Pregnancy Update: 40 Weeks!

Ok, so maybe I didn’t make it quite to 40 weeks…

Meet baby Elena, named after my maternal grandmother, or as Karl has affectionate nicknamed her, Ellie.

Baby Elena was born on March 5th, at 8:47am, 19.75” (50cm) long, and weighing what must have been around 7lbs.

She weighed 6lb 6oz in the delivery room and was up to 7lbs the next morning… No baby gains half a pound overnight after birth, they actually lose weight. So after testing with various scales that confirmed the 7lb weight, it was decided the one in the delivery room needed to be calibrated. Good thing I don’t really care much about this mistake – everything from my labor to my hospital stay went so well, that a faulty scale did not ruin my experience!

I left my Monday’s doctor appointment convinced I would be overdue.  The doctor and I discussed an induction date at 41 weeks, since I had had no progress from my previous appointment.  Got my membranes stripped for the third time, and surprisingly went into labor a few hours later.  It was the most excruciating pain of my life, I’m not going to lie.  (And I’ve had second degree burns on my leg that even got infected, so I do know actual pain.)  The only thing I can make sense of, is not that my pain threshold is that low, because it isn’t, but that bodies react different to labor (just as they do to pregnancy), and some people just have more painful contractions than others. 

Anyway, full birth story (because I do want to remember the story for prosperity) to come. 

Here is the last pregnancy picture I took, in between contractions, shortly before heading to the hospital – and if there is ever a fake smile, that one is it.  I have to admit that I did fake it well…

It was love at first sight, and since then we’ve spent our days snuggling with her.  Finally came home from the hospital yesterday and enjoyed a quiet day at home today.

But who cares about all these details right?  There are cute baby pictures to share!  (My friends on facebook are probably tired of all of it!  Yes, I’ve become that mom.  OMG, I’m a mom!!!  It still feels surreal!)

Right after getting cleaned up, she was already pouting!

Karl’s first picture with baby – she looked like a little sumo wrestler when she was born!

Looking very much like her daddy in this picture!

I can’t believe how different she already looks from these first few pictures!

Always passing out on mommy!

Adorable baby feet!  (Thanks to my friend Zizi for the picture!)

Karl is totally devoted.  It’s adorable!

After two days in bed, finally got back up on my two feet!

After debating two names (Alessandra and Catarina) for months, we finally settled on a completely different name…  We both had been leaning towards Alessandra (baby Allie), after my late grandfather (who was Alexandre), and also the name I almost had – my dad changed his mind the night before I was born. But she just didn’t feel like an Alessandra…  She was “baby” for the first 2 days of life, and if it wasn’t for the birth certificate deadline, she would still be baby now.  We announced that we finally made a decision using this picture:

Such kissable cheeks!

Proud daddy!

Trying to get a shot of her eye.  Still a mystery if they’ll lighten to blue, or darken to brown like mine (please let them not be brown!).

Ellie’s first flowers, thanks to my friend Michelle.  We had a lot of visitors in the hospital, just as I had predicted, I’m one of those people who actually wanted interaction with friends afterwards!  Being cooped up in a room was driving me nuts, so the visitors were a nice break!

I thought it was adorable how she crossed her arms under her little face!

First day home, after a well deserved shower.  Lily making it clear she’s a tad bit jealous!  Since then she’s been staying the hell away from baby, she’s a bit hesitant/scared, but hoping she’ll warm up soon like the big sister she is!  Lucas is also hesitant about the new addition, his pupils dilate like crazy when he approaches us!

Naked baby!

Front view of me 4 days postpartum and still super sleep deprived (I had so much adrenaline, couldn’t sleep in the hospital at all!).

To help Lily warm up to baby, we both joined her and Karl for a walk this afternoon, and I got to try my sling for the first time!  Still getting the hang of it, but I’ll be using it quite a bit, I can tell!

I’ll share my birth story in the next post, for those of you who want all the TMI details…