2 months.

Two months ago today we welcomed our beautiful baby girl into the world. :) I can't believe it's been that long. Being the total sap that I am, I started crying last night looking at her and realizing how much she's grown. I'm so proud of her...so in love with her...so happy to have her to call me 'Mommy'.

Elaina had her 2 month check-up this morning which included shots. Um, by the way...this mommy does NOT like seeing her baby girl get shots. :( It was horrible. I'll admit I cried. Anywho, she weighs 12lbs 12oz and is 23 1/2" long. 95th percentile for both. We asked the doctor about her little gagging episodes she has occasionally and he said it sounds like she has reflux. He suggested we set her in her carseat for 30-45 mins after feeding her to see if it helps. He also said that if she starts to cry everytime it happens that they'll start her on Zantac. Hopefully it doesn't get that bad. Other than that, he said she looks great!! :) Just what we wanted to hear.

By the way...she pooped on the doctor. hahahahaha! He was so nice about it though. Like he said "Any pediatrician who can't stand the smell or sight of poop should consider a new profession"

I'll post her 2 month pics ASAP. She's so tired from her shots that I'm not even going to attempt to torture her with a photoshoot. I even let her go without a hairbow today...I told her I was only making an exception b/c she was getting shots. :P

Here are a few pics taken of her since last update.

6 weeks...

6 weeks...I can't believe it. The day she was born I remember thinking "No going to the office for SIX weeks! It's going to feel like forever and I can't wait to spend it with Elaina!"...I was wrong. It flew by so fast...too fast. Now, I'm getting ready to head back to work on Tuesday. Needless to say, I'm NOT looking forward to it.

Elaina,
You're laying here beside me on your Boppy being a little "fuss pot" as I like to call it, squirming, whining and waving your arms...and I love it. I sometimes wonder how your Daddy and I ever lived in the house before it was filled with cries, baby farts, and adorable little coo's. It's hard for me to remember life before you. You have grown so much over the past 6 weeks, especially the last 2. Every single time I look at you, I swear you've changed. How is that possible? Your eyes just keep getting more and more blue, your legs keep getting longer, your belly keeps getting rounder, and your hair just keeps getting thinner. (boo!) You've brought so much happiness to so many people already...I can just imagine the next 6 weeks, 6 months, 6 years. Thank you for choosing me as your mommy...I'm so blessed to have you.

All my love...
Mommy

before heading to Mommy's 6wk check-up!

...counting your blessings

I get mad at myself sometimes because I feel like I go throughout life and don't appreciate all the good things that I've been blessed with...until I see, hear, or read something that smacks me in the face and says "BE GRATEFUL!"

A local family is going through a very tough time (understatement to say the least) that I honestly can't even imagine experiencing. Their son, who turns 18 tomorrow, is dying from cancer...they expect him to pass at any moment. God. I can't even begin to think about hearing the words "Your child has cancer". His mother keeps an online journal for him and I read a few entries this morning and eventually had to put my laptop away because I was crying so hard. This family is so strong and believing in God until the very end. I hate that I had to read her heartbreaking words to make me realize how much I have to be thankful for.

The past 5 1/2 weeks have been the best of my life. I couldn't even begin to thank God enough for sending this precious bundle into my world. But then I can't help but feel guilty for all the times I've cringed when she starts to cry, all the times I've been short with Kevin because I'm sleep deprived, or the times I've complained about having so many visitors. I can't promise I won't be hateful and I can't say I always enjoy 3a.m. feedings but I can say that I thank God for giving me someone who loves me more than anything and puts up with my moods and I thank him for a healthy baby girl who has the strength to wake-up at 3a.m. and cry for food. I vow now to take a moment every day and thank God for all my blessings...my family, my friends, my health, my job...all of it.

1 month

Happy One Month Elaina!

Letters to Elaina

I've decided to start (and keep!) a journal. Like the old fashioned hand written kind. There are so many little things that happen everyday now that Elaina is here that I want to be able to look back on and remember...and I want to be able to give her the journal so she can read how much joy she brought into her mommy and daddy's life. Maybe I'll give it to her on her 16th birthday, or HS graduation, or 18th birthday, or maybe just a random day...shew, all that is so far away (though I'm afraid time is going to start going by in fast forward!) that I have a while to get those details figured out.

I'm a sap.

But seriously. I'm gonna start one. I just gotta go buy a pretty journal...oh, and i think this is a good excuse for buying new ink pens. :) God I love ink pens. It's an obsession.

I'm a horrible blogger...I'm back. She's here.

