It's been three weeks since Gavin and I brought our tiny little love bug home and I'm happy to announce she's still alive and in one piece! Haha! The first two weeks were full of trial and error as we figured out this whole child rearing thing, but I think we finally have the hang of things (at least we feel more comfortable in our new role as parents). Since I didn't really post anything other than pictures (see the last post or my Facebook and Instagram accounts ... Eleanor is everywhere) here is a quick overview of the last three weeks, plus a bit about us before she made her debut:
Pre-Eleanor: Gavin surprised me by bringing home a new Jeep Grand Cherokee about three days before Eleanor arrived. While it was very sad for both of us to see the truck traded in, the Jeep is a great vehicle to haul both human and furry child around. About 4am Thursday morning I woke up feeling very weird pains in my abdomen. I wasn't convinced they were contractions until about 7am, when I decided to wake Gavin up and start getting ready. We had so much to do still! Eleanor wasn't due for another week! Gavin installed the car seat in the Jeep and made sure our bags were in the car, while I washed a load of baby clothes and packed the baby bag. Unfortunately the hospital was in no rush to admit me and sent me home for a few hours to cook a little more. By 7:30 they determined I was in enough pain (re: dilated to 4cm) to admit me and 10.5 hours later (after the longest 20 minutes of my life) I pushed out a tiny, gooey, little angel.
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Eleanor Anetta Smith was born at 6:05am, weighing 6lbs 14 oz and 18 inches long. She was perfect. |
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| Lucky and Eleanor meeting for the first time. |
Week One: We got her home from the hospital safe and sound. Gavin is convinced that no one knows how to drive and everyone drives waaaay too fast. Thankfully Gavin took a week off work and our little family got used to a new routine and a new life. Of course we didn't really sleep and every little burp, hiccup, and spit up was fretted over for the first few days. Nursing was a challenge to learn for both me and Eleanor, and Gavin soon got the hang of all the Daddy duties before he unfortunately had to return to work. Lucky took a protective interest in his new little sister. He also fretted over every little noise she made, which was super cute to watch.
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| Eleanor and Grandpa Jim II (haha!) |
Week Two: With Gavin back at work, Eleanor and I worked to get on a routine of sorts and kept trying to figure out the whole nursing thing (it's not as easy-peasy as some people say it is). We had our first public outing to the mall with Grandma Jennie and Auntie Michelle, which helped ease this new mama's nerves. Her 2 week doctor appointment also went well. Eleanor had lost a bit of weight after being born (all babies do I guess) but was now up to 7lbs 9 oz! We also found out that Eleanor might have reflux, because she spits up a lot when nursing, but it isn't too serious so we give her a natural remedy called gripe water to help ease her tummy and keep her from getting too gassy. We also had our first adventure into Seattle with her for my dad's birthday. While that was a pretty tiring trip for us all, it was nice to spend the day with my family.We also had Eleanor's newborn photos taken! (See the preview below!)
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| How I'm blogging right now ... I've got this mom thing down. |
Week Three: We finally found a routine that works pretty well for us. The age-old advice of "sleep when the baby sleeps" is the best advice and I've learned to follow it for the most part. Eleanor and I spent the week just chillin for the most part. all three of us had a fun two days during Gavin's days off. Gavin and I even got to have a little alone time thanks to Christina and Josh babysitting for a little bit. Christina was in town for a week to see the family, introduce her boyfriend Josh (he's pretty cool), and meet her new niece. Gavin and I enjoyed a nice lunch at Azteca just the two of us before scooping up Eleanor for a family trip to the mall.
Oh! We also got her newborn pictures back from the photographer (Michelle Douglas is awesome)! I've posted a couple pictures to my Facebook account, but here's a little preview of them! :)
Our trip to Nashville was a fun surprise for Gavin's family -especially his mom, who had no idea we were coming. It was a hard secret to keep too! Lol. Eleanor was the perfect baby flying to Tennessee -we flew 3.5 hours to Dallas and then hopped over to Nashville form there. Not a single peep out of our girl the entire flight. When we got to the airport in Nashville, Gavin had his mom come meet us at the baggage carousel, but since she didn't know Eleanor and I were coming it took a few seconds for her to notice me standing there with the stroller. When she finally did notice, her reaction was AWESOME! There were joyous shouts and tears and I'm pretty sure we jumped up and down a little. Candy picked up her granddaughter and didn't out her down all weekend. Lol. She said it was the best Mother's Day present she's ever gotten.
We spent about four days in Nashville, going to Marlana's High School graduation, meeting a bunch of Gavin's family, and spending some time exploring the city. Eleanor did pretty well meeting everyone, but she sure didn't take to the heat and humidity very well. We all had a rough first day acclimating ourselves to it. Haha! I did come away form the trip with some great memories and an awesome souvenir -my first pair of real cowboy boots! Candy thought they'd be a good memory and she was absolutely right. I tried on about 8 different pairs and settled on a beautiful pair of brown boots with a bright blue embellishment. Unfortunately we had to head back home Tuesday afternoon. Again, Eleanor was a champ on the plane, and didn't make a sound until we landed in Seattle -her ears were popping like crazy when we landed and she made sure the back end of the plane knew she wasn't feeling very good. Our poor girl.
Eleanor's adventurous week didn't stop there. Friday she got to meet her great grandparents, Papa Russ and Grandma Tunie (now known as Gigi -for great grandma). Papa and Nana were completely smitten with Eleanor, their third great granddaughter this year. We spent a few hours at the lake house with them and I got some great pictures and a nap. Successful visit if you ask me. :)
