The New Normal

Well, this week has been eventful, but yet uneventful all at the same time (if that makes any sense)! I am finally starting to feel like we are kind of getting into a routine of sorts. I told Brad the other night that our new life with a child seems more normal with each passing day. Ellie's umbilical cord stump hasn't fallen off yet so on Monday I took her to the pediatrician so they could help speed up the process a little bit. While we were there they weighed her and she was 9 pds 1oz.
I am finally feeling more confident taking her out places by myself, so we took our first trip to Target on Tuesday and it went well. I will admit we were just there long enough for me to pick up the things on my list, but that's okay! Up until this week Ellie has been a great napper and as a rule has had to be woken up in order to eat. Unfortunately this is no longer the case. Now she naps for around 30 minutes (an hour if I'm lucky) and wakes up. We have been trying our best to get her back to sleep, although this doesn't always happen. This has been very traumatic for me since I was getting a lot of "me time" until this week. Luckily for us she is still sleeping well at night for the most part.
Last night Brad gave Ellie a bottle for the first time and it didn't phase her a bit. She took it as if she had been drinking from a bottle all her life. We are planning on having me pump once at night for Brad to be able to feed her in the evening so that they can bond and to give me a little break. I must admit that watching her take that bottle last night was exciting but a little sad all at the same time. I'm happy for the freedom that this allows me but sad that she doesn't have to have me to eat.

One Month Pictures

One Month Old

This was one of my many attempts to get a one month picture of Ellie today. None of them turned out like I wanted them to but we will try again tomorrow. She was obviously done and furious by this point!

It's hard to believe that today Ellie is one month old! What a crazy, but great month it has been. Brad and I were looking at pictures last night from when she was born and it's amazing how much she has changed in 3 weeks time. We often find ourselves laughing at her various expressions and reactions to things and are loving getting to know our little girl. Ellie is getting stronger each day and is good at holding her head up for longer amounts of time as well as pushing up on her legs. She will "play" on her tummy for a few minutes without fussing. She seems to like her okay but we try to limit her time in it. We have tried to put her in it to buy a few minutes at dinner time without one of us having to holding her. She is eating well and sleeping well at night and has gone a 6 hour stretch a few times in the middle of the night.

Our main struggle right now is getting her to sleep. She fights it so badly at times and gets herself so worked up that it takes a while for us to calm her down so she will relax enough to fall asleep. I just got the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" today and I am hopeful that it will help us address this issue so we can set Ellie up for success in this area. I have found that I am more of a "sucker" than I had hoped I would be, and am having a hard time laying her down in her crib and letting her cry for a few minutes to give her the opportunity to begin learning how to self soothe. I am confident that we will get these kinks worked out soon and all will be well!

Our First Trip to the Park

This morning Ellie and I headed over to the Morrisville Park to hang out with a group of other moms from The Bridge. The weather was perfect and we had a nice time walking and talking with friends. For me this was not just our first trip to the park, but it was the answer to many prayers offered up to our gracious God. His goodness to us is so overwhelming and I am so thankful to finally be a mom!
On another note today Ellie has been more alert during her wake times. I have enjoyed spending time with her and getting to know my little girl. She is making sweet little noises now and is lifting her head up pretty good as well as pushing up with her legs. It is fun to see her little personality coming through already! For the past 2 nights she has also gone a 5 hour stretch before waking up hungry. Because of her good weight gain the doctor told us on Thursday to let her sleep as long as she wants between the hours of 12 -6am and we are gladly following his orders.

Just us girls

Well, today was Brad's first day back at work since Ellie was born two weeks ago. It had been so great having him home and he has been such a huge help to Ellie & I. Lucky for us for the next two weeks Brad will be working 3 days a week so we will still have some good bonding time as a family. Ellie and I had a good day together and the time flew by. I was a little worried about having to do everything on my own, but things went really well. Ellie is starting to be more alert during her wake times so it has been fun to "play" together a little bit. On Friday Jennifer and April, two close college friends, are coming over for a visit and I am looking forward to the company.
Tomorrow morning we take Ellie for her 2 week check-up. Both Brad and I are interested to see how much weight she has put on in the past 9 days. Hopefully if all is well the doctor will give us the okay to let her sleep at night instead of waking her to eat...we'll see.