Skype Baby Shower

Although we were able to get sound through the computer in order for everyone to see me and Eli they set up a large projection screen. I must admit it was a little embarrassing because from my computer I could see myself on the screen, but I hope they all enjoyed getting a peek at my new little guy!!

The first photo is my family, representing for me since I could not be there in person. In the photo below are the wonderful ladies from my home church that hosted our baby shower! We are so thankful for all your hard work, and creativity in putting this all together.

Unfortunately we do not live close to home, and although there are so many people near here that we know and love, there is nothing like home. With the birth of our new baby the sweet people from my home town wanted to celebrate with us, but logistically there was no way I would be able to make it home for a baby shower. And thus...the skype shower idea was born. We scheduled a date and time to meet on Skype. On my end we had Aaron, Eli and myself. On the other end were all the ladies from my home church. They shipped me the same banner and food so that I would get to share in the festivities and the shower was on!!

They had shipped me the gifts ahead of time too so that I would have some to open on my end. We set up the laptop on which we were able to communicate and the big screen for everyone to see. One by one they ladies took a turn coming up to the computer to talk to me and send their individual well wishes to baby Eli. Overall I would say it was a success...and a wonderful solution to the long distance problem. The only thing I would have changed was that right after the shower started Eli went to the bathroom all over my dress. Thank goodness they could only see my face....another bonus of a skype shower, you only have to look good from the shoulders up! And lets be honest they were all there to see the precious baby boy, not me!

Our Monkey

Eli, you don't get dressed much because normally as soon as you do you pee on yourself and we are forced to change you again. However, tonight you went out on the town to your very first restaurant so I decided it was time for you to actually wear something other than a diaper!! Lets just say that you're not a fan of anything on your feet or head but I just couldn't resist! You sorta look like a gangsta here but I love it!!

My Favorite Day of the Year

May 29th will always be my favorite day of the year because it is the day I met Aaron oh so long ago. A lot has happened in the 11 years we have known each other, but no change greater than the blessing of our baby boy that came this year, just 24 days before our "when we met anniversary". Im not sure how it is possible but somehow you fall in love with your spouse all over again when you see them with your little one. Aaron is the best father a lil guy could ask for, and he is the person who keeps me laughing through all the late nights and dirty diapers.

So as we celebrate another year in this journey together, I am once again overwhelmed with how blessed I am to call Aaron my husband. He is the Godliest man I know, the strength and voice of reason that keeps our marriage on track. He is my sounding block and a never ending source of wit! He's the brains and brawn of this operation we call a family!! Happy 11 years baby, me and the new guy love you to pieces!!

Shout out to Taryn and Charlie and Nicole and Landon (they got hitched today!!!) who also cherish May 29th. Happy Anniversary! Love you guys.

The real Eli

You know how you can have a problem with your car but if you take it to the mechanic it seems to suddenly be working properly? Well thats sort of how it works with Eli. He is the most well behaved baby around everyone else, and they think this is how he is all the time. So I thought I would let you all in on what happens behind closed doors.

Seriously though he really is a good baby....but we all have our moments, and this is what his look like :)!!

3 Weeks Old

Eli,

You are now 3 weeks old and such a wonderful little man. We went to the doctor today for a check up and found out that you are weighing in at 10 lbs 1 oz. You are in the 75% for weight, and gaining 2 oz a day. You have also grown 1.75 inches since you were born and are now 22 3/4 inches tall!! You are in the 95% for height in comparison to other 3 week olds. I am so proud of how you handled yourself at the doctors office today. Even though you were the littlest guy there you were also the most well behaved. You didnt cry at all...even though it was time to eat. You also did much better today at the office by not peeing when we took your diaper off to weigh you. In general you are getting much better at doing that in the diaper instead of every time we take your diaper off. We really appreciate that!! We have another check up at 2 months and I look forward to seeing how much you have grown. We love you little buddy and cant believe how fast you're growing right before our eyes!

A day of firsts

I started running again today. I know I havent technically been cleared to do so by my doctor, but Im tired of sitting around doing nothing. Plus my wonderful husband just bought me new running shoes and I was dying to try them out! I only made it about .6 miles running and .2 walking but hey I would say thats not bad for my first time back in the game! PS these Vibram 5 Fingers are awesome, and make for a great leg workout even if its only 10 minutes!! Tonight we also decided to try giving Eli a bed time for the first time. My friend Natalie recommended coming up with a bed time routine and getting them in the habit of going to bed at the same time. Now I know he is only 3 weeks old, but its never too early to start! We gave him his first real bath in his little tub, put him in his robe, fed him, read to him from the Bible and put the little guy to bed.

