Ellis at One Month

It's hard to believe but Ellis was one month on June 30th. The last month has flown by and we love having our little girl! Here are some pictures of our growing girl and what she's up to at one month!

This is what was going on before the last picture

Ellis, at your 1 month appointment you weighed 7 lbs 0.5 oz and you were 20 1/2 inches.
You're starting to get into a routine. During the day you eat every 2 1/2 hours. After feedings you stay awake for 30-40 minutes before napping. At night you eat every 3 or 4 hours.
This weekend you went 5 hours between feedings one night and 6 another night!
You're pretty easy going unless you're hungry or tired
You enjoy your swing
You enjoy tummy time (if mommy or daddy are close)
You're a cuddle bug! You LOVE to be held!

Ellis,
We just can't get enough of you! We love to give you hugs and kisses. Your smiles are so sweet and you're starting to show your personality. We love you!
Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Ellis at One Week

It's hard to believe that on June 6th, Ellis was one week old! She is growing and changing so much each day! Here are some pictures of our sweet girl...

Ellis,
You are such a sweet and content girl so far. You are most awake first thing in the morning and before bedtime at night. You like to be swaddled and of course, held! You like for mommy and daddy to sing to you, we think you'll like music. Right now you would sleep through every feeding, but Dr. Harvey says to wake you up every 2 hours during the day and every 3 at night to eat. At your one week appointment you weighed 5 lbs, 15 oz.
You are such a beautiful little girl and we fall in love with you more everyday!
Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Ellis is Here!

On May 29th Matt and I were doing our normal evening routine, which consisted of this 37 week pregnant girl laying on the couch watching TV and my loyal husband being right by my side. It was about 8:30 p.m. and Matt and I were talking about when Ellis was going to arrive. We had come to the consensus that she was going to do it on her terms, probably wait a few weeks and that it would be a total surprise. Well, it was a surprise because at 8:45 p.m. my water broke!

We immediately grabbed a few items to add to our already packed bag and headed to the hospital. We finally got settled into a delivery room around 9:45 p.m. The nurse came to check me and I was dilated between 2 and 3 cm. I told her that I did not want an epidural, so she contacted our doctor (who happened to be on call) and Dr. Fry said that she'd let me labor until 4 or 5 a.m. and we'd go from there.

By about 12:20 a.m. my contractions were pretty strong and becoming unbearable. I told Matt that I might have to have an epidural. He went to talk to the nurse about our options. She came to check me and to my pleasant surprise, I was dilated to 6. She said that I could get pain medication through my IV to try to avoid an epidural. The medicine ended up being just enough to take the edge off.

The nurse came back to check me at 1:20 and I was at 9 cm. Within 15 minutes I was at a 10 and they called Dr. Fry to come in. I started pushing at 2:10 a.m. and Ellis arrived at 2:50 a.m. She weighed 6 lbs, 9 oz and was 19 inches long.

We love her so much and feel so blessed to have a healthy baby girl!

Last belly picture

Last picture as a family of two

First picture as a family of three 

Mommy & Ellis

Daddy & Ellis

The Nursery

Last weekend Matt and I finished up Ellis' nursery. The weekend before when we went to Conway, Matt & my dad worked on stripping and sanding a wardrobe for Ellis' room. Matt spent his evenings for the next week priming, painting, attaching a rail and attaching hardware to the wardrobe. The only thing left to put on it is the door, which my mom will be bringing up this coming weekend.

Here are pictures of the dresser and the rest of the room. All we need now is a little girl!

35 weeks!

Well, we made it to 35 weeks! Yay! Last Tuesday we went to see Dr. Fry and she said that the goal was 35 weeks and Saturday was that milestone! When we went to the doctor on Tuesday we got to see our sweet little girl on the ultrasound (yes, she's still a girl). She was measuring 5 pounds, 6 ounces, give or take a pound. Dr. Fry said that if she's born early and needs to go to the NICU that Northwest (where we will be delivering) isn't equipped for babies that are younger than 35 weeks so she'd be transferred to Willow Creek, which is 20 minutes away. But since we've hit this milestone then whenever she's born she should be able to stay at Northwest.

Dr. Fry checked me on Tuesday and I was still at 1 cm but Ellis is very low. Dr. Fry had to reach around Ellis' head to check to see if I was dilated. (That explains all the pressure I've been feeling lately!) Also at the appointment on Tuesday she increased my medicine to every 4 hours and recommended no more work for the rest of the week. I was only supposed to work one day so it worked out well. I do have to say that it's been kind of hard hanging around the house and laying low but it's completely worth it! It's been a lot easier with Matt around because he's taken on more than his share of the cooking, cleaning and laundry this week. (He's such a great husband!)

Here's a 35 week belly picture!

Conway Baby Shower

This past weekend we went to Conway for a baby shower for Miss Ellis. It was so much fun to see friends and family. We are so blessed to have people in our lives that care about our baby girl so much already!  Here are some pictures of the shower:

Cute decorations that Brittany made. She is so talented!

Cristina, Laura, Me, Megan & Mom

Just the Solberg girls

Kaye, Me & Adrienne

Brittany, Me & Sarah

I'm so glad that these two girls are my friends! I just love them!

The Hostesses: Pam, Brittany, Debra, Peggy and Judith

Two other hostesses aren't in the picture, Sandy and Betty

We had a great day on Saturday and I'm still trying to find a place for all of the goodies that we got!  Also, while us girls had fun at the shower Matt and my dad were working hard on refinishing a children's wardrobe for Ellis' room. It just needs some hardware and the door and then it'll be finished. I'll post pictures of the finished product later! 

32/33 Weeks

Last Wednesday afternoon, April 25, we went to the doctor for our 32 week check up. The appointment started out well with good blood pressure and Ellis' heart rate between 147 and 152. The doctor asked how things were going and I told her, "I'm sure it's nothing but those Braxton Hicks I've been having are becoming more frequent."  She asked, "How frequent?" I told her that I'm having about 5 to 6 contractions per hour.  After telling her that, Dr. Fry decided to check me and I was dilated to 1 cm. So, she prescribed me Procardia, which is blood pressure medicine that relaxes the heart but is also effective at relaxing the uterus. So far I've been taking the medicine every 6 hours and it's reduced the contractions to 1 or 2 per hour.  I've had my moments of being emotional about it and have worried plenty but have decided that I'm doing what the doctor recommended and it seems to be working. I'm just thankful for every extra day that she stays put! We'll go back to the doctor on Tuesday for an ultrasound to check Ellis' weight and for another check up.

The only pictures that I have from 32/33 weeks are from my shower so I'll put one below but it's not the best "belly" pic! 

Fun Facts about Ellis:  At 33 weeks, Ellis weighed a little over 4 pounds and has passed the 17 inch mark. She still moves around all the time and her little kicks are getting stronger!