Getting To Know Us... (Ellie)

As you know this week I have been telling you more about our family. Today is Ellie's lucky day. Ellie will be nine months old soon. She is a silly and spunky little girl full of energy... LOTS of energy! This mommy can barely keep up.

Lets start from the beginning. We started trying to get pregnant with our second baby right before Brynlee turned one, because as I said before I have polycystic ovarian syndrome and endometriosis and we just didn't know how long it would take. This time I started out on fertility and a little over a year later we found out I was pregnant. I forgot to mention with both my babies I missed a month of my fertility and surprise those were the two months that I got pregnant. I am a firm believer that it will definitely happen when it is supposed to. I know sometimes it is hard to think that way because trying for a baby with no results gets disappointing really fast, so sorry if you're going through that but DON'T give up.

Of course Justin, Brynlee and I were so excited to be having a baby. Again little did I know what this pregnancy had in store for me. I started out with morning sickness again that lasted until I was about 7 months along, I passed out several times, and had pre-term labor starting when I was about 14 weeks until I was 36 weeks and that's when I had Ellie. I had to be extremly careful. I was put on bed rest and I received 2 steroid shots to help develop Ellie's lungs. (and was totally unaware that sometimes the steroid shots don't always help the baby's lungs!) I was actually still working during all of this which made it that much harder but I tried to be as careful as I could. My doctor was so suprised how far I ended up making it. After being in labor for about 27 hours with Brynlee I never dilated and that is why I ended up having a c-section. With this pregnancy it ended up being a blessing that I didn't dilate because I was dilated to a 1 for a couple months but never dilated more.

On August 11, 2012 I went in to have baby Ellie. This time we planned for a c-section and I knew what to expect. Within 2 hours of checking in at the hospital we had our baby girl. 6 lbs. 4 oz. and 20 inchs long. This time I saw Ellie for a split second (and of course was instantly in LOVE!) before they took her to the nursery to get cleaned up... little did I know I wouldn't be seeing my sweetie for several hours. Ellie's lungs were not pumping right, she was not getting the air she needed. Justin came in my room and told me they were admitting Ellie to the NICU. I was so sad because we had been preparing Brynlee for her big day to meet her baby sister and if you don't know only a few adults can go in the NICU. I had to wait several hours until I could sit up in a wheel chair to go down and see Ellie. I tried doing it as soon as possible, I was dying to get down and see her. Justin wheeled me through the hospital until we got to the NICU. I wasn't sure what to expect and when I saw my little baby with an IV in her head, tubes in her nose, and her tummy hooked  up to moniters all I wanted to do is cry. That is never how you want to see your baby (trust me!) I FINALLY held Ellie for the first time and it was heaven. She was so tiny but so SPECIAL! If you have ever had to visit a NICU they have certain visiting hours. It was so hard to leave Ellie every day. After a couple days of Brynlee waiting to meet her baby sister the NICU nurse told us we could show Ellie to Brynlee through the glass of the nursery. Brynlee was so excited and the first thing that she did was give Ellie the "I love you" sign through the window. A moment I will never ever forget! The third day I was at the hospital we talked to the doctor to see if Ellie would be ready to come home with us the next day. They were really unsure of this and on day four when it was time for me to come home Ellie wasn't ready. It was such a hard day leaving the hospital without a new baby to bring home. I cried all the way home. If you have ever had a c-section you know they are extremely painful. Which made it even harder to go to the hospital 4 times a day during our visiting hours with Ellie. During this time that was the last thing I was thinking about. Ellie was on my mind 24/7!! Finally 8 days after Ellie was born I got the best phone call I have ever received. It was the NICU nurse letting us know that Ellie was ready to come home. WAHOO!! The three of us grabbed our shoes and went out the door as fast as we could. We finally brought home our little girl. Now weighing 5 pounds she really was just a little sweetie! I was more nervous bringing Ellie home, worried about her breathing and other things she struggled with but she did great! I just have to say the NICU was amazing to us. I never thought about how hard it was when I heard of someones baby being in the NICU until we were there. They made us feel so special and took such great care of Ellie. I will not forget all the special babies that were in the NICU a lot longer than Ellie and continued to be there after her. We were still really blessed even though some days it was hard to think that way.

Ellie was and is such a good baby. Even when she was in the NICU all the nurses wanted to be with Ellie because she was so easy (just woke up to eat then went back to sleep!) She continued to be that way when we brought her home. I remember I didn't want to put Ellie down and of course she had to cuddle next to me for the first few nights! Ellie brings so much happiness into our home. Ellie loves everyone especially her big sister. She loves playing whatever Brynlee is playing. Ellie also loves when daddy gets home from work and can't wait until he picks her up. She is so SPECIAL to all of us!

 Holding Ellie for the first time

Kisses

Visiting Ellie

Cuddled up to daddy in the NICU

Leaving the hospital.. Finally Brynlee can touch Ellie

First day home Brynlee wouldn't let her go

2 Weeks Old

4 Months Old

6 Months Old

8 Months Old



Hope you enjoyed learning more about Ellie. To learn more about me and Justin click here. If you want to learn more about Brynlee click here. Thanks for stopping by. Please leave comments I love to read them. Especially if you have any questions about all the things we went through, don't be afraid to ask! Tomorrow I am going to share some great ideas to do for your other kids if you are getting ready to have another baby.

XOXO Brooke