Mom + Dad = Great Team!

Last night we had another night were Ellery was up all night. Not up crying or even fussing a little bit. Just awake and aware of everything around her. Starting at midnight she just didn't feel like sleeping anymore. I tried feeding her and then burping her (which always seems to put her asleep...NOPE!) Chad tried having her lay on his chest (which usually works...NOPE) I tried the swing. She would swing back and forth but instead of falling asleep she would just lay there wide eyed like it was a ride she was on. I felt bad because if Chad doesn't get any sleep at night, he seems to get really sick all the next day (especially because he still hasn't figured out how to nap yet). So I let him go to bed and stayed up with her. Thinking it would only be for an hour no big deal right? Well 5:30am comes around and her eyes are finally getting heavy. The only vad thing is the fact that I have seen every infomercial now 10 times and have yet to understand the point of the "robo mixer", "pajama jeans" and "the music bullet".  Although I'm sure one of these nights something is going to catch my eye and I'll be ordering some dumb "as seen on tv product".

Well needless to say, this morning when it was time to pump and feed I was EXHAUSTED! I couldn't stay in bed all day though because the public health nurse was stopping by this morning, and by the time she left that afternoon I was no longer able to fall back asleep. But right after dinner time the exhaustion hit me yet again. Chad was amazing and volunteered to watch the baby, keep her awake (so she would sleep tonight) and just give me time to catch up on the sleep I missed last night. WHAT A GREAT NAP IT WAS!

I don't know how single moms do it honestly. The teamwork Chad and I do together to make sure Ellery is getting everything she needs and making sure that we are both still getting everything we need to stay sane and healthy is amazing. If I didn't have his help I feel like a burnout would be in my future: so I am very grateful for him and all the help he is providing. I already am wondering what I am going to do when he has to go back to work at the end of January and I will be home alone for 2 weeks before I go back to work....

Diaper Lessons Learned

So yesterday there was a very important lesson learned by not only myself but Chad as well.


When changing a diaper:

#1 Do not leave the baby without a diaper on for any short period of time. Always replace dirty diaper instantly with a clean one.
In the middle of the night, I was changing Ellery's dirty diaper. I took off the dirty one, cleaned her all up with the wipes and then went to give her a kiss on her belly. Well she decided that it was then time to pee, and not just a little bit but flood the changing pad with her pee. I am still amazed it didn't get off the pad onto the bed where I was changing her. Next time, I will change, wipe, replace diaper, and then kiss her belly :)

#2 Give the baby time to finish before you change them. 
Chad that afternoon was changing her diaper and while using the wipes got pooped on. He heard her pooping and volunteered to change the diaper, however he did not let her finish apparently. So now we know when we hear her poop, give her about 10 more minutes, there is more to come.

Hopefully you all learn from our mishaps and don't get peed or pooped on by your baby one day.

First Doctor Appointment

Today we had Ellery's first doctor appointment:
Age: 1 week
Height: 21 inches
Weight: 8lbs 12oz (she gained all her weight + some back)
Doctor Name: Dr. Brandes
Dr. Concerns: We are going to keep an eye on the hemangioma on the back of her neck (a type of birthmark that is a collection of blood vessels that they think is a result from her hitting a bone during delivery. The doctor just wants to make sure it is not any bigger in the weeks ahead of us. She really didn't seem concerned.)
Dr. Advice: Let her sleep, don't worry about setting an alarm for feedings. She seems to be gaining weight without a problem with breast milk, so let her sleep and tell us when she is hungry. We will see next week if she still is able to gain weight this way without putting the scheduled stress on us.

Overall the doctor said that we were doing a great job. She was really happy to see Ellery gaining weight and the fact that she is doing it without any formula. We go back in 1 week to have another check up.

