Ella Grace made her entrance into the world last Saturday. Her mom Emma did very well considering it was her first baby.

Here she is on her first day in this world. Like all babies she gets prettier everyday. She’s a pretty good sleeper and seems to be a very content baby. Like a lot of newborns she has a bit of jaundice. The doctor had Emma put her in a light box. Apparently it was a horrendous thing for Ella. She hates being naked and she had to be under the lamp. She loves being snuggled in her blanket and that also wasn’t going to happen under the light. So it was a very long night for her and her parents. She also needed to have a blindfold on to protect her eyes and Emma said that was sheer torture! She wailed and cried for well over an hour, poor little thing.

They went back to the doctor today to check the labs, but we can already see that she’s improving. She’s doubled her intake at feedings, her color is better, so I think we’re going back to the old fashioned way of setting her in the sunlight for a few hours a day and letting her body do it’s thing. It will work extremely well, just as it did for my babies, and it will be so much less torture for all involved. Sometimes the old ways are still the best ways.

But on a happier note……  Poppy’s heart has been conquered, not that she had to work too hard on that! She was born at just 6lbs 5 oz, so she wasn’t much bigger than his hands. We never had such tiny babies, so little Ella looks pretty small to us. Her cousins Brooke and Natalie were very excited to welcome her home! With enough pillows and blankets piled on their laps they had no problem holding her. Their mom had schooled them very well about needing to wash their hands before they held the baby. So when they came to see her the first words out of their mouths were, we have to wash our hands! When Brooke saw the first picture of Ella she ran screaming through her house, she’s out! She’s out! In about 3 weeks Cecily and Aleena will be introduced to her, we’ll see if Ella can get their approval too!

Babies are soooooo fun! Babies are sooooo much work! Emma and Kevin have that “I’m so tired I can’t remember what my name is look” on their faces, that all new parents get. But they also looked totally devoted and adoring. Kevin wants to fix her every time she cries, Emma cries every time she cries, it’s all part of the learning process, part of loving someone more than you thought you could.

I went over and gave Ella her first bath today. I had both parents looking over my shoulders trying to learn, making sure all was well. I love that they will ask for help, that they will include us in Ella’s life. There have been a million phone calls, mom, how do I? How will I know? Is this normal? What happens if? Oh how I wish I had had someone to ask and learn from, it would have made things so much easier!

This is going to be a great adventure! Hopefully the first of many great ones!