It goes without saying, really, but I will say it again...I am so blessed to have such a great mom. And Ellis is so very blessed to know her as Grandma Rose. Since E was born, my mom has come over each afternoon to spend time with her. Initially, Adam and I would use the time to take Henry for a walk. To get out of the house and get fresh air. But eventually, when I was ready to work out again (and boy was I ready!), Adam and I would use the time to go for a jog around the neighborhood.
Now, since I've returned to work, my mom is still coming over each afternoon - sometimes meeting us as we get home in the afternoons (smile)! Adam and I returned to the gym and teaching Body Combat with ease knowing that E was in good hands and truly being spoiled and well taken care of for the hour and a half that we use to work out. I have yet to go into my postpartum self here on the blog - and though I seriously plan to, I will just say for now that getting back to working out and teaching Body Combat seriously helped me come out from under the cloud I was feeling. I needed it like I needed air to breathe. And I think my mom knew that.
So to say that we are blessed beyond measure to have my mom is truly an understatement.
And Miss Ellis absolutely loves her afternoons with Grandma Rose.
This particular afternoon, my mom noticed my camera on the dining room table and insisted that E looked just too cute in her yellow outfit to not have a quick photoshoot (smile!). I am so glad she did.
My new favorite photo
And another
My wonderful mom, and my sweet little girl in yellow and gray. Love.
Nope, this wasn't taken on Easter Sunday. It was actually taken a couple of Sunday's ago.
This was, however, as dressed up as we got yesterday on Easter Sunday. I had grand plans of making it to church Sunday morning. I was quickly reminded that life with a newborn is unpredictable, and we were still not dressed or ready by 11AM. We did make it out of the house by 2:30 for lunch at my grandparent's house. The four of us. Making our way in this life. Figuring it out as we go.
Maybe next year we will make it to Easter Sunday service - and hopefully a bit more dressed up than this ;) Although, if you ask Adam, he IS dressed up in this photo - LOL.
It's been over two weeks since we brought our girl home from the hospital. It's been an adjustment - to say the least. For all of us. Adjusting to less sleep. Adjusting to new noises, new schedules, no schedule, adjusting to our world revolving around this wee little girl. Our girl. Just the sheer thought that we are now parents - that's taking some getting used to as well. Surreal. That's the word Adam and I have used a lot the past two weeks. Surreal. Nine months of me being pregnant could not have even begun to prepare us for the whirlwind we have been experiencing. I knew it would be life changing. People told us it would be. But I'm not quite sure anything or any advice given before hand could even touch the multitude of change we would experience by having our first child. The first few nights - in the wee hours of the morning, Adam and I would talk about how crazy it was that this is now our lives.
But it is. It's our new normal. As I see that typed out on the screen, I realize that it's an oxymoron.
I snapped this photo as we sat down on the couch to watch the Bachelor finale. The four of us. Adjusting and trying to take it just one day at a time.
This sweet boy is adjusting. I plan on writing a whole other blog post on my sweet Henry's new normal. The mommy in me just feels like he needs his very own post, so I will do just that soon. We have had a few mornings outside playing in the sunshine in the past couple of weeks. And we've had a few days that we didn't get outside until the end of the day for his walk. But on the days when we do get to go outside to play early, we are both pretty happy.
This was a snapshot of the two hours of quiet that happened on Monday. My desk: the dining room table. Consisted of my laptop open to my address book, thank you notes written and addressed, a yogurt & saltines snack, photos uploaded from my camera, and the ipad to catch up on Grey's while I worked. I'm starting to feel like baby girl might be two years old before I make it through all the thank you notes. Let's hope not.
Yes, a new normal. Our family has grown. And growth is rarely found without growing pains, right?! So in the meantime, we are holding tight to our faith and hope that He will keep us strong and bring us peace while we grow into our new normal.
A few weeks before my due date, we had finally put the finishing touches on baby girl's nursery. I was happy to have it all done, and decided to snap the pics to share on my blog.
