Elise Louise

She's here! Elise Louise Mitchell!

She started making her grand entrance Friday morning around 9am, March 14th and finally joined us at 5:04am on March 15th. 8lbs 10.5oz, 21 inches long. With enormous feet. I felt as if I recognized that one foot that was continuously in my side! And imagine my surprise when she came out with a full head of hair. It's hard to tell but she sure looks like Ed - a real California girl with blonde hair, blue eyes (for now), and skin that looks like it just might tan. Ill give a full account of her birth in a post soon, when I get another moment to write things out this week. For now I'll say it was a perfect homebirth without any complications - exactly what I was hoping for. 

Ed is responsible for the first name choice. It's from a song by The Cure, "Letter to Elise" which he can sweetly play for her on his guitar. I got to pick out the middle name, Louise, same as my own and my mother, originating from my great aunt Hazel who passed away in a car accident far too young. 

My new mantra is "one thing too many". Bathroom, shower, water refill and a snack? One thing too many. Sleep, pump, feed, and brush teeth? One thing too many. It's not always the same thing that gets sacrificed although often sleep is the first to go... But it's amazing how Elise seems to know that I'm trying to squeeze one last thing into her downtime and she'll pop right awake!

She's really perfect and we're such saps for her. It might sound weird but I even love her cry. She's one loud kid - came out crying, didn't even wait until she was all the way out! She sings to herself and coos, loves to dance and flail, and I just can't get enough of all of it. Except the part where she's not a fan of sleeping from 8pm to 3am - that's tough. One benefit to her taking her time making her arrival? She's amazingly alert. She just seems like an older baby all around. I look at her and already feel like there can't be enough time in all our days to witness her growing up as much as I want. Like I said, huge saps. :) 

The kitties have been great little guardians and just hang around keeping an eye on things.

Ed was such a great birth coach. Another birth story tease - the midwife didn't show up to help in earnest until 20 mins before Elise came out into the world and I had already started pushing. So for hours on end it was just Ed and Mom making do and they were incredible. Ed is an amazing dad (surprising no one, right?). He and Elise are so in love with each other. My mom and sister are still here helping and seriously, they've been invaluable. I'm so grateful they have the time and ability to be out here for such an extended stay.  I'll be incredibly sad to see them leave on Wednesday. We're enjoying every moment left and looking forward to upcoming family visits!

The view from the rental apartment in our complex where Ck is staying with Emilia

Omi and Elise selfies! :)

Emilia cooking her giraffe and super excited about it

Thank you to everyone who has expressed joy and love for our new addition. I'm a big emotional mess and all the sweet things you say get me every time. :) And so a little extra treat for you, here's my adorable (and comparatively so big and grown up!) niece seemingly taking her first real selfie:

Bump Update - Week 41

Hey guys... remember when I had a due date last week? That was funny wasn't it. :) So here we are, still pregnant and biding our time. Mom and Ed are doing their best to keep me distracted. 60% of the time I handle things pretty well and I am able to remember that things will happen as they are supposed to happen and everything is fine right now. The other 40% of the time I feel like I'm losing my mind. 

To clarify: it's not because I'm so uncomfortable (although I often am uncomfortable). It's because of hormones, which make me hyper emotional from the anxiety of waiting, and because everyday that passes, I worry I won't have a birth anywhere near the one I've been imagining (please refrain from telling me 'you never have the birth you want,' that is cold comfort and if that were really true I would've just eaten a million things, gained a million pounds, not exercised or eaten any prenatals because 'it's all out of my control' - sorry, I'm a bit keyed up). And then there's the guilt and pressure of not having your baby 'on time' when you have friends and family checking in everyday. Every night Ed, Mom and I go to bed thinking okay this might be it! And then we wake up and I'm still pregnant. It sounds crazy but I feel a bit embarrassed! I'm trying to be relaxed and upbeat, but it's quite hard. 

We've been walking in the nice weather, swimming, having delicious food, watching movies, dancing, reading... doing pretty much all we can to enjoy this extra time. (I know you can't walk a baby out but you can walk a pregnant lady away from going insane) I'm developing a bit of a tan, believe it or not. And by tan I mean a new layer of freckles. 

I can't say enough how wonderful Ed and Mom have been at trying to keep me on an even keel. This must be very frustrating and anxiety inducing for them as well and they've done an amazing job hiding it. There's not much else to say other than the wait continues, so here are some pictures!

My view!

There's always something new to put together it seems - this time it's an Ikea cart for extra storage

De-tagging party after our Ikea run

Come on in, the water's warm! 

The workin' man :)

The cookin' mom!

Lasagnaaaaaaa

Facetime with Kate and Omi!

The cats supervise my yard time from the windows

Huh, seems I have a growth on my midsection...

Our local park for a walk about

Our old local park in Campbell - we trained for the half marathon on this trail!

Family love :)

Stacks for breakfast! Best pancake place I've ever been to.

My cheery flowers from Trader Joe's and the farmers market

Bump Update!

Camera 1... (the glove helps my gestational carpal tunnel)

...Camera 2

How far along? 41 Weeks... how about that.

How Big Is Baby? Well my weight and belly size is the same so... the same baby size?

Sleep: Probably the most frustrating it's been to date. I'm either keeping the 'every 2 hr wake up' standard I've been having, or it shifts to 'every hr.' I'm not a fan of the every hr. I'm definitely taking more naps now.

Best moment this week: Too hard to pick one moment... we've had all these lovely excursions to local parks and enjoyed all the sunshine at the pool. Being outside really helps my mood. 

Movement: We're big fans of stretching out our pointy foot directly into my upper left side. I know I've mentioned it before but it's truly the most consistent movement coming out of this baby. Still squirming and doing our calisthenics in there.

