Waiting for Sienna

I realize this post is horribly out of chronological order, but I am finally in the frame of mind to write it! In the weeks leading up to Sienna's birth, I was trying to keep my mind off the fact that I was nearly 2 weeks (TWO WEEKS!!!!) past my due date. The first week was fairly easy. I just did some things around the house, went to the pool and finished her nursery. Now the second week came around, and there wasn't much preparation remaining. So here's a rendition of all the things I did to keep my mind off the time!

August 29: It was unseasonably cold, and my family came over for a fire and s'mores.

Scott and I by the 'campfire'

We ended up having to roast our marshmallows over the gas grill after we saw the outcome of our marshmallows over the fire log. (below)

Gray marshmallows. Mom and Karla both took bites. Sensing something tasted funny, they took the marshmallows into the light and discovered the funky coloring. (In case you didn't know, as we obviously didn't, you cannot eat any food that is cooked over one of those fire starter logs. Too many chemicals released - whoops!!)

August 30: We had my family and Kyle and Hannah over for dinner. It was a fun night and kept my mind off Sienna... at least temporarily!

September 1: My mom, dad, sister, husband and I played a rousing game of Phase 10.... and I won! (No, they did not let me win. At least, I don't think they did...)

September 3: My sister and I went on a 3.5 mile walk in the morning from our house to JP Coffee. It was my final attempt to encourage Sienna to make her debut. No luck! I knew we were going to the hospital in the morning, so I needed to get out of the house to make the time pass quickly. So, logically, we played skee-ball and 18 holes of mini-golf that evening. Fun! Thanks family!

6 weeks... and a half marathon

Sienna has started smiling and 'talking' a lot this week! It is so fun to wake her up from a nap and see her give me a give smile! So cute and so rewarding!! (I have yet to catch her smiling on camera, but I'll be sure to post when I do.)

Also, Scott ran his first half marathon this morning!! I am SUPER impressed!! Not only did he finish, but he ran faster than he expected. All this while also learning how to become a great daddy for Sienna. Way to go, sugar!

Half marathoner

Scott & Chris

Scott and Dave (dad)

Oh my goodness!

Sienna is 9 lbs. 4 oz. today! She is growing so fast!!! Slow down, little girl! She is growing out of her newborn diapers and clothes. Tear. She is sleeping more continuous hours at night. Smile. Also, I hit a milestone this weekend. I was showered, dressed and ready to get out the door by 9:30 am. WOW! :)

5 weeks

Sienna is 5 weeks old today! She has gained control of her head and can hold it up on her own for a while. She likes using her leg muscles to push off and stand up on her own. I am starting to understand her daily pattern. I won't say that we have a 'schedule' per say, but we do have a rhythm to each day. For a type A personality like me, that is a good thing! She fights me on naps some days, but she really is a good baby. She doesn't fuss very often, and she is very content when she's awake. We love our little bee!

She's old enough to enjoy her mobile now! She loves watching the bears.

Bath time with daddy!

4 weeks

Last Friday, our little angel turned 4 weeks old! I had her weighed this morning, and she is up to 8 lbs. 7 oz., which is 2 pounds more than when we brought her home from the hospital. She is growing like a weed, and it's been so fun to watch her change. She has lost her 'newborn' look!

Proofs are posted

All the proofs from Sienna's newborn session are posted online.

You can view the pictures at http://proof.ccphotodesign.com/ccphoto_photocart

When you go to the website, click the Access Gallery link and enter in the access code below.

Access code: aad38ac6

Enjoy!

2 week and 3 week pictures

Miss Sienna is officially in her 4th week of life! Hard to believe... it has been a blur! :) One of my friends gave me the idea to take her picture every week to track her growth. I'll try to post these each week, or as often as I can so you can see how big she is getting already!!

2 weeks

3 weeks

Sienna also hit a milestone on her 3 week birthday - she found her thumb all by herself!! Now granted she really doesn't have control over her arms or hands yet, but it was still really cute! I think we have a future thumb sucker on our hands. I'll be glad when she can do this consistently because the pacifier war will be over!!

Pictures, pictures, pictures!!

Our photographer, Carmen Carver, has posted a sneak peak of Sienna's newborn photo session from last week. There are several great pictures... check out her latest blog posting, "Everything a Girl Needs..." at: www.ccphotodesign.blogspot.com

SO CUTE!!!! I can't wait to see the rest of the pictures! All of the proofs should be ready sometime next week, so I'll be sure to post the link for you all to view.

Bath Time

We gave Sienna her first 'real' bath this morning. She didn't fuss at all -- seems to like this type of bath a lot better than the sponge bath! Enjoy the naked baby pictures. :)










Her belly was full from breakfast!

More pics

Finally got around to putting up Sienna's name in her room. What do you think?

10 days

Nana and her girls

Three Elaine's plus Scott

In her cute polka dot outfit from Becky! (And I thought this was going to be too small on her!)

So in love...

Below are a few more pictures of Sienna's first week. We are so in love with our little one!! She has a head full of dark hair, which she gets from her daddy. Scott and I were both born with brown hair, but Scott had more and it was very dark like Sienna's. Sienna looks most like my baby pictures at this point in time. I think she definitely has my nose and mouth. Her face shape and eyes might be more like Scott's, though. We'll see! She is changing so much every day.

