The Two Week Appointment

I'm happy to report that Ellie got an A+ at the pediatrician today, but what a day to go... Her appointment happened to coencide with the exact time a tsunami was moving through the area. I clued in that we were about to be totally underwater in exactly enough time to get her in the car seat and pull out of the driveway. It's going to take a while before I'm am a pro at getting her out of the car while tolding my purse, diaper bag and umbrella.

The whole appointment went really well and I'm glad I picked the pediatric group that I went with. I didn't know it until today, but the medical assistant for Ellie's doctor was one of my Tuesday night step regulars, so it was good to see a familiar face. Ellie was completly happy being held by her, being weighed and then being held by the doctor. Ellie has gained one pound since our visit eleven days ago so she's now 8 pounds 6 ounces. The doctor was really happy with her progress even though I've been stressing that I've only been feeding her 7 times a day rather than the "recommended" 8-12 times a day. I seriously don't know how she could eat more than she does. The doctor said that whatever I was doing was working, which was good to hear. She's also grown 3/4 inches so she's up to 22 inches long and her head is 14.25 inches. That means she's in the 50th percentile for head and weight and >95th percentile for length. She still looks skinny because she's so long.

Then we had to do something that Ellie did not like - she had to get her heel pricked for the rest of her PKU stuff. It tests for metabolic disorders. She screamed like a banshee. Poor thing. They make you sit there and hold her while they do it so I'm sure she thought I was trying to saw her foot off. That was enough activity for Ellie and she promptly went to sleep.

Two other big milestones occurred yesterday - Ellie's umbilical cord fell off and we got her social security card in the mail so she is officially a tax write-off. She's also making big strides with head and neck control. Today after we got home and she ate, I put her on her stomach for some tummy time. If you lay her down with her head facing one way and then move to the other side, she'll turn her head to look at you. Of course,she face-plants for about 5 seconds during the transition, but she works it out. When I'm holding her upright, all she wants to do is hold her head up and look around with her bright eyes. She gets a little fussy if she can't see what is going on. She's still really wobbly so she looks like a turtle bobbing along. That was Ellie's big day - it doesn't get much more exciting around here!

Memorial Weekend 2007

Life could not be better at the Bright house! We stayed in most of the holiday because Dallas was totally under water for the 3-day weekend. Ellie is still the best baby ever. I am so thankful we were given such a wonderful little gift. She's waking up more now so after she eats, we play for about 20-30 minutes on her exercise mat before she naps. She has her 2 week weigh-in at the pediatrician tomorrow morning so it will be interesting to see how much she has gained. I think a lot because I finally had to break down and buy the carpal tunnel wrist guards. I was trying to wear them most of the day, but it's too hard to pick her up with them on so I just sleep in them. They've helped a lot.

We may have to loose the swaddle soon. After Ellie ate this morning at 6am, I swaddled her and put her back to bed. After a few minutes, I heard her grunting and moving, but didn't go check on her because she wasn't crying. When I woke her up an hour later, this is what she looked like:

Houdini had completely freed her arms from her baby straight jacket. Looks like she'll be wearing footed pajamas in the near future.

One thing is for certain - I definitely did not wear a swimsuit this Memorial Weekend. Sunday marked a big day because I headed back to the scales at Weight Watchers. Uuuuggghhhh. I was "lifetime" before I got pregnant and now I'm back to square one plus some. Well, plus a lot. I knew I had gained, but actually seeing the final damage in black and white was hard. To add insult to injury, the girl trying to sign up in front of me was 5'5" and a size 4. They wouldn't let her join the program because she was within 3 pounds of her lowest acceptable weight. I think the long line of fat women behind her were waiting for her to walk outside so they could beat the crap out of her. I'm going to try to loose 20 pounds before I go back to work full time, which is scheduled to happen the day after Labor Day. I think that will be do-able once I can start working out again. I hope to get "the rest" off before Christmas. I've just got to work hard and not stop until I'm back to my goal. I'm a little upset that I'm this big, but all I have to do is look at my little Ellie and realize my life could not be better and that I'm not the first new mother who has felt like this.

I have a new fashion accessory - a sling. I thought that since Ellie likes being held so much she might enjoy being worn. She loves it. It's like a dark little cocoon. I put her in it and she stayed by my side - through laundry and other chores around the house - blissfully asleep. We had our first outing today. We went to a few stores and she stayed asleep in her carrier the entire time. Ellie also tried out her swing, but I think she's still too small for it. She needs a little more neck control before she can fully enjoy it.

