Elizabeth's First Week

Wow - Elizabeth is a week old today! And what a week it has been! Here are some pictures from her first week. We didn't do a very good job of taking pictures of all of Elizabeth's visitors to the hospital, so I apologize for the lack of pictures from those visits. But thank you so much to everyone who came or sent good wishes. Elizabeth is so lucky to have so many people who care about her!

Look at all that hair!

Parents-to-be Jess and Pete (Thanks for the milkshake guys!)


Paul and Brian brought her this giant scary balloon! (It's taller than a person)

Elizabeth and Daddy

On her way to the pediatrician - she's been on several 30-45 min car trips (pediatrician, Mimi and PaPaw's house, cardiologist) and sleeps the whole way.

Fuzzy picture of Laura, Cody and Haley (Check out Cody's predictions for Elizabeth's future.

Elizabeth and Mimi


Fuzzy picture of Elizabeth and PaPaw


Elizabeth and Mamie



Sunning by the window to help with her jaundice


Super cute baby toes!

Sleeping in her pack n' play (She always rolls from her back to her side - the pediatrician said it was ok for her to sleep on her side, as long as she's not on her tummy)

After this first week, here are some of the things we now know about Elizabeth:

First, although she didn't let on right away, she is a very good eater! She likes to eat a lot and often - I think she takes after her momma in this way. We were initially concerned because she wasn't nursing well and is jaundiced and lost 11 oz from Monday to Friday. But now she's eating like crazy, has gained 3 oz back and her jaundice is starting to fade. So no more concerns about poor eating!

Second, she likes to sleep in her mommy or daddy's arms - or anyone else's - but not anywhere else. Actually right now she is a sleep in her pack n' play, so maybe we're working through this, but up until now the only time she really gets fussy is if we put her in her crib, pack n' play, swing or anywhere else that isn't someone's arms. But as Eric pointed out last night, for a one-week only baby, being held is a pretty reasonable request. And she's so sweet and cuddly, we really don't want to put her down (except when we start falling asleep sitting up - I worry that could end poorly). So we'll work to get her comfortable in other places, but for now we're really ok holding her most of the time.

Third, she doesn't like the pacifier. She prefers her own fingers (she's so smart and can already find her hand to put to her mouth) or her mamma's finger. (When I first read in one of the many baby books that some babies like to suck on their parents' fingers, I thought this was kinda gross - even if you wash your hands, do we really want to be sticking our hands in our newborns' mouths? But today at the doctor, she was so unhappy and crying until I let her suck on my finger. Than she was good to go for 20 minutes. So I expect we will be using this in the future.)

Fourth, she has a small ventricular septal defect (VSD). This is not something to worry about. But when we went to the pediatrician on Friday, our doctor heard a murmur in her heart and sent us to the pediatric cardiologist today. We were a little freaked out, but the pediatrician assured us that there are lots of reasons for murmurs and she just wanted to know why Elizabeth had one. As it turns out she has a small hole between the left and right ventricle of her heart. This happens in about 1 in 150 births. It means that when her blood leaves her heart on its way to the rest of her body, a small amount leaks back into one of the other chambers. Sometimes a large VSD needs surgery to repair, but a small one like Elizabeth's does not. Our wonderful cardiologist explained that there is about an 80% chance the VSD will close on its own before she's 2 and about a 20% chance that it won't close, but that it won't have any effect on her life - in fact the cardiologist said she can even be an olympic athlete! She obvioulsy has not seen Elizabeth's momma's athletic talent. There's only a fraction of a chance that she will need surgery later to fix it. We'll go back at 6 months to see if it has closed, but the cardiologist assured us that this is not something to worry about at all. And Miss Elizabeth was so good at the doctor's office. She had an echocardiogram which was basically just a 20 minute sonogram of her heart. She didn't care for the goop used on her chest to get good pictures, but was a trooper. She also had an EKG and continued to be such a good baby.

Fifth, she likes her kitties. Well, we're not really sure about that, but she doesn't seem to mind them. They have become more interested in her as she's been home - jumping up in my lap while I'm nursing her or getting on the floor when we're down there. So far she just goes on about her business. I look forward to when she can actually interact with them. Desi can't wait to have someone else who can pay attention to her!

Sixth, we're so lucky to have her!