Whoohoo!

Ellie slept until 3:50am this morning before waking up! She had gone down at 7:00pm, so that means she slept almost 9 hours straight!!! She has also been napping really well today - both her morning and afternoon naps have been in her crib (as opposed to my lap).

We went on a quick outing to Hobby Lobby in between naps today. She cried in the store for awhile but then she fell asleep.

Ellie continues to hate tummy time. We have been really trying to push it on her so that she'll increase her arm strength and crawl on time. She lasts about 10 seconds on her tummy before crying and rolling over to her back. We turn her to her tummy again and she continues crying and rolls to her back again. This continues until she is wailing and we give up until another time... She would much rather be standing up than lying down.

Busy Weekend

Ellie had a big weekend; it may have been too big... On Saturday Tim's dad and step-mom visited us. They hadn't seen Ellie since she was just born, so she had definitely changed a lot! We took some pictures and I will try to get them posted soon. Ellie was a good baby while they were here and only cried a little bit.

After they left, Tim and I took Ellie out for an early dinner. We ate at about 4:45pm or so (I wonder how early we'll be eating by the time we are 70...). By going so early we avoided having Ellie scream in the restaurant all through the meal. By the time we headed home, however, she was her typical evening-fussy self. I had hoped to meet up with some friends around 7:30pm, but by the time she was calm and in bed I was wiped out.

Sunday morning we ended up calling the phone nurse that answers the doctor's phone on the weekend. Ellie has gone several days with only one small bowel movement and we were a bit concerned. She has been very gassy and acts a little like she is in pain. Apparently breast-fed babies can go up to 7-10 days without passing any stool. Who knew? Sounds miserable to me, but it doesn't seem to bother most babies.

In the afternoon we took Ellie on her first hike. We went with low expectations and a sense of humor - which was a good thing. We took her in the jogger up a rocky road, but ended up carrying her in the front pack most of the way. She cried quite a bit so we ended up turning back after half an hour or so. On the way back down the wind was blowing. When air blows in babies' faces they hold their breath. Ellie kept sucking in big gulps of air every time the wind hit her, so I had to shield her face with my hand all the way back down. By the time we got in the van she was screaming at the top of her lungs. She was so tired.

Ellie ended up skipping her afternoon nap, so the entire time I tried to make dinner she cried in Tim's arms. Eventually I was able to get her to calm down and nurse. After dinner she crashed and fell right to sleep. Maybe we'll try to take it a little easier next weekend when Grandma Barton visits!

On the up side: Ellie has slept three nights in a row with only one waking!!!

Fun With the Insurance Company

I went to the pharmacy to pick up Ellie's new prescription for Prevacid (she has reflux). The pharmacy technician told me that Prevacid isn't covered by our insurance. I told her that I had specifically checked before having the doctor call in the prescription and our benefits did cover the medication. She picked up the phone to call the insurance company. This is the dialog of their conversation:

Pharmacy Tech: I am calling from such-and-such pharmacy in regards to Elizabeth P. Her date of birth is 2/4/07. Our computer shows that you will not cover her prescription for dissolvable Prevacid tablets.

Insurance Agent: That is correct. We don't cover Prevacid.

PT: Elizabeth's mother says that her benefits do cover Prevacid.

IA: Well, we do cover Prevacid, but only after generic drugs x, y, and z have first been tried.

PT: That won't work for Elizabeth because x, y, and z only come in pill form and she needs dissolvable tablets.

IA: She needs to try the pills first before we will cover the tablets.

PT: She can't swallow pills.

IA: Why not? (Obviously not connecting the dots...)

PT: Uhhh, because she is a baby... (waiting for them to put the pieces together; they don't) aaaaaand.... babies.... can't.... swallow pills.

IA: Well, Elizabeth's doctor must contact us and tell us that she is unable to swallow pills and explain why before we will cover the tablets.

PT: I just told you why she can't swallow pills.

IA: You're not a doctor.

