Elsie Mae Hess

As you can tell from my previous post, we changed her middle name. Please dont comment on it, it will make me burst into tears! (with the lack of sleep I'm still not quite back to normal.) The original plan was to name her after my grandma but we changed at the last second because we liked the sound of Mae as Elsie's middle name and I also wanted to save Jeannette for our next girl so I can give her the same initials as me... KJH.

BUT.... Now I'm in panic mode... what if we dont EVER have another girl?! What if our next girl is forever down the road?! I'll feel guilty until then! I already told everyone her middle name was Jeannette (including my grandma Jeannette who recently passed). I feel like a jerk for changing it.

ADVICE: Don't make any real decisions while in labor.

Anyway, I know my Grama knows that she is very much loved... but I still worry if I should have just left her name how it was.

On to happier things.

Elsie was born on 10.10.10 at 6:50ish PM, weighed 6 lbs 11 oz and was 19 inches long.


After her bath she looked less like an alien. I take far too many pictures of her to put them all up... she looks different in every single one and changes every single day.
For now she is just a tiny little peanut that loves to snuggle in right under your chin and sleep on your chest.
She HATES wet diapers (we have to change her immediately after) but can somehow sleep through a poopy one.
She has big eyes and loves to stare at things... but by things I mean white walls and ceilings and occasionally the light coming through the window.
She makes lots of cute/funny faces, especially when she is trying to wake up but usually has a scowl on her chubby little face.
I wanted to put this picture up because apparently, this is how she came out! Head and hand together. She is never without her hand or hands in her face. We have to keep them covered because she scratches herself so much.

Her bilirubin count was high (she had jaundice) after we brought her home so that little light you see behind her is a bili blanket to help lower it. She is doing great now though and no longer looks like a glow worm.

One more thing... Benjy is a GREAT dad. He sings to Elsie, jumps right in on diaper changes, takes over burping her, loves to rock her to sleep and smothers her in kisses. Its so cute.

All Things Baby

It's a girl!

We wanted to wait to name her until we saw her but then we absolutely fell in love with a name and have decided on it! Elsie Jeannette, after both Benjy's and my grandmas. The funny thing is Elsie was our favorite name when we wrote down the preliminary list and later Benjy was going through a genealogy chart and we found out his grandma's given first name is Elsie (she doesnt go by it). Thats when we really fell in love with it.

I am 28 weeks and things are going pretty well. I started feeling better around 22 weeks and as long as i eat steadily throughout the day I do just fine. Its pretty exciting not to have to plan my day around the times I am most likely to throw up and having to carry around barf bags for the unexpected mishap.

These ultrasounds are from when I was 20 weeks, so they're a little late but my mom hasn't even seen them yet so I figured I needed to put them up. They are upside-down, they're labeled but look at the bottom left to see what it is supposed to be. People ask if we are sure that she is a girl since sometimes it is common for ultrasound techs to miss the boy parts.... I'm judging by the pose that she is definitely a girl. The picture of me is from this Sunday (28 weeks). I look huge. I know i will eventually be that big, and I'm totally ok with it, but I swear I'm not as of now... that pregnancy dress just makes me look really round.
Enjoy!

pepermint puke

So, I've hit the big 12 weeks that everyone keeps telling me about... so anti-climatic. I'm still sick all the time but I'm praying it will be over at 14 weeks (like Grandma) instead of 20 weeks (like Mom). all i know is, with my luck, it will probably end on April 13th, the last day of school.
Anyways... I have noticed that sucking on or chewing on candies (Now & Laters being the perfect compromise of both) really helps keep me from throwing up. Another thing that I have learned is that if I eat a lot of pepperment, my puke is quite bearable. TMI? Probably. But these are the exciting things that happen in my life.

Hopes and Dreams

I was reading in a packet my doctor gave me about pregnancy and it says that I should start a journal with all the hopes and dreams for our life together. How about this:
Dear baby,
Right now, while you are growing in my belly, you make me want to throw up. I hope when you are no longer in my belly you will no longer make me barf.
Love,
Your Nauseated mommy

Lentil beans and chick peas

Soooo.... im pregnant. im sorry if this is the way that you are finding out! but nevertheless.... it is true. this week, apparently my baby is going through a growth spurt from the size of a lentil bean to the size of a chickpea! so weird. i do love me some chickpeas though.
Well thats about all for now. i have to try and eat some dinner while i still have an appetite.