Uncle Brandon Came to Visit

My brother, now known as Uncle Brandon, stopped by this morning for a visit. As you can tell from the expression on his face he's not too sure about his new uncle status. Actually, he did great with Emrie.

I have to share a quick funny story about Brandon. When Emrie was born he texted all his friends that his niece had finally arrived. Keep in mind that Emrie weighed 7lbs 13oz and was 20 inches long. Well, in his typical Brandon kind of humor - he texted everyone that she weighed 20lbs and was 7 inches long! His friends weren't sure if he had a new niece or a fish! You just gotta love him.

Speaking of...HE'S SINGLE. 35. COMES FROM GOOD STOCK. IS GAINFULLY EMPLOYED. OWNS HIS HOME AND CAR. HE LOVES LONG WALKS ON THE BEACH, STORMY NIGHTS AND PUPPIES. If you're interested let me know.

Emrie Enjoys a Evening Outside

My dad spent yesterday with me and Emrie. Emrie got kind of cranky so daddy took her outside to get some fresh air. As you can tell, they both enjoyed it. In fact, I think we're going to incorporate some outside time into our regular evening schedule.

YES! Another picture of my feet!

I couldn't help myself! I posted so many pictures of my fluffy feet that I just had to post one of them now that they're back to the normal size. See for yourself...skinny feet! And look! Ankles too!

Proud Big Brother

Aiden is such a proud big brother! At first he wasn't too sure he'd want a little sister. In fact, at the hospital he was still a little skittish around Emrie BUT once everything settled down and the crowds left he was ready to welcome her with open arms. He loves holding her as you can tell from the picture above. He's still not too excited about the idea of helping with dirty diapers but I'm working on that.

Emrie's Check-up

Emrie had her check-up today with Dr. Ransom (who is awesome by the way). She's getting so big! At our last visit she was back up to her birth weight of 7lbs 13oz. Today she weighed in at 8lbs 8oz. Dr. Ransom was extremely pleased with her weight gain. Don't you wish you were extremely pleased when you gained a pound?!

Have I mentioned she comes from a long line of eaters?

Speaking of eating...I'm breastfeeding ALL THE TIME which is great for her but wow it can make for a long night. I mention this because Brian was sure that Emrie just wasn't getting enough to eat because she seemed to be nursing all the time. I'm pretty sure that 8lbs 8oz changed his tune : ) A big thanks to my sister-in-law, Kimberly, and Dr. Ransom for the breastfeeding tips. We're actually ALMOST, KIND OF, on a schedule.

The picture above is Emrie trying out her new bouncy chair. She's not too sure about it just yet. It was so funny. I turned on the vibrating thingy and her little jaw just giggled along with the chair.

Big Sister

I've had a lot of people have asked me how Judy and Emma (our other dog) are handling having a new baby in the house. Emma - you don't here much about her because she's a 13-year-old lab and extremely mellow compared to Judy - just kind of sniffed at Emrie and walked away. She's very aware that something is going on but she's just too lazy to be bothered. Judy on the other hand is having a hard time adjusting to not being "top dog" in the house right now. Don't freak out - she's not snippy or cranky with Emrie - she's just concerned that she can't sleep on the bed and has to spend more time outside than normal. She's actually surprisingly sweet around Emrie. She sleeps at the foot of her bed and when Emrie cries so does Judy. She's also the only one who gets up with me and is steady at my side during those 3am feedings : )

My mother-in-law stayed with us a couple of days this week. She was a great help with Emrie and even put in some "Judy time." As you can see Judy thinks she's a baby too.

Wow! Where does the time go?

It's hard to believe that Emrie is 11 days old already! She weighed 7lbs 13oz when she was born and left the hospital weighing 7lbs 6oz. At her check up yesterday she was back up to her original birth weight. What can I say? She's an eater. She comes from a long line of eaters...at least from my side of the family : ). Did I mention Brian lost 15lbs while I was pregnant? What kind of husband does that? I thought he was supposed to gain right along with me. No such luck!

Emrie's such a good baby. We're still trying to get our days and nights straight BUT for the most part it's going well. Last week Brian was home with us and this week my mom is here. The extra help has been great! I could get used to this life. In fact, I'm probably not going to know what to do when I have to cook, clean and take care of Emrie all by myself.

