Big Brothers & First Bath

After I gave birth, we got to hold her for just a minute, then they cleaned her off and wanted to take her vitals and look her over. Then we were able to really spend some time with her and take some pictures. During this time, I was having a difficult time with bleeding so the nurse had to give me a shot. I was also terrified of fainting(I fainted after having both the boys when I had to get up to use the restroom) so they allowed me extra time in the delivery room to get my strength and energy back. After spending time with Emma Kate and nursing her for a bit, the boys and my parents came in. They all got to ooooh and aaahhh over her and then the nurses took her to have her bath. Eddie went back into the nursery with her and the boys and my mom were able to watch from the window. The pictures from that day are a MUCH better depiction than my story.

Our Little Girl's Birth

I went to my appointment at 2:15 on Wednesday afternoon. I was having contractions on and off(again) but nothing regular. Dr. R checked me and said that I was 3 cm and how would I like to have a baby on Thursday. I said "Yes" before he could even get the words out of his mouth. I had been induced with both boys successfully and was hoping for the same with Emma Kate since I had not already gone into labor. I was to be at L&D the next morning at 5 am. Eddie had to teach Wednesday night so I used the time to buy last minute stuff for the hospital, clean house, and wash baby clothes. My mom kept the boys for the night(man, we missed them so much)since we had to be at the hospital so early. Gavin cried several times, not wanting me to leave him. It broke my heart.

After a restless night with only 2 hours of actual sleep/rest, we got up and got ready to leave the house. We made it to L&D at about 5:30am (I am never on time for anything. It is sad really.) They gave me a difficult time before getting a room because I refused to sign the paper to allow Emma Kate the Hepatitis B shot. (They looked at me like a moron when I insisted she would not get the disease before her one month checkup). That over with, I was admitted into a room and changed into a gown and got into bed to be hooked to monitors and answer pages of questions about my medical history.







Around 7 or 7:30 am, the nurse hooked up my IV with fluids and pitocin. Around 8:30 I got my epidural and the Dr. broke my water. At this point, I was 4.5 cm. I labored for about an hour and the nurse had to keep telling me to take deep breaths since Emma Kate's heart would go down some. Then my blood pressure (being read every 10 minutes) would act up. I would get a reading of 80/35 then it would be 135/80. I felt horrible, like I would pass out. I got the nurse anethesist to come back in since my right leg was so numb I couldn't move it. However, I could feel myself bearing down, the pressure from my contractions and could move my left leg really well. He felt that decreasing the medicine in my epidural would mean that I would feel pain in my belly during transistion. I decided to just deal with my right leg. At 10:00 am, the nurse said that I had not made any change and needed to soon since I was on the max dose of pitocin and the baby and my heart were acting up. I asked Eddie to please pray. She mixed a fresh bag of pitocin and changed it out at the suggestion of my OB. At 10:20am she checked me again since the monitor was showing progress and and I was 8 cm. However, the baby's heart went down to 80-90BPM, she put me on oxygen and told me to take deep breaths; her heartrate then increased to about 110-120. I also had to keep rolling back and forth to stimulate her(very difficult with a numb leg). It was a scary time for awhile. I wondered if I would end up with a cesarean section, but just wanted my little girl to be okay. At 11:26am, I was complete. I began pushing and it seemed like it was taking her forever to move down. Then, I realized that Eddie was just helping me hold my head up. I asked him to push up on my back and after one contraction she was crowing. This was around noon. It was great because I could feel her head and body moving down and coming out, but there wasn't any pain, just tons of pressure. This is when the doctor came into the room, so as one nurse broke down the bed and he got on his scrubs, I pushed her head almost all the way out. One push later, after the doctor was ready, her head was born. Then a small push, her shoulders and at 12:09pm, I was holding my beautiful baby girl on my chest.












She did wonderful after birth. She cried well, and pinked up right away. We were shocked when she was born at all her black hair and she was so tiny compared to the boys. Her feet were so little. They weighed her as one of the last things and everyone was getting impatient. After two big boys, we all knew she was smaller, and wanted to know by how much. Finally, my doctor hollared out, "Weigh that baby!" LOL At 7lbs 15oz and 20 inches long, she is a good bit smaller than the boys(At their 9lbs and 22 inches) She actually fits into newborn clothes and couldn't wear her going home outfit. It was a bubble outfit and the inseam at her diaper was at her feet instead. My little dainty girl!

Eddie and I were talking later that night on how we will never get over the miracle of birth. It just truely amazes us how people can experience it and still doubt the exsistance of God.

