Welcome to the World, Eila!

Eila Lu McElwee was born on Wednesday, April 15th at 6:17 AM. 

She weighed 8 pounds, 2 ounces and was 19 inches long. 

Having her is definitely the coolest thing I have ever done in my life. 

Here's her birth story. . . 

I went to school on Tuesday, feeling like my normal, pregnant self. I left school feeling extra tired, but what do you expect, teaching 4 year olds all day? Our evening was normal.  I went to bed around 11 and slept until about 1:45. I woke up with little contractions. They felt like braxton hicks contractions, but just a little stronger- nothing unbearable. I got out of bed, used that bathroom, and got back in bed. I couldn't fall back to sleep and was still having contractions. I still didn't think anything was unusual because I've been getting up and having a hard time falling asleep for a while now. 

Dan cut the cord and was the first to hold her :) 

After a while, I realized the contractions weren't stopping and had actually gotten a little stronger. I decided to test out a contraction timer app on my phone, kind of just for fun. I timed the contractions (which I categorized as either 'mild' or 'moderate') and they were happening anywhere between 2 and 7 minutes apart, averaging around 3.  These contractions were strong enough that I couldn't sleep and needed to move around, but not so strong that I couldn't talk. 

Around 3:30 am, I contemplated whether or not I was going to call into school because I didn't think I would be able to teach after being up all night. And the contractions were still happening. 

Around 4:00 am, they got a little stronger, but weren't horrible. Definitely uncomfortable! I told myself that if they were still happening at 4:30, I would call my doctor. I didn't want to be one of those first-time-moms that went to the hospital, only to be sent home. 

Well around 4:30 am, I started bleeding a little. I thought it was a little weird, and decided to call. Dan woke up around this point because he noticed I wasn't in bed and checked to see if I was okay. I told him I called the doctor and he said we should head to the hospital! 

First family picture! 

The contractions kept happening as we finished packing our hospital bags. Dan was kind of taking his time, he let the dogs out, and figured we had some time. 

Well, all of a sudden, I felt like I had to push!

We jumped in the car at about 5:00 and headed to the hospital. 

With each contraction, I had to fight the urge to push.

On the way to the hospital, we talked about wether or not we should call our families yet. We decided that we would wait until we got checked in and had a room- we figured we would be there for a while and didn't need to wake everyone up at 5 in the morning.

Of course, on the way there, we had to stop at the longest stop light in the world! 

We got to the hospital at 5:22 am. We parked in the valet parking area and went straight to labor and delivery. We had to stop in triage, where the nurse started asking a million questions. I was getting very uncomfortable, but still answering them/ breathing through contractions. I told the nurse I felt like I had to push and she finished asking me questions and then checked to see how dilated I was. 

Then things moved FAST!

I was completely dilated and her head was descending. 

I have never seen a group of people move SO fast! 

They pretty much threw me in a wheel chair and rushed me into a hospital bed. They moved so fast that they left Dan in the triage room while he gathered my things! There were about six nurses very quickly setting up the delivery room and my nurse was helping me breath to hold off on pushing until the doctor could get there.

The doctor came in, had me push during the next contraction and let us know that I would probably have the baby in a few contractions! 

And at 6:17, Eila was born :) 

Afterwards, the nurses joked about how I shouldn't tell anyone my birth story because things happened so smoothly and quickly. Both of them said that if we have anymore kids, we have to move across the street from the hospital- they were amazed at how fast she was born, especially because I'm a first time mom. They also said that if waited to come in much longer, she could have been born in the car- that would have made for an interesting birth story (and I'm so glad that didn't happen)! 

Welcome to the world, Eila! 

I love you, Eila! 

Nursery Makeover: After

Here's how the nursery looks now! 

We painted it a warm grey and it automatically made it feel so much better :) 

Here's the view from the door!
Pretend like the pack'n'play isn't stuffed next to the crib- we're going to set that up in our room and have the baby sleep in there for a little while. 

We found this dresser in my parents' basement. They weren't using it, so we took it off their hands :)
After a couple coats of an orangey-red paint, it was all set for the nursery! 

I water-colored pieces of paper, cut the paper, and glued it together to mimic some of the flowers on the curtains. 

My mom is the master at finding furniture. I told her we needed a bookshelf for the baby's room and a couple weeks later, she found this at ReStore! Dan painted it the same orangey-red as the changing table.
I have to organize the top shelf and blanket shelf a little more, but am waiting to see what we use on a regular basis before I put things away/keep them easily accessible. 

