Elena Rose's First Christmas

Christmas was so nice with Elena Rose! It was very different, all about her, which was nice. She got to spend Christmas Eve with Jorge's side of the family, while we all ate Guatemalan tamales. Then Christmas day we drove up to Santa Maria after opening her first gifts at home. She got to visit with my parents, siblings, neices, and grandma. It was a good Christmas.

Hats

I had to do this post because Elena Rose is so cute in her hats!

She's almost 5 months!

Elena Rose is growing so fast! It's hard to believe that she is almost 5 months old now. I can't imagine having her crawling all around. Right now she's more tolerant of tummy-time, and is getting better at pushing up on her arms. She's so interested in everything going on around her, and makes a lot of eye contact with Jorge and me. The cutest thing is watching her learn new skills. She learns how to make new sounds every once in a while, and makes so many facial expressions. She sleeps in her crib for most of the night, and then I usually keep her in bed with us after she wakes up early in the morning. When we wake up with her in the mornings she is content hanging out in bed and plays, and usually falls back asleep. At her doctor's appt we found out that she is now above average in both length and weight; before she was below average in length, but above it in weight! She is a heavy one, over 16 pounds, which can sometimes make it difficult, but she's not really fussy anymore so it's more manageable. Overall, life is really good! Here are some more recent pictures.

Baby Dedication

Elena Rose was part of the Baby Dedication at church on December 5th. She was adorable in the dress my grandma made for her. We recited some lines, along with the pastor and other church members. Here are some pictures from it.

First Halloween!

Today was Elena Rose's first Halloween. We enjoyed it more than she did, she had no idea what was going on. But she was still adorable!

Catching up

I have been falling way behind on my posts because I have been so busy taking care of Elena Rose. She is doing well, growing so fast! She smiles all the time, started laughing just 2 days ago, and puts her hands together now. Her neck is getting really strong, and she loves to be held sitting up so she can look all around. And she loves her bathtime! These are photos to show how she's grown.

Update!

It's been a little while since I posted. Elena Rose is doing very well, growing quickly! She's becoming more easygoing and less fussy. The cutest thing is when she coos; she doesn't do it all the time yet, I can't wait until she does! She's also showing hints of smiles, which I love. We're just trying to enjoy her as much as we can right now. Here are some current pictures, she's getting so big!

Elena Rose's First 3 Weeks

Elena Rose is now 3 and a half weeks old! In the first 3 weeks of her life she gained almost 2 pounds! Needless to say, I am feeding her all the time! Overall she is doing very well, and Jorge and I have been adjusting to having a little one. The hardest part is getting up so many times during the night (she wakes up to eat every 2 to 3 hours), especially the times she is really fussy and does not want to go back to sleep. I'm lucky to have a husband who helps out so much; every time I feed her during the night he gets up to change her diaper, and then he helps me put her back to sleep, which is sometimes a challenge. She has changed so much in the last few weeks, she doesn't even look the same. And I can tell that she is filling out every day. She is now starting to focus on things with her eyes, and to look at our faces. I'm still looking forward to seeing her first real smile, and to interacting with her more when she is more alert and social.

Bath time!

Elena Rose lost her umbilical cord when she was only 8 days old! Everything happens so fast. So, she was able to have her first real bath. She wasn't the biggest fan of it, but did pretty well once she started sucking on Jorge's finger.

Elena Rose is here!

Talk about an emotional roller coaster! At my 38 week check-up, my doctor said I was 3 cm dilated and that I would probably go into labor any time. So I was walking . . . and walking . . . and walking . . . and I was very excited. I worked my butt off at work just in case I went into labor before my scheduled last day. I went to the hospital 5 days later because I thought my amniotic fluid was leaking (it was a false alarm), and at that time I was having regular contractions that I couldn't feel, and they kept me there for a while to see if my dilation would increase (it didn't). A few days later I went to the doctor for my 39 week checkup, and as the doctor was checking my dilation I could tell that something was off. He requested the ultrasound machine, and then proceeded to show me the baby's head, which was right under my sternum. She was in a breech position, and my amniotic fluid was low; I had to deliver that day, the 15th, by Cesarean section. I was sooooo disappointed! I really wanted to deliver naturally, and I read up on so much baby stuff and skipped ALL the c-section parts because I was convinced that I would not be having one! I called Jorge and I was very emotional, but at the same time I was concerned about the baby and wanted her to be safe in my arms. So I had to check in to the hospital a few hours later for the surgery. It ended up getting pushed back several hours, because someone who had a c-section scheduled went into labor, and then the AC in the operating room broke, so we had to wait until that was fixed for me to go in. Finally, around 7:30 pm they took me in. The surgery was not fun; I felt like I was being pulled apart in different directions. Jorge was next to me, trying his best to distract me. Then the doctor said "Here comes the baby!" and Jorge stood up to see her being pulled out. I heard her cry a second later, and I burst into tears. I cried and looked for her, which was very difficult because my arms were strapped down. I saw her in the plastic crib and watched them wipe her down. Then they brought her to me to love on, talk to, and kiss. It was unlike anything else. I kissed her and kissed her. Then they took her away, and Jorge went with her, while I was put back together, stitched up, and taken to a recover room for an hour. That was the worst part. I did not want to be separated from her at all. And breastfeeding is really important to me, and I know how much of a difference it makes when you are able to breastfeed your baby in the first hour of life. But then they took me to see her. Jorge had her in his arms. I held her skin-to-skin for the rest of the night, kissing her, talking to her, and enjoying finally having my baby in my arms. And her name, as planned all along, is Elena Rose. She was 6 lbs, 7 oz, a tiny little thing. Needless to say, I love her with all my heart, she is precious! She was with either myself or Jorge for our entire hospital stay. Now that we're back home, I'm just trying to enjoy every minute. She sleeps a lot, and eats a lot. And she has a lot of dirty diapers. Breastfeeding is going well for her, I'm sore but we're pushing through! Even though she sleeps through most of the day, I just enjoy looking at her, I can't believe she's mine! Here are some pictures, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

The Nursery

Yes, we have been nesting! People are curious about the nursery, so here are some up-to-date pictures. We still have a couple shelves and frames to put up, and of course, the frames will have pictures of the baby once she arrives.

4th of July

So the for the 4th Jorge BBQ-ed, Santa Maria style. It was goooooood. Here's a few pics, mostly of the dogs. As you can see, Charlie isn't a puppy anymore, he's as big as Ginger!