Today is feeling like winter again. It has been in the 70's for the past week or so and it's been great. I was able to get out on some walks with Ella and it was great. It's funny how much I treasure getting out of the house anymore-even if it's to the grocery store or the gas station. It's still out of the house! Ella is taking a nap right now. She fell asleep on my chest and is out for the count. Free time and snack time for mom! Hooray :)
Well I have started to pack for the trip back home to Michigan. Ella and I are leaving next Thursday morning. Unfortunately Nathan can't come because of his work schedule. We will for sure miss him during our stay in the mitten. I have been working with Ella and a baby sling that I got as a gift in hopes of using it at the airport. I think it would be really handy considering I would be hands free. Ella would just kinda hang out in the little sling pouch in the front. Plus I think it would be good in hopes of her avoiding those notorious airport germs. I have had to watch the video a few times to try and figure it out and make sure I'm doing it correctly. So far she is liking it ok. I think that she just likes to be held by hand best. So we'll see where that ends up. As far as the trip goes, we'll be visiting for 10 days and I am so excited. I get to see all my girlfriends and family. Lynn and I are throwing a bachelorette party and shower the first weekend for Stef. It will be tons of fun I'm sure. So the trip will be a little busy at first but relaxing too.
Something cool on the horizon for me is being in one of my girlfriend Eliza's, yoga videos. She is currently working on a yoga website and wanting some friends to help her out. I'm excited it will be really fun and plus REALLY good for me to do some yoga :)
Friday, January 23, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
2 Month Check up
Today Ella had her 2 month check up at the doctors. She is doing just great! She weighed 12 pounds 4 ounces, is 23.23 inches, and her head grew 2 inches too! She is a growin' weed! She also got her first shot-- it was a combination shot with DTap, Polio, and HIB. Nathan and I talked with the NP a lot about this because all the scary stuff in the vacationations and controversy. I really only wanted Ella to get 2 shots today - just the DTap and Polio but I guess there was less aluminum in the combination shot. Ugh! So many big decisions to make in a baby's life! It's scary. I felt like we were debating with the nurse on what we want for our daughter and what was best. It was a little uncomfortable. Anyway, it was good that both Nathan and I were there to back eachother up. So, as I mentioned above, Ella got only 1 shot- and she didn't even cry. She is a tough baby. She just looked rather annoyed with the needle. Let's hope things stay this way!
Ella has been playing with her mirror. It has a few little bugs on it with crinkly wings and a rolling orange ball. We've been practicing spinning the ball, which by the way rattles, and Ella can actually do it herself! She is a genius! She loves looking at herself and smiling. She did laugh a little the other night which was totally cute. I can't wait for more!
Well it's time to do some more mommy chores and then rest. My body is drained. Nathan is watching the show "My Name is Earl" Bleh! Oh well, as long as I can sit on the couch and rest, count me in!
Stay warm in Michigan and keep cool in Colorado! :)
Nighty night!
Ella has been playing with her mirror. It has a few little bugs on it with crinkly wings and a rolling orange ball. We've been practicing spinning the ball, which by the way rattles, and Ella can actually do it herself! She is a genius! She loves looking at herself and smiling. She did laugh a little the other night which was totally cute. I can't wait for more!
Well it's time to do some more mommy chores and then rest. My body is drained. Nathan is watching the show "My Name is Earl" Bleh! Oh well, as long as I can sit on the couch and rest, count me in!
Stay warm in Michigan and keep cool in Colorado! :)
Nighty night!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Getting up to speed!
Ok, now for some updates on our little Ella Bean.
Ella is doing wonderfully! Born at 8 pounds 7 ounces and 20.25 inches, she is now about 12 pounds and 23 inches! She is growing like a little weed! It's fun to watch her changed and develop every day. I feel so lucky that I can be home with her everyday. Ella has been 'talking' and cooing and started this about 3 weeks ago. It's adorable. I ask her questions and she likes to babble baby talk back to me. She smiles a lot too and is very observant. She is such a smart little girl; she makes it so easy to be proud parents!
