4 Weeks Old

Wow! Four weeks! Our little boy is growing so fast! I know I say that every week, but these past two weeks, he really has been filling out. I noticed today that his newborn pajamas are getting smaller on him. He is also getting stronger. You’ll notice in a picture below him holding his head up. HIs neck is getting strong and he will pick up his head and turn it over. It is so amazing to watch all of these developments.  We took Max out last Saturday night for his first restaurant trip. We went to eat pizza at Zoey’s in Marion. While we were there, we went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Ellingson and Aunt Susan, Uncle Dwight, Ellie and Sophie. It was a nice evening out and Max slept pretty much the whole time. This week has been great because Eric has been home and we have been able to just hang out as a family.
On Thanksgiving, we just stayed put at home. Eric and Max let me sleep in till noon and Eric had homemade waffles and whipped cream for me when I got up. I am so thankful for my wonderful family. I feel like I had to wait so long to find Eric, but I am so happy. Our house is filled with so much love. We had a nice little dinner on Thanksgiving...just the 3 of us.
We went to Eric’s mom’s house today and celebrated Thanksgiving with his brothers and sister. It was nice to have everyone there together.  Now we are just relaxing at home and looking forward to another week of being home together and planning our trip to Texas. We take Max in for his one month checkup on Monday...I’m so anxious to see how much weight he has gained...stay tuned for next week! :D

3 Weeks Old

Wow! Three weeks has gone by so fast! Max is getting so much bigger each day. Eric and I can’t believe how much he’s grown since he was born. He must be going through his first growth spurt. He wants to eat more often during the day, so he is awake a little more. He is still sleeping well at night. We had one night this week without much sleep, but we were able to make up for it the next day. We went to our last class on Wednesday night to share our birth story and show off our beautiful baby to all of the other couples. It was nice to get out. Max slept the entire time. Couldn’t be bothered to wake up and look around at everything. Other than that, it’s been a pretty quiet week for us. Eric was sick at the beginning of the week. He had a fever and was quarantined to sleeping in the guest room and would spend his days down in the basement so that he wouldn’t get the rest of us sick. He is feeling much better and even was able to come back to our bedroom last night. It is nice to know that I will have help once again with diaper changes and other things around the house. And even though he was sick half of the week, he was still able to be very productive at work and will finally get to take time off next week. We will get some good family time in together...I can’t wait!  My friend Becca came to visit us this week too. She brought lunch out and it was great to catch up with her. Today, Max and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. The sun finally came out and it warmed up enough, so we strolled around for about 30 minutes. Max slept the whole time, of course, but it felt so good to get out and move around for awhile. Fortunately, North Liberty has a great rec center with an indoor track that you can take your stroller on. So, even when it gets cold, we can still get out and get some exercise.
We’ll be staying here in Iowa for Thanksgiving and spending it with Eric’s family. We’re also going to be planning our trip to Texas next month. I cannot wait to take Max home and introduce him to the rest of his family. My niece Cora has taken to calling him ‘Cousin Smax’. Too cute! I think she and Wyatt are going to just love their baby cousin. I can’t wait to see them and everyone else. Here are a few pictures from this week. He mainly sleeps still, but I’m sure will start to become more active soon.

2 Weeks Old

I can’t believe another week has already gone by. Max has already surpassed his birth weight. He has been feeding so good and really is starting to fill out in his face. It’s amazing how fast they grow and how much bigger he seems today than two weeks ago. This week, Mommy and Max have been spending a lot of time together. Daddy has been busy with work, but we hope that soon he will be finished with these projects and able to spend some quality time with us at home. Everyone is doing well. We are on a pretty normal schedule for the most part...it varies by an hour or two each day. Max is such a good baby. Doesn’t get fussy a lot and is content just swinging in his swing or lying in his pack-n-play. We are totally in love with him and still amazed that he is here. Here are some pictures from this week!

1 Week Old

Early in the morning on Wednesday, October 28 the last phase of the journey in welcoming Max into the world began. My contractions started in the middle of the night. I stayed home from work that day so that I would be more comfortable and so I could get things ready. Eric got home that night and we decided to stay home from our birthing class. By the time Thursday morning came around, my contractions were around 5 minutes apart. We called the midwife and she said not to head in just yet. Wait awhile and see if we could just make it to our appointment that afternoon. That’s what we did. She checked me and told me to go back home for a few hours and once the contractions were 2-3 minutes apart to head into the hospital. She felt certain we would have our little boy that night. So around 6:00, we headed into the hospital. We got checked in and they even moved us into a labor and delivery room. But, labor stalled and picked up all night long. We walked, showered, bounced, rocked, everything we could think of the get the contractions to be consistent. But, Friday morning, they began loading in all of the equipment needed to welcome our baby into the world. I called my mom and told her we should have a baby any time now. Well, he had other plans. Of course, contractions stalled again. Around noon, the midwife came to talk to us about concerns and possible interventions. Trying to break my water, giving me an epidural so that I could get some rest and giving me an IV of fluids to keep me from getting more dehydrated. I had been laboring for quite some time and after she examined me, she told me that the baby was facing sunny side up so this was keeping things from progressing. After she talked to us, we went on a walk to discuss our options. We still felt very strongly about not having any medications, so we opted for an IV for me to get fluids in me and trying some different positions during the contractions to get the baby to flip around. Well, it worked! Soon, my water broke and then it was time to push. Before I knew it, I was holding my little boy in my arms and couldn’t have been happier. You could have asked me to run a mile at that point and I really believed I could have. Eric got to cut the cord and we were able to just hold our son and be together as a family for about an hour while all of the nurses and doctors finished things up. I was absolutely oblivious to what was going on around me. All I could focus on was my family. Around 4:00, Eric took Max to the other side of the room with the nurse to get him weighed and measured and I went to take a shower. It felt great to get cleaned up and walk to my recovery room. Once we got there, we ordered food and then settled in for the neverending parade of nurses coming in and out wanting to check things on Mommy and Max. But, things did calm down and we all got some sleep that night. Max slept pretty much the whole night. Just woke up a few times to get a diaper change and feed.
Saturday, we just hung out in our room, watched the Hawkeyes, took a nap and then got ready to go home that evening. We were home by 7:00 that night, had a few trick-or-treaters and headed to bed pretty soon. Max had a pretty busy Sunday with lots of family coming over to meet him and hold him. Grandma and Papa (Danielle’s mom and dad) drove up from Texas and stayed the week with us. It was nice to have them here to help us adjust to life with a baby.
This week Max has done a great job at sleeping. He is a pro when it comes to snoozing. He does really well at night, wakes up right on schedule to eat and then goes back to sleep. We got to talk to his Aunt Mary, Uncle Doug and Cousins Wyatt and Cora on the webcam tonight. We are going to be going down to Texas in December and can’t wait for him to meet the rest of the family.
Here are some pictures from his first week at home.