BlogChoa: April 2008

Eli's Getting Chunky!

Eli is already 3 weeks old. He had his second doctor's appt. to check his weight on Wednesday. He gained almost a whole pound and weighed in at 7 lbs. 10 oz. I'm sure it was a combo of the beer and the feeding on demand; I was very excited to see that he is beefing up a bit :).

Eli's HAPPY too!

L00k at those cheekers!!

Oh and I didn't post on it Tuesday but we had a family outing, and it was Eli's first trip to the mall. We got his picture taken which we will get in a week or so, and he did wonderfully. He did not cry or fuss at all. I was amazed! He was a natural.

(i'll post pictures in a bit; Eli's new thing is not sleeping so i get nothing done. Yay!!)

Pictures for Mom

Ordering Pictures of Eli Online

Our family, as you already can tell, is using technology to communicate and stay in touch. All of our pictures can be ordered online through our Picasa sites. The links are below or you can also click on the picture on this page and it will take you the site. You then can click on a album or picture and order it by clicking on the "Order Prints" button. It is located on the top center of the album view or on the right center on the picture view. After you have selected pictures to order, you can view your order by clicking on the "View Order" button on the top right of your screen. Then make a final selection of pictures you want, follow the three steps on the side and 'voila' you are receiving pictures in 3 to 5 business day.

Love you guys.

Jeff's Picture Album

Andi's Picture Album

Eli's 1st Doc Appt. & 1st Bottle

This morning Eli went to his first doctors appointment for a check up. He is two weeks old today. Everything looks good, other than he is not gaining weight like he is supposed to. He weighs 6 lbs 13 ounces so pray that he starts gaining weight. The last few days he has been kinda fussy but today he is doing great. Daddy gave Eli his first bottle this afternoon and he loved it! He adjusts very well to change:)
Grandma Culaciati is on a mission to make my milk supply rich and full of calories so Eli will start gaining some weight.

Here is her remedy to bring in a plentiful milk supply:

Supposedly, The Old Wives' Tale is that the hops and yeast in Beer helps with your milk supply.

Me and My Son

A Day in the Life of Eli

Cry, Eat, Sleep, Repeat.....

One Week Old Fiesta was more like a Siesta

I Can't believe Eli is already 1 week old. He's growing up too fast! :). To celebrate this special day, Great-Papa Culaciati and Mary came over to visit, as well as Uncle Aaron and Great Uncle Brian and Aunt Rosalie. It was a Culaciati get together!

(with the exception of cousins Jessica, Andy, and Audria, Eli can't wait to meet you!)

For this special day, we celebrated by sleeping the day away!! That's pretty much all you do. Jeff was off from school, so we all took a long nap together in between visitors.

Here is a picture with Nani. (She made it to the blog)

4 Days Old

A Day in the Life of Eli

I'm Awake for a few minutes...I fuss and snort when hungry...I burp after I scarf down

and crash out on my Dad...

Life gets pretty tough living here at Nani's house! There is always someone holding me, visiting with me, and taking pictures of the neat things I do. For instance, trying to accomplish sucking my entire hand.

People who came to see me today were: Grant, Melissa, and Maddie. Madeline is tons of fun and
will teach me alot of cool stuff.

Later, Alan came over to hold me and I was completely relaxed.

Eli: Day 2 at Home

Eli did his usual nap and nap for most of the day. Jeff wanted to go for a walk, and it was such a beautiful day out. We bundled Eli up and put him in his stroller for his first walk.

We walked across the street to the park, but we were not gone for very long because mommy was a little sore. Eli did not enjoy the bumps of the stroller, so he was carried for the walk back. Our good friends Josh, Aidan, and Kathleen came to visit Eli

Here's Aidan in his House of Cushions

Later that evening, Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Ralph came to visit and brought some yummy food! Thanks for the Chicken Pot Pie. It was a hit!!

First Night Home

Last night was not to bad. Elijah ate and went to bed around 9 pm. About 11:00 he woke up and cried. It took about an hour or so to get him comfortable. We think his stomach was upset because he had alot of gas. From then on it was feed, cry, sleep. He slept on me (jeff) for a couple of hours around 1 am or so, but for the most part all he wanted was mommy. We love you guys and want to thank you for all your love and support. We probably had over 60 visitors during our stay at the hospital. It makes us very happy to know that we our bringing our son into such a loving and caring family. Thank you agian! We love you and look forward to bringing up our son with all of you.

-jeff

I'm glad to be going Home!!

Auntie Jessica visited me at home.

Me and Dad pooped from a long day!

Here is a video of Eli's first bath the following morning. He seemed to like the warm water when poured on his body, but cried during the washing part. Overall, the bath went very well.

All Clean and Eli loves his Arbonne Baby Wash!!

Induction Day or So We Thought

Finally, this day is here!! However it went a little differently then planned. I awoke in the middle of the night, at about 1:30 am with a contraction. I tried to fall back asleep, but I got another contraction. I woke Jeffery up and decided to start timing them. At first they were about 10 or so minutes apart, but about an hour later, they started coming about every 3 minutes or so. We decided to get up and get ready for the day.
We left for the hospital at 4 am, arriving and checking in at 4:30. By the time we got in our room and situated, the nurse checked me and I was 5 cms. dilated.

(During a mild contraction) (Wanting the Epidural)

I was amazed I was already that far along. I remained 5-6 cms. for about 2 hours. At 8:00 am the doc broke my water and that's when it became intense. My contractions started coming stronger and I was getting the urge to push. I broke down after not getting any rest between contractions, and thinking I still had 4 cms. to go, so around 9:15 I asked for the epidural. By the time the anestiolgist came in and explained the procedure, it was too late. I kept saying "My body is trying to push" at each contraction. The nurse checked me, and I was 9 and a half cms.
I began holding my breath and pushing at about 9:40 am, and Eli arrived at 10: 06 this morning.

(Right after he came out they put him on my chest.)
It was amazing!!! Eli is a perfect 7 lbs. 6 oz. and 20 1/2 ins. long.

(Proud Papas: Great-Grandpa Culaciati and Grandpa Culaciati)

Here are Eli's first visitors back in our room

Yet another Doc. Appt.

This morning I went in to get monitored for the second time. Eli was pretty mellow and sleepy, but his heartbeat and fluid level are still perfect! My doc said that I am a tiny bit more dilated (almost to 2 cm) and 90% effaced (thinned). So I guess I am progressing, just very slowly.
My induction appointment is official! If Eli does not come out today or tomorrow, then I will be induced on Wednesday the 10th at 6:00 in the morning.