Ellasyn Rose

Ellasyn is offically one week old and here's what we have learned about her so far:

~ Ella has the loudest scream of any baby I have ever heard, I swear. Even though she really only cries when something is wrong, she is not afraid to let you know exactly how she feels. Wow ... sometimes she turns beet red from crying so hard and she starts coughing because she irritates her throat so much. She is definitely a passionate baby, but we read somewhere that passionate babies tend to be very social and have the best laughter. Let's hope! The good news is that she is able to be calmed down very easily. Eli seems to be the best at it so far!

~ Ella is amazingly strong. She has very muscular arms and legs and really gets them moving when she is upset, kicking and punching the air. She has to wear these little mittens so that she doesn't scratch her face up, and it cracks us up when she gets her arms going, looking like she's trying to box someone. We call her our little Houdini because Ella can bust out of a swaddle like no one's business. It doesn't matter how tight it is ... she always manages to wiggle those little arms out! She also loves tummy time and is able to pick her head up for a second or two and even shocked us by pushing herself up on one side and rolling over onto her back! She did this a few times in a row the other day, and we were floored. At this rate, she's going to be crawling by next month!

~ Ella definitely has some sort of oral fixation. She sucks on anything that come near her mouth, whether its her hands, mittens, our fingers, clothing, a blanket, burp cloth, pacifier, toy, or Eli's bicep when he is holding her. Sometimes it's hard to figure out whether she is hungry or just wants to suck on her pacifier! Oh, another thing, this girl can EAT! She eats so much that we have to supplement some formula after nursing her for a good 45 minutes or so, just to make sure she gets enough. It seems like we are constantly feeding this little monster =)

~ When we first got all of our baby stuff, my mom was questioning whether or not we needed it all, and the answer is now YES! Ella loves movement, whether it's vibration, bouncing, jiggling, swinging ... one of the easiest ways to calm her down. She also loves being "shushhed" and white noise and music that most of her contraptions (and her dad's guitar) make. We will definitely be going though some batteries because the bouncy seat and swings are getting tons of use!

~ Last but not least, Ella is one gassy baby. She farts so loud that you can hear her from another room! One time, Eli even thought it was me! When she starts grunting and turning red, we know she is trying to shake one loose, so we have to do some "bicycle legs" to get things moving ... works almost every time! It never fails to crack us up, even when it's 3 in the morning and we are 100% exhausted.

Here are some firsts:

First Manicure (not long after she was born)

First Car Ride

First Day Home

First Bath (she was pretty cooperative for most of this)