Six Weeks Old!

Weight: If you recall, I was estimating last week that she was weighing in between eight and eight and a half pounds. Well, after an unplanned trip to see Lizzie's doctor last week, we learned that she is eight pounds, three and a half ounces. Which means she gained another 18 ounces in two weeks :) She is now at the 12th percentile for weight, up from the second percentile when she was born. My goal isn't necessarily to have her "gaining" in percentile level, but rather to at least stay steady at whatever percentile she's at, if that makes sense. Therefore, I'm a happy momma to see my baby holding steady and then some :)

Sleep: This little one doesn't look like she'll be letting me sleep through the night for quite some time. She's holding steady to her typical pattern, which is a solid three or four hours when she first goes down at night, and then waking every two hours or so after that. We did have one night this week where she was waking one or two hours (without any four-hour time frame of sleep). I was wondering if she was having a growth spurt after that night, but I haven't seen much for other examples of growth spurt after that. She has started to sleep less during the day, though -- she now has nice, long awake periods each afternoon and evening, probably about three or four hours worth each.

Medical Issues: I mentioned last week that baby girl might be battling some gas issues. We had kind of a scary last Thursday (well, scary for me, anyway). She woke up and ate, but not well, and immediately following, began crying hard. This made me think she probably wasn't feeling good after eating, as she typically is so content when she has a full tummy. Poor sweet baby continued to cry for the next 45 minutes straight, which is extremely unlike my little girl. I'd never seen her act that way! Her whole body would go rigid and stiff, and she'd grab onto me with both little hands as hard as she could and just cry. Completely broke my heart. So I called her doctor, and they suggested she come in later in the afternoon. She did finally give in and go to sleep around 11:00 for a nap, which I was glad for because she finally seemed comfortable again. However, she slept for the next four and a half hours straight. Even when I put her down on the floor without being wrapped in a blanket, she slept. Even while I changed her diaper, she slept. And when she would wake, her little eyes would just open, blink a couple of times, and go shut again. At that point, I became very concerned. She had only eaten once since her poor feeding right away that morning, and that second feeding wasn't much better than her first. Typically, she wants to eat every two hours. I was worried there was something bigger going on, so I took her temperature -- normal. I walked around the house with her like a zombie, worried out of my mind. When it was finally time to go in for her appointment, I cried on the way into town. I was already planning what I would eat for supper in the hospital when they admitted her for the night (I'm obviously extremely dramatic). When we finally saw her doctor, she had just woken up (which happened as the result of her having to be stripped down to just a diaper to be weighed) and he did her little check-up. And whaddya know? She looked perfect. He listened to her tummy and thought there were a lot of noises in there (meaning, I assume, gas), but other than that, all was well. I asked about her sleepiness and lack of appetite for the day, and he said that was likely due to her "stressful" morning when she had tummy troubles for an extended period of time. She was just sleeping off the stress, I guess. So I took baby girl home, where she continued to sleep for three more hours. I was just starting to get worried again when I heard her little cry coming from her bedroom... a sound I've never been so happy to hear! Sweet girl was back to her normal self by that evening, and momma was a happy lady.
Clothes: Still sportin' the newborn sizes and have yet to grow out of anything, but are beginning to grow into more and more of our "bigger" newborn stuff.
Socialite!: Lizzie girl visited lots of family in Fargo this weekend for her cousin's baptism. She enjoyed being held by some family members she hadn't seen in a few weeks and was a fabulous travel companion, as per usual. She's also started to hang out with other kiddos at the Y when I go to group exercise classes. So far, she seems to be a popular lady amongst the two-year-olds -- because, let's face it: what toddler doesn't love a new baby? And the workers there seem to like her too, mostly because she wears cute headbands, has lots of hair, and does nothing but sleeps while she's there... so she's sweet to look at and easy to take care of :) Nothing better, right?

Diet: Milk, as usual. Still nursing exclusively.

Baby Gear Love: I'm going to be lame this week and say her crib and rocking chair. I'm loving her crib, because she takes such long naps in there, which I think is awesome when it comes to getting things around the house done. Earlier this week, she slept for two hours while I made supper and Andy and I ate supper. It was genuinely shocking at how much I'd forgotten what it was like to hang out with my husband as just the two of us. It was nice... but it was also nice when she woke up :) I'm also loving her rocking chair. She loves a good rock combined with lullabies. I've been singing many of the same lullabies now as I did to her when she was in the womb. I was especially fond of "You Are My Sunshine" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" while she was still in my tummy, and those two seem to be the  most soothing to her. Isn't that so cool?

Crying: I've realized that "crying" is different from "complaining" when it comes to babies. She doesn't do a lot of crying, but she will "talk" in a complaining tone, if that makes sense. Anyway, that being said... her crying still remains to be very much under control. She doesn't cry too often, and when she does, we can remedy it quite quickly. Sometimes all she needs is a good snuggle... to which we're happy to oblige :)

Mommy News: This week, I returned to the Y as a group exercise class goer. I've gone to a few yoga classes and one Zumba class (no more Zumba in my living room... hurrah!) and have really enjoyed them. What I enjoy even more is the drop-in childcare offered to members and the fact that she's so close by, and if something goes wrong or if she needs me, the workers know where I am (you write down your work-out plans in the sign-in book) and can come and get me.

Sidenote: seriously, Zumba is maybe the most fun thing I do in the week. So much fun!

Anyway, I will start teaching my pilates class again next week, which I'm excited for. I've missed it!

In other mommy news: I cut my hair! I think my hair stylist probably took off five inches or so... but I needed it! My hair was getting so heavy (I have very thick hair) and just needed a change. So I went for an inverted bob that can still be put into a (teensy tiny) ponytail.

Milestones: The smiles are continuing to make a gradual appearance. So excited to see them regularly and to hear those little giggles, too! We're also hearing more and more "talking" from her... we love hearing her little voice!

Lizzie has officially figured out how to roll from her tummy to her back. She's been rolling like that since she was six days old, but as of last week, it's very apparent that she knows how to do it. When we put her on her tummy, she'll just decide she's had enough and roll over to her back. It's hilarious :)

Another milestone? She made mommy realize it would be best to bring a change of pants when going somewhere. And not a change of pants for Lizzie -- but for me. When we were at my nephew's baptism last Sunday, Lizzie got hungry about 15 minutes into mass. Andy gave me a diaper and wipes on my way out to change her with as well. When we got into the gathering place, I sat down in one of the chairs and put on my nursing cover-up and put baby girl in my lap. Now, she's been wearing size-one diapers since she is up to eight pounds (newborn diapers go from six to eight pounds, size ones go from eight to 14 (or 16?) pounds), but they have seemed to be a little big for her, but we hadn't had any mishaps with them, so I didn't think much of it. Anyway, when I sat down in the chair, she must have peed simultaneously... and unfortunately, since her diaper was a bit big, the leg holes weren't tight against her little legs (I'm sure you can see where this is going) and I felt something warm in my groin area. I thought it was odd that she felt so warm (I assumed at first that it was due to a very full diaper that needed changing), but then I realized that I recalled that same warm sensation from my early childhood years. Unfortunately, it was the feeling of peeing one's pants... no, not me peeing my pants, but Lizzie peeing and it coming out of her diaper and onto my lap. Because I was sitting down in a leather chair, the pee ended up not just going on the front of my crotch, but also up the back of my pants. So it completely looked like I had peed my own pants. Great. I made my way to the bathroom as discreetly as I could, hoping to find a hand drier... no luck. So instead, I didn't end up going back into mass and stood near a window and a heater vent, hoping that both would help my pants dry out. Which they did, without any staining... but not before mass was over. Anyway, I learned a couple valuable lessons: bring an extra pair of pants, and always dress your child in a diaper that fits.

