Jakes 3 Best Girls

Jake and I were worried about bringing Ella home for the first time because we didn't know how Avery would react. Normally, Avery does not do well around small children or Adults for that matter. However, she has surprised us on how well behaved she has been.

Most of the time Avery leaves Ella alone or will just come up and sniff her but yesterday morning was something I would have never guessed would have happened. Yes, Avery decided to come and sit right next to me and Ella when we were having our morning cuddle. Jake just had to get a picture of it.

The other pictures are just to show you all how big Ella is getting. Little things we have figured out about her are:

She loves to sit up to burp- the louder the better!!!

She enjoys laying on her belly

She can hold up her head for brief periods of time

She follows things with her eyes and likes to stare at me and Jake

She loves to eat maybe we should call it snacking instead

She hardly ever cry's when her diaper is being changed or she is given a sponge bath.

I'd say we have a pretty content baby so far.

Bathroom Talk

My brother Brandon told me that me and Jake's conversations would change once Ella arrived at home. Instead of talking about our days at work we now talk about how many poopy diapers Ella had and how bad they were. I never knew how many blowouts a little baby girl could have in one day. By blowouts I mean up the back or out the side of the leg and through the clothes. Above is what Ella was wearing at the beginning of the day yesterday and by the middle/evening she was down to just a diaper. Which meant that pj's were put on early and thankfully she kept them clean all night. However, we did have to change her 3 times last night in all of 30 min. YIKES!!

Here is Ella after a good burp in her pj's after a rough day of sleeping and eating all day!!

Ella had her 2 week check up on Monday and she now weights 9lbs 2oz and grew 1in. Maybe her weight would explain all the dirty diapers. The dr. said that she is in the 75% for her age.
Besides all the diapers we go through for our little Ella we love her very much!!

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

Ella's days pretty much consist of eating a ton, playing and sleeping. Yesterday, Ella had a big day she got to go on a walk in her new travel system which she really liked extra for those darn straps they are so big and bulky I feel like she is drowning in her car seat. We also brought out Ella's play mat which plays music and has different animal toys dangling from the top. It is supposed to help with hand eye coordination but after a bit she tends to get a little over stimulated. Tomorrow is her two week dr. check up and we'll see how much weight she has put on.

I have posted more pictures on the slide show for those who need more!! And you know who you are!!!

Working on a sched.

So I know it might sound a little crazy but Jake and I are trying to get Ella on a feeding and awake schedule. It definitely takes two people to make this work. Last night was our first attempt and it went really well. Today, I even got a couple of naps in so I feel very refreshed plus I got a shower! What a bonus.

THANKS NANA!!!

She's awake during the day finally!!!

Nana (pronounced naw-nuh, aka. Erin's Mom) is leaving tomorrow and we're a little worried. We've got used to having her around (for the past week) to help us with Ella and take care of us so we can take care of Ella. We'll miss her and all her help! THANKS NANA!!!

Baby Ella- sleeping

We are having so much fun with baby Ella especially dressing her. Believe it or not she does open her eyes it's just at night time when she is supposed to be sleeping.

She's a Spitting Image of Her Father

DAD

ELLA

ELLA JEAN HAS ARRIVED!!!

Ella Jean Menard has finally decided to join us! She's absolutely gorgeous. Baby and Momma are doing great. We're going home tonight!

Specifications and Timeline:

Beginning of Induction: 8/8/08 at 8:00 pm.

Waters Broke: 8/9/08 at 1:00 am

Epidural Started: 8/9/08 at 3:30 am

Epidural Stopped Working: 8/9/08 at 7:00 am

Epidural Fixed: 8/9/08 at 8:00 am

Began Pushing: 8/9/08 at 9:10 am

Arrival Time: Saturday, August 9 10:01 am.

Weight: 8 lb. 5 oz.

Length: 20 in.

Hair: Lots of Brown

Eyes: TBD, appear to be brown

Off to the Hospital

Yesterday, was our last OB appoint!!! Everything looked good with the baby but she just isn't budging so our doctor thinks it's time to step in and start the induction. We tried to get into the hospital last night but all the labor and delivery rooms were full. So tonight is the big night if all goes well. Jake and I are sched. to be at the hospital at 8pm tonight. We were hoping for a 8-8-08 baby but most likely she won't be delivered until Sat. either way we can't wait to meet her. So our bags are packed and Grandma and Grandpa Janosky will be driving over tonight. It's all becoming so real. I can't believe Jake and I will be parents, it's very exciting!!

Still NO baby!!

I know everyone including me and Jake are anxiously waiting for our baby to arrive but as you can tell she is just not ready to come out into the world. So in the mean time I am still bored our of my mind and getting a bit uncomfortable. Yesterday, was very warm here so my feet started to swell up and my flip flops would hardly go on. However, the nice thing about living in the Northwest is that it always cools off at night so we slept with the door open in our bedroom and the fan running, it was perfect.
This morning Jake thought that my stomach had grown even bigger, just what I wanted to hear. All I know is that the few stretch marks I do have are getting worse!! Tomorrow, we go to see the doctor to check for changes. Hopefully, there has been some progress made esp. with all the walking I have been doing. Maybe by this weekend we will have our little girl to introduce to all of our friends and family. Thanks to everyone who has shown so much support and love during our entire pregnancy even if we are running a little behind schedule.

It's Aug 3rd- where's the baby?

Don't get excited yet, Jake has decided that baby Menard is truly a Menard. Already, our little girl is being stubborn and not cooperating with our plans, obviously she just wants to take her sweet old time.
No one told me not to be disappointed if our baby didn't arrive by her projected due date, which is today!! Many people told me that your first one is always late but I guess I refused to believe them. What a let down, you go through 9mos of counting down the weeks one by one with so much anticipation of what your baby is going to look like and how the delivery will go, you never really stop to think about having to carry your baby longer than 40 weeks.

By now Jake and I have tried everything in the books to get this baby to come out. I ran up and down a huge set of stairs the other day and I even unpacked part of my hospital bag thinking if I wasn't so overly prepared something would happen. Nope, nothing!!! I am running our of things to clean- however today I am going to tackle cleaning out one of the bedroom closets. Sounds like fun huh?
Thurs. is our next appointment and if the baby has not arrived by then we will be talking about inducing me. My dr.'s prediction is that the baby will come 2 days late. We'll see if that happens. Stay tuned, the day is not over.