Needless to say, it didnt go quite as smooth as we had hoped, and we had to go rescue him like 18 times, for feeding and diaper changes and what not, but hey we gave it a shot, and we will try it again tomorrow night!

But how cute is the little robe?? LOVE IT!!!!

Our first walk...

To first time moms, here is my 2 week wisdom, GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!!! No matter how cute your little munchkin my be, your sanity depends on leaving the house and having some adult time. So thats exactly what we did. Me and Eli met up with Amanda and Maggie for a walk around the neighborhood. And of course like everything else we had to document it!!!

Featured Blogger

lipstickandrattles.blogspot.com

Ava just had the most precious little girl who is only a week older than baby E.

But she has far more than baby stuff to offer on her blog. She has the best fashion advice, and some really great websites where you can play with your own fashions.

Not to mention she is just super sweet, and her blog is growing like crazy!!!!

Check it out!

Never too young to learn...

This is a snapshot of boy time. Aaron has already started teaching Eli his alphabet and numbers in multiple languages. Eli looks mesmerized! Hopefully he will grow up fluent in both English and Spanish. And maybe even speak a little Portuguese!! Hes already got a head start on me!

For the Grand Folk...

I really do want to be a good blogger and document all the new guy does, but honestly the last thing I want to do now is spend time on the computer. I am doing my best to get sleep...you know the whole sleep when your baby sleeps, but I also really just want to spend time with my husband. So normally if the baby is asleep I am staying awake to hang out with Aaron. All that to say there is little to no time left for blogging.

But I do want everyone to be able to see our little guy growing like a weed. So here are a few photos from the last couple of days.
He loves the recliner as much as his dad! Look at those long ole legs....he's gonna be a tall one!

And he has the cutest little (big!!) feet!

He loves his dad so much. His eyes are finally starting to focus, and they spend the majority of time following his daddy around the room.

We havent had a big success with using a paci, but we're learning to use it to get him on a better feeding schedule.

This is us chilling outside while we watch daddy work in the yard!

We should probably just bust out a bib...but hey a burp rag seems to do the trick!

I love to eat!!

My belly looks like this...nice and round :)!!

Because momma cant resist feeding me when I make this adorable little face!!

We had been doing really good with our lil guy on a pretty consistent 3 hour schedule, and then yesterday hit...and he decided that he should cut it down to every 2 hours. Oh my! When did you get your little ones to start sleeping through the night? Any helpful hints? I know hes only 2 weeks old so we've got some time...but i just want to be prepared when we get to the point where the pediatrician says its ok!!

We love giraffes...

Thanks Papaw Sims for my pacimal, its as big as I am,but I love him already!

Thank you Gma Nibbe, Momma keeps it so cold in our house that I need lots of blankets to keep me warm! I love my giraffe blanket!

Meeting the Fam...

Grandma (Mimi??) Nibbe
Grandpa (Papa??) Nibbe

Aunt Rae Rae

Papaw Sims

Mamaw Sims

Aunt C

Day 10...picture time with Aunt Rae Rae

Stretchin it out in beloved swing!!

Cuddling with daddy! Arent my boys so cute?!?!

Is that a smile I see??

Stretchin out on Aunt Rae Rae.

My unhappy lil giraffe! He may be unhappy, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE the hat!!

Shelbie made these precious little booties, mitts, and hat for him. How cute is he?

Hes going to be a heart breaker....check out those gorgeous eyes!!

Mommy must haves....

Eli is now 10 days old and since becoming a mom there are a few things I have learned that I cannot live without. This post is dedicated to all those who will soon be first time moms and are as clueless and overwhelmed as I was when purchasing baby products.

1. If you are planning to formula feed or pump and feed you cannot have enough bottles. I recommend spending the money and getting the ones that have the angled neck and the SLOW flow nipples. Infants do not have the ability to slow down their feeding and will need all the help the bottle can give them!

2. You also cannot have enough long sleeved, footed pjs. Our little one is cold all the time even in the desert, so in order for us to be comfortable we are forced to dress him in long sleeves at night. Word to the wise....make sure they unbutton all the way down, it is way too hard to get a onesie over their necks at night when they need to be changed!!!

