Two months old!

At two months: 

Weight: 11 pounds 6 ounces. Growing and growing everyday. 

        Percentile: 61%

Height: 23.5 inches 

        Percentile: 88%

Sleep: Getting better and better everyday. This month we established a bedtime routine and a bedtime and it seems to be good for her. We have had 3 nights of her sleeping through the night, a 7.5 hour, and 8.5 hour and last night we got 9 hours. Most other nights she sleeps for 6 hours then wakes up to eat and then goes back to sleep for two hours so it could be worse. Unfortunately she goes to bed two hours earlier than I do most nights so I still am not getting a full night of sleep. 
Clothing size: 0-3. She has outgrown all of her cute newborn clothes for sure. She is just getting bigger and bigger and growing so fast. It's happy and sad at the same time. 

Milestones: Elli definitely socially smiles now. All the time. She holds up her head all the time and likes to sit up and look around. She has to be supported but she actually sits up really well. She loves to look around. She has started tracking with her eyes as well. She has also found her hands and starting sucking on them to sooth herself occasionally. She also coos all the time, it's so cute!

Special Outings: Colton and I started running so she gets to go for a ride in her stroller several days a week, she loves it. We also blessed her in Colton's parents ward over presidents day and have spent a week down in cedar for spring break. We also have started going to sacrament meeting this month so she gets to go to church.  

Month Highlights: Got to go and see our cousin Dusty and grandparents twice this month. Got blessed in church and started to smile melting hearts all around every time. Mommy and Daddy also left her for the first time for more than just an hour or so to go to St George and the temple. 

Big Changes: Elli bean smiles all the time now. It's so fun to see her so happy. She also has started being awake a little more. It's so fun to have her playing and starting to respond to us. 

Elli's Favorites: Being swaddled still. She loves the bath like you wouldn't believe. No matter how hard she is crying as soon as she hears the water running in the bathroom she calms right down. She also loves music of any kind and going for rides in the stroller. 
Thoughts: Watching the Bean grow and learn everyday is a wonderful privilege that I feel so blessed to have. It's amazing how much room you find out your heart has after having a baby. When I see her smile or when she cuddles down against my chest it's the most amazing feeling in the world and I love her so much I feel like my heart might break from it. I have gotten to where I love nursing her most of the time. I love those moments with her when it's quiet and still and she needs me in a way that no one else can be there for her. Sometimes it's a pain when she gets hungry a lot and I am busy with other things but I generally try to remember those still moments and the fact that this stage won't last forever. I'm so excited to see who she's going to be but hope she doesn't grow up too fast so that I can enjoy this time with her now. 

One Month old!

If you don't care about the details then just scroll down for pictures.

At one month: 

Weight: According to our scale she weighs about 8 pounds and 9 ounces. Not sure how it compares with the doctors when at her two week appointment she weight 8 pounds 2 ounces. 

        Percentile: 34%

Height: About 21.5 inches long. Though she seems like she has gotten way longer since she was born because her newborn clothes are all starting to get way too short. 

        Percentile: 85%

Sleep: Elli sleeps a lot depending on the day. Some nights she will get in a good 4 to 5 hours no problem, others she won't sleep at all unless she's being held. She will sleep a lot during the day though but thinks that between 5 and 7 am is time to be awake. 
Clothing size: Still in Newborn. I think she will outgrow the length before she outgrows the width though. She's going to be long I think but not to chubby. That may change though. 

Milestones: Can pick up her head when laying on her tummy. She loves tummy time for the most part and likes to pick up her head and look at you when laying on your chest. We gave Elli her first bottle yesterday. Colton was so excited to get the chance to feed her, it was cute to watch. It was pumped milk from the very first day I pumped so it wasn't a ton, which was good because we gave her the bottle and then I breastfed her after to make sure she doesn't get too used to just a bottle to soon. She didn't seem to care at all where the milk was coming from as long as she was getting fed. 

Special Outings: We didn't get to leave the house much this month. Just to the doctor, WIC appointment, and sometimes she got to go along for the ride when Daddy took me to class for one of my tests. I did take her to the store once when I just needed to get out of the house. 

