Ellie Beth Farrell

Baby Ellie is here! She was born June 8 at 7:50 am. She weighed 6 lbs 4 oz and was 18 1/2 inches long and is a beautiful little girl! We are all in love with this little one and are so happy she is finally here. Here are some pictures and the birth story.

 The PROUD big sister.

 

 

Emma insisted that she needed to show Ellie all of her bibs and burp cloths.  :)

 

She met Grandma Farrell, Aunt Jenny, and Aunt Michelle today

This has been quite the week! We have been on a constant roller coaster of emotions and so many things have happened. I'm having a hard time even knowing where to begin. The short of it is that at the same time I was in the hospital having the baby, Matthew was in a different hospital with pneumonia. It all happened so fast and all at the same time. So, I'm going to start with the birth and then Matthew will get his own post. We are all home, all doing good, and adjusting to our new life.

Monday and Tuesday I hadn't been feeling the baby move very much. I called the doctor and they wanted me to come in Tuesday morning to be monitored. Tuesday morning was also Emma's preschool graduation (pictures and a post to come....it was really cute!). Jon's mom was coming out for it, so we figured we would go to the hospital to be monitored right after the graduation so we could have her stay with the kids. So, after the graduation we said good bye (hoping I would be induced while we were there) and headed to the hospital.

What should have been just an hour of monitoring turned into a 6 hour stay. They monitored the baby and everything looked fine with the exception of occasional low heart rate and activity level. After an ultrasound and consultation with the doctor, they decided to go ahead and give me Cytotec, which softens the cervix and hopefully starts labor. I was admitted and given my first dose of Cytotec at 6:15 pm. The plan was to give me 3 doses four hours apart and then if nothing was happening they would give me Pitocin, which I really wanted to avoid.

At this point, I was just having small contractions...about the same as I had been having for the previous couple of weeks. After the first 4 hours, I got my second dose and started praying harder that something would start happening. We tried to settle in and get some sleep but it was hard! After the second dose, nothing really changed. I could feel the contractions getting a little stronger but they definitely weren't painful. At this point I was still only dilated to a 1.5, which is where I was when I went to the hospital. It was a little discouraging!

I was given my 3rd dose of Cytotec at 2:30 am. Pretty soon after that the contractions started getting more intense. I was planning on giving birth naturally this time (I had bad epidural experiences with the other two kids and really wanted to try it without) and after talking to several friends, I decided to try using the breathing and relaxation techniques used in hypnobirthing. So, it was at this point that I needed to start focusing on my breathing and relaxing during contractions. For the next 3 hours I alternated between walking and swaying, and laying down with a heating pad on my lower back. Once I found my rhythm and got more comfortable with the contractions and working through them, I was able to get some good sleep,which I was really grateful for!

At 5:45 am, contractions were starting to come about 3 minutes apart. The nurse checked me and I was still only dilated to a 3 and 80% effaced. I was hoping all those hours of contractions had been doing something significant, so it was a little disappointing. During the next hour, contractions continued to get more intense, so they didn't end up giving me the Pitocin. I started walking a lot more and swaying during contractions and it still wasn't too bad. I figured if it was still this easy, that it would be several more hours before the baby was born.

Contractions kept getting closer and I started to get really uncomfortable. I started trying to find other comfortable positions during contractions when I realized I was experiencing all the signs of being in transition. So, I knew I was really really close, but I definitely hit my wall. I tried to stay focused and relaxed but it had all hit so suddenly that I lost it. The urge to push was SO strong. I was shaking and pushing and making a lot of noise. It freaked Jon out, and he tried to get a nurse in but nobody was responding. He ran out in the hall and was able to get someone. Everything at this point was a big blur. All of a sudden there were several nurses in there and they were yelling to get a doctor in there because the baby was coming. One of them told me to stop pushing and to focus on my breathing. All of a sudden something clicked and I completely relaxed. I could feel the baby's head and knew she had crowned. The nurse told me to push when I felt ready (we were still waiting on a doctor). I breathed down once (with hypnobirthing you breathe the baby out instead of pushing) and her head came out. I breathed down again and felt the rest of her slip out. It was really an amazing feeling. They gave me the baby, and then pretty soon after cut the cord and delivered the placenta. A few minutes later a doctor finally got there. :) I had a small tear, so she got me stitched up while the nurses weighed and measured Ellie and got her wrapped up. I was still trying to wrap my mind around everything that had just happened. I had gone from being a 3 to having a baby in 2 hours, and from transition to her being born was only about 10 minutes. It was fast!

