bath time

can you tell she LOVED her big girl bath.

she passed out not 5 minutes into the bath.

i guess all that hot water reminded her of back home in the womb.

hi world!

sleepy girl

my sweet baby girl sleeping in her crib.
it's so hard not to just stare at her while she is sleeping.
she is just so adorable!!!

we went to the arboretum easter weekend and this was probably my favorite pic of the day.
not the flowers, not any of the other family pics, this one.
how can you not love two daddy's pushing their daughters in strollers.

for those of you who don't know, that is jeremy, my brother in law on the left with lyla and blake and eleanor on the right.

so sweet!

delivery day

i have been asked by almost everyone how delivery day went so i thought i would share my story via the blog. (what better way!)
i will admit, i had blake write down the details, times and events of the day so this should be fairly accurate.
as most of you know, i had my 38 week appointment (which was my last blog before the baby).
this was thursday the 11th.
i was 4 cm dilated and 75% effaced.
my doctor mentioned that because i was so far a long, i had the option of coming in on monday, the 15th, to be induced if i didn't have eleanor over the weekend with my original due date being march 20th.
she said she would not normally suggest this but because of my progress, she figured i would handle an induction pretty well.
she definitely said it wasn't necessary and thought maybe eleanor would even arrive over the weekend.
also, my doctor was going to be out of town beginning tuesday the 16th through the week so it would be my only chance of having her deliver my baby- which i really wanted.
after talking it over with blake and our families, we decided to go with the 15th due date for several different reasons.

how it all went down-
monday morning we arrived at presby at 8 am. (this happens to be the same hospital both blake & i were born in..how neat is that!)
we filled out the all necessary paper work and got settled in our delivery room.
before getting any meds, i was 4 cm 90% effaced.
by 9:15 am, i was given the pitocin.
at this point, i felt great.
still had normal contractions but nothing i couldn't handle.
9:30 am is officially when labor began.
it didn't take long to feel stronger contractions that were more regular than anything i felt before.
both families were in the room with us up until push time (including lyla & jett!) so this helped the time to go by pretty quickly.
by 11:40, i was 5 cm and around 1:15pm i got the epidural. (can we say AMAZING!)
from this moment on, i NEVER felt a single bit of pain. not one. it was great.
at 1:30 they broke my water and by 3:00 pm i was fully dilated and effaced.
when the doc came in to tell us, we thought she was going to say i was around a 7.
needless to say blake and i were shocked and both started crying realizing we were about to meet our baby girl.
by the time they actually prepared and set up the room for delivery, it was 4:00 pm.
PUSH TIME.
i always imagined a crew of medical staff in my delivery room running around while i pushed out a child.
however, for the first 30 minutes, it was just me, blake and our nurse. then my doc came in for the last 30 min.
the pushing part was indescribable, something i will never forget!
we chose to watch everything in a huge mirror.
to all mommies-to-be out there- if you have this option...DO IT!
before my doc came in the room, every time i would push, eleanor's heart rate would drop so i would have to turn onto my side and wait for it to go back up.
however once my doctor came in the room, things changed for the better and out came eleanor!
she was born at 5:02 pm.
my labor totaled to 7 1/2 hours.

delivering eleanor was the most amazing experience i have ever been through.
i have not one complaint about the hospital, labor & delivery or my recovery room stay.

so there you have it! i probably forgot something so feel free to ask me!

more pics of baby eleanor coming soon!

maternity pics

I finally got my maternity pics back.
I had the wonderful Lauren Larson document my belly at 38 weeks.
She did a wonderful job!
I was hesitant to have these done but I think it will be great to have these to look back on!
We also had her come take some photos of Eleanor which we will have back in a couple weeks.
We can't wait to see them!

Eleanor's 2 week check up

I know, I know...I have SO MUCH blogging to catch up on.
I am only a first time mommy AND still working ...
So give me time. Promise.

Here is an update on Eleanor.

She had her two week appointment.
When we left the hospital, she weighed 5 lbs 14 oz so our goal at this appointment was to have her back over her birth weight at 6 lbs 3 oz.
Well the appointment went great.
Eleanor weighed 6 lbs 7oz and was 20 1/4 inches long.
Growing well!
That is 60th% for height and 12th% for weight.
Since she got a good report, her doctor told us we could extend her feedings at night from 3 hours to every 4 hours. (YAY, more sleep for mommy!)
She has almost adjusted to the 4 hour schedule at night, with one 4 hour stretch and one 3 1/2 hour stretch.

We go back to the doctor for her 2 month appointment.
I will be anxious to see how much she has grown then.
She is already changing daily...it's crazy how fast it happens!
Her smile will just melt your heart too.

We have taken TONS of pictures so I hope to find some time to share them soon.

Eleanor Claire Fusch

Eleanor Claire Fusch has finally arrived!
She is such a beautiful gift from God and the cutest bundle of joy EVER!

She was born March 15, 2010 at 5:02 pm.
She weighed in at 6 pounds 3 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long.

I have posted a bunch of pics on facebook for the time being and hope to be able to update my blog eventually with pics and how the L&D day went.

Thank you all for the prayers, texts, emails and support throughout this journey.
What an amazing experience it was!

xoxo

38 week appointment

this morning we had our 38 week appointment.
our baby girl's heartbeat was 150 bpm.
i am still 75% effaced and almost 4cm dilated.
the baby is in perfect position so the doc is thinking any day now.
i am still having normal contractions however last night and today they have seemed to pick up.
as of the last couple of days, i feel like i am moving a little slower as well.
i guess that is normal though. ;o)

i am so excited because my sister is coming in town saturday until our baby girl decides to arrive.
it will be such a blast to have her, patrick and jett here during this time.
blake & i are so blessed to have so much love and support right now and we are truly thankful for all the thoughts and prayers over the last 9 months.
we are beyond thrilled to share our bundle of joy with you all!!

stayed tuned for baby fusch!

37 week appointment

this morning we had our 37 week visit with the doctor.
everything looked great.
baby girl's heart beat was 150 bpm.
i am now 3cm dilated and still 75% effaced.
the doctor did say that she wouldn't be shocked if she came this week but that i also could just walk around at 3 cm until my due date...that's definitely not unheard of.
she also said that if i wasn't as comfortable as i claim to be, she would go ahead and think about inducing me at this point since i have progressed this far on my own.
but i have to say, i am still feeling pretty normal, sleeping great, able to work out and therefore have no reason to think about inducing yet.
we are so excited to meet her but know that when she is ready, she will come on her own!

on another note...i made a last minute decision to have maternity pics taken of me since i have done a POOR poor job of documenting myself.
i had them taken yesterday & can't wait to see how they turned out.
it will be 2-3 weeks until i get to see them but i will be sure to post them.

hope you all have a blessed weekend and enjoy this BEAUTIFUL weather!