Ah, the life of mommyhood :) I wouldn't trade it for anything -- peepants and all.

Five Weeks Old!

Our fifth week with little Lizzie included some smiles and Daddy's first Father's Day. It was, of course, extraordinarily wonderful :)

Weight: As of two weeks ago, Lizzie was seven pounds, one and a half ounces. I spent the next week speculating what she might be, and I was guessing maybe around seven and a half pounds. I mean, she can't keep up the pace of gaining 18 ounces in 13 days, right? Well, I might be wrong. When we stepped on the scale without and then with her the other night, she clocked in at eight and a half pounds... say what?! Now, there's certainly room for error, because our scale isn't all that precise, but... I'd say there's a good chance she's pushing eight and a half anyway. Which means she's gained another 18 ounces (at least) in 14 days. This girl is a machine!

Sleep: Lizzie is still giving me three or four hours of sleep in our first stretch at night, followed up by two-hour chunks. Some nights when I get lucky, she'll sleep for two four-hour stretches, but that doesn't happen too often. However, I can't complain much: baby girl wakes up, eats for five to 10 minutes, and then goes back to sleep right away -- so it's not that bad. Plus, mommy gets some middle-of-the-night snuggles :) I kind of love that quiet time. Just the two of us, when the rest of the world is completely quiet and I can tell her how much she's loved. She's my girl.


During the day, she still sleeps most of the time. She has a few two-hour "awake" periods throughout the day, usually falling in the morning when we get up, in the later afternoon and before we go to bed.


Medical Issues: I have a hunch that my sweet baby might be battling some gas issues... she can tend to get fussy in the middle of and/or after feedings sometimes, and also will wake up from a dead sleep and let out a painful cry, and then go back to sleep. These both can potentially signal a gas problem, but who knows. Hopefully we'll get it figured out soon. For now it doesn't seem to be too earth shattering, but I'd like to resolve it sooner, rather than later, if it is an issue for her.

Clothes: We're still in our newborn clothes. Have yet to grow out of anything, and still have lots to grow into! We did get to break out a cute dress last Saturday for a wedding of a coworker of mine :)

Socialite!: The glamorous life of Lizzie continues! As I just mentioned, we attended a wedding of another teacher from my school over the weekend. Lizzie got to hang out with lots of wonderful friends of mine and we got to enjoy good conversations and lots of laughter :) Strangers continue to love on her, as she still appears to be a newborn even though she is five weeks old.

Diet: Milk, of course, Nursing exclusively, though I should probably take out a bottle so she at least gets exposed to it for when the school year starts.

Baby Gear Love: This week I've become a huge fan of my Moby wrap! A sweet friend on Facebook directed me to the newborn hold, and since Lizzie is now (an estimated) eight pounds or more, I felt comfortable using it -- and let me tell you, it's awesome. I now have two free hands again! I can cut pineapple, make lunch, fold clothes, empty the dishwasher, (the list goes on!) all while keeping Lizzie happy, close and comfy :) Both Mom and Lizzie are big fans. It also lends itself to dancing in the kitchen to Taylor Swift comfortably, which both Mom and Lizzie are big fans of as well :)

Crying: She's had a few fussy times, but usually those have been due to Mom and Dad's silliness. You know, when you look at each other after she's been crying for ten minutes and say, "maybe we should check her diaper..." -- and lo and behold, it's dirty! And once it's changed, viola! Like magic, she's back to her happy self. So we're learning! Check all the obvious things first. When those don't work, she loves being sung to and rocking in her rocking chair while snuggled in a blanket -- and, I'll admit, I don't hate those activities ;)

Mommy News: This mommy is learning how to "let go" just a teensy bit. And by that, I mean I'm starting to allow Lizzie to sleep in her crib for naps rather than holding her. While talking with my mom about when babies should start to fall asleep on their own, she suggested I start laying Lizzie in her crib for one nap a day so she gets used to it and being in her room. Right now, Lizzie sleeps in a bassinet next to our bed, and I tend to hold her while she naps during the day (newborns are just so sweet, how can you not!?). So even though it was ridiculously hard, I did the impossible and laid my sweet baby in her crib when she fell asleep a few afternoons ago. And although I was reluctant to leave the room, I did... and you know what? It was actually kind of nice. I cleaned the house while she rested peacefully. Granted, I was definitely in her room every five minutes to check on her, but still. I let her sleep until she woke up. And then I got to run in and look like the hero when she cried upon waking :)

As mentioned last week, I started doing yoga again and am also trying to do some more "active" things (i.e. Zumba in my living room... HA! Please don't drive down my street and peek in my windows. I'd be horribly embarrassed!) a few times a week. I'll likely go back to teaching yoga/pilates in the coming weeks, too.

Milestones: Last Saturday morning when Lizzie woke, I picked her up and said, "hello!" in that mommy-way, and she gave me a great, big, gummy grin :) Her first smile without me having to act like a fool! Unfortunately, it seems she's a tough cookie, and has been holding out on smiling much more than that. We've seen maybe one smile a day since then that we've been able to elicit... but it's coming!

She also found her hands and will suck on her fist, and sometimes her thumb :) It is so cute!

Lizzie is also getting much stronger in her neck! She can hold it up for longer, and last night she was even up on her elbows  and had her shoulders lifted, too! It was awesome. I also think she's starting to roll on purpose from her front to her back. It's amazing to watch her figure it out and take the steps she needs to roll from front to back :)

Four Weeks Old!

We are officially one month old as of today! My baby girl is looking older and older all the time. The theme of her fourth week was definitely traveling far from home on some fun adventures :) Daddy's first Father's Day is coming up on Sunday, and Lizzie is ready to par-tay!

Weight: Proud momma right here! Lizzie and I went in to the clinic last Thursday for a simple weight check, to make sure she's getting enough to eat and is, in turn, gaining weight appropriately. My sweet baby continues to be an over achiever in the weight department, because she gained 18 ounces in 13 days... woohoo! We are now seven pounds, one and a half ounces!

Sleep: Lizzie has given up her middle-of-the-night alert hours this last week, which I can't complain about :) She tends to sleep for four solid hours for the first part of the night, and then wakes up once every one and a half to two hours to eat and goes right back to sleep. This is typically her nighttime schedule, although we've had a couple of nights where she's let me get two four-hour chunks of sleep instead. Those are mommy's favorite nights :) Although, I do have to say, that I'm not bothered by her waking every hour and a half to two hours. I know this might not last a whole lot longer, so I try to enjoy it as much I can. So I get in my snuggles and gaze at her sweet little face in the dim light and say some pretty hefty "thank yous" to the Big Guy upstairs for giving me this wonderful reason to be awake at three o'clock in the morning.

She's not a big fan of being swaddled while she's awake, but if she's not swaddled, she doesn't sleep... so I try to wait to swaddle her until she's extremely drowsy. She still fights it, but she gives in to mommy's lullabies and falls asleep shortly thereafter.

On Sunday morning, we had a slight sleep hiccup that I'll take responsibility for. I didn't change her diaper earlier in the night (er, early morning) when she woke up to eat because she didn't feel wet and didn't smell much, but then she woke up pretty sad at 4:45 in the morning. As it turns out, she had a slight blow-out... which could possibly be attributed to a very full diaper since I didn't change it a couple hours before. This meant we needed not only a new diaper, but new jammies and a new sheet in her bassinet as well. All of this commotion resulted in a very alert baby who didn't feel like snoozing again until 7:00 that morning :) Unfortunately, the alarm rings at 8:00 on Sundays now for mass since I have a little one to have prepped and ready to go by 9:40. Luckily, my husband is a stand-up guy and took his turn with Lizzie at 6:30 so I could get a little more sleep.

Clothes: Still hanging out in all of our newborn things! Nothing is too small yet, and we still have lots of newborn things that are still too big!

Socialite!: Ah, the life of a social butterfly! Lizzie is still buzzing around and hanging out with lots of fun people. I mentioned last week that we were waiting for the arrival of our new nephew, who was supposed to be due right around the time we were due. Well, Michael Patrick arrived a couple of days ahead of schedule (and was 10 1/2 ounces heavier than Lizzie!), so we had to go meet sweet baby Michael Patrick on Saturday. Lizzie did a fabulous job riding to and from Fargo and only had a few tears on the way home. While in Fargo, we got to hang out with Auntie Desiree, Uncle Jake, cousins Brayden, Noah and Mykenna, and Uncle Josh, Auntie Tracy and cousins Rachel and (brand new!) Michael. Michael and Lizzie bonded over being almost the exact same size, swapped stories about womb life, and even held hands (that one actually did happen... it was ridiculously sweet)!

And those strangers are still loving our little girl :) I think it's because she's so tiny, so at four weeks, she's still looking like a newborn... and apparently people love newborns.

Diet: Milk! Still has a good appetite.

Baby Gear Love: Our new favorite swaddlers are the "SwaddleMe" sacks, which I bought in St. Cloud at their Target yesterday. They're pretty awesome, as they help out moms and dads of babies who don't care much for being swaddled but still need to be. They have velcro on them and make swaddling extremely simple. We tried them out for the first time last night and they're keepers!

Crying: The crying still remains pretty easy to solve by either changing a diaper, feeding, or snuggling her. She's a pretty sweet baby girl!

Mommy News: This momma remains on cloud nine. I am loving every single day with my sweet girl! I didn't go through a "transition" time, really -- I was ready to have the role of "mommy" and have embraced every aspect and tried to appreciate every moment. I look at Lizzie now and can honestly hardly remember being pregnant at this point -- it's still so surreal to me that she came out of me and had been living in my tummy! God is so amazing. Babies and the gift of life are proof of miracles.

Something I've found that's really odd now that I'm no longer pregnant is I'm starting to crave junk food like nobody's business! Cookies, candy, ice cream... you name it, I want to eat it. And not just a few times a day. But all. The. Time! Which is strange for me, especially because I had zero cravings while pregnant (well, aside from OJ, milk and Oreos). I'm trying my best to keep it under control :) I assume that this will pass, but we'll see...

Last week one day, I did yoga again for the first time since Lizzie was born and it was glorious. It felt incredible to be all stretched out again and to just be quiet. I was glad to feel this way, because I wasn't sure how I'd feel about going back to teaching it again in a few weeks -- but I feel like I could teach again now!

I also got to go shopping in St. Cloud yesterday. It was my first shopping trip in probably 10 months that I felt like I could really buy things that weren't maternity-friendly (and I tried not to buy much of that!).

Milestones: Our first shopping trip was yesterday at four weeks, two days old! She was a fabulous shopping companion :) She slept the whole way to and from in the car, and only woke up when her tummy was hungry.

Lizzie also met her new cousin, Michael Patrick, which I would consider a milestone :)

We think she's starting to smile for us just a teensy bit. She seems to get this slight smirk on her face when we clap her hands together really fast and say, "yay!!!!" with a big smile on our faces. Don't we sound like such cool people now? :) Babies change everything.

She is also doing some "ooh" and "aah" noises. Cutest sounds we've ever heard!

Lizzie also has a talent for being able to hold her body weight on her little legs when we hold her on her feet... maybe she'll be an early walker? Or maybe this mommy is just thinking her little lady is amazing and an over-achiever all-around ;)

We're looking forward to those smiles becoming for sure smiles and getting bigger and more frequent :) We also can't wait for her to be able to hold up her little head, just because she would love to be able to look around on her own so much!

Three weeks!

How is my sweet baby three weeks old already!? I think I'll probably feel this way always. Time goes too fast! This week marks the week Lizzie was expected to arrive. We're so blessed with having her arrive healthy even though she arrived early :)

Weight: As mentioned last week, at Lizzie's two-week check-up, she weighed in at five pounds, 15 1/2 ounces. She's continued to eat like it's her job (which, let's face it, it is), so I'm guessing she's put on at least another half-pound at this point. My guesstimate is she's somewhere between six and a half and seven pounds. I have a nephew who is set to be arrive any day now, so the big question is: who will be bigger? Lizzie, after being out of the oven for three weeks? Or baby boy, after baking the appropriate amount of time? My money is on baby boy, but we'll see...

Medical Issues: Medical issues? What medical issues? There are none, aside from being petite like mommy :) Our sweet baby is healthy and happy! So here's to hoping we can leave this section out forever (or, at least, for a very, very, very long time)!

Sleep: Most nights are still fabulous for Lizzie, but there have been a few nights that haven't been so stellar. She can have a tendency to wake up to eat in the middle of the night and take a "cat nap" for long enough to be swaddled and placed in her bassinet... only to grunt and kick two minutes later. At which point I pick her up and do one of three things: sing songs, "shhhh" loudly in her ear (I promise I'm not a meanie. I'm doing as the "baby whisperer", Dr. Harvey Karp, says to do... plus it's extremely effective), or offer her the option to nurse a little more. All three options result in a happy, sleepy baby again... until she's placed in her bassinet. It's at that point that the vicious cycle begins again. So we go through this some nights for two hours, until she finally sleeps for real and lets mommy sleep again. This has probably happened twice now, so it's not all that common. Regardless, I'm hoping it doesn't become a routine for us :)

Her morning sleep routine changed a little for a couple of days, too. I've been trying to teach her the difference between day and night from early on, so I have all the lights and the TV or radio on pretty much all the time in order to teach her that daytime is when we are awake, bright and noisy! A couple of mornings (mornings being 5:00 a.m...) this last week when she woke to be fed, I think the noticed the light coming in our windows... which, to her, meant it was time to be awake! So those little eyes opened wide and remained that way for two or three hours. Now, don't get me wrong... we love when she's awake! But we'd prefer if that wakeful time happened to fall in later morning hours, like at eight or nine (or ten...).

