Can't believe it's already been 6 weeks!!

Happy 6 weeks old, Elliot!!  Earlier this week Chris and I decided to get more pictures taken of our sweet boy.  I posted a few of our favorites!  We went to a place called Studio One.  They asked us if they could use one of his pictures in their studio and had us sign a model release.  Obviously I think he is adorable but it's pretty cool that they think so too, lol. 

Also thanks to a few reminders from some of my friends I finally figured out who won the baby pool.  Drum roll please... coming in 1st place is Niki A., 2nd place is Tammy J., and 3rd place is Christine K.  Congrats to the winners and thank you to everyone for playing along!

Update on Elliot:  He has changed SO much in the last 6 weeks ... he is literally growing like a weed and has outgrown most of his newborn outfits. 0-3 months clothes here we come, haha. He smiles more often and I think it's real smiles because it is in response to things like when we rub his cheeks or hair and when we give him kisses.  He has the cutest facial reactions and is so curious about the world around him.  He is constantly looking around and making happy faces when he sees something that he likes.  I love how inquisitive he is.  

This leads me to how strong he is ... pretty much since birth he has been able to lift his head but in the past 2 weeks or so he has gotten more steady and I notice that he has been keeping it up most of the time and looking around when holding him on our chest, unless he is snuggling, and during tummy time on his play gym.  He is a great sleeper (yay thank you Elliot!!) and really enjoys being in his room/crib.  We watch him via the video monitor and he has woken up a few times and just looked around, not cried, and fallen back to sleep.  He even likes to sit  in there when I do his laundry.  He is enthralled by his mobile and I love looking at him watch the mobile go around in circles.  

This week Elliot and I went to Mommy & Me.  It was a lot of fun to meet new mommies in the area.  After M&M I decided to take a short walk around Lake Hollingsworth - last time I do that at 11:30 in the afternoon, Hah!  It's been a busy few weeks but I'm loving it - being a Mommy is truly the best thing in the world and Chris is the best Daddy ever, I'm so so so so blessed to have this amazing husband and sweet baby boy in my life!!!  Thank you God for giving me this wonderful life!

Likes/Loves

- being held and snuggling

- being in his swing

- storytime

- bathtime

- trying to turn onto his side

- car rides and being pushed in the stroller

Dislikes:

- being on his tummy for too long - he gets upset when he tries to scoot and doesn't really go anywhere

- getting into his carseat

Not too many dislikes, he's such a happy baby!

Happy 1 month to our sweet little Elliot!

(yes that's an iPad in the picture ... wonder how funny it will be to see that in 25 years ... can't imagine what they will have then)

I can't believe it ... Elliot is 1 month old already!!  REALLY?!  I absolutely love being a Mommy and I can't imagine life being better than it is right now!  Chris is an amazing father, Elliot is great a baby and I have to admit, he's super cute! lol

This has been a big week for Elliot.  He had his first bath in his bathtub ... no more sponge baths for him.  He really likes it and we love how calm and lovable he is after bathtime.  He has also been napping more frequently (and for longer periods) in his crib.  What a big boy!!  He really likes tummy time and it is very evident how strong he is getting ... his neck is getting strong, he loves to kick and scoot, and he is lifting more with his arms rather than just his neck.  He still gets aggravated when he doesn't move much so we try to spend at least 10 mins (2 sessions) a day doing tummy time.  I've noticed as well as my mom and Megan that Elliot is trying to roll over when changing or lying on his back or stomach.  Nothing official but he is making the motions.

Exciting news: we received Elliot's social security number/card - he is officially official! lol  This means we were able to open Elliot's savings account!  If you remember from earlier pregnancy posts, Chris and I started a piggy bank for him when I was pregnant.  He also received a few "Welcome to the World" checks so we all went to open his account this past Saturday.

For the BIG #1 month we spent the day at Chris' mom's house for a fish fry and the early evening at my parents house.  Chris' sister's friend had a baby girl just 3 days after Elliot was born so it was fun to see another baby of the same age.  Elliot had his first DATE ... what can I say, he has a way with the ladies.  We got a few really cute pictures ... I will post a little later this week.