About 2 weeks ago, we transitioned Ella from her cradle upstairs with us, to her big girl crib downstairs. It was bittersweet for us. It's still scary for us to have her downstairs away from us, but if you've been to our condo, you know it's very hard to get lost in. Needless to say, I bought a baby monitor anyway! I wanted to be able to hear the little noises just in case. We have been working on manipulating Ella's sleep schedule. It's a tricky thing as you may know. Originally, she was going to bed between 10pm and midnight-- yuck! So we've gradually been putting her to bed earlier and earlier. I had her in bed last night by about 8:30pm and she was sleeping soon after that! Yahoo!! Although she did wake up a few times as her 'pacy' fell out and she needed a diaper changed and just a little more milk. That's ok though. We feel really good about it! She woke up at about 4am and slept until 7:30am. We're working on having her take 2 naps during the day, 1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. It's all leading up to her bedtime which is about 8:30pm. Many of the books I'm reading say that have naps that are consistent during the day help babies sleep better at night. So we're making good napping our primary goal right now.
Ella is starting to reach for things! Just today we were playing with her little mirror that has all kinds of little soft bugs and rings attached to it and Ella rolled the little orange ball that rattles! Nathan told me that she was doing it the other day too. She is so advanced! If you look at the picture up below you can see the little orange ball that spins and rattles.
Time to catch up on a few things around here. Here are some pictures of our little cutie. More later!
Ella is doing wonderfully! Born at 8 pounds 7 ounces and 20.25 inches, she is now about 12 pounds and 23 inches! She is growing like a little weed! It's fun to watch her changed and develop every day. I feel so lucky that I can be home with her everyday. Ella has been 'talking' and cooing and started this about 3 weeks ago. It's adorable. I ask her questions and she likes to babble baby talk back to me. She smiles a lot too and is very observant. She is such a smart little girl; she makes it so easy to be proud parents!
About 2 weeks ago, we transitioned Ella from her cradle upstairs with us, to her big girl crib downstairs. It was bittersweet for us. It's still scary for us to have her downstairs away from us, but if you've been to our condo, you know it's very hard to get lost in. Needless to say, I bought a baby monitor anyway! I wanted to be able to hear the little noises just in case. We have been working on manipulating Ella's sleep schedule. It's a tricky thing as you may know. Originally, she was going to bed between 10pm and midnight-- yuck! So we've gradually been putting her to bed earlier and earlier. I had her in bed last night by about 8:30pm and she was sleeping soon after that! Yahoo!! Although she did wake up a few times as her 'pacy' fell out and she needed a diaper changed and just a little more milk. That's ok though. We feel really good about it! She woke up at about 4am and slept until 7:30am. We're working on having her take 2 naps during the day, 1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. It's all leading up to her bedtime which is about 8:30pm. Many of the books I'm reading say that have naps that are consistent during the day help babies sleep better at night. So we're making good napping our primary goal right now.
Ella is starting to reach for things! Just today we were playing with her little mirror that has all kinds of little soft bugs and rings attached to it and Ella rolled the little orange ball that rattles! Nathan told me that she was doing it the other day too. She is so advanced! If you look at the picture up below you can see the little orange ball that spins and rattles.
Time to catch up on a few things around here. Here are some pictures of our little cutie. More later!
I'm back! The prenatal & postnatal stories...
A lot has happend since November 5, 2008! The world has changed in so many ways! I am going to try my best to keep a running current journal of life-- mosty based on our sweet baby Ella Autumn. She's 9 weeks and growing like a little weed! Time to get on the ball and blog about her milestones and sucesses-- there have been and will be many to come!
Now a 'quick' re-cap of a few days pre-birth and during...don't worry, I spared all the graphic details!
