Big Boy & New Tricks!!

Owen is such a big boy and is holding his head up so great to be 10 weeks old! He hates tummy time so we decided to put him in the Bumbo seat a bit earlier to work on his neck and he loves it! He can sit up for about 10mins and can follow us around the room. We love to see his little head turn around from side to side :) As soon as I figure out how to post videos I will take one of him moving his head and giggling...it's really funny!

Owen's New Ride!!

Owen got a new car seat last week and he sure does love it! Steve and Mel gave us their infant seat so we didn't have to buy one which saved us a lot of money...at first :) I guess when they bought the seat they had smaller sizes that fit babies up to 25inches and 20lbs.

Well Mr. Owen is a tall boy and is now 25inches long so his feet hang off the end and his head reaches the top of the seat. We didn't realize how much this bothered him until our trip to NC...he got so mad that he couldn't stretch out his legs and kept kicking the seat. He's a very active boy!

At his 2 month appt we talked to his doctor to find out how long he would need to be in the infant seat and riding rear-facing. He said that they usually stay in the seat until they reach 20lbs or 1 year, whichever comes first. Of course we could buy the convertable seat and put him in it as soon as he can hold his head up pretty good but with that seat we would have to take him in and out of it everywhere we go. That just seemed like a lot of work especially when O usually falls asleep in the car and we just pop his infant seat on to the stroller base and go. He will sleep in it anywhere; dinner, shopping, even just sitting in the house.

So we decided to just buy another seat even though they are expensive with thoughts that we will need it anyway for the next baby :) We got the new Peg Perego SIP 30/30 which is the best on the market for crashes and infant comfort. It's also bigger and allows for a baby up to 30inches long and 30lbs. So O will have room to grow! Thanks to Grandma Sue for helping us buy it! O loves it and is so much more comfortable!

Lots of Visitors...Owen is one popular guy!

Owen and Mrs. Lauren. O loves her and they got to play for hours!

Lauren & Jon come to visit

Lauren & Chris come too!

Aunt Mel sees me almost weekly...I sure do love her, Cailyn and Uncle Steve!

Andi comes to visit again...Sadie loves her and O loves when she comes to see him.

Clay and Lexi come and bring champagne to celebrate

Matt and Kelly...practicing before baby Chase arrives

Owen has had lots of visitors and here are a few pictures. He loves his new friends and can't wait for everyone to come back to see him soon!

More Pictures - Beach Trip

Pictures!!!

Owen's Baptism at my church in Pink Hill

Owen wearing Chris' Baptism outfit...so cute!



Our Family!

Owen's First ECU Tailgate!

Long Blog...from 2 weeks old to 9 weeks...

Sorry to everyone that reads our blog...I am sure we have lost some readers since I promised to post weekly updates and it has been 7 weeks since my last post. I will try to catch you all up in one blog :) For those that I talk to daily, you all know that I have had some challenges with breastfeeding, infections, INFECTIONS, thrush, yeast, reflux and last and the worst Owen's reaction to one of his vaccine :( Between all that, I have wanted to spend as much time with my little guy as possible...so forgive me for not blogging!



With that said we're all doing great! I will start with breastfeeding, just a short little note to say that it's much harder than anyone ever tells you. It's week 9 and we are just getting things on track. From me having mastitis to yeast to dealing with a month of thrush...we have had our fair share of trouble in the feeding department! I also had a poor milk supply which by eating oatmeal and pumping lead to an over-supply. Wouldn't think that would be a problem, right? Think again...imagine a baby trying to drink from a fire hydrant versus a slow water hose. Nursing during this time always ended up with me and Owen crying and then Chris bottle feeding him then consoling me that I wasn't a failure and it would get better! And it did :) I go to a weekly bfeeding moms group and they all say that I am the poster mom for bfeeding b/c I am so determined even after all the problems I went through. Maybe I will become a lactation consultant in my spare time. But we got it...at least for now. THRUSH IS GONE after a month of treatment. It's a nasty virus that is pretty much impossible to get rid of. Maybe Owen has had his share and will never get it again.



On to Owen, or as we now call him "O Man" he's doing great and gaining weight like a champ. We went for his 2 month appt on Tuesday and found out that he is 12lbs 2ozs (75th percentile), head is in the 75th percentile (yes he has a huge noggin), height 24.5inches (90th percentile). We can't get over how tall he is. He is still wearing some newborn clothes but they are too short in the torso for him so we've moved into the 0-3 which most are still a little big. It's strange how they all used to fit well and then all of a sudden he grew longer and got leaner. Don't get me wrong, he still has a chunky belly but he looks more proportioned now.