Speaking of pictures, my mom took a picture of Elliot in my coming home from the hospital outfit ... what makes this even more special is that I came home from the hospital exactly 28 years ago this past weekend.  How cool!  I will post a picture of that too...

As of Thursday 7/15/10 Elliot weighed in at 7lb, 15.5 oz!

I had my post partum follow-up appointment with Dr. Langley.  It went great!!  It was nice to see everyone again ... I had become quite the regular ... gotta love weekly OB appts.  They had Elliot's birth announcement hanging up and all said he was adorable (which of course I know, lol).  The best part of the appointment was that I had lost 23 pounds since my last Dr visit which was at 36 weeks (5 weeks ago).  Dr. L was VERY happy with this and added up my total loss to be 59 lbs.  Ummmm I'm not sure if I should be happy or upset about this.  YES Im happy especially since I could have GAINED 23 lbs or even 59 BUT I don't think I look much different and definitely not 59 lb different. lol  Oh well, I will take it and run! haha  Dr. Langley reiterated how rare it is to actually lose weight during pregnancy and said my body must like being pregnant.  I jokingly told him that I will be back for the pregnancy diet in 2-3 years. haha

That's all for now ... check back soon for the addition of pictures!

Love,
CCE

Happy 28th Birthday ... to me!!

Happy Birthday to me!!  I can't believe that I'm 28.  It seems way too close to 30, lol.  This birthday was very special to me because this is my 1st birthday as a Mommy.  My 27th year was by far the best and most exciting year of my life as we found out, prepared for, and welcomed our 1st baby into the world.  Elliot actually listened to me when I asked him to be born before my birthday although I never imagined that I'd be celebrating with nearly a month old baby.

Thanks to Chris' sister, Megan, I was able to get a manicure and pedicure before our first date night out after Elliot's birth.  My fingers and toesies look so pretty!  This was his first experience with a babysitter ... if you know me well enough you'll know that I/we checked in a few times, lol!   Later that night Chris and I had a yummy dinner but of course we talked mostly about Elliot and looked through his pictures on our phone while we waited for dinner to come. lol  Megan also surprised us by moving his bassinet into the guest room and having Elliot sleep with her so we could have a full night's sleep ... HORRRAY!  Thank you so so so much Megan and I hope you've caught up on some sleep, lol. 

Here's to my 28th year!!  

Life with a newborn...

is busy!!  I LOOOVE having Elliot here but sometimes I miss the spoiled days of my pregnancy when all I had to do was eat right, rest, and drink plenty of water.  lol  As many of you know, I'm not at all a morning person but I can't say that I mind waking up to Elliot's adorable face.  Even if he is crying because he's hungry or needs a diaper change.  I love spending time with him, watching him sleep in his pack and play or bouncy seat.  And I truly love how he likes to cuddle up on me (and on Chris) after he has eaten and been burped.  I think he gets his best sleep and even counts as a little tummy time when he's awake.   This week we've started tummy and awake time in his Jungle theme gym from his Great Aunts.  He loves it and is intrigued by all of the bright colors and toys there are to play with.

Here are a list of things Elliot likes and doesn't like:

Likes/Loves:
- to be held
- to be swaddled
- when you talk to him... especially likes to be complimented, ie: "Elliot is so cute", "you're adorable", "Elliot is a good boy" and "I love you" are his favorites. lol
- he likes car rides especially with the sleep sheep (best invention ever!!)
- being in his bouncy chair
- tummy time until he realizes he isn't moving when he scoots and kicks his legs

Dislikes:
- diaper changes ... specifically the cold wipes
- he's not a fan of bath time just yet
- being laid on his back
- tummy time after he tries to scoot and makes little progress

This week we celebrated Elliot's very first 4th of July!!  We also decided to get newborn pictures of our lil guy.  I think we got a few great shots!!  He was 15 days old in these pictures:

I can't believe how much he has changed and grown in 3 short weeks ... our little boy is growing up so quick!  On Tuesday he weighed in at 7lb 7.5oz.

