She's here!
Our sweet daughter Ella Rose was born on May 8, a whopping 7 pounds, 1 ounce. She is even more beautiful than I thought she’d be, and my heart is so full.
Over the last month, we’ve had family in and out of our home to visit our newest addition. It’s been a crazy whirlwind, but I’m really grateful. All of the extra helping hands have allowed me to get the rest I need while also caring for my newborn. (Yes, I even needed a break from blogging! I've been working on this one post for over a month now, but mama duty calls!)
All ready to go home from the hospital!
Here’s what we’ve learned about Ella over the course of a month:
Ella is an excellent eater and a super pooper!
She took to breastfeeding immediately and I’m pretty sure it’s her favorite thing to do. And three blowouts in her first week home proved that her digestive system works pretty well, too!
She has been a wonderful sleeper - thank goodness!
In the weeks leading up to delivery, I had a bit of anxiety about losing sleep at night. I have never functioned well on less than 7 hours of sleep each night, so I worried about interrupted sleep. Thankfully, Ella has already slept for long stretches at night. And when she wakes, I’ve been surprised to find that waking to feed her hasn’t been as exhausting as I thought it would be. (Well… until it’s time to get up in the morning!)
She’s a little dramatic… but calms quickly when she gets what she wants.
They say you can’t spoil a baby, at least for the first three months. I hope that’s true, because when miss Ella wants something, she makes sure we know it! But usually once we’ve figured out what she wants, she doesn’t carry on any further.
Ella is going to be a daddy’s girl for sure.
I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve handed her off to my husband for a bit of a break, and immediately she calms down. If I wasn’t so grateful for his magic touch, I might actually be a little jealous!
I love watching her personality grow as the days and weeks go by! We’ve learned when she’s happy, when she’s fussy, and what each varying cry means. I worried that caring for a newborn would be an intimidating learning curve for me, but she’s taught me to have patience, give myself grace, and go with the flow.
Taking It All In
It’s hard to describe the moments after we arrived home from the hospital with Ella. It just so happened to be Mother’s Day - my first, but not really. Just a year prior, I was grieving the loss of my first pregnancy on Mother’s Day. This year, I brought my second baby home.
We introduced her to our dog, and I walked her to her room. I sat with her in the chair, and rocked her to sleep as tears streamed down my face. This moment was all I had wanted - and after years of waiting, God granted me the sweetest blessing.
Everything has come full circle. Just yesterday in church, a dear friend and sister in Christ said to me, “It seems like just yesterday we were grieving!” And how true that rings! In the course of a year, God brought me from longing to expectant, to grieving and longing all over again, to expectant and joyous over my two beautiful babies. One we still grieve and long to meet one day, and the other we have the privilege of knowing and raising.
I am certain that God’s plan for me in all of this was good. All of these experiences from loss to joy strengthened my bond with my husband, made me a better mother for Ella, and taught me to choose joy in every circumstance. As I took in these first moments at home with Ella, I thanked God for all of it.
Everything has changed, yet it feels like we’ve had Ella forever. Our life as a little family has been so sweet over the last month! I’ll be sharing more updates here and there as we grow, but for now, thank you for following our journey up to this point. I hope our story has inspired and encouraged you in your walk, wherever you’re at.
With a grateful heart,
