Eight Weeks Old

Written on Wednesday, September 9, 2009:
I would like to know where summer went! I had a baby and have been very busy with her this summer, and it has also been a very cool summer... I guess the combination of the two made summer go by very quickly! Summer is my favorite season, and I’m kind of sad that it is already over and it seems like it barely began! I’m already wearing jeans and jackets on some days and our AC has been off for some time now. I am NOT ready for the cooler weather and the even colder weather that I know will follow!

We had a busy Labor Day weekend. On Saturday we went to two of my great-aunts’ funerals where Ella met more of the Sprugel family. We also listened to the Iowa vs. UNI game. It was a close one, right down to the end, but the Hawks won! I cannot believe football season is here already!

We went to Kent Park for a Labor Day picnic with Grandma and Grandpa Jetter and Uncle Eric. After the picnic we took Ella to City Park Pool for a quick swim. Chris and I probably won the mean parents of the year award by taking her to the pool. It was a little chilly, but we wanted to take her at least once before the season was over. I can’t say that Ella loved it, but I can say she hated it less than she hates baths! :)

Ella had her second appointment at the university yesterday. She weighed 9 lbs, 12 oz. That’s a 10 ounce gain in five days!

Seven Weeks Old

Written on Wednesday, September 2, 2009:
Ella had her one month check up earlier this week. This was almost two weeks after it was supposed to be scheduled thanks to a scheduling miscommunication with the lady at the front desk of the doctor’s office. Luckily Ella and I go to the same doctor and she let Ella and I share my 6 week appointment, otherwise it would have been another three weeks before they could have seen Ella! Ella now weighs 9lbs, 2oz (still at the 50percentile), she is 22 1/4 inches long (still at the 75th percentile), and her head circumference is 15 inches (previously 75th percentile, now between 75th and 90th). Shots next time! :(

Six Weeks Old

Written on Wednesday, August 25, 2009:

Chris and I saw Ella’s first real smiles this week! It was fun to watch her eyes light up once she got the smiles going. Ella is also starting to track things by turning her head this week. She still isn’t a very big fan of tummy time, but we’re working on it!

This past weekend Ella went on her first ROAD TRIP!!!! Ella, Chris, Grandpa Jetter (Grandma had to take the train on Saturday because school started this week!) and I drove out to Denver for a friend’s wedding. Ella did a great job, she slept most of the way! Grandma dressed Ella up in a pretty dress for the wedding, but she got too hot during the outdoor ceremony, so she spent most of the reception nearly naked. Ella really seemed to enjoy the music and the dancing!

Five Weeks Old

Written on Wednesday, August 19, 2009:

Ella experienced her first Iowa State Fair this week! She got to see her first butter cow. There was also a butter Neil Armstrong this year, but no butter Michael Jackson (the people thankfully voted no!). Ella got her picture taken with a giant chicken and an ostrich egg. She got a little warm in the Butter Cow building and let us know about it! She felt much better when I walked her through the misting fountain. She was a little shocked when the water first touched her skin, but she decided she liked it and began calming down. After this we headed to the air conditioned varied industries building where Ella met Herkey and got her very first tattoo! She would have gotten a Cy tattoo too for Grandma and Grandpa Jetter and Uncle Eric, but they were not giving them out this year, sorry guys! While we were there Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Eric, Mom, Dad, Great-Aunt Jann, Cousin Ben Chris and I consumed all kinds of food, most of which was on a stick. We did not find any formula on a stick for Ella, and Uncle Eric was disappointed that he did not find his beer on a stick this year. We did see quite a few animals, lots of baby animals too. After seeing the baby piglets everybody got their own set of piggy ears!




We were all very sad when we had to take Great-Aunt Jann and Cousin Ben back to the airport this weekend, we miss them a lot already! We had several more visitors at the house this week. Ella is always so sad to see them go. I think she doesn’t like a quiet house. I got her to fall asleep in her bouncy seat in the bathroom with the water and fan running!



School starts at the end of this week. I still can’t believe that I could be setting up my own classroom this week, glad I’m not, I would be a complete mess! Instead Ella and I helped Grandma set up her classroom. Ella got to meet all of Grandma’s teacher friends, but her favorite part was napping in the new bean bag chairs in the reading corner!

One Month Old!

Written on Saturday, August 15, 2009:
Ella is one month old today! I cannot believe it has been that long! She has already changed so much in just one month!

At one month she weighs about 8 lbs, 4 oz, and is about 20 1/2 inches long (measurements taken last week).

