Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Cloth Diapering: So Far, So Good

 

Before Ellie was born, we got some newborn disposable diapers so that if I had a hard time recovering, I wouldn't have to worry about laundry. When the pack was almost gone, I went ahead and started putting her in cloth. She has little chicken legs, so the leg holes are just a titch too big, but it's usually not a problem. Her poops don't really stink yet, and the bag we store the dirty ones in locks in the smell really well. Washing them hasn't been an issue either. I have even changed her in "public" -- at church and the doctors -- and it's been fine there too. She's a little squirmy, so getting the diapers on her is probably the biggest issue so far! We've also been using the cloth wipes; they work great, I just need to order some more so we have enough! And, yes, Cass changes her diapers, too, if you were wondering :) 

Monday, April 15, 2013

Family Visits

After we got home from the hospital, more of our family was able to come down and visit. Chris, Dylan, and Pyper came down for Tuesday and Wednesday, then my parents, Jordyn, Ammon, and Matthew came down Wednesday and Thursday. We got lots of pictures of Chris, Dylan and Pyper, but I only got pictures of Jordyn with Ellie. My bad! But everyone was so excited to meet her and just loves her as much as we do!

Meeting Family

Miss Ellie-Belly is being a bit of a cranky-pants today so I can't run my errands, but she finally fell asleep so maybe I can catch up on some blogging! 
The first night we were in the hospital, my parents came down to visit. The next day, Morrell and Grandma Carma came down. Kelby and MaryAnne were also driving through Cedar, so they stopped by for a quick visit too! 














Thursday, April 11, 2013

Ellie's Birth Story

So after my visit to the hospital because of my high blood pressure, I really did try to take it easy. I slept in, I did a little house cleaning and organizing, then rested. Clean, rest, clean rest. And I felt so lazy! I didn't even make dinner that night; we went to the dining hall. (But that's really because it was staff dinner night.) 

Well, that night I was lying on the couch watching Duck Dynasty while Cass was at staff meeting, and I realized that my pains were getting stronger and more frequent. I finally started timing them and they were about 5-6 minutes apart. I had been told that when my contractions were too bad to talk through they were real, so I would talk to myself through the contractions. Pretty soon the talking to myself was really just saying, "ow, ow, ow" over and over! 

My pains were pretty heavy in my back and really painful, but not quite what I thought labor would feel like. I texted my mom to see if she was still awake and then called her. She said it was probably really labor, so Cass and I headed to the hospital even though I wasn't sure. This time, though, I knew it could be real so I packed my bag just in case!

We got to the hospital; they hooked me up to the monitors and checked me. I was at five and "not going anywhere," according to the nurse. They got me some pain medication, something before the epidural. It made me super tired. I couldn't keep my eyes open and kept falling in and out of sleep. 

The anesthesiologist came to give me my epidural and when I sat up, my water broke. Then the anesthesiologist made a joke, telling me not to chew on my toenails, and I totally thought I was delusional. I was pretty out of it. They let me lay back down and wait for the epidural to kick in; I still had a while before it was time to push. 

We did have a little scare as I got closer to pushing time. The monitor couldn't find the baby's heartbeat anymore. Then all of a sudden there were lots of nurses in the room and someone said to call the doctor. I was given an oxygen mask and they kept moving around the monitor to find her heartbeat. They still couldn't, so they attached something to her head and were able to get her heartbeat that way. It all happened so fast, but I was so scared! I'm so glad they were able to find her heartbeat again and that she was fine! 

The doctor showed up shortly and it was time to push! And oh my gosh! Even with the epidural, it was the most painful thing in my life! I think I was pushing for about an hour or so and it was really hard! I really didn't think I could keep going and even started to hyperventilate a little at one point. Good thing Cass, the doctor, and the nurses were so supportive! Finally she came and they placed her on my chest. I loved her immediately and forgot all about the pain. Holding my sweet baby made it all worth it, even if she was all covered in gunk.  




Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Meet Ellie!

My sweet girl, Elizabeth Faye Swallow, was born on March 28th at 4:20 in the morning.
She weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and was 20 inches long! 
Here's some pictures from her first day here with us! 
Don't tell the nurses! We took a little nap together :) 

 

Cass loves his baby girl! 

 

 

Newborn size is still big on her!