3. If you have a boy...you MUST have an abundance of wash clothes. After their circumcision you cannot use baby wipes for a few days and will need these for all the diaper changes!

4. Receiving blankets are a Godsend. You can use them to wrap them in, burp them with, protect you from flying pee, and oh so much more!!

5. WIPES WIPES and more WIPES. Who knew you go through like 5 a changing! Along with this you must have tons of diaper rash creme! No red hinnies!

6. Last but not least, a bath. I know you cannot actually give a bath to your baby until the cord falls off, but trust me, we could not have survived the last 10 days without our sponge bath mat. He pees everywhere all the time, requiring quite a few impromptu baths.

How you arrived....

Eli Wesson Sims....

We checked into the hospital at 8:00 pm, May 4, 2011. I was not dilated at all, and was contracting only every 8 minutes. Honestly, I couldn't feel a thing, but that's what the nurse told me. We started slurry immediately, a sprite like drink I took every two hours. It was followed by constant monitoring of your heart beat and my blood pressure. The nurse kept telling me that I needed to get some sleep but how is a girl supposed to sleep when there is a cuff squeezing my arm every 30 minutes, and a nurse asking me question after question? Oh and not to mention I was STARVING and was only offered ice chips even though my morning nurse said I could have eaten the whole time...but that's a whole other story!!

Around midnight we started pitocin to speed up the process even more. At 7:15 I met the most wonderful person....my anesthesiologist who hooked me up with my epidural. I was only about 3 cm at this point, but since he had 2 c-sections to perform it was either then or in 3 hours, so I chose then. After that my doctor showed up, broke my water, and we were on our way. The process was slow but completely painless. I actually spent most of the day sleeping and waiting for you to arrive. I was betting that you would come before 4, but unfortunately it was your dad who was right because I wasnt fully dilated until long after 4.

After being on the epidural for 12 hours it started to wear off, which unfortunately was the same time we started pushing. At this point my calm, cool, collected self went into crazy mode. I wanted you out Eli, even if that meant a c-section. Unfortunately, this simply sent the nurses into school mode, and they kept telling me breathe, breathe slow, blah blah blah blah. I wanted drugs and I wanted them fast!! They brought back the wonderful anaesthesiologist but even with a second epidural I was in the worst pain of my life. So despite the urgency I was feeling it took another couple of hours to actually get into the operating room, at least it felt that long.

As we headed into the c section I could still feel everything!! So here we were again me and my friend...this time we did a 3rd spinal tap, and surprise surprise it did not work. So they knocked me out cold. Thankfully through all this baby boy you were a real trooper. Your heart was strong and your patience great.

Luckily your dad was there to see your sweet entrance into the world. I however did not get to meet you until later that night in the recovery room. But it was a sweet sweet moment to finally see your perfect little face.

So at 10:15 pm on May 5, 2011 you entered the world and have forever changed our lives in the greatest possible way. Happy Birthday Eli, we love you.

Meet ELI

More to come soon...but here you go!!!

Featured Blogger

Ok Im writing a day early this week since tomorrow will be dedicated to preparing for the hospital (fingers crossed). The blog I think you should all check out this week is .....
tarynddavidson.blogspot.com

Taryn is hands down one of the funniest people I know, and her children are truly acorns that do not fall from the tree. Shes real about her life, both the good and the bad, and yet, you'll laugh your way through it all. God has given her a sense of humor like none I have ever known. Simply hearing her son Lake say the darnedest things, and checking out the adorable pictures of her daughter Lennon is all you need to keep you coming back to the blog over and over again.

So until the baby arrives....happy blogging!!

D Day came and went

So we scheduled Elis birthday for today May 3rd, however, God must have different plans. We were scheduled to go in last night and check into the hospital around 8:00 pm. At around 4 pm we received a call from the hospital saying that they were understaffed and we would need to call in around 9:30 pm to see what time we should actually come in. They did assure me though that we were still a go for last night. So we went to eat at Cheesecake Factory as my last big dinner before the big day!! I was bummed that it was going to take longer, but still excited knowing it was going to happen!!
However, when we got home around 9:00 pm we found a message on our machine saying they were really sorry but because they had even more pregos admitted I was getting bumped from the schedule. So here I sit, on my couch typing this blog instead of holding my baby boy. We have rescheduled to go in tomorrow night with a delivery on May 5, so let the waiting begin....AGAIN.