Big Mal and Ellie's

When Ella was almost two months old she made her first trip to Childersburg, AL to visit her Grandparents, Big Mal and Ellie. Malley and Ellen are Sloan's parents and we don't get to see them as much as we would like because they live over 3 hours away. We always have a great time when we go though and Ella sure does love them!

On our way, and chatting with some friends!!

When we arrived they had this bow and sign on the door welcoming Ella! It was so cute!

Thanks Big Mal and Ellie! We had fun!!



One Month

The first month felt like it flew by. Ella, from the very first day, has always been so alert and observant. By one month she was only waking up one or two times in the night to eat.

One Month Checkup:     

(February 3, 2011)

Weight: 9lbs 4oz (50%)

Length: 21 inches (50%)

Head: 37cm (50%)

Highlights:

• Lifts head up while on tummy
• Can roll over from tummy to back (randomly)
• Smiles
• Stares at objects and faces
• Likes being sat up 

Ella's First Few Weeks

The first few weeks of Ella's life were challenging when it came to sleep, exhaustion and personal hygiene.  The challenges stopped there though cause we were so in love with our new addition and could not get enough of her!

1 Week Old



Hey, who turned out the lights??!!

Ellie's First Visit

First Snow

 Two Weeks Old

First Bath

Three Weeks Old

Going Home

Five days after Ella was born we finally went home to Murfreesboro. She did great on the 2 1/2 hour car ride, sleeping the whole way.

We made it! When we got home and it was just us three for the first time it was so surreal. 

Leaving the Hospital

We didn't go home to Murfreesboro right after Ella was born. We decided to stay with my sister Tammy and her family in Boaz for a few days.  We thought that it would be an easier transition for all of us since this was our first baby and we lived 2 1/2 hours away, with no friends or family there to help out.  With the unexpected c-section, I was so glad we did stay there. I don't know what we would have done without Tammy and Matt.  They gave up their room for us, fed us, helped with Ella and Tammy did our laundry and brought us breakfast in bed. Staying there also gave both sides of our family the opportunity to come visit and see the baby.  My mother and Candy also cooked for us and my sister Brandy bought Ella premie clothes that we didn't have.  We are truly blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives!!  

Uncle Scott and Ella

First sponge bath.  Not a happy camper.

But loved getting her hair washed...

Big Mal

Grandaddy

Chadan



Ella's Arrival

Let's start from the beginning...

I went in to be induced with Ella, who was due December 28th, 2010, on Dec. 29th at 5 a.m..  After 16 hours of labor Ella decided she wanted to come out via c-section.  At that point I was so mentally and physically exhausted that I was almost relieved that I didn't have to push! (I think Sloan was more upset than me) So they wheeled me back and got me set up.



Sloan and I live in Murfreesboro, TN but decided to have the baby in Boaz, AL to be closer to our families.  They all showed up....

At 9:44 pm Ella Chae Limbaugh finally made her debut and Sloan and I were overwhelmed with emotions.  She was more beautiful than we ever expected and instantly fell in love with her (and felt every other cliche you hear from parents)!  She weighed 7lbs 2oz and was 20 inches long.

Here are just a "few" pics from the event:

 



Thoughts...

Today's the day; I am starting a blog! I never thought I would do a blog because I am not very computer savvy.  When I started to think of all of the advantages of having one though I told myself I would tough it out and work through my "computer illiteracy".  I have put in some fancy bullet points to explain why I wanted to do a blog, as if you care:

• My husband Sloan and I are from Alabama and moved to Tennessee for his job.  We don't get to see our families as often as we like and having a newborn that changes so much everyday, we want them to be able to watch her grow as well. 
• I love how, just in this one place, we can document our life as a family. 
• Seeing that the internet is probably gonna stick around for a while, I figure this is something that will always be there for us and our children to look at through the years no matter where we are.  
• Even though I do have a baby book, pictures and will probably make scrapbooks in the future, those things can get lost, damaged or destroyed but we will always have access to this. 

Those that do read my blog please do not judge my lack of computer skills and bad grammar!  Also, I am starting this blog as Ella turns 5 months old, so the timing of the posts will be a little off.  I am going to try and catch up to the present as quickly as I can.

Here we go...