Ella's Story

Baby Eleanor has my heart! I went into the hospital May 18th, Sunday night, ready to be induced (well, ready- but just so nervous and jittery- I mean everything from that moment until the rest of my life would be new). Brent and I drove to the hospital once we got the phone call that the hospital was ready for us to come in (6:15pm). 

Nursery & Baby Worries

I'm all scheduled to be induced on Monday the 19th. Comin right on up. Am I scared out of my mind? Of course. So pumped to see what her little mug looks like? Naturally.

My parents have been here for about a week, and they have spoiled me senseless. I am so lucky. Slash, Ella is so lucky. My parents were masterminds and installed this fan in the nursery (all it had was a ceiling light before, and it gets so hot in there with the west facing windows... and I've heard good things about circulating air in the nursery... so we- with huge thanks to my parents- made it happen)

Above is the changing station in the closet. I have a little nook in the nursery where we were originally going to put the changing table, but it was a hellish experience trying to find a dresser that fit the dimensions of the nook. So, I revamped, and decided to put the changing table in the closet, and either a bookshelf or our rocking chair in the nook. Hopefully it works ok. 

The things I'm scared about most:
1. breastfeeding.
I've heard a lot of stories about how difficult it is- baby doesn't latch on right, it hurts a ton, baby doesn't get enough food so they don't gain weight, etc. But, then my mom's like, it was a piece of cake. So, I'm not sure how its gonna go for me.

2. Losing the baby weight.
I know, I'm beyond vain. But for real. I'm almost 190 lbs. I mean, yowza. I need to exercise and eat clean after Ella, but that stuff is hard to do even when you don't have a newborn.

3. Losing my personality
Yes. I still want to be Hannah AND Ella's mom. I still want to be able to talk with other people about things besides babies. I want to be an involved and awesome mom of course, but I still want to be me. I can already see myself sliding down a slippery slope on my all-baby blog posts!

Sidenote- this adorable photo from Natalie Holbrook's Blog makes me want to raise kids in New York City.

Almost 36 Weeks

Yikes.

I'll be 36 weeks this Wednesday. Obviously, babies are all I can think about it. If you look at my browsing history on my internet browser.. you'll see words like, "Lasinoh Nipple Cream," "burp cloths," and "convertible baby bag." ... yea.

Pros:
-I'm pregnant.

Cons:
-my feet are so swollen. This is a recent development. Even flip flops leave marks on my feet. Flip Flops. ...the loosest shoes possible. Brent is tired of hearing about it.
-I make an unidentifiable noise every time I pick something up off the floor.
-...
-I thought I would have more cons... and suddenly I can't think of anything else besides swollen feet and... perhaps my life is better than I thought.

Almost 35 Weeks

I keep trying to imagine our life with a newborn... and I just can't do it! When I picture it in my mind, it seems more like bringing home a new puppy... But no. Brent and I will be responsible for this little thing- and its an actual person, not a pet. Like, what we do will impact its life! My mind is blown every time thinking about it. And then I'm like- calm it down sister, a lot of people have babies, it happens every day, no biggie.

Anyhow, I read online how some ladies are so gaga about being pregnant. Let me be real. It's not all that cool (although I'm so grateful for being pregnant- don't even think I'm not- I just want to keep it real, its not all a big picnic). Its so hard to move. I get winded walking up the stairs (and bending to pick something up, or washing the dishes, or tying my shoes, or sneezing- not even joking). I can't even remember a time when my stomach wasn't in the way. Some of my maternity clothes are even a little too snug these days (how is that even possible?). I've been super lucky with the maternity clothes though, I've only bought a few things (and my mom snagged me a few things at Christmas time), and everything else has been hand-me-downs from a few of my sister-in-laws.

A little medical update:
Because of diabetes, I have a non-stress test at the doctor twice a week (these started at 32 weeks) until delivery. I'm hooked up to two little monitors on my stomach for about 30 min that measure the babe's heart rate and any contractions I have (right now, I just have super little ones that I can only sometimes feel- the old Braxton Hicks sort of thing). It's called a non-stress test, not because it measures how stressful my life is and how it's affecting the baby (what I originally thought), but because it's measuring the baby's vitals when the baby is at it's status-quo, or non-stressed.

The red line is the baby's heart rate and the blue line measures my contractions. Those spikes in the blue line are just me coughing, or sitting up, or some small sort of contraction of my middle section- nothing real, thank goodness.

On Friday, I had an ultrasound. The little thing is 5 lbs! She looks like a real person already and no longer a little alien. Her growth is right on schedule. I have the right amount of amniotic fluid (The doctor said if my diabetes was out of control I'd have too much amniotic fluid). I mean, we are blessed that she is so healthy.

Am I ready for Eleanor to be here? Negative. I have a crib (but still no sheet! I need to get on that) and a car seat and a few baby clothes from my mom and the Goodwill store. I keep wanting to buy things, but then I'm like, shoot do I really need it? Then I chicken out. I'm so pumped for my mom to fly into town, then she can take charge- someone needs to, heavens.

xoxo

P.S. I have stretch marks on the sides of my stomach and legs. They're gross. I'll get over my vanity eventually... 

