Two Weeks Old

Ella Jo, I cannot believe you are two weeks old today. You just got here!

Your second week of life has been a little more challenging. You definitely started waking up more which means you are not very satisfied. I do love your sweet eyes during awake time. When you are fussy, you will settle eventually if we wrap you in a cozy blanket, hold the paci in, bounce, and say shhhh shhhh shhhh. Usually by the time this happens your big brother Will will want to come over and kiss and pet your head.

You have had a busy two weeks for such a little baby!

Bright eyed! Right after this you peed all in your bed!!!

I traded in my clipboard and pencil for the iPhone app to keep up with feedings and diapers. Welcome to 2014.

Reese came to visit!

Ella Jo meeting one of my Mommy's best friends, Auntie Melissa.

First bath...yes I am 2 weeks old.

Meeting Lily and Ms. Betsy

Back at the doctor to weigh in.

For the Love of Milk

I have been stressed about my milk production. I really think it is the cause of EJ's lack of weight gain so for the love of milk I have started the process to boost my supply. The more I read the more confused I get on what I should do. I bought a huge bottle of fenugreek, then talked myself out of starting it to see if my milk would adjust itself with other boosters.

Lunch after our outing to the health store. I am obviously worried about a proper diet, right?!?!

I started eating oatmeal daily and my friend sent me a recipe for lactation cookies including ingredients such as flackseed meal and brewers yeast- never heard of this stuff! Supposed to be good for you though. Needless to say, true love is making these cookies from scratch with the help of all three of my children. Two hours later they are finally done and they actually taste pretty good kind of similar to oatmeal cookies. By the way, brewers yeast is exactly what it says it is - beer! Smells like OCI after a Friday night. Now I just need to eat 16 a day to boost my supply!

Baking Lactation Cookies with this Motley Crew

Big Brothers

We thought that Gaines and Will would be excited about their little sister but we never imagined how smitten they would be by this little bundle!

Gaines will talk to her in baby talk and call her sweetie pie and will hold her for a little bit. He also wrote her a lullaby that her and Will sing to her.

Will is obsessed. He has to be touching her, kissing her, and wants to hold her. 

None of these pics are staged baby sister, you are the apple of their eye!

Bringing Ella Jo home from the hospital.

Just want to be near our baby sister.

Our new world

This poor baby!

reading to Ella Jo

I'm glad someone gets to sleep around here.

Love

Talking to Gainesy

Gaines having alone time with sissy

Kisses

Proud Big Bro Will

Ella Jo is one week

Today Ella Jo is one week old!
Cannot believe it has already been a week and how it seems like she has always been a part of our lives. She wins best baby out of our three children, even our pediatrician agrees! On Tuesday, we went to the doc for a check up on her weight gain and loss. She weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces and the doc was good with that and said we can stop supplementing. Now if all goes well, we don't go back until April 22nd.

In your first week of life, YOU:

• Sleep in the swing or the little rock and sleep during the day. 
• Eat around every 3 hours. Are very hard to force you to eat when you don't want to - which is very frustrating when your mommy is worried about your weight! 
• Have your big brothers wrapped around your tiny finger. 
• They want to hold you, kiss your head, see if you are awake or sleeping, or just be near you. I think you are going to be one lucky little sis. 
• Are hit or miss on how nighttime goes. Overall, we cannot complain. One night you will sleep 10-3 but be very restless from 4-6. Then the next night you will be restless at the beginning and then sleep 3-9! Either way we are getting sleep just not when your mommy and daddy want it.
• Your jaundice is much better hopefully due to getting enough milk. 
• Your mommy is struggling feeding you though. It hurts so bad, blood and the pain does not seem to bother you in the least. 
• Are the most "awake" in the evening between 6p-8p. 
• Are a perfect mix of both your brothers. In the hospital you looked just like Will but your Mommy thinks with your eyes open and your cuddly demeanor reminds her so much of Gaines. 

We love you so much Ella Jo Odom!

One week old

Meeting ConCon
Ella Jo looks so much like Gaines as a newborn to me.

Meeting Aunt Daph

Papa Jim's first granddaughter

Talking to Nonni

I cannot believe I am doing this again...

EJ's First Check Up

Ella Jo's appointment went great. Doc said she is doing much better than her big bros ever did at 5 days old!
She is now:
8lbs 3oz (75%)
19 3/4 in length (55%)
13 3/8 head circumference (40%) tiny head like will!

We can stop supplementing and she does not need to be woken up at night to feed. Still a little jaundice but not too worried. Will see Dr. Mukundan again on April 22nd.

8lbs 3oz (75%)

19 3/4 in length (55%)

13 3/8 head circumference (40%)

Ella Jo - Who does she favor?

Who does Ella Jo look like as a newborn?
Mommy thinks Gaines and Daddy in these pics.

