Getting acquainted with Eli Duke

It's hard to believe we have had Eli home for a month! Yep, the little dude is a month old!

Here are a few things I want to remember about this special time:

• You are a happy little guy and save your best smiles for Em'ry.
• You have gained 3lbs since birth! Weighing in at 10lbs and measuring 20 1/2 inches.
• Your eyes are still BLUE! What?!?
• You are eating every 3 hrs during the day and every 4 hrs during the night.
• You are very strict about bedtime and cannot keep those little eyes open past 8!
• You sleep from 8pm to 7am and take three 2hour naps during the day.
• You love to sleep in the Nap Nanny at night and nap on your tummy during the day.
• You look JUST like Daddy :)
• You are so mellow and don't mind just going with the flow.
• You have visited: Splashway Waterpark, the Library, Em'ry's Dance studio, Kegg's Candy Factory, several restaurants, and spent lots of time at Uncle and Aunt Brandi's house watching everyone swim.
• White Noise is your best friend ;)

We love you so much little guy and are so excited to watch you grow!

The first days as four...

We arrived home as a family of four on Wednesday, June 27th eager to start living it up right where we left off. Em'ry is a great big sister and is eager to help as well as make sure that Eli is immune to excessive noise ;)












We had a smooth transition and I was reminded how amazing Greg is as a husband and a daddy. From the day we arrived home, he has been up in the night, cooked, cleaned, and most importantly gone the extra mile to entertain Em'ry.

With family in town, we wanted to capitalize on our time together so we loaded up the cars and the entire family spent the first Saturday of Eli's life at Splashway Waterpark in Sheridan. I know most of you will think I'm crazy for taking a newborn to a waterpark but the weather was ideal and Eli did great. It was about 80 degrees with light showers which made for perfect conditions to sit under the canopy and watch all the fun!
We also celebrated the 4th of July with swimming, a cookout, and an amazing Fireworks show!

Since the visitors have faded, Greg and Em'ry have been staying busy fishing, visiting the Children's Museum, going to the park, working out, and doing just about whatever Em'ry says lol... This time, although I'm quite sure has been exhausting for Greg, has been great for there relationship.
 
Summer is flying by but we are making the most of every day!

A Birth Story Part II

A little different story than when Em'ry was born. We scheduled an induction so that we could be sure to have help with Em'ry while we were in the hospital. Not that my sisters aren't tons of help but Em'ry was a little (read extremely!) clingy towards the end of the pregnancy and refused to spend the night with anyone but Nana.
I was scheduled for induction and checked into Memorial Hermann at 9pm on Monday June 25th. Thank you to my parents who came down that weekend and took Em'ry and the girls to Sea World SA on Monday.
Greg and I settled in for the night and played Words with Friends and watched The Golden Girls to pass the time:-) I was only dilated to 1cm when I was admitted so we were worried that it would be a long, hard labor. The nurse reassured us that all would be fine. She started the pitocin at 3am but I was able to sleep well. At 7am, Dr. Burroughs came in to break my water and it didn't take long for labor to come on full force. I was lucky enough to have back labor AGAIN! Ugh...
I asked for an epidural around eleven o'clock and received it about the time I was dilated to 5cm. I was still having a pretty relaxing day and Brandi came by to chat around noon.
Eli Duke was born at 1:49pm. He immediately let us know that he was much happier in the womb but slowed his wails to a whimper when placed in my arms. He weighed 7lbs 1oz and was 18in long.
A huge thank you to Jana for being present again to take the first pictures of Eli's life. And, a huge thank you to my mom who although I'm sure was dying to be in the room took one for the team and stayed with Em'ry in the waiting to make sure she didn't get too anxious.
As soon as I had an opportunity to nurse our little guy, Greg went out to get the Big Sister and introduce her to Eli. She was ecstatic and from what I understand, she did a lap around the waiting room before joining her daddy with wide eyes ready to meet her little brother. Boy was she proud! She immediately climbed into my bed and after a few questions about his belly button :) asked to hold him. She was a natural. You could see the love radiate in her eyes and through her smile. To this day she is pretty proud that she held her brother before anyone else including her daddy. Greg was so sweet and supportive of me and Em'ry and it was so special that he gave her that chance. She'll remember that moment forever!
After Em'ry had her chance to get acquainted, she agreed to invite the others in so that they could meet her baby brother. So, in small groups, the visitors trickled in. Nana, Mimi, Hailie, Kayley, Aunt Brandi, Papi, Grandad, and Uncle Corey were all waiting in the lobby when Eli was born. So sweet of them to be there to celebrate! Later in the afternoon, Uncle Matt and Savreet stopped by to visit and Cesar finally got meet the little man that evening.
God is so good! We had an amazing experience from the nurses to the facilities to the support, love, and prayers from family and friends. Thank you so much to all of you who prayed, for all the warm wishes, and for welcoming Eli into the world. We are truly blessed!