Ella's Sunshine Birthday

It took me a little while to think of what Ella's birthday party could be. At first I was going to try to make a pretty cake and that would be it. But then I got to thinking about the times I nursed her and I'd always sing to her the same song: "You are my Sunshine".  I can only count a handful of times she nursed really well. And when she did... I'd sing. It was a really emotional time for me so the song is extremely special. A lot of times I would cry when I sang it. It only seemed fit to have a sunshine birthday.... who knew I'd make it through a year! Forgive me, too; the photos are a bit out of order and I don't have a lot of time to change them around.

Banana Cupcakes with Lemon Cream frosting

Weaning

I have to write real quick.  I should be updating this blog on a lot of different things.... Ella's birthday, this cleanse I'm doing... but for now I'd just like to say that I am very close to weaning off pumping.

It is a really big thing for me. I did cry a couple of times thinking about it.  And I think if Ella were eating really good,  I wouldn't care as much. But right now, it's really hit and miss. She's not even 20 pounds yet! I think she weighs less than both the kids did by 12 months. It's not by much, though, so that's good.

I just need to keep telling myself that there is NOTHING wrong with giving her some formula. I actually prefer to give her some still, even though it is perfectly fine for cows milk- just so that she is getting all the nutrients she needs b/c she is eating so poorly. 

Pray for this mama right now, that transitions will go smooth into dropping more pumps and just being done.  12 oz a day (which is sadly what i'm making) is good, but it's not bad if we add 12 more oz a day of formula. I think if I still had my 15-20 oz a day, I would still be going. But I am definitely looking forward to being done.... for many reasons!

Meet Ella

It has been way too long since I last posted. Over two weeks I am sure. But our little baby girl Ella is here! We were really surprised that we had another girl, but oh so joyful and excited at the same time!  She was born April 21st, at 10:28 p.m.  No, I didn't go in naturally... I was induced a week early.  It turns out I was dilated to 4.5 when I went in, and I was leaking amniotic fluid as expected. I was pretty sure I was leaking, but at the same time I didn't want to drive all the way to the hospital and be wrong and have to come back home. Turns out, I was exactly right, and since I had Strep B., she had to come out as soon as possible or there was a risk of transmitting the bacteria to her.

We got there about 1p or slightly after, by 2:20 or so, we received info that I'd be staying. I was very thankful we packed most of our things *just in case*. They started everything around 3, and for about two hours I just kind of layed there dormant. Nothing was happening at all, just some inconvenient cramps. This is was normally happens when I get induced, and I knew if there was any water left to break, they need to break it so things could get moving.  By 6 I had some regular contractions, by 8 I got the epidural -- sadly the pain wasn't even that bad, I just really wanted to be comfortable. Instead it really didn't help a whole lot because I ended up not being able to breath very well. At 10pm, I finally convinced them to break the rest of my water, which ended up not being very much, but once it was broken, I went from a 6 to a 10 in about 10 minutes. I then felt the urge to push like I did with Madelyn, and I just remember feeling excited. Like, "this is about to happen!". I felt strong urges to push and they advised me not to. We did a couple of practice pushes to see if I'd make any progress and within once push they saw a head and told me to quit! I remember crying a little bit because as I pushed, it hurt and I was shivering and uncomfortable.  As I pushed they told me the baby had big shoulders and I definitely felt that!  Finally I felt relief and they announced proudly and loudly that it was a girl! I remember laughing excitedly because we were wrong again. When they put her on my chest she didn't seem to look like either of our girls. She was our Ella.

The best part of the whole day, besides the birth of Ella, was watching Peter as he cut the chord. His faced was filled with emotion and love. I continued to watch him as he followed the nurse to see how much Ella weighed. He was looking down on her in admiration, following her every move like a lost puppy. I just loved it. I watched him the whole time.  Even now, it is so fun to see him come home from work, hug and kiss the girls, and then come straight to Ella. What a proud dad.

To be continued....