Weight
- Birth: 7 lbs 1 oz
- Three Days: 6 lbs 11 oz – 50%
- Two Weeks: 7 lbs 5 oz – 50%
Length
- Birth: 20″ (we think this was .5 off)
- Three Days: 19.5″ – 50%
- Two Weeks: 20.5″ – 75%
Head
- Birth: Unknown
- Three Days: 13 7/8″ – 75%
- Two Weeks: 14″ – 75%
Elia’s Growth: Statistically Speaking – Two Weeks
October 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Home
October 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The whirlwind surrounding Elia’s arrival continued right through the discharge process at the hospital. When the hospital staff approached us and offered that we might be able to go home on the third day, it seemed like a very welcome surprise – as we were expecting to be there for four days. Ahna and Elia were both checking out great, so there was really no medical reason to stay at the hospital….but then I made a doctor appointment for Elia for Friday (had to get in before the weekend), and when they asked how old she was, the speed of what was happening set in a little. I answered that she was going to be three days old when we would take her to the doctor’s office, and I started to wonder if we were making the right decision in going home so quickly. But once you get it in your head that you would be able to leave the hospital, there really isn’t any going back.
Problem #1? Two car seats in the back made it so nobody can sit next to her on the way home. Solution (other than remove a car seat)? Trust. And it works surprisingly well. Elia did great on the car ride (and has on subsequent rides) and we made it home just before dinner on day three. While Ezra met us at the house to welcome Elia home, following dinner he went back down to my parent’s house to give us the chance to settle in for a night before we took on the task of him joining us. The night went predictably well, or predictably bad depending on your perspective, and we have been enjoying the space at home since.
Like Brother, Like Brother, Like Sister
October 13, 2012 by 1 Comment
Eh, the top got cropped for some reason and I don’t feel like changing it. Deal. It’s a good series.
Elia…Let’s Talk The Name
October 11, 2012 by 1 Comment
First things first, pronouncement of her name: most easily described as “Ellie-ah”.
We have been both surprised at the number of different ways we have already heard to say her name, given that it’s only four letters….and given that we only ever talked about it in a certain way…but we’ve enjoyed the creativity!
To address the question of it’s origin: since we didn’t know the gender of either Ezra or Liam prior to their birth, we had names for both boys and girls picked out. Elia is one that has been bouncing around the top of the list for a while, and it was one of two that we narrowed down for this baby when we found out she was a girl. We couldn’t decide between the two, and with her early arrival, we hadn’t really given it too much serious thought; but when she came, her name became apparent. Like Ezra and Liam, it has roots in old-school Hebrew; and it also has a few different, yet similar, meanings depending on where you look….all centering on good things. Her middle name comes from Ahna’s family, and has several iterations throughout the last couple of generations.
The letters that make up the name ‘Elia,’ would be like if we sat down and tried to combine the names Ezra and Liam. There are two letters from Ezra’s name, and three letters from Liam’s. I wish I could tell you that it was an intended result of choosing her name, but that just wouldn’t be true. Regardless, it’s one of the coolest coincidences that you could hope for.
How Did We End Up Here?
October 10, 2012 by 8 Comments
No, this isn’t going to be a fifth grade birds-and-the-bees lesson, so stop covering your eyes. This is going to be the story of the transition from the ending of one nine month journey to the beginning of another one.
The date of her arrival had been picked for a while. After what happened with both Ezra and Liam, there really wasn’t a choice on this matter. Oct 16 was going to be the day. First week of fall break in the schools, done with parent conferences, after everyone’s birthdays, etc, etc….and that was a week prior to her cycle-based due date of Oct 22. Everything was planned around that date including trips and work schedules…and also including our preparedness level.
As mentioned before, we didn’t go too far with the pre-work in the house. But we also didn’t get anything done in the car, or didn’t get a ‘go bag’ ready, or didn’t plan too much in the event things went at a different schedule than the calendar suggested. And well, here we are writing this.
