Friday, June 26, 2009

Getting to know Ellie Suzanne

As you can see, Ellie (Elizabeth) Suzanne Livingston made her grand appearance on Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009!  She arrived via C-section, bottom-first, since she stubbornly remained in the breech position (cause unknown).  At birth she weighed 6 lbs 8 oz, was 18 1/2 inches long, and had a head circumference of 14 1/2 inches.  

The surgery went well - within an hour we were in the recovery room, and I was nursing Ellie.  She latched on right away and fed like a champ!  Although she has had a few bumps in the road as we've continued to nurse (thus dropping in weight to 6 lbs), she is back on track as a fantastic eater and we look forward to some weight GAIN.

She's a bit jaundiced as you can possibly tell from the pictures.  The nurse and doctor think this will clear up on its own in the next few days and are not concerned.  She also has a bit of  a red, bumpy rash on her torso, arms and legs that looks like mosquito bites (but it's not).  The doctor said this is common and will go away soon.

She already had her first blowout diaper - of course, I had her in a beautiful white eyelet onesie and wrapped up in a pretty receiving blanket at the time.  And it was definitely a meconium diaper too!  Sticky greenish black poop all over her newborn outfit.  So wrong. :)  Thanks to my mom and Oxy Clean, I'm told it's as good as new again!

We love to stare at Ellie's many dainty, feminine features - her long slender fingers, narrow feet, finger-toes (!), dark eyes, slightly upturned nose, newborn 'overbite', and my favorite - her wide open mouth when she sleeps (just like the other Armbruster women!).  She is such a dream in every way.

We will be discharged tomorrow sometime - I opted for the full stay instead of going home a day early.  I'm still very sore and tired, and am trying to make every last pain pill work for me before I leave the hospital!  I am literally falling asleep as I type this post, so apparently it's nap time. :)

Thanks for checking in on us, and for your prayers!  If you haven't met Ellie yet, we're excited for you to come visit her sometime next week, after she's settled in at home.

3 comments:

Jennifer said...

Ashley, you are SO sweet to have written this post even as you were falling asleep! Thank you SO much for the update. I am so glad to hear you are all doing well and that Ellie's system is functioning properly! Note to self: buy Oxy Clean before the baby brother is born! :)

I'm so glad that you two will be heading home tomorrow. I'll be praying for all of you as you get settled back into life at home. It is really so great that you have your family close by to help out -- what a blessing!

I love you guys and am so excited and happy for you!

the deKorne family said...

She is so beautiful! Glad things went well and hope you enjoy a nice weekend with your little family. My girls were always "orange as carrots" as my dr. put it. :) And it always subsides...Praying for you as you adjust and heal!

noahpaul said...

she is absolutely beautiful! congrats guys! isn't that moment when the two siblings meet for the first time so sweet?! you are blessed with two precious kids!