Food cravings/aversions: Having to eat much smaller servings these days... Ed did bring home some girl scout cookies so that was pretty freakin' fantastic and basically all food sounds so amazing to me.

Symptoms: Heartburn came up again... it's been gone for awhile but I guess I truly am out of space now so I have to be careful about how much I eat.

Gender: Which gender is more shy and stubborn? That's the gender that is hanging on in there :)

Belly Button in or out? Totally flat with the occasional outie

What I miss: Right now I'd say I miss sleep. And my old clothes. I've been rotating the same 3 outfits and rockin' a bra and a swaddle at home for most of my days. Mom says I look like the new years baby. I can't wait to put on a pair of jeans again and never see a pair of leggings again. Well, at least until the next pregnancy I guess.

What I am looking forward to: ... Does it even need to be typed? It's gotta happen any moment now... and also really looking forward to Ken, Ck, Emilia and Joe coming into town. Hopefully there will be a baby here for them to see!

Funny moment of the week: Finally going through my pictures on my camera (Mom and Ed have been documenting things) and realizing that every time I asked if mom was taking a picture of me while I was pants-less and she would say 'no' - she was totally lying. There were none appropriate to post on here :)

Labor Signs: Lots of downward pressure, sometimes pretty intense... but other than that... I got nothing.

Weekly Wisdom: Kudos to people who can handle advice with grace, it is certainly a skill. I offer you this slot to insert your advice and wisdom for the week here cause I don't have much guidance on that note.

Milestones: Passing my due date? Is that a milestone? Getting one step closer to making it the 10 days past due date my mom made it with Ck!

And of course, the sweetest kleine Erdbeere:

Bump Update - Week 40

Things are wonderful. And yes, I am still pregnant. 10 months in and I'm feeling pretty ready guys. Forgive me if you've texted and already heard me say that a million times, but there is little else to say. It's such a holding pattern now. I'm talking to the baby letting him/her know that we're all ready out here and he/she can join us as soon as he's/she's feeling the urge. 

Lots of standing around and stretching out my back

Mom is here, helping Ed and me a huge amount. We're cleaning and cooking and reorganizing. We even made a run to Ikea for last minute things and a good walk around for me. 

Mom's food haul :) Can't wait to eat that herring again!

Opening a haul of lovely gifts from my mother in law while Ed gets his treatment

We've been walking, swimming and generally just moving about as much as my big, tired body allows. I can't believe I still fit in my bathing suit - it's the same one I was wearing pre-pregnancy.

 It's fit to burst for sure, but I just refused to get a maternity suit if I didn't need one. Maternity clothes are ridiculously priced as some of my newly pregnant friends may be discovering. 

Showing off my belly with Omi to now GrosOmi... or Urgrosmutter, whatever floats our boat!

Ed is amazing and super thoughtful, giving me tons of backrubs, helping me off the couch, listening to my nervous excitement. Needless to say he responds to my messages ASAP as do most people these days. :) I've had many 'I thought this was THE text!' responses. 

We went to a coworkers BBQ which was so. Much. Fun. It's easy to forget how nice it is to spend time playing video games, eating good food and just generally having fun with people close to your age or younger. 

Ed has got the best coworkers and I'm so glad they invite us out. Of course I do bribe them with my cookies but that's neither here not there...

All in all things are good and we are all ready and waiting. Don't worry about annoying me with messages if you're seriously wondering what's going on, Ill be as responsive as possible until things start to go down. In the meantime I just ask you guys wiggle your toes for me and send me lots of happy baby/happy mommy thoughts, telling this baby how much you want to meet him/her! 

Bump Update!

(Will try to post a formal picture later but I think you get the idea above)

How far along? 40 Weeks what the what?

How Big Is Baby? A 20 inch small pumpkin? Baby sized. This baby is full-term-baby-sized.

Sleep: Pretty tired these days... I'm anxious to meet this little one.

Best moment this week: Mom's here! That pretty much kicked off the excitement and anticipation of everything officially. 

Movement: About the same, still kicking and punching. Baby has got one helluva pointy foot over on the left side of my belly.

Food cravings/aversions: A lot less hungry in general. No aversions or cravings... Ok maybe a beer or margarita or two :)

Symptoms: Nothing new here either. Trying hard to let things happen as they're gonna happen. Swelling seems more under control this week actually. 

Gender: Not getting many guesses anymore... Mostly just comments on my size!

Belly Button in or out? No change here, mostly flat or half hooded. 

What I miss: Hmmm how about fancy dinners? As in, chefs tasting menus. My sister went out for one this week and I swear I could almost taste the food through the pictures she was sending me. 

What I am looking forward to: Hopefully this little goof making a timely appearance! And past that... Seeing the rest of family. I have a feeling from the moment this baby comes it will all go by at a blindingly fast pace. 

Funny moment of the week: Every moment I got to say "oh I'm due on Tuesday." People couldn't believe I was out doing things - driving, swimming, grocery shopping, going to a BBQ, etc. I know some ladies are struck with orders of bed rest but thankfully I can still go out and enjoy freaking people out :)

Labor Signs: Lots of downward pressure and a sprinkling of contractions over the days. I'm ready for the big time boss, just say the word!

Weekly Wisdom: One of the best heads up about labor I ever got was about how you will give less than zero damns about what you look or sound like in labor. And I'd like to extend that a little bit to how I've approached clothing in these past two weeks or so. Pants are completely optional and generally not welcomed in my wardrobe of late and I could give less than zero damns!

Milestones: Well, obviously reaching term! Having mom arrive - signaling the beginning of the end. Checking off all the things on our preparing for labor list. ... Can the next milestone please be this wee thing's arrival???

Fingers crossed and happy thoughts! Emilia looks ready for a cousin right? She has no idea what's gonna hit her :)