Maternity Pics part 2

Hey everyone!  Today I’m sharing the second part of our maternity pics.  There are actually more than this….but that would truly be way too many pictures for one blog post! ha!  So, I will share the rest of them with you later. 

Kinsey Mhire was our photographer.  You can visit her site here.  She is so awesome! 

We have been so blessed that Tim has been able to be take off of work these first few weeks with Eleanor!  However, he goes back to work on Monday.  It is bittersweet for sure.  We are looking forward to some normalcy and getting a routine down.  But me and E will MISS HIM SOOOOOOOOO much.  It has been such a sweet, yet challenging 6 weeks that I will cherish forever.  I won’t be returning to work until 10 weeks.  I’m looking forward to having some time to get the hang of this mommy role! 

I hope you are all having a wonderful week so far! 

Hugs!

Amanda

Lessons learned in month 1

My little peanut is now 1 month old!!!!!  I seriously CAN’T believe it!  This has been the fastest month of my life. 

I have learned so many different things in the past month. 

Here are a few of the things I have been learning….

1.  I am able to go on much less sleep than I ever thought possible! 

2.  Baby girls can pee on you too…..not just baby boys!  I have ruined many a diaper this month.

3.  Sucking boogers out of Eleanor’s nose with the ball syringe is kind of fun….and oddly enough she kind of likes it too!  It’s almost like a game for Tim and I.   Who can suck out the biggest booger. 

4.  Bless the person who invented the sleepers that zip rather than snap!!!!! 

5.  I never thought I would be one of those crazy germ people…..but I am.  I always have a bottle of Purell on me.  This lady is PARANOID.  

6.  I will never get tired of staring at Eleanor.

7.  Doing baby laundry is more fun than big people laundry.  I actually enjoy folding her things!  ha! 

8.  Breastfeeding is an emotional rollercoaster!!!  We will be doing great for a few days and then things go haywire.  I’m still learning and I’m now BFF’s with the lactation consultant at our hospital. 

9.  I’m learning how to detect smells.  Our house has been rather smelly between Eleanor, Maddie…..oh yeah and Mr. Tim! 

10.  Speaking of smelly……the books lie when they say breastfed baby poop doesn’t have a smell.  E’s definitely has some stank to it!

11.  I still have a lot to learn when it comes to getting around in the morning and getting out of the house with E!  Maybe I should start getting us ready at her 2am feeding?

Those are all the little tidbits I have learned as of late! 

Happy Wednesday Friends!!!!!

xo,

Amanda

Maternity Pictures Part 1

With Eleanor coming a month early…..I realized that I never shared our maternity pictures on the blog!  We had two segments to our photo session.  I’m sharing the first segment with you in this post. We had the best time during the photo shoot!  Our photographer was Kinsey Mhire.  She is so sweet and super talented! 

I love looking back at these and trying to figure out how Eleanor fit in my tummy!!!!!  haha!  Pregnancy was such a joy and such a miracle.

I will share the next segment of our photo shoot later this week! 

xo,

Amanda

Picture happy

Guess who it is? haha! 

Soooooo……blogging with a newborn is hard.

I finally have instagram on my phone…..and I have kind of gone a little picture happy with E!!!!

1.  My mom and me made homemade cupcakes for Mother’s Day!  It was such fun….we even tried making fancy icing.  They turned out so tasty! 

2.  Our little peanut on Mother’s Day.  This was the first time she wore a dress.  (All of her dresses are still too big for her!)  She was also dedicated at church on Mom’s day. 

3.  Me and E during my early morning shift with her.  I love when she naps on my chest. 

4.  Me and E on my first Mom’s Day!  What a BLESSING!!!!!

5.  Our first outing to a restaurant!  We went to Cracker Barrel and I was SOOOOOOOOO NERVOUS!!!!!  haha!  My mom kept telling me she can’t get sick from the air…..someone has to sneeze on her or something.  lol!  We made it.  And hopefully I will calm down on the next outing! :)

6.  Little peanut taking a nap.

7.  E at 4 weeks!

8.  Tim asleep face first on the living room floor!  haha!  This is life with a newborn! 

9.  Eleanor’s cousin Izaak came to visit!  Such a cutie!

10.  We went on our first walk!  I loooooooove getting outside!  LOVE!  I am starting to feel some major cabin fever at 4 weeks. 

