Visitors, Visitors

This past weekend started a stream of visitors.  Because Ellie wasn't due until the end of July (July 31, to be exact), most people planned trips to meet her towards the end of August to give us some time to get into a routine.  Since she was early, we ended up with a little more time between guests than we thought we would have.

Aunt Ginny the Great came on Saturday.  She had to be in Savannah for work on Sunday afternoon, so it was a quick trip for her to meet her great-niece.  My cousin, Zach, recently moved to the area, so we met him for brunch on Sunday before Aunt Ginny had to hit the road. 

Aunt Ginny the Great and Ellie

The five of us at brunch.  Ellie was quite a hit at the restaurant!

Ellie with Cousin Zach

On Monday afternoon Ellie and I went to the airport to pick up Aunt Katie and Uncle Chad.  They planned their summer vacation around a visit to meet Ellie.  Katie was great at getting Ellie to calm down when she was super fussy; She had much great success than either Jeff of myself!  We had a great visit with them.  We even went to two restaurants that have been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives (Singleton's Seafood Shack and the Metro Diner). 

Aunt Katie when she first held Ellie during her fussy times...

...And about 5 minutes later when she had calmed her down completely and Uncle Chad joined them

 

 

 

Grandma and Papa arrived yesterday, so I'll post about their visit next week.  Then, next weekend Aunt Genevieve arrives for a long weekend.  Ellie is super excited about meeting all of her family members!

One Month

Dear Eleanor,

Today you are one month old.  On one hand, it's hard to believe that it's been a month.  Everything is still so new.  We're still learning you, and you're still learning us.  On the other hand, though, it feels like you've always been with us.  You are such a perfect fit for our family, and we love you very much.

This month you have been:

• learning how to hold up your head - you're getting really good at this
• clasping your hands together
• learning how to grasp things with your hands (especially our fingers, hair, and your pacifier)
• really enjoying the outdoors (when you're fussy, we take you for a walk and you calm right down)
• figuring out the difference between day and night (you're starting to spend more time awake during the day)

While we spent most of this month at home, you have had a few adventures:

• regular walks in the neighborhood (you like to look towards the sky and at the huge trees)
• your first car show
• your first restaurant (dinner at Taco Lou with Bubbe and Zayde)
• a visit to the voting precinct for our primary elections
• Mama's office
• and many visits to Mama's doctors

You are a hit wherever you go!  Everyone just thinks that you are the sweetest baby.  And you know what?  They are right.  You have stolen our hearts.  We are so lucky to be your parents, and we can't wait to see what the future holds.  Your dogs also enjoy watching you.  We think Mauja is eagerly anticipating the day you'll start eating solid food so she can pick up anything you drop.  Presley likes to walk by, give you a kiss on the foot or the back of the head, and then keep going.  She watches over you while you sleep.  We have no doubt that you and Pres will be the best of friends soon enough.

We love you, and are so happy that you are a part of our lives.

Love,
Mama and Daddy

Week 4

Ellie is four weeks old today.  We're still working on our routine, but seem to have it down pretty well.  Ellie is finally starting to spend more time awake during the day than she does at night.  And, with her sleeping in our bed, I'm able to get her back to sleep relatively quickly when she wakes up to eat in the middle of the night. 

My incision is still not healed, though it looks better today than it ever has.  It's much less red, and not draining so much.  My doctor is waiting until Monday to see if we need to start the wet to dry packing again.  Hopefully, it'll make some good progress over the weekend and we won't have to do that! 

Nursing is a work in progress, but Ellie and I are not giving up. I'm grateful to everyone who supports me. I got so many calls and texts yesterday after I posted about our struggles. I'm fortunate to have so many people who are offering to give me advice and support me.

Here are pictures from this week:

Spending time with Daddy.

Ellie's first car show (many more in her future, I'm sure!)

Ellie and me

Ellie was helping me with the laundry.

This is how she spent most of the car show -- asleep in her stroller.

It Sure Ain't Easy

Nursing is tough.  We are really having a hard time with it.  It's really frustrating, too, because I feel like it's something that should be so natural, so why doesn't it come naturally to us?  Even though we had Ellie's frenulum cut so she could get her tongue out more, and we're using the nipple shield, she's still having a really hard time latching on.  I've started pumping A LOT, so we can feed her breast milk via bottle.  It's not ideal, but it's working for now.  I feel like every day is a race to make sure I can pump enough to keep her satisfied.  I'm hoping that my supply will surpass her demand before I go back to work so that I will have milk to leave at home with Jeff.

Earlier this week we went to our first La Leche League meeting.  While I didn't get a lot of advice (besides the usual "keep trying" and "it gets easier"), it was nice to be in a room full of women who have had similar struggles.  I was able to cry in a room full of strangers and feel better about my frustrations because I knew I wasn't alone. The meetings are monthly, during a weekday morning, so I will only be able to go to one or two more meetings before I have to go back to work, but at least I know the group is there and that I can turn to them for support.