The Stork Has Landed

In case you're coming to visit us, just look for the 12-foot sign in our yard:



Lee's mom was nice enough to order us a stork so everyone on our block knows that Ellie is here!! We were going to go with the billboard, but thought it was too flashy. It's very cute and we get to keep the plaque with all of the details on it.


I don't know how it's already Thursday. I hope the days slow down, but I feel from here on out, life will be speeding by at an uncontrollable pace. Ellie has had several visitors at the house this week. Our friends Shanon and Mike came by on Sunday, Anne Marie visited from Shreveport Wednesday and Thursday and Debbie visited from Houston on Thursday. Anne Marie has 3-month old Alex and Debbie has 2-year old Molly. It was fun to see all of our children together.

Ellie and I have been having a great time. She has been so good - there's a part of me wondering when my luck is going to run out on her being so good. She's been a little more alert lately, but I still have trouble keeping her awake with it's time to eat. Must be rough. She is a great baby and loves to be held - which works out for Lee because he never wants to put her down. I don't either, but I think I'm getting carpal tunnel in my wrists, so I'm going to get a sling so I can wear her while I do things around the house. Here's more of Ellie doing what she does best.

Brando's Baby

Look at the picture and say the following line in your best Godfather voice:

"Leave the gun. Take the cannolis."

That's right. My baby wears a pink skull cap.

Home With Ellie

Lee wanted me to call this blog "My Kid Is Cuter Than Your Kid", but I thought that sounded a little cocky. This is our second full day home with Ellie, and we've been having a great time with her. She doesn't do a lot - mostly sleep and eat, but it's fun just to watch her do that. So far, the highlight of her days include being swaddled and sleeping in her Papasan. If you've been keeping up the past few months, you know that we could never get a 3D picture of her because her hand was always right up by her face. Nothing much has changed with that...

I bundle her up, but somehow she always gets that hand free to be by her head. She looks like "The Thinker" sometimes which is really funny. The first night we were home was a little rough. I think Ellie was making some adjustments from the hospital. There she had constant care 24-7 from the night nurses, but her mom and dad have to sleep and she didn't want us to. At all. So last night, we had a different plan of attack - feed before we go to bed, Ellie sleeps for three hours, BOTTLE, Ellie sleeps three hours. The bottle was so much faster and less frustrating for both of us. We'll see how it works tonight.

She also had her first pediatrician appointment yesterday and he thought she looks great. She was 7 pounds 6 ounces when she left the hospital on Friday and that's what she was 24 hours later. They said that they'll loose a little weight after birth, but she is already maintaining her weight after 3 days, which is a good sign.

We also tried to wear her out a little before she went to bed with her first bath. She was shockingly good through the entire thing. She doesn't really like to be unwrapped, but we kept her pretty covered so she didn't get cold.

So that's it from the Bright house. Until I can actually get out of the house, I'm sure the blogs for the next couple of weeks will consist of more Papasan and bath pictures. Such is life. I'm feeling better by the day (I'm not even on pain medicine!) so hopefully that shouldn't be too long from now. I am a little weepy, but I think that's just the hormones; however, Lee is starting to think I'm undiagnosed bi-polar. I'm so thankful for all of the visitors, well wishes, cards, and phone calls from so many of you. I would love for you to meet her so just let me know if you'd like to stop by for a visit! I'm excited that Debbie and Anne Marie are coming in town this week. Hope to see you all soon!

Welcome Ellen Elizabeth

Please welcome the most wonderful miracle we could have ever asked for:

Ellen Elizabeth

Born May 16, 2007 at 12:33 PM

7 pounds 13 ounces

21.25 inches

If you've ever had a hard labor or delivery, then you may not want to read this because I probably had the easiest one in history. Ellie made it one day longer than I did, but barely. I started having some cramping on Tuesday afternoon and then on Tuesday night I started having some contractions that were unevenly timed. I didn't know if they would stop or slow down so I went to bed. Around 1am, I woke up with stronger contractions so I got up and started timing them. Around 1:30, I woke up Lee to tell him that I thought it was time to go to the hospital.

When I got to the hospital, I was 1cm dilated and since I had NEVER been dilated before, I was very excited about that. The contractions became more regular and stronger so I decided to get an epidural... mostly because I was about to barf from the pain. Literally. But first I had to get the IV so they had a line. This was by far the worst part of the entire process. First I gave blood samples which went okay. Then the nurse tried to give me an IV. Trust me - I told them all about the horrible veins I have and nobody listened. She didn't get the vein. So they sent in Nurse #2 who failed and then Nurse #3 who blew out a vein in my hand. All the while I'm contracting so 4AM was sort of a low point that involved mild profanity. Nurse #4 got it in there. Once I got the epidural, I went to sleep.