Okay. Smack my hand. I'll admit, I've just been flat out lazy and not updated this thing. This post however, will catch you up! :)

Where to begin. Okay, last time I updated I was like 30 wks pregnant and I'm happy to say, the last 9 weeks of my pregnancy were pretty uneventful. Yeah, I got huge (or at least I felt huge!), I had heartburn every-stinkin'-day, my feet were swollen, and I had a baby butt stuck in my ribs all the time...but really, I can't complain too much! So, blah blah blah, to the good part! :)

At my 39 week check-up I was dilated 3 cm and 80% effaced. Dr Harmon offered to sweep my membranes to hopefully get things started and I took her up on the offer...until she started the process...HOLY CRAP. It huuurrrrtttt...so she stopped. Anywho, I left the office that day with an appointment for an induction the following Friday, July 23rd. By no means did I want to be induced, but my doctor was getting ready to leave the country and I really didn't want anyone else delivering for me. Cause I'm weird like that.
On Thursday night (22nd) I get a call from the hospital telling me they're not going to be able to admit me the following day b/c the birthing center was nearly full. Needless to say, I was very disappointed. We had gotten so excited about our little girl finally being here only to learn we were going to have to wait. :(

Little did we know...she had other plans.

Friday morning I woke up at 5a.m. with wet undies. I seriously thought I'd peed myself. So, I went to the bathroom and noticed it didn't look like or smell like pee. I decided to go ahead and take a shower just in case. While in the shower I started having contractions, but I wasn't leaking anymore fluid so I just played them off as stomach cramps. After I finished getting ready I woke Kevin up and told him I thought my water had broke and that I was maybe having contractions. So, he took a shower and spent the next hour walking around like a nervous wreck. By 6:30 I was 110% sure I was having contractions so we headed to the hospital. When I got out of the car at the hospital parking lot my water finished breaking and I had a huge gush run down my leg. Hot. I know. So, I waddled upstairs to the birthing center looking like a 4 year old who had wet her pants. I went to the desk and told the nurses I was suppose to be induced but my water had broken. They then put me in the triage room and started monitoring my contractions and Elaina's heartbeat. The OB resident came in, introduced himself, and checked me. I was 4cms. They did 2 different tests and came back to say "Your water has broke."....my reaction? "Oh really? I kinda noticed when it gushed down my leg outside!" :) The contractions got pretty strong pretty fast so I was NOT a very nice person. I basically looked at the resident and said "You need to get me in a room and get my epidural ASAP if you want a nice patient!"

Dr. Harmon came by to check on me and was super excited that I'd went into labor on my own! She's such a sweetheart and I'm so glad she was able to deliver Elaina! After she checked me, they put me in a room and started my IV. From day 1 I've told everyone the part I was most worried about was the IV. Guess what...it was nothing compared to the contractions! Heck, they numb your hand before they put the IV in so I didn't feel anything. Yay! I had tested Group B Strep positive, so they started the antibiotics and fluids. The nurse said I needed to get a whole bag of fluid in me before they'd give my epidural. I told her to crank the machine up as high as it would go! haha. The contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart and hurt like HELL! Holy. Crap. When they asked my pain tolerance on a scale from 1-10 I told them 6...I later told them to change that to a 2. Not even kidding. People who naturally deliver babies are superheros. I do NOT know how they do it.

By this time, my parents and Kevin's mom had made it to the hospital. My poor Daddy was a nervous wreck. He hated seeing me in pain and everytime a contraction would start he'd have to turn his back to me so he couldn't see my face. It was so sweet. haha. Kevin, was a mess too. Pretty sure I damaged a few of his fingers when I was squeezing his hand during the contractions. He was amazing though. I couldn't have asked for a better support system! :)

Then...the gates of Heaven opened and angels started singing. Well, actually the door opened and in walked the anesthesiologist. I could've hugged her...but I was in so much pain I couldn't get up. Ha. By this time I was 6cms dilated and the contractions were INTENSE. The epidural was put in and I can't really remember if it hurt or not. Pretty sure it didn't...but I was too busy hyperventilating. That's right...dramatic I know...but I'm telling ya, I'm a total weiner when it comes to pain. Anywho, after the epidural was in and started working I was on cloud 9! My parents were cracking up at me because I was so relaxed, cracking jokes, texting...you name it. I'm serious. If you're not sure about an epidural, let me just give you two words of advice. GET. IT. the end.

Anywho, long story short...the resident came in again around noon and checked me. He looked at me and said "You're complete"...to which I said "Completely what?!". haha. Pretty sure the resident thought I was on crack. He kept joking with me and saying "You're not evil now that you have your epidural."...I'd like to see HIM in labor!! So, they called Dr Harmon to come back to the hospital (her office is like 2 minutes away!) and told us I was ready to push!! So, at about 12:30 I started pushing. Miss Elaina decided to twist while coming down the birth canal...so instead of being face down, she was face up...which made it more difficult for her to come out which lead to 90 minutes of pushing!! But, finally at 2:09 p.m. Elaina Rose came into the world kicking and screaming!! It was so surreal when I looked down and they held her up! I couldn't believe she was OURS and finally here after all the waiting!!! Kevin watched the whole delivery process and held my leg while I pushed. I really wasn't sure if he would want to watch "down there" but he did and is so proud of it! As soon as Elaina's head was out all he could say was "Oh my God, that's my little girl!"...it was so sweet.
She didn't come out with doing some damage to Mommy though. I had two 2nd degree tears that were pretty bad because it took the doctors forever to sew me up. Oh well. A minor payment for our baby girl!

