponsive completely. With the next pregnancy, I don't intend to take the pain medication because of that reason. The drug also made the baby super sleepy, and the doctors were concerned about her heart rate. Another reason I probably won't do that. By 6 in the morning, I was a 4. Even though I was progressing, the doctor said I wasn't progressing fast enough, so they said they were going to start me on pitocin. They didn't really give me a chance to respond. I was hoping not to have it, but because of Group B and my water breaking 6 hours prior, I think there was concern though.
Then, it got tough. I had decided not to do the epidural. But towards the end, the pain was getting really hard to breathe through. For those who are expecting, it so important to breathe. When you are breathing through the contractions, it works a lot better than screaming through them. So I started to ask questions about the epidural. My doctor had told me that she would be back at about 11:30 to check on me; she worked at the other hospital. By the time I was ready for an epidural, about 9:30, they checked me and I was at an 8. So then things got super hectic, and they made the call to the doctor.
In the room with me, I had Taylor, my mother, my sister, and my best friend, Angie Moughon. Both my sister and Angie made it into the room in the nick of time. Angie came as they were getting me ready, and Ginny came in minutes before I actually delivered. I was so thankful that they were all there. Taylor obviously being a huge encouragement and telling me to breathe. My mom was able to just comfort me. Angie was the huge support in saying "you can do it!" By the way, she had her little one in the Baby Bjorn throughout the delivery. Super crazy and awesome. And I am glad my sister was able to experience it with me. My doctor even said afterward about how awesome my support system was. She said that often times, people that are there do not do a good job of supporting the mom, and she said she thinks that part of the reason the delivery went so well was because of my great support system.
I will leave the rest of the details out, but Miss Ellie came into the world at 9:52 AM on January 6, 2010, weighing at 6 lb 13 oz and 21 1/2 inches long! When she came out, my doctor said, "Okay Dad, what is it?" Taylor peeked over and said "A Boy." And the doctor said, "Nope, try again." Taylor looked and said "Oh, its a girl!" So, we have our girl!
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