She is barely fitting into her newborn clothes and diapers, but the 0-3 month clothes and size 1 diapers seem huge on her right now.

Ella sleeps in her pack-n-play in Mom and Dad’s room most nights. I think she has only slept in her crib in her own room 3 nights so far. Ella usually sleeps around 3 hours at a time, with the occasional night where she will sleep 6 hours at a time.

Ella loves to be held and rocked. She likes her swing and her bouncy seat. Ella likes to listen to music, and stories and she also likes dancing with mom in the kitchen/dining room, it often makes her stop crying and puts her to sleep! She likes a little bit of tummy time, but not too much! :)

Four Weeks Old

Written on Wednesday, August 12, 2009:

Who knew I’d get everything I’d wanted in three weeks time! I was offered the teaching job last Thursday. I was at Hobby Lobby picking up plates and cups for Ella’s baptism when I got the phone call. I’d always imagined what that moment would be like when I was finally offered a job. Never in a million years would I have guessed that my reaction to this job offer would be to spend an hour crying in a parking lot! I knew I wanted to stay home with Ella, but turning down the job that I’ve wanted for so long and worked my butt off over the past 4 years to get was not going to be easy to turn down. Actually it was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I went into the school on Friday to explain my decision to the principal and one of the teachers who was there. I turned down a full time teaching position in Iowa City, never thought I’d do that! Whew! But now that it is done and they are interviewing other people, I am happy with my decision and am looking forward to being a stay at home mom!

Ella had her first tub bath at home this weekend. So far she’s not a big fan of bath time. She just screamed and screamed when she was in the tub! I covered her up with a washcloth while she was sitting in the tub which made her stop crying for a moment, but then she remembered that she was all wet, and so began crying again! Poor baby! Once we’d dried her off and wrapped her up in her robe, she was a much happier baby!


Ella was baptized at church on Sunday. She was a very good baby at church, no crying, even when the pastor put water on her head! After church we went to my parents house for lunch with family and friends.

On Monday Ella and I went to Des Moines with Grandma Jetter, Great-Aunt Jann and cousin Ben. Ella had never been that far from home before, but she did a great job! She slept all the way over in the car, actually sleeping through her lunch! I think we will be just fine driving to Colorado next week! Just keep that car in motion!

Chris and I finally made it to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! It was supposed to come out last November and Chris was going to take me to see it for my birthday, but then they changed the release date to July 15. We were a little busy that day, so we didn’t get around to going until Tuesday of this week! It worked out well because the house was just full of babysitters! Chris thought the movie was good, but having read the books, I was again a little disappointed. I may have to read them to Ella AND Chris so they know how much better the books are! :)

Three Weeks Old

Written on Wednesday, August 5, 2009:
Ella is three weeks old today! One night this week we woke up to see that Ella had rolled onto her side in her sleep.

With Dad back to work and Grandma and Grandpa Jetter in Colorado, Ella seemed to notice that she was home alone with Mom for the first time this week. She spent the better part of an afternoon screaming at the top of her lungs. After trying anything I could think of to make Ella stop crying she continued to cry harder and turn a deeper color of red. I felt so bad that she was so upset and I couldn’t figure out what she was so upset about that soon I was crying too. I tried calling Chris at work, but naturally he didn’t answer the phone, so Ella and I cried together until she finally fell asleep, about 5 minutes before Chris pulled into the driveway.

Ella is part of a study on infant formula at the University of Iowa. As part of this study we go in once a month for her to be weighed and measured and they send us home with a month’s supply of formula. This is a pretty good deal for us! Her first visit was yesterday, she weighed 8lbs. 4oz.!

Over the past 4 years I have worked as a substitute teacher while applying for full time teaching positions in the Iowa City district. This year I decided that I would be staying home with the baby, so I pulled my application file, resume, cover letter, and letters of recommendation from the district back in June. Monday morning I got a call from the principal at the school where I just finished my long-term sub assignment, she offered me an interview. You can’t say no to an interview, it’s good practice if nothing else right? So I went in for the interview this morning. It wasn’t my best interview, but I won’t be crushed if I don’t get the job this time. Actually, I kind of hope they don’t offer me the job because then I won’t have to decide if I’m staying home or going back to work! I already know what my decision would be, but at the same time it would be so hard to turn this job down when I’ve been working so hard to get it! You don’t turn down teaching jobs in Iowa City, they are too hard to come by. You have to know the right people and be in the right place at the right time to get a job. This time I know the right people, I was in the right place, but I’m afraid the time is just not right, Ella is only 3 weeks old and I’d have to start next week. So I’ll probably get the job...hmm.

