Well... this has been one of my hardest days. Today I went back to work. Ellie stayed home with my mom (Happy Birthday to her!!!) which is the most wonderful thing. I'm not sure I could have done it otherwise. I know she is going to love the time with Grandma and will be spoiled and loved.
It is strange...going to work was like leaving a big chunk of me behind. Luckily I work with GREAT friends who make it so much easier to go back. I'm really happy to see them again because I missed everyone a lot and it was nice to have adult conversation.
Overall...I just missed her a lot but I'll be okay (I hope!) I'm sure every day will be a little better. Not easier but I'll get a little more used to it. I'm so fortunate that my work is pretty flexible so I'm going to try to go in early so that I can leave early and spend a little more time with Ellie and Jason. Right now we are in schedule adjustment mode...trying to wake up early is brutal.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Three Months Old!
Ellie is three months old! She is so much fun right now which makes going back to work tomorrow hard. I know she'll be in amazing care with my mom but I'll miss her so much! We had a wonderful weekend visiting with Jesse, Mike and Vera. Vera was really cute with the baby. She was a big helper making sure that Ellie got rocked and she even tried out Ellie's swing and bathtub with her baby doll. Too cute! I'm not wishing the time to go faster than it already is but it is fun to see the excitement we have just a year ahead. We visited Pullen Park on Saturday and Vera rode on the carousel. Ellie was asleep otherwise we probably would have taken her on too.
We also found our dear friend Grandma Shaw this weekend who we had lost contact with after she was in the hospital. We spent Sunday packing up her apartment so that we can find her a place to live that is more suitable for her needs. We were all really relieved to find her after not talking with her for 2 months...she is currently in WakeMed but as soon as she is out we are going to take Ellie to visit her. We have known Grandma Shaw for about 15 years and she has become part of our family so we are super excited for her to meet Baby Ellie.
Some highlights from this month:
-Smiles!!! They started out rare but now Ellie smiles at many things. She especially loves familiar faces, her ceiling fan, and the black and white quilt. Those are the things she smiles at most. She has even started squealing a little bit which I think is the beginning of her laugh because it happens with her biggest grins. Too cute!
-Stretches! The cutest thing EVER. Every morning Ellie stretches when she wakes up which is absolutely adorable. She balls up her fists and reaches her arms way up in the air behind her back, arches her back and blinks her eyes. Priceless!
-Ellie's Baptism on March 8th was a great day! Her Great Grandpa Hamilton did a wonderful job and she was beautiful (thanks mom!)
-Our new church- We finally have moved into our permanent building and it is awesome! We have dropped Ellie off in the nursery a few times and she has done really well. it is nice for her to get that interaction with other babies right now especially since she won't be going to daycare at this time. They also have a nursing mom area with live streaming of the sermon. Love it!
-Ellie enjoys playing on the floor for short periods of time. We got a new rug for our living room so that she could actually play on the floor downstairs and then we got one of those Superyards for the living room to block off a little safe area so we don't have to worry about the dogs. We also bought her a new play gym that has toys hanging down and one of them is a zebra that plays music when you hit it. Every once in awhile she gets lucky and hits the musical zebra!
-She is starting to bat at toys and will hold a toy in her hand. She hasn't quite figured out how to get the toy into her mouth but she does open her mouth in anticipation or maybe just hoping it will magically get up there. I'm sure she'll figure this out soon.
-Cloth diapers! We are still using them--- I'm so proud. They are really nice, super cute and so much cheaper and better for the environment. Plus they make her little bum so big that we get to try out some of the bigger clothes in the drawer! Yay! Speaking of diapers, we thought maybe Ellie could move up to diaper size one so we bought a box and tried one out...lets just say it was humorous. The diaper went halfway up her back. I guess we'll stick with the N's for now!
-This month Ellie's favorite things are her bouncy chair, bumbo, and play gym. She still loves the mirror and is very intrigued by herself. She loves looking at her mobiles and is starting to figure out her hands a little bit.
-Bath time! Ellie LOVES the bath. It is probably the most relaxed we see her. She cries EVERY time she gets out of the bath. The predictability is very cute although it is pitiful. She is starting to kick and splash the water and I'm sure will soon be playing in the bath.
We also found our dear friend Grandma Shaw this weekend who we had lost contact with after she was in the hospital. We spent Sunday packing up her apartment so that we can find her a place to live that is more suitable for her needs. We were all really relieved to find her after not talking with her for 2 months...she is currently in WakeMed but as soon as she is out we are going to take Ellie to visit her. We have known Grandma Shaw for about 15 years and she has become part of our family so we are super excited for her to meet Baby Ellie.
Some highlights from this month:
-Smiles!!! They started out rare but now Ellie smiles at many things. She especially loves familiar faces, her ceiling fan, and the black and white quilt. Those are the things she smiles at most. She has even started squealing a little bit which I think is the beginning of her laugh because it happens with her biggest grins. Too cute!
-Stretches! The cutest thing EVER. Every morning Ellie stretches when she wakes up which is absolutely adorable. She balls up her fists and reaches her arms way up in the air behind her back, arches her back and blinks her eyes. Priceless!
-Ellie's Baptism on March 8th was a great day! Her Great Grandpa Hamilton did a wonderful job and she was beautiful (thanks mom!)
-Our new church- We finally have moved into our permanent building and it is awesome! We have dropped Ellie off in the nursery a few times and she has done really well. it is nice for her to get that interaction with other babies right now especially since she won't be going to daycare at this time. They also have a nursing mom area with live streaming of the sermon. Love it!
-Ellie enjoys playing on the floor for short periods of time. We got a new rug for our living room so that she could actually play on the floor downstairs and then we got one of those Superyards for the living room to block off a little safe area so we don't have to worry about the dogs. We also bought her a new play gym that has toys hanging down and one of them is a zebra that plays music when you hit it. Every once in awhile she gets lucky and hits the musical zebra!
-She is starting to bat at toys and will hold a toy in her hand. She hasn't quite figured out how to get the toy into her mouth but she does open her mouth in anticipation or maybe just hoping it will magically get up there. I'm sure she'll figure this out soon.
-Cloth diapers! We are still using them--- I'm so proud. They are really nice, super cute and so much cheaper and better for the environment. Plus they make her little bum so big that we get to try out some of the bigger clothes in the drawer! Yay! Speaking of diapers, we thought maybe Ellie could move up to diaper size one so we bought a box and tried one out...lets just say it was humorous. The diaper went halfway up her back. I guess we'll stick with the N's for now!
-This month Ellie's favorite things are her bouncy chair, bumbo, and play gym. She still loves the mirror and is very intrigued by herself. She loves looking at her mobiles and is starting to figure out her hands a little bit.
-Bath time! Ellie LOVES the bath. It is probably the most relaxed we see her. She cries EVERY time she gets out of the bath. The predictability is very cute although it is pitiful. She is starting to kick and splash the water and I'm sure will soon be playing in the bath.
Monday, March 23, 2009
12 Weeks Old!
Ellie is 12 weeks old today. She is still chugging along. Her smile is becoming less rare and we are still acting as goofy as ever to try to get her to smile.
She is starting to show some interest in grabbing things although this so far seems to be by accident. She is still very much into the ceiling fan and the black and white quilt that Great Grandma Fleming made. She is getting bigger for sure. We now have a box of clothes that don't fit as she transitions from the "nb" newborn size to 0-3 months. I think we'll even buy size 1 diapers next time! Speaking of diapers...cloth diapering is still going very well and we are enjoying not buzzing through so many diapers. It is for sure a money saver. Ellie has shown us that she is capable of crying. She isn't really bad about it but there are times that she is unhappy now. This is kind of new for us as she pretty much didn't cry for the first 8-9 weeks. I think she is starting to care a little bit more about what/when/how she is doing things....which is okay! The most crying we hear is usually when she is sleepy. She often gets fussy for about 5 minutes and then falls right asleep. Silly girl!
We pulled out the Bumbo this week and Ellie seems to enjoy it as long as she is wide awake. If she is tired then it isn't so fun because she has to really hold up her head. It actually is kind of beneficial for her to be smaller in the Bumbo because it kind of supports the back of her neck. Other than that I bought her a new play gym because it was sooo cute (and I couldn't resist) and because I found out that she really enjoys being a little elevated for tummy time so her nose doesn't hit the blanket. She really is getting strong!
