The Most Delicious Baby in the World

The first time I held Elizabeth she smelled just like cinnamon. Now I realize it must have been the soap scent on the blankets the hospital used, but it was kind of neat that she smelled so sweet the first time we met her. Generally babies smell like a mixture of warm milk, powder, and poop and, except for her initial cinnamony goodness, Elizabeth is no different. However, this morning when she woke up, I drowsily put her into the bed next to me to cuddle her and she smelled just like a McDonald's Hotcake breakfast with sausage and syrup. Maybe it was just the formula which she had dripped on her shirt during the night, but she smelled so great I just sat there and snuggled and sniffed her for the next hour. I usually wash her off and change her clothes when she wakes up, but I was a little sad to do it this morning. She's back to smelling like milk/diaper, but I love it that she randomly smells so delicious.

-- Lisa

Elizabeth: The First Two Weeks

Today, Lizzie offically turns 2 weeks old. It feels like she's been around much longer than that though and like she's always been part of our family.

Everything is going great. She is eating, sleeping, and pooping in an excellent rotation. She's a sweetheart and we both love her tons. But she also has quite a few other admirers. Here's just a few pictures of her daily dose of visitors bearing gifts and cuddles. She's like a little celebri-baby with a hoard of paparazzi constantly following her around. This is Lizzie with my mom, Namma Sharon...

And my dad, Nampa Jim...

Shawn's sister, Aunt Joey (otherwise known as Jeanette to the adults)...

Shawn's mom, Grandma Mary...

Her cousins, Ava, Sophia, and Olivia (Elizabeth is the bundle on Daddy's lap)...

With Shawn's sister, Aunt Karen...

With my sister, Aunt Jenny...

With my friend, Aunt Kristina...

And here's Lizzie with her cousin, Kara, who we asked to be her godmother...

And her Aunt Melissa, who we asked to be her other godmother (that's right, two godmothers, no godfathers, all the pressure is on Shawn to be her male role model)...

Lizzie also had her first doctor's visit. All was well. She was 6 pounds, 4 ounces when she was born and dropped to 6 pounds, 1 ounce at the time she left the hospital. At her first visit she was back up to her birth weight!

We also had to take her in to be weighed yesterday and she is now up to 7 pounds, 2 ounces. We are so proud of her. The nurse said she is in the 17th percentile which means that out of 100 babies, she is bigger than 17 of them. We encouraged her by saying that she could now totally beat up 17 other smaller babies! Way to go, Lizzie!

Otherwise, she is happy and healthy. Her cutest quirk is that she sometimes likes to pee on people who are changing her diaper. She's getting better now though, but it was coming to the point where I was changing her outfit along with every diaper. I seceretly think she just likes wearing a lot of different clothes.

We also had our first post-placement meeting with the social worker. They have to come out once a month to see how everything is going until the adoption is finalized. We also talked to one of the lawyers our agency recommended about getting everything set for finalization. The lawyer is an adoptive mom herself and was very nice and helpful. She is sending information for us to fill out and she said she would probably be able to get us a court date very soon after we hit the six month mark!

For Easter, we stayed at home and my mom, dad, and sister came over with food and gifts for the baby. We didn't want to take her to Shawn's family gathering since there are so many people there and the doctor recommednded she not go out into crowds. Here's a picture of all her Easter gifts...

And here's a picture of her with the giant bunny Namma gave her...

Since Shawn and I aren't taking Elizabeth out and about just yet, if we need to go somewhere, one of us will stay home with Lizzie. Last Wednesday, I went up to our local mall to get order some eyeglasses. I went with my mom and dad and stopped in Macy's where Mom and I both used to work. We were talking to some people we knew and everyone was congratulating me on becoming a new mom. And here was the interesting part of the conversation...

Ex-co-worker: Do you have pictures?!
Me: No, I've taken a ton but haven't gotten any developed yet because we only brought her home two days ago.
Ex-co-worker: Two days ago?
Me: Yeah, she was born on Thursday and came home with us Monday so she's less than a week old.
Ex-co-worker: (Astonished) And you're out?!
Me: (Puzzled) What do you mean?... She's home with her dad...