In spite of a few early mornings and middle-of-the-night sleep losses, I've found that I'm far less tired than I would have anticipated. I always end up not feeling like I've been hit by a bus each day, but I'm sure it helps that I'm not working during the day.

Clothes: We're still in our newborn outfits and don't anticipate heading anywhere else anytime soon.
Some of her newborn outfits are still too big, so we still have to grow into those!

Socialite!: This week, Lizzie remained a little socialite. We visited Grandma Kathy, Grandpa Wayne and Auntie Jenny one night for supper while Andy was away at his Master's class. The girls, including Lizzie, also took part in watching the premier of the new Bachelorette season this week -- which, by the way, has way too many beefcakey guys on it, don't you think? We also headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Bristow's house on Saturday to celebrate Grandma Jean's birthday, where we also got to see Auntie Megan. Our biggest outing of the week, however, was to my cousin's wedding in Wadena. Lizzie girl got to meet lots of aunts, uncles and cousins there, but she and I both missed the wedding itself because someone was hungry (no, not me!) :) That was okay, though. We got to celebrate with everyone afterward.

Lizzie remains a fun little lady for strangers to take a peek at when we are out and about, too :)

Diet: Milk -- still eating a lot, sometimes every two hours, sometimes every one hour.

Baby Gear Love: Aden and Anais swaddle blankets for nighttime swaddling remain pretty popular around here. This week we finally started using her Snugabunny swing and she loves it. We swing on the lowest setting and listen to the nature sounds or raindrop sounds and stay content for quite awhile. It's pretty fabulous for when I need to make supper and Andy isn't home yet, or for anytime when he's at work and I need to get something done.

Crying: Still not much of a crier. Her cries are louder, though. She's letting her demands be known with a little more gusto now :) She tends to cry only when she's got a dirty diaper, is hungry, or wants to be snuggled.

Mommy News: Still feeling really good and starting to be a little more active. I'm trying to go on walks with her three days a week if we can, weather permitting (which has been tough with all this rain and wind!), and I tried doing yoga last week one day, and that went well, so I think I'll start getting back into doing that once a week if I can.

Emotionally, I don't think I've ever been so happy in my entire life. The only thing I've got nagging me is the "mommy guilt" bug some days. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about? Like, we go out to run errands for three or four hours, so I feel guilty that poor baby girl is in her carrier for that long. Or the other evening, I made cookies and made supper consecutively while Andy was outside fixing a problem with water in our basement, so baby girl spent some time in the swing that we've come to love so dearly. The whole time, I felt incredibly guilty that I wasn't holding her and loving on her even though she was sleeping the entire time. Anyway, it's stuff like that -- anyone else know what I'm talking about? Now just imagine how I'll feel when I go back to work! Yikes!

Milestones: Well, a few milestones this week. First, we hit Lizzie's actual due date on Monday, June 3rd! So we celebrated her all day and spent time being very grateful that she's been here for three weeks already and was born healthy even though she arrived early.

We also had the "mommy gets spray blasted with poop at five in the morning" milestone this week as well. Under normal circumstances, I would have likely not had a sense of humor about being sprayed with projectile poop, but considering it happened by way of my sweet baby, I found it completely hilarious and had Andy take my picture. I think that's the rite of passage into parenthood, right? Check that one off the list! Anyway, as you can imagine, I've been a little more cautious about changing diapers these days and haven't had another mishap since.

Another rite of passage includes having your baby cry loudly in a store, right? Well, that happened this week, too, at Target (I know what you're thinking: how can she be my daughter if she's crying while in Target? That's right up there with Disney World as far as being the happiest place on earth! But don't worry, it was just because she was a starvin' Marvin, so it wasn't Target's fault). This was one of those "mommy guilt" days, when we spent too long in our carrier and pushed our eating sessions too far apart, and she let me know it. Normally I would have just left and gone home, but I was trying to get a new cell phone activated (which is no excuse) and it took forever. And I kept thinking, "oh, we'll be done soon... we have to be! It's been 30 minutes already, it can't take much longer." Alas, I was wrong. So we took a little break halfway through our activation process so I could feed Lizzie and we returned much happier :) I do have to say that one of my favorite parts about being a mommy is when your child is crying and you hold them and they suddenly calm down. It is an amazing feeling.

Aside from these milestones, we continue to see Lizzie's neck strength increasing, and we're seeing a lot more smiles these days, too, though I know they're not showing up purposely yet (but sometimes it almost seems like they are...). She's also gotten really good at focusing on things and loves looking around the room. She loves when we hold her so she's sitting up or looking over our shoulder because she can see so well from there.

Two Weeks Old!

Our second week with Lizzie was one where I felt like we were super busy. I never minded having a million errands to run and making a trip to town each day, nor did I bat an eye at spending an hour browsing the aisles at Target. However, now that sweet baby girl is here, I've found myself pining for more time at home, where mama can get some snuggle time in with Lizzie :) We also took family and newborn photos last week, and Lizzie did awesome. She was like putty in the photographer's hands... she could get Lizzie to pose however she wanted. We saw some sneak peeks of the pictures and we're loving what we've seen so far! Can't wait to get all of them back :)

Weight: Though I was confident that Lizzie had gained some weight between last week and this week's two-week check-up with our doctor, I got some last-moment jitters before her appointment. In classic Megan-style, I was a little anxious over whether or not she actually was gaining weight, so I stepped on the scale, stepped off, and stepped on again with her in my arms and finished it off with a little math to determine just how heavy she might be before heading to the doctor. My estimates from this little experiment were accurate, because when they put her on the scale in just her little diaper, she clocked in at 5 pounds, 15 1/2 ounces. Hooray! That means she gained 14 ounces in just one week :) She's weighing in at the fifth percentile, which is obviously very low. However, our doctor explained that the percentiles don't matter so much as whether or not she is staying on track for the appropriate amount of weight gain -- and at this point, she's right on.

As of this last appointment, her head circumference had increased from 12 inches at birth to 12 3/4 inches at two weeks. Personally, I think that growth might be her cone-head coming down and turning into a normal head, resulting in a larger circumference, but maybe it doesn't work that way. Regardless, I'm happy to see the cone-head dissipating :)

They also checked her length, which was 19 inches at birth. This time she checked-in at 18 1/2 inches. Say what?! Nah, I doubt she actually shrunk, and her doctor agrees. She was just being a wiggly, uncooperative little peanut when it came to measuring her length. Guess we'll get a better idea at her two-month appointment :)

Medical Issues: Last week, I mentioned there was some concern about her hips and hip dysplasia, which warranted an ultrasound on her hips last Thursday. Baby girl did a fabulous job at her ultrasound and didn't make a squeak the whole time and was very cooperative! And I'm pleased to report that after looking over her scans, all is well! No problems with those little hips of hers :)

Sleep: Still sleeping great. When we go out to run errands, she sleeps through all of it. At night, I'm still (mostly) waking her to eat every three hours. She will sleep very soundly for hours on end if someone holds her... which never seems to be a problem for us :) I was a little concerned about holding her "too much" and spoiling her, but I've read and it's been explained to me that at this point, you can't really spoil a baby -- they don't have the cognitive ability to self-soothe at this age, so letting babies "cry it out" or comfort themselves is basically pointless.