Things that O Man is doing lately: He has started to recognize our voices and will follow them around the room looking at us. He smiles all day and laughs at himself...it's really funny to watch. He loves looking in a mirror and laughs. We have a mirror on the back of the seat in our car and he just watches himself and laughs. He is swatting things and just last week actually was able to grab onto things in front of him. He hasn't quite figured out how to let go but I am sure that will come. And he coos all the time! This week he has just started trying to make the same sounds that we make. We think he's pretty smart :)



Other O Updates: Poor baby has reflux. I had to take him to the doctor about 2 weeks ago b/c he was having horrible gas pains and couldn't get it out. We were constantly doing bicycles with him to help his little tummy but a few weeks ago it got so bad that he wasn't nursing properly. He would nurse for 3-4mins then pull off screaming. I would burp him but that didn't help. I realized that his little belly was hard as a rock and knew that wasn't normal. The doctor said that he may grow out of it as his GI system matures. We sure hope so! The Zantac that he takes 3 times a day tastes AWFUL! He has learned how to spit it out so it's a challenge to get it in him. I didn't realize that 90% of all babies have some form of reflux.



O got his vaccines on Tuesday and of course he would be one of the 3% to get a reaction. He had 3 shots and then Rotavirus which is a sweet drink. He loved it and did good with this shots. Our doctor told us that he may be fussy for a few days or he may be sleepy or both. We got home and he napped from about 10:30am until 4pm only waking every 3 hours to eat. I was in heaven and got some things done around the house. Or so I thought...O woke up around 4pm screaming and nothing I did helped. I walked the house with him for hours and hours and he was just not feeling good. We started him on Tylenol every 4 hours but that didn't seem to help. Finally around 10pm he fell asleep and we thought that maybe that was the end of his fussiness. He had a low grade fever but nothing to be worried about. He slept about 4 hours and then was up for the rest of the night. I held him and rocked him then when he did fall asleep, I put him down only to wake up 30mins later with him crying. This was so unlike Owen as he isn't really a crying baby. The morning wasn't any better so I finally called the doctor around 3pm to see if it was normal for him to be that fussy. Also, he had gone through about 10 dirty diapers in less than 12 hours which was a lot. They wanted to see him and we found out that he had a mild reaction to the Rotavirus, meaning that he got it. I have never had it but the doctor said it's really painful and you have horrible cramps and upset tummy. That explained it! So I came home ready for the challenge we were about to have with night. It wasn't as bad as I thought. I think he was so tired from not sleeping and crying that he was able to relax and sleep a bit. He went to bed around 8pm and woke up at 12:30am, then slept until 2am and was up every 30-45mins after that. I went to bed at 9pm so I was not a zombie like the night before. Today has been better and he has napped and nursed a lot. He went to bed at 7:30pm so I am hoping that we will be back on his normal schedule (7:30pm - 1:30am then back down until 5:30am...wish I could stretch that until 7am but I will be happy for just getting up two times instead of 5-6!!).



Last week was our first family beach trip. We all had a great time. It was so nice to get away for a week. It was Sadie's first trip too and she wasn't too fond of the water. It took her all week to get in and when she did, it was a short time. She made friends with a lab pup and she followed him into the water. They were too cute playing. Owen loves the beach...just like his mom and dad! We bought him this neat tent that was SPF 50 and he napped in it every day. He spent about 20mins laughing and cooing and then was out. Something about the fresh beach air and the sound of waves relaxed him completely! He sleeps with the sound of the ocean so he was in heaven on the beach. Both of the grand parents were there and it was nice to spend time with everyone and to also have some time for just me and Chris. Grandma Sue came back mid-week to watch Owen and also the last weekend. Chris and I got some good beach time together while she watched him. Much needed alone time for us. We were so sad to come back home after 10days in NC :(

Owen also went to his first ECU game, well the tailgate. I couldn't take an infant in the stands :) He had a fun time and spent most of the time in his bassinet talking to anyone that came by. He met our good friends and we got some cute pics. Daddy went to the game and we went to lunch with the grandma's and did a little shopping. O is such the shopper...maybe b/c he knew that we were buying him things...ha!

Owen was baptised that same weekend in my church at home. Chris' parents were able to come and it was great to have all the grand parents there all that was missing was Aunt Jen. We haven't found a church in VA yet and wanted to have him baptised now and then we will do something else when we join a church here. Owen did great and it was such a special day! It was really special b/c Owen wore Chris' baptism outfit from when he was a baby.

I think that's about it for us, I am sure I am missing something but here's a bit of an update. Now that we have established a good schedule, I will...SERIOUSLY, I will update the blog weekly.

I will post pictures in new posting since this one is so long...ha!

Love the 4 of us!

Owen Ellis

Sorry this post has taken almost 3 weeks to write. I am sure you all know how crazy things can be with a newborn. First, we are all doing great and are trying to get into a groove...slowly but surely :)

Owen Ellis was born July 16th at 7:04am weighing 8lbs 5ozs and 20.5 inches...WHOA! A bigger baby than we ever thought.

Birth Story

I want to share this with you all because I had such a positive experience and feel like you only hear the bad stories. Wednesday night around 9:45pm I started having cramps but didn't think much of it since they didn't have a start and stopping time. Just all over crampy with some more intense than others. Around 11:30pm, after the cramps had not let up we decided to call my doctor, well the doctor on call. I had just been to my doctor earlier that day for my 40 week checkup and during the appt I lost my "MP" so she said that he should come any day now but not that night because she wasn't on call. My luck he decided to come the one night that she wasn't on call :)

Dr. Wolf was on call and after talking with her about the crampy feeling and if we had to time them we would say they were 5-6mins apart but again, nothing that hurt too bad that I thought they were labor contractions. She thought that maybe I was having contractions from my doctor's appt because sometimes that can bring them on. So she decided that she would call the hospital and let them know that I may come in. Chris and I decided that if they didn't go away in the next 30mins that we would head in. I of course didn't want to go AT ALL because I was for sure that it would be false labor because, in my opinion they were not strong enough to be labor contractions. Needless to say after 20mins I still felt crampy and the only thing that felt good was to walk around. So we headed to the hospital.