At first I thought I had broken some unspoken motherhood code which was never to leave your child's side in the first week of life. I mean, she was with Shawn, it's not like I left her waiting in her bassinet or paid a neighbor kid to hang out with her for a few hours. But then I realized, she must have assumed I gave birth to Elizabeth. Yes, I am out and about after a strenous labor and delivery, and I lost all my pregnancy weight to boot! Take that other moms!

Some more pictures of Lizzie's extreme cuteness...





-- Lisa

Our First Weekend with Elizabeth

Okay, now that I have some more time, I wanted to share some of the information about Elizabeth's weekend in the hospital.

Jessica was induced on Thursday and gave birth to a beautiful, healthy little girl at 11:40 PM that night (only a few more minutes and her birthday would have been March 14th!). Shawn and I were able to visit with the baby (who Jessica decided to give the name we all chose, Elizabeth Lorelei) about a half hour after she was born. I was so nervous walking into that delivery room. Were Jessica and the baby okay? What would Elizabeth look like? Would we love her right away?

The second I saw her little face in Jessica's arms, I fell instantly in love with her. It also didn't hurt that she was also the prettiest, sweetest little baby I had ever seen. Shawn and I instantly felt connected to this tiny person who had only been an idea up until now. We got to hold her and see her be cleaned up and snap about a million pictures. Here are some. Me and Lizzie...

Shawn and Lizzie...

Getting cleaned up...

Resting and relaxing...

Of course, the truth was that this baby, as much as we loved her, was not yet our daughter. The laws in Ohio state that the earliest placement can occur is 72 hours after birth, which meant that Monday morning would be the day. We also wanted to be sure to give Jessica and her family time to enjoy their new addition and to be able to make a decision without feeling like we were hovering over them the whole time. We ended up leaving the hospital around 2:00 AM and groggily, but happily driving home.

The next day, Jessica invited us to come visit Elizabeth for a few hours. We talked more about the details of the adoption and that the baby would need to stay until Monday, though Jessica could leave earlier if she wanted to. At first, Jessica planned to stay in the hospital with the baby the entire weekend, which we thought would be great. But when we came out to visit on Saturday morning, Jessica let us know she had decided to be discharged and asked if we would be willing to stay with Elizabeth. The hospital offered us a room and we agreed to stay with her for the next two nights. Some more pictures of us with Elizabeth...

Shawn and Lizzie making grumpy faces...

Elizabeth enjoying a delicious bottle of hospital formula...

Lizzie sleeping in her plastic bassinet...

Me and smiley Lizzie...

Saturday night we decided to have Elizabeth sleep in our room with us so we could spend some time getting to know her. Neither of us got much sleep as we kept listening to her every movement. When she did get up to be fed, we couldn't get her to settle down and go back to sleep because we couldn't do a proper swaddle. Eventually the nurse stuck her head in the door to help and we were all able to get some much needed ZZZ's.

On Sunday evening, Jessica stopped by to visit us for a few hours. It felt odd that only a day ago, she was the one was taking care of Lizzie and we were the ones visiting. But now the roles were reversed. The whole time Shawn and I were bonding with this little sweetheart, we knew in our hearts that none of this was final and that Lizzie might not be coming home with us.

On Monday, which was also St. Patrick's Day, Jessica and her family came in to sign her papers, Shawn and I signed our papers, and just like that, Elizabeth was our daughter. Jessica reserved the hospital chapel so that we could do a short entrustment ceremony. She asked a family friend to say some touching words. By the end of it, I was crying all over the place. Here's a picture of Elizabeth all dressed to go home...

The whole weekend was filled with a lot of anxiety on our side, but we both know that whatever pain we were experiencing that Jessica and her family were going through something so much more difficult. I won't even attempt to talk about how hard this must have been for them because I have no idea what a loss like that is like. Shawn and I are so incredibly grateful to them, not just for allowing Elizabeth to become part of our family, but for also allowing us to share in her first days of life.