This birth experience was by far my favorite out of my three. It was definitely easier than I had anticipated (not painless, but not as painful as I had expected). I felt so much more in control of everything and liked being aware of everything and active throughout the process. It was a very fulfilling experience. I was up and walking about 15 minutes after Ellie was born, which I loved. The nurses were all really impressed with how easily I gave birth (there were at least 4 or 5 there when she was born). They said they had never seen such a quiet birth. And they couldn't believe how fast I was up and moving around. This has also been my easiest recovery by far. I feel really good, even the stitches don't hurt (which with the last two was the worst part of recovery for me). The doctor who discharged me kept trying to give me prescriptions for different pain meds and I just kept telling him I hadn't taken any yet, so I was pretty sure I wouldn't need them. He was REALLY annoyed and was sure that I would regret it....which I don't.  :)

Anyway, we are so happy to have Ellie here. She is such a sweet, mellow baby. The kids absolutely love having a baby in the house and want to do everything for her and with her. Matthew has been a little frustrated because he has to stay away from her because of his pneumonia. He wants to hold her and kiss her so bad and it has been hard to tell him no. Soon enough! We are grateful to have this sweet little spirit in our home and are grateful for all the thoughts, prayers, and help from so many people.

A Little About Emma

I have decided that the biggest difference between Emma and Matthew is that Emma started out as a really intense baby and has gotten easier as she has gotten older. Matthew started out as a super easy baby and has just gotten more intense as he's gotten older. But we love them both just the same.  :)

Emma is growing up so fast. I can't believe she'll be 5 in a few weeks! She has been so excited about starting Kindergarten, until this week. With only 2 more days left of preschool, she's starting to realize that this is the end of life as she knows it. All of her preschool friends will be at different schools and she is really going to miss them. We've been talking about how exciting it will be to get to make new friends at her new school, but I think it will still be hard. They are such a close group.

 
Emma is really discovering emotions right now. And she can be really dramatic about it! She gets weepy a lot. All of a sudden she misses her grandma or her friend, Andrew or she'll be sad that someone wasn't at preschool or that the fish died. And then she just sits there making herself sob. She usually finishes by saying that a piece of candy or marshmallow is the only thing that help her feel happy.  Ha... :) She can also be really sweet and loves to tell us all that she loves us. She loves giving (and getting) hugs and kisses.

It has been fun to see Emma's artistic abilities continue to develop. She loves drawing animals and our family. I love to see the little details she adds to things. She is definitely a much better artist than me!

 These first two pictures are dinosaurs.

She later added a heart to this one. So cute!

 And this is our family. She drew herself first and me second (we're the two big ones). She even included a "bubble of water that the baby lives in" and drew a little stick figure in there. I wish you could see it better...it's adorable. I also love our spider eyelashes.  :)  By the time she got to Jon and Matthew she had run out of room, so they are quite a bit smaller.  :)

On Memorial Day we took the kids to Golden Gate National Cemetery, a huge veterans cemetery. Emma was fascinated by the size and all the graves. We explained to her why we celebrate Memorial Day and I think she actually understood. I think I often forget what she's capable of understanding and learning. She is a sponge!

Emma LOVES being outside. She and Matthew usually spend most of the day playing in the backyard making up games, digging for treasure, and looking for bugs. Her favorites are roly polies. She says they all love her and are her friends.

 Emma also loves her stuffed animals, which she calls her pets. This puppy and bear (which she insists is a cat) have been her favorites for awhile. And don't you just love her outfit? She's got quite the sense of style.