Month Highlights: Going from being born to being alive is hard. Elli has taken it like a champ though. She has been a pretty easy baby all around, sleeping calmly most of the time and sleeping longer stretches most nights. She likes to be held, but in general doesn't need to be to be content. She gets the hiccups a lot, and is starting to spit up more, but doesn't seem to mind. We started tummy time on the ground when she was three weeks old and she doesn't mind at all and just looks around and tries really hard to keep her head up as long as she can. She also finally got to meet her cousin Dusty this month. He didn't seem to care much about her. He gave her one love then wanted nothing more to do with her. 

Big Changes: Elli has gotten the hang of breast feeding. Thank goodness. She went through a growth spurt last week and that was rough because she wanted to eat almost every hour and a half. She now will get a bottle of pumped milk every few days, not too often though because I want her to continue to breastfeed. As frustrating as it was and sometimes still is for me, I am grateful for the opportunity I have to do it for her. Her umbilical cord took a full two weeks to fall off but now she has a cute little belly button (an innie thank heavens). The bruising on her noses and eyes from birth is finally starting to fade too. I have to admit she is starting to no longer look like a newborn. Her legs don't always stay curled up and sometimes she will stretch out and lay stretched out for quite a while. 

Elli's Favorites: She loves to be swaddled. That's one of the only ways she will sleep good. She also really likes baths and being rocked and sang too. She will calm down and drift off to sleep if you sing primary songs while rocking her in the rocking chair and holding her tightly against your chest. She likes having a Binky when she is getting tired and fussy and it helps her fall asleep. She also really likes baths. I thought she would hate it because she doesn't love being naked, but she just chills and looks around without a care in the world. She also sleeps amazing on days that she's had a bath. 
Thoughts: Jelly Bean is officially one month old!! I seriously can't believe how fast it has gone by. It seems like just yesterday she was still just growing inside me and it didn't seem like she would ever be born. It's been a rough month for Colton and I adjusting to having her. I love her more than anything, and I wouldn't trade her for the world, but it sure hasn't been easy. We of course made it harder on ourselves than it had to be, but still... I am still in school, and have been since she was born. It's been hard to do both. I feel like I didn't get much chance to learn how to be a mom because I was thrown right back into having to do school. I failed my first test of the semester too, granted, I had to take it a week after she was born, but still, doesn't make you feel good. I think I am finally starting to get back into things though and doing better on my tests. I will be going back to school next week for real instead of just trying to do the work from home. That will be really hard. I don't want to have to leave her for school. I'm grateful though that Colton will be home to take care of her. I honestly am just incredibly grateful for Colton. More than I could ever say. He has been truly amazing, changing most of her diapers, bathing her, and taking care of her all night on the nights she refuses to sleep unless she's held. He's still doing 18 credits of school this semester too, so it has been rough for both of us to learn to adjust and do both. 

Meeting Uncle Adam 

Snuggles with Mommy

Yay!! I finally have a belly button instead of a gross stump!

Bath time!!

She doesn't want Daddy to leave and go to work

Meeting cousin Dusty

Cuddles with Daddy

She thinks she is crazy strong and is always picking up her head and looking around. 

SHE'S HERE!!