PT: Okay, whatever (hangs up phone)

I could hardly stop laughing by the time the conversation was over. The doctor did indeed let the insurance company know that Ellie is in fact an infant, and that in his experience infants should not be expected to swallow pills.

Another Long Night

Ellie woke up four times again last night. She nursed three times, and one time I figured she couldn't possibly be hungry again, so I stuck the pacifier in her mouth and rocked her. That got her back to sleep for about another hour. She ate about 5 ounces from the bottle with Tim this morning. He had to give her all the milk I pumped yesterday, plus some from the freezer. I would say the girl must be growing!

Yesterday morning Ellie rolled from her back to her left side!

Lots of Information and Some Pictures

To see how much Ellie has grown, look at this picture, taken when she was 9 days old:


and compare it to this one, taken at 10 weeks:

In this picture you can see that Ellie is growing a little bit of hair. You can also see how much her birthmarks are fading. The doctor thinks that they will probably completely disappear with time.

Ellie slept for a third night in row with only one feeding on Monday night. Last night, though, she woke up to eat four times. I think she may be hitting her three-month growth spurt a little early!

We spent about two hours today at the hospital having Ellie's hips x-rayed. The results showed some possible abnormalities in both hips. Her pediatrician is referring us to Children's Hospital to see an orthopedist. We are hopeful that his analysis will be normal; however, we are thankful to live so near such a fantastic hospital in case she does need treatment. We'll keep you posted.

Two Nights In a Row

For the past two nights Ellie has only woken up once to nurse! Saturday night she was up at 2:45am and last night she was up at 2:00am. Tim gets up shortly after 5:00am, so I don't have to worry about any feedings after that until he leaves for work.

Normally she goes to sleep around 7:30pm, but this evening she fell asleep earlier and then woke up to nurse again at 9:00pm. That could mean that she'll stay asleep longer because she is full, or it could mean that she'll wake up sooner because her schedule is off... I never know which it will be!

We bought Ellie one of these over the weekend. She really enjoys it and looks very adorable sitting in it.

Obviously I did not get any new pictures posted over the weekend. I will try to get some up tomorrow night.

Reaching and Looking

Ellie reached for a toy yesterday and was able to grab it and pull it into her lap. Her very favorite toy right now is a soft little puppy rattle from Carter's. I received it as a shower present, but I'm not positive who gave it to me. Was it you? I would like to tell whoever it was how much she loves it!

Ellie saw Kip (our border collie) for the first time today. You would think that she would have noticed the dogs a long time ago, but I think that they are just too big and move too much for her to focus on. Anyway, she was sitting in her Baby Einstein activity center (thanks Aunt Linda and Uncle Russ!) and Kip sat nearby right at her eye level. She stopped what she was doing and just stared at him. Then she reached out and whacked him on the nose. He absolutely LOVED it! In fact he loved it so much that I had to make him leave the room when Sebastian (our black lab) came over to see what was going on. Kip became jealous that she would whack at Sebastian instead of whacking at him. That is classic Kipling for you!

Well, it is 9:30pm or so and Ellie will surely be up in a few hours so I had better get some sleep while I can. I'll try to post new pictures this weekend.

Happy Easter!

Here is a picture of our little Easter Bunny in her bunny hat from Grandma and Grandpa B.

Ellie rolled over for the first time today. Tim was doing "tummy time" with her this morning and she rolled from her stomach to her back. Tim said that she was a little surprised to suddenly be on her back and she started crying.

Ellie has also started playing in her Baby Einstein bouncer. She isn't quite sure what to think, but she seems to enjoy it. Her legs aren't quite long enough yet, so we have to put a pillow in the bottom. We also prop her up in the seat with a bag of cotton balls (whatever works!).

Here is another picture of our little bunny. Isn't that the goofiest smile you ever saw?