Clothes: Sweet girl is still in her smallest newborn clothes and won't be growing out of those anytime soon. About half of her newborn clothes are still too big, so maybe we'll be able to get into those in the next week or so. Of course, many of those clothes are more "summery" clothes and Minnesota can't seem to catch a break and get any decently warm weather, so it's okay that some of them don't fit yet. I did have to buy her another long-sleeved outfit the other day because she only has one little sweater to keep warm with, and she can't wear that every day! So now she has a little sweater and a zip-up sweatshirt.

Visitors: Lots of fun visitors this week, as we had Lizzie's baptism! Uncle Josh, Auntie Tracy (plus her little man who will be born in a few weeks!) and Rachel came to meet Lizzie on Friday afternoon, and Uncle Jake, Auntie Desiree, Brayden, Mykenna and Noah came to meet Lizzie on Saturday morning. Lizzie also met our dear friend and her Godfather, Norm on Saturday. On Sunday, Lizzie met her Great Grandpa Jack, Great Aunt Rose and Great Uncle Steve, and lots of my cousins and their kids as well. Grandma Kathy, Grandpa Wayne, Auntie Jenny, Great Grandma and Grandpa O'Brien and Grandma Jean, Grandpa Mike and Auntie Megan also came over after mass on Sunday for dinner after Lizzie's baptism... Phew! Lots of visitors :)

Diet: Milk, of course! Baby girl continues to have quite an appetite, nursing every one to two hours and for a longer duration. She's a growing girl... you can't put on a pound in one week by being a light eater!

Baby Gear Love: Still loving those Aden and Anais swaddle blankets for snuggling her up in at night -- this girl likes to be swaddled for sleeping purposes! We're also a huge fan of our "Snugabunny Bouncer" seat, which was a gift from a sweet coworker of mine. I finally felt compelled to put it together and let baby girl sit in it... before this, I felt like I shouldn't let her sit alone in it! But we're loving it while we clean, cook, or do some little "home" projects that require both my hands and Andy's. She seems to really like it and snuggles right in when we buckle her in.

Crying: Still an easy baby with not much for crying. Still only cries when she needs a diaper change, is hungry or wants to be snuggled. So we try to be good at meeting all of those needs before she gets to the point where she needs to cry -- not always successful, but we get it taken care of pretty quick if she does cry :)

Mommy News: Continuing to feel really good! All of my pre-pregnancy jeans are fitting again this week, which is nice on the checking account, but I wouldn't have minded staying out of some of them. Oh well -- my weight is still about six pounds up from my pre-pregnancy weight, so I guess that's what counts. Still trying to eat enough to compensate for nursing so I don't lose any weight from that.

Still feeling like I want time to slow down! I can see how much she's changed just from when she was born two weeks ago and I just want to keep her how she is for a little longer!

I'm noticing that I'm having a hard time being away from her, too. Mommy's becoming pretty attached to her little lady...

Milestones: As mentioned previously, Lizzie was baptized over the weekend! When Father poured water over her head, she didn't even wake up :) She's also been keeping her eyes open wide for longer and longer each day and smiling more. I know her smiles don't mean anything just yet, but we're seeing more of them!

Last week, I mentioned how great she is at tummy time -- and this week, baby girl took it a step further than lifting her head... she rolled from her tummy to her back! It was pretty wild and left everyone in shock. Pretty talented little girl we have on our hands ;)

One Week Old!

Now that we've got a little baby here, time seems to go by so much faster. How is my sweet baby already over a week old?! Although I want her to grow and put on a little weight, I wish we could just freeze time right now and just keep her how she is!

Weight: When Lizzie was born, she weighed in at 5 pounds, 4.7 ounces. It is typical of babies to lose up to eight percent of their body weight before being discharged from the hospital, and she did lose some of it -- when we left the hospital one week ago today, she was five pounds even. At her first check-up last Thursday, she had gained an ounce and a half... woohoo! Mommy and Daddy were very pleased, and Mommy felt a bit of relief knowing that Lizzie has been getting enough food while nursing. We will have her two week check-up next week and will get her new weight then.

Medical Issues: As mentioned in my previous post that told about Lizzie's birth, she had a little bit of a rocky start and needed some help breathing. That seems to have been an issue that only showed itself right at birth, because she's done beautifully now.

After bringing her home from the hospital, we were concerned about her eating habits, however. Because she as born three weeks early, she sleeps. A lot. As in, she would rather sleep all day than eat once. Which means we had a worried mama on our hands! It was impossible to wake her enough to eat for more than two or three minutes at a time. I made a couple of calls to the hospital birthing center to seek guidance, and they told us to "make her as uncomfortable as possible". We sprinkled water on her, put a cold wash cloth on her, had her nurse in only her diaper, tickled her, gave her a bath... and none of it worked. She hardly made a peep, and certianly didn't open her little eyes and she began to skip feedings altogether. We thought maybe she had some jaundice, so we called her doctor and were able to bump her follow-up appointment up one day. He looked her over and said she looks perfect -- her billiruben levels were just fine, so no jaundice, and he just explained that she's three weeks early, so she will spend more time sleeping to catch up. We also visited with a lactation consultant, who put my mind at ease by telling me everything was looking great in the nursing department and that as Lizzie gets a little older, she'll become more interested in feeding. She also gave us little syringes to give her some milk with if we feel she hasn't been eating enough. Luckily her eating has really picked up since then -- we're now nursing almost once an hour for 10 to 20 minutes!

We will go back to the doctor this Thursday for an ultrasound on Lizzie's hips. The pediatrician who saw her in the hospital thought it sounded like there was a little click in her right hip, which can indicate hip dysplasia (which is no big deal once it's found early -- just a harness for a few months to correct it). Her doctor, however, didn't think he heard anything at her recent appointment, so we're hoping it was nothing.

Sleep: As mentioned previously, she was sleeping all. The. Time! As in, couldn't wake her for anything. However, we did notice on Friday (five days old) that her little eyes were opening up for longer periods of time. She'll have maybe three "wakeful" periods during the day now, for about 30 minutes each. Otherwise, she sleeps very soundly, snuggled up in Mommy or Daddy's arms typically :)

Clothes: When she was first born, we thought she would be a great candidate for preemie-sized clothing. We were wrong! While Lizzie is a peanut and doesn't weigh a whole lot, she's too long for preemie clothes. According to the tags, they fit babies that are 17-inches long -- but she is 19-inches, so they just won't work for those long legs! So instead, we're swimming in newborn clothes. She has a handful of sleepers that at least kind of fit right now, along with a few onesies and a couple of pants that work as well. The pants that work make her look like she could be part of the SlimFast promotionals, but at least they stay up for the most part. We have her baptism this weekend and I bought a beautiful little white dress from BabyGap awhile ago for her to wear. Unfortunately, it was the smallest size it came in and was way too big for her until Grandma Kathy came to the rescue and altered it for us!

