Thurs., March 3, 2011 - Eleanor Rose Maynard arrives!

We were due to be induced at 11 AM.  The night before we spent some quality time with Chloe and had dinner at Big Mike's.  The food was great, but we didn't enjoy the servers vacuuming the floor during our meal.

The next morning we awoke and put the last minute items together and packed the car.  Off we went to BR.  What a feeling it is knowing you are about to embark on the next stage of your lives in only a few hours.  Over nine months we'd waited to see the most beautiful thing in the world, and there we were just moments away.

The nurses checked us in and we went to a L&D room where I was pumped FULL of fluids, that made me very puffy, and hooked up to a baby monitor where we listened to the sweet drum of Ella's heartbeat.  Nick changed into head to toe scrubs and we waited.  It was a very emotional time.  My doctor visited and not long after I was being wheeled to the [freezing] operating room.

The anesthesiologists administered an epidural, which was a breeze, and made me relax.  Once the doctors began the process of the Cesarean we heard it, the cry of our baby.  What a relief and what  joyful experience.  We were introduced briefly before Ella was weighed, measured, poked, prodded, and everything else they do to newborns.  Nick filmed and looked SO proud!  Finally she was brought over to me and it seemed like the world quietened down and became so peaceful.  I was able to touch her and kiss her.  She looked right into my eyes.  No words can express that feeling.

We were then wheeled to the waiting room so that family and friends could meet Ella.  I was so happy to present her to her loving family.  Their faces are forever frozen in my memory.  It was magical.

(Ella cried when we were wheeled out to meet family but she had the most beautiful cry ever!)

Then the time came for the three of us to be alone back in the L&D room.  After Ella's bath I was able to breastfeed her.  This was so amazing.  She latched on right away - how do they know how to do this?  I felt so happy to be able to nourish her.  This time did not hurt... that came later!

(Happy after her 1st feeding.)

Next we were brought to our Mother/Baby room and the next five days were spent adoring our little one, and learning how to be parents to a newborn, or put into practice what we have tried to prepare for through readings and classes.  Nick turned out to be an awesome swaddler!  :)  We were completely in awe all week.  Even waking up every TWO hours to feed we were in awe.

 (Nick at a Baby Basics class swaddling a doll.)

Breastfeeding was going well but it began to hurt and I suffered some bleeding and sores which I pressed through in order to continue feeding her myself.  Unfortunately she lost 11% of her body weight and got down to 7 lbs. 4 oz. She wouldn't stop crying, neither would I.  I felt horrible.  The nurse asked if I wanted to try a pacifier and I was appauled.  "Isn't that going to confuse her latch?"  The doctors told us we had to supplement. I cried and was so upset because I didn't want to do this.  But I did through a Medela SNS (supplemental nutrition system) which you wear so that your baby can breastfeed and at the same time receive formula through a tube.  It was very upsetting.  By the time we went home we no longer had to use the SNS.  The pain eased after about five weeks and I can say it has been so rewarding to breastfeed her!

She did have a clicky hip.  Her dad had this when he was born.  She wore two diapers and then a hip harness for seven weeks afterwards. 

Visitors:
Grannie and Grandad M.
Uncle Stuart
Great Aunt Caron
Great Aunt Emma
Papaw and Mimi F.
Uncle Ty and Uncle Stephen
Great Aunt Lynn
Aunt Jeri
Great Aunt DeeDee
Grammie Karty and David O.
Shaina and Shaun C.
Kimberly and Jonathan J.
Ginny and Scott E. - who brought us delicious Circa sandwiches and Mascarpone cake!
Jessica G.
Brianne A.

38 wks and 1 week to go

It's hard to believe that next week, if all goes well, we will have brought a living breathing baby into this world.  It's hard to imagine the emotions that we will feel that day, but I know they will be immense.  At the same time I remain a little anxious and held back as the delivery day approaches, as a defense mechanism I'm sure.  I do think everything will go well, but at the same time, I cannot be certain. 

The past few weeks I have been a little ill having had a stomach virus twice, (what luck?), and had to have an IV as I was dehydrated which caused contractions.  Luckily they were not true labor contractions and I'm not dilated or softening.  She needs to stay warm and cozy for another week!

Nick and I attended a baby care class last week along with three other couples:  a girl and her bestie because the father refused to attend such a class; a woman and her know-it-all husband who mentioned it is not necessary to set your water heater to 20 degrees prior to baby's arrival; and another couple about our age.  Nick turned out to be an outstanding swaddler.  The nurse was a little disappointing.  She asked our group, "Is this everyone's first baby?"  I looked at Nick and did not answer her.  In my mind I thought of Elizabeth McCracken's quote, "No, my first baby was stillborn," but I didn't want to get an F in the class, nor did I want to scare any of the other moms.  Plus, what did I know, maybe they were in the same boat as me. Before anyone answered the nurse said, "Well what would you be doing here if this was your second?" 

In the past few weeks I've attracted a lot of attention from strangers.  It's really weird!  I don't know how many times I've been asked if this is my first, and still I don't know how to answer that.  One lady in WalMart stopped mid stride and told me that I had to be having a girl because I was carrying so high.  I confirmed her belief and then she told me that she'd pray for me, but not for me, for God's will...

So in the next week we will be completing the baby's room.  Nick has worked so hard on the flooring and it's all starting to come together now.  I've finished packing for the hospital and doing what I can around the house (Nick tells me to rest but I'm antsy.)  One more week... I hope it goes by quickly!

Here's a 4d picture from our 37 week scan: 

The sonographer said she has a head full of hair, long legs and is healthy!  Her eyes are opened in this shot.

I think she's going to look a lot like her dad.  : )

32 weeks = 8 months

8 months and it is finally starting to feel like this is really going to happen!  Nick and I are really excited and just hope for a healthy delivery (which will be by C-section).  These past eight months have gone really smoothly.  The baby is progressing perfectly, and I've not been sick or too uncomfortable.  I will say that it is just starting to get uncomfortable when I try to go to bed at night, but nothing too bad.  All worth it of course.  It seems like it's been awhile since we lost Andrew, but I still think of him every day.  The other day I actually wondered if what happened with him would not have happened, maybe we wouldn't have this baby now.  And she feels so very special to us already. 

Last weekend was our baby shower with a few close friends.  It went really well.  My mom decorated and cooked all the food, and it was wonderful to have all of our very closest friends together. Kimberly and I made the cake the day prior (golden vanilla cake with homemade fondant icing.) 

The pictures of the caterpillar and butterfly cakes are from my family baby shower.

My family held a shower for me on January 22nd.  They utilized our theme (Eric Carle art) and decorated in hot pink and lime green.  The food was delicious.  My Uncle Randy made the butterfly cake, and my cousin Jacki made the caterpillar cupcakes.