Check back often for more Elliot updates. :)

Elliot's birth story

Elliot has arrived!!!!!  Happy BIRTHday to our sweet baby boy!


Stats:  Elliot Kurt Rohde born on June 18, 2010 at 4:18pm weighing 7lb, 3oz, 19.5 inches long.  He is a perfectly healthy and beautiful baby boy!!  Thank you God for this amazing gift!!


After 22 hours of labor with 30 minutes of pushing we welcomed our precious son into the world.  Chris was beyond an amazing coach and labor partner ... I couldn't have hoped or asked for better!!  I wish I could tell you how awesome it was to see Chris' face light up with pride and excitement as he saw and held our baby boy for the first time.  My labor was fairly textbook with no complications (thank you God!) and I was up walking around the same night after my epidural wore off.


Here's how it all happened:


June 17, 2010:  I was talking to my Mom wishing them a Happy 30th Wedding anniversary.  I had been cramping all day but still continued to run my errands and get things done around the house.  I figured that I couldn't baby myself and be miserable with the cramps because I had another 3-4 weeks of them to look forward to.  Little did I know that those were contractions!  Everyone always said "oh you'll know what contractions feel like" ... apparently not ... I ignored them all day because they felt like traditional period cramps and nothing like a contraction that I had read about.  Anyway, Chris got home from work and I told my Mom I had to go and stood up to greet Chris.  It was then that I stood up and instantly KNEW my water had broken.  It was 6:15pm.  I waddled to the bathroom, not making a spill on the floor (yay!) and confirmed indeed my water had broken.


Chris quickly gathered last minute things as I made phone calls.  I called my Mom back (not more than 2 minutes after we had just hung up), called Chris' mom and sister THEN I called my Doctor on call.  They told me to come in to be sure.  We arrived to the hospital around 7:30pm where I was taken to triage to be examined.  My water had in fact broken and we would be holding our baby boy within 24 hours.  SURREAL!  At that exam I was 2-3 cm and 30% effaced.  It would be a LONG night.  We were transferred to Labor & Delivery.  Our parents arrived to the hospital by 10:30 that night to wait for their first grandchild to be born.


The rest is sort of a blur but here are the accounts from family as Chris was updating them all night:


11:04 pm:  She's up to 3, 70% effaced

12:32 am:  Contrx 2-3 mins apart

1:29 am:  4 cm 70% now (same effaced)
4:50 am:  I'm 4-5 80% head still high.  Grrr.  Getting epi :)

5:29 am:  Anesthesiologist just got here.

7:44 am:  6 cm 80%

9:14 am:  Just started the pitocin

12:36 pm:  Just checked 8 cm, not fully effaced yet, station -1 (so a little closer than before) 

2:02 pm:  9.5, 100% soft, still very high

2:16 pm:  Alright doc confirmed 9.5 and fully effaced, -1 station.  40 minutes on her side, then sitting up to coerce him to move down.

2:56 pm:  Station +2, heads just about crowning.  Pushing soon.

2:57 pm:  Whohoo

3:24 pm: Contractions coming hard and fast.  Will push soon, I'll let you know.  (Included picture of monitor)

3:36 pm:  Starting 


*side note:  starting means they finally believed me when I said I felt a ton of pressure.  They were setting up all the blue stuff/tools and called NICU to be there since he was 37-38 weeks.  Doctor did not arrive until later when he was pretty much out.  I had to STOP pushing because we had to wait for the Dr to arrive.


4:18 Elliot is here ... Happy Birthday baby boy!

4:23 pm:  Chris sent picture to family. 

Elliot's 1st picture:  

Our 1st family picture:  


Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes during my pregnancy.  God has truly blessed us with the birth of our beautiful baby boy!  We are so excited to begin this new adventure of parenthood!!  Please continue to pray that our family is healthy and safe. xoxo

37 weeks ... Elliot is a FULL TERM baby!!

