Dying.

We had Eli's newborn pictures taken on Monday when he was 3 1/2 weeks old. This is the sneak peek we got tonight, and I can't wait to see the rest now! Look at that precious bottom!
Check out the photographer; she was so sweet and amazing with Eli-- rhondathompson.blogspot.com

One Month Old

What happened to my newborn? At one month old, Eli is alot more alert than when we first brought him home. He usually wakes up around 7-8 and will stay awake for most of the day. We do a lot of hanging out together b/c Eli does not like to be put down unless he is fast alseep. I have learned to do many things with one arm--laundry, meals, light cleaning, washing my face, going to the bathroom, getting somewhat dressed, etc. We also go on about 3 walks a day, all in attempts to jumpstart Eli's nap and keep this momma sane. We have some tummy time and some play mat time each day, sing songs, do a little dancing, and read Bible stories. He even gave me my first smile yesterday morning. He hasn't done it again since, but daddy and I are trying awfully hard to get another one! We are very excited for this weekend b/c Deanie and Papa are bringing Matthew's grandparents to meet Eli. This will also mean that I will get to take an actual long shower this weekend! It's the little things these days that excite me...

We I finally decided it was time to bust out the pacifiers and the bottles. I figured Eli had a hang of this whole nursing thing, so we could introduce bottles too. The first bottle was one we attached to a formula container, and it was too big for him. You can tell from the pics that he hated it...he couldn't get the milk down; it came way too fast for him. We busted out the Dr. Brown's and he took it like a champ. I am still mainly nursing, but now Hot Hubby gives him a bottle, or 2 or 3, usually around dinner time for us. Check out that face!

The Many Moods of Eli.

Before bath...completely content.

During bath...completely miserable.

After bath...getting better. It's official that Eli HATES being cold.

Oh, those lips and cheeks get me every time.

We went on our daily walk yesterday in the gorgeous spring weather. We even let the dogs come with us this time. I think they forgot what it was like to go on walks b/c they had to smell (or pee on) everything in sight. They were so excited to be out of the house that they didn't even pay attention to Eli.

Better Late than Never.

This info is a tad late, but can I use my newborn as an excuse? We arrived home with Eli the Saturday night before Easter Sunday. My in-laws left that morning, planning to return the next week to help and visit. My own mom ended up leaving earlier than expected, so we told Matthew's parents they could come up whenever. Well, would you know it, they jumped in their car the very next morning and showed up hauling coolers of food.

My m.i.l. (who has yet to pick a name), but we're calling her Deanie for now, cooked and cleaned ALL week long. Literally. I don't think the woman sat down but once a day. I know she would have rather sat and held her sweet new grandson all day, but instead, she made sure the hot hubby and I didn't lift a finger. She swept, mopped, dusted, washed and folded laundry non-stop, cleaned bathrooms, etc. She made breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, and cleaned up the dishes after us. I didn't do a thing. Nothing. It was wonderful. Sadly enough, the lady moved so much this is the only picture I took of her. Well, her legs holding that sweet boy. He looks a little unsure of this picture, but he loved being held by Deanie, I promise.

My f.i.l. Papa, did his fair share of helping too. He called some people to fix our floodlights and clean out our duct work so his precious grandson can breathe fresh clean air and we can see outside at night. We had been meaning to do those tasks for an entire year, and just never did. Papa took care of it for us. Oh yeah. and he held a squirmy or sleeping newborn while this recovering momma showered and napped. Again. It was wonderful.

I have a feeling these proud grandparents will be making many more trips to Knoxville these days.

The Life of a Newborn

Sleep in a normal 3-4 hour period during the day. Keeps momma sane.

8:30- begin to fuss. act hungry but don't eat a full meal.

9:00- fuss while working on diaper.

9:15- flail arms wildly to indicate you would like to try to eat some more.

9:30- fall asleep while eating. ignore momma's efforts to keep you awake to eat.

10:15- wake up from catnap to fuss about still being hungry.

10:30- work on diaper again.

10:45- refuse to eat and refuse to close eyes despite the constant yawning.

11:15- whimper while momma and daddy take turns dancing you around the room.

11:45- eat 2 1/2 syringes of formula from daddy's finger although you refused momma's offerings.

12:10- fall asleep while momma and daddy pray it's for a long stretch.

12:50- wake up secretly laughing at your parents but fussing on the outside

1:00- diaper change; clothing change; swaddle blanket change; momma's shirt change; everything is soaked with pee, maybe some poop.