Visitors: Grandma and Grandpa DeCock, Auntie Jenny, Grandma and Grandpa Bristow and Auntie Megan have all come to visit now that we're home. We've been out visiting others, though! We went to Andy's work, my school (the third graders loved her!) and to Great Grandma and Grandpa O'Brien's house. This weekend we'll have lots of visitors for her baptism! She'll get to meet her aunts, uncles and cousins, as well as one of our dearest friends and one of her baptism sponsors.

Diet: Milk! Baby girl nurses great now, feeding every one to two hours.

Baby Gear Love: Mommy is loving the Boppy for nursing purposes. We're also loving the Aiden and Anais swaddle blankets to wrap Lizzie up tight in at night -- without being snuggled in, she will wake herself up and not get into a very deep sleep. Though it's not exactly baby gear, we're never without our Sony Nex-5n digital camera lately. It's always packed in the diaper bag, no matter where we go :)

Crying: Generally speaking, non-existant. If I push it too far and don't nurse her when she starts showing signs that she's hungry, she'll belt out a good cry for a few seconds to let us know she's not happy. If her diaper is dirty, she'll fuss a little over that, but calms down right after the change is over. She used to cry when getting her diaper changed and during a bath, but she doesn't seem to mind them anymore... in fact, she loved her sponge bath on Saturday night, especially when she got her hair washed. Her little head tipped back and turned from side to side -- it was too cute. Otherwise, we don't hear much from her. Here's to hoping this is the kind of temperament she'll have in the coming months!

Mommy News: I'm not sure if it's luck, or the yoga and walking I did while pregnant, but I feel great. I was never very uncomfortable after giving birth, just careful with taking it easy and listening to my body. I was up and moving around without a problem by the next morning after she was here (not that I wasn't up and moving the day of her birth, but just not moving as easily). Now, however, I feel like nothing happened! I'm wearing most of my pre-pregnancy clothes at this point, aside from a few pair of jeans that were just the right size before I was pregnant. In all honesty, I'm hoping I don't end up fitting back into those pants. Instead, I'm hoping to use the weight that I have left and keep it on because I feel I could have used a little extra weight on me before. Plus, I'm pleased with how I look, so why worry about losing it? I'm trying to eat a lot to compensate for the nursing so I don't lose any weight at this point. After giving birth to her, I lost eight pounds, with around four or five more pounds coming off in the days that followed. I'm hoping I don't lose any more than that.

It also took me awhile to put being pregnant behind me. When I went into labor, I still had three weeks of being pregnant left. And while we thought she might arrive early, we hadn't anticipated her coming this early! So initially, I was a little emotional. Though I was happy she was here, I was sad that she wasn't inside anymore. I missed her kicks and rolls, her hiccups, and just looking pregnant. I think part of that is the fear that we won't ever get to be pregnant again and now it's over, but another part is just the crazy pregnancy hormones. I've completely gotten over these feelings now, and am instead trying to soak up every moment of her time as a "newborn" -- it goes way too fast! I may have already shed a few tears over her getting older -- even when she was one day old, I wanted time to slow down! But those feelings have eased, too. Again, I think it was the post-partum emotions.

Milestones: We are so proud of Lizzie when it comes to having tummy time! She has amazed us with her ability to pick up her head and turn it from side-to-side during her time on her belly. Sounds silly, but we're parents now... these little things excite us! You should hear the screams and cheers for her coming from our house in the evenings :)

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth Kate!

Warning: this birth story is long. However, I write for me, and for remembering these moments and vividly as I can... so keep that in mind. If you get bored, skim! Or just skip it all together :) Just wanted to put that disclaimer out there.
 
Although our sweet baby girl was scheduled to stay warm and snug in mommy's tummy for another three weeks and one day, I guess she just couldn't wait. She arrived on Sunday, May 12 at 12:38 a.m. -- the best (and most surprising!) Mother's Day gift!

The day started with our alarm going off at 8:30, as it always does on Sunday mornings. Andy gave me my Mother's Day gift -- a necklace with baby girl's initial on it and a sweet card that now serves as a print in baby girl's room -- and I got out of bed and walked to the kitchen and looked out the window at our front lawn. I noticed something funny in the front yard, so I called for Andy -- and just after I called for him, my water broke. Now, I wasn't completely sure at that moment that it was my water breaking. They explained to us at child birth class that sometimes, women can think their water has broken, when in reality, it's just that their baby moved and pressed on their bladder, causing a little bit of an accident. When Andy came to the front of the house where I was, I told him what I'd intended to initially, and followed up with, "and by the way, either I just peed myself, or my water just broke."

At this point, I think we both were pretty skeptical. I mean, I was three weeks early! We thought she might arrive early, but not this early! However, I should have believed it; I wiped up the fluid on the floor and saw that it was colorless... Andy told me to call my mom (because she knows everything!) and see what she thought it was. Meanwhile, I could feel the fluid continue to come out -- another sure sign that it was, indeed, my water breaking, according to child birth class. My mom told me to call the hospital, so that was my next call. When the nurse answered, I explained to her what happened and she asked me a few questions, from which she determined that my water broke and asked me to come in and get checked.

Again, still the skeptic that I was and because I wasn't having any contractions, I asked the nurse if we could go to mass and then come in. After all, I figured that even if I were in labor, first babies take a long time to come, so why bother going in so early? I figured I could get to mass, get checked at the hospital and get sent home on account of not being far enough along, so I could have Mother's Day dinner with my family at Grandma's house and spend some time in my classroom to get ready for my sub, all before returning to the hospital around six o'clock that evening, to wait for my baby to arrive by around two in the morning. Like I said, everyone says first babies take a long time to arrive... so I figured we were in this for the long haul!

Anyway, the nurse said I could go to mass and to come afterward. Naturally, we didn't have a bag packed for me (Andy told me we should pack one a few weeks ago, but I figured we'd get around to it sometime... which, apparently, we never did!), but Andy helped me out and put some things in a bag for me while I got ready for mass. None of baby's things had been washed yet, because my plan was to wait until baby was closer to being here so we would have an idea of how much newborn stuff to keep, if any, depending on her size when she got here. So I picked out a couple of outfits for Andy or my mom to wash for her to come home in. All of this happened in a very calm fashion on my part -- Andy was definitely a little more shaken up than I was at this point. I think this was because I hadn't really had any contractions yet (probably two over the 45 minutes since my water had broken), so I thought we had lots of time! We were all set, so out to the Escape we went to drive to mass.

While on the way, I noticed my contractions increase in both quality and quantity. The two I'd had over the last 45 minutes weren't even uncomfortable, but the ones I was having now were a little more noticeable and amounted in two contractions that were about five minutes apart on the way in to town (I learned later that five minutes apart = get to the hospital!). We walked into mass and knelt to pray, at which point I noticed another, stronger contraction -- three minutes from the last one. The priest walked in, and I had another one -- two minutes from the last -- that caused me to grab onto the pew in front of me and focus on my breathing. Realizing that we probably should be at the hospital, I asked my mom how far apart contractions should be before going to the hospital. When she told me "five minutes", it was a done deal -- we were on our way just a couple minutes into the gathering song at the beginning of mass.