First pics of the Odom Family
Mommy and Daddy with Ella Jo, Gaines (Top), and Will (bottom)

Ella Jo is coming... Today!

This morning as our "last night" to get a good sleep was miserable. My back was hurting terribly and could not get comfortable and then the lightening and thunderstorms hit at 1am. The lightening was lighting up our whole house. Then in nervous about Nonni driving in this storm to be at our house at 4am to watch the boys. The storms finally ended and we slept about an hour before showering and packing the car. It is still so surreal waking up to just get in your car and head to the hospital for your life to change forever! 

4am - Last picture with a sign

So we get in the car and head to Centennial Women's Hospital and Garrick and I just keep taking big breaths and laughing. We have been so busy just "living" with the boys that it truly has not hit us we are going in to the hospital and coming home with a baby girl! We get to the hospital at 5:30am, check in, and get to our room. The part I dread the most is getting the IV just as she is bragging on my veins it is not working while she is fishing that needle all through my arm! The second try, she got me in a great spot on the backside of my arm. The nurse said I was having contractions about 7 minutes a part which means nothing basically. Anesesia came in and I talked to them about being stuck 7 times with Will. Mom sent Dad to be there since she had the boys. Poor Dad had to just wait with us.

Texting before Ella Jo joins us.

Poppy can hardly contain his excitement

During this time I am just having a pep talk in my head saying, "I can do this, if I am still they will get me the first time, I can do this I can do this" and fighting the screams saying I don't want to do this!!!! They had Garrick sit outside operating room until I was prepped. My team was great. The spinal really hurt but I did do it! I stayed so still and breathed and it worked the first time! I could fill it instantly running through my body- numb as could be but also I totally had lost control of my body. Such a weird feeling as you are laid on the table with your everything exposed. Garrick comes in and I can start to see him panic. I know it is just as hard on him to see me on that operating table and then the nerves about baby girl. I started feeling really nauseas which was a first but they have me something for that. I could gear Dr. Oldfield say she was really big and there was a lot of amniotic fluid. Not sure what that meant but come to find out later supposedly my stomach would go down a lot since baby girl was Huge and I had so much fluid. Ella Jo was finally out and Dr. Oldfield handed her off to Dani (one of mommy's oldest friends) and they started working on her fluid in her lungs. This was our next worry with our experience with Will getting pneumonia. They worked on her for a bit but then felt good about it. During this time I'm started to panic on the table because I can't breathe and I feel like someone is laying on my chest. I finally found my voice to tell the nurse and she said no worries I'll fix that it is what they are working on right now putting you back together - gross! They finally weighed her in at 8 pounds 13 ounces - almost 9 pounds!!!! Biggest Odom child yet!

Nurse Dani working on her lungs. First arms to ever be placed in was Dani's arms. Love!

Ellen Jo Odom
April 3, 2014
7:52am
8 pounds 12 ounces
20 inches

I have never been so thankful for a c-section and not a vaginal delivery! They brought her over and laid her on my chest.

Mommy and Ella Jo

Our baby girl!
Now our family is complete.

I was really nervous because the pain meds had made me so shaky and I could not feel my hands at all. I kept telling Garrick not to move. The rest is a little hazy. I remember being wheeled back into the recovery room and Garrick brought Ella Jo up with us. The nurse had me try and breast feed immediately and that really made me anxious my pain meds were making me really unsure of my control to hold her let alone maneuver  her to feed. 

Nonni and Poppy were in the room to greet us and meet their first granddaughter.

Nurse Dan came back to the room with us to do her footprints and help with baths.

She has some lungs like her older brother Will. Lord help us if she cries like he does.

Just a few hours old. Looks like Will Odom!

The first to meet Ella Jo - Nonni and Poppy

Then LeeAnn drove in from Rockwood to see us. Her first US hospital experience! Ella Jo is one lucky girl already and in August LeeAnn will give birth to Begs! I loved having LeeAnn there.

LeeAnn drove in from Knoxville to visit Ella Jo before heading back to Spain. LeeAnn's first American hospital experience. We cannot wait for Ella Jo's bestie Begs to arrive in August.

Ella Jo 

So excited and maybe a little out of it.

Nonni brought the boys after school to meet their little sister. Gaines hopped right into bed with me and posed for pictures. Will could not get past the IV in my arm. 

Meet the Odom Family
Party of 5!

The boys drew Ella Jo some Welcome signs

Checking things out. Will did not like the IV. Gaines wanted right up in the middle probably for the pictures.

Our new expanded family.

First sibling picture

Gaines was very comfortable with his baby sister

After they left I finally "passed gas" yes you have to do that before eating after a c-section. The boys thought that was hysterical! So I got to eat and hospital food never tasted so good. The rest of the night was pretty low key EJ nursed and slept and was pretty content. 

Mommy and Ella Jo

Proud Daddy