Ellie's First Three Weeks

It has been almost 3 weeks since we welcomed little Ellie into our family, and a busy 3 weeks it has been! Jeremy picked Ellie and me up from the hospital on Sunday afternoon. My sister and my dad were here helping with Olivia. Olivia was so interested in the baby, and it was a lot of fun to see her interacting with Ellie.

Late that night my grandmother, who lives in California, passed away. She had been ill and in deteriorating health for quite some time. It was sad to loose her, but it was also a relief, as well, as she had been so sick for so long. We know that she is in a better place now, and much happier, and it was comforting to know that she knew that I had had my baby and was excited for me.


On Tuesday I had to bring Ellie into the pediatrician's office to get her bilirubin level (and indication of jaundice) checked, because it was just slightly elevated in the hospital. Her bilirubin level had increased quite significantly since she had come home, and she was pretty yellow looking. We had to put her under phototherapy lights that were delivered to our house. The experience was much more difficult on Jeremy and me than on Ellie. She had to be naked (except for a diaper), under the lights for as long as possible. The only time she could come out was for feeding and diaper changes. Additionally, someone had to be awake and in the room with her at all times to monitor her. Because she was naked, we had to constantly take her temperature to make sure that she wasn't too hot or too cold. Because of this, we also had to adjust the temperature in the room. It was so hot - it felt like a sauna. Because the lights were so bright, we had to keep her eyes covered, as well. It was difficult as a mother to see you newborn looking so fragile and exposed sitting under the lights, and know that you can't even hold her.

Olivia was so interested in the baby. She wanted to be in the room with the baby all the time, and always asked about her. We brought Ellie back into the doctor's office on Wednesday to see if she had made any progress breaking down the bilirubin in her body. While the blood test was being run, the doctor told me that she looked better, but he doubted that her levels would be low enough for us to stop therapy. He left the room to get the results, and I heard him say "Wow!" out in the hall, and he came back in and told me that he had been wrong, and that her levels were low enough to stop therapy. I was so grateful that I would be able to take my baby home and actually hold her!

My dad had planned to stay with us for a week, at which point my mom would then come out and stay with us for the next week. Unfortunately, because of my grandma's death, he left on Thursday, as did my brother and my sister, for the funeral in California. Jeremy had already gone back to work, so he wasn't home with me anymore. It was a very lonely feeling to have so many people around you, and then all of the sudden they are all gone.

Jeremy's mother and sister, along with Olivia's cousin, Fiona, came to visit for a while on Friday. It was such a blessing for me. I don't know how I could have survived a whole day with two kids by myself, particularly after how emotionally and physically exhausting the previous week had been. Olivia had such a good time with her cousin, but it is clear we have to work on sharing toys :)

My mom, sister, and brother returned from California on Saturday, so I again had some company and help. It was a fun, but worrisome week. It seemed like everyone was getting sick. Olivia had been fighting a cold and not sleeping well at night. Thank goodness for my mom and sister who took her monitor and handled her every night so Jeremy and I could focus on Ellie. Jeremy has been fighting a cold for a while, and my mom and sister seemed to be sick, as well. My brother started to get very sick, so he hasn't visited in a while, and even I had a bit of a stomach bug for a few days. Luckily, Ellie never seemed to catch any of what was floating around our house.

Ellie has been progressing very well since coming home. She has already gained a pound from her birth weight - she now weighs in at 8 lbs 11 oz. Unfortunately, she is a very restless sleeper. She has a lot of gas and we have diagnosed her with acid reflux. Her reflux at the time isn't as bad as Olivia's was at this point, but it seems to be getting a little worse. We're lucky that we get at least a couple of good sleep stretches out of her at night, so I'm hanging in there.

Olivia is doing so well at being a big sister. She loves the baby so much, and has really only shown a few small moments of jealousy. Our biggest issue is keeping her away from the baby. She gets really upset when the baby cries. When I brought the girls into the doctors (for Olivia's 18 month visit, and Ellie's 2 week visit), Olivia was more upset when Ellie was crying because she had to have her heel pricked than when Olivia herself had to get a shot. She is such a sweet girl.