Lee can remember more then I can, but I do know that I went from 3.5 cm at 9AM to 9 cm at 11:30. Around 12:20, they decided that I should try to push. If you read above what time she was born, you might be clued into why this was so easy for me. I pushed through the first contraction and she crowned so they told me to stop so they could call the doctor up (by the way - Darth Vader did not wind up delivering my baby and don't act like you're not secretly disappointed). As soon as the doctor came up, I pushed once and most of her head came out, pushed twice and the whole thing was out, pushed the third time and the rest of her popped out. So my total push time equaled about 45 seconds.

When she came out, she cried a little, but didn't fuss much as they cleaned her up. Lee was the first one to hold her while they worked on me and I really thought he'd never put her down. I finally got to hold her and these two huge eyes stared up at me. I knew she knew who I was and she also knew who Lee was because she would look over at him when he talked. I couldn't believe how alert she was. She also looked a little confused because I'm sure she had planned to spend the day swimming again. After we had some time with her, my mom and dad as well as Lee's mom came in to see her.

She's only been here 36 hours, but I can't believe how easy she has been. She's so agreeable. And she's beautiful. I can't believe how perfect she is. She's asleep in my lap right now. We get to take her home tomorrow and I'm very excited for her to see her new home. And for those of you who are interested in me, I'm fine. I have been walking around all day and think I'll be back to my old self in 2-3 weeks. I hope.

Here are some more pictures... there will be more to come!

Mother's Day 2007

You may have guessed - Ellie is not here yet. At least I know I'll be a mother next Mother's Day, and on the bright side, I know that Lee will be a dad for Father's Day. Again - it's just as well because I had some stuff I needed to finish at work on Monday, and I had a big meeting at Junior League last night I didn't want to miss. When I was born, I was six days late so maybe she's trying to beat my record. If she makes it till midnight, she'll do it. My next appointment is tomorrow and I'll have a Biophysical Profile (BPP) then. Based on that, we'll see if she can go another week. I'm interested to see how much they say she weighs. She's still kicking around in there, but I can tell room is pretty limited.

When I got home on Friday, the Baby Rock CD's we ordered had arrived. Now Ellie has Coldplay, U2, The Cure, and Bob Marley in her collection. I think this may be Lee's favorite thing in the nursery. We met our friends Mike and Shanon for dinner at Zushi Sushi and then came home and sat in Ellie's nursery and listened to some of our new CDs. That baby has the most comfortable nursery. Walking in there makes me want to go to sleep - which is the idea.

On Saturday, I went Katy's house for Lauren's baby shower. Lauren is having a little girl too so there was a ton of cute little girl things there. It was there that I met Buzzkill while standing in the buffet line.

BK: So when are you due?
Me: I was due on Wednesday so I'm 3 days overdue.
BK: OHMYGOD. Are you miserable? You must be miserable.
Me: No. I'm fine.
BK: Are you sure you're not miserable? Because you look miserable.
Me: Really - I'm fine.
BK: Wow. I don't know how you're holding it together because I'd be miserable.

Thank you for the pep talk, Buzzie. And rest assured, I will not call you if I ever need to be talked off a ledge.

We celebrated Mother's Day at our house with the Rogers and the Brights minus Elizabeth who had to work. I don't think people wanted me to cook, but I was voting on staying at our house because that way I wouldn't have to wear shoes. I never thought that developing Smurf-like feet would play a role in my decision to stay in or go out, but here I am. We had a good time and Lee gave me a nice gift - some pajamas to wear after the baby gets here. They're so comfy!

More news tomorrow!

Overdue

For the two of you who have not called or e-mailed me in the last 24 hours, I am still pregnant. It's just as well because I had a ton of work I had to wrap up this week. That's made the week go really quickly, so it's a blessing in disguise. I celebrated my due date by having my annual review on Wednesday. No pressure. Lee thinks that my work involvement is keeping me from going into labor, but if the threat of an annual review doesn't throw you into labor, I don't know what will. I've decided that if she doesn't come next week, my absolute last day of work will be May 18. I was really hoping that it would be today, but who knows.

On Thursday, I was in the elevator on the way up to my office with a lady I'd never seen before. She turned to me and said, "When are you due?" Without trying to look bitter, I smiled and said "yesterday". Based on the look on this woman's face, I figured out that people you don't know do not want to hear that they are suspended 12 floors above the earth in a tiny steel box with a woman who is past her due date. They would rather hear that you have head lice or the bird flu. At least they'd have a chance to recover from that. If the elevator gets stuck, delivering some random girl's baby is not on their "Top 100" list of things to do. So from now on, I'm going to tell people I'm due "next week" to avoid mass hysteria.

