2 weeks old!

Our Family, Ella's 2nd week!

Boy does time fly :) Our baby girl is two weeks old today! I still think she's a great baby. She really only cries if she's really hungry (which most of the time I wake to feed her). I did leave her for the first time. I went out to Tim's 30th birthday party for about 2 hours total. Brian fed her right before I left so she slept the entire time I was gone. I only called him once :). We also took her out once to my parents house for Father's Day. It was a nice day! Ella also enjoyed some time at her house with her cousins!

This is Ella with 3 of her cousins. She looks so small compared to the twins. I'm excited to see them at Christmas this year!

The robe is a little big, but I think she liked it!

Her own personalized towel!

Daddy and Ella are knocked out!!

Happy Week Old Ella!!!

Our First Family Picture!

Ella is one week old today!! There has been so much that has happened in the last week! We were finally able to come home from the hospital on Thursday around 11:30. It was nice to be back in our own bed. Since we got home, we found that she really loves the pacifier that came from the hospital, to be swaddled and to sleep! She usually wakes up every 2-3 hours in the night to eat, but falls right back to sleep. It's really nice for Brian and I. He usually gets her out of her bassinet then I'll feed her and change her, then she's back to sleep in no time... literally.

She has had two doctor's appointments since she came home. One was with an orthopedic because we found out she has hip displasia. Brian read that it happens to 1/200 and is most common in first born girls. She has to wear a harness for 24 hrs a day for two weeks. Then, she can wear it 12 hours on, 12 hours off for two more weeks. At first it made me a little sad, but then I realized how much worse things could really be. She's perfectly healthy in every way! Her second appointment was her newborn check up. She weighed 6 lbs even. The doctor said that was completely normal to drop weight after birth.

Maybe I'm speaking too soon, but I think she's a great baby. She only cries when she's hungry. I think every mom might be partial to their child, but being a mom is the best thing ever.

One more thing.. Ella's umblical cord fell off today!

This is Ella coming home from the hospital with her daddy :)
This was her first day home from the hospital! She likes her lounger!

Ella's first sponge bath. She wasn't a big fan.

In front of all her hospital goodies!

Off to her doctor's appointments!

I think the pacifier is her comfort zone!

She still has blue eyes. We'll see if they change!

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Welcome to the World, Ella Bree Patterson!!

Ella Bree Patterson
Born June 8th @ 6:06 pm
6 pounds 9 ounces
19 3/4" long

What an amazing day! Brian and I had to be at the hospital for a scheduled induction on Sunday, the 7th, at 8 pm. They started Cervadil at 9 pm and I started having contractions around 1 am. All was going well. Her heart rate stayed in the normal zone and contractions were staying steady. It was definitely hard to sleep. Around 7 am, I started on petocin and at around 7:30 the doctor tried breaking my water, but I was only 2 cm dilated. It did not work. I decided I needed the epidural around 8 and it was SO worth not waiting any longer. It took all of my pain away. My parents arrived around 10, so they were there to help the time go by because the day just kept becoming longer. By 2 pm, I was still dialated 2 cm. Everything was still going smooth as far as her heartrate and my contractions. By 4 pm, I had dialated 4 cm and she thought it was going to progress because my contractions were dipping. I started to feel better because things finally started to progress. The doctor still thought it could be a while before she was born, but happy to see things moving forward. At around 5:30, the doctor came in to check and she noticed that Ella's heartrate was dropping during contractions. So, she began to watch it more consistently and made the call that I needed to have a C-section. At first, I paniced because it seemed as if Ella was having problems, but then I knew she would be arriving soon and the doctor would have seemed a little more worried and concerned. From the time they said I needed a C-section to the time Ella arrived, it was about 25 minutes. She was here already!!! When she came out, I thought she looked JUST like Brian. I mean I knew the Asian gene would dominate! After the C-section, I was back with Ella in about an hour and a half. This was right after they brought her into my postpartem room. I thought she was absolutely perfect. I knew that everyone always thinks their babies are perfect and I never understood until I had her in my arms for the first time. It was the most awesome feeling. Brian was so great through everything (eventhough he was literally SO close to passing out). He's also been great with Ella. I think he's become a big pro with swaddling. This is him with his baby girl. We watched the video "Happiest Baby on the Block" and he likes to use the 5 S's often. You have to see it to know what I'm talking about. Ella is dressed up in this picture because she had her hospital photos taken that day. I think she's already become quite the model! Lastly, this is Ella with her Ward Grandparents. My mom loved that headband so she wanted a picture with her wearing it. Ella is already really spoiled!

Baby News and All About Baby Shower!

Okay, well today I am 37 weeks and 5 days! YAY :) I guess I will start by talking about my baby shower on the 25th of April. It was amazing! I couldn't ask for anything more (well it was HOT... 92 degrees that day)! The place, invitations, food were all amazing! Ella got way more than I ever expected and it was fun washing all her new clothes! I have attached some pictures below!