These are hanging on a skinny little wall between the door and the closet door.
When Dan and I lived in Alaska, he worked at the Alaska Zoo. A wolverine, named Jenny, was taught to paint on canvas! So Dan had her make us a couple of paintings. . . which have been sitting in a closet for the past few years. Dan remembered we had them and they turned out to be the perfect colors for the baby's room! Onto the wall they went. 

My mom made the curtains. She (along with the rest of us) is SO excited about this baby! 

Now all we're missing is the baby :) Less than two weeks until her due date! Like I tell my 4K kids: babies get to pick their birthdays, so we'll see when she actually gets here, but I'm ready for her!

Nursery Makeover: Before

 When we moved here, we had lots of painting to do. I liked the original colors. . . for a few minutes. It was bright red, bright orange, dark green, and weird tan/flesh colors through out the house. Before we moved our stuff in, we painted the living room, dining room, kitchen, and bedroom.

And then we got tired of painting. The bathroom and second bedroom stayed the weird tan/fleshy color.


Eventually, I felt like giving the bathroom a little update, but the second bedroom stayed weird. We used it for random things and weren't in there super often. We called it the "wedding room" for a while, because that's where I stashed all of our wedding projects and supplies before we got married. Sometimes we called it the guest bedroom when we were having people stay with us. Usually, it was just "the second bedroom".


When I found out that we would need to use the second bedroom as a nursery, I was so excited to update it!

Here's what it looked like before:

The color was pretty close to the color of my skin. . . which (to me) is super weird for a wall color. Gross. 

I know the color doesn't look too bad in this picture. Trust me, it was.
Also, this is a "before" picture after we cleared out all of the stuff that was in there. 

By "stuff" I mean a pull out couch, little desk, book shelf, set of lockers, and random things (like craft stuff, wedding stuff, blankets, etc.)  that I stored in there instead of in the basement. 

My mom got a crib for us pretty much as soon as she found out I was pregnant- she was so excited and wanted to get us a baby gift! :) 

A dresser that we are using a changing table: the before. 

It is so much cuter and snugglier now! Stay tuned for the After update :)

38 Weeks!

Check out my (very short) new hair cut!
I said I wanted my hair short and easy to make look cute.
She asked if it needs to be long enough to put in a ponytail- it doesn't- and then cut it super short!
So far, I like it :) 

How far along? 38 weeks. Only 2 weeks until her due date. I feel like time has gone by SO fast! 

Total weight gain: Enough to make my feet hurt :) I'm not sure what the official update is right now- my next appointment is next Monday. 

Maternity clothes? Oh yes.  

Stretch marks? Nothing that I have noticed! 

Sleep: Has been terrible the last few nights. Last night I went to sleep at 9:30, woke up  at 10:30, and was wide awake until after 12:00. I feel asleep again sometime after 12, woke up at about 1:15 and was awake until 2ish. I woke up around 3:30 and was awake until about 4:00. I fell asleep until Dan's alarm went off (which is usually around 4:45) and was awake until he left for work around 5:30. I slept from 5:30ish until 8:00 and then decided to be up for the day. My last few nights have been similar to that. I really hope I can get some good chunks in tonight! 

Best moment this week: Spring break in general! I've been able to clean, organize, and relax! 

Miss Anything? Sleep. Hips that aren't in pain. Feet that don't hurt.  
Movement: She's an active little one! She pushes so hard with her little feet and makes my belly look so funny. I can't wait to see her little legs move around in cute little baby clothes  :) 

Food cravings: I had a random craving for spicy food the other day! I've been all about the sweets (whether they are dessert items or fruit) so it was funny to want spiciness. My mom and I went to a Vietnamese restaurant and I fulfilled that craving my eating some of the crab rangoon she got. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Onion and/or garlic. Cigarette smoke.  Same things! 

Gender: She's a girl! 

Labor Signs: Now that I've gotten my haircut, report cards are pretty much done, lesson plans are done and organized, and I feel like baby things are as done as they can be, I'm ready for this little one to come out! Any time she wants to make her appearance is fine with me- my body is definitely over being huge. 

Belly Button in or out? More on the outtish side but sometimes flat still. 

Wedding rings on or off? They're on still. 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Mostly happy with random spouts of moodiness (more like sappiness) here and there :)

Looking forward to: Seeing what our little one looks like! Dan and I have such different features- it will be fun to see what she gets from each of us! 

Weekend Goodness- Easter Edition

You how I like to try new fruits I find at the grocery store?

Well, I found this delicious thing! Its called a Cherimoya and it is so tasty! 

Its very sweet and soft. 