Not sure if I had mentioned that November 6th, I went to try Labor Inducing Acupuncture! What an experience. I wanted so badly to have baby Ella! I thought this would be a good natual try. I had about 12 needles put into various parts of my body: my ears, hands, feet, toes, and just above my butt. Then, tiny wires were hooked up to the needles to send tiny little electrodes to those spots. The whole deal with acupuncture is that the needles and electricity are suppose to help clear and re-circulate any blocked areas so that the energy may continue to circulate on it's normal pattern. I was in the room with this whole scenario hooked up to me for about 2 hours. The whole time I remember being nervous and sweating perfusly because the acupuncturist said it could work the instant we started. So a little panicky, uh yeah! Nothing happened there though. I went to yoga that night, and the next and still, pregnant. I got home from yoga at the hospital Friday night about 10pm. I had been chatting a while to the teacher and friend Sutay for a while about questions and concerns. That night was different because I kind of felt at ease and felt ready. As I said I got home at around 10 and when I did, I kept thinking "between 2 & 4". Going to bed soon after that, I layed there quietly with my thoughts, wondering if my premonition would become reality. Sure enough 2am, contractions started! I layed in bed uncomfortable until about 6am and by the time I woke Nathan up out of a dead sleep and said, "it's time to go, now, now, now!" Nathan zoomed us to the hospital and on the way, I was having full blown contractions only a few minutes apart. I was literally levitating out of the seat telling Nathan to go faster!! It seemed like forever driving there, but after about 5 minutes, we were there! We got up to the labor and delivery ward and got checked in. As many of you may know, I really wanted to have Ella naturally. Well after about 2 hours of pure hell and pain, contractions coming every 1-2 minutes, I was DONE! I was making the most wretched and totally strange animal noises. It was time for a little intervention! I had an epidural at about 10 or so and after pushing a few rounds, we welcomed baby Ella Autumn to the world! The first thing I saw and heard were the doctor, nurses, and Nathan saying "open your eyes!!" I opened my eyes to see a slimy adorable little baby butt coming towards me. Then, for the first time, Ella cried! Then Nathan and I cried. It was amazing and beautiful. Ella was finally here! Yippee! So many people have told me that birth is so many things and to not try and expect how you envision it in your head...well, they all were right. But I have no regrets. Everything was perfect, and so was she.
Oh, one last thing about the birth-- Nathan was a champ. He did a wonderful job of being 'coach' through the entire experience. I wouldn't have been able to do it without him. Thanks sweet skate :)
Now a 'quick' re-cap of a few days pre-birth and during...don't worry, I spared all the graphic details!
Not sure if I had mentioned that November 6th, I went to try Labor Inducing Acupuncture! What an experience. I wanted so badly to have baby Ella! I thought this would be a good natual try. I had about 12 needles put into various parts of my body: my ears, hands, feet, toes, and just above my butt. Then, tiny wires were hooked up to the needles to send tiny little electrodes to those spots. The whole deal with acupuncture is that the needles and electricity are suppose to help clear and re-circulate any blocked areas so that the energy may continue to circulate on it's normal pattern. I was in the room with this whole scenario hooked up to me for about 2 hours. The whole time I remember being nervous and sweating perfusly because the acupuncturist said it could work the instant we started. So a little panicky, uh yeah! Nothing happened there though. I went to yoga that night, and the next and still, pregnant. I got home from yoga at the hospital Friday night about 10pm. I had been chatting a while to the teacher and friend Sutay for a while about questions and concerns. That night was different because I kind of felt at ease and felt ready. As I said I got home at around 10 and when I did, I kept thinking "between 2 & 4". Going to bed soon after that, I layed there quietly with my thoughts, wondering if my premonition would become reality. Sure enough 2am, contractions started! I layed in bed uncomfortable until about 6am and by the time I woke Nathan up out of a dead sleep and said, "it's time to go, now, now, now!" Nathan zoomed us to the hospital and on the way, I was having full blown contractions only a few minutes apart. I was literally levitating out of the seat telling Nathan to go faster!! It seemed like forever driving there, but after about 5 minutes, we were there! We got up to the labor and delivery ward and got checked in. As many of you may know, I really wanted to have Ella naturally. Well after about 2 hours of pure hell and pain, contractions coming every 1-2 minutes, I was DONE! I was making the most wretched and totally strange animal noises. It was time for a little intervention! I had an epidural at about 10 or so and after pushing a few rounds, we welcomed baby Ella Autumn to the world! The first thing I saw and heard were the doctor, nurses, and Nathan saying "open your eyes!!" I opened my eyes to see a slimy adorable little baby butt coming towards me. Then, for the first time, Ella cried! Then Nathan and I cried. It was amazing and beautiful. Ella was finally here! Yippee! So many people have told me that birth is so many things and to not try and expect how you envision it in your head...well, they all were right. But I have no regrets. Everything was perfect, and so was she.
Oh, one last thing about the birth-- Nathan was a champ. He did a wonderful job of being 'coach' through the entire experience. I wouldn't have been able to do it without him. Thanks sweet skate :)
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