Welcoming Ellie Jaylin Bennett

Lots of pictures, very few words that is what this blog will be. Its Friday and I've just run home to take care of some things. Nicolle and Ellie don't get to come home till Sunday, but there has been lots of picture requests.

Ellie was born Thursday, August 12th 2010 at 9:02 am. This is about as close to that moment as I could get. Ellie had to come via C-section. I have to admit I was really surprised at how quick it happened, they brought me in after Nicolle received her epidural. From the time I entered the OR till I left with Ellie was 10 minutes or less


After she was born they took her to the cleaning table to wipe her off, clean her airway, clip the umbilical and all that other technical stuff.

2 weeks early, but she definitely has a good pair of lungs on her as this video shows. This is about 3 minutes after she was born.




Getting all checked out to make sure everything is working right. Our pediatrician has checked her out twice now and she says she is completely healthy in every way.

Here she is getting that first diaper (WHAT a milestone I know). This is about 5 minutes after she was born, still letting us know she's alive.



Diaper on, hat one, and starting to calm down a bit. Getting ready to go meet Mom for the first time.

My first time getting to hold Ellie, and Mom's first good look at her. The anesthesiologist who took this pic claims that photography was his minor in college, if so the guy was definitely looking ahead. Since I'm wearing a mask, this is probably the best family picture I will ever be part of.


One of the nice things about Kadlec hospital is that you get to take your baby straight back to your room, were they have all the things you need to take care of the little one; so no waiting for your kid to show up in the nursery. I carried little Ellie out of the OR and straight to our room, this is about 10 minutes after she was born.


They even weight the baby in your room. Here's Ellie getting her official weight, 7lbs 5 oz. This is also the best shot we got of her with her eyes open.


It took about an hour for the doctors to stitch Nicolle up, our OB is also a plastic surgeon so he is very precise and particular about his C-section work. That gave me a solid 30 mins of Daddy-Daughter time, precious but I must have set a Guinness Book of World Records mark for the most times a person has thought "I'm a parent, holy shit." in a day let alone in a mere 30 mins. Finally, after all that Mom got to hold Ellie for the first time.
I think this is the first time in 3 years of marriage that I have taken Nicolle's picture without her wanting to murder me Spanish Inquisition style.



Ellie is blurry in this pic, but I read in By-laws for New Parents that every parent is required to post pics of every cute thing their baby does: (e.g. smiling, laughing, yawning, stretching).



Once Mom got there, Ellie got around to doing the thing she does second best in the world: eat. She nursed for a solid hour once Mom got there. After that she got around to doing her best skill: sleep. She slept for a solid 6 hrs that afternoon, guess it was hard work for her too. During that time she slept through: a hepatitis B vaccine, multiple diaper changes, a pediatrician's checkup, and multiple attempted feedings. A deep sleeper, yeah she's our kid for sure.

That evening Nicolle's mom and sister came down for a visit. Here's Ellie being held by Grandma Loretta.


And here's Ellie with her AUNT Jennifer. We told Jennifer that Ellie is a girl, but I guess she felt she had to double check to be sure......


Another family picture, see I told you the one with me in the mask would be the best ever for our family.....

Daddies little girl

A happy moment, but it was this moment that it hit me; we thought we had bought everything we'd need to be ready for this little girl......


But we only have 5838 days 16 hrs and 29 minutes till Ellie can start to date. I've got some purchases to make.......





So we are parents, excited, in love, overwhelmed, and freaked out. We are changing diapers today, but it won't be long before she is changing our diapers I'm sure (especially me, whoever said that 30 is just a number is full of more crap than Obama's campaign promises.) The countdown till she is smarter than us begins now, but for now at least there is ONE thing we can do better than she can.....

Dear heavens what a couple of days its been.