We are having her picture taken tomorrow, and I am so excited! The photographer is coming to our house for a three hour session, so we should get lots of great pictures.

This week has been exhausting yet so rewarding for Scott and I. Sienna started out breast feeding fantastically, but she got derailed about mid-way through last week. We started supplementing with formula and pumping. It has been an exhausting routine, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just trying to take it day by day, which is easier said than done!

I love these socks!! They look like little mary janes!

Sienna loves her swing.

Day two of Sienna's life. The cap is courtesy of the night nurses at St. Luke's East. Love it!

Reflecting on Sienna's birthday

I thought I'd post an account of last Friday, so Sienna (and you all) will know all about the day she was born!

Scott and I left for the hospital around 6 am. I hardly slept a wink the night before because I was so anxious. (I started off in our bed, moved to our chaise lounge, then to our guest bedroom, then back to our bed. Ha!) We were apprehensive and excited for this day.... so many unknowns of how the day would play out. We said a prayer and snapped one last pic of my belly before heading out the door.

We arrived at the hospital and checked into room 2042. St. Luke's East is a single room maternity ward, so I labored, delivered and recovered in the same room. So nice. Our fabulous nurse, Janie, started my IV around 7:00 am, and hooked up the fetal and contraction monitors. I was having regular contractions spaced about 5 minutes apart. They weren't very strong, but my body was definitely ready to go.

Around 7:30 am, the nurse started a pitocin drip of 1 cc per hour - the lowest dose available. The doctor came in at 8:30 am to break my water, and that's when the contractions really started to pick up. The pitocin was turned up to 3 cc's, and I went from a 3 to a 6 by 10:30 am. The contractions were fast (about 2 minutes apart), and started to get pretty painful. I wanted to hold off getting the epidural, so I could 'experience' labor. I had no idea I would progress so quickly, though. At 11:00, the nurse anesthetist came to put in my epidural. By 11:30 am, the epidural was in and I was at a 7. The epidural was great... allowed me to rest and relax. I didn't sleep, but I did rest my eyes and body. My contractions slowed down a bit after the epidural, but they picked back up after the nurse increased the pitocin back to 3 cc's. I progressed from a 7 to a 10 by 2:30 pm. I couldn't necessarily feel the pain, but I could feel a lot of pressure. When I was fully dilated to a 10, I placed a call to my sister, who was in the waiting room, to have her order a Steak & Shake burger and vanilla malt for me to enjoy post-delivery. Ha! I had been craving Steak & Shake the last few weeks, and had never managed to get there.

From 2:30 to 3:30 pm, I labored down. A little after 3:30 pm, I started pushing. The experience of pushing was different than I expected. It wasn't painful since I had the epidural, but it sure was exhausting. I was so determined to get this little girl here, that time flew. I had a fabulous coach in Scott. He counted loud and encouraged me through every contraction. Plus he fanned me with a magazine after every push, since the hospital air conditioning decided to go out for an hour while I was pushing. Nice!!! So at 5:05 pm, Sienna arrived! Scott cut the cord, and the nurses made sure she was okay. She was crying and using her lungs! Scott went out to the waiting room to tell our family she had arrived! Then Scott & I spent an hour alone with Sienna. No nurses, no family members - just the three of us. We snuggled her, fed her, and sang to her. It was the most precious hour, and I am so glad the hospital suggested this time to us. It felt so surreal to hold her and know that we had created this perfect little girl. It was during this hour that we decided her name should be Sienna. Afterwards, all our family got to come in to meet our precious baby daughter.

Sienna Elaine Williams

We welcomed Sienna Elaine Williams to this world on Friday, September 4! She was born at 5:05 PM and weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces. She is so absolutely perfect! Her name is inspired from the Italian city, Siena, that Scott and I fell in love with a couple of years ago. Her middle name is after myself, my mom, my mother-in-law, and my grandmother.

Scott and I are settling in to life as a family of three here at home. We had a curveball thrown at us with her feeding schedule, so we've been busy trying to figure everything out. I will post more pictures as soon as I can!

Thanks to everyone for your love, support & prayers. We feel them!!

Ready or not...

She is coming tomorrow! Seems that her stubborn streak is continuing, and she is still nice and comfy in my tummy. :) So the plan is to check into the hospital bright and early tomorrow morning to get this party started. I am SO, SO, SO excited to meet our daughter! She is going to be beautiful! I feel like my body and mind are ready for this process. I'll spare you the details, but I feel like my body is just a little push away from going into labor. So if this is the push it needs, so be it!
Today I enjoyed a sunny day with my sister. I am so glad she has been in town this week!! We went on a 3.5 mile walk to JP Coffee and then enjoyed some breakfast after our walk. Afterwards we ran some errands and bought the cutest little outfit for baby girl. It is a long-sleeve onesie with owls and a matching hat. Precious.
We are taking the computer and camera to the hospital tomorrow, so hopefully we will be able to post pictures soon after she arrives.
Grandpa Dave and Aunt Melissa's birthdays are tomorrow, so we're hoping she arrives before midnight to join them on their birthdays! We'll keep you posted!