7 Weeks

I threw a headband on her when her & Daddy were sleeping!

A stranger says to me, " You got the next linebacker there!" I quickly corrected him and said, "You mean cheerleader :)"
Our family photo by Kelsey SteindlerMy little baby is growing up so fast! The past week has been absolutely nuts. My mom & I took Ella to to the doctor and she is already 12lbs 10oz which explains why she needed to upgrade to Stage 2 diapers. My doctor was at a conference so we got a "substitute doctor" who informed me that I should decrease the amount of ounces per feeding. He also asked me if I was a teen mom which horrified my mother. I get that I'm not wearing my wedding ring but I had to get it sawed off in the ER because my finger swelled up like crazy the second I tried to squeeze it on. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper when we left. When I spoke to my pediatrician she said that Ella is gaining weight appropriately and to keep everything exactly how it is, phew :)

Our schedule is getting much more predictable. She continues to feed every 2.5-3 hours and is hardly spitting up at all. We switched bottles because her suck is super powerful and inverted the nipples causing the milk to go everywhere. Now we are good to go. Nights are not bad at all. I'm fortunate to have a husband who enjoys participating in the AM feedings (especially since he hardly sees her during the day). It has actually become their bonding time (he feeds, I pump). We put her down now around 9:30pm and, if we feed her right before bed, she won't wake up until 3am-ish. Luke and I have been trying to get up at 6:30am so we have an hour together to chat and catch up before Ella is awake for good. Our favorite thing is to go into her room in the morning and look at her in her crib. She gazes up at us and we say together "good morning" in super high voices. Without hesitation, she gets this huge gummy grin from ear to ear and it makes our entire day! The smiles are constant and I just can't get enough. The one benefit to her crazy poops is that she LOVES the changing table and smiles as if she's saying "thank you for changing my diaper".

We have had numerous photo shoots which have been SO much fun! We won a free photo shoot from Mac 'N Madi and it was awesome! The same photographer (ingrace) had Ella & Julian (Lindsay's 10 month old) model for the store (she is definitely her father's daughter :), hence my favorite photo ever on the surfboard. Then Katie's BF, Kelsey Steindler, took some family photos for us which are just to die for. We are so lucky!