A Big Weekend...

We had a big weekend this week! Dad was home from work Saturday and Sunday and we got into a lot of sillyness. Dad was supposed to be changing my diaper but he was really "hiding" me amongst my new friends. He called Mom into the room and she couldn't find me...and then started cracking up when she saw me tucked into my friends. Some of them are bigger than me! It was the first time in my crib and it was fun!

This was my first time actually sleeping in my big girl crib! Normally, I sleep in my bassinet in Mom & Dad's room. I might take naps in here sometimes, but I still sleep in their room at night since I'm only 3 weeks old. But soon I'll be on my own!

This picture was taken on Saturday night at Big Ben's Pub outdoor patio. Mom & Dad took me there to see a reggae group since it was outside & it was a nice evening. I was supposed to fall asleep in the car and take a nap while we were there, but the lights from the trees and the cars driving by were too cool not to stay awake for. I just hung out though and listened to the music. It turned out to be a different band so we didn't stay very long (just long enough for Mom & Dad to have a beer) and then we went home. It was fun to see some music and hang out with adults other than Mom & Dad. Soon I'll be dancing at these events! Dad said we went to celebrate my 3 week birthday but I think he just wanted to hear the music...

Look how small I still am! I feel old since I'm 3 weeks old now but I still look so little! The marble was cold on my legs but it was fun to be almost as tall as Dad.

It was a long weekend of lots of fun things! I was utterly exhausted in this picture. Dad was just carrying me around and I just passed out!

Almost 3 weeks

So Ellie is almost three weeks (this Saturday) and looking a little bit different. Her cheeks are chubbier! She now weighs 7lbs; almost a pound more than at birth. She's doing great at sleeping-usually 3-4 hours at a time. She's making more noise with little grunts and groans. She even snores sometimes. Things are going great and we look forward to giving you more updates! Basically we're still just eating and sleeping right now. :)

Thomas has been back to work now for 2 weeks. He still helps though at night and doesn't seem too tired in the mornings. He'll take Ellie for about an hour before he leaves so I can sleep a solid hour and he can spend time with her. I'm doing ok being at home all day but I'm ready to start doing real estate too! I'm sure when Ellie is sleeping less and doing more activity that it'll get a little less boring. :)

Here's Ellie after a bath and a little lotion rub-down. She's in fresh jammies and about to get swaddled. Night night!

She's filling out a little bit! She loves the bath. No tears or squirms. I know her face looks distressed but she really was happy and calm.

Getting ready to be put down in the bassinet...

Professional Pics

There are a few sneak peek pics on Courtney's website...some from the hospital stay and some from our photo shoot at our house.

Check them out: www.lovelyphotographync.blogspot.com

Moby Sling

Mom got a new toy-a sling wrap. I love it! When Ellie is feeling like she'd like to be held all the time, I strap her in this and I can still get things done! It was tough learning how to do things with one arm and now that problem is solved! :) Plus, it's a great bonding time for us.

Ellie fell asleep just 30 seconds or so after I put her in...

And then she was out! :) She stayed in this position for almost 2 1/2 hours. It was the first time I heard her "snore" and it was so cute!

Trip Out & Bath Hair

So we did it....we left the house for the first time for a brief outing and left Ellie at home with my mom (Grammy)and Emily. We were only gone for about 30 minutes, but that was long enough! It was a nice way to celebrate our one year anniversary, but it was also a strange feeling to leave her at home and to be out for the first time as parents. The world felt a little bit different. :)


Here's Ellie after a bath showing off her fluffy hair. It usually stays this fuzzy for a day or two after a bath. Looks like she's ready to go to a punk concert!

A funky hair close-up while Ellie is taking a nap.

And she's waking up!

One Week Birthday!

Ellie survived her second bath today and loved her robe. She hardly fits but that's ok-she was snuggled in. She had a nice nap afterward!

She's thinking about going to sleep but trying hard to keep her eyes open...

And it didn't work...I'm still awake. It took mom about 25 minutes to rock, "Shh", and pat to sleep. But no worries-she slept for 3 hours!