Luckily, the hospital is a very short drive from the church, but I was still feeling really good -- the contractions that followed were three and four minutes apart, and didn't hurt like that one in mass. Because I figured there was plenty of time and because I wasn't feeling anything, I decided to take it as a photo opp and had Andy snap my photo at the entrance to the hospital :) Silly, I know -- but I like photos of just about everything. We went in the ER doors and they promptly put my pregnant self in a wheelchair. I definitely protested, insisting that I could walk, but the admitting clerk told me it's a hospital policy because pregnant ladies "scare" them :) So away we went, me feeling like a lazy bum for not walking myself up to the Birthing Center.

When we arrived upstairs around 10:20, they asked me to change into one of those nice, backless hospital gowns (barf) and put a couple of plastic monitors on my tummy to measure baby's heart rate and my contractions, just like we had done a few weeks ago when we came in and had that non-stress test. Her heart rate was low, but we figured she was fast asleep in there. My contractions were making rolling hills on the chart as they came and went and continued to be about three minutes apart without too much pain. Sometime around 11:10, they checked me and learned that I was dilated to almost a four and my cervix was almost paper thin, with baby's head very low -- the nurse was impressed with my progress already, though I wasn't really sure what it all meant because I hadn't read much about it -- this was supposed to be happening in three weeks, remember? Anyway, they let me get out of bed and took me off the monitors so I could walk the floor to "get things moving". We called my family to have them pick me up a sports bra at Target for me to sit in the birthing tub in (my plan was to sit in the tub for awhile and then have an epidural for the birth) and started our walk around the floor.

We made it about 30 feet, and the hallway gave us two options: walk further and take a left turn for a longer walk, or turn right now and cut the "lap" in half. My contractions had really started to make themselves known at this point and were coming two minutes apart and causing me to stop in the hallway, grab on to the railing with both hands, and breathe through them. For this reason, we chose to cut the lap in half, because I had in the back of my mind that my mom had very fast labor and deliveries, and I wanted my epidural -- so I didn't want to miss the window of opportunity for it! So we took a left and could see the nurse's station close to where we were, at which point I decided I would need to ask for my epidural.

"I need an epidural, please," I moaned.The nurse looked at me with her eyebrows raised, like she thought I was a total wimp. She kind of smiled and told me I couldn't have one yet because I wouldn't be far enough along and that we would see if I could have one in 20 minutes, at 12:10 p.m.

"Twenty minutes?" I whined. I was about to protest further when I had another contraction that caused me to put my head down on the nurse's station and breathe through it... which was followed by another contraction, and then another, without any break in between. In the midst of this, my family delivered my sports bra -- and I didn't even acknowledge their presence because of the amount of discomfort I was in, which should say a lot about my level of pain -- I don't miss opportunities to talk to my family! Anyway, I think the nurse at this point realized that I wasn't being a weakling and she told me to walk to my room and she'd meet me there to start an IV for fluids. Unfortunately, her 20 minute promise for an epidural came true because that's how long it took me to walk probably 60 feet to my room because I kept stopping to get through the contractions.

When I arrived, in my room, it was about 12:15. I was getting through another contraction when they asked me to stop and give my thumb prints for baby's birth certificate -- which Andy found ridiculous, and in hindsight, I do too! Really? I'm in the middle of hard labor, and you ask me for my thumb prints? Too funny.

I got back on the bed in my room, and my nurse came in to start an IV for fluids. I asked about whether or not she had called an anesthetist to give me my epidural, because in child birth class, they told us to ask that because sometimes it can take them a long time to arrive -- and, again, I didn't want to miss my epidural window! The nurse got a little snippy with me, and told me that after she started the IV for fluids, I had to have the entire bag in my system prior to getting the epidural. Andy asked how long that would be, and she told me it would be another 30 minutes. I looked at the clock. 12:20. So much for having an epidural by 12:10! Anyway, she placed the IV (in the weirdest place ever, by the way, along the bone of my left wrist!) at the same time I was having a contraction, which hurt a lot, but at least took my mind off the contraction. I also ended up having a really weird charlie-horse type pain running from my left wrist up through my forearm and into my elbow at the same time, so I was a pain machine at that point.

I'm not sure where the nurse went at this point, but Andy and I ended up alone in the room together when I had the mother of all contractions along with a new, different, and pretty strong feeling that I would describe as an "urge". This feeling wasn't anything I had felt so far in labor, but from what others who had been in labor before had told me, I knew what it meant... it meant that this baby was coming and that she was coming now. I told Andy just that, and he pressed the nurse call button, saying, "I think the baby is coming..." His voice was very calm, a little cautious almost, as if he didn't really believe me.

My nurse came in, obviously not in any rush. I'm thinking she didn't think this baby was coming yet, either. She hadn't checked me yet since when I first came in at a four, so I think she still thought I was just a whiner. But at that point, she did check me -- and her eyes got big. She looked me in the eyes and said, "I'm sorry, Megan. You're too far along for your epidural." Now, luckily, I wasn't an angry pregnant lady in labor, or things could have gotten real ugly. Mostly, though, I was kind of scared. I as afraid of what was coming -- I'd never done this before! How much would this hurt? How much harder would these contractions get? There were no tears, just a little bit of pleading on my part to give me something. At which point, a lightbulb went off in Andy's head and he remembered the other pain options we'd discussed at child birth classes.

"There are other options! There are other options!" he said in a pretty frantic, but assertive, way. As if she had forgotten all about those, her eyes lit up and yelled to the other nurses who were now in the room out of the sudden urgency of the situation, "GET HER SOME FETANYL!" I was relieved to know that I'd get something soon to take off the edge, but remember that "urge" I was talking about? It was still there. And it was impossible to ignore, no matter how many times I was told to "blow it out" (which helps a person not push). The nurse checked me again at this point, and looked at me one more time with big eyes.

"Megan, listen to me," she said. "You can't have anything anymore. Your baby is coming now." I again, pleaded for something, but it was completely in vain. This wasn't what I wanted! I wanted to sit in the tub in that hot pink sports bra! I wanted to get an epidural! But it didn't matter. And it also didn't matter that my doctor wasn't there to deliver my baby yet, either.

My room was a completely chaotic scene, with a room full of nurses trying to get ready for baby's sudden arrival and people trying to find a doctor to deliver this little one. "GET DR. ERICA!" they yelled -- she is another OB in town who happened to be next door, delivering another baby. Unfortunately, she was at a point in the delivery that she couldn't leave her patient. "GET THE ER DOCTOR!" I heard them shout a number of times.

