Monday, June 28, 2010

First two weeks



I can’t believe Ella has been here for two weeks already. We are all adjusting well and she has been such a special addition to our family. Jaycoby LOVES being an older brother and will tell anyone who makes eye contact that “this is my baby sister and her name is Ella….I’m a big brudder”. He holds her any chance he gets and has been a HUGE help to me. I don’t know how I got by on my own when he was a baby. It’s really handy having a 4-year old to hand me the burp rag, go get the diaper bag or put her pacifier in her mouth while we’re driving. He is patient when she cries and always tries to calm her down. My favorite is when he says “it’s okay, sweetie”. He is so genuine and loving with her, but I can’t say that I am surprised. He’s been looking forward to her arrival just as much as we have.

Mike has adjusted well also. So many people have asked me how he is with her and I have absolutely no complaints. Miss Ella already has her daddy wrapped around her little finger. The other day, while we were driving around town, Mike looked at me and said “I’m going to have no problem being tough on Ella ”. Great! I’m going to have to be the meanie to both of my kids. One thing that has surprised me is that Mike enjoys getting her dressed as much as I do. We have so many cute clothes and jammies and we fight over who gets to pick out what she is going to wear. So many adorable outfits and so little time!

Sleeping
Ella has been sleeping in her crib for a week now. I put the boppy around her, since she is such an active sleeper, and that seems to do the trick. The first week she started out with a 1-2 hour stretch and then will go three hours and then 4+ hours (I wish she did those stretches in the reverse order). Last night, I swaddled her and she stayed asleep for almost six hours. Woohoo! I think we’re on to something now.

Nursing
Nursing hasn’t been flawless (is it ever???). We were told in the hospital that Ella needed to have her frenulum clipped (that is the thin piece of skin that attaches your tongue to the bottom of your mouth). Ella’s was attached pretty far towards the front of her tongue, which caused her tongue to click down when she would try to nurse. Because of this, she would tire quickly and get frustrated (which made our second night in the hospital a pretty long night, since the poor girl was getting hungry). We came home from the hospital on Wednesday and had her frenulum clipped on Friday. In the meantime, I was pumping and we were feeding her via syringe or bottle. Since then, we’ve been back to nursing. It’s gotten better every day, but I would appreciate your prayers as she and I both figure out what we’re doing.

Opposite to Jaycoby:
J: When I was pregnant, he was a kicker. He’d kick the right side of my rib cage all day long. When he was a newborn, and I laid him down, he would kick, kick, kick those little legs something fierce.
E: When I was pregnant, she was a roller. She was constantly moving (especially through the night) and this proves to be the same now that she has more room to wiggle.

J: Slept soundly in his crib all through the night (waking up every 3 hours for feedings).
E: Will go to sleep, but wakes herself up easily because she can’t stay still for too long.

J: Wouldn’t nurse. After two months of trying, we had to go to bottles only.
E: Nursing is coming pretty naturally for her. She nursed right after delivery and I almost didn’t know what to do with myself. I was so excited.

J: Projectile vomiting was his specialty.
E: Doesn’t always spit up, but when she does it’s not very much and half of it comes out her nose (poor girl).

J: Would cry when we put him in his car seat and then would wake up, and want out of it, the second I would walk in the front door.
E: Doesn’t usually mind being put in the car seat and will sleep for hours once she is in there . She just slept 4.5 hours in it.

J: Struggled with constipation.
E: Um…no struggles at all.

Similarities to Jaycoby:
Great in the car.
Took a pacifier easily.
Took a bottle easily.
Born with tons of hair.
Loves music.
Loves the swing and papasan chair.
Happy and easy to settle down….yeah!
Too cute for words!!!!
Jaycoby regularly checks on Ella when she is in her swing.

If you ask Jaycoby, he and Ella both need cartoons after his nap. He always wants to hold her during cartoon time and will hold her as long as she is content. It's pretty cute.

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