When Ellie gets really fussy, I offer her the bottle first, so she's not starving, and then try to switch her to the breast.  Sometimes she'll latch on, other times she'll just cry and cry until I give her the bottle back.  Last night, however, she kept pushing the bottle away from her mouth.  I offered her the breast instead, and she latched on right away.  That was the first time that it was really easy.  At the LLL meeting we were asked to share our favorite memory of nursing.  I didn't have one to share because it's just been such a struggle.  When she chose me over the bottle I cried (not the first time I cried while nursing -- just the first time it wasn't out of frustration) and thought, "now I can have a happy memory of nursing." 

I know that breast milk is best.  And we're not going to give up, even if it means that she'll have to have my milk in a bottle more often than not.  One of the other moms at the LLL meeting said to me that the most important thing about feeding our babies is the love; No matter if they feel that love nursing at the breast or eating from a bottle, they'll benefit as long as the love is there.  There is no lack of love for Ellie, that's for sure.

Week 3

Today Ellie is 3 weeks old! 

It's been a busy week.  Mostly, we've been working on finding a routine that works for us and figuring out our nursing issues.  Things seem to be under control, and we've gotten into a rhythm that works.  Ellie is finally starting to figure out the difference between day and night, slowly but surely.  She'll have it all figured out soon enough, I have no doubt.  The doctor cut Ellie's frenulum earlier this week, since she was a little tongue tied.  It was supposed to help with nursing, but she still has a lot of trouble without the nipple guard, and even sometimes with it if she's too hungry or tired.  We started bottle feeding her my expressed milk in those instances, and that's much easier.  Since we started that feedings have a lot fewer tears (from both her and me!). 

My c-section incision is finally starting to heal and is much less painful.  I'm still taking pain medicine, especially going to bed and getting up in the morning (laying down seems to make the pain worse), but not as often.  It looks a lot better, and hopefully my doctor will be pleased with the progress when I see her on Tuesday.  She had an emergency the day of my appointment this week, so I saw a different doctor who decided we didn't need to pack it anymore and we could just let it heal on its own.  I have a feeling that's not what my regular doctor would have said, but who am I to argue (especially when it involves NOT packing a gaping wound in my abdomen, which is incredibly painful)? 

Jeff has been great, and I'm so glad that he works from home so he's here to help me out.  I have no idea how other moms do this when their partners have to be away at work all day.  I'm fortunate that my husband is home with me (though he might argue that Ellie and I are a huge distraction and he may wish for an office so he could actually get some work done!).  Jeff also wanted me to mention that Ellie saw her first monster truck today.  We drove through a Monster Truck Show at the mall today -- weird, and totally Florida.  I oddly love Monster Trucks, so we're looking forward to taking Ellie to her first Monster Truck Rally in a few years.

Here are some pictures from this week:

Presley is not allowed on the couch, but this was too cute with her up there to look at Ellie.

Ellie is working on growing a little rat tail.  A good look, no?

With her Zayde and Bubbe

Mauja watching her play

A close up of curious Mauj.

Her eyes are already getting darker; They'll be brown soon for sure!

Tummy time is exhausting!

I'm Sorry, Blossom

Turns out, I owe Mayim Bialik (also known as Blossom to many of us) an apology.  Over the past couple of months she's been in many magazines discussing her parenting strategies. I was a little judgy when it came to several of her ideas, and thought she was a little 'out-there.'  But, I now have to admit that she might be on to something, at least when it comes to co-sleeping.

Last week I read about co-sleeping in The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, the book that is published by La Leche League International to help nursing mothers. They suggested that co-sleeping would benefit both baby and parents, because the baby would sleep more soundly being so close to the mother.  Also, the baby doesn't have to cry in order to wake up the mother for feeding.  After several nights of no sleep, we decided to give it a try.  Since we started co-sleeping, Ellie sleeps from about midnight until 4 or 5 am. I usually have to wake her to feed her after about 4 hours.  She then wakes me up, making really subtle sounds around 7:30.  She doesn't have to cry to wake me, which keeps her calm and eases a lot of the frustration she was having.  All three of us are sleeping better, and she's eating better and going straight back to sleep at night.

We purchased the Snuggle Nest, which is a small, firm bed for Ellie that goes between our pillows.  This way, she can sleep with us, but we don't have to worry about smooshing her.  I had initially wanted to avoid letting her sleep with us, because I want her to be able to sleep on her own when she's older.  So, we'll still have to find a way to transition her to her own bed in a few months, but for now, this is working.  And, Blossom was right, co-sleeping is good for babies (and tired parents!).