11.  My sweet husband and both girls.   You will be glad to know that Maddie has adjusted very well to E!  We are so proud of her. 

12.  E sleeping with her mouth open.  Adorable! 

Lots of love! 

Amanda

A VLOG FROM TIM

Eleanor’s first 2 weeks

I can’t believe Eleanor is 2 weeks old!!!!  I’m sure I will be saying this every week of her life!  I am trying to stop and savor every single moment because I know it is going to go by so fast.  I have already spent time crying about the fact that she looks bigger already! haha! 

I had this picture on my phone and I had to share it…..it is the last picture we have of Eleanor in my tummy!  This was right before we went into labor & delivery.  This picture means so much to me!

I wanted to just share a little bit about Eleanor……

She is the sweetest little thing ever!  We are smitten by her.

She has the most expressive hands!  She is always doing crazy things with her arms and hands.  And everyone comments on how long her fingers are.  Girlfriend will hopefully like the piano!

My favorite time with Eleanor is when she takes a nap on my chest.  I wouldn’t mind if she stayed there all day.  That is also Tim’s favorite time with her too. 

Newborn clothes are ginormous on E!!!!  It is so hard to find preemie clothes in the stores.  My parents went out to buy what they could find.  They fit her good, except for the length. 

We are trying to get the hang of things around our house.  Her doctor told us that since she was a preemie, she is still developing and to be patient.  For instance, she wasn’t suppose to develop her ability to suck until 37 weeks.  The doctor said she will be a slow breastfeeder too because of that.  So, we are being patient and just enjoying our time while she is so tiny! 

Sleep is something she is kind of half & half on.  Some nights are fine and other nights are ugh…..not so fine!  haha!  I am on the hunt for sleep tips and I just purchased The Happiest Baby on the Block book too. 

I am in love with all the faces she makes!  They are so sweet and some are sooooo funny!  I just stare at her. 

For being a preemie she is an excellent eater!  We have not really had any problems breastfeeding yet.  I sure hope it stays that way.  That time is so precious! 

Those are just a few of the tons of pictures I have taken of our little peanut in the past 2 weeks!  Tim and I are constantly taking pictures of her with our cell phones! 

Oh and did I mention I love being a mom? 

It’s the greatest feeling and everyday is so special.  I am completely exhausted.  But just one look at my baby and just one little cuddle……it makes all the tiredness worth it!!!!  I am just trying to cherish every moment. 

xo,

Amanda

Eleanor’s Birth Story

So, I’m a momma now!!!!  It happened to us a month early by complete surprise!  We were in God’s hands for sure.  It was not in our plans, but His plan is perfect. 

It truly doesn’t matter if you don’t have your nursery ready, your house clean, food in your fridge or your hospital bags packed.  I thought I had to have ALL of that perfectly in order before Eleanor came.  But you know what?  None of that mattered.  We managed.  We had lots of people help us.  It didn’t matter that I hadn’t shampooed the carpets.  Would I have liked to have all those things done?  OF COURSE!  But I’m here to tell you…..it’s A-OKAY. 

I’M A MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!  AND IT’S INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  PERIOD.  :)

So, now for the story……

On Friday, April 20th, Tim and I went to the doctor at 8:30 am for my weekly appointment.  I was 36 weeks along.  We had a whole weekend of fun stuff planned.  We had a big banquet we were hosting for the college students at church, I was hosting a wedding shower and we were going to finish Eleanor’s Nursery. 