1:15- attempt to eat again.

1:30- stare wide-eyed at momma and daddy while they desperately stare sleepy-eyed at eachother.

2:00- finally give up and doze off to sleep. momma and daddy crawl into bed, praying for a few hours.

5:00- success! 3 whole hours of sleep. diaper change, eat, and fall asleep in momma's arms. Wake right up every time she tries to put you down. Momma gives up on sleeping any more and lets a sweet baby boy sleep on her chest while she watches the news and types this post.

5:15- Momma looks down at the sweetest face she's ever seen and remembers that this gift from God will only be this little once, and tomorrow he will be a little bigger and a little different than today. I know I will wish for these days back--when my baby wanted me all the time, and I will remember these flailing arms with these tiny fingers and soft skin and these sleepless nights with fondness.

These are a few of my favorite things...

Even though it's only been almost 2 weeks, I already have a few favorite things that I love for making my life a little easier with a newborn. The first is my boppy pillow. I got the organic slipcover with it, but I really need to go buy another slipcover, so I can always have an extra when I wash one. I really need to wash it just about every other day b/c it gets covered in spit-up and leaking milk...yep, leaking milk. This really helps me hold Eli more comfortably when I am feeding him, and I like to prop him up in it when he's awake to let him look around without me having to hold im 24/7.

Next is the Moby wrap. This allows me to use BOTH my hands to do things around the house. This morning I actually made the bed, put the dishes away, and dried my hair! Eli refused to sleep all night long, and this morning, despite him yawning every 5 minutes, he would not close his eyes to sleep. As soon as I cuddled him in this wrap, his eyes were closed and he was out like a light!

My Medela pump! My co-workers were super generous and gave me this at my work shower, and I wasn't sure if I would really end up using it or not. Turns out, I definitely needed it. I used one in the hospital until my milk came in, and now I am starting to use one to save milk to freeze. This will definitely help daddy feed Eli too, and give mommy and break every now and then. For now though, until month 1 is up, no bottles or pacifiers for my sweet boy...we don't want him confused until he fully gets the hanging of this whole nursing thing.

Last, my favorite item is soothies! These are gel pads that you refrigerate and use after you nurse...soooo nice. A nurse at the hospital gave me a trial set, and my hot hubby went out and bought me more once we got home. These really do make you feel a little better and are much more soothing than any cream so far.
I've just realized that almost all of my favorite items have to do with making breastfeeding easier. Once we get the hang of this, maybe I will add some more must-haves to my list. For those of you who are pregnant, go get all of these things!!

Longest post ever...

Ready for the birth story? I know I was mildly obsessed with reading everyone else's stories right before I had Eli, so here's mine. I went to the doctor Monday the 29th to get a non-stress test done and check the fluid around the baby. My doctor was going out of town April 1-6 and wanted to see what Eli was doing hanging out in there. Eli looked great on the non-stress test, but my fluid was a little below 7 ounces and I had lost 2 pounds from the week before. If the fluid gets below 5, they wanted to induce. I was still about 1/2 centimeter dialated and maybe 50% effaced...basically nothing.

Two days later on the 31st, I had to go back and get my fluid checked again. This time the fluid was even lower--the dr. could barely find any pockets of fluid around Eli, and my placenta was starting to get calcium deposits, which is a sign that the placenta is starting to give up. With all that going on, Dr. Cadigan turned to Matthew and I and said, "We need to induce you today. Go home, get your bags, and be at the hospital in two hours." Matthew and I were a little shocked, excited and nervous. We went home, finished packing our bags, called our family, who immediately jumped in their cars, and headed to Knoxville. We got to the hospital around 12. They hooked me up to an IV right away, and I had to wait on Dr. Cadigan to come over from her office to give me my first dose of Cytotek, which was a litttle pill they put near your cervix to help you dialate.

She showed up around 1 and gave me the Cytotek. and then we had to wait and see if it would do anything. I started having mild contractions, but nothing too bad. All of our family was in the room for awhile and I could talk through them still. Around 5:30, Dr. Cadigan came back and checked me again. Still 1 centimeter dialated and now 60% effaced...still nothing! She broke my water, and started the pitocin. I definitely felt the contractions then. They were getting stronger and stronger, and everyone left the room except Matthew and my mom. I wanted to wait on the epidural still, b/c I thought getting one at 1 cm was a little weak of me, but the nurses explained that the contractions were just going to get worse, regardless of whether I was 1 cm or 10 cms dialated. The pitocin started making the contractions come really strong, and one right after the other, and I couldn't talk or hardly catch my breath before each one came.

