Merry Christmas.

 From our house to yours!

 

Letter to Little.

Dear Ellery,

  It's amazing. You're amazing, really. Earlier this year, when we found out about you, you looked something like this:

An image of a little mouse growing inside of me. That was you, back in early March.

Now look at you:

A month old!

You have grown so much since we first held you in our arms. With your triple chin covering your neck and fat rolls beginning to make their mark on your belly, Buddha Baby has become one of the many nicknames we've been calling you.

At 4 weeks, newborn clothes and diapers no longer fit. And all of the people who say, "They grow up so fast," well, I'm discovering that they're absolutely right!

You are getting more alert everyday, beginning to make eye contact and really focusing in on us, especially when we're singing. You do not like silence. You're calm as long as there is a lot of commotion going on around you, but if you're in a quiet room - you let us know quickly that you disapprove.

You've already got quite a bond with your daddy, young lady. I could sing to you all day long and it wouldn't calm your cranky cries, but as soon as he begins to hum a tune, you immediately quiet and focus all of your attention, so intently, on his mouth as to not miss a note.

We're absolutely smitten with you and love you dearly!

Love upon love,

Mommy

''Fearfully and Wonderfully Made.'' Psalms 139:14

Baby's exhausted...

They really don't break that easily.

 
An ER visit and a few doctors snickering at us later, we've learned this lesson: babies are pretty darn tough, and we're pretty crummy parents...

It started out like this: 

On Saturday night Justin and I brought out the Santa hats, put cider on the stove, and took Ellie on her first Christmas tree buying adventure. Since southern Mississippi isn't exactly North Georgia, where Frasier fir tree farms are in abundance, we ended up sorting through the pre-cut and already wrapped trees at Lowe's until we found our perfect-for-a-hardware store Christmas tree.

We made it back home just in time to watch the SEC Championship game across the street, only to swiftly jet back home at the final to decorate and light the tree.

At this point, Ellie sleeps, a lot! So, as we were getting the tree in the tree stand, ornaments unwrapped, and putting the finger foods out on the counter - we placed our sleeping Ellie in her Boppy on the couch. (Parental mistake: can you see where this is going?) As we walked out of the living room, we barely made it to the middle of the dining room before Justin and I had locked eyes and were running back into the living room in a panicked motion. After a loud thump and a sudden burst of little bitty lungs coming alive with a deafing wail, we immediately knew what had just happened. 

She looked so pathetic. So scared. With a big red rash on her forehead, above her right eye, where she had landed when she rolled off the couch. Her uncontrollable cries scared me beyond words. A cry I had definitely never heard before. Scared of everything that might happen because of a head injury at 3 weeks old- through my tears, I frantically asked Justin if we should take her to the hospital. Being the supportive husband to a crazy wife, he said we could do whatever would make me feel better.

We rushed to the ER, and while we were explaining what happened over the loud cries coming from the infant carrier as we checked in, I swear several of the nurses were holding back their snickers as they reassured us that babies don't break that easily. No one seemed worried. We were called back quickly, since the waiting room was empty. When the pediatrician came in he explained to us that the soft spot on the top of her head keeps her safe in case of falls and accidents - it acts like a pressure release valve in case the brain actually swells. They sent us home with a list of symptoms to watch out for: abnormal pupil dilation, vomiting, loss of appetite. None of which happened.

Everything turned out fine. She's back to her normal hunger and gassiness cries instead of the my-parents-really-need-to-not-take-the manufacturers-instructions-so-lightly cries. From that moment on, she only lays on the floor or in her crib when we are not sitting beside her. Lessons learned from a first time mom.

Love.

Yesterday marked three weeks of opening our home and hearts wider than we thought imaginable to a beautiful little girl. It is hard to believe that three weeks have come and gone so quickly and how fast we are adjusting to our new role as parents.

Looking back at my pregnancy blog posts, a time when sleep was uninterrupted by a hungry or gassy Little in the opposite room, or a time when I couldn't steal snuggles from a sleeping and very cuddly baby on demand, I had a image in my head that plagued every ounce of my imagination, of how life was going to be with our precious new life. We have been extraordinarily blessed, and we recognize that with every breath we breathe, but if we're speaking honestly, life with a newborn is much harder than most people care to disclose. As captured as our hearts are by our little Ellery, we are exhausted from lack of sleep and sometimes feel helpless when we can't automatically stop her uncontrollable cries.

Our life is different. We're not the same people as we were just a month ago. Our schedule revolves around feeding times. Our focus is on satisfying our daughter. We are parents. We feel helpless at times, but most importantly we love, every minute, every step of the way. Love surrounds us. Love comforts us. Love reminds us of how blessed we are, even in the toughest times. The love of family, the love of a spouse, and the unconditional love we hold in our hearts for the little girl that now shares our last name, gets us through the sleepless nights and other difficulties that parenthood brings.