While all of this was happening, my nurse finally gave me the okay to push because I just couldn't not push anymore. I am a vocal pusher, my friends. Kind of like a body builder when they lift a super heavy barbell. Unfortunately, my nurse didn't like that -- she told me to quit, because I was wasting my energy on that and not putting it towards the pushing. I completely thought she was ridiculous -- I was in labor and she's going to tell me that I can't make any noise? Regardless, I am a good girl and a rule follower, so I did just as she asked, and within a couple of pushes, Andy said with more joy than I've ever heard in his voice, "She has hair Meg! She has lots of hair! I can see her!" He told me later that at this point, she was an inch or two out, and we were still without a doctor.

When I was about to give another push, I heard footsteps running down the hall and my doctor ran through the door. She dove into her  scrub top and assumed the baby-catching position. I gave my first good push with the doctor there, and they told me not to push anymore and to instead, look! Baby's head was out! One more little push (by comparison to the previous pushes for that little head!), and she was out and placed on my chest, and all of the pain was gone -- I felt like I could suddenly run a mile!

"My baby! My baby! My baby!" I shrieked, over and over and over. She was here. At 12:38 p.m., three weeks and one day early, my baby was here. Elizabeth Kate was 5 pounds, 4.7 ounces and 19 inches long. This baby we had prayed for, for so long, was in my arms. She was perfect. Daddy cut her umbilical cord, and I looked at her in awe. My baby.

It was at this point that I realized all I'd heard out of her was one tiny squeak. It wasn't long after that she was taken from my arms and rushed over to a little area where I prayed my baby wouldn't go after delivery. It's an area with oxygen masks and things like that to help a baby get resuscitated, if need be. Unfortunately, she did need to be. However, I was still on a complete high from child birth and it didn't phase me (which is lucky for us, because I would have been a basket case otherwise). I called over to Andy from my bed, where I was delivering the placenta and getting cleaned up, "how is she?"

He looked at me and gave me a thumbs up with a big smile and said, "great!". Little did I know, that wasn't so much the case. Praise God, there was a pediatrician making rounds on the floor at the moment, so he was there to help ours sweet peanut and get her going. Poor baby girl had a pulse of just 20; this was quickly corrected on her own and shot up to where it should have been, but very scary to be a daddy watching your sweet baby have such a low pulse. She also needed lots of help breathing -- at one point, I heard the pediatrician say, "we need to intubate!" Now, I've watched enough Grey's Anatomy that intubating means bad news. However, adrenaline and mommy hormones must be an amazing thing -- because I didn't think twice about what I'd heard. Andy told me later that the doctor was doing all kinds of jostling her around to get her to breathe on her own. Luckily, they did not end up needing to intubate her -- she finally realized that it wasn't mommy's turn to do the breathing for her anymore... now it was her turn! The doctors and nurses told us later that all of this happened because she came out so quickly that her little body didn't have time to recognize what its job was so suddenly.

In hindsight, not being able to have any pain medicine was, without a doubt, best for Lizzie. The medicines can affect babies, and with her situation, we wouldn't have wanted anything else that would have made breathing on her own more difficult. If I had to do it all over again, I would want my labor and delivery to go exactly the same -- without pain medicines. Sidenote: when I do this again next time, I anticipate delivering again without anything -- assuming, of course, that my deliveries all go this quickly. I don't think I'll be going for a non-pain med birth if I'm in labor for ten hours!

I watched Andy watch them work on her, and it was the sweetest sight my eyes had ever seen. He stood over her, smiling in a way I'd never seen him smile before, as if his heart were melting. He touched her little feet, and I could see him touch her left hand. It was a moment that I honestly think was love at first sight. I'll never forget his face.

I also realize now that my OB knew what was going on over there but tried to keep me focused on her instead. She knows me well enough from this pregnancy to know that I'm a worrier, so I'm sure she was trying to distract me by telling me that she almost got pulled over on her way to the hospital to deliver my baby. She told me that if the cop had turned his lights on her, she would have called and said she wasn't pulling over -- she had a baby to deliver! Which would have been good, because otherwise she wouldn't have made it in time! Andy or one of the nurses would have delivered this little girl!

The pediatrician also thought she wasn't 37 weeks -- she had so much vernix on her (a waxy, white, lotiony substance that covers babies' skin in the womb to protect it that goes away the closer you get to delivery) that he thought the due date was incorrect. He was wrong, though -- I guess she just had a lot left on her.

They brought her back to me after about five minutes of this, and she was breathing just fine. Her little eyes were almost a brown color, which I remember thinking, "you can't have brown eyes, that's not possible!" because Andy and I both have blue eyes. Regardless, those little eyes were bright and wide, looking up at mommy and daddy. My baby. I'd never seen something or someone so beautiful.

Throughout all of this, I never cried. When she was placed in my arms, I think I was caught up in the "magic" of it all. The fact that I had just pushed, and that this little baby had just come out of me. That a new life came from me. She was the most amazing thing in so many ways. She was just magical. How could anyone not believe in God after seeing something like this? It was just incredible.

Unfortunately, she had to be taken away from us again to go the nursery because of her rough start. I had dreams of doing kangaroo care and nursing her right away, but they said that wasn't an option -- she had to go for tests and x-rays to ensure that her lungs were where they should be because she was early and because of what happened. They told Andy he could come along, but that I had to stay behind. I was, obviously, crushed.

My doctor completely came to the rescue, however. She was awesome. She told the nurses that I didn't have an epidural, so there was no reason for me to not be able to go see my baby. She got me a wheelchair, told the nurses to get me another robe, and she pushed me in the wheelchair to the nursery to see my baby. I honestly don't think I would have been able to see my sweet baby at that point, had my doctor not been there to be an advocate for me. I am so grateful that she did this for me.

We saw our little girl, hooked up with three leeds to a monitor to watch her heart rate, respiration and oxygen. Everything looked perfect. Unfortunately, I could only stay a few moments, because pregnant people who just gave birth should really not be up and moving after delivery so quickly because of bleeding risks, so I was moved to our new room. This was probably for the best -- Andy told me later that they were trying (very hard, by the way) to collect blood from her to run lots of tests to make sure she was okay after all of the stress that went on in her first few minutes of life. I learned later that her first APGAR score as a four -- which is scary. However, her next two were an eight and a nine, so she is completely fine.

We found out later that her x-rays and blood work came back perfect. She finally got to come into our room and out of the nursery a few hours later. She still had her leeds on her to monitor all of those this as a precautionary measure, but when her pediatrician came the next morning, he said she no longer had a need for them -- so she was taken off of them and I officially got a roommate :) No more nursery or monitoring for her!

On that first full day in the hospital, I spent the entire day just holding her and looking at her -- and I don't think I've ever had any day in my entire life go by so quickly. Andy had a few meetings in the morning at work, but then took the rest of the week off with us. We were discharged from the hospital, without any extra days added to our stay for our little one, on Tuesday. Baby weighed in at five pounds. The week was the sweetest one of my life. Being a little family, snuggling with her, loving every move she makes -- we both still feel like it's too good to be true. She is perfect.

At night, when I have to wake her to nurse, I snuggle her tight and rub my nose in her hair and thank God a thousand times over for her. It might be the pregnancy hormones coming down, but I can't look at this little lady without tears in my eyes many times throughout the day. We are so in love.

My baby!