Grammee and Grandad's Visit

Today Grammee and Grandad got to hold Eliana for the first time. They came out from Roundup for the better part of today to spend time with their first grandchild. It was fun to see them interact with her - and she was just as mellow as could be. They came up to the hospital when she was born, but today was the first time they got to spend any significant time with her. Because they live just 3 hours away I'm sure there will be much more Ellie time in their future, but today was a beautiful start.

Eliana lifting her head

A short video of Eliana lifting her head at 5 days. Daddy likes to give her "neck exercise time" - she's a pretty strong little girl and stubborn, too. =)

Eliana Smiling

Eliana at 6 days old smiling with Mommom during Boppy time.

The Sweetest Thing...

Girls' Day Out

Since Leif was at work and my dad went to Idaho, Mom, Ellie, and I decided to go out to lunch and then shopping today. Most of the clothes that fit Ellie right now are onesies and are either white, green, or yellow. This leaves most people asking, "Boy or girl?" It's very sad. So we decided Ellie needed some distinctly girl clothes and headed to Old Navy. She got a dress, a pink onesie, a blue flowered shirt (that doubles as a dress until she's a little bigger...) and some jeans to go with the shirt when she's a little bigger. She's still pretty tiny, so most stuff is big on her still, but she can wear these outfits out, at least, and people won't keep inquiring after her gender. And, of course, once we came home with the new clothes, we had to put her in them and take pictures. =) It's amazing, really - Ellie seems to have learned the sound of the camera turning on and when she hears it she becomes alert and starts putting on a show. It might just be in my head, but I don't think so. She's a performer already. Here are some of the pictures of her in her new outfits...

The follow up visit

Well, we went back to the Dr. today for Eliana's follow-up visit. She was weighed again and now weighs 6 lbs 13 oz - she's past her birth weight! She gained 2 oz in 3 days, so I was encouraged by that. You always wonder if your kid is getting enough nourishment. Apparently, she is. Today she didn't scream, cry, or even flinch when she was weighed. No fussing until the Dr. came in. That's an improvement over Monday's visit. She's got a clean bill of health and we go back in 2 months for the first round of immunizations.

Hopelessly Smitten...

The Diaper Review

Well, we're almost a week into using cloth diapers and it's going great so far. The regular prefolds are still just a tad big, but they do in a pinch when we're out of the fitted diapers. We've been using Kissaluvs size 0 for newborns and they are GREAT. They snap on like a disposeable (well, they snap instead of having little velcro tabs, but you know what I mean...), so they're super easy to put on. Even my mom said they were easy enough for her to use. They have numerous size settings, too, so she should be able to wear them until she's about 15 lbs. They're VERY absorbent (which means it's a BAD idea to try to rinse them out in the potty if they're messy like you would with regular prefolds... they just sop up all the water and then you have to ring out a very messy, very soggy diaper... I'll only make that mistake once.) and Ellie seems very comfortable in them. We've also started using flushable diaper liners from Imse Vimse and they are the most wonderful thing! They just line the inside of the diaper and catch all the messy stuff so you can pull the liner out, poo and all, and flush it down the potty. Makes washing the diapers a little nicer on your washing machine and makes dealing with messy diapers that much easier.

So far, So good...

Piles o' Smiles

Ellie is a week old today and she is just full of smiles. She is such a pleasant baby to have. She cries very little and will go to sleep by herself if we put her down while she is awake. She wakes up twice during the night, though last night we put her down at 10:30 and she woke up at 1:30 and then didn't wake up again until 5:30. By that time it was already light out here, so it really felt like she only got us up once during the night. Mind you, I did go back to sleep after the 5:30 feeding, until she woke up again at 8:30. All in all she is following her schedule very well, smiling, happy, and interactive while she is awake, and adorably precious while she sleeps. It's wonderful.

First Stroller Ride

Sunday evening the family went for a walk with Ellie in her stroller for the first time. We just went (in a kind of round about way to avoid direct sunlight) a few blocks to the mailbox and back, but it was nice to get out and for a walk.

What a night ... What a day!

Wow... so last night (that is, Sunday night) Ellie went to bed about 10:00. She woke up for a feeding at 1:00 and 4:00, both of which lasted about 30 min. and she went right back to sleep. Then I was going to wake her up at 7:00, but decided just to wait and see when she would wake up on her own. About 5 minutes to 8 she opened her eyes and just kind of looked around for a while, happy as could be. No fussing, no crying, no nothing. I picked her up and carried her around for a while, fed her, changed her diaper... still happy as could be. She's just been perfect and content all day. She was a little fussy at the doctor, but then we went to run errands and she slept the ENTIRE time! I was skeptical about trying to go grocery shopping with her, but because she slept it made things SO smooth! We came home and she sat with Mommom and just smiled and smiled. It was so precious.

