One Month

"Your life will never be the same." This was the one piece of advice we heard over and over again from different people in the last few weeks before the arrival of the newest addition to our family. We have found this to be very true especially since our conversations now revolve around Eli's sleeping and eating patterns instead of the usual discussions of our previous uneventful days. My body has also been reprogrammed now to wake up as the sun comes up to get a head start on the day before Elijah wakes up and is ready to be fed. It is a good thing I attempted to stock up on my sleep during the last few weeks of pregnancy.

Our lives have definitely changed, but the birth of our son has given our lives a whole new meaning and purpose now. Parenting is the greatest responsibility and also the greatest privilege to be able to experience. To help prepare myself for this brand new journey, I have been reading a lot of books, magazines, and websites. I have found, though, that even armed with this knowledge nothing can truly prepare you for motherhood until that baby is placed in your arms for the first time. The best teacher is sometimes life experience itself. I have found myself sometimes relying more on my own instincts rather than what I had previously read about.

Now on to the update...As for Elijah's feeding patterns, he will let us know it is time for him to eat, and you can tell by his cry he means business! He will take 3 ounces of formula at room temperature every 2-1/2 to 3 hours during the day and every 3 to 4 hours at night. When he burps, it is sometimes quiet and subtle and hard to distinguish from some of the other noises he makes. On the other hand, it will resemble a clearly distinct almost manly burp at other times! Just as his pediatrician had said he would do, he has started to group his feedings closer together later in the day to prepare for eating less often at night, so hopefully a full night of uninterrupted sleep is getting closer to reality.

Elijah's sleeping patterns are starting to become a little more predictable and consistent. He still sleeps much more on some days than others, though. Usually during the day his naps range from 2-1/2 to 3 hours while at night he will sleep for a 3 or 4-hour stretch at a time, with the longest being 5 hours which has become more common now. He is able to fall asleep on his own in his crib when he is laid down while he is still drowsy but not completely asleep. He has also been much better about going right back to sleep after the nighttime feedings.

Among Eli's favorites are car rides and stroller rides. These rides are sure to either put him to sleep or at least keep him content. He also enjoys spending time in his bouncer. He seems to enjoy taking in the sights and sounds of the outdoors when I carry him in the sling on our daily walk to the post office. Eli also seems mesmerized by the ceiling fan and other objects on the wall. He enjoys books being read to him and even seems to try to focus on the pictures in the Baby Faces book. He loves to be rocked and talked to and seems to like listening to both his lullaby and bible song CDs.

Elijah is learning to like his bath time. In fact, when I gave him a bath the night of his one month birthday, it was the first time he did not cry at all until he was taken out of the tub at the end. He must have been waiting until he was a month old to enjoy his bath time. He is also learning to like his swing more but only for limited amounts of time.

There have been a couple of milestones throughout this first month. Eli's strong neck has allowed him to be able to lift his head during tummy time. He is also able to roll from his back to his side. We are now awaiting the real smiles; he usually smiles as he is drifting off to sleep or as he is waking up. There have been a couple times he smiled when he was awake and alert, but it hasn't happened that often just yet.

Elijah has a good temperament and is usually a content baby. Most of the time when he cries it is because he is hungry. We have been blessed with a pretty easygoing personality for our firstborn.

Dear Eli,

Thank you for allowing me to experience the greatest moment of my life one month ago by giving birth to you, a beautiful healthy baby boy. I have had a lot of great experiences in my life, but nothing compared to that moment when I first held you in my arms and heard your first cry.

After nine long and seemingly endless months of waiting, I now have the chance to cuddle you in my arms. I love when your long slender fingers grasp mine as I'm feeding you. I also love your fresh clean scent after your bath. When your eyes look up at me, they are filled with wonder, awe, and innocence.

You have helped me learn the true meaning of unconditional love and patience. My love for you grows more and more every day. You have been transforming from a sweet newborn into a little man with each passing day. I am looking forward to all the milestones and memories still to come.

Love, Mom

Newborn Photo Shoot

Here is a sneak peek at Eli's newborn photo session. Elijah started off very sleepy during the photo shoot but then soon woke up and wasn't very happy about all the posing going on. After a couple of diaper changes and a feeding throughout the time we were there, he settled back down and was able to allow the photographer to capture some more images.






To see the rest of the images, you can check out the photographer's website at: http://www.shootingimagesphotography.com/

Then, click on "Enter Site." Click on "Clients" towards the bottom right hand corner. The password is "mmcdonald."

Cousin Liam's Birthday Party

Eli attended his first birthday party on Saturday which was that of his cousin Liam, who turned 1 on July 9. Aunt Cassie really knows how to throw a party, and the theme for Liam's first birthday was Dr. Seuss.