Sleep is still going great at night and she is taking more naps in her crib. We haven't moved her into her big crib yet but that will be coming soon. I'm torn on this whole issue because a lot of things say to keep them in your room until 6 months because that is the safest thing to do but it seems like she would get really used to sleeping in our room which I don't want. I think she is totally capable of sleeping in her own room at this point because she very rarely wakes up at night except for the one time that I feed her.
We are counting down the days until I go back to work next Monday :( I will miss her so much but I know it will be okay...just a big transition for all of us.
I uploaded a bunch of pictures to the flickr site today....we've been taking them but haven't had time to add them so check out the 2 month link up at the top left of this page.
She is starting to show some interest in grabbing things although this so far seems to be by accident. She is still very much into the ceiling fan and the black and white quilt that Great Grandma Fleming made. She is getting bigger for sure. We now have a box of clothes that don't fit as she transitions from the "nb" newborn size to 0-3 months. I think we'll even buy size 1 diapers next time! Speaking of diapers...cloth diapering is still going very well and we are enjoying not buzzing through so many diapers. It is for sure a money saver. Ellie has shown us that she is capable of crying. She isn't really bad about it but there are times that she is unhappy now. This is kind of new for us as she pretty much didn't cry for the first 8-9 weeks. I think she is starting to care a little bit more about what/when/how she is doing things....which is okay! The most crying we hear is usually when she is sleepy. She often gets fussy for about 5 minutes and then falls right asleep. Silly girl!
We pulled out the Bumbo this week and Ellie seems to enjoy it as long as she is wide awake. If she is tired then it isn't so fun because she has to really hold up her head. It actually is kind of beneficial for her to be smaller in the Bumbo because it kind of supports the back of her neck. Other than that I bought her a new play gym because it was sooo cute (and I couldn't resist) and because I found out that she really enjoys being a little elevated for tummy time so her nose doesn't hit the blanket. She really is getting strong!
Sleep is still going great at night and she is taking more naps in her crib. We haven't moved her into her big crib yet but that will be coming soon. I'm torn on this whole issue because a lot of things say to keep them in your room until 6 months because that is the safest thing to do but it seems like she would get really used to sleeping in our room which I don't want. I think she is totally capable of sleeping in her own room at this point because she very rarely wakes up at night except for the one time that I feed her.
We are counting down the days until I go back to work next Monday :( I will miss her so much but I know it will be okay...just a big transition for all of us.
I uploaded a bunch of pictures to the flickr site today....we've been taking them but haven't had time to add them so check out the 2 month link up at the top left of this page.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
She's Back...and 11 weeks old!
Our very happy baby is pretty much back. Today she is 11 weeks old which really is amazing. She progressively has gotten out of her fussy stage throughout this week so I'm happy that it only lasted a few days. Unfortunately today she seems a little stuffed up. She is so pitiful when she eats and cries she grunts and snorts a little bit. She doesn't have a fever or anything so I'm hoping it is just a little tiny something that goes away soon. I pulled out the humidifier tonight so I hope that helps her little nose.
This has been somewhat of a big week for us. I decided to give cloth diapers a try again. I tried it when she was just a couple of weeks old and while trying to learn how to become a parent it was just too much. So this week I decided to pull them out again (they are on lend from Vera...or maybe rental. I think we'll for sure have to help with their investment in them!) So far so good...I have washed them twice and it hasn't been terrible like I expected. It is soooo nice not to have to buy so many diapers and we feel a lot better about the environmental impact so hopefully we'll stick with it. It is pretty cool how many options there are now. These diapers are fancy. They have little adjustable snaps and even a fold down for little umbilical cords of fresh babies! They are called Swaddlebees and latter on we'll try Fuzzibunz when she is a little bigger. The funny thing is they are a for sure more bulky than disposables so they giver her the cutest little or big bum! I'm sure that will be nice padding when she is learning to walk. My next adventure is going to be making some cloth wipes. When you are using cloth diapers it just seems easier for everything to be cloth so it can all be thrown the same place and handled the same way. We'll see...