I must admit that right when we found out we were pregnant, I got so super excited about getting to decorate a nursery. I had the ideas flowing and websites like Pinterest and Apartment Therapy were totally getting my creativity flowing. And then I decided, that if her nursery turned out as I had planned, I wanted to submit it to Apartment Therapy just to see if it might get "published" on their blog. A small goal of sorts.
Fast forward to the few weeks before my due date. I did just that. I took the photos and decided to submit them. When you finish submitting, they send you an automated message saying that you would be notified if they decided to "publish" your nursery.
The weeks went by and I never got an email. And then we went to the hospital and came home with our baby girl. I hadn't even thought about it with all the newness of Ellis. And then last Saturday I was on Pinterest and noticed someone had pinned my photo of E's alphabet wall. I clicked on it, thinking the link would lead to my blog. Nope, the link led me to Apartment Therapy! A happy surprise to say the least! The nursery title is Chandler's Colorful Crafty Space because at that point when I submitted, we still had not decided if her name was going to be Chandler or Ellis.
Email notification or not, that surprise made this new mama a happy girl.
It's been nearly a whole week as I type this. A whole week has flown by and baby girl is only eight hours and thirty-five minutes away from being an entire week old.
(okay, now almost 2 weeks - what I can
I say, my schedule has been interrupted a bit. smile. But I promise I
started this last week...)
I'll start where I left off with my last post. It was go time. I made it all the way to the 27th of February - nearly a week after my due date, so we headed to the hospital to check in on Wednesday night at 7PM. We knew all day Wednesday day that we would be ending our day at the hospital. Even with that, wouldn't you know, we were running late as that photo was snapped by my sweet neighbor, Darla.
Two weeks before, our shower in our master bath started to act up on us. Adam had been so busy with his jobs that finding time to work on it, and our kitchen floors was hard. But we really wanted the shower fixed before we returned home because we knew we would have Adam's parents visiting when we got home from the hospital and two working showers was a must! So Tuesday, our plumber, Tom, was called. Tom said he could be there Wednesday, but it would be five o'clock by the time he could make it. Five o'clock?! Sure! That would still give us 2 hours to get to the hospital. Plenty of time, right?! Ah, Trump-time. So by 6:45PM our shower was nearly finished and Adam informed Tom that we just had to make our way to the hospital. Tom quickly wrapped things up, made arrangements with Adam to come back the next day to finish. We grabbed the camera and Henry and walked next door to have Darla snap a few pics of the three of us.
She gladly did and wished us well, we kissed and loved on Henry and let him know we would see him a few days - rolling down the window as we drove out of the drive to tell him we loved him and would see him later. I got teary - and am right now as I recall that detail. The doctor had told me to eat on the way to the hospital, as it could be an entire 24 hours before I ate again. So we headed for the Sonic drive in. At 6:55PM, as we waited for my Wacky Pack to be delivered to our car, I sent my mom and sister this text.
7:20PM we were walking through the automatic doors with luggage in hand
By 7:34PM I sent this text to them to let them know we had made it and checked in.
The nurses were immediately kind and very helpful. Not because of the thank you boxes, but genuinely kind and helpful. I think they could sense our anxiety and were more than wonderful at making the whole process painless. They immediately put us in our Labor and delivery room, had me put on a gown, and came in to start the registration paper work. I had seen on a "what to pack for the hospital" list that it's always nice to bring "thank you" gifts for the nursing staff when in Labor and delivery. I took little boxes filled with chocolates and Jolly Ranchers and pink and white suckers that said "thank you" on them. We had used these boxes for my shower and had several left over so I decided to dress them up a bit and add the candy and sucker.
Around 8PM, we were checked in, my mom, sister, dad, and best friend had arrived. The night shift nurse, Carla, came in and introduced herself to me. She informed me of what the night was going to look like - she would check me, they would come draw blood work, and then they would administer the drugs that would begin thinning my cervix.
By 10PM all the procedures were done - among my family and I chatting and just hanging out - my sister knowing that I would definitely want photos, took over my usual roll of documenting with my camera and her camera. I love that I didn't even have to ask her to do so, she just did - and I am SO very thankful for that.