Our doctor’s appointment was going as normal.  I was feeling really good too.  It came time for our doctor to listen to E’s heartbeat.  Her face was funny.  She stopped talking to us and looked concerned.  Right away she said she wanted to put me on the monitors for a bit.  She didn’t tell us much….so we were trying not to be concerned.  She asked if I had eaten breakfast, and I hadn’t.  So, she brought me some crackers and I got hooked up to the monitors.  We sat there in a little room for about 10 minutes.  She came back and said she did not like how things looked.  We were still confused about what was going on.  She took me off the monitors and brought us back to an exam room so she could check me.  After she checked me, she washed her hands and then looked at both of us.  She said “Well, you are having a baby today.”  WHAT??????  No way!  Really?  Today?  I think both of our mouths dropped to the floor and we just starred at her.  What about all our weekend obligations?  We don’t have a hospital bag?  Yep, that didn’t matter.  She told us to promptly go over to Labor & Delivery and they would be expecting us.  I asked if I could eat something real quick and she said no.  haha!  I thought I would try anyways.  We were going to be induced because E’s heartbeat was not stable and our Dr. said I was far enough along that she wanted to get her out while she was still safe.  Our Dr. did not want to risk anything.  She is amazing and I’m so thankful for her quick decision making!

So off we went to Labor & Delivery.  We were in complete shock!!!!!  I truly didn’t know what to think.  I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh or what?  My OCD self could not stop thinking about my house and work and her nursery and my empty fridge.  Oh yeah…..and that we didn’t have any stuff with us! 

We got settled in a room and they hooked me up to a bunch of stuff.  Monitoring E’s heartbeat was the most important thing.  We had the sweetest nurses ever!!!!!  I seriously loved them.  Since me and E were safe and sound with the nurses and my mom made it to the hospital……Tim ran home to try and throw together a hospital bag!!!!  Oh yeah….and a camera!  Hello…..I was not going to have our baby with no pictures!   I know we weren’t prepared, but we MUST have pictures. 

So, they started me on Pitocin.  This is where things got a little hairy.  I was only on Pitocin for literally a few minutes and E’s heart just couldn’t handle it.  It dropped.  And kept dropping.  The nurses kept turning me on my side to try and help it.  I cannot tell you how scary these few minutes were.  And husband was gone!  I was so thankful my mom was with me.  I looked at my mom and told her I thought they were going to take Eleanor by c-section.  I allowed myself to cry for just a little bit.  I had held it in for long enough.  The nurses turned off my Pitocin and the phone rang in my room.  It was our Dr.  She told me she was going to be there in about an hour and was going to do a c-section!  I knew it.  My mom called Tim and told him to get back to the hospital ASAP!  So, Tim dropped everything and sped back to the hospital. 

Wow…..we were having a baby TODAY!!!!!!!

Tim barely made it back to the hospital in time for the c-section!  Thankfully, he grabbed the camera from home. :) He gave me a kiss and they wheeled me into the surgery room.  I absolutely HATED the fact that husbands can’t go in the surgery room while they prep you.  It is so scary and I wanted him with me soooooo bad!  I just wanted to cry through the whole thing, but I managed to hold it together.  I was thankful to have such sweet nurses that stood in for Tim and held my hand.  The spinal they gave me to numb me was actually not that bad.  I was afraid….but it was not a big deal.  Maybe it was because I was so scared and not in my right mind at the moment.  Feeling your body go numb is scary.  Being hooked up to so many things is scary.  Wondering if my precious Eleanor was going to come out ok…….the most terrifying thing of my life.

Finally they bring Tim in and start the procedure.  It only took minutes!!!!!  Goodness…..my doctor is FAST!  Right away we hear the loudest cry and all the nurses were laughing and saying how little and precious she was.  They were calling her a little peanut!  (that nickname has stuck with her!) As soon as I heard her little cry……I was sobbing!  Our Dr. said that Eleanor’s cord was wrapped around her neck 3 times!  I am so very thankful for how fast she worked and deciding to bring her into the world on that day. 

I was so happy that Tim was able to hold our girl right away.   He held her right next to my face and I was able to kiss her and love on her with my husband.  Tim and I were both crying and laughing and kissing each other.  I will never ever forget our first moments together as a family! 

Eleanor was perfect!  She had no health problems at all.  All of her scores were perfect.  She didn’t even have to stay in the NICU at all!!!  Praise the Lord!  She is just incredibly tiny! 

The past few weeks have been amazing!!!!!  I have never been so tired (which I knew was coming!) but I wouldn’t change a thing. 

I am doing what God has created me to do.  After almost 3 years of trying to have a baby……we are finally holding our miracle! 

I will be posting soon about our hospital stay, breastfeeding and life with a preemie!  Please forgive me for not being able to blog much!  I will be back soon!

Lots of Love,

Amanda