Elli Bernice Savage

Born January 13, 2014 at 2:52 pm

7 lb 10 oz, 20 inches long

I'm a little late in posting this but between the last week of taking care of my adorable little baby and trying to get caught back up on homework before all my exams hit, I am only just getting a chance to type it all up. At my last doctors appointment (on Friday, January 10th) we talked to him about the possibility of getting an induction if I went overdue. We figured out some plans and decided that if on the 15th, her due date, I had dilated to at least a 3 then I would be induced that following Friday, January 17th. If I hadn't progressed than we would induce on Wednesday January 22nd. Exactly 41 weeks. I was a little torn. Part of me was so relieved to finally have something planned out and set in stone. And part of me really, really didn't want to be induced and was sad that I might have to be. But of course, Miss Elli had some plans of her own. I basically didn't sleep Saturday night (the 11th) I am not sure why, I just felt stressed and restless and made Colton do a bunch of cleaning before I would finally go to bed even though it was really late because I just felt so stressed. So on Sunday I woke up feeling exhausted. We went to sacrament meeting and then I came home and just laid around doing nothing because I felt terrible. I was having contractions in my back and a few slightly painful ones in my stomach on and off, but nothing consistent. Then about half-way through the day I'm pretty sure I started losing my plug. I started to wonder if maybe I was getting close but I didn't want to get my hopes up and so I just let it go and didn't really say anything to Colton. We went to bed late again on Sunday night, and I still could not sleep. I maybe got five minutes in every hour of the night. I was still having small contractions but not time able really. Then about 4 am they started to get significantly more painful, I started timing then. At about 4:30 they were down to about 4 minutes apart and starting to get incredibly painful by that point. I finally woke Colton up and told him we should maybe think about going to the hospital. We called my mom, then waited a little bit just to make sure that they didn't go away anytime soon. After I had been having them consistently for almost an hour we got up and got ready then drove down to the hospital. It was just before 6 when we got there and so they got us in a room and the lady took one look at me during a contraction and said, "yeah, you probably had better get fully into a gown..." They checked me then at I was a 4 cm and about 70% effaced. I was so relieved to know that my contractions were actually doing something and that I wasn't still sitting at a 1.5 that I was at on my appointment on Friday. They hooked me up to the monitors and then we waited for an hour. At about 7:30 when they finally checked me again I was dilated to 5-5.5 and 80% effaced so we were officially admitted. They got my IV going and antibiotics hooked up and then we went through having contractions and coping for several hours. That was fun. Colton was great with helping me through and I had a fantastic nurse who was very supportive and very good at making sure I was breathing right and everything else and she never left the room. I'm very grateful that we ended up with her. At about 9:30 my doctor came by to check on things. I was dilated to a 7, 100% effaced and Elli was at 0 station. But I was starting to be in serious pain and after having not slept for the previous two nights I was exhausted, I also couldn't handle sitting in any other position than upright with my legs down so it was like murder to have to lay back long enough for them to check me. The doctor wanted to break my water at that point but because the contractions were so painful and I know they get more intense after your water breaks I decided to have him not. By 10 things were getting incredibly painful and I started to debate on getting an epidural. I wanted to go without but I was getting so tired. While I were debating, Dr Smith came to see how things were going. He did mention that it concerned him that I couldn't lay down during contractions because I would probably need to in order to push and I would probably have to push for 1-2 hours. After debating for a bit and having some really serious contractions I decided to go with the epidural. I know I could have gone without it and been just fine, but I don't regret doing it for a second. They put it in at about 1030 and it was seriously instant relief. The next contraction was just pressure and not pain. They doctor came back right after it kicked in, checked me again (8 cm) and broke my water. My parents got there around eleven and then at 1130 I was at a 10, 100% effaced, and at a +1 and we were technically ready to start pushing. My nurse though was great and was a firm believer in letting your body do a lot of the work and so she hooked me up to my second dose of antibiotics and let me sleep. I slept for a half hour or so while my dad took Colton down to the cafeteria and got him some food since he hadn't eaten anything all day, and then around 1230 in was time to start pushing. That was fun. With the epidural I couldn't move my legs at all, which is the weirdest feeling in the entire world I swear. So my mom and Colton helped hold them up and then we started pushing. The nurse couldn't get the heart rate monitor to stay on my stomach right and so after a while they hooked a probe up to Elli's head. The contraction monitor wasn't working very good either and so then with the epidural and the pressure of Elli's head I couldn't really tell when I was having contractions. We just kinda had to guess but it seemed that it worked. I pushed for about two hours and then the doctor came back. Another half hour of pushing and she finally popped right out. They put her up on my stomach and she was pretty much the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Colton got to cut her cord and I just looked at her. I didn't dare touch her because the nurse was rubbing her down and everything and she still had the probe on her head so I didn't know where to touch. They took her after a minute to go do her assessments and give her a few shots and I just got sewn up (had a 2nd degree tear) then they brought her back. Colton was so amazing to watch, he was so in love already, as was I. I got to do some skin to skin with her right away and then we attempted to breast feed, which she seemed to do okay. She was very alert already as well. It was seriously one of the most amazing experiences, even with the pain and I wouldn't change a single thing about it if I did it again. 

The rest of our hospital stay was really good. My parents were there and Sarah came up to visit as well, but Dusty couldn't meet her yet because it's flu season. We had some stressful times because we had some struggles with breast feeding on day two that made me very stressed, but I think after several nurses trying to help we may have got things figured out a little better. Which I am grateful for. We got released to go home on Wednesday afternoon and have just been home since. Grandpa and grandma Savage came up to meet her on Friday and are very in love.  She's the most mellow baby ever and sleeps a ton and really only cries if she really needs something. After being home almost a week things couldn't be better. Her grandpa Savage wrote her this poem that is too adorable not to share:

Elli

Today I held a princess in my arms,

mesmerized by her angelic charms

I gratefully thanked the heavens above

I am most assuredly smitten with love

She had ten precious fingers and ten little toes

two beautiful eyes and a button nose

whips of hair and skin so soft

a kiss on her check and my heart was aloft

She snuggled peacefully against my chest

and I knew in that moment I was truly blessed

A smile on her lips and a contented sigh

brought an emotional teardrop to my eye

Today I held a princess in my arms

mesmerized by her angelic charms

I wrapped my finger in her chubby hand

As only a grandpa possibly can. 