11PM came around and Carla came in and asked if I would like to have some Ambien to help me get some good sleep before 6AM rolled around. Um, "YES, please!" My family made there way home for the night, Carla brought in a cot with sheets and blankets for Adam, and she shut our door so that we could get some rest.
5:30AM rolled around and we were woke up by Carla who checked my blood pressure, and let us know my mom and her boyfriend were there. My mom later told me she and he could barely sleep.
6AM Our doctor came in and said good morning and informed us of what the plans were for the day. He would check me again, break my water, and then they would come in and start the Pitocin drip at a slow level. He check me, and I was still at a 1 - where I had been for two weeks. Water was broken, and Pitocin was administered.
An hour or so passed and I began feeling mild cramps. Nothing painful, just cramps. Carla came in and informed me that the shift change was about to happen and she would be back that night and she hoped to see a baby! She asked if I needed anything, and I informed her immediately, that I would like an epidural as soon as possible. I had been told by friends that it would be wise to ask for the epidural as soon as possible just in case it might take a while for it to arrive. She laughed a bit and joked, "well, no honey, we want you feel what labor feels like!" Then she smiled reassuringly and said that she would call for an anesthesiologist on her way out. She did, and within a few minutes, Bill, the CNRA came in with our new day nurse, Ashley. Both were super nice and introduced themselves and let me know what was going to happen. Bill had two students following him around observing, so as he administered the epidural, he verbalized exactly what he was doing. I was so glad at that moment that I had signed off on having students come in to observe. There was just something so nice and easing knowing exactly what procedures he was doing as he did them.
Ashley had me roll on my side and upped the Pitocin.
The epidural began working immediately. On the monitor I could see my heart rate, baby's heart rate, and the contractions as they happened, but I didn't feel them at all.
The whole morning and early afternoon went like this: Ashley would come in, check our stats, up the Pitocin, and roll me from one side to the other, and also check me from time to time to see where I was at. I would drift off to nap and wake up and chat with Adam and family and friends that would stop by to say hello and check on our progress.
At 3PM, Ashley came in with our doctor. The doctor checked me and informed us that I was at a 6, but also that they were not too happy with baby girl's heart beat. That it was dipping too low, most likely because I had been in labor for nine hours. Their plan was this: they would stop the Pitocin, wait a bit and see if baby girl’s heartbeat would pick back up - if so, they would let her rest a bit and then start pushing the Pitocin again. And so they did. Baby girl’s heartbeat picked right up and an hour later, they continued with the Pitocin. Baby girl’s heartbeat stayed strong from there on out, and my contractions continued - though again, I didn’t feel a thing.
Around 6PM the doctor came in to check me again. Even after the Pitocin had been turned back on, I was still at a six. No progression. The doctor then informed us that he would give me one more hour of pitocin, and check me again. If I progressed, we would battle on. If I did not progress, we would go ahead with a c-section. Adam immediately, said, “what?!” I think it stunned him more than it did me. He was concerned. I always knew it was a possibility with being induced. But that didn’t stop me from being a tiny bit unhappy about the situation. Dr. Stewart assured us that it would be ok, but also that he was not too surprised that I had not progressed because when they turned off the Pitocin, they pretty much stopped my labor and there was a good chance too, that I might still progress. I began sending out text messages. Prayer requests. Lots of them. My sister did too. I said lots of prayer during the next hour. I don’t remember doing much but praying. Praying that I would progress. Praying that baby girl would stay strong so that I could at least have the chance to push her out. Praying that the last twelve hours would not be for nothing. Prayer and more prayer - the whole time, watching the monitor to make sure that baby girl’s heart beat was staying steady and strong.
During that hour, my cousin Leslie sent me a text message saying that she and her women’s prayer group were praying for me and she left me with this scripture: Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
The longest shortest hour passed and Dr. Stewart and Ashley came back in to check me. I think I held my breath and prayed some more. I’m pretty sure Adam was holding his breath too. Prayer worked. I had progressed to an 8.5 - almost a 9 when a contraction came.
Dr. Stewart let me know that he was off to do another c-section and would be back in a hour or so to check me again. Ashley let me know that her shift was almost over, and Carla would soon be back in. We had officially been in the hospital for two full shift changes.