We are FULL term!!  Elliot can safely make his arrival.  He should weigh approx 7 lbs and be perfectly ready to come out and play.  NO sign of him coming yet.  I have lunch plans with a few friends this week and plan to get a pedicure.  Until then I will sit and wait for our precious baby boy!

He will be here soon!

36 weeks - 9 months pregnant!

These have been in draft mode for a while ... 36 week mark was June 7th.

Wowza - 36 weeks!  I can officially say that I'm 9 months pregnant.  The weirdest part about that statement is the fact that I have a whole month to go.  Although, we could be holding our sweet baby boy as early as ONE week ... 7 days from today!!!  While I'm sure Elliot will build the suspense and make us wait, we're so very excited to meet and hold him!  I hope he is at least thinking about when he wants to have a BIRTHday in the near future, haha!

This week I have my last ultrasound to check his size and position to confirm he is still head down for delivery purposes.  In a way, it's sad because I won't have anymore sonograms but it's exciting because the next time I see him, he will be born!  

Update on his Stats:  Elliot is estimated to weigh 6lb, 6 oz.  This means that he is growing at a perfect rate of 0.5lb per week. (exactly 2lbs heavier than he was 4 weeks ago).  Should I go to my due date he will likely weigh between 8-8.5 lbs.  He is measuring in the 62nd percentile for size and weight but his head measurement is in the 97th-98th percentile (they took 2 measurements).  Again this is not much of a surprise due to his Daddy's head size at birth.  Maybe he will be a little genius??  lol

This measurement is particularly concerning to me considering there are only 2 ways for him to be born and the preferred route scares me due to his head size.  Doctor still remains positive that I will be able to complete a vaginal birth.  I was checked at this appointment for dilation and I've made no progress towards labor. In fact Dr. Langley said, "you have a LONG way to go".  This is totally normal at this point but it appears that Elliot seems to be quite comfy in there.  I know first hand from good friends and even my mother that dilation doesn't mean must as to when a baby will be born.  I had 2 close friends who were 2-3 cm for a couple weeks and still needed induction to move the labor process along and then there was my Mom who was nothing on a Monday and I was born 2 days later on a Wednesday by 1:20 pm with no assistance from an induction.  Here's hoping I have a quick labor like my Mom did!!

Mommy: I'm feeling great - minus a rough Saturday afternoon.  I felt a ton of cramps and thought mmmmaaaaybe something was happening but they went away and by Sunday I was back to feeling great.  Chris and I did a bunch of baby prep this weekend so it was likely from being so active.

On Saturday we went to a child seat safety inspection hosted by the Sheriff's department.  They showed us how to install our car seats properly.  Luckily we went because our seats were in wrong.  While our seats were snug and in place we used the wrong latches when we installed.  This is important to know since our car models had not been crash tested to uphold an accident the way we had installed them.  So they showed us how to install the car seats properly and then checked them to be sure.  We then learned how to properly harness Elliot in and change the car seat as he grows.  Our car seats have been officially inspected and are fully safe for his use!

On Sunday we went to Hollis Gardens for Chris to take more Maternity pictures of just me wearing a really pretty white shirt my Mom had gotten for me earlier in my pregnancy.  The pictures turned out great!!  Here are a couple:

Daddy:  Chris and I finished up the very last bit of shopping we wanted to do before Elliot arrives.  We bought an activity center/jumper which we think Elliot will really like.  It's the Baby Einstein musical jumper center.  We set that aside since he won't be using it until he is a few months old.  Chris put together his swing, which looks absolutely adorable.  I can't imagine how cute he will look being rocked in it.  I think Chris is getting excited and definitely in the nesting mode.  He is constantly doing laundry or chores around the house, with no prompts from me.  I'm not complaining, I LOVE the help.


That's all for this week ... stay tuned for updates on Elliot and when he decides to make his grand debut into the world!  Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers you've been sending for us, it's almost time to meet our son!