Happy Halloween!

Love,

Jim, Justina & Chili-ella Pepper :)

Things I've learned so far

Ella is now just a little over two weeks and with each day we learn something new. For example:
1. Just because something works one day, doesn't mean it'll work the next to quite down baby.
2. Built-in-bra tank tops are the best when it comes to feeding - quick and easy access.
3. You are lucky to have a two hour stretch of time to get something done. Sometimes, those stretches don't even come.
4. Cloth diapers - so far mixed reviews on this as I have not been as vigilant in trying them as I had hoped. The moment I put one on, Ella has a tendency to pee which wakes her back up and the cycle starts all over. Disposables are certainly much easier but we have already dealt with a bit of diaper rash - thank goodness for Desitin. We have been trying cloth in between which helps with the diaper rash. The jury is still out on how this will work.
5. Everything is on baby time and not sure where the hours go. Getting out of the house requires more time but the car seat, the car, and the stroller all work like magic in getting Ella to fall asleep.
6. There is nothing better than seeing Ella content.

My favorite moments

Last Friday we got to spend the day with papa. After not getting much sleep, Jim decided to stay home with us. It was a treat for us to get to spend extra time with him. Luckily Jim's work schedule is pretty flexible and he is home usually between 3-4pm when he goes in by 7am. We love our afternoons but getting a whole extra day is extra great. We went to see Grandma Marilyn and washed and vacummed our car - something that needed badly to be done. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed ourselves very much.
Which brings me to my favorite moments: seeing my husband with my daughter and how he looks with and at her. He is such a natural and I LOVE seeing them together.
My other favorite moment is the minute Ella stops feeding and falls asleep on my chest. There is such comfort in having her this close to me and I cherish every single minute - I know it won't last forever so I am going to drink up as many of these moments as I can :)

Small Triumphs

Getting things done with a newborn can be challenging since sometimes the time spent sleeping between the feeding, the diaper changing, and the small amounts of wide eyed alertness is just not long enough. Since I'm not one to just sit around, this can be tough as I have decided I would like to accomplish at least one productive thing a day - showering and feeding myself not included. By the way, I am getting pretty good at doing things one handed and I now understand my dear friend Dana whose emails mentioned she was typing one handed while feeding her daughter Bea - I am doing the same at the moment.

So, it is with great satisfaction that I share my sweet daughter was asleep long enough for me to make manicotti for dinner tonight :)

Firsts

A few firsts yesterday and today: first major poop (we're talking half a box of wipes!) - this was significant since it meant that Ella was finally getting enough to eat with the addition of the formula, the cord stump fell off (which led to the first bath today), and my milk came in so I can finally feed my daughter properly (at today's check up, Ella had gained back 8 oz since Thursday). Today we went out and about to run a few errands and we quickly learned everything will take us just a bit longer since we have to account for baby needs, like needing to stop to feed her. We planned to have an early dinner - by 6:30pm. We didn't end up eating until about 8:30pm (and not for lack of it being ready - my hubby made a delicious roasted chicken with grilled potatoes, even an appetizer of BBQ'd shrimp) - and I ended up having to feed Ella half way through. That's ok though, we are on baby time now and nothing else really seems to matter when you take one look at her. It's easy to just sit and stare at her endlessly. We love our little girl.

Tomorrow another first: Ella will get to meet Jim's side of the family after having met mine earlier this week. We are really looking forward to showing Ella off :)

Introducing...

Ella Mae Lindquist

Born Monday, October 13, 2008

Our little one is finally here!