Adam and my family and friends who were there at the hospital were all informed and all breathed a sigh of relief and we were back to waiting for the next hour and a half.
We decided that baby girl might need some music to keep progressing, so I turned on my “Run” playlist. A selection of songs that I listened to throughout my pregnancy to get me through my runs. I remember the room was mostly quiet. My grandparents were there along with Adam, my mom, Ron, and Rachel. My very nervous and excited dad, and brother-in-law, and best friend, Tammy were out in the waiting room. We just listened to the music. Rachel caught this snippet on her iphone while Florence and the Machines sang, Shake it Out. I will cherish this video for as long as I live.
8:30 came around and Carla came back. She joked that she thought she had told me to have that baby before she started her shift - I laughed and told her that I did have good intentions, but that baby girl had already picked favorites and wanted her to be her nurse. She laughed and said that she was going to check me because Dr. Stewart was still in surgery. She did and the moment came with utter shock and surprise. Carla calmly and collectively informed me that I was there. I was ready to push. Adam and I looked at each other like, “did she really just say it’s time?!” We had been there all day, yet when the moment hit, it was still a shock. Carla told us that she was going to begin getting the tray and tables ready and prepare for me to start. She was still so calm about everything. I told her I wanted my mom and sister to also be present during the delivery, so she went out to the waiting room, corralled my family, updated them, and gathered my mom and sister to come into the room. While she was gone, I got nauseous. Carla came back in, calmly handed me a clear plastic container and said that it was going to be okay, and assured me that it happens all the time from nerves. I only got sick a bit, after all, I hadn’t eaten or had anything to drink since 7PM the day before. After that spell, I looked at Adam, my mom, and sister and told them, “Okay, I’m okay and I’m ready.” The scripture verse Leslie had sent me immediately came into the forefront of my mind. I said it out loud and began pushing. Carla looked at me and said, “Okay, lets get this baby all the way there, and Dr. Stewart will come in just in time to catch her!” And we began. Carla calmly explained to me where and how I needed to push. A contraction came, the scripture verse Leslie had sent me immediately came into the forefront of my mind. I said it out loud and began pushing at 9PM. I think I pushed several times and then Dr. Stewart walked in. He calmly took over for Carla and she assisted my sister and Adam at how to hold my legs. The nursery nurse, Courtney (a friend of mine who I had just gotten to know this year) came in and planted herself by the warmer. She was ready to care for baby girl as soon as she made her appearance. I remember thinking how cool it was that I had a familiar and wonderful friend there to care for our girl. Her being there put me even more at ease. The next few contractions came and I worked. Philippians 4:13 in my mind each push. In between contractions, I remember the room getting so quiet. Dr. Stewart and Carla would watch the contraction monitor. Adam would say how good I was doing. And I would just breath. I made one crack during one of those quiet moments about the fact that anytime my classroom at school gets that quiet, it never fails, that one student will always say, “awkward silence!” It did break the silence and we all laughed, and then it was time to push again. Philippians 4:13. I remember thinking that my eyes were going to pop out of my sockets. I almost asked Dr. Stewart if it was a possibility, but I decided to just close my eyes when I pushed and hope for the best. Philippians 4:13. I was on a mission. A few pushes later, and Dr. Stewart said that I was so close - she was crowing, and from there, I knew what I was doing, and was ready to meet our baby girl.
With that and a few pushes later, baby girl was born at 9:35PM. She was immediately placed on my chest and I remember looking at her then Adam on my left, and saying “Ellie, she’s an Ellis.” A strong name for such a strong baby girl who had made it through 18+ hours of labor. He smiled and tears streamed down our faces and he said “Hello, baby girl Ellis.” That moment was so joyous and yet so surreal - I remember saying out loud “She’s here. She’s really here.” I closed my eyes and tears of joy streamed down my face. Courtney, the nursery nurse, joyously said out loud, “Oh my gosh, you are making me cry - I witness births all the time and don’t cry, but you are making me cry.”