Dan and I slept in until 9:00 on Saturday- it was great! I haven't slept past 7:30ish in a long time. (Ok, so I did wake up at about 6:45 and then fell back to sleep around 7:30). Once we started our day, I did some laundry, worked on some art for the nursery, and Dan worked on a table he's building for our dining room. We ate lunch and then used our new zoo pass (that my parents got us as a gift for us and the baby) to go to the zoo for a couple hours.

I felt like one of these little guys, waddling slowly around the zoo :) 

 Dan went over to his mom's house to take care of her dog while she's visiting our new niece and nephew :) I had a typical "If you give a mouse a cookie" moment. I borrowed this little spot cleaner thing from my parents to clean the cushions on a glider we got from craigslist for the baby's room. I cleaned the cushions and it worked so well, I figured I would spot clean the couch while I was at it. Spot cleaning turned into cleaning the entire thing. And then I decided to spot clean the rug in the living room. . . which also turned into cleaning the entire thing. Its so nice and clean now! :)

Dan and I went over to my parents for Easter lunch. We had ham, cheesey potatos, and asparagus- it was delicious.
The Easter bunny dropped off bags of treats for all of there too :) 

I'm so excited to have this week off to clean, organize, and relax! Spring break came at the perfect time in my pregnancy!

Things Kids Said on a Thursday

"Grandmas can't have babies. They already have babies- they growed up!"



Spanish Speaking Boy: I'm having a baby!
Me: Do you mean I'm having a baby? Mrs. McElwee?
SSB:  No. Me.
Me: You? You're having a baby?
SSB: Yep!
Me: Ok :)



Hippo-luh-poppa-mouse   (what a kid called a hippopotamus)



We were reading a book about caterpillars/butterflies and a page mentioned how caterpillars shed their skin. I asked the class if they knew what that meant. One boy raised his hand and said, "It's when they peel their skin off! I peel the skin off my mama's feet when she starts to shed it."  Gross :)


"Mrs. McElwee? Are you rich? Cuz I'm rich already! My mama gave me two dollars and said I can get something at McDonald's with it!"


"My grandpa buys lottery tickets cuz he's old. Old people do things like that."



"MissElwee. . . you look beautiful with your hair like that." Thanks! (it was in a bun, like it is usually once or twice a week)

37 Weeks!

How far along? 37 weeks. The baby is considered full term and is spending her remaining time gaining weight and getting ready to be born! 

Total weight gain: I have an appointment on Friday, so I'll find out then!

Maternity clothes? Mmm hmm! Some of the maternity shirts I have a getting a little bit short- my belly is huge! 

Stretch marks? Nothing so far

Sleep: Oh man- it has been rough! I have such a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep. I've gotten a lot of "its your body's way of getting prepared for being up all night with a baby". Although I've never had a baby before, I disagree with this. I can't sleep because my body is sore, not because a small person is waking me up. 

Best moment this week: My sister-in-law passed her dissertation defense! I have to get through tomorrow and then its Spring Break! 

Miss Anything? Physical energy (still). Moving around is getting difficult- I'm a little slow and a little uncomfortable at the beginning of the day. By the end of the day, I'm really slow and uncomfortable. 
Movement: So much! She is a busy little baby. She is so strong too :) 

Food cravings: sweet things lately- I had a slice of chocolate cake with a scoop of ice cream three nights this week. And it was delicious. And frozen raspberries. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Onion and/or garlic. Cigarette smoke.  

Gender: She's a girl! 

Labor Signs: Nothing yet! I was born 3 weeks early and my friends, family, and coworkers think I'll have her early (I'm not sure why. . . I don't have any predictions). I'm in the home stretch though! 

Belly Button in or out? More on the outtish side but sometimes flat. 

Wedding rings on or off? They're on still. 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Generally happy with moody/sappy/sentimental/teary moments thrown in there. My 4K kids were super  excited that today is April because they know I'm having the baby in April. Some kids thought that today was the day. During calendar time, I showed them what day she is due and then talked about how babies get to pick their birthdays, so she might be born before the 22nd or she might be born a little after. We also talked about how I'll have to go to the doctor/hospital and then when she's born, I'll get to go home. I'll stay home and take care of her and I won't come back to school for a long time. One of my kids started to get teary-eyed and asked, "Can you give us all hugs before you leave?" I told her of course! She said with tears, "But can you give us all hugs right now so you don't forget or if you don't have time before you have to have your baby?" It was the sweetest thing ever to me! I wanted to squeeze them all and not let them go :) It's going to be hard to leave all my little ones. 

Looking forward to: Definitely spring break! I really can't wait for a week of organization and relaxation.