That's all the news I have. My Branch Davidian baby remains holed up in her uterine compound. Ellie, here's a piece of advice for you - come out. I have never been a part of a standoff, but based on what I see on TV, they never end well for the person standing off. Most of the time they involve tear gas and a SWAT team; however, in your case, it will involve Pitocin and a team of doctors. So do yourself a favor, listen to the hostage negotiator (your father) and walk out of there peacefully because if you don't, we will come get you. Love, Mom.

Groundhog Day

So I went to the doctor yesterday. I'm still the same as I was last week. They could induce if I was dilated at all, but I'm not. In order to decrease my odds of having a C-Section, I'm opting to wait as long as possible to induce, but there's a chance I'll still have to have one since she's right at 8 pounds or just over now. I go back next Wednesday for the doctor to do a big ultrasound to make sure she's still okay and to measure her. If she's not under any stress and I make it that long, I'll check into the hospital at 5pm on May 22 and deliver her on May 23 - that means she'll be 42 weeks. I'm going to make her get a summer job if she waits that long. Of course, all of this may not happen if I go into labor naturally, which could happen at any time. If I have her on May 23, I keep on picturing that SNL skit where Will Farrell is delivered and he comes out a giant man and says "WOW! I am RIPE!". Lee thinks this means she'll be tardy the rest of her life.

That is the baby update. I'm still working and I will until I go into labor or else I'll be sitting at home by myself burning vacation time. I am still working out. I didn't teach it, but I went to my step class last Tuesday and I'm going to go again tonight. I'm keeping it light. If something happens, I'll post on here before going to the hospital... so keep checking the blog for the latest news!

Other than that, I'm starting to enter that "holy crap, I'm having a baby" mode. I was watching videos on Babycenter this weekend and saw a video of a mother giving a baby a bottle. It suddenly occurred to me that I don't have bottles. Seriously - what mother doesn't have bottles? Well, that would be me. Then I started wondering "What else don't I have"?!! I thought we had the big stuff with the crib, car seat, and diapers, but if I'm forgetting bottles, what else am I forgetting? Ellie is going to arrive and freak out because she'll know I'm totally clueless. Babies are like dogs. They can smell fear. Anyway, I went out and bought bottles so now I have a boob backup.

I'm also going a little schitzo and hording food. "Preparing for a nuclear winter" sounds a bit extreme, but I know that's what everyone thought I was doing at the grocery store on Sunday. I don't think our pantry will fit any more food. Why I'm afraid of Lee going hungry, I don't know. I walked through the aisles dumping food into the cart like I'd never see a grocery store again. I seriously have enough food to cook about 15 different meals. I'm a little afraid I'll have to have the C-Section and then I won't be able to leave the house for 6 weeks or something crazy.

We also got a few more things for the nursery. Mom and dad brought over Ellie's toy chest and Lee assembled it. We needed a place for all of the toys and stuffed animals she's already acquired. We also bought a CD Player/Clock so she can listen to her music. My friend, Amanda, gave me a CD of lullabies that are set to Coldplay songs. Lee and I liked the music so much that we found the Baby Rock Records website and bought lullaby albums from The Cure, Bob Marley (Lee's picks) and U2 (my pick). We're hoping Ellie will learn the classics early.

Looks like I amy not be a mother for Mother's Day after all! Hope everyone has a good week!

CSI: Dallas

WOW WOW WOW. The final days before my maternity leave have not been without excitement because today, I am playing the part of James Stewart in Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller "Rear Window". I am so mad I don't have my camera with me right now because I just watched Dallas Police pull a dead body out of the extended stay motel behind my work. You read it right. Dead body. All morning, we watched the crime scene people taking pictures and there were three cop cars outside the room. I don't think it was anything too horrific because they had the door wide open, but we couldn't see anything. And then a few minutes ago, the pulled out the gurney and hauled him out of there covered with a blue tarp. I know it was a "him" because I called the motel as they were taking out the body. It went something like this:

Me: Hi - I work in the office behind your motel and I'm watching them remove a dead body from one of the rooms...
Man: Uh-huh.
Me: And I'm just wondering - what's going on down there?
Man: I'm not sure.
Me: Did you know there's a dead person out there?
Man: Yes.
Me: Is it a man or a woman?
Man: It's a man.
Me: Did you see him?!!
Man: No.
Me: Was it a murder?
Man: I'm not sure. They're investigating right now, but I don't think so.

POOR. That's a man for you, isn't it? I need more information. It couldn't have been that bad because right after they hauled him off, the cleaning lady went in there with her little cart. This is why I love my window seat.