Ella was born at 9:25am on Monday weighing 8.1 lbs and measuring 21 inches. Though it took her a little while to get here, she is amazing!
My contractions started on Saturday morning and were pretty much 6-9 minutes apart all weekend long and finally went to 4-5 minutes apart on Sunday night. By the time we got to the hospital at 9pm, they were about 3-4 minutes and I was 5cm dilated which meant we weren't going to be sent home and that our little one would really be making its appearance soon. By 11pm, I got my epidural and I was a happy camper. Contractions are no joke and I can't imagine going through them then having to push without the epidural - I HIGHLY recommend it. Spent the night just waiting for things to progress further and at 7:10 am it was finally time to push. About two and a half hours later, Ella was born. It was an amazing moment and the experience indescribable. Jim was key in getting me through it - he was there in the exact way I needed him, without me knowing how I would need him. He was awesome and Ella doesn't even know how lucky she is yet because now that she is here, I know what I knew all along: he is going to be (and already is in the last couple of days) an amazing daddy.
We came home on Tuesday and have been settling in. I can't say it has been all rosy since my milk has not yet come in and poor little thing has not been too happy over the last day. But we had our first doctor's visit today and got her some formula until my milk does come in and I can happily say she has been sleeping for the last couple of hours, all happy and calm. She is so sweet and how they say you never knew you could love someone so much so quickly - it's true :)

And just for fun to end the baby belly series, here is the baby belly the day after Ella was born.

More first pics of Ella here.

Happy news

Congratulations Sarah & Jon!

On Friday night, one of my close friends Sarah put a huge smile on my face by sharing with me the happy news she is pregnant!! It was so great to find out the news while still being pregnant myself because it means we get to be pregnant at the same time, even if just for a few days. Jim and I are so excited for you and can't wait to get all the updates along the way :)

Still waiting

Guess baby is not quite ready to come out. We have just been hanging out and waiting. Friday night we made a bunch of tamales and on Saturday we even baked lemon glazed mini pound cakes (and I am far from a baker!) The nursery is all ready and we've even been decorating for Halloween to pass the time. The waiting is difficult, not knowing when this little one will finally decide it's time. The nice part is being at home with my husband and our pups, just relaxing.

40 weeks

Ok, I am now officially at 40 weeks and baby is free to come anytime. Friday is my last day of work - woo hoo!! As long as I make it to 5pm, I am good to go and then bring it on! I am feeling very heavy and very swollen - my feet and hands feel especially big. The extra weight (about 40 pounds worth) is definitely "weighing" on me now, so I am looking forward to when I can start working off the extra weight once baby is born. Getting up several times a night has also been increasingly tough and I really, really don't enjoy getting up to make the trek to the bathroom. I was thinking how nice it will be to sleep through the night without having to get up to go to the bathroom once baby is born. And then I realized, oh yeah, I'll still be getting up several times a night, just for a different reason :)

Full moon baby?

No baby yet. Had another doc appt yesterday and am still about 50% effaced but a full centimeter dialated now. The baby's head is lower than last week so there has been some progress. My next appointment is next Tuesday, October 14th (if I make it!)

I am excited I only have a few more days of work left - I am definitely looking forward to a break. I hope to have a few days at home though just to hang out before baby but we'll see what he or she has in mind :) We are all ready for baby - and as Jim says, all we need now IS the baby!! He is predicting the baby will be born on the 14th. I say the 15th as the full moon is on the 14th and there is an old wives tale that many women go into labor on the full moon. While I don't REALLY believe in that kind of stuff, I have nothing else to base the odds on. And my doc said while it definitely is a wives tale, there is some truth to more women going into into labor on the full moon...

From London with Love

Thank you Dana, Stephen, and Bea for the awesome box of goodies. I can see why you got so many of the blankets - adorable and so soft! We have nothing like it and I'm sure baby will love it. And the chocolates as packing peanuts?? Simply genius! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Me and my mami

My fam came over the other night for dinner. My mom just got back from Poland this past weekend where she had been for about 2 months - during which of course my belly grew *slightly* :)

The process is starting...

To have a baby you need to be 100 % effaced and 10 cm dialated. The hospital usually won't admit you unless you are 3-5 cm dialated. As of yesterday, my doc says I am about 50% effaced and about 1 cm dialated. She confirmed baby is head down - she did a quick ultrasound as she felt a movement down there that she just wanted to doublecheck wasn't a foot. So I got to see baby's head - amazing how much bigger it is now than at the 20 week ultrasound! And also got to see the heartbeat. Next appt is on Monday so we'll see how much progress I make by then.
Doc asked if my bags are packed and the car seat is in. So, tonight I will be packing my hospital bag. Hardest thing is, which outfit do I want to bring home baby in?? Car seat will be installed and inspected this weekend - apparently 95% of people put them in wrong!
I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!