Rock-a-by Baby

How do moms do this alone?? That is my question!!

It has been so good to have family here to help with dozens of diaper changes, calming Ellie, making food, doing laundry, cleaning the house and just keeping me company.

Here is a pic of my dad (Ba-Pop) rocking and singing to Ellie. Dad has this baby calming technique of saying the baby name over and over in a slow rhythm.

. . . . . Elliott Letitia, La La La La La La . . . . .

She loves it.

Snuggle Bunny

Ellie is growing! Her newborn diapers are getting snug and she is starting to get little rolls on her neck, wrists and thighs.

I don't want her to grow up!!! But I am excited for her to start smiling and cooing at us.

Zzzzzzz

Ellie is such a sweet baby. She had a few fussy nights last week (maybe our Thanksgiving feast was too rich for her) but otherwise she is just so laid-back.

She seems to be settling into a good night-time sleep pattern too!! She sleeps 3 hours between feeds and last night she even went 4 hours at one stretch. What a treat . . . 4 hours of sleep!!

We miss you, Daddy!

Drew had to leave yesterday to head over to Olympia for work. Luckily, he got in a quick nap before he left.

Ellie is under strict orders NOT to grow until Daddy gets back!

Girly girl

Ma-Pop and Grandma had a good time playing dress up with Ellie. This is the most girly outfit she's worn so far.

So cute!

The Many Faces of Ellie . . .

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. The mom's cooked up a storm and the dad's cleaned up after dinner.

When the tryptophan kicked in, everyone took a nap. Ellie slept soundly with her Ma-pop and Grandma.

"E Day" has arrived!

The grandparents have been desperate to meet Ellie!! And yesterday E Day (termed my Grandma Noble) finally arrived.

It was so fun to share Ellie with her grandparents. She is so loved.

Daddy's Girl

An Elliott Appetizer . . . Delish.

Pretty in Pink

My cousins, Owen and Caitlin, sent an adorable organic cotton outift to Ellie. It goes perfectly with her pink Ugg boots from Aunty Shaneen.

Sweet Baby Girl!

It's Ellie's 2 week birthday today. I can't believe she's only been here for 2 weeks. I am just so love with this baby!

And more visitors . . .

Our good friends Mike and Leah arrived on Friday afternoon for a visit. Drew bought a dirt bike in Seattle and Mike brought it over in his truck.

Drew and Mike spent the morning dirt biking and Leah, Ellie and I watched chick flicks.

Just the way we like it.

Visitors!

It's been feeling pretty lonely here in Boise, especially since Ma-Pop left, so it was SO nice to have friends stop by this week.

My friend, Marie, from work at Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland, WA has family here in Boise. Her daughter-in-law, Erin, is also a lactation consultant and was even my nurse after delivery at St. Al's. They all stopped by for a visit on Friday and Erin's son, Indy, loved holding Ellie.

Milk-drunk

Elliott has been a champion nurser right from the start and today we saw the proof!

At her pediatrician visit today she weighed in at 7lbs 3oz!

Newborns lose weight after birth and should be back to birthweight by 2 weeks of age.

Last Tuesday she weighed 6lbs 4oz.

So she gained almost 1 POUND in 1 week and is past her birthweight at day 11!

Way to go Ellie!

Here is a pic of her passed out after a feeding.

We call this look "milk-drunk"

Thank You Ma-Pop

When my nephew Jules came out for a visit last spring he called my parents Ma-Pop and Ba-Pop. I love those names and think they should stick, hopefully Ellie will think so too.

Ma-Pop headed home today. It was so wonderful to have her here. She took care of EVERYTHING so Drew and I could just snuggle with Elliott. Luckily, ALL the grandparents will be here next week for Thanksgiving! Can't wait!

Little baby Ellie

It's tough to convey just how tiny Ellie really is. This pic of her laying on Daddy's arm shows her size perfectly.

Cats & Kids

Our cats, Chewy & Saki, are getting along great with Ellie. Their favorite place to sleep is the changing table, they think it's a contoured bed just for them.

Bath Time Baby

Elliott absolutly loves her baths!! She just relaxes into the warm water and smiles.

Sing Song

We fully expect little Ellie to join the family band.

Drew is already playing guitar for her and we are teaching her John Prine songs.

My favorite new accessory

I am a big fan of "wearing your baby." She feels so secure and I have both hands free.

The moby wrap is one long piece of fabric, it took some getting used to and help from Mum and Drew but it worked great!

She even nursed in it.

What a Wonderful World . . .

Today we spent the morning taking photos of Ellie. She was so tolerant of all our posing.

The weather here is Boise has been fabulous. It was sunny and in the 60's today. So we sat outside on our back deck and stared at our little girl.

Falling in love

Little Ellie is just melting our hearts.

The days go by so fast and pretty much consist of these phases . . .

- Breastfeeding. She wakes up to nurse about every 2-3 hours. She is a very efficiant nurser and is done on both sides in about 20 minutes. My milk has come in and you can hear her gulping at the breast!

- Diaper changes. Daddy is usually in charge of this task and he actually enjoys it! (Remember, breastfed poop doesn't even stink :) She doesn't fuss much during her change and before he gets her dressed he gives her a little baby massage.

- A quiet alert phase. Usually after a feeding and changing she is very calm and alert. She looks around and makes us all fall in love with her even more. She's held most of the time but when we do put her down she loves her swing from her friend Alister.

- Sleeping. She usually falls asleep after awhile and only wakes again when it's time to nurse.

Night time she wakes a little more frequently but she's been doing a great job sleeping in her co-sleeper right next to our bed.

My recovery seems slow and I can't wait to take a walk around the neighborhood. Thank goodness mum and Drew are here. We are all making a great team.

3 days old...

Here are a few more pics. Everything is still going great! Donnianne's milk is in and the baby can't get enough. The cat's are OK too.

Thanks for tuning in!