Singing, Swings and Smiles

Evelyn has really begun to show us her likes and dislikes and aspects of her personality.  She LOVES her swing.  She likes to be in motion all the time.  She likes it when I sit on the edge of the bed, hold her and bounce.  She likes to stare at the mobile over her crib and she is starting to find the ceiling fan fascinating.  She prefers to be held with her head on your shoulder rather than being cradled.  She loves taking walks in her stroller.  She loves the sound of the vacuum cleaner (I've actually turned it on when she won't stop crying and it calms her down right away).  She likes to be swaddled, but hates it if her arms are confined.  She's discovered her fingers and hands and loves to chew on them.  She loves music and when we sing to her.  Right now her favorite songs are "Tomorrow", "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" and "You Are My Sunshine".  She loves taking a bath, but hates being cold when the bath is over.  She loves snuggling, especially at 2:00 in the morning.  She loves getting kisses (at least I hope she does because I give her bunches and bunches every day!).  She loves being told that she is a "pretty baby" and "a little sweet pea" and has started giving us a little smile when we talk to her.  She likes sticking out her tongue.  She likes her pacifier, but not all the time.  And if you try and give her pacifier to her when she doesn't want it, she will get MAD.  Pat and I have known since the day Evie was born that she has quite a temper.  She can go from calm to screamin' demon in about two seconds flat.  She's a sensitive baby who can be a little (or a lot) fussy at times.  Don't get me wrong.  For the most part, she a very good baby, but there are moments when it can be challenge to figure out just what she needs to make her happy.  It has been a learning experience for us.  I'm looking forward to learning even more about Evelyn's personality as she gets older.  It's amazing for us to see this little being that we created show us who she is.

Mama's little snuggle bug

Crosby and Evie checking each other out

My swing has everything I like - constant movement, a mobile and music!

Going for another walk with Mama on a chilly day (my hat and blanket were made for me by Grandma Rita)

I love taking a bath!

Sticking out my tongue

Hanging out on my playmat with my bro Crosby

I like my boppy!

Giving Mama and Daddy a little smile

Growing like a weed

 Evelyn is getting so big! She's 6 weeks old today and getting bigger everyday.  At her one month checkup, she weighed 9lbs. 15oz. and was a little over 22 inches long.  Today, she weighs 10lbs. 11oz. and is 23 inches long!  She gained 12oz. in week!  I wasn't exactly surprised by this because I could tell she was bigger.  Plus, we figured that she had been going through a growth spurt since she's been extra fussy and constantly hungry this week. At this rate, she's going to be 50lbs and 4 feet tall by her first birthday!  Yikes!  The nurse assured me that her growth will probably slow down some and I shouldn't worry.  Funny how her first month of life we were checking her weight to make sure she was gaining enough and now I'm concerned that she's gaining too much.  Well, concerned may be too strong a word because I think that Evie is perfect in every way, but sometimes I think that I may be feeding her too often.  I try not to over do it, but if she seems hungry, I feed her.  And she seems hungry a lot! She's my sweet, little piggy!  Here are some pictures taken in the past week or so:

Ready for bed

Going for a walk with Mommy

She looks so innocent, but about 2 sec after this pic was taken she had a blowout and completely annihilated her onesie.  How something so small can create such a mess I will never know!

Mama if you take my picture one more time, I'll scream!

Mommy and Evie are completely exhausted

Content and happy baby

One Month Old!

I cannot believe my little Evie is already a month old!  It's been an challenging, yet happy month.  There are times when I can't remember what life was like before Evelyn.  She's the first person I see in the morning and the last thing on my mind as I drift to sleep at night.  I love her so much and that love just continues to grow each day.  Sure there are times that I'm aggravated and exhausted, pacing back and forth with her, willing her to stop crying.  But those times are easily outweighed by how I feel when she's snuggled up in my arms, gazing at me with those big blue eyes.  The past month has gone by so quickly.  It's been filled with firsts - first smile, first bath, first time rolling from her belly to her back, first walk around the neighborhood, first time to KY.  But there still so many first moments and precious moments to come...and I'm looking forward to every single one!

Grandparents are the best!

Evelyn just loves her grandparents.  She loves it when Grandma Rita comes to visit her and Mama when Daddy works late.  She loves snoozing in Grandpa Tim's arms while Ohio State plays.  She loves to hang out and be goofy with Pops.  And she loves snuggling with Kiki while they rock on the back porch in KY.  She is such a lucky baby girl to have grandparents that love her so much!

First time meeting Grandpa

Hanging out with Grandma Rita at her house

Grandma Rita finally got to see me with my eyes open!