Remember when Chris expanded our storage area under the stairs a few months back? Well we put all of my school boxes at the very back of the space because I didn’t think I’d be using them for a few years. Also, back in January Chris and I had put baby on a waiting list at the daycare at Chris’ work. We were 37th on the list in January. They called last week to see if we were still in need of daycare and I told them that we were not because I was going to be staying home, so they put us back at the bottom of the list, this time I think we are 40 something on the list. I just know I’m going to get this job tomorrow, not sure how I feel about that...

Two Weeks Old

Written on Wednesday, July 29, 2009:
It’s been another busy week for Ella. We visited Grandma Mary’s office, went to the outlet mall in Williamsburg, and Ella experienced her first storm warning taking shelter in Grandma and Grandpa Jetter’s basement.

We spent Friday afternoon cleaning up after a leaky diaper. Ella had been in her car seat in the car and needed to be changed. When we picked the car seat up out of its base we noticed how badly she needed changed! There was a nice puddle of poo in the base! So we quickly took Ella out of the car seat and inspected the source. Somehow Ella had managed to keep her clothes clean while all the runny poo ran out of her diaper, into and through her car seat all the way to the base. Nice work Ella! It ended up being a four person clean up operation!!

Ella spent her first few hours away from Mom this week. I threw a bridal shower and a bachelorette party for a friend and Ella stayed with her Daddy. They got along just fine!

Monday we took Ella to Cedar Rapids for her first minor league baseball game. Go Kernels! Ella seemed to know that there is no crying in baseball, she slept through most of the game! We sat right behind home plate and Ella stole the show. There were more people around us watching her than were watching the game. Ella got her picture taken with Mr. Shucks and her Dad bought her a pink Kernals baseball that was just her size.








Last night we took Grandma and Grandpa Jetter to the train station. We were all standing on the platform as the train pulled up to the station. The train’s loud whistle startled Ella, but she did not wake up!

Ella is two weeks old today. Chris went back to work today. Ella and I went up to meet him for lunch so he could get his Ella fix. After lunch Ella and I went to Target. While we were there two girls came up to us and said they were on a scavenger hunt and wanted to pray for Ella, so they did, right there in the toy section of Target! Never a dull day in this child’s life!

One Week Old

Written on Wednesday, July 22, 2009:
Ella is one week old today! What a week it’s been! Last weekend we took Ella on her first outing to Target and made an appointment to get newborn pictures taken. Aunt Lisa, Uncle Jim, and cousins Kylie and Connor came to visit and meet Ella.

On Monday we went back to the mall to get Ella’s picture taken. We got there early so we could feed and change her before they started taking pictures, and it was a good thing we did! Her diaper had leaked and there was runny poop everywhere! Once we got her cleaned up it was picture time, but Ella wanted nothing to do with falling asleep for the photo shoot. She also did not want to be photographed naked or without her pacifier! Luckily the photographer was very understanding and let us come back two more times. Third time’s a charm! Here are a few of our favorites.






Ella has been waking up to eat about every 3 hours during the night. Monday night she slept for almost 6 hours in a row, Chris and I both checked to see if the other had gotten up with Ella in the night. There was a moment of panic when we found that nobody had, and we quickly double checked to see that she was still breathing! Whew! Didn’t think babies this young were supposed to sleep this long! No complaints here! Unfortunately the 6 hour nights did not last, and we are back to 3 hour intervals.

Yesterday a nurse from the hospital came to our house to check up on Ella and see if we had any questions or concerns. She weighed Ella too, she weighed 7lbs, 8oz.

Today we took Ella in for her one week doctor appointment. She weighed 7lbs, 6oz (50th percentile), her head circumference was 13 1/2 inches (75th percentile), and she was 20 1/2 inches long (75th percentile). They were surprised that Ella hadn’t had any jaundice since her blood type is Rh positive and mine is negative. Since everything looks good we don’t have to take her back in until she is one month old.

Ella went to her first bar for lunch today. After lunch we went to visit Grandpa Jetter’s office. Everybody was so excited to see and hold Ella!

