Elin Frances Smith

Our precious angel, Elin Frances, was born at 7:41am on 10/4/10. She weighed 7lbs 9 ounces and is 20 3/4 inches. She was exactly 2 lbs smaller than Buxton, but came at 39 wks when he came at 41 wks. She looks really long with long fingers and toes, but doesn't have the chunkiness that Buxton did. Her eyes are almond shape, which is what I was hoping for. A million people have already said that she looks like her Momma, and of course that is what I was hoping for since we already have a mini-Ben. There is a decent amount of brown hair on her head. She is perfect in so many ways.

Nursing has gone extremely well. I've been really amazed at how well, actually. This is a huge blessing when you have the pain of a C-section to cope with. Holding a baby close to your abdomen after being cut open hurts pretty bad, so not having to keep her there for hours, getting frustrated, and trying over and over is a true blessing.

Buxton met his little sister after daycare on Monday. He did well, as you can see.

Ben took Buxton home at dinner time on Monday and stayed with him. I was a little apprehensive about being alone at first but it was no doubt a good decision. I'm moving around well and have my pain in control with my meds. Elin was in the nursery all night except when they brought her to me to nurse. I slept about 7 hours total. Sweet! And Ben got to sleep at home keeping Buxton in his normal routine while getting good rest himself. He is going to need it for when Elin and I come home and he has 3 of us to take care of. :)

Elin's first bath:

I was pretty anxious going in to surgery. The trauma I experienced the last time I was here for a delivery came flooding back and I didn't like it one bit. I prayed a lot, which helped, and focused on how awesome my OR team was. The anesthesiologist asst. that sat as my head during surgery talked to me about her son and schools, which was just what I needed to pass the time. Ben was focused on what my Dr. was doing on the other side of the sheet, which I totally expected him to be.

When Elin was born they held her over the sheet for me to take a peak, then Ben went with her as the NICU team did their thing and cleaned her up. When Ben came back to me he was so emotional and at first I was worried something was wrong. But there wasn't, my sweet husband was just all choked up about his beautiful new daughter and this is a moment I will always cherish.

My Mom was the hospital all day with me, starting when I went in for surgery. She was amazing and helped me so much. Thank you Mom and I love you! My Dad held and rocked Elin when she needed it yesterday and she loved every minute of that special time with her Papa. Ben's parents came to visit yesterday too and his Mom and Jimmy were here most of the AM too. It was nice to see so many friendly faces after surgery, even though I was in too much pain to really appreciate them. A few friends, Jenn, Josh and Julie, came in the afternoon. They really cheered me up since I love them all so much. Hugging Jenn provided me with comfort and her presence in general just warms my heart. Josh and Jules "brought Christmas" with them, which was no surprise since they are so giving and generous. I got some new nail polish that I can't wait to try. The color is "Yummy Mummy" and it's supposed to look great on any skin tone. Julie's store, Cottage Chic, is carrying this line as well as the best caramels in the world (Bequet Caramels), which they also brought me. Elin received a Little Giraffe blanket with her initials in hot pink. Buxton loves his LG blanket and I was hoping Elin would have one too. Julie totally hooked it up with the embroidered initials...it's beautiful. Not to go on and on about these gifts but Buxton scored with his own gift too and we have homemade enchilada's and spoon bread to eat when I get home (Josh can cook!). The bran muffins Julie made are sitting by my hospital bed and I ate 4 last night, not scared to admit that (I mean I hadn't eaten all day and the little I tried to eat came back up).

Anyways I'm really trying to express my appreciation for my wonderful friends and family. The support, love, gifts and kindness we have received has been amazing.

Elin is so blessed to be surrounded by all the love she was born in to with our awesome support group of family and friends.

I also wanted to share some pictures of the nursery. It's pretty bare-bones but at least the furniture is in and the chandelier is hung!

Elin's namesakes:

My Grandma, Helen Frances:

(then)

(now)

My Grandpa, the late Francis Aaron, with my Grandma, Nita, Uncle Patrick, Mom, and late Uncle Mike:

One last pic of the super yummy muscadine jelly Ben made on Sunday. He is so proud and has every reason to be. My man's got skills!

And big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Mom. Elin missed sharing this day with her by one day but I'm happy to know that we will be celebrating them together for many, many years.