4 Weeks

Our beautiful baby girl at a week and a half old had her newborn pictures taken courtesy Amber Lintz Photography. I love love love her style and all the pictures that she took of our baby. These are some of my favorites. Emma is so small and perfect! There is something about babies and white onesies that just look great. 

 Visiting Grandma and Papa at their house. She is wearing her "I love Grandma" onesie that Grandma received on Mother's Day. The cute bow she has on her head everyone either called it ridiculous or a christmas ornament. Good thing I love it!!! She is a girl and looks so adorable with it on. 

 Shirley, Kimberlee and Krew came to visit us one afternoon along with Kim, Emma and Boston. Before the Penningtons arrived we got a couple photos. Emma is Krew's girlfriend but he is already a little rough with her. She was whacked in the head by him swinging a clip around. Definitely surprised her and with a delayed response of crying. Poor girl! Krew is a wild little man but so freaking cute. I love that little guy. Kimberlee is getting so big and was great at holding Emma. Professional! 

 Emma was not a happy camper for the picture...she was still getting over the surprise whack in the head! But look at the handsome guy behind her!

Emma is now 4 weeks old. I can't believe that all that time has passed by because it still feels like yesterday. We were out in the front room getting some tummy time in yesterday. 

Almost 2 weeks

It's almost been 2 weeks since Emma was born. Time does fly by fast with a little one. I swear all I do is feed her, change her, love her and try to sleep. Steve has been home with us the whole time and I fear the day he goes back to work. He is amazing with Emma! He keeps her calm when I am not ready or available to feed her. He snuggles her and kisses her. Knowing that he is watching her while I am in the shower or busy is reassuring. Glad we get him the rest of this week! 

I am feeling good and looking good. I was able to fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans 3 days post baby. I probably could have fit them sooner but wasn't out of the hospital yet. With that being said, I am down 21 pounds from my max weight during pregnancy. I gained only 5 pounds in pregnancy and that was all in the last 2-3 weeks of pregnancy. That weight was all located in my feet and legs in the form of swelling. I had a hard time fitting shoes in the end. I now want to work on toning up my belly and losing the remaining fat I have around my belly. I was overweight when I got pregnant and now that I have lost a lot of the weight I need to get in shape. I hope the weather starts to warm up a bit so I can take Emma for walks...at least in the 30's or 40's. 

Emma and I are getting way better at breastfeeding. It is a challenge to get things right. Right latch, right position, right time, right right right! Things are way better during the day than at night. I definitely have more patience during the day and will just sit with her while she falls asleep at the nipple. At night, I just want to go back to sleep so I don't like when she falls asleep. She is doing so well at sleeping. Our nights are anywhere from 3-4 hours in between feedings. It definitely makes me sleep in when we are up more. 

Labor & Delivery of Emma Adella

My water broke at home during our Shelton Family Christmas Party. We had just finished opening gifts and I was sitting on a chair my grandma gave me when I felt like I had peed my pants.  I stood up to go check when I felt an even bigger gush which made me run to our bathroom. Sure enough the fluid had gone straight through my pad, underwear and jeans. I was positive that my water broke. It was 8:30 pm. Steve came to check on me after everyone told him I had run in there. I told him I was pretty sure that my water had just broke. He relayed that message to his family and from the bathroom I could hear them all cheer! I changed my jeans and put a bigger pad on and went back out. Everyone had started to clean up our house from the present exchange and all the food sitting out. 

I wasn't in any rush to get to the hospital at that moment since I had really planned on laboring at home. As everyone cleaned up my contractions became stronger and more painful. They were all in my back and definitely took my breath away. I had to stop and focus on them when they came on. I was standing when they came one and they were intense. I had another gush of fluid and was mostly concerned that I wouldn't have anything to wear to the hospital besides pajamas. Steve gathered a bag of computer items and cell phone chargers. I finished packing my bag of curling iron and hair dryer. We loaded everything up in the car including Emma's car seat and were prepared to go. Robyn and Blake were the last to go and they were so helpful even getting our garbage cans out to the street so we didn't miss our pickup. 

After they left, I was not handling these contractions very well. They were very painful and felt like my back was going to break. We left for the hospital around 9:40 pm. The contractions felt much worse when I was sitting down. The drive to the hospital was long when I was having contractions and short when they were gone. They were coming every 4-5 minutes at this point. 

We parked in the terrace and when I got out I felt another gush of fluid. I made Steve check my behind for wet spots but thank goodness nothing had gone through. We walked up to OB Emergency Services on the 2nd floor and told the ladies at the desk that I think I am ready to have a baby and that my water had broke. They took me to a room and had me undress from the waist down and put their belly band on. They left while I undressed but took forever to come back. My contractions were coming every 2 minutes at this point and all the pain was in my lower back. I felt like my back was going to break and it was extremely hard to stay in that bed. We finally pressed the call button to see when they were coming back in. They came in to check on me and hook me up to the monitor. Everything looked great but I was in extreme pain. I felt like I had to have a bowel movement which got the nurses moving. They sent the midwife in pretty fast to check me. They didn't want to deliver a baby over there. Steve and I both agree that they didn't believe me when I had told them my water broke. They checked the fluid with the paper strip and a glass slide and both were positive for amniotic fluid. I was dilated to 4 cm.  As soon as that was proven I was wheeled over to labor and delivery. The first nurse I saw was Mel, a nurse I had worked with back when I first got my RN license. She started my IV and called the anesthesiologist in. She told him I wanted the epidural yesterday and to get on it. Of course they have to do their whole speech of risks and benefits which I probably only heard 1/4 of since the contractions kept coming. I threw the idea of laboring without medications right out the window and opted for the epidural. I am so glad I did! Props to all the mamas that do it without meds! 