Ella Ose Lewis

Written Friday, July 17, 2009:

Ella has a middle name now! Ella Ose Lewis. For those who don’t know, Ose is also my middle name and my mom’s maiden name. Ella has had a busy first few days with lots of visitors at the hospital. Grandpa and Grandma Jetter, Uncle Eric, Hallie, Grandma and Grandpa Lewis, Aunt Tamra, our pastor, and several friends came to see Ella. She loves being held and swaddled, she isn’t so sure about her new spacious habitat. When Ella hears my voice she looks toward me, and she is already holding her head up for a few seconds at a time. A few days ago I was guessing what baby parts I was seeing moving around under my skin, now that Ella has arrived I have found that it was unmistakably her little heals.

We got to leave the hospital today, Ella weighed 7lbs 6oz. I was glad to be going home because I was starting to feel a little cooped up, but I wanted to take a few of the nurses home with me, they were wonderful!



When we got home Ruby was so excited to meet Ella, that she tried to get under the gate to greet us. When we introduced the two, Ruby just smelled and smelled Ella, gave her a few licks and then went and got her duck baby and laid it on Ella. I think they will be great friends.

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Written Wednesday, July 15, 2009 (Ella's Birth Day):

Ella (middle name TBD) Lewis arrived this morning at 5:52! She weighs 7lbs 11oz and is 21 inches long. She has ten long fingers and ten long toes, brown hair and long eyelashes. She is healthy and absolutely beautiful! We are so excited that she is finally here!

Ella made a quick and easy entry into the outside world. I started getting stronger contractions last night around 10, and we arrived at the hospital around 12:30 this morning. Chris did a great job helping me relax and reminding me to keep breathing all while managing not to pass out on the floor! At 2 this morning I had an epidural (which I highly recommend!) and then got to sleep for about an hour before it was time to call the doctor back in and have a baby! Everything went well and Ella, Chris and I are all doing great.

Other big things going on in the country today include the release of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince in theaters, and the launch of NASA’s Endeavour Shuttle.

Still Pregnant

Written on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 (the day before Ella was born):

It has been a long week here at the Lewis home. Baby was due 7 days ago and has still not made his/her appearance. Every day that goes by is a little more frustrating than the day before. I’m starting to feel like I’m going to be pregnant for the rest of eternity. Our next door neighbors had a little girl this weekend, she was 4 weeks early! They will be coming home from the hospital today, no fair!

We probably should have guessed or assumed that Baby would be running late considering Chris and I are its parents and we’re usually running a bit behind schedule. At first Baby’s tardiness was okay by me, as I am a huge procrastinator, I had not packed my bag for the hospital, cleaned the house and other various things that needed to be done before Baby arrives. But now given this additional week that I had not counted on, I have nothing to do. Mom and Chris have been working hard to keep me entertained and as distracted as possible from the fact that Baby has not yet arrived. This has been a big challenge for them as this is the first summer in 15 years that I have not been employed at least part time. I don’t know what to do with myself and all this free time!

Mom would like to take me to the aquarium on a Tuesday, like the Visa commercial, but we do not have such things in Iowa, so we went to the late showing of The Proposal on a week night instead. I paid off my credit card, so we are finally credit card debt free!!! This was a big goal of mine that I’d hoped to achieve before baby. We installed car seat bases in my car, Chris’ car and Grandma and Grandpa Jetter’s van. We’ve moved the pack-n-play into our bedroom. We’ve gone on many walks around the pond in our back yard. We let the dogs swim in it one day. Gretta enjoyed swimming after the geese. Boomer tried out his swimming skills for the first time, and Ruby, well, she’s more of a land lover than the other two. Mom and I went to Mt. Vernon and ate at an odd little cafe, we don’t recommend it to anybody, but it was an adventure. I’ve had a Harry Potter marathon, re-watching the first 5 movies as I wait for the new movie to be released tomorrow. I thought that I’d need a babysitter to go see this new movie, but maybe I’ll go see it tomorrow, or tonight, if the midnight shows are not already sold out. Hmm. I have another doctors appointment tonight, so we’ll see if anything has changed since last week.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog! Over the years I've stopped sending out my Weekly Wednesday Update emails, and I haven't uploaded the updates to my baby website since before Ella was born even though I've written many un-uploaded entries. Now I will try blogging and hope that I find it to be easy and not super time consuming so I will stick with it! :) I will try my best to write at least a little something every week. Here goes! I'll start by including the posts that never got posted to the baby website. The first one was written the day before Ella was born. Feel free to read or skip over as you feel fit. A LOT has changed over the last 10 1/2 months! :)