We are loving, loving, loving the smiles. Every single one is precious. It's the best! She even has a little start of a squeal. Today she was laying under her little play gym and I was in the hallway folding laundry and she was just cooing and smiling at herself in the mirror. Too cute. She still isn't grabbing at things or holding anything in her hand except sometimes she grabs her pacifier (not really on purpose) I'm not sure when she'll start...being a month early means she may be a little behind on some of those things so we'll just have to wait and see.
This has been somewhat of a big week for us. I decided to give cloth diapers a try again. I tried it when she was just a couple of weeks old and while trying to learn how to become a parent it was just too much. So this week I decided to pull them out again (they are on lend from Vera...or maybe rental. I think we'll for sure have to help with their investment in them!) So far so good...I have washed them twice and it hasn't been terrible like I expected. It is soooo nice not to have to buy so many diapers and we feel a lot better about the environmental impact so hopefully we'll stick with it. It is pretty cool how many options there are now. These diapers are fancy. They have little adjustable snaps and even a fold down for little umbilical cords of fresh babies! They are called Swaddlebees and latter on we'll try Fuzzibunz when she is a little bigger. The funny thing is they are a for sure more bulky than disposables so they giver her the cutest little or big bum! I'm sure that will be nice padding when she is learning to walk. My next adventure is going to be making some cloth wipes. When you are using cloth diapers it just seems easier for everything to be cloth so it can all be thrown the same place and handled the same way. We'll see...
We are loving, loving, loving the smiles. Every single one is precious. It's the best! She even has a little start of a squeal. Today she was laying under her little play gym and I was in the hallway folding laundry and she was just cooing and smiling at herself in the mirror. Too cute. She still isn't grabbing at things or holding anything in her hand except sometimes she grabs her pacifier (not really on purpose) I'm not sure when she'll start...being a month early means she may be a little behind on some of those things so we'll just have to wait and see.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Smile!
And we actually caught one on video....turn down your volume because unfortunately Missy whines pretty loud in the background! Poor thing she just wanted a little attention!
Monday, March 9, 2009
10 Weeks Old!
Ellie is 10 weeks old and I want my baby back! She has been fussy for 3 days. I understand it started on Saturday when I judged for Odyssey of the Mind. Jason, Dad and Beth were here with the baby and apparently she let loose a couple of times. Later in the day she got very upset when we were in the car. Then after the Baptism she was pretty fussy but that could be expected with such a busy day. Last night she slept wonderfully. She fell asleep at 11 and woke up at 5:45 and then slept until 9:45. So I was thinking that she was just really tired and today would be better. But no...it hasn't been terrible but it has not been usual behavior for little Eleanor. I hope she is feeling okay because she has cried much more than we are used to. I just feel so bad when she is sad. My heart goes out to parents of colicky babies because I can only imagine how hard that would be.
Luckily I took her up to bed tonight at 10 and she was very upset so I fed her for a couple of minutes and she fell asleep. I put her into her crib and she didn't wake up at all. That is a first. So maybe she is still recovering from a very busy weekend. It may also be the case that I don't have enough milk after giving her a lot of bottles over the weekend and probably not drinking enough. So I'm tanking up on water and I think we'll lay low tomorrow.
She still is giving us smiles every once in awhile and she is super cute. I'm starting to face the fact that I'm going to have to go back to work :(
Luckily I took her up to bed tonight at 10 and she was very upset so I fed her for a couple of minutes and she fell asleep. I put her into her crib and she didn't wake up at all. That is a first. So maybe she is still recovering from a very busy weekend. It may also be the case that I don't have enough milk after giving her a lot of bottles over the weekend and probably not drinking enough. So I'm tanking up on water and I think we'll lay low tomorrow.
She still is giving us smiles every once in awhile and she is super cute. I'm starting to face the fact that I'm going to have to go back to work :(
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Baptism!
Today was Ellie's Baptism. Jason's grandfather is a retired Methodist minister and we asked him to baptize her. It was a really special touch especially since he also baptized Jason. My mom made her dress and bonnet and it was beautiful. It was embellished with tatted lace with beads, ribbon, and a beautiful bow on the back.
