Hard to believe Ellie is already 1 month old (as of last week!) We are doing well. I am grateful for our family and friends more than ever for all of their help. Ellie is a wonderful baby (and from what I hear, she is an abnormally good sleeper!) That's what I was praying for, and I'm not complaining :) She has a very calm nature and bright blue eyes like her daddy. She has very dark hair and loves to sleep like her mom :)

In her first month Ellie has gotten to do quite a lot of things! She's been on campus multiple times for prayer walks and a few Illini baseball games. We've gone out to eat a few times and brought her along. She's been to church, to small group, to a Navs social and done a little shopping :) She's even taken her first road trip to Wisconsin for Memorial Day weekend!

I just thought I'd post really quick before she wakes up from her nap and show you a more recent picture.

Happy 1 Month Ellie. We love you SO much!

Thanks to Jess Libby we got some amazing pictures this morning!! (Over 400 in less than an hour, YIKES!) Here are a few fun ones :)

I'm convinced we have the greatest students ever. From day one when they found out we were expecting they have been incredibly enthusiastic, supportive, curious and eager to meet our baby girl!

We were so excited for some of the students to finally get to meet her last week! And we were beyond thrilled to bring her to the last Navs social of the semester on Wednesday (Reading Day Eve).

Ellie is one lucky girl. She is VERY loved!

Well all of you know that Ellie Marie is here, but some people have been asking about the details of her birth. If you are interested in knowing more, read on. If not, feel free to skip this post :)

We went in to be induced on April 25th. For the 6-8 weeks prior the doctor was quite confident that Ellie was head down. I had been dilated for a few weeks and the doctor was surprised she hadn't dropped yet....

We arrived at the hospital Monday morning and I told my mom "I feel way too good to be having a baby today." After getting hooked up to the IV and starting the pitocin, everything seemed to be going very smoothly! They hooked me up to the fetal monitor and apparently I was having pretty strong contractions (although I hadn't known I was having them.) They broke my water and labor was progressing very well.

.... Until my doctor decided to check me one more time and then bring in the ultrasound machine. To all of our surprise Ellie was breech! Butt down and feet squished right up by her head.....

They quickly unhooked me from the pitocin and started explaining the process of a c-section. Since I had eaten toast for breakfast they wanted to wait a few hours until I went back for surgery. So the next few hours were spent waiting for surgery. It was an odd feeling... I had never even worn a hospital gown until that morning, and then I found myself preparing for surgery!

Mid-morning they gave me medicine to slow down my contractions since labor was progressing more than they would have liked. This was the worst part as it felt like they injected me with a dose of "antsy-ness." I could hardly sit still!!! I was so hungry (I hadn't drank anything in the morning, because I knew I would probably get ice water as soon as I got settled), I was nervous. I was watching the clock just waiting, and I was super antsy!!

Thankfully the surgery before me went long and in the 20 minutes before my c-section, I was able to fall asleep for a few minutes! It was totally the Lord's grace!

I went back for surgery at 12:58 and Ellie Marie arrived at 1:22 pm! We are so grateful for good doctors, a great hospital, and most importantly a healthy, beautiful baby.

Apparently c-sections are the thing this spring (two friends of ours have had them unexpectedly after long difficult labors... I can't imagine that recovery!) And I asked my nurse on Wednesday night when we were in the hospital how many babies were on the floor. She said they had 16 babies and 14 of them were delivered c-section!! They only schedule a maximum of 3 per day so that means there were at least 5 unexpected c-section in the three days we were in the hospital! Good to know we're not alone I guess :)

Recovery has been pretty good all things considered. I'm incredibly grateful for my mom's help and for Noah's patience as he waits on Ellie and me. (As well as many friends bringing us meals and offering their help!)

Anyone who knows our family will appreciate this picture. YES we played 500 while waiting for my surgery. :)

Yeah for surgery :)

Beautiful Ellie Marie!! :) For the first hour of her life, she had her feet sticking up as close to her head as possible, apparently she found that position comfortable after spending a few months like that. She also LOVES her hands by her face :)

Before going in to be induced last Monday, I was debating whether or not to straighten my hair (you know, curly hair = really awesome bed head when left unwashed). Anyway, I decided to straighten it in preparation for some time in the hospital, but my dad teased that our daughter was going to come out and see me and be confused, saying "Are you my Mother??"

Thankfully, it didn't go quite like that. And thankfully I did straighten my hair. Who knew how challenging a shower would be after a c-section?! (surgery + having a baby= pain and exhaustion!)

Anyway, this line has been quoted a lot in the last week for two reasons. 1) It's hard to believe that Ellie is my daughter. That she is looking at me and saying "You're my mother!!" and 2) Having my mom stay with us over the past week has proven to me that yes, SHE IS MY MOTHER!! Kind of incredible how much we think and act alike.  I can't count how many times I'd start to ask her to do something or get me something, and see she was already in the process of fulfilling my request. It was SUCH a blessing to have her here and so sad to see her leave on Monday. I'd be really sad if I didn't know she was coming back on Friday (with my dad and my brother!) What a sweet Mothers Day it will be!

Life with Ellie has been so wonderful. For the last many months in addition to a healthy baby and a safe delivery, my three main prayer requests were that our daughter would be ...
    -a good sleeper
    - good natured
    -tender-hearted
So far we have two of the three (hard to tell if she is tender-hearted at 9 days old!:) But she is a great sleeper and very good natured (I can't take credit for that one, that's Noah's calllllmmmm temperament coming out! :)) But I will take credit for the sleeping gene. I've always loved my sleep!

I'm beyond words grateful to have the mother that I have and incredibly blessed to be a mother to sweet little Ellie Marie!

Thank you Lord for creating moms!
Happy Mothers Day!