Ella's first month at home was a tough one in many ways. Although my recovery from the c-section went well, I was in bed for the whole first week we were home from the hospital. I improved daily, and as long as I stayed on top of the meds, I wasn't too uncomfortable. Ella slept in a co-sleeper attached to the side of our bed. I originally envisioned sleeping on the side of the bed next to her, but that proved to be impossible, as getting in and out of bed with the co-sleeper there required ab muscles I couldn't use! So Erich and I switched sides, and he just brought her to me whenever she needed to nurse.
Nursing was quite painful for a long while. We got lots of help from nurses and doulas, both at the hospital and through home visits. We finally got things sorted out thankfully, but it took about a month!
Unfortunately, I had a ton of swelling (I initially only lost 2 pounds after she was born because of all the water I was retaining!). I wound up with carpal tunnel in both my hands and lost a lot of functionality for almost 2 months. Luckily, my hands are almost back to normal now!
I think between these struggles and the sleep deprivation, I got hit with a pretty strong case of the baby blues. It seemed to really kick in 4 weeks after Ella was born, when Erich went back to work. It was a big adjustment to be home and to not be able to accomplish any of the basic things I was used to doing on my summer break! But with some extra sleep, lots of hugs and encouragement from Erich, as well as a ton of support from my parents, things improved quickly and the baby blues are gone.
On the bright side, Grandma and Grandpa (Erich's parents) came out to visit and stayed with us about a week after we got home from the hospital. It was great to have them here to help and spend time with Ella!
Now that Ella started smiling at us intentionally, things have become much more fun! She loves to sing songs in the mornings, and just recently started coo/singing along with me. Our favorites are "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes", "How Much is that Doggie in the Window?", "Patty Cake", and more recently, "Old MacDonald".
 |
| Ella listening to me sing to her |
She also has a great time on her play mat, working on her hand-eye coordination by batting at the birds. She has come a long way in her tummy-time exercises and even rolled from her front to back (of course, mommy missed it! D'oh!)
 |
| May 18, 2013 |
 |
| July 10, 2013 |
At the beginning of the month, Ella took her first vacation. We took a road trip with my mom and Richard in their RV to Minnesota (2 days of driving each way). We started with a visit to Erich's parent's cabin at Woman Lake, then went back to the city so Ella could meet her aunts, uncle, and cousins, as well as Erich's college friends.
 |
| Ella loved being in her car seat and was actually easy to travel with! |
 |
| Ella was completely smitten with Daisy! |
 |
| Ella gets festive for the 4th of July |
Milestones & Moments:
4/30/13 - 20 in. long (66th percentile); 6lb. 15oz (28th percentile)
5/15/13 - 21.25 in. long (80th percentile); 8lb. 5oz (41st percentile)
6/9/13 - First intentional smile (on the changing table!)
6/14/13 - Sucked her thumb (...though not again since. She prefers the whole set of knuckles...)
6/25/13 - Slept through the night! (5 hours)
6/26/13 - 23.5 in. long (88th percentile); 9lb. 15 oz. (15th percentile) & vaccines!
 |
| Band-aids for her vaccine injection sites |
6/29/13 - Rolled front to back
7/8/13 - Slept through the night even longer! (8 hours)
7/9/13 - Evicted to her own room - she took it well...mommy cried though! lol
No comments:
Post a Comment