I finally got the epidural and it was great! The dr. who administered it was wonderful and about 20 minutes later, I couldn't feel the contractions at all even though my mom, who was watching the monitor like a hawk, said they were coming fast and furious! Matthew left the room twice to get our bags and a cup of coffee, and each time he left, Eli's heartrate would drop dramatically and nurses would rush in and give me oxygen and turn me on my side. He would always come back in to me hooked up to the oxygen mask and 4 nurses watching me and the monitors...I told him to quit  leaving b/c clearly Eli didn't like it!

The pitocin was making the contractions too strong and continuous for comfort, and Eli's heartrate would drop each time, so we took the pitocin off. Luckily, I was then contracting on my own, but after 9 hours of waiting, and STILL being 1 cm dialated, Dr. Cadigan came in at 9:30 and started talking about a c-section. She was worried that Eli was having complications b/c of his heartrate, and decided it was time to get him out. She tried to be very sensitive when she told me the news, b/c every dr. visit, I made it very clear that I did not want a c-section if avoidable. I really wanted the experience of laboring my child into the world, and did not want the major surgery. As soon as she told me, I started crying...and of course they all tried to reassure me that everything would be fine, and the important part was a healthy baby.

Within 5 minutes, we were in the operating room, and I was shaking uncontrollably from the epidural. I could feel them working on my stomach, but of course couldn't feel any pain. The worst part was when they had to push down on my stomach to help get Eli out. It was the worst pressure, and I couldn't breathe... I still have bruised ribs from that! Within minutes, Dr. Cadigan said, "He's got lots of blond hair!" and then I heard his precious cry! After that, everyone commented on what a big boy he was, and I saw them take him to the table to get cleaned. Matthew got to videotape the nurse cleaning him up, and he cut the cord...while I laid on the table and tried to see what was going on. Finally, they brought him over and I cried again--he was perfect; blond hair, chubby cheeks, big plump lips, and he had a 9.9 apgar score. Matthew got to carry him to the room while I was rolled back. I still couldn't hold him b/c I was shaking so badly.

All our family came in and took a gazillion pictures and took turns holding him. Eventually they all went home and it was just the three of us in our room for the first time. Eli was a perfect baby...the nurse showed Matthew how to change his first diaper, and we tried to go to sleep around 1. At 3 the nurse came in and gave him a bath while I watched from the bed. I slept maybe two hours that night...I just wanted to stare at him all night long; it was so hard to believe that this beautiful 8 pound 4 ounce baby was in my stomach a few hours before! Okay, I will write more later...congrats to you if you are still reading this!

Dressing up baby...

Babylegs! I got this pair from a cute boutique down the street called Me and Mommy to be...Eli has a while to grow into them, but we just roll the bottoms up for now...so cute!

Excuse the bad photography skills. One handed and a squirmy baby don't make for the best shots...also ignore the double chin. Hopefully that will go away soon too!

One of my bestest friends Corinne brought me TONS of her newborn cloth diapers to try before I make the investment. She has lots of newborn sized BumGenius and FuzziBunz diapers, and I am leaning towards the GDiapers once Eli is a little bigger. I don't want to purchase the newborn sizes as I know he will grow out of them very quickly! He hated being on is tummy as you can tell from his face, but I couldn't resist taking a picture of that cute bottom!

Getting Fatter by the Day...

When Eli was born, he weighed a whopping 8 pounds and 4 ounces. He lost weight in the hospital like most babies do, but he ended up losing 10% of his body weight, which is more common in c-section babies. We had to start supplementing with formula. Eli loved to gulp the formula through a little tube taped to our fingers. Daddy even got to feed him, but I didn't want Eli to get to used to the formula. His weight had dropped to 7.7 when we left the hospital on Saturday, and when we went to the doctor on Monday, he had only gained one ounce. Monday we had enough milk to quit the formula all together, and Wednesday Eli showed proof that he was getting plenty! He weighed 7. 15 1/2!! 8 1/2 ounces in two days! I was so relieved to know that we could stop the formula, and that Eli was close to his birth weight again. He was the perfect baby at the doctor, and loves riding in his car seat!

So. In. Love.

It's official. I am a new woman. I am a mommy. I am madly in love with both of these boys. Life could not be any better.