Shots

Ellie had three shots at her 2 month doctor's appointment. She cried so hard she could hardly catch her breath. It was very sad. We thought she might not cry much, since the two times she has had blood drawn she hardly even noticed - even as they squeezed her poor little foot to get the blood droplets.

This is a picture of her with her Peanuts band aids after we got home. She was a little zoned out.

We have to have an x-ray taken of her hips next week. The doctor is a little worried that she might have hip dysplasia. Her risk for this condition is elevated because I carried her transverse throughout most of the pregnancy. It is apparently a very treatable condition, but one that you want to catch in infancy before the bones become set.

Her stats from her appointment: 9 pounds, 22 inches long.

Here's Hoping For a Better Night

Last night Ellie woke up no less than five times. FIVE! I think all the Tylenol she had been taking to help with her shots got her sleep schedule out of whack - that stuff knocked her out every time we gave it to her. She spent most of yesterday sleeping off the medicine and not eating much. She definitely made up for it overnight. I had a whopping 30 minutes sleep (in two 15 minute chunks) from 9pm until 2am. After she woke up for the fifth time at 2:45am I gave up and slept with her on my chest in the recliner. Thank goodness for the recliner; when all else fails...

Thankfully I have a wonderful husband (and Ellie has a wonderful Daddy) who got up with her at 5am and let me sleep in until 10am. I was able to get a total of 7 hours of sleep that way.

Baby Einstein

In good company.

2 Months Old

How Ellie has changed over the last month:

• She is growing (a little) hair
• She is too long for her newborn footie pajamas
• She only wakes up 2 times during the night (typically at 1am and 4am)
• She has started spitting up a lot
• When Tim gives her a bottle in the morning she can drink up to 4 ounces at once
• She has developed a pretty regular nap routine (9-11am, 1-4pm, 5:30-6:30pm)
• She is very fussy if she doesn't go to bed by 7:30pm
• She smiles a lot
• She laughs in her sleep
• She reaches for her toys
• She "talks" to her toys
• She "talks" to us
• She likes to sit in her highchair and watch us do things (unload the dishwasher, fold clothes)
• She has developed lots of different cries

Events during the last month:

• Ellie went to the emergency room, where they could tell we were overreacting, first-time parents. She was diagnosed with a cold...
• Ellie noticed the cat for the first time. She liked watching her walk around.
• Ellie's first outing. We went to Kohl's to get new onsies.
• Ellie cried all through my 6 week postpartum checkup.
• Ellie sat in several restaurants: Texas Roadhouse, Red Robin, and Bear Rock Cafe.

Middle of the Night Fun!

When was the last time you had poop between your toes?

For Ellie it was at 12am this morning. She woke up for her first feeding at 11:30pm, very early for her, and I should have seen it as a sign of what was to come. I nursed her, and while burping her I tried to decide how neglectful of a mother I would be if I put her back in her crib without changing her diaper. It was just a bit wet and she would be up again in two hours - I could change it then. Well, as I tried to decide what kind of mother I was Ellie made the decision for me and made a very large poop.

As I stood up to change her I realized that my shirt sleeve was wet with something warm, and my fingers as well (never a good sign when you are holding an infant). I set her on the changing table and saw that yes there was indeed poop leaking out of her clothes. The fun really began when I undressed her and found that the mess had shot down her left leg and set up residence in the foot of her pajamas, where she was exploring this new texture with her toes.

If you think changing a baby's clothes will make her wide awake, try cleaning between each of her ticklish toes with a baby wipe. That will really wake her up. Add to that that when I changed her clothes I made the mistake of putting her in the footie pajamas that her feet get stuck in the legs of when she pulls them to her chest. She HATES that!

Needless to say, she was sufficiently awake and nothing could get her back to sleep. I ended up laying her on my chest in the recliner (her favorite sleeping position) a little after 1am so that we could both get a little sleep before the sun came up.

First Post

Elizabeth Rose was born on February 4, 2007 at 12:06 a.m. This blog will allow us to update friends and family on all the things she is learning to do!