A special thank you to all our wonderful friends who brought food! It was much appreciated and devoured. Like I said, Emrie comes from a long line of eaters.

The Delivery...

I know some of you may not want all the gory details of the delivery so don't worry - no pictures! I just wanted to take this opportunity to share my experience with you and say thank you to all the folks who helped along the way.

Brian and I checked into St. Jo's at 3pm on Thursday, June 30 for a scheduled induction. At the last ultrasound it was determined that the baby could be pretty large if we went full term PLUS I was miserable so Dr. Appleton had mercy on me and decided a week early would be okay. It was a long night. Kudos to my hubby who never left my side and to my parents, in-laws and Aiden who all waited patiently for the baby to arrive.

At 5pm on Friday, July 1 I finally got the go ahead to start pushing. So I pushed...and pushed...and pushed...and NOTHIN'! After 2 hours we were given the option to keep on pushin' or opt for the c-section. I chose the c-section. Now before you judge let me just say that the doctor didn't think all the pushing in the world was going to help. Emrie was wedged way up there and simply wasn't moving down. So I could have pushed for another hour and then had the c-section but why postpone the inevitable?

Ahhh...the c-section. I have to admit it FREAKED ME OUT! I must have some kind of control issue - please ask Brian for details :) With the epidural I couldn't feel my legs...my arms were stretched out on both sides of me and I had a huge sheet hanging in front of my face. All this combined with the sheer knowledge that I was about to have a baby was overwhelming. If I wasn't already claustrophobic I got that way real fast! Couldn't get up. Couldn't see what was going on. So, I just closed my eyes and prayed for God to get me through this...as fast as possible. And He did. By 8:07pm Emrie was here!

BIG THANKS TO THE WONDERFUL CARE GIVERS AT ST. JOSEPH'S! A special thanks to my Labor and Delivery Nurse - Jenny, for volunteering to work on her day off to help me deliver on Friday. Thanks also Sandra for taking the night shift. Thanks to all my doctors - Appleton, Hibbs and Burch. Thanks Carol and LaDonna my nurses who made my hospital stay a pleasant one. And Sarah, Emrie's overnight nursery nurse. You were all awesome!

My apologies if I left anyone's name off the list. It's only been a week but already kind of a blur.

I promised pictures!

I love this picture! Meet Emrie Kay - the Most Beautiful Baby in the World! What? So, I'm a little biased but you gotta admit she is pretty cute : )


This is one of my favorite pictures of Emrie. Sorry - I couldn't get it to rotate but if you cock your head all the way to the left it will put it into perspective. She was "fresh" out of my tummy. Brian swears she never even cried...just came out wide eyed, very alert and with a pouty lip for daddy. I can't remember a thing so I'm counting on him to fill in the blanks.

Our sweet sleepy baby as we head home from the hospital. She and I were both exhausted but Brian would only carry one of us out all bundled up. That's right - I had to walk : ) We were finally release at 12pm on the 4th of July!

SHE'S HERE!

Emrie Kay is finally here! I meant to blog about this much earlier but this mommy stuff is harder than I thought.

Brian and I checked into St. Jo's at 3pm on Thursday for a planned induction. Well, by 5pm Friday I had finally dialated enough to get the show on the road and start pushing. So push I did...for more than 2 hours and nothing happened. She didn't budge an inch! The doctor explained that I had two options...1) I could continue to push and MAYBE (just maybe) the baby would start to head out or 2) I could have a c-section. I opted for the c-section. It was the whole "maybe" part about pushing for another hour that helped me with that one.

So at 8:07pm on Friday July 1, Emrie Kay came bounding out of my tummy! She weighed 7lbs 13 ozs and was 20 inches long. And would you believe, she never even cried? My parents and the in-laws all watched with amazement as Emrie was brought to the nursery - eyes wide up open and alert. Now, I know I'm a little prejudice BUT she truly is a beautiful little baby.

Because of the c-section and the holiday weekend, I ended up staying in hospital til the 4th. As for the crying...well, that part has changed some. She has a great set of lunges on her but normally only cries when she's hungry or needs to have her diaper changed. At about a week old, she and I are still struggling to get our sleep patterns down. Her's are about every two hours, mine are about zero! Thank God for my absolutely WONDERFUL husband who took the week off to stay home with me. There is no way I could ever do this alone.

I'll have some pictures up for you tomorrow. Thanks all for the prayers!