Uncle Jamie and Liam's uncle Ryan were busy filling bags with cotton candy, made fresh from the cotton candy machine when we arrived. There was even a popcorn cart which provided a tasty treat to snack on before supper.

We enjoyed the outdoor party atmosphere for awhile once we arrived but then settled back in the house to cool off. It was the perfect day for an outdoor party though, and Jamie and Cassie had the ideal backyard to entertain all the guests. We hope you enjoy the pictures below of the fun-filled day:

Meeting the Great-Grandparents

Elijah's first week home has been a whirlwind of activity. We have had lots of visitors, places to go, and people to see. We had the opportunity for Eli to meet his Great Grandma McDonald one last time before she was called to her new home in heaven on Sunday. Grandma McDonald was really looking forward to meeting Elijah, and I really think she sensed we were there when we came to visit. Now, Eli has one more special angel to watch over him from above.

Great Grandma and Grandpa Sabers also had the chance to meet Elijah along with Great Aunt Laurie. This will be the 22nd great-grandchild for them.

Our next stop was to visit Great Grandma Winter. She was delighted to see her first great-grandchild.

Four Generations

Elijah still has one more great-grandparent to visit, Great Grandma VanHamme. He has been quite the little traveler since arriving home from the hospital! It's a good thing he really enjoys car rides:)

Welcome to the World, Elijah Joseph McDonald

41 Weeks and 1 Day

Elijah entered the world on June 29 at 12:30 a.m. weighing in at 8 pounds, 14 ounces and measuring 20-1/4 inches long.

Here is the birth story (minus the parts you probably don't want to hear about...):

Seventeen hours after being induced via Cytotec, we were able to finally meet our son. I only needed one dose, and then my body took over on its own with mild contractions to begin with. I remember thinking at first, this isn't so bad and I can handle this...then the doctor broke my water and the REAL contractions started setting in. It wasn't long after that the order for the epidural was placed which also required an IV line. From watching (way too many) Baby Story shows, getting the IV and epidural at one time scared me way more than actually giving birth because of the needles. I am now proud to say I will no longer be scared of needles the next time I need to get my finger pricked, blood drawn, or get a shot. Both the IV and epidural were nothing compared to those contractions! I barely felt anything except for a small poke with both. The epidural process went very smoothly and gave me immediate relief.

I began having contractions that were much closer together and stronger, and the dilation process started picking up at a very fast pace. Then, the fetal heartbeat began slowing. They decreased the amount of medicine I was receiving from the epidural and tried positioning me different ways to get the heartbeat back up, but it didn't seem to be working. Then, there was talk of a C-section. I was terrified! They even went over all the C-section protocols and exactly what would take place since the nurse said it would happen very fast. Thankfully, the heartbeat came back up again and stayed strong, so we were able to avoid the surgery.

Soon, my pain level began to rise, and I was given a dose of fentanyl which made me very drowsy. After my contractions started coming further apart, the doctor suggested using Pitocin to get them coming more frequently. I was worried about this too since I knew I would experience stronger and more frequent contractions without being able to get any more pain relief since I was too far along in the process. This was avoided though when the contractions started picking up again. FINALLY, I was dilated to 10 cm, and it was time to push!

I thought at the time I would be pushing for 10 minutes and then get to meet our son. The doctor and nurses always made it sound like just 1 more push would get me there. Little did I know, it would be after 3 hours of pushing and almost having to use the vacuum device to assist in delivering him (luckily they were able to put this away soon after they got it out without having to use it) that he would be born.

Then, I remember the doctor asking for lidocaine which I knew was an anesthetic from typing it all the time in reports, which meant an episiotomy was coming next. At that point, I didn't even care about this procedure since I knew we were closer to meeting our son. I just remember feeling some pressure but not really any pain. After a few more pushes, he was placed on my chest for the very first time. I remember the feeling of relief washing over me when he was born and hearing that first cry.

The birthing experience far exceeded my expectations, and I have a new-found respect for labor and delivery nurses whose profession is both physically and emotionally taxing I would think, but they all provided us with so much genuine care and compassion. Ian was also such a great support and stayed very calm during it all and provided me with the courage and confidence I needed to make it through to the end.

In retrospect, the whole experience now seems very surreal and almost like a dream now that Eli is 1 week old. Giving birth was the best and most life-changing experience I have ever had.

Just as I had expected (and hoped) Eli resembles his dad, as everyone in the hospital also said. He is a very good eater, eating every 3 to 4 hours, and a good sleeper and is overall a happy and content baby. Yesterday, a visiting nurse came to the house to check out his progress so far, and she said his heart and lungs sound good and everything else checked out okay as well, and he is up to 9 pounds now.

I know it's been said babies don't come with instruction manuals, but luckily ours did, complements of Aunt Cari as part of her baby gift for little Eli who gave us a copy of the book The Baby Owner's Manual!


We hope you enjoy the first moments of Elijah's life below: