Three Weeks Already

Time flies when you're having fun, and we can't believe Evelyn is already 3 weeks old.... and that we haven't posted an update yet! We're all doing pretty well, and enjoying every minute of Evelyn (even the screaming ones--we never knew someone could still be so adorable even while crying!).

We've enjoyed having lots of family and friends come by to visit and help out. It's nice to talk to other adults, as well as to have someone to hold the baby so we can shower, eat, or even just go to the bathroom!

Here's what we've figured out about Evelyn so far:

Likes:
Eating!
Snuggling
Tummy time
Frolicking on a soft blanket after a bath
Baby Bjorn
Going for walks in the stroller
Play mat

Dislikes:
Changing clothes
Changing diapers
Swaddling
Pacifiers (although she will sometimes take the fancy $8 European pacifier for a few minutes. Other than that, she acts as if she's being gagged.)
Vitamins

Ambivalent towards:
Swinging and vibrating seats
Toys
Jax (the feeling is mutual)
Baths--although she seems to be starting to enjoy them a little more lately

We're not even close to having a schedule yet, but Evelyn is becoming a little more predictable. She usually takes a few good naps during the day, and wants to eat every 1-3 hours. At bedtime, we can normally put her in her little bed anywhere between 10-12 (often following a period of extreme fussiness). At night, she typically sleeps for about 2-3 hours between feedings, but she's pretty good about going right back to sleep after she eats. Usually once during the night we have to get up and walk around or rock her for a little while to get her back to sleep.

Here are a bunch of pictures from Evelyn's first 3 weeks...

First day home from the hospital

Tummy time with bear

Not really into the hair washing

Post bath favorite: fuzzy pink blanket time!

We finally got a picture of them together.... well, sort of

Jedi warrior

She's here!

After many months of waiting, she's finally here.....and we love her more than anything.....

Evelyn April Nelson
Born 6/2/11 at 6:28am
8lbs, 10oz, 20in

We started to think the baby may be coming at 3am, we were at the hospital by 5am, and Evelyn was born at 6:28am!

Here are some pictures from her first day

We will be home by tomorrow and can't wait for Jax to meet our little girl.

Just Add Baby

A lot has happened since our last update. We've moved to our bigger place and had 3 wonderful baby showers (thank you family, coworkers, and church friends!). We've got a new fancy camera that we don't really know how to use, some new furniture, and a new-to-us car for Tom.  We've taken a baby care class and a breastfeeding class. I've got snacks, 6 hours worth of "relaxing" music on an itunes playlist, and a list of everything to bring with us to the hospital. Now we are on major baby countdown--less that one week until she's due!

We are certainly excited to meet her, but at the same time definitely nervous and still in disbelief. You'd think by 39 weeks you would have wrapped your head around an actual CHILD coming as a result of pregnancy.... nope. I still can't believe any day now there will be another tiny person who we must feed, clothe, bathe, carry around (and not in my belly), etc...

Thankfully we've got (hopefully) everything we need for her arrival, and most of it is all set up.  Here are some pictures of what we've been up to:

39 weeks! 

One view of baby's room. Tom and I put up the decal ourselves (what a process). 

Kind of boring in this corner.... we're still on the hunt for some more decoration we like. 

The baby's AWESOME closet!

Snoopy modeling baby's zen bouncy chair.

Pack n' play, right by mom's side of the bed.

For those of you who are interested in this sort of thing, according to my nurse practitioner at my appointment last Thursday there is some progress being made (1cm, 60% effaced, baby at -3 station). I guess that's about where I should be for my due date. I still don't think I've felt any contractions yet. I am blessed to still be sleeping and eating well. My only complaint is swelling hands, ankles, and feet, and achy wrists. I'm definitely not at the "GET IT OUT OF ME NOW" stage yet. I'm still working, and really hoping I can make it to as close to the end of the school year as possible (June 10, we'll see).

Thanks to everyone for all of your support during the pregnancy. We appreciate all the generous gifts we've received, as well as everyone's kind words and thoughts (and advice!). We're so excited for baby Nelson to meet all of you! Stay tuned, the next update should have some newborn pictures :)

Speaking of Growing.....

Watch the belly expand!

18 weeks

20 weeks

22 weeks

24 weeks

26 weeks

28 weeks

I get a lot of the same questions about my pregnancy, so if you're curious, here are my answers:

• Do you have morning sickness? 
• No! I was extremely lucky to skip this symptom. I had a little evening nausea around weeks 6-7, but I never got sick. Also, during the first trimester I had several food aversions (i.e. after we walked by a restaurant called "Chili Mac," just the thought of chili mac made me want to vomit.)... but mostly I've just been HUNGRY! 
• Besides some backaches, trouble getting comfortable, going as slowly as a turtle up the stairs, and occasional heartburn I've really felt great. 
• Any cravings? 
• At the beginning, I really wanted salty foods: chips, cheese, Aunt Anne's pretzels, etc. Now, I'm way more into sweets. Fruit has been a constant craving, especially smoothies. 
• Does the baby kick a lot? 
• Now I feel her move all the time. I took until about week 21 for me to be sure I was actually feeling movement (and not "digestion," if you know what I mean). She gets especially active after I eat or drink something cold, lean back on the couch, or lay down. One of her favorite times to go crazy is during savasana--this is the part at the end of yoga class when we are SUPPOSED to be lying in total relaxation!  
• She is getting big enough that I can feel definite baby parts when I feel my belly, but I have really no idea what I'm feeling. I'm probably just annoying her with all my poking and prodding! I can also see my belly moving now, which is very strange. Oh, and this girl has the hiccups at least twice a day. 
• Do you have a name picked out? 
• We do... but it's a secret ;) This was Tom's idea, and I'm really glad we stuck with it. 

16 & 20 week ultrasounds

Baby girl has done a lot of growing up since her 12 week ultrasound! Here are some of her best shots from ultrasounds at weeks 16 & 20. 

16 weeks: 

Profile

Waving

Scary alien face!

20 weeks:

Profile

Looking at you!

 Bonus! A few 3-D shots of the face.... although she wasn't really cooperating so we didn't get a great look. 

We are looking forward to one more ultrasound, probably around 34 weeks.... stay tuned!