Mustached partners-in-crime!  Having fun with Pops.

Getting kisses and snuggles from Kiki

Evelyn with Pops and Kiki

I love this face....

....even at 3:00 am. :)  

Family Time!

We had a big weekend with Evelyn - her first trip to the great state of Kentucky for Easter!!  Evie got to meet her Uncle Adam, G.G. Mitchell and all sorts of other family members.  She did well on the car ride up and back, basically sleeping the entire time.  Let's hope that is a trend that continues!  It was a nice break for us since everyone wanted to hold Evelyn - Pat and I really got a chance to chill out and relax.  I'm already looking forward our next visit in a few weeks.  One thing that I am not looking forward to, however, is packing.  I really cannot believe how much stuff we packed for a few days away.  Having never traveled with a baby before, I wasn't sure exactly what might be needed so I packed A LOT of stuff. This child can go sometimes go through three outfits and countless diapers in a day so I wanted to make sure that we were prepared for anything, but we ended up not needing half of the stuff that I packed :)  Oh well!  On the way home we also made a quick stop to see Grandma Rita and some of her friends.  Evie had a bit of a meltdown when we got there, but it was nothing that a full belly and dry diaper couldn't fix!  All in all, it was a pretty great weekend!

Evie meeting Uncle Adam for the first time :)

Kiki got Evelyn a swing to use when we visit!  She loves it!

 

 

Evie loves her G.G. Mitchell!!

Mama quit giving me so many kisses!!

 

 

 

 

Evie likes visiting Grandma Rita

Easter

My how things have changed

It's been 2-1/2 weeks since my life changed forever.  2-1/2 weeks since the most wonderful day of my life - the birthday of Evelyn Kathleen.  March 15, 2012 is a day that I will never, ever forget.  I went into the hospital the night of the 3/14.  I had to have another blood test to check my blood platelets when I got to the hospital before they would proceed with the induction.  My platelets levels were high enough so I got settled into my hospital room and an IV and Pitocin were started.  They also placed my epidural (this was done early because of my low platelets), but didn't turn on the medicine.  Pat and I tried to get some sleep, but only Pat was successful.  I never managed to fall asleep for more than 5 minutes at a time.  The baby wasn't tolerating me being in any position, but lying on my left side so every time I moved, a nurse would come in and have to adjust the monitors and check the baby.  I tried not to move too much, but even just shifting a little bit turned into a problem.  They weren't sure why the baby wasn't tolerating it, but I think at one point the nurse might have mentioned possible cord compression.  However, as long as I stayed on my left side, the baby was fine. Throughout the night my contractions got stronger as they increased the Pitocin and I finally asked the nurse if we could 'turn on' the epidural around 7:30am.  What a relief! The only issue I had with the epidural was that it was only working on one side for awhile since I had to stay on my left side.  It didn't take long for the anesthesiologist to fix this and soon I was very comfortable.  Family members joined us at the hospital around 9:00.  I was so relieved to see my parents - especially my mom!  And she was very excited because I told her that I wanted her to be in the room when the baby was born.  The day wore on and around 2:00 my sister Shannon and dad decided to leave and go let Crosby out since it looked like it might be awhile before the baby made her appearance.  Right after they left, my sister Holly surprised me by showing up at the hospital.  I was so happy to have so many people there to support us.  A short time later, I started to feel my contractions getting a little stronger even with the epidural.  I didn't think much of it because when the doctor checked me about 45 minutes earlier I was only 5 cm dilated.  I figured I had a lot of time left, but then I suddenly I felt extremely sick to my stomach.  My mom and the nurse both said "That's a really good sign!" and when the nurse checked me again she said I was fully dilated and ready to push.  I remember feeling panicked and overwhelmed because I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon.  I have to chuckle about that now because I had been at hospital for over 16 hours at that point :)  I remember looking at Pat and saying "Are you ready for this?".  My doctor arrived and about 20 minutes later, Evelyn was born.  She weighed 7lbs. 4oz. and was 20 in. long. She was so tiny and perfect - with an excellent set of lungs!  When my doctor placed her on my chest, all I could do was marvel at the beautiful little girl we had created.  When I talked to her, she turned towards me and I knew that she knew who her mama was.  They cleaned her up and gave her to Pat to hold.  Seeing my husband holding and talking to our daughter, I felt more love in my heart than I ever thought possible. 

Now, more than two weeks later, that love just continues to grow.  It's been an exhausting, yet happy time filled with so many precious moments. Pat and I keep looking at each other in amazement that this little baby is actually our daughter.  She's got her daddy's feet and her mama's temper, but she's already showing us that she is her own little person.  Here are some pictures of her first two weeks: