Friday, December 31, 2010

4 Weeks and a little something extra

Don't miss the post about Christmas below this one!

Evie is 4 weeks old today!  Not much has changed - she is still very small, wearing newborn size clothes and diapers.  However, you can see that she has plenty of baby fat to keep her warm!  She is starting to get her schedule more organized and is beginning to wake more during the day.  She eats every 2-3 hours during the daytime and stretches is out to every 4 hours at night.  That black hair isn't going anywhere, and it's even growing in thicker.  Her eyes are still very dark, but more specifically they are deep blue around the outsides and hazel around the pupil.  I'm interested to see where they end up!  Below the official picture  you'll see some others that I took today.  I got a little snap happy, but I thought at least the grandparents would enjoy these!
Official 4 week pic

Loves looking out the window in her room

Not sure what she's thinking here!

Sometimes she is so serious!  I wonder where she gets that?  (Hint - not from Mom)

We call this the "smile before the storm."  Anyime you see it, a screaming crying fit is imminent.

Christmas/3 Weeks

Here's a peek at our Christmas

3 weeks on Dececmber 24 - this was the best picture I got.  Not a fan of the tutu, Evie?

The Christmas set-up.  No chimney so the stockings were hung on the bookshelf with care...

Fin couldn't wait to see what St. Nick brought him!

Dad, daughter, and her stocking.  Following family tradition I made Evie's stocking, and she'll get a new decorative patch on it each year.  My Mom and her siblings, Mark and I, and now Evie all do this.

Evie's Christmas haul.  Can you find the baby?

Family pic

Evie and Daddy

Evie and Mom - a little close-up for my taste...

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Best Buddies

These two are best buddies already!

Finlay did this on his own - no prompting from us!

Friday, December 17, 2010

Evie 2 Weeks

Evie is 2 weeks old today!  I can't believe how quickly time is flying.  We had her 2 week check-up with the base pediatrician today, and everything looks great!  It seems like she is going to potentially take after her maternal grandmother, sizewise, as she is perfectly healthy but tiny.  Her stats are:
Height:  19 1/2 inches, 17th percentile
Weight:  7 pounds, 12th percentile
Head Circumference:  (they didn't give me the actual measurement) 15th percentile
She is eating great - every 3 hours during the day and every 4 at night - and she has to be woken up to eat at night to boot!  The doctor says that after 6 or 8 weeks we can let her go as long as she wants to at night.  I can't wait, but still feel fortunate to have such a great sleeper right now.  She also already has great head control, and is able to lift her head and turn it to one side, then all the way around to the other shoulder and then back again before setting it down during tummy time.  We are amazed by our sweet, tiny little girl!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Thanks, Honey!

I have to give major credit to Nicholas for everything he's been doing around here this week.  He was super-helpful while my mom was here, but since she's been gone he has really been stepping up to take care of Evie and me.  He has changed 90% of the diapers, volunteered for countless extra late-night, post-feeding soothing sessions, and waited on me hand and foot, making and bringing me food, making sure I get my shower and getting-ready time, etc.  And he does it all cheerfully, like there's nothing he'd rather be doing!  Since I'm breastfeeding exclusively, I thought that I might feel like the one doing all the work, but these past several days I've really felt like the lazy one.  I'm going to be so sad to send Nick back to work on the 21st, but until then I feel so fortunate to have such a loving, helpful, and attentive husband at home with me.  Thanks, honey!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Nursery Pics

Entering from the hall



Behind the door


Pretty much the whole set-up.  The room is tiny!

Hard to see, but I made these canvases with her monogram. 


Dresser and closet door
 By popular demand, here are pictures of Evie's nursery.  We pretty much use it for diaper and clothing changes right now, as she sleeps in our room at night.  Of course, once she starts sleeping in the crib the precious blanket, pillows, and bunny will come out.  I'm totally paranoid, hence the absence of bumpers, per the AAP guideline...Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Friday, December 10, 2010

More Evie!

I'm totally stealing this concept from my friend Anna - 1 week old! 


After a nice bath - Evie actually hated it, but calmed down when she was being held by Dad.


Ready for her close-up!


Please don't make me wake up!


Thursday, December 9, 2010

Evie Week One

In the hospital, ready to go home

With Grammy and Edie

With Grandad and Edie


A little hungry


With Grandad


Big brother loves her!


Getting ready for our first doctor's appointment


With Mom and Dad

First walk around the neighborhood


So tiny in my bassinet

Finally caught her eyes open

Big brother is a great watchdog!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Welcome Evie!

Nick and I welcomed our precious daughter Evangeline Claire to the world on Friday, December 3rd at 7:40 p.m. We are already in love with little Evie! (Pronounced E.V. - not eh-vee) She came a little early, and the way she arrived was a pretty big surprise. I'll post more pictures in another post so if that's what you want to see, you can stop reading. However, I'd like to document the labor/delivery process so I'm going to write about it here. If you keep reading from here, kudos to you!


Nick and I went to my regular doctor's appointment on Thursday, and that's where the fun started! During a regular internal exam, I started to bleed pretty heavily. Then I passed a big blood clot and started bleeding even more heavily. Needless to say, Nick and I were pretty terrified at that point. My doctor remained calm, but left the room to consult with the hospital and another doctor, and they decided pretty quickly to send me straight to the hospital to begin an induction. The doctor thinks that I had an infection in my cervix (tmi - so sorry) that caused all the bleeding, and that the bleeding wasn't going to stop anytime soon.

I was really disappointed to be induced, as I had hoped to have a completely natural birth experience, but I was also very anxious due to all the bleeding. Nick and I went across the street to the hospital, and I had started my induction with Cytotech by 5:30pm. We alerted our parents to head on out to Clovis, and hunkered down for a long night of labor. This whole process happened so quickly that we didn't really have time to let anyone else know what was going on, and because I was bleeding so profusely I didn't have the energy to be talking on my phone or even texting so I apologize to those of you who felt out of the loop! Nick was a huge help, and incredibly supportive every step of the way. He dealt with all of the doctors and nurses, and asked questions when they wanted to do something that wasn't in-line with our birth plan. I can't imagine having to go through such a scary experience without him.

From the time I was induced, I labored 19 hours before I broke down and got the epidural. I was really disappointed to cave, but after all the bleeding and the energy required for 19 hours of labor I needed some relief to make it through the rest of the process! We had 7 more hours of labor with the epidural (that's 26 hours of labor if you're counting), and then Evie finally arrived after only 20 minutes of pushing at 7:40. My parents and Nick's mom were able to be there, and the moms were a big help during the delivery (thanks, guys!) Overall, it was an exhausting but ultimately joyful experience,

Evie was 6 pounds, 13 ounces and 19 3/4 inches long. Her apgar was 8/9 so she was great, even after all the bleeding and super-long labor. So far, here's what we can tell about her looks. She has a ton of dark hair, Nick's eyes and nose, my mouth and chin, Nick's long, skinny arms and legs, and my long feet. She started nursing like a champ right away and has continued to do so ever since! I was really nervous about this so I'm so glad it wasn't a big struggle. So far, Evie has a great temperament, and pretty much only cries during baths or when we have to wake her up to eat. We are very lucky parents!

More pictures to come tomorrow, I promise.