-Pappy Savage

And now be prepared for picture overload.  

 

Bye everyone! I get to go home now in my very special going home outfit from Mimie and Papa. 

So happy to be home!

Our little family

39 Weeks! Only one more to go!

My mom made Elli this super cute headband this week. I can't wait to put it on her!!

Well, still no baby yet. For some reason both Colton and I thought I wouldn't make it quite full term, I think we were both hoping for during Christmas break. But that's okay. She will come when she's ready I guess. I had so possible early/false labor this last weekend. That was fun. All day long Saturday (from about 10 am when I woke up until 9 when I went to bed) I was having contractions, not incredibly painful, but about 10 minutes apart. Then Sunday I woke up feeling awful, having much more painful contractions but I'm not sure how far apart they were because I didn't time them. I didn't think it was going to be the real deal but I wasn't really positive since I've never had a baby before. My mom was kind of worried though since she really wants to be here when Elli is born and lives 3.5 hours away so she made me go to the hospital to get checked on Sunday. I did. It was good because I think it gave me a little better idea of what to actually expect hospital wise when I do go in, but unfortunately about the time they had been monitoring me for 20 minutes my contractions basically stopped completely. And I haven't had any more progress since my last appointment, which was disappointing to hear. I was really hoping I was at least dilated a little more. It was kind of fun though. I'm pretty sure Elli HATES the monitors they put on you. After I was hooked up I have never felt her move so much. She was rolling and flipping and kicking the crap out of them, and her heart rate shot up high enough and long that the nurse said if it didn't come back down they wouldn't be able to send me home. After about half an hour it did but she would still kick the monitors about every five minutes. Just makes me laugh. After looking at my school schedule and everything, Colton and I have decided that if she doesn't come naturally before then we are going to ask the Doctor at my appointment this next week about the possibility of being induced on the 17th. Two days past my due date. He may not do it since I'm a first time mom, but I'm not sure. I'm hoping but I will update you when I know more. I am really hoping to not have to be induced because I would really like to not have an epidural and it's really hard to do that with induction, but the timing with everything working out is just so much harder if she's not born until like two weeks after she's due. I guess we'll wait and see if he'll even let me. 

How far along? 39 weeks 0 days
Total weight gain/loss: I didn't have a doctors appointment this last week but according to my scale at home I'm still sitting at either 11 or 12 pounds gained. It fluctuates.
Maternity clothes? Just the same as before
Stretch marks? sadly yes.
Sleep: I am still able to sleep in 4 or 5 hours stretches at a time usually which I'm grateful for, some nights it's only two or three hours, but not usually. My sleep isn't as restful though. I still wake up tired no matter how early I go to bed or how long I sleep. It's getting harder. 
Best moment this week: Colton and I went out to dinner and a movie as kind of a last date night before she's born and to just relax before school starts back up again. It was really nice to just spend some time with him and enjoy a night out even though I felt pretty crappy during the whole time. 
Miss anything? I don't know. I don't feel completely miserable or anything like a lot of people do at this stage. I honestly would be content to just wait and let her be born whenever if it weren't for school stuff. Trying to plan time off but not knowing when I'm going to need it exactly is kind of hard. 
Movement: Yep. She still is moving all the time. And I swear squirming more and more everyday. It's funny they say that the baby will move less as they have less room but I'm pretty sure that she has been moving even more everyday. 
Food cravings: Nothing. I've gone back to no appetite and having to force myself to eat too. I can eat basically anything without getting sick, but I want absolutely nothing and nothing sounds good until I'm eating it. 
Anything making you queasy or sick: I've actually felt pretty crappy in general the last week. It sucks.
Have you started to show yet: I honestly think I am showing less than I was before christmas break, oddly enough. I've had several people lately surprised when I tell them I am due in a week. They don't think that I look that far along. 
Gender: GIRL!!! 
Labor signs: Braxton hicks, and she has definitely dropped now. I am dilated to 1+ cm and about 60% effaced, having some contractions but nothing really promising. 
Bell button in or out? Still in. I honestly don't think it will come out, although it is significantly less deep than usual which concerns me some, but I don't want to jinx it. 
Wedding rings on or off? Sadly off.  
Happy or moody most of the time: I am starting to not feel very good again, so I am sure I am way more grumpy than I really should be. With school starting again especially I'm kinda worn out already. I have a feeling this will be a very rough semester in more ways than one. 
Looking forward to: Going into labor just so I can stop wondering when it's going to happen and how. I really hate the unknown and would rather just have it be here so I can deal with it.  Also getting to finally meet our little Elli belly for real. I'm not one of those mom's that is crazy anxious to give birth (at least not yet, who knows what the next week will bring) but I'm still way excited to meet her. 

