Baby Elliott: One Week Old!

Baby Elliott is here! The Saturday I was 40 weeks pregnant, I had intentions of posting an update on the blog. But then I was going between super tired and napping, and these short bursts of energy where I suddenly felt compelled to clean out the fridge and deep clean the bathroom! Nesting was in full swing, and it makes sense that the next morning we were on our way to the hospital in labor, excited to meet our little man! I'll post my labor & delivery story another time, since quite a few friends have asked. I will say: all in all, it was a great experience and I am so grateful for the incredible nurses at Los Robles Hospital for their care and encouragement! So many friends and family were praying for us during those hours I was in labor, and I know that those prayers made a huge difference as well, so thank you everyone for caring for us in that way!

Elliott is now one week old, and I can't get enough of him! Every noise he makes, every facial expression, every nuzzle when he's curled up on my chest is all so adorable and Martin and I are both completely enamored with him. Even the night time feedings aren't so terrible, once I'm up, since it's a sweet time of just he and I, snuggling in the quiet while everyone else is asleep. He's sleeping in 2-3 hour stretches between feedings now, which is great. Martin likes to get up with him after his early morning feeding (typically between 6-7 AM) and just hang out with him in the living room. Martin says it's guy time ;)
We have been so blessed by friends and family and how they have cared for us and loved on us during this time of transitioning. From gifts arriving at our doorstep, to meals being brought to our home, we are so thankful for the kindness of you all! Life with our baby boy is beyond what we could have imagined, and we couldn't be happier! Here are a couple pictures from his first week home :)

Elliott's first bath! He was pretty much calm the entire time. No fussing! Which was a surprise since most newborns hate bath time. He must be like his mommy and just love being in the water. 

So fresh and so clean! 

My snuggly little man. I never want to put him down once he's asleep, he's so cuddly!

39 weeks

I pretty much feel like I've hit a wall this weekend. All I wanted to do Friday and Saturday is sleep, and then Saturday night I had low back pain that kept me up and now it's 7:45 PM and I am about to fall asleep at my computer. I'll probably go straight to bed after I post this. I just wanted to update the blog since it may be my last update, according to my mom ;) She's convinced the baby is coming this week. In fact, more specifically, she thinks he's coming in the next couple of days. We'll see what happens! Either way, I definitely feel like I am ready for him to get here since I'm pretty uncomfortable and exhausted as of late! I'm going to eat some raspberries now and go to bed.

This is the face of me being sleep deprived from back pain all night. I guess that's prep for parenthood, right? 

How far along: 39 weeks and 1 day

Fruit/Vegetable comparison: A watermelon: 18.9 to 20.9 inches in length, and anywhere from 6.5-9.2 pounds. Doctor said he thinks the baby is anywhere from 7-8 lbs right now. I guess we'll find out soon enough!

Total weight gain: 35 pounds

Baby's new developments: Baby is likely able to flex his limbs now, and is still continuing to develop lots of important brain function.

Sleep: I have officially hit the point in my pregnancy where sleep does not come easily to me. I wake up multiple times in the middle of the night, can't get comfortable, and can't sleep for too long of  a stretch. Naps are great at this point, when I can fit them in. Recently (as in just last night) I had some pretty bad low back pain, and woke Martin up to get me an ice pack. I think it's the way baby is pushing against my spine while I lay down. But I don't really know. All I know is it hurts! 

Best moment of the week: My two glorious naps on friday and saturday, haha! They were both a couple hours long and I loved the extra rest. All I want to do lately is sleep! 

Miss anything?: Pre-pregnancy sleep. All I can think about lately is how much I miss sleep. I guess that won't change anytime soon, haha!

Movement: He's still an active little guy, as always. He likes to squirm a lot. Which is always good to be reminded he's doing well. 

Food cravings: Raspberries. I think I ate three different small cartons of them this week! 

Symptoms: Fatigue, braxton hicks, swollen feet, low back pain . . . I'm just exhausted and over being pregnant at this point. 

Looking forward to: Maybe having a baby this week?! We shall see! 

38 Weeks

It's weird to think that any day now I could go into labor. I don't think that I will but the thought is so surreal. All this time I've been pregnant, I've been thinking of how far away June seemed. Now it's here, and we know that even if I'm overdue, we'll be having a baby this month. I still can't wrap my mind around that fact. Our son will finally be here. I'll be able to hold him, and sing to him, and read to him. Of course I will also be exhausted, hormonal, healing from labor, and all kinds of post-partum goodness. But he will actually be here! :)
I've been getting braxton hicks occasionally, but still nothing painful or what would seem like labor contractions. Everyone says I'll know when it's real labor contractions, but honestly I'm a little nervous I won't realize they are real labor contractions and end up delaying going to the hospital! Of course, I keep being reassured with "trust me, you'll know!", and I believe you all when you tell me these things, it's just hard to imagine what that will feel like since I have yet to experience it.
We had a doctor's appointment on Friday and everything is looking good! Baby's head is down, and I'm about 1 cm dilated. So within the next few weeks . . . we'll get to meet our little man!
Also, this song always makes me cry happy tears.

If I look like I just woke up, it's cause I had ;) 

How far along: 38 weeks and 3 days

Fruit/Vegetable comparison: A pumpkin: 18.9 to 20.9 inches in length, and anywhere from 6.5-9.2 pounds. 

Total weight gain: 34 pounds

Baby's new developments: Baby has hair on his head (he already did at our 30 week ultrasound!) and is slowly losing the vernix on his skin. 

Sleep: I start getting uncomfortable every couple of hours and end up flipping over pretty often. And the flipping over takes me about 5 minutes, haha! 

Best moment of the week: Just relaxing this weekend. The week is so busy at work (not in a bad way - don't worry!) so being able to relax and just hang out over the weekend is always nice. 

Miss anything?: Pre-pregnancy sleep. It's hard to get comfortable when you have a pumpkin sized baby in your belly!

Movement: He's still an active little guy, as always. 

Food cravings: Still summer fruit, and quesadillas with LOTS of salsa! 

Symptoms: Fatigue, braxton hicks, swollen feet & hands at the end of the day.  

Looking forward to: With each passing day, we're that much closer to seeing our baby boy!!