Thankfully I had just got off of work yesterday morning after a 48 hour shift that included middle of the night runs each night. And by thankfully, I mean that I was thankful to have been at home for this to start (not the part of being up each night). Ahna had been doing those kick counts twice a day, and Elia had not met the kick count that morning. Much worry set in, Ezra found a place with the neighbors until my Dad could get him, and off we went to the hospital.
She moved some on the drive in, so some of the panic was tempered, but there was still lots of worry and concern in the air. We got to the hospital, got checked in, and got put on the monitor – where we could see that there was nothing wrong with the baby at all. Movement was ok, and pulse was good. Emotions settled some. However, there was still a lot to be determined, including the course of action from that point forward. Ahna was kept on the monitor for at three more hours, during which time she actually started to go into labor….the very early stages, but labor none-the-less. This changed the ball game. This set in motion the course of action that resulted in a tremendous whirl wind of activity, of doctors, of decision, and of concern.
45 minutes later we were in the OR, hearts beating through our chests, and emotions at an all time high – only put into control by the fact that we were somewhat stunned to be in there to begin with. The procedure went really well, thanks to the hands of three of the best doctors in the entire world…two of which were there the night that Liam was born, including our OB…and a cast of very talented nurses, anesthesiologists, etc.
At 2:12pm, MST, Elia Marie entered our world. She looked great, perked right up, and met all of her newborn marks. At that exact same second, a wave of emotion hit, and 22 tons of weight left our shoulders. She and I made our way into the Post-Op room and waited there for Ahna to finish up with the surgery.
This experience has been so amazingly different from either Ezra or Liam, and it is a little breathtaking at times. I think that both of us have found out the exact meaning of anxiety, yet have also found out the true meaning of love and support.
To Dr. Cassel and her team, to the staff at Parker Hospital, to family, to friends, and to the unbelievable people at Children’s: thank you, thank you, thank you. We would not be celebrating with sane minds and full hearts without what you have done and continue to do for us.
And now, the chance to celebrate Elia.
Elia…
October 9, 2012 by 12 Comments
Well, it’s been a long and unexpected day so this is going to stay short.
We are very excited to announce that joining us today was little Miss Elia! Ahna and she are doing well, and all of us are a bunch tired – both physically and emotionally. Here is the first photo – kinda blurry…like the day. Ezra stopped by this evening and has reaffirmed his position as the best big brother ever.
Elia weighs in at 7 lbs and 1 ounce, and measured at 20 inches long.
Much more to come…
Oh Yea….Something About The Baby
October 4, 2012 by 4 Comments
We haven’t posted much over the past few months about the little girl that is set to join us shortly, and I got a little inspired while at the doctor’s office – for one of the million late-pregnancy visits – to record her heartbeat.
Let me digress for a sentence or three: things are physically progressing just fine. Emotions are another story all together, but that’s not what this post is for. This pregnancy has involved a ton of doctor visits, and a slew of testing that we haven’t experienced prior….and so far, everything is checking out great. Her size (growing big, like both Ezra and Liam), her physical attributes, her breathing, and her development are all right on track – and in some cases, pushing the higher end of the percentages.
The doctors are having us (read: Ahna) do a few more tests than would have normally been required – I think to put them at ease as much as it is supposed to put us at ease. That said, one of the tests is a twice-a-day kick count where the baby has to move in excess of 10 times within a two hour block. While on some level it’s a reassuring affirmative, on other levels it’s just another thing to get focused on and to worry about. Ahna is also having to go to the doctor’s office twice per week for non-stress-tests of the baby’s movement and heartbeat (thus the recording), which follow similar stresses as the kick counts. Granted, this is all for just a short time remaining, but the gray hairs are popping up a lot more these days.
Ahna has been a trooper – still working, still being a single parent when I am at work. Beyond the normal physical uncomfortabilities that surface this late in any pregnancy, some additional less-than-desirable experiences have returned, including nausea. These final days of the pregnancy are flying by, and the days are getting longer and the nights are getting shorter.
The picture from the ultrasound is supposedly of her mouthing her arm. The audio of the heartbeat was remixed using Ezra’s directorial guidance in post-production.