Here is her cake! It was from Knakel's Bakery in Culpeper. My favorite!!!

This is a picture of the whole place!

In case you can't read this, it says "Dresses, Ribbons and Hair to Curl! Congratulations Dana on Your Baby Girl." How cute!

Here is some of Brian's chocolate dipped strawberries. Ella's lucky to have such a good chef as a dad :)

I cannot begin to say HOW spoiled Ella is! She's one lucky girl!

This is with Dina, Sarah and Meghan! Oh such great friends I have!!

I definitely could not have asked for a better shower, friends and family.

I'm still feeling pretty good! The doctor has been saying recently that Ella has been measuring a little small for 37 weeks. I had a sonogram last week and they said she was measuring 5 lbs. 13 oz., but they said give or take a pound. Her head is measuring right on (of course, all Ward babies have big heads :) ). I think she's going to be great and I cannot wait to see who's features she takes! I will have another sonogram this week to make sure she is still growing. As much as she's had the hiccups this week, I bet she's grown a lot! Everything is all ready for her. Last night, Brian and I watched "The Happiest Baby on the Block." It was a good and informative video. I think we've learned a lot from it.

I have eight days (max) of work left. I guess who's counting? MEEEEEEEE! I can't wait to have 5 months off!

Lately I have been feeling some tightness in my stomach. I hope I'm not jumping the gun. I have also been nesting like a mad woman. Friday night I was up until 1:30 cleaning and organizing. I think this is a time that Brian enjoys the hormones of pregnancy! I'm trying to walk her out of me! Can't wait to meet her!

Easter and Ella's Room

Okay, so now I'm 32 weeks and 5 days :) I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! I got good news from the Hemotologist doctor. He seems to think that everything is okay with my blood and that the platelet count will not decrease during delivery. Tomorrow is another doctor's appointment. I'm going every two weeks now. Feels like you know it's getting close the more you see the doctor.

I'm not going to post belly pics because I feel like I'm getting huge. Therefore, I will post just some others that we took this weekend. It was Easter, therefore we went to church and had a family dinner at my brother Tim's house. Here are some pictures.

This is baby Sarah and I. She is so comfortable and so sweet. I bet she can't wait for her playmate to arrive!

So, this is at 32 weeks and 4 days. We are excited about being parents!

Okay, I just had to put this cute picture of Jackson, Nathan and Sarah up!

Next is Ella's room. It's so close to being finished! I have attached some pictures. The quilt still needs to be hung and she needs some more things on the walls, but the furniture is in place and her ceiling fan is up! It makes the room seems so bright and cheerful!

This is the bulk of Ella's room. As mentioned, her quilt still needs to be hung above her bed.

A close-up picture of her bookshelf. Her memory box needs her picture and footprint. She also needs some more books!

Ella's dresser. It's a little hard to see the design in the dresser. It looks empty on top because I haven't gotten the changing pad or lamp yet. I guess patience is a virtue!


Let there be light!!! It actually looks dark, but it really is bright! My dad installed this and he even had to run all the wires. We are so fortunate to have him! He's done so much for Ella already!


Lastly, this is Ella's take home dress from the hospital. I can't wait to see her in it with her little headband!

Almost 31 Weeks!

Today I am 30 weeks and 4 days. I am very excited about Ella arriving! There are still so many things that we need to do before her arrival date!

I'm feeling pretty good. I'm definitely getting a lot bigger and my back is usually sore by the end of the day. I don't really have swelling which is really good at this point in pregnancy, but I also don't have the energy to go out for a long walk. I really want sweets all the time and my self discipline is not going too well when it comes to that.

March is almost over, therefore I really only have April and May left!!!! Brian said he's ready for me to be done with pregnancy. My response was "you're ready, what do you think about me?!!!"

This is me with Ella's cousin, Sarah! They will only be a few months apart!

3D Ultrasound

I am always a few days behind, but better late than never! Last Saturday we toured the Reston Hospital. It was almost a little scary because we saw the delivery rooms. I cannot believe that I will be there in a little over two months! I'm sure I will be SO ready when the time comes.

On Tuesday, I had a doctor's appointment and all went well except my platelet count is still a little low so she wants me to see a hematologist. I'm not too worried, I just don't want the chance to miss out on the epidural! She said that I shouldn't worry, but they would be able to tell why it is dropping (started out at 122, now 115).

Wednesday was the fun day! We were able to see Ella in 3D! It was definitely an experience. My mom was able to come up for the appointment. These are the three best pictures.

She didn't like the camera, her hand was in front of her face most of the time!

These are her feet and hands. The tech loved her toe!

This was the best image of her face. A little freaky!

I'm still feeling pretty good. Bathroom visits are much more frequent as well as some back aches. Overall, I still feel like I have no reason to complain about this pregnancy. Brian and I are both getting much more excited about her appearance!