Jessica is going to come to visit in April and we are all looking forward to seeing her then. As always, please keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

-- Lisa

We're Home

Elizabeth came home with us yesterday. She's sleeping right now, but we are running around trying to get everything situated for her. I will post more info about her first weekend when I have a little more time. For now, here's a picture of the sweetest baby in the world (and the two happiest parents who ever lived)...

-- Lisa

She's Here!

Jessica* gave birth to a healthy, happy baby girl just before midnight on March 13th. She is 6 pounds, 4 ounces, 19 inches, and got an 8 and 9 on her APGAR (she is clearly a future genius). Jessica is also recovering and doing well.

We were able to visit with her and her family throughout the labor process and got to hold the baby about a half hour after she was born. Shawn and I can honestly say she is the cutest, smartest, and most well-behaved baby we have ever met (with absolutely no bias at all)!

We hope to be able to visit with the baby and her family in the coming days. Needless to say, this is a difficult time for everyone, so please keep baby Elizabeth, Jessica and her family, and us in your prayers.

-- Lisa

* Jessica gave us permission to use her full first name here.

My Work Baby Shower

Today, the incredible people at my work threw me a surprise baby shower! And thanks to the distraction of my very good friend, Lisa, it turned out to be a surprise. Here's Shawn greeting me as I walk in...

Here's the awesome decor and potluck lunch provided by my co-workers...

Here's me and Shawn opening our many lovely gifts...

Me cutting the cake (the thing to the right was made of red velvet cupcakes... yum!)...

Me with some of my work friends who planned the shower, Maggie, Lisa, and Susan (thanks, ladies!)...

We got so many special and beautiful gifts! I know our future child will love them all! Thanks guys!

-- Lisa

Almost Time

J and I talked on the phone last night and she is starting to go into labor (well, I guess she's already in labor, but not active, ready-to-have-a-baby type labor yet).

She saw her doctor yesterday and was already in the beginning stages. He thought she might even have to be admitted last night, but she didn't. She's going to call as soon as she feels it's time to go to the hospital so we can join her there.

Keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

-- Lisa

A Word from God

Don’t fret or worry.
Instead of worrying, pray.
Let petitions and praises
shape your worries into prayers,
letting God know your concerns.
Before you know it,
a sense of God’s wholeness,
everything coming together for good,
will come and settle you down.
It’s wonderful what happens
when Christ displaces worry
at the center of your life.
Summing it all up, friends,
I’d say you’ll do best
by filling your minds and meditating
on things true, noble, reputable,
authentic, compelling, gracious —
the best, not the worst;
the beautiful, not the ugly;
things to praise, not things to curse.
Put into practice what you learned from me,
what you heard and saw and realized.
Do that, and God,
who makes everything work together,
will work you
into his most excellent harmonies.

Philippians 4:6-9 (MSG)

-- Lisa

Another Visit Complete with Baby Stuff

Shawn and I met with J again yesterday. We drove out to her neck of the woods and had breakfast/lunch at Bob Evans. I tried the raspberry crepes and the three of us had a very good conversation. We also got to briefly meet her grandfather who was very nice.

J also presented us with a stroller that she and her mom had picked out for us. It was a gorgeous and very hip exercise stroller! I cannot even say how kind and thoughtful it was of them to think of us with a wonderful gift like this. After we go home, we promptly took it out of the box and assembled it (which was a bit more difficult than it should have been). We absolutely loved it! Here's a picture of the fully-assembled stroller with the bassinet attachment on top...

I also took some more pictures of the new items we've added to the nursery. We finally bought a crib mattress and sheets. Our two ugly dolls are keeping the crib warm for now...

We also got a glider chair (it's very, very relaxing)...

Here's the closet packed with clothes and supplies...

And here's a panoramic (kind of) view of the room...

-- Lisa