Elaina was 7lbs 9.5ozs and 20" long...with a head FULL of hair!! :)

After everything was finished, the grandparents, my brother, Kevin's brother & sister-in-law, our nephew, two of my aunts and a close friend of mine all came in to see our new bundle. Of course everyone fell in love! We had company pretty much the rest of the day and all 3 of us were exhausted by 10:00!

So far everything has been great. Elaina is doing wonderful. At her check-up the Monday after she was born she hadn't lost any weight so the doctor was very happy with that and said breastfeeding seemed to be going great! I'm still breastfeeding her but I've decided to pump and feed her from a bottle. I've had some issues with her latch, major pain and feeling helpless. I never realized how emotional breastfeeding can be. I actually enjoy bottle feeding her more because she watches me the whole time and I can watch her. Plus she seems to get more full from the bottle and has slept longer. The most important thing to me isn't HOW she gets the breastmilk, as long as she gets it. The benefits of breastfeeding are unreal and I want to give her the best start possible.
Kevin is so in love. Seriously, it's precious. He lives for this little girl. I honestly could NOT ask for a better father for her and partner for myself. He's amazing.

And now...a few pictures of our baby girl! :)

holding her for the first time

i love this picture of her and Kevin...even though you can't see either of their faces

3 days old...ready for her first doctor visit

2 weeks old

...she looks like ME! :)

I'm not bragging...but our little girl is adoooorable!! At first I couldn't tell by the 4D pictures who she looked like, but Kevin and the ultrasound tech both agree she looks like her momma! :) I just said "Ah!" but Kevin is ecstatic that she looks like me! So sweet. haha.

Okay, let me go back to my last update and start from there. Sorry. I just had to share the news of her adorableness.

ANYWHO...my last appointment was the 28 week check-up which included the glucose tolerance test. Not gonna lie, I was dreading the appointment for two reasons...1)I was terrified the glucose drink would be disgusting and I'd throw up in front of everyone and 2) because I knew they would be taking blood. It's not that I'm a total weiner about having blood taken (only a semi-weiner!) but the last time they had to try FOUR times before hitting the vein. That's three times too many in my book!

Oh, and let me add that little miss Elaina had decided her favorite spot was now on mommy's sciatic nerve. So, I'd been in horrible pain and barely able to walk for like 3 days prior to this appointment!

So, I get to the dr office, weigh in (up a total of 5lbs from appointment #1), have my blood pressure taken (it was "great"!), listen to Elaina's heartbeat on the doppler (144) and then they hand me the drink. It looked great...like orange soda. So, I open it and chug like 1/2 the bottle. I wait for the gagging...and nothing. It actually wasn't that bad. It tasted like orange Gatorade kinda...just sweeter. So, I really had no problem drinking it in the allowed 5 minutes. After finishing it off (with a small burp I might add...hey, there was no one in the room and it felt good!) the nurse practioner came in to see me. I'd been considering asking them to change my assigned doctor, so I brought it up. She said that they'd be more than happy to change that for me if I wanted them to...so, we're now assigned to Dr Harmon! yay! She checked my ankels for swelling, measured my belly (27.5 inches!), and gave me information on local birthing/parenting/breastfeeding classes. I mentioned my back pain/difficulty in walking and she agreed that it was Elaina on my sciatic nerve...then said "It's horrible...and there's nothing we can do about it." WELL THANKS FOR THAT RAY OF SUNSHINE! sheesh. I could've cried. Idon't know what I expected them to do, but just hearing that there was nothing available made me even more miserable. ((Good news...Elaina's mothers day gift to me was moving OFF the nerve! Thank you baby girl...Mommy REALLY appreciated that!)) So anyway, I finished up with the NP, waited the rest of the 60 minutes required for the GT test, and went to have my blood taken. Thank God the lady hit it the first time and I barely felt it. I could've hugged her! :)

They called me the next day with my results and said everything looked great, except my thyroid which could be fixed by increasing my medicine. I was so relieved to hear I didn't have gestational diabetes. My mom had it with both my brother and me, but was lucky and had no complications whatsoever! However, I figured with her having it, I'd be at a higher risk...thank God for answering that prayer!

Now onto the 4D goodies...

Kevin and I had discussed having the 4D ultrasound done, but my regular office charges $200. I couldn't see spending that much money on it...till I heard about a place down the road that only charged $100. So, I told Kevin about it and said that I'd let him make the decision. Well, this uber excited daddy couldn't pass up the chance to see his little girl...so we made the appointment. And now, I am SO glad we did. It was amazing. Here are a few pictures...

with her foot in her face. it must be comfy b/c that's been her position of choice during the last TWO ulrasounds.

looks like we have a thumbsucker!

...who sleeps just like her daddy--with her arm up over her face!

See...told ya she's a doll! :) Now, after seeing these pictures and her in action, Kevin and I are bouncing off the walls and oh-so-ready for her to make her debut! We've told her to cook for at least 6 or 7 more weeks at least...then get her booty out here so Mommy & Daddy can hug and love and kiss on her!