We had a good day! Just lots of eating, sleeping, eating, sleeping. Today is our First Wedding Anniversary so we're attempting to go get a glass of wine around the corner at Dean & Deluca after she eats this evening. We'll see! Grammy Kate and Emily are going to babysit. I'm interested to see how our first "alone" outing goes only week into this adventure! :)

First Photo Shoot

Aunt Courtney came over and took some great pics on Friday (6 days old).
We're excited to see how Ellie did on her first photo shoot! We had one pee-pee accident, but Courtney took it like a champ! :)

Ellie & Daddy

Thomas is a natural at this whole "dad thing"; he is the best to Ellie! He is a fabulous swaddler, has taken about 95% of diaper duty and is always there for late night rescues when I just can't stay awake any longer to rock her. He jumps at any opportunity to spend time with her and is really great at making conversation with her. :) Here are a few highlights:

First walk with Ellie & the dogs

Shortly after we got home from the hospital

Her first non-hospital outfit. We had lots of visitors at the hosptial this day so we decided to put her in something cute!

First pic with Dad & Grandpa Bretz

So happy!

First Days Home

Thank you for all of the wonderful messages, texts, emails, and well-wishes. I'm sorry that I haven't gotten back to anyone yet-it's just been a crazy few days! I think about my friends & fam a lot and know you are thinking of us-I promise I will call you or email you soon! :)

Here are a few pics from the last few days...

Coming home from the hospital. Here's Ellie's first time in her carseat. Like I said in the last blog, I was a little emotional leaving the hospital (and pretty much the next few days) and started crying when we got outside..."This is Ellie's first time outside! She's never been outside before." She slept the whole way home!


Here she is sitting with Nona (Thomas' Mom) during lasagna dinner. Looks like she was dreaming of eating, too.


A big yawn in the swinging chair. She likes this for about 5 minutes...I think she's still a little too small for it. We had our first Dr. Appt today (Tuesday). The pediatrician wanted to check on her weight 24 hours after she left the hospital. She gained 4oz! So as of Monday she was back up to 6lb even. She got a clean bill of health and the Dr. said she's "perfect"...we already knew that!

Ellie's first bath! She seems to like it...

...then realizes she doesn't. She did just fine though! She loved the sound of the water and the warm water on her head, but didn't really like it when we were "sponging" her off. She was warm and cozy though once we got the towel on her.

Ellie is Here! The Hosptial...

She made it! Ellie Grace Martin is here.


We ended up going to the hospital on Thursday night around 2am (after my last blog) only to be released 6 hours later...still no progress even though my contractions were worse and closer together in time. They tried a few "tricks" but nothing seemed to be working, so they sent me home and told me to come back when the pain was unbearable. Thomas spent the day with me on Friday by my side as I agonized in pain every 3-6 minutes. I felt so bad for him! ...and me too! :)


About 12 hours later, the pain was worse and I figured I deserved to go back to the hospital! I didn't think I could last any longer at home.
We were there for about 6 more hours before they decided I was ready to be admitted (thank God!). I received an epidural at 8am and she came at 3:27pm. The labor was pretty tough (I'll leave the details out), but we made it and didn't even have to go the C-Section route (which the Dr. said I was about one push away from). Ellie weighed 6lb 2 oz at birth and dropped the expected few ounces to 5lb 12 oz over the course of her stay at the hospital...she's so little!! She's gained most of it back and is eating really well!


We had a fabulous time at the hospital for the next two days and got the best care ever. It was actually really emotional to leave. But we are home now...Ellie is sleeping...and I don't feel too tired actually!


Here's her first picture! She's about 2 min. old here. Check out those swollen lips! :)

Ellie & Mommy the next day...(Sunday 8/9/09)

I love this pic of her face!

Daddy giving Ellie one of his fabulous swaddles...he's the best at them! She can sometimes still wiggle her arms out but she loves the swaddle for sleeping.

Prodromal Labor

Well the labor process has begun. No "real" news yet...just prodromal/early labor.

I have been having mild contractions since last night (about 24 hours now) and went to the Dr. today for a check-up. I am definitely having contractions, but unfortunately they are not strong enough to bring on real/active labor-they're pretty non-progressive in nature. I haven't dilated at all yet, although I am 50% effaced. So anytime between every 4 and 15 minutes, I have a lovely, strong, little contraction.

This is the beginning of the end...but who knows if this stage will last just a few more hours before I'm admitted to the hospital or a few more days! My due date is next Saturday, August 15, and it wouldn't be unheard-of if I had these pains the whole time. My neighbor down the street had contractions every 2 minutes for a WEEK before she really made progress enough to be admitted.

Just thought you'd like to know the update. And we'll let you know when we move to next stage!

(I don't think you can hear it in my tone, but we are very excited to be making progress! But I'm also freaking out a little bit, too.) :)