39 Weeks

I seriously never thought I would get this far. (What I mean, is that I thought I would deliver at 38 weeks. LOL) Oh well. I have definitely loved and cherished this pregnancy. However, as I get closer it is harder and harder to be pregnant. I am growing more uncomfortable day by day since my pelvis feels like it is cracking open, I have to pee every 20 minutes, I am having contractions but am not actually in active labor, and I can't sleep at night. We all are so excited to meet Emma Kate and can't wait until she gets here. I have an appointment this afternoon at 2:15 and I am praying he will check me for dilation and hopefully induce me on Thursday if I haven't gone into labor by then. I am really fearful of a large baby and a possible cesarean section. Gavin was born at 39 weeks and had a 15 1/2 inch head that had to be vacuum extracted from me. I worry about letting her go to term and being larger than him. If he won't check me/induce, I am going to push for a growth u/s to check her size.

Week Thirty-Nine
The lanugo has mostly disappeared, but you'll probably find a bit on her shoulders, arms and legs and in those protected little bodily creases. It will vanish completely on its own in time.
His lungs are maturing and surfactant production is increasing and fully prepared to take on the outside world!
Your baby doesn't have much room to move and certainly mom agrees! Did you imagine 8 months ago that this wee one would be able to hook a toe in your ribs while elbowing your bladder? She certainly has grown!
His body continues laying on the fat stores that will help regulate his body temperature after birth. In addition to normal fat, he is accumulating a special "brown" fat in the nape of his neck, between his shoulders and around organs. Brown fat cells are important for thermogenesis (generating heat) during his first weeks.
Your infant's weight is around 7.25 pounds (3288gm) and length is 19.9 inches (50.7cm).

Daddy

I feel so thankful that Eddie is my children's father. He is hardworking, funny, smart, handsome, loving, and really loves us all so much. He is such a good daddy to our little boys(since he knows so much about boy stuff) and is so in-love with our daughter already. The favorite thing he does with the boys is wrestle them or make-believe play with them(I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to pirates or G.I. Joes).
I feel that having such a positive father in our children's lives will help to reaffirm God's unconditional love for them. When they hear the term, Heavenly Father, they will be able to relate it to the great earthly father in Eddie. Honey, thank you for being in my life, providing for us, loving us, and just being YOU.

Watermelon

juic·y

–adjective, juic·i·er, juic·i·est.
1.
full of juice; succulent: a juicy pear.

Bathing Belly

Here I am at 38 weeks and 3 days. We went to the pool today(which was a total disaster). Especially when you tend to be OCD like I do. We were there about an hour when a little kid pooped in the pool. We decided to leave and go to the other pool a couple of blocks away. Well, we got there and the locker room was filled with standing water. I didn't think much of it since the shower was running. After swimming for about 30 minutes there, the lifeguards made us get out so they could close the pool since (get this) raw sewage was in the bathroom. Eeeewww!!! I am shocked I didn't pass out right then. If you know me, you are shocked as well!
Here's to no sickness in our house from this!!! Please Lord, keep us healthy.

Fear of Flys

Owen has an incredible fear of flys. He will hysterically cry if it gets near him. We had one in the house a couple of nights ago and he wouldn't go in the bathroom to brush his teeth because it was there. Then, when I got it to leave, I had to stand there and rub his back(he was shaking) while he finished his teeth.

The irony of it all is that he wants to get close to dead beetles and such to step on them("so the blood comes out") squishing bug guts all over the pavement. Ugh!!!

I am actually pretty pleased of their general distaste for bugs(I can't deal with a bug collection!) LOL

37 and 38 Weeks

Week Thirty-Seven
This week, the average size is about 6.3 pounds (2859gm) now and 19.1 inches (48.6cm) length.
She is official full term now but can still benefit from extra days in the womb.
Your baby continues to practice breathing movements. Isn't it amazing how she can breathe "under water?"
Grasp is firm now. It won't be long until you'll feel that strong little fist confidently grasping your finger (or tightly clenching your hair)!
A few weeks ago, your baby would move her eyes toward light. Now she turns towards light outside the uterus.
As the uterine wall stretches and thins allowing more light to permeate, he develops definite daily activity cycles. You will want to be sure to establish good patterns yourself at this time, thus encouraging them in your child. Ever heard of a baby getting his days/nights mixed up? Now's the time to try to avoid that!