Up All Night

I knew it was too good to be true! Chad and I have been telling everyone how AMAZING of a baby Elle is. She literally didn't cry one time yesterday: not when it was time to get dressed in the morning, not during any of her diaper changes, and not a single tear during bath time. I know all babies cry and fuss, and we kept saying we knew it was eventually going to happen. No baby is this easy....well she broke tonight. We went to bed at around 10:30pm-ish and I fell asleep instantly. Chad cuddled with Ellery for a bit and then went to put her to bed. She tossed and turned and for the first time cried...and I mean cried! The problem was she wanted her nook but it continually falls out of her mouth and then she cries. So we would try to hold it in for her until she fell asleep but then again eventually it would fall out and she would cry. Since Chad has a really hard time napping during the day (and I don't) I offered to take the overnight duty. So I cracked open a pop to help me stay awake and I was on a mission to get her to fall asleep! I tried tons of things to get her mind off of it: I fed her, burped her, changed her, tried to put her in her swing, walked around the house carrying her, and even tried talking to her. All were only temporary fixes...more crying always followed as soon as I attempted to put her to bed. So it is now 4:30am and I am currently typing this blog entry with her finally asleep (and snoring) in my arms. Honestly I am afraid to move because I don't want to wake her. My boobs are engorged and hurt because they need to be emptied, but again I don't want to move to pump them because I know it will wake her.

She still is an amazing baby and I love her to pieces, but tonight was the first time I feel like a real parent. Someone who may need to sacrifice something (sleep in my case) to make sure their child is happy. The goal for today is to #1 take a nap once Chad gets up and #2 keep Ellery up, awake and alert during the day time (minimal naps today).

Nap Time For All

"Nap when she naps!" That was probably the biggest advice I have been given by the hospital nurses, our friends, and just random people. Because a baby has such a short sleep schedule to feedings, changing and just basic fussing, I plan on losing lots of sleep in the next couple weeks. It's just hard to nap at all because #1 I am constantly worried about her and am checking on her to see if she is breathing. #2 There are so many other things I could be doing when she is sleeping: pumping, cleaning, updating facebook or blogger ;), the jobs are never ending. Today though, while watching a movie, she fell asleep on top of me and some how I fell asleep too. What a great feeling to get a nap but even better to wake up to her on my chest. AMAZING!! I think I may try this napping while she is napping thing more often . Chad on the other hand has never been a nap taker (not even in college). He just has too hard of a time to fall asleep in general, let alone for only an hour or two. So we need to start having "family nap times" where we don't worry about cleaning or anything else. We just shut all the blinds, turn the lights off, and cuddle up to get our rest.

Diapers, Diapers, and More Diapers

Everyone has always heard about babies and their diapers. No one truly likes to changes diapers and everyone knows that babies go through a lot of diapers. How many diapers does a typical newborn truly go through in a day. Well in the first couple days home, Ellery  has had an average of about 6 pee diapers a day and the number of poopy diapers depend on the day. One day she had zero, but today she has had 4 of them already. So we are still trying to figure out how many we can assume she will have of those a day. All I do know for sure is we are LOVING the "Diaper Genie". It has made changing diapers so easy. We don't have to bag each diaper, or worry about bringing out the diapers to the outside trash bin, or having the smell of diapers around. It seems to work really slick.

We did get a good laugh today when we decided to empty the Diaper Genie and the bag with 2 days of dirty diapers was the same length as Ellery. :)

We're Parents!

So, it's official: We are parents now. On December 21st, 2011 at 2:30pm, Chad and I were blessed with a beautiful and healthy baby girl. Ellery Sue Weiland was born 8lbs 10oz and 22 inches long. This blog is to document our adventures (good and bad) through parenthood. Being first time parents, will we do everything perfect and right? NO WAY! Will it be an easy ride? NO WAY! Will it be an adventure filled with laughs, tears, and memories? YES! I hope anyone who reads this, enjoys our adventures and maybe gets a few ideas or tips on things that may work or things that may not be the best ideas. :) Enjoy!