Prepping The Room
September 19, 2012 by 2 Comments
You know, sometimes it is as hard as it is supposed to be. Yesterday, for the first concerted time, we began the process of getting the girl’s room ready. For the past several months, the idea of getting the room cleaned up and prepared for her arrival didn’t appeal to us in the least. First, there was the physical stuff that has been kept in there since Liam – the cards, the clothes, the blankets, the animals, etc. Then there is the idea that we are moving him out to get ready for someone else…and that is the really difficult thing.
Throughout this pregnancy, and still very much today, we are coping with the feelings that we are somehow replacing Liam. That by having this baby, we are moving on and past him. We know that as we immerse ourselves into Ezra and this girl’s life, that we will sometimes find ourselves not thinking about Liam as much – and that scares the crap out of us. Realizing the realities of all of those fears is no more up front and center than moving Liam’s stuff from the room that was supposed to be his in order to make it available for his little sister. Granted, he never spent a second physically in the room; but from the very beginning, it was supposed to be his space, and it has housed nearly everything that was his since we came home from the hospital. Simply moving a box of cards from that room into the guest room triggered a wave of emotion and a river of tears.
If you walk around our house, it probably doesn’t look like a house that’s ready to receive a baby. I suppose that part of that is due to the fact that we are still about a month away from an expected arrival, but the larger part of that is the pure hesitation to actually do anything. Trust me when I tell you that taking everything down, packing it all way, and storing it in the basement is one of the hardest things that you would ever have to face….and I’m not sure that either of us are up for that experience again. Because of that, we keep telling ourselves that all we need are a few diapers and the car seat; and the rest of the stuff we can get ready when we get home with the girl. Even though that is a simple truth, I was really happy and pleasantly surprised to see a part of both of us rise up over the weekend and feel a desire to do some work on her room. We took full advantage of being in a mutually shared space, and we cleaned and sorted clothes and we straightened up the room. It was really difficult and it felt sort of nice at the same time.
Neither of us expect that this will feel natural or come easily. But we are hoping and working on trying to find a good place to enjoy this moment, while at the same time not ignoring or burying the past. Here’s to the next time that it feels right.
Boy Or Girl?
July 19, 2012 by 7 Comments
The answer to everyone’s mid-pregnancy question…..
For both pregnancies with Ezra and Liam, we didn’t find out gender until they were born. Reasons for that decision have previously been discussed here on the blog, but as we had control over one of life’s great surprises, we enjoyed the moment. But things change, and mindsets change. No better or no worse, just different; and for this pregnancy, we have settled on the ‘no-surprises’ theorem. And you know what? It’s been good. Not only for the blood pressure, but it has allowed this pregnancy to be a change from the other two. It has allowed this pregnancy to stand on it’s own, and it has allowed us to enjoy it in ways that we previously had not experienced. In that sense, it has been exactly what we needed.
So we ventured to the doctor’s office for the 20 week ultrasound, and toured the baby’s body through the images. Legs look good. Arms look good. Head size looks good. Stomach looks good. Heart looks good. Brain development looks good. Then, as matter-of-factly as the rest of the ultrasound went, the doctor told us the news. It’s time to trade in gender parts….We. Are. Having. A. GIRL!
We have been asked several times if we are ready to have a girl, and the answer is a resounding “yes!” In all honesty, we would have been thrilled to have had a girl or boy each of the previous times too, but after our experiences, the cliche became hard fact, and we only wanted a baby that was healthy. We have a lot to look forward to, and we have a lot to learn about (we may be more on the hook now for a larger share of wedding costs in the future, but at least for the next couple of years, pee is no longer a projectile event). Ezra is loving his little sister, and talks to her quite regularly; and he even asked Ahna the other day why the baby isn’t out yet. We are excited to enjoy the remainder of this pregnancy differently, and we are thrilled to be able to walk through life with this baby in a unique way that will be in her own image.
16-ish weeks to go.
The Life of a Little Hippie 