Welcoming Ellie

   I have sat down 100 times to write this piece and every time, the only thought in my brain has been, "I'm so tired." Well, tonight is no different and tomorrow will be just the same so, why am I putting it off? However, my brain is still 'new Momma' foggy so I cannot promise that this will be an easy, flowing read but here goes...
   Our Ellie was born at Womack Army Medical Center at 2043 (8:43 pm). Let's just say everyone in the delivery room was amazed at how big she was. I heard them taking bets on her weight as they got her cleaned up and put on the scale. Baby girl didn't disappoint! She weighed in at a whopping 10lbs 3oz and was 21 inches long! A lot of people have asked me how she compared to Paige. Well, Paige was 8lbs, 21.5 inches, so I would say a comparison is not possible. Ellie had her beat from the beginning!
    Anyway, since I ran a fever during labor, the poor girl had to be carted away to the NICU and given an IV for antibiotics before she could even eat! Since I couldn't leave the room, Kyle had the wonderful task of watching the Docs poke her with one needle after another. After a ridiculously long 2 1/2 hours of looking for a vein, they gave up and she had to have individual shots. Poor baby had blood, bruises and Bandaids all over her when I got her back! To add insult to injury, they also had to check her blood sugar every single time she ate, which meant another needle or two every 3 hours. I still don't fully understand what that was about. I just remember them saying that it was because she was so big. I will say that, if the girl has an intense fear of needles for the rest of her life, I will completely understand!
   Since we're 'second time offenders', we were supposed to stay in the hospital for 24 hours and go home. Well, we ended up having to stay 3 days because Ellie had to have another dose of antibiotics every 8 hours. We were definitely not prepared to stay that long nor were we happy about it. After those 3 days, our apartment was the most beautiful place we'd ever seen! Now that we're home, we are concentrating on recovering as much sleep as possible and getting Ellie's schedule established. She's doing great so far!
   As far as she and Paige go, they couldn't be more opposite! We can already see that Ellie is a quiet, mild-mannered little thing. Paige, on the other hand, has no idea what the word 'quiet' means! She is a huge ball of energy that never stops going. If she does stand still for a moment, her mouth is going 90 miles an hour. She squeals so loud that she makes Ellie jump but baby girl never skips a beat. She just watches Paige with eyes open wide. They are blending perfectly. Thankfully, getting up in the night with Ellie has not disturbed Paige. Of course, during the day, Paige can't stand for Ellie to cry and if she hears her, she immediately runs to my side, hollering, 'Baby! Baby! Baby!'. She is absolutely fascinated by everything Ellie does and constantly asks to go get her up or to hold her. Paige's favorite thing to do is hold Ellie's hand. However, she doesn't understand why Ellie won't hold still!

   In closing, we are doing beautifully. We are experiencing the true joy of having a new baby for the first time. My Kyle has been a gigantic help and oh so patient with me and my foggy brain. The birth of our Ellie has been one of the greatest joys of our marriage.