Baby is the size of a watermelon!

Baby keeps growing, despite being so crowded in there. She probably weighs around 6.2 to 9.2 pounds and measures about 18.9 to 20.9 inches.

She's probably able to flex her limbs now.

Her brain is still rapidly developing--she's getting smarter by the week!

Her nails may extend past her fingertips.

38 weeks!

Well, my doctors appointment went good again this week. The doctor said everything is still looking great. I'm still measuring about two weeks big on my fundal height but he still doesn't think she'll be over 8 pounds. I kinda hope not...I also found out that I was GBS+ so I have to get IV antibiotics during labor. Sad about that. I was hoping to avoid that if I could because I think it will be harder to go natural if I have to be hooked to an IV so much but I think they would be able to work it out overall. The doctor also said he would be surprised if she came early enough to be a New Years baby. I was kind of hoping, but I guess we will see. She still could be I suppose. I don't want her to come before she's ready, but it would be nice if she decided to be born before school started.... We shall see, we shall see. 
Well, guess what, no 2013 baby. Too bad. I was hoping. That's okay though. She will come when she's ready. I decided that I would just assume that she's not going to be born until her due date so that way I can stop stressing about whether or not she is coming. It's hard though to not be reading into every single contraction and wondering if it's the start of something or if it's just another more painful braxton hicks. So far, I suppose they are all braxton hicks...

How far along? 38 weeks 0 days
Total weight gain/loss: At my doctors appointment this week I was up 11 pounds from my starting weight.
Maternity clothes? Just the same as before
Stretch marks? sadly yes.
Sleep: I have actually had really bad insomnia the last week, There were several nights that I only got 4 or 5 hours of sleep or less, but I'm surprisingly not all that tired actually. 
Best moment this week: Colton brought me flowers home from work for new years. That was really sweet of him and unexpected. 
Miss anything? Surprisingly, I miss not being so close to giving birth...I seriously feel like I'm paranoid. Every time I get a braxton hicks, especially the ones I've started getting in my back I start to panic wondering if it's the start of labor. I really struggle with the unknown, so this is really hard on me overall. 
Movement: Yep. She still is moving all the time. And I swear squirming more and more everyday. It's funny they say that the baby will move less as they have less room but I'm pretty sure that she has been moving even more everyday. 
Food cravings: Milk. Other than that I haven't even really wanted to eat at all. I am not sick at least, but absolutely nothing sounds good anymore again. 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really, just braxton hicks, but mostly I just don't feel that great all the time. 
Have you started to show yet: Most definitely. 
Gender: GIRL!!! 
Labor signs: Braxton hicks, and she has definitely dropped now. The doctor said that he thinks the back pain I am having and describing is most likely a contraction but as before until they are regular and closer together to not worry about it too much. I am also dilated to 1 cm and about 60% effaced so at least I am making some progress. 
Bell button in or out? Still in. I honestly don't think it will come out, but I don't want to jinx it. 
Wedding rings on or off? Sadly off.  
Happy or moody most of the time: I am starting to not feel very good again, so I am sure I am way more grumpy than I really should be. Sorry Colton...I try.  
Looking forward to: Going into labor just so I can stop wondering when it's going to happen and how. I really hate the unknown and would rather just have it be here so I can deal with it. 

Baby is the size of a pumpkin!

She is about 18.9 to 20.9 inches long and weighs about 6.2 to 9.2 pounds. Her head is now about the same circumference as her abdomen.

She may have about an inch or so of hair already.

She's slowly shedding that white goo on her skin (called vernix caseosa) but we might see some of it at birth.