When we arrived we were sent to triage where they check you to see if you are going to be admitted. I was so sure that I wasn't in labor I apologized to all the staff for having to do a ton of paper work for my false labor. They all laughed and said it happens all the time but they would be able to tell when I was checked. I even made Chris park in the garage and I walked in with him...no way if this was false labor I would be seen being wheeled in a wheelchair...ha!

I was checked and found out that my contractions were indeed real and were 1-1.5mins apart and I was 5cm dilated. So I was admitted to Labor and Delivery and waited for the doctor. This was close to 2am. Dr. Wolf asked if I wanted my epidural and I decided that since I was breathing through the contractions easily that I would wait a bit. I thought for sure that I would be there forever and wanted to be able to walk around for a little longer and not stuck in my bed. Next Dr. Wolf decided to break my water to see if the contractions were still strong and every few minutes. She said most people need pictocin to keep them constant and we would be able to tell after my water broke how I was progressing. Note to self with the next child MAKE SURE TO GET THE EPIDURAL BEFORE THEY BREAK YOUR WATER!! Needless to say contractions are 100x's stronger after your water has broken so within 30mins of these contractions I was getting my epidural :) I was very scared to get the epidural because I have heard stories of how women lose feeling completely and can't move their legs after. Those of you know know me well know that I have a HUGE fear/anxiety of my legs and arms being held down and not being able to move them. I freak out! I talked to my good friend Jennifer Conde about what should happen with the epidural done correctly and she assured me that I should be able to feel and move my legs. If not, there is a problem. I talked to the doctor and told her my fears and she assured me also that I would be able to feel my legs. I also talked to her about turning down the epidural close to time so that I could feel the contractions and know when to push. She was great and listened to all my fears and requests and the epidural was a breeze! Didn't hurt one bit and I was able to feel and move freely. This was around 2:30am-2:45am and Dr. Wolf said she would be back in a few hours to check my progress for me to get some rest. Yeah right! Rest when I am so excited that Owen would be here soon...rest when the nurses were coming in every 30mins to check my contractions and the baby's heartbeat. Needless to say, Chris slept for a few hours and I just watched the monitor and chatted with the nurses when they came in. My contractions held strong and I didn't need pictocin to keep the contractions steady so that was good news for us.

Dr. Wolf came in and checked me around 6:45am and told us that I was 10cm dilated and ready to push. OMG, we had no clue it would happen so fast. Less than 20mins later and just a few pushes, Owen was born. One thing about pushing that helped a lot, although was somewhat traumatizing at the time is that Dr. Wolf had me watch when I pushed in a mirror at the end of the table. It freaked me out a bit but I was really able to see when I was pushing correctly. So, I saw Owen's birth from the minute I started pushing until he was completely out (sorry a little too much info). I am thankful and think that this is one big reason that I had a great experience and didn't have any tearing.

One thing the nurses said and Dr. Wolf said was that with my second child that when I first felt contractions that I needed to run to the hospital! I guess since I had less than 9 hours of labor from the first contraction to his birth, that was pretty quick and with the second child, things tend to go a lot faster. So, note to self, next child it's probably not false labor...get to the hospital ASAP :) Can you imagine if I didn't listen to Chris and tried to make it through the night until I could talk to my doctor the next day??? Gosh, Owen would probably be born at our house.

That's the story of Owen's birth and we are loving every minute we have with him!

Owen will be 3 weeks old tomorrow and it's amazing how much he has grown and changed in such a short time. Just in the past few days we can tell he has grown. He weighed 8lbs 5ozs when he was born, left the hospital weighing 7lbs 12ozs and by the time he was 2 weeks old, he was already past his birth weight...he's a chunky monkey :) I can't wait to see how much he weighs tomorrow at my breastfeeding support class.

Breastfeeding...this has been our biggest challenge. Let's just say that mastitis is the WORST infection ever! I think we have gotten past the hard parts but I can honestly see why women give up on breastfeeding. It's a test to your patients to stick with it. I was determined and still am to breastfeed, even though I am still working through some challenges. I met with a lactation consultant last week and she assured me that he was latching on correctly and encouraged me to stick with it. Our hospital offers a weekly support class that's free and the lactation nurse that I met with runs it, so I am going to go weekly with my long list of questions to make sure I get it and correctly! Also, they do weight checks so I will be able to tell how much Owen is taking in when he nurses. They weigh him before feeding and after and we can monitor this weekly. Makes me feel better because my biggest fear is that he's not getting enough to eat since I have no way to measure how much he is taking in. Wish us luck that we make it the next week or so with success!

I will post updates weekly on Owen...promise not to go this long without an update :)