Family

During Ellie's first month we had a few visitors.

My sister was first. She stayed for 3 weeks which was fun. 

Then my dad and Pam came the day after Christmas and stayed a few days.

Lastly, my mom came and stayed for a week. 

 

They all loved meeting Ellie and I'm grateful for the memory of showing off my baby. 

1 month

Diapers and more

When I was pregnant I felt like one of the harder things to prepare for was diapers. How many of each size? What's the best kind? What's the stock up price? Etc.

I wanted to do a post on diapers/wipes in case the information is helpful to you and so I can reference it for my next baby. 

When I looked things up online people had their preferences on diapers whether they had a boy or girl. Obviously, I have a girl, so keep that in mind.

Ellie was born at 6lbs 14oz and a month later  (about 8 pounds) she is still in newborn diapers. We went through 2 hospital packs of Pampers Swaddlers, another 2 packs of Pampers Swaddlers, 1 pack of Luvs, 2 packs of Huggies Snugglers, and 2 packs of Pampers Swaddlers. (in that order). Total=8 packages of diapers. Update: I used 10 packages of newborns. I could probably do one more, but I'm going to try 1's. 

A few diapers were wasted if she pooped as soon as I laid it under her or if poop got on the outside of the diaper. I just threw it away. 

I definitely would say that Pampers Swaddlers were my favorite. They fit well and held everything in. My second favorite was Luvs. When I opened the package I was a little disappointed with the feel of the outside, but they too held everything in and fit well. However, with Luvs, I think they feel really full even when they aren't because of the material they use to soak up the pee. Not too sure on that. The Huggies newborn were cut low in the front for the umbilical cord which she didn't have anymore so that was kind of annoying and I can see that being a problem for boys. They also didn't fully hug her bottom. She never blew out of them, but it definitely could have if I didn't change them when I did. I suppose a chunkier baby might fit these better.  

The wetness indicator on the Pampers and Huggies are nice, but not necessary, because you can feel when it's a wet diaper. Some of the diapers were gifts and others I bought when I was pregnant so I know I didn't pay more than $5 a package. I did exchange some other sizes to get a few more newborn Pampers and they were nearly $10 a package! But I was just exchanging so I didn't have to pay for them. I think stocking up when they are on sale is the best way to go. But this can be stressful too not knowing how long your baby will be in each size. But I have heard and experienced that Walmart will take any diapers back as long as they sell them. So if you are just exchanging size then that would be the way to go if you find you have more than you need. 

There are so many types of wipes within each main brand, like diapers, and I haven't been keeping track of the specific types but I prefer the Pampers over the Huggies so far. The Pampers are wetter and thinner and don't rip when you take them out. The Huggies are thicker, less moist and rip when you are pulling them out of the package/box to use, which gets annoying. However, I'll use both if I get them on sale or free with coupons. The Pampers type that I like the most and do know the name of are called Natural Clean. I think I have used 4 or 5 packages of 64-72 count wipes. James admitted he used more wipes per changing in the beginning, but now we use approx. 1-2 wipes per change. 

I guess I should also mention clothes. When I first started buying clothes I was stressed about how many I needed to make sure I had enough. But honestly, doing laundry hasn't been that big of a deal and since I didn't think I would have a small baby I didn't have many newborn outfits, mostly 0-3 month size. But I have about 6 newborn sleeper outfits that I rotate through and I have 3 pairs of pants and a lot of onesies (but I only use a few) that I pair together. That has been plenty. She usually goes all day in one outfit then I change her outfit for bedtime. She'll be in 0-3 month size soon. 

Newborn Pictures

Here are some of Ellie's newborn pictures that I took. 

Enjoy.

Family Photo.

Birth Story

It's that time... to document my labor and delivery story. 

Now where to start? How about at 36 weeks pregnant...