The morning was a little hectic. We wanted to get to the church early to meet the minister and get Ellie dressed. About five minutes away from the church we encountered a very unusual Sunday morning traffic jam. Eventually we figured out that they were moving a church down the road on a semi truck. It was pretty much unbelievably huge and completely blocked the road. They even had guys that climbed on the roof of the church to lift up the street lights, move branches, etc. Needless to say it added unnecessary stress to our morning but we couldn't do anything about it and did get to the church about 11:05.
The ceremony was great. Ellie's Great Grandpa Hamilton did a wonderful job and it was really special that he was able to baptize Ellie. Ellie cried only a couple of times for about 5 seconds just to let everyone know she was there. She did really well on such a special day for our family.
Afterwords we went to lunch and then had family over to the house for cake and desserts. She was a little fussy at lunch and this afternoon. I think it was just a busy busy day for her and she is spent.
Jason's dad and stepmom came down from Delaware this weekend and we had a really nice visit with them. We were so glad that they could meet Ellie and we really appreciate all of there help over this weekend. We were also so thankful for the rest of the family who came to Ellie's baptism. Jason's aunts and uncles, my siblings, and our parents. We also were so happy to have some great friends with us, my Godmother and Ellie's Godfather Glenn! She is loved!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Growing...growing...growing!
Today was Ellie's 2 month doctor's appointment. She weighed in at 8 pounds and 10 ounces, nearly 2 pounds more than last month! She was 21.75 inches long which was also almost 2 inches more than last month. She is at the 4th percentile for weight (which is great considering she was a month early) and 23rd percentile for height. The doctor said she looked great!
The shots were not as bad as I thought. Although they checked off five vaccines that she needed today they had a combo vaccine for 3 of them so she only had to get 2 shots and one oral vaccine. She took them like a champ. She cried for maybe 20 seconds and then just wanted to be snuggled for a minute. She has been a little cranky today but we gave her tylenol and she has been sleeping it off.
On other exciting news my mom finished up her Christening Gown....It is beautiful!!! Sunday is the big day when she will be baptized by her great grandfather. It should be a pretty special day.
We had a great visit with my Aunt Lori and Uncle Bob (Ellie's Great Aunt and Uncle!) They stopped by on their way home from Florida and we had a great time. Lori made Ellie a beautiful knit blanket. Check it out in the picture. She is such a lucky little girl! We are so sad that they leave today :(
This morning we got a tour of the BACK of Krispy Kreme! It was Ellie's first trip to the wonderful world of hot glazed amazingness and I personally think she enjoyed it.
The shots were not as bad as I thought. Although they checked off five vaccines that she needed today they had a combo vaccine for 3 of them so she only had to get 2 shots and one oral vaccine. She took them like a champ. She cried for maybe 20 seconds and then just wanted to be snuggled for a minute. She has been a little cranky today but we gave her tylenol and she has been sleeping it off.
On other exciting news my mom finished up her Christening Gown....It is beautiful!!! Sunday is the big day when she will be baptized by her great grandfather. It should be a pretty special day.
We had a great visit with my Aunt Lori and Uncle Bob (Ellie's Great Aunt and Uncle!) They stopped by on their way home from Florida and we had a great time. Lori made Ellie a beautiful knit blanket. Check it out in the picture. She is such a lucky little girl! We are so sad that they leave today :(
This morning we got a tour of the BACK of Krispy Kreme! It was Ellie's first trip to the wonderful world of hot glazed amazingness and I personally think she enjoyed it.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
She Smiles!
Ellie smiles. It is so cute and so fun and so unbelievable. If she gets really excited her eyes light up and her mouth opens up and it is for sure a smile. I now spend all my time trying to get a smile from her. I know it will probably be a long time before we can catch it on camera...but we'll try.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Doctor on Thursday...
Because of the snow our doctor's appointment for this morning was canceled. Bummer...I was starting to mentally prepare myself. So we have a few more days to plump her up for her big weigh in! In other news we're getting ready to have Ellie's Great Aunt and Uncle Lori and Bob come to town this week and her Hamilton Grandparents coming this weekend!!! Lots of new people to meet. My mom and I are working on her Christening gown for her baptism this weekend. Hopefully it warms up before then!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Ellie is... "about" 2 months old.
I must say...I'm a little sad that Ellie doesn't have an official 2 month birthday. She was born on the 29th so she'll next be able to celebrate her 3 year and 2 month birthday which I'm guessing she won't be all that excited about. Oh well! I can't imagine what is like for the real leap year babies.