Thank you, Lord, for my happy baby today.

Eliana's First Doctor Appointment

Eliana had her first trip to see Dr. Benda. It was a well-baby 5 day check up. She most certainly didn't like being stripped naked to be put in the scale and examined, but the appointment went well. She only lost an ounce from her birthweight, which is great. Her umbilical stump fell off this morning, which is earlier than they say it is supposed to, but the doctor said her belly button looks good and that it's healing nicely. He also said it's unusual for babies to be on a schedule (this was day 3) this early and that it was great. So... we're happy about the appointment. We go back in a couple days to have her weighed again to make sure she passes that birthweight mark, but as she only had an ounce to go, the Dr. said she'd probably be up to that as early as tomorrow.

Thank you, Lord, for a baby who is healthy.

What's in a Name?

Eliana
Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: God has answered
Chosen: Mostly because we liked how it sounded and we liked the meaning. It can be shortened to Ellie.

Leiveka
Origin: Scandinavian
Meaning: Beloved
Chosen: It's the feminine form of Leif. Leif's middle name is Wendal, after his mom, Wenda. We decided to carry on the tradition by giving Eliana a middle name after her father.

Sleepless Nights 101

Well, we've survived the first two sleepless nights. And really, they weren't too bad. The first night was a bit of a challenge - Eliana didn't want to sleep in her cradle. But last night was soooo much better. We started her on the babywise eat-wake-sleep schedule yesterday and she took to it right away, even waking up for feedings right on schedule. Mommy even woke up relatively rested today, though Daddy was nice enough to take Ellie so I could get another couple hours of sleep. Now everyone is at church and Ellie is sleeping, so the house is pretty quiet. I've got a couple loads of laundry in the washer and dryer and am showered, dressed, and even have jewelry and makeup on. Not too bad for my first time home by myself with the baby. =)

Last night Leif and I got to go on a date, too, which was fun. My parents kept the baby and Leif and I went to Dairy Queen for blizzards. My mom says that new moms need to get out of the house on the 3rd day. I have to say, it was pretty nice and great advice from my mom. She's a pretty smart lady.

Well, I don't know what the plan for today is, but there are some things we need to get from town, so it may be Eliana's first outing day. It's been in the upper 90's here, which is not only unusual, but pretty uncomfortable, too. Even at night it hasn't been cooling down much, which makes it difficult to cool the house down when you don't have A/C. Even the basement isn't considerably cooler these days.

Well, the family is home from church - I'm off!

Some favorite pictures

Ellie's not even a full 3 days old yet and we've already taken over 350 pictures of her. So... here are some of my favorites.

Announcing....

Eliana Leiveka Wickland
July 19, 2006
4:37 pm
6 lbs 12 oz
20.5 in

A Room with a View

Well, I don't know about the view, but I've been told that so long as I'm okay with a delivery room that doesn't have a jacuzzi, there's a place for me now. Hmmm... jacuzzi, baby, jacuzzi, baby... I'll take the baby. =)

Maybe, Baby...

It seems the hoppin' place to be is Labor and Delivery at Bozeman Deaconess today. Which means that it's 1:00 in the afternoon and there's been no room in the inn. Too many babies being born and not one of them is mine yet. They're still planning on inducing today, but it's been a day of calling every couple of hours and having all of the delivery rooms still occupied. So... I figured I'd update all of you who are praying diligently for me while I'm in labor (or not!). I will try to take a minute before we head out the door to let everyone know when they call to say it's my turn. This wasn't what I was planning when I predicted tomorrow as the delivery date. Ah, well, sooner or later we will have a baby and I guess that's what really counts.

The thinning list...

Predictions (Red predictions are past)
July 15 - Angie
July 16 - Charlotte, Tam, and Michael
July 17 - Kathy (Elizabeth's Mom) and Nicole
July 18 - Leif and Aunt Nora
July 19 - Elizabeth

We'll see what today brings. It's a beautiful, sunshiny morning and the perfect day to have a baby, if you ask me. =)

They say that no news...

... is good news. Whoever said that has never been pregnant and overdue. Yep, we've got no news. Sorry all you weekend predictors.

Predictions (Red predictions are past)
July 15 - Angie
July 16 - Charlotte, Tam, and Michael
July 17 - Kathy (Elizabeth's Mom) and Nicole
July 18 - Leif and Aunt Nora
July 19 - Elizabeth