What's Up

I am this excited for our England trip. We leave this upcoming Wednesday... eep! I can't even believe it. It's bringing back deja vu feelings from last time. I know this is so crazy, because I only lived in England for a few months, but it does kind of feel like home a little bit. Why is this? Just because I love it so much? Must be.

A few baby items of business:

She showed that lil mug at the last ultrasound, Feb. 17th. I needn't have worried about her being too big- she actually measured 4 days too small! The OB said anything within a week is considered normal, so girlfriend is good to go. About diabetes, I have had to up the amount of insulin I take by quite a bit, which is normal in the second trimester. The placenta gives off some kind of anti-insulin hormone that makes the insulin not work quite as well as it usually would-- so I have to take more to make up for it.

P.S. A huge shout out to Brent who is recovering from his back surgery so nicely. SUCH a blessing.

love to all. Fingers crossed I won't want to die on the long plane ride. xoxo

24-25 Weeks

Here's a shot from last Sunday, at about 24 and a half weeks. I look creepy huge. Especially from the front like that. Mind blown.

Backs and Babies

Get this... Brent went in for back surgery on Saturday. He had a herniated disc that's been causing a lot of issues for the last couple months (issues like, he couldn't bend down to take off his own socks! it was rough for everyone). Friday, he went in for an MRI (because the steroid shot they gave him 2 weeks ago didn't really help him out). The doctor was like, yep, herniated disc. I can do the surgery tomorrow. 

Baby Names

First of all, I still can't believe we are having a girl. For whatever reason, I had like convinced myself we were having a boy, so now my mind is still blown.

But now, to think about names! Brent is a little picky... well... lets be honest so am I. I was reading on this website that a good rule to go by for picking a name is the Blind Date Test. Think about someone setting you up on a blind date with a person named ______. Would you be interested or turned off by just the name alone?

Brent and I both really like the name Eleanor, not only because its in the family, but because we think it's quite classy. We were thinking we'd call her Ella for short. Although... I hate to say it, but Eleanor- and especially Ella- are becoming more popular lately. Once I realized Ella was so trendy, I was thinking we could call her Nora for short... but I don't know how into it I am.

I recently discovered the website, Baby Name Voyager, and if you type in the name you're thinking of, you can see the popularity of the name from 1880 until now. It's fascinating.

So my top baby girl names are:

1. Eleanor
2. Lois -- (I quite like this one, but just thought of it today- and Brent said he liked it!- so it needs some time to stew)
3. Penny -- I can see some teasing happening here, though.
4. June -- One of our close friends listed this one as his top name... so I couldn't steal it. But how cute and classy!
5. Wendy

Top photo from here

It's a Girl!

We found out the gender on Monday, and it's a baby girl! My mind is blown because I was totally expecting a boy. 

To be 100% honest- I was a hair disappointed at first (though Brent was a champ about it). But I keep thinking of all the wonderful girl things- baby headbands, ballet classes, and chats about boys- and I couldn't be more pumped about it. 

P.S. She's the right size and looks super healthy from what they could tell in the ultrasound. I was just so pleased at that.

Though, she was being a bit shy- she had her arms above her face the whole time so we weren't able to see that little profile. Next time.

Photo from the wonderful blog, lovetaza.com

Baby Stuff

Long-Sleeve Romper Mushrooms Red / Long-Sleeve Romper Outer Space Charcoal / babyletto Bowery Bassinet, Espresso / Flensted Mobiles Nursery Mobiles, 3 Dinghy Regatta / Wooden Airplane safe kids toy by FriendlyToys on Etsy / French Terry Jumpsuit Trees Lavender

Babies. Obviously I've been thinking about them and all the stuff they need (slash I want). That little crib up there!! Honestly I don't know how practical it is because... how long would it be big enough? Who knows, but it is adorable. And that onesie with spaceships? Yes.

Somehow, I'm not sure how, but all the items are kind of boy-ish. I'll call it coincidence. We'll find out if its a boy or girl in January (the 13th). I don't care... as long as it's healthy. I mean, with diabetes and all... who knows what could happen. And that's freaky. Well anyways, fingers crossed. 

Pies & Things

My mother-in-law, Kathy, asked me to make a pie for Thanksgiving. I was preeeety nervous because I had made an apple pie a few weeks ago, and it blew. I mean, I did use a store bought crust and didn't quite follow the recipe, but my mom and I always used to make apple pies when I was in high school... and they were always knocks out of the park, so I was expecting nothing less. Anyhow, so when I agreed to make a pie, the odds were not in my favor.

Yet, somehow the stars aligned in my favor, because it was good. Granted, I did follow the recipe exactly (it was this caramel apple pie recipe, from a blog written by one of the girls I took a class with at school. She knows her stuff) because I was scared. And I splurged and bought a pie crust in a box, where you add water and roll out. And, may we talk about the braid? Ha. If only I had more crust and could've put it around the edge... that thing was awesome.

Also, I have something else to say...