I
know the room must have been noisy, but to me it was as if time stood
still and the whole world got really quiet. It was the first moment I
held my baby girl and she was perfect. Ellis Chandler Rose Trump.
Seven pounds, ten ounces, and twenty inches of pure beautiful perfection.
Hello, Baby Ellis. How very wonderful to meet you, sweet girl.
When I refilled this jar this past Sunday, I thought to myself, "by the time this jar is empty, maybe I will have gone into labor."
At 39 weeks, 6 days, and nine hours, I am literally looking for any signs that just maybe we will meet this baby girl sometime this weekend. And yet, no contractions, and not even a Braxton Hick (that I know of). I totally realize that once labor pains start, I am sure I will be eating my words. But seriously, I'm just really excited and anxious to meet our girl.
As I type this, I am pretty sure she is having a blast doing her version of the Harlem Shake in my belly.
I posted this photo on FB and Instagram on Monday.
I was thinking (hoping) it might be the last land mark photo of this pregnancy. But unless something happens between now and sunrise, I will be up getting dressed for work. So you can bet, I will snap the 40 week photo.
But just in case, my bag is packed.
I have a list by my purse of extra things to throw in the bag/car when the time does come.
Until then, we will wait and see. We will watch Scandal like we usually do on Thursday nights while we cuddle with our sweet Henry.
Fair Warning - this is a super photo and text heavy post. I'm most indecisive when it comes to choosing the right photos to display baby girl's nursery.
Okay, so you've been warned :) Lets start the tour.
I will start by telling you that this room used to be orange. Like bright orange. Anyone who has been to our house knows that I LOVE paint color. Bright, bold, paint colors. But when we found out we were expecting, I decided to go in the opposite direction. I wanted a white slate, and mostly I wanted the painting done before school started back - that timing meant that I could not chose pink or blue because we were not going to find out the sex until October. So I went with bright white and decided it would be fun to incorporate every bright color with decor.
First up, the alphabet wall.
This little project (okay, BIG project) started out small. I was just going to make an "abc" and maybe a "123." And then came the d, and e, and well, after those, I figured I better just do the whole alphabet. And so just 3 weeks shy of my due date, all 26 letters were complete. You know, nothing like adding a little crafting stress to getting her nursery done. Anything for her, right?! All kidding aside, I am now super happy they are all done. But I do hope that she will learn her alphabet by the time she is 12 months old. No pressure, kid ;)
They were all made using this method that I have posted about before.
I decided to put them up on the wall behind her crib since it's the largest wall in the room. Also, I didn't plan on putting a mobile over her bed, so I thought these would do the job of entertaining her.
Her crib was gifted to us by a dear family friend. I wanted to keep the bedding simple, and use the quilt that I made her with just a colorful fitted sheet for a pop of color. The sheet is from Target and can be found here.
Next up, the chair. This was one thing I did not budge on having in her room. A comfy chair. And because we were gifted her crib, we decided it would be okay to splurge a bit on a comfy chair. It's a Lazy-Boy Claiborne swivel-glider and is just as comfortable as I had hoped it would be. We bought it in red so that we can later move it to our living room once she outgrows her room.
On the chair is the other quilt I made this past summer before we knew she was a girl. And the other quilt was made several summers ago when I first started quilting...this girl will never lack in quilts, that's for sure.
The tassel garland above the window was made by one of my best friends. She made it for my shower and after the shower I knew exactly where I would use it in her nursery. I love the colors. I believe she used this tutorial (scroll down a bit) to make it.
Next, the changing table wall. I posted a while back about Adam making her changing table. It's probably my most favorite part of the whole room - even though I know we might end up changing her 90% of the time on our bed or wherever is closest (smile). I made the banner almost exactly a year ago for a baby photo shoot I did of an adorable baby girl. I knew one day, it would get more use.
The changing pad cover is from Land of Nod- the yellows don't quite match her curtains, but the pop of color is exactly what I wanted. The baskets are also from Land of Nod. I've bought some of these before for scrap supplies and knew they would be handy and durable for her changing station. I put diapers, bath supplies, washcloths, swaddle blankets, and onesie's in them. Lord knows I will need some form of organization when she gets here.