Week Thirty-Eight
If he is the "average baby," he weights 6.8 pounds (3083gm)and is 19.6 inches (49.8cm) long.
Have you noticed she hiccups a lot? Because there is no air around her, those breathing exercises cause amniotic fluid to get into her windpipe. The result? Hiccups!
Your child's intestines are accumulating lots of meconium. Meconium takes on the role of being your baby's first bowel movement -- removing the waste that has accumulated.
He may have a full head of hair now -- an inch or more long! Don't be surprised if it's an unexpected color. Some blond couples have dark haired babies; some dark haired couples have red-haired babies; some couples have babies with only peach fuzz! It may just persuade you to take a closer look at your family tree!
Circumference of head and abdomen are about the same size for your baby. No wonder it's so hard to get a t-shirt over a newborn's head!

Coming Soon?

Last night, I had contraction upon contraction all night long. I felt horrible all day yesterday and then around 10 pm just felt really nauseous. I had a lot of gas(TMI) due to all the contractions and for the first time this pregnancy, pain accompanied them versus just the normal tightening. They got to 5 minutes apart for a good while and I really thought I would be in Labor and Delivery this morning. However, after about forty minutes they ceased. What a waste of a good night's sleep.(I got two and 1/2 hours of sleep from 5 am - 7:30 am) Now, today my back and belly are so sore from the night's activities.

It is actually best that I did not go into labor since Gavin was diagnosed with strep throat last Thursday and Owen with a horrible sore throat and fever(negative for strep) on yesterday. They are both on antibiotics so hopefully we can keep Miss Emma Kate healthy. Then, our refridgerator went kaput on last Friday(we have been using a cooler to keep drinks cold) and the repair man couldn't make it out until Wednesday(tomorrow). Eddie says I have to wait to go into labor after the repair guy comes. Umm...okay! LOL

Did you ever see?

I've noticed that sometimes the kids get on a phrase kick. Owen's newest is the "Did you ever see?" series. He always starts out with, "Mommy, did you ever see a rat in your house?" Then he goes on to: squirrel, Gavin, Daddy, toys, etc. It is sooo cute! Right now, he starts this conversation with me, at least once per day.

Summer Weekend

I have heard the kids say so many times this weekend, "This is the best day of my life". Sometimes, I feel like the kids can get ungrateful and expect too much since if they get a new toy they always want another and another and then it is not enough that we went somewhere fun yesterday if we don't do something fun today. However, all in all, they are very thankful for what they have(experiences and material).

We started our weekend on Friday with a birthday celebration for Owen. We woke them up and Owen opened up a present(Gavin, too so he wouldn't feel left out) and then they played while Eddie and I got showers and ironed everybody's clothes. He got them dressed for me so we could hurry and then we headed to breakfast. (Note: this is about 10:30 am so it was a LATE breakfast). After breakfast we headed to Bounce Around for Owen's birthday treat. It is an indoor venue with bounce castles and slides, games, and a rock climbing wall. They were open for bounce from 11 am - 2 pm. We arrived at 12:00. The boys had lots of fun bouncing and just acting crazy(it is what they do best). Of course, Owen kept running from the camera and told me to "Go away" and "Top it"(stop it). At about 1 pm or 1:30, Owen bit down onto his tongue hard. It didn't bleed a whole lot, but it was a pretty deep gash and would open up like a book. The bounce place was out of town and here I am trying to figure out if he needs stitches or not.

Around 2 pm we left and headed home for lunch and cake. On the way, I called his Ped and then our family doctor(since the ped doesn't do stitches and would send us to the ER) to get him an appointment. We got him in at 3 pm and they decided that since his tongue was not separated at the bite(all the way through) that he did not need stitches. Whew!!! We headed to my mom's for cake and lunch and then let him open his presents there and play a bit. Then at home that night, he opened the rest of them. It ended up being a good birthday for him other than the tongue incident.

Just looking at this picture, I can smell and taste the cake. YUM!

On Saturday, Ashley and Joe came down(my sister and bil) and we did some shopping and went swimming. Gavin remembered how to swim from last summer(I was impressed that he remembered how). Owen took a little while to get used to the pool, but by the time we left, he didn't want to leave.

I have never been swimming while pregnant before and didn't realize how weird the sensation would be. I got so used to being bouyant when I was in the water(up to my chest) that when I lifted myself out of the water I didn't think I could do it. It was like going from 90 lbs to 300 lbs. Very weird! Then in the water, my belly didn't hang like it usually does. It felt like it was floating. Then, instead of feeling hard, it was all squishy. It is just incredible to feel these different things.

Sunday, we spent the day much like Saturday. We slept in since we were up late at Mom's visiting with Ashley and Joe and then got up, did some cleaning, ate lunch, and headed out to the pool for the day. Very relaxing! The best part about it is that it gets the boys' energy out. They were exhausted at the end of the day. Yay! (Usually Gavin is bouncing off the furnture, literally).
Have I mentioned that I LOVE SUMMER!!!!