(36 weeks 3 days)

My doctor said they check the babies position around 36 weeks. I had a feeling for quite awhile that my babies head was up and not down like it should be. Therefore, in a breech position. I could feel a hard round spot on my upper belly and I felt all the movement down below. I was never kicked in the ribs. At my 36 week appointment my doctor said she wasn't convinced the head was down. She did a quick ultrasound to confirm this. While it was kind of disappointing, I was not surprised at all because I just had that feeling.

While I know people might view breech deliveries differently, the options I had to personally choose between were a scheduled c-section or an external version. Both would take place at 39 weeks. I felt that having an external version was an option that would give the baby a chance to turn and deliver naturally. For us, it was worth a try.

I was really hoping to have my sister at the delivery and upon learning that we would have the baby at 39 weeks, we rescheduled my sister's flight to come a few days earlier to be here in time for the birth. Of course there was always the chance she wouldn't make it at all, because you can't always control when that baby is ready to come. 

(37 weeks 3 days)

On December 6th, I was 38 weeks pregnant and trying to get a lot done before I was going to have my baby. I actually had a dentist appointment on this day that I cancelled a few days prior. I also normally went to water aerobics in the morning, but decided not to go. I had plans to make frozen dinner meals and later in the day finish making swaddle blankets with my neighbor. I spent quite a few hours during the day preparing the frozen dinner meals so when the baby came I didn't have to cook for a few nights. James and I had gone to the store the night before and I completed 6 out of the 10 meals before I needed to clean up and head over to my neighbors.

This is where it gets exciting...I grabbed a wet paper towel and squatted (because you can't bend over at 9 months pregnant) to wipe the floor and POP/GUSH, my water broke (2:20pm). Thankfully I was in the kitchen on wood floors and not on the carpeted area. Haha. I'm not even sure I knew what to  feel or think. I knew I didn't have my hospital bag all put together yet, since I thought I had a week left. It was happening though, I knew I would be having my baby! I also hadn't eaten any lunch yet (which was probably because my subconscious knew I was going to have a baby that day), so I tried to eat a PB sandwich before I was forbidden to eat at the hospital. I think I ate a 1/4 of it.

I called James at work and told him my water broke and he caught the bus and came right home. I must say, there have been many times in the past that I wanted to "cry wolf" and tell him my water broke just to see what he would do, but I'm sure glad I never did because he knew right away I was serious. 

When James got home he found me in the bathroom getting ready. Since I had time, I wanted to look decent and cute as possible before heading to the hospital. About 30 mins after my water broke I could tell the contractions were starting. We didn't leave the house until an hour and a half later and by then my contractions were getting stronger and I wasn't able to really talk through them anymore. Contractions were different than what I expected too. I thought it would be like a painful braxton hick, but it was more of a really strong menstrual cramp. 

We arrived to the hospital and checked in and I told the nurses the baby was breech and one of the nurses said, "See you in c-section then." I looked at James and rolled my eyes. Since my water broke on it's own we weren't sure of our options with trying to turn her. The other nurse that was assigned to me said that without the water there wasn't enough buoyancy to turn the baby, but she of course would still ask the Dr. They couldn't get a hold of my Dr. but the Dr. on call that night came in and told me that it just wasn't safe to try and turn her and c-section would be the best option. 

I guess I should mention that that whole "getting ready thing" was a joke because I cried A LOT. I cried because I was in pain, I cried because of the news (I really wanted to try and avoid having a c-section), I cried because I was scared...I just cried! And therefore, didn't look cute anymore. 

Before we knew it, I was being taken back into surgery and James was escorted in later. It all happened quite quickly which was nice because I didn't have enough time to get too anxious about everything and I was quickly relieved of the contractions which were only getting stronger. 

After James came into the room the Dr. said he could see the feet and when James looked, he saw her whole body out, but her little head required a few tugs. She was actually crying while still in me. Then her head came out and she was lifted up so I could see her. All I kept saying was "She is so little." And of course, I was crying. After she was checked out they brought her over to me and I got to look at her and kiss her. James followed her to the recovery room while they finished up with me. I kept asking the anesthesiologist how much longer it would be and she said probably 20 min, but I think it ended up being 10 min. Then I was taken to recovery where they monitored me for a few hours and I got to hold and nurse my baby before we were taken to postpartum.

James and I had two names picked out for our baby girl, but we hadn't officially decided on either. When I was in the recovery room I asked James what he thought and he immediately said Ellie Rae. So that was it, Ellie Rae was born on December 6th at 6:10pm. She weighed 6lbs 14oz and was 18in. long. She was two weeks early, healthy, beautiful, and her birthday is far enough away from Christmas that I was happy. 

My sister sadly didn't get to make it for the delivery, but she is here now loving on baby Ellie and keeping me company. 

While I didn't want to have a c-section, it turned out alright. It was a special experience and my recovery wasn't as bad as I expected. 

We hired a birth photographer to be at the birth as well. And I knew having a c-section would mean she wouldn't get to get as many shots, but she captured some special moments for us and for that I'm grateful. James also did a great job getting the pictures the photographer wasn't able to capture. I was proud! 

Maternity Pictures

This past week my best friend Tania and her family drove up to Idaho to see us. We have only been apart 5 months, but we missed each other greatly. While she was here we planned on taking each other's maternity pictures. Yup, she is pregnant too! 

In some pictures I'm 34 weeks 3 days and others I'm 35 weeks. 

We seriously picked some of the coldest days to take pictures I think one day was like 38 degrees and another was 42? It was awfully chilly to try and look not cold. Since then the weather has warmed up though, of course.

 

Tania and I saw a "Best Friends" maternity picture before we were pregnant. Or maybe I knew I was pregnant and but she didn't yet? Either way, when she found out she was pregnant we were excited because we could do our picture. And turns out we are only about a month or so apart! Crazy. 

I am grateful she was able to make it up and grateful to have these pictures to remember my pregnancy!

Chenille blanket

So I thought it might be time for a project post?

I saw a blanket tutorial on a blog that I follow long before I was pregnant and I knew I wanted to make it someday. After I found out I was having a girl I got excited to start some crafts and I knew this blanket was one I wanted to make. However, it was not easy. It was a long process and then my back only became worse and I was not able to finish it without the help of James and my wonderful neighbor. 

 1. I originally wanted to use this fabric. But you need 3-4 different colors to make the blanket and I was just not loving my choices.
2. So I went with this fabric. I had a yard of it already, but somewhere along the way I tore some of it off for something else which made it a little short of a yard which sort of bugged me, but I figured it would be ok.
3. I either didn't take pictures of step 2a or I lost them somewhere, but I ironed all the fabrics and bought some spray craft adhesive, like the blog lady used, and I sprayed all the fabrics together so that when it was sewn they wouldn't shift as much. Then I sewed my first line down the diagonal of the blanket.
4. I continued doing so about every 1/2 inch apart. This was really boring and time consuming! The lines are definitely not perfect either. About a fourth of the way through (and a few weeks later) I couldn't sit anymore and I asked James to help me finish. He was able to sew the rest of the lines across the blanket.
5. Once all the lines were sewn I began to cut all the fabrics except for the patterned fabric on the front side. BUT this was too hard on my back. I was hunching over to do it. So my wonderful husband took over and cut almost the entire blanket.

6. Then it was time to cut off the excess fabric on the sides. I had a lot because the patterned fabric wasn't as long/wide as the color fabrics and when you sew some shifting occurs. 

7. Then it was time to sew the binding. I had never done binding before and I bought the packaged kind at Joanns, like the blog lady used, but my neighbor said she could make some which she thought would be better. I just bought red cotton fabric and she cut it and then so graciously sewed one side of it on. She taught me how to hand stitch the other side down which I was able to do because I could lay down and hand stitch.

8 & 9. Then it was time for the best part, washing it. This is where the magic begins. The whole point of sewing on the diagonal is so that it frays in the washing machine and looks like chenille. 

10. It really turned out awesome and is nice and heavy. Perfect for a floor blankie too. I should have taken a picture of it all laid out, but you get the point.

Original tutorial can be found here