The framed artwork pieces were three items I've known I would put in her nursery from the time we found out we were expecting. The ABC print is one of mine from Bacon Lettuce Tomato, the middle colorful park scene is my favorite from An Open Sketchbook, and the Henry (dog) was actually made using my Silhouette cutting machine...I wanted her to always know her big brother, Henry.
I bought these embroidery hoops a super long time ago from ebay after seeing this idea on Pinterest. I just used different fabrics from my stash to put in them for pops of color. The kiwi clock is from Etsy. It was a gift to me from Adam this past Christmas. He got on my Etsy and found my favorites page - little did he know I had favored this clock with her nursery in mind.
This photo shows her closet (which is already too small!). It had an accordion folding door, but I decided to take down the accordion door and cover it with a curtain instead - again for more color.
On the same wall as her closet, is actually a door that goes to the porch. I wanted to make it look more like a window, so I made another curtain panel to cover it. I used this curtain tutorial to make all four curtains - the fabric is from ebay.
We decided to go ahead and put a t.v. in her room - more so for my entertainment since I think I will be spending lots of time in there feeding her.
Her dresser was actually mine growing up. My grandpa stripped and re-stained it to match her bed and changing table.
This piece of artwork was given to me from my mom this past Christmas. I cried when I opened it because I loved it so much. Both the sentiment and colors were perfect and I immediately knew I would share it with my daughter.
This embroidered piece I found at a flea market - like WAY before we were even expecting. WhenI found it, I knew that someday it would be perfect framed in a nursery. It's the prayer my mom used to say with my sister and I before bed. The frame was given to me by one of my best friends. It fit perfectly.
And I'm pretty sure this whole post would not be complete without her big brother, Henry. I've been telling him throughout this whole decorating project that this room will be his as much as it will be hers. I truly hope with all my heart that he will be a protective big brother to her and always watch over her and not be scared of the sounds and new smells that might come from this room from time to time.
I think this is actually the first interior decorative thing I have ever envisioned and brought to life. I drew these sketches this past summer and gosh, it's been fun watching it all happen in real life - with a few alterations and changes.
It doesn't seem real that in two weeks or less that she will be here.
We may never be prepared for the impact she will have on all our lives, but I'm glad to say her room is prepared and ready for her.
Our baby shower was this past weekend. It was an absolutely lovely shower thrown by some of the best women I know and am so so lucky to call sisters and friends.
One of the games at the shower required a pre-video taping of Adam. 10 questions to ask the proud dad to be. If you have four and half minutes to watch, I will just say this much, this guy knows how to steal the show. His video answers were definitely a highlight of the shower. Everyone got a kick out of hearing his point of view about becoming a dad.
So if you have 4.5 minutes, you just might get a kick out of this :)
And I'm not just saying this because I am his wife and adore him, but I believe he truly is going to be a wonderful papa. Just check out how quickly he answers number 10 without hesitation. I love that.
Tonight, Friday night, I'm sitting here on the bed watching a DVR'd episode of Dance Moms, and watching baby girl dance in my tummy.
Okay, so maybe they have not changed too much - as a self proclaimed "home-body," but I do find it so cool and quite entertaining to watch her move inside my tummy. I've been trying to capture it on video but she gets super still when I hit record, and then resumes to dancing once I hit stop. Baby-girl is playing tricks on me, Adam and Henry just got back from grabbing Chili's-to-go, and Dance Mom's is almost over...I can't imagine being anywhere but right here, right now.
Taken just a couple minutes after midnight. The three four of us, hanging out on our friends couch watching the New Years Rockin' Eve show. Henry was sandwiched between us after a fireworks show that was quite traumatic for him. Turns out, he does NOT like bright lights or loud noises. Poor, sweet boy.
If you follow me on Instagram, you've already seen this photo. It wasn't until a couple days later when I saw it again that I realized the photo had caught all four of us. Notice the magenta flower in the bottom right corner? That's my ever growing belly. Still seems funny to me when I notice it in a photo like this one, but neat just the same.