 We love this girl!

40 Weeks

 40 weeks....still here, still pregnant. This is the first time I have made it to my due date. I much prefer having the baby already when my due date rolls around!

I went to the doctor this morning. I'm "a loose one", close to 2 cm. I'm not surprised, since I'm never dilated early. It all just happens fast when the baby's ready to come. At the appointment, the doctor said that if the baby hasn't come by Thursday they will give me Cytotec. So, I'm just curious...does anyone have any experience with it? I'm a little hesitant to take it, but it would be nice to know this baby will be here by Thursday.

Jon stayed home today....he's been really anxious about this baby coming- mostly just the not knowing when, etc, and hasn't been sleeping the last few nights. So, he decided to just take the day off and get some R&R. So, after the doctor appointment we took the kids to the park....and took the opportunity to snap a 40 week picture. See the "I'm so done" look on my face? Yeah, I'm pretty much done.  :)

 

After the park I took Emma on a mommy daughter date to get pedicures....what better way to spend your due date than being pampered? This was Emma's first time going to a nail salon. They just painted her nails and then painted flowers on her thumbs and big toes. She was LOVING it. She was grinning ear to ear the whole time and kept staring down at her toes and batting her eyelashes as she giggled. Every once in awhile she would look over and say, "Oh Mom, I just LOVE this place. We should definitely come back here again!" It was fun to spend time with her, be pampered, and leave feeling fancy.

 Later Emma went grocery shopping with me and then Jon took Matthew on a little father son date. They went to a Burger King by our house that has this play helicopter.

 

He LOVED it!

 While we're all anxious to have baby Ellie come (Emma asked about 1000 times today why Ellie hadn't come yet), it was SO nice to have today, to spend one on one time with each of the kids, to hold onto this phase of our lives a little bit longer.

My Crazy Boy

Turning 3 has done something to Matthew. When Emma was younger, several people told me that it wasn't the twos that were terrible. It was the threes that were really terrible. And while I can't say they're really terrible, I have to say he is really giving us a run for our money these days. His personality has just exploded. He is discovering independence like never before and is starting to have an opinion about everything. He loves to be funny and get reactions from people. And at the same time, he is still our sweet little snuggler.

Matthew decided right before his birthday to potty train. I was so excited at first. But it has been dragging on and on and on. He'll have a really good day or two and I start to get up hope that he's really making progress. And then he'll have a really bad day...where he just decides that he's not going to go in the toilet and there's nothing we can say or do to make him change his mind. In the end though, I do think he has come far. He is more and more willing to wear his underwear and try to make it to the toilet. He has been out of diapers (except at night) for almost a month now, and I am LOVING it. Even if it means I clean up a few accidents...it's totally worth it. I'm just hoping things click completely and we can move on soon!

This little boy constantly has bruises, bumps, and cuts....usually on his head. This one was from trying to climb on a stool all by himself. He fell and bonked his head on the table on the way down. This was about a week after it happened and it looks a lot better than it did in the beginning.

I just don't know what to say about this one...blackmail? He really does like bows. And he wanted to wear all of these to church. I think he just sees Emma with them and feels left out. 

Thankfully, he also loves bugs.  :)  And rough housing, and cars and trains, and all of that little boy stuff. I think he'll turn out okay.  :)

Matthew is a collector...possibly on the verge of being a hoarder. All day he walks around with a bucket, basket, stroller, or other container filled with toys and other random objects. He knows EXACTLY what is in his container and notices right away if something is missing. Every night he gathers a collection of stuff to take to bed, so we always have to go in after he falls asleep to clear his bed of toys. 

I love this face! And Matthew loves having his picture taken. He will often come up and tell me to smile him or cheese him. And then he has to look at all of his pictures.

I had to throw the monkey picture in. This hideous monkey. It's his favorite stuffed animal right now. We went to Red Robin one night, and a little boy had just won it from the claw machine. He was super embarrassed about it (and disappointed!) so he gave it to Emma. The best part about this monkey- on his stomach it says "I love banana". Somebody didn't check their spelling...