Ellie is doing well. She is alert and awake a lot which is great. Lately she has been laying under her play gym thingy and staring at the swinging toys. She hasn't figured out how her hands work quite yet but she is starting to identify her favorite things...like her pacifier. This week she found the ceiling fan and it is mesmerizing! I went out and got her this nifty mirror toy this week and she has enjoyed looking into that. She continues to enjoy her baths and will soak happily for as long as we let her. We have hopes that means she will enjoy the pool this summer.
Sleeping is about the same but we have no complaints in that department. During the day it is getting a little more difficult to get her to sleep in her crib but that is probably my fault. I must say I love holding her when she is all snuggled up and happy. So we are going to work on that...
Ellie goes to the doctor on Tuesday morning so I'm once again taking guesses on her weight... last month Logan and Jason tied each being 1/2 ounce away from her actual 6 pounds and 12.5 ounces. Here is a picture of her so that you can see she no longer has skinny little legs!!! I'm very sad that she has to have shots...I'm afraid she will be stronger than I am. Poor little thing!
Some highlights from Ellie's second month:
-Ellie continues to be a happy and healthy baby!
-This month Ellie has become so inquisitive. She looks at everything with interest. It is so cool to think about how she is learning and just taking everything in.
-Ellie and I took her first trip this month. We went to visit Vera et al. in Asheville. She was a great little traveler.
-Ellie's eyes changed dramatically this month! She started off with very dark almost black eyes. This month they have been lightening and I think they may be blue...
-I don't believe Ellie pooped in her bath this month (knock on wood!!!)
-We took Ellie to the nursery at church for the first time last Sunday. It was hard for me to drop her off but we all survived and I'm excited that she has such a loving church family and lots of great babies to interact with. Today when I picked her up there was a 6 day old baby in there with his mom. It was very very strange to see a younger-- and might I add smaller baby then Ellie!
-Great visits with Great Grandparents Fleming and Hamilton
-Her head control is getting pretty good. And this month she started moving and turning her head to look at things which is very cute when her head is still a little bit wobbly.
We're still loving every minute...
Ellie is doing well. She is alert and awake a lot which is great. Lately she has been laying under her play gym thingy and staring at the swinging toys. She hasn't figured out how her hands work quite yet but she is starting to identify her favorite things...like her pacifier. This week she found the ceiling fan and it is mesmerizing! I went out and got her this nifty mirror toy this week and she has enjoyed looking into that. She continues to enjoy her baths and will soak happily for as long as we let her. We have hopes that means she will enjoy the pool this summer.
Sleeping is about the same but we have no complaints in that department. During the day it is getting a little more difficult to get her to sleep in her crib but that is probably my fault. I must say I love holding her when she is all snuggled up and happy. So we are going to work on that...
Ellie goes to the doctor on Tuesday morning so I'm once again taking guesses on her weight... last month Logan and Jason tied each being 1/2 ounce away from her actual 6 pounds and 12.5 ounces. Here is a picture of her so that you can see she no longer has skinny little legs!!! I'm very sad that she has to have shots...I'm afraid she will be stronger than I am. Poor little thing!
Some highlights from Ellie's second month:
-Ellie continues to be a happy and healthy baby!
-This month Ellie has become so inquisitive. She looks at everything with interest. It is so cool to think about how she is learning and just taking everything in.
-Ellie and I took her first trip this month. We went to visit Vera et al. in Asheville. She was a great little traveler.
-Ellie's eyes changed dramatically this month! She started off with very dark almost black eyes. This month they have been lightening and I think they may be blue...
-I don't believe Ellie pooped in her bath this month (knock on wood!!!)
-We took Ellie to the nursery at church for the first time last Sunday. It was hard for me to drop her off but we all survived and I'm excited that she has such a loving church family and lots of great babies to interact with. Today when I picked her up there was a 6 day old baby in there with his mom. It was very very strange to see a younger-- and might I add smaller baby then Ellie!
-Great visits with Great Grandparents Fleming and Hamilton
-Her head control is getting pretty good. And this month she started moving and turning her head to look at things which is very cute when her head is still a little bit wobbly.
We're still loving every minute...
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