Two Months

Ellie turned two months old yesterday, September 14.  We saw the pediatrician on Thursday for her two month check-up and first round of shots.  She is 10 lbs, 4 oz (25th percentile), 21.5" long (50th percentile), and her head circumference is 38.5 (50th percentile).  She's still just a little peanut.  She did really well with her first shot, only crying for a few minutes.

This month has been super busy.  We had a lot of visitors -- Aunt Ginny the Great, Aunt Katie and Uncle Chad, Grandma and Papa, Aunt Genevieve, and now Nana is here.  (I still have to post about our visits with Grandma, Papa and Aunt Genevieve).  Nursing is still not interesting to Ellie, but we have a pretty good system worked out.  I pump every couple of hours and we bottle feed her.  If she's really cranky or fussy Ellie will nurse, but otherwise, she has no interest.  I have a pretty good supply in the freezer now, so I'm not worried about having enough milk when I go back to work.

 

Cousin Zach, Aunt Ginny, Jeff, Ellie, and Me

My c-section wound is still not healed.  There are two deep wounds on either side of the incision, with the surface in between healed.  Under the surface, however, is a tunnel where it has not been healed.  I saw the wound specialist this week and we're getting more aggressive with the treatment.  They packed the wound with foam and attach a tube to the foam.  The tube leads to a wound vac which uses negative pressure to constantly remove the drainage and promote healthy cell growth.  When my nurse came to the house to change the dressings (which hurt more than childbirth!) she was pleased to see that she could see the bottom of the side wounds (I've had the same nurse for the past 6 weeks, so she's been looking at it for a while).  This was the most progress we've made, so it's promising.  I'm hoping to only have to use the wound vac for a week or two. 

Here are some of the highlights from this month:

• Ellie is an expert at holding up her head
• She can push herself up to 45 degrees
• Kisses make her smile, especially kisses on the lips
• She can track things with her eyes, and often watches as Jeff or I leave the room or come toward her
• She loves to watch the ceiling fans

We're just now starting to teach Ellie to sleep in her own bed.  She sleeps in her pack and play in our room, but we're trying to move her to her crib, at least for nap time.  She only wants to fall asleep if someone is holding her, so we're also trying to get her to go to sleep on her own.  The doctor recommended we put her down, let her cry for 5 minutes, calm her down and then put her back down.  She is not a fan of this and it usually takes three or four tries before she'll fall asleep. 

We are really enjoying Ellie and can't wait to see what she does next.  My mom came to help us while I'm healing. I'm really grateful that she's here, as I cannot move as well as I should be able to due to the wound in my lower abdomen.  Leslie, David and Drake are coming to visit next weekend (Ellie is super excited to meet her cousin Drake!), and hopefully my dad will be able to make it too.

Here are some pictures from this month:

 

Uncle Chad, Aunt Katie and Ellie

Ellie, Grandma and Papa

Jeff, Ellie and Me

Ellie meets Eleanor

Ellie and Aunt Genevieve

Ellie and her Daddy

Me and Ellie

 

Dine Out for No Kid Hungry

No Kid Hungry Share our Strength is working to eradicate childhood hunger in America by 2015.  Having spent almost a decade teaching in urban schools where I worked with children who were often hungry, this is a cause I feel very strongly about.  America is a super power, yet we can't manage to ensure that all of our children eat at least 3 healthy meals a day.  Many of the kids I worked with often only had the meals provided at school on any given day. It's hard to learn when one is focused on a hungry belly.

Support this cause simply by going out to dinner during the week of September 16.  Use this link to learn more about the Dine Out for No Kid Hungry: http://join.strength.org/site/PageServer?pagename=GADO_homepage

Last year Jeff and I went to Ted's Montana Grill.  We simply added a donation to our check, and received a gift certificate from the restaurant in appreciation.  Where will you go this year to support the end of childhood hunger in America?  http://dineout.nokidhungry.org/maps

Two Lucky Girls

Ellie and I are so very lucky to have a man like Jeff in our lives.  I was just thinking tonight how difficult the past few months have been on me physically, and how I could not imagine going through all of this without him by my side.  I am so fortunate that Jeff works from home and is here to help me during the day.

Before Ellie was born I was hospitalized in late May.  It was only for about 36 hours, but Jeff was by my side the entire time (except when I sent him home to sleep because I was worried about the dogs being all alone).  Then, he was with me the whole time though my labor (which lasted almost a week -- contractions started on Monday, she wasn't born until Saturday).  Jeff was an awesome coach and support, especially when everything was so out of my control.  He kept me focused and held my hand through it all.  But, most importantly, he has been absolutely amazing since we've been home. 

I have not healed well from my c-section.  I still have an open wound for which I am receiving regular care from my doctor and home health nurses.  Because of my wound I am really limited in what I can do.  I can't lift anything besides Ellie.  I can't bend over to pick something off of the floor.  I can't always walk very easily or even lower myself into a chair because of the pain.  In addition, because Ellie doesn't care for nursing, I'm pumping every two hours so I can give her breast milk and avoid giving her formula.  This means that I have to interrupt Jeff's work so he can watch her while I'm pumping.  He stops what he's doing and helps me every time I need him, and usually with a smile.  This is all while he's starting a new job, managing the various home improvement projects we have going on (our timing on those projects was awful!), and bonding with Ellie. 

Sometimes I think about how hard it must be to be a single mother.  Or even to be a mother of a newborn if your partner works outside of the home.  I could not do this alone every day for 8 hours while Jeff is at work.  I'm lucky to have such a loving and caring husband.  Ellie is lucky to have a father like Jeff.  Today was an especially hard day.  I've been in a lot of pain.  But he has been wonderful, taking care of me and Ellie.  I just wanted to say thank you, we love you so much!

Mauja and Presley, Baby Whisperers?

Ellie has been crying for the past 2 hours...she doesn't want to nurse, she doesn't want her bottle, she doesn't want to walk around the house, she doesn't want to sit down...Nothing we tried worked! 

Mauja was getting excited, so I told her to "speak," thinking maybe the dogs would distract Ellie from whatever it was that was upsetting her.  Mauja started bouncing around, as she does when she thinks a treat might be involved.  Then, Presley got excited too, and they both started showing off for Ellie, making her smile and forget that she was crying.  They gave her kisses and let her pet them (well, as much petting as a 7 week old baby is capable of).  Jeff was able to feed her some with her bottle, and after a few minutes more of crying, she has totally calmed down and is on her way to sleep.  Hurray for Mauja and Presley!!!