The toys are all accounted for and tucked safely in their bucket. Good night!

We got to meet Po at Dreamworks when they were celebrating the opening of Kung Fu Panda 2. Emma was too shy to meet him, but Matthew couldn't wait to say hi. I think he got a little overwhelmed when he got close and realized just how big he was...haha!

And this....yes, this is Matthew asleep in an infant car seat. Matthew LOVES pretending to be a baby these days. He loves to lay on the floor with baby toys and talk in baby talk. He loves laying in the baby's crib, sitting in the baby's bouncy seat, and riding in the baby's car seat. It was kind of funny at first, but now I'm a little worried.  :)  We let him ride in it once....he begged and begged and was already sitting in it anyway. I figured after a few minutes he would hate being backwards and laying down and wouldn't want to sit in it again. I was wrong. The funny thing is that he is still within the height and weight limits. It holds up to 30 lbs and he is 24 lbs. Anyway, hoping he outgrows this phase really soon!

 

I thought this was so sweet. I love that these two are friends. I love that they enjoy being with and playing with each other. Yes, they do their fair share of fighting, but for the most part they have a really sweet relationship. Makes me happy.

 

39 Weeks

 39 weeks now...and feeling VERY ready for this baby to come. The waiting and not knowing are killing me! Otherwise I'm doing pretty good. Just a little tired....I really can't complain. I'm just so anxious to meet this little girl! And I'm curious to see what she looks like, and how much she weighs, and how labor goes this time, and all those other unknowns. Soon enough!

 Here is my attempt at a self portrait for this week. Hopefully I can get one more real picture before she comes. I don't think I'm really this small. The t-shirt hides the baby well.  :)  Though I really don't feel huge. It was this way with Emma too. Most strangers who ask how far along I am are surprised and tell me they thought I was maybe 6 or 7 months along. I guess it's not a bad problem to have.  :)

And for those who have asked, here are pictures of the mostly completed nursery. This is looking in from the hall. I made the curtains and the throw pillow on the glider. I also recovered the glider (a huge thank you to my friend Sarah for her inspiration and instructions!- I never would have attempted it otherwise). 

I'm hoping to hang her name on the wall above the crib. And really, all of the walls need pictures...it's a work in progress. I made a crib skirt, but you can't really see it. For those who are curious, I ended up doing brown with stripes on the bottom. It turned out pretty good, though I can't say I'm in love with it. Oh well...it does the job!

And the last wall...the door to the left goes to the hall. That corner on the right has become our junk pile....it's all going soon!

And that's that. Hopefully we'll have baby pictures soon!

Major Dad Points

I enjoy reading what Sarah writes on this blog so much that most of the time I have kept my own comments and posts out. Sarah does such a better job describing things with the sensibility that only a mother can truly exude. Recently however in my quest to be a better dad I have started up my own blog. The title "Major Dad Points" reflects the blog's goal, to record instances of good dadship. Let's face it, being a dad is not easy (though I'd wager it's easier than being a mom). Dad's try their best to balance the pressures of work, home, hobbies, and the like but we often come up short. The quest is therefore being a weekend warrior, seeking to earn dad points with our kids. I, not unlike most dad's out there, want to be the coolest dad ever. And so my blog is somewhat of a personal check for me to make sure I'm consistently trying to spend my time where it is needed the most. I have decided to leave my posting un-censored and raw so that my bare thoughts are there for all to see. This isn't so that you can laugh at my terribly corny writing or feeble attempts at blogging. It is however an honest journal of my attempts to earn major dad points with my kids and share those attempts with any who care to read. So without further hesitation I present to you: Major Dad Points

-Jon

Babytastic

Tonight we were talking with the kids about the baby coming, what to expect, etc. We told them that someone was going to come live at our house soon. That caught their attention. We told them that this person was living in heaven but that soon they were going to come be with our family. Emma was completely baffled. We finally told her that it was Baby Ellie. She got a huge smile on her face, patted Matthew's cheeks, and said, "Oh Buddy, did you hear that? It's babytastic!"