The anesthesiologist got working on my back and I was so worried about moving during the placement since the contractions were so bad. But I did great and Steve was there to hold my hands during it. Our nurse did some pressure on my knees during contractions but I honestly couldn't tell you if that helped or not. Once the epidural was in place and working the nurse placed the foley catheter in my bladder. She also checked me and I was dilated to 5 cm. I was also given a button to give myself extra medications if the contractions still bothered me. Heaven! Once I was settled, Shirley, Becky and Nicole came down to visit me and Steve. They were so excited for us.

Our first nurse was off at 11 pm since it was a holiday they were only doing 8 hour shifts. Our next nurse was Frances and she was awesome. I absolutely loved my entire experience in labor and delivery. I was super nauseated before the epidural was placed and still nauseated after the epidural was placed. They gave me Zofran but that didn't seem to work. I took Phenergan and began to feel much better and sleepy. The nurse and Steve pulled out the couch for Steve to sleep on. They highly recommended us getting some sleep. At first it was hard to fall asleep since we were so excited to be there and that we would be meeting our little girl soon. I started to get super itchy from the epidural and realized I hadn't taken my allergy medications before I came. They got those ordered and and some IV Benadryl for me. At 4 am they checked me and I was dilated to 8 cm and 90% effaced. They also said the baby was looking up at the ceiling and that she needed to rotate for delivery. So they flipped me over on my side and baby started to move all over. All through my pregnancy whenever I was on my sides she would move a lot. Apparently during labor that wasn't going to change. Unfortunately with me being on my side and baby moving a lot, the external heart rate monitor wasn't enough. The nurse would find her heart beat then let go and baby would move. After a half hour of trying the doctor came in and wanted to put an internal fetal monitor on. It was a small corkscrew hook that screws into the top of the baby's head. Sounds super horrible but the needle is so incredibly small. So the doctor placed the monitor and we were back in business. As she placed it, she checked baby position and my cervix. The news was good....baby was now looking at my spine which is perfect for delivery and I was 9 cm dilated. They called Dr. Sharp and informed him of my progress. He wanted to let me continue to dilate and let the baby descend down for a few hours. So we tried to get some more sleep. Steve went down for coffee around 4:30 and ran into our friend Marzena who is a labor and delivery nurse for Airmed. She came to visit us at 5:30 am and was concerned to see me with the internal fetal monitor and on oxygen. Baby's heart rate had what they called decels. We listened and watched on the monitor as a contraction came and her heart rate would drop to the 80's.

Finally at 7:10 the residents said we could start pushing since first time moms take a while to push a baby out. We didn't start pushing at all until 7:30 am which is when Dr. Sharp showed up. We got down to business and started to push. I am so thankful for the epidural at this time. I could feel enough to know where to put all my efforts at yet not feel pain. Steve was awesome the whole time and was a great coach. Dr. Sharp was cracking jokes in between contractions which lightened the atmosphere. Steve told me he could see her head and that she had lots of hair. They asked me if I wanted to touch her head and I did hesitate but then decided to touch her head. So amazing and crazy to be that close to having her here! Around 8 am my nurse and doctor called in the pediatric resuscitation team to stand by for the delivery since the baby's heart rate wasn't recovering as fast as they wanted between contractions. Dr. Sharp finally decided that he didn't like the baby's heart rate staying where it was and opted for a vacumn assisted delivery. Emma Adella was born at 8:07 am. I looked at her in Dr. Sharp's hand and she was so limp. Steve cut the cord and the pediatric team took her over to the warmer. As luck would have it I didn't have any big tears. As my doctor described it, I had 2 small papercuts! After a few minutes of working on Emma, they decided to take her to the NICU because her APGAR scores went down and she wasn't breathing well.

I watched them roll her out and I couldn't see her since the sides of the warmer were up and blocked with the blankets. My heart dropped and the worry and nervousness increased. I started to cry! They wouldn't let Steve go with but said they would come back to get him. After the longest 5 minutes a doctor came back and took Steve to Emma. At that point, Emma was doing much better that Steve was able to drive his baby girl down to the Well Baby Nursery. My mom came to labor and delivery to see me. It was nice to have my mom there when I didn't have Steve or my baby there. It took 2 hours for me to be able to see Emma. I was finally wheeled over to Maternal Newborn Care Unit and into the Well Baby Nursery. My mom helped bring all our stuff over to the unit. Emma was the only baby in the nursery. As soon as I saw her I started to cry. I was so overwhelmed that she was here, okay and absolutely beautiful! They let me hold her skin to skin. She was finally able to come out of the nursery at 12:00 and from that point on she really never left our side.

My mom visited us frequently since she works in the hospital. We had Steve's sisters Rinda and Stephanie visit each day. Shirley brought us yummy Cafe Rio that night which was so delicious. The best part was my heartburn was gone!!! Magical! Shirley hung out with us and gave Emma lots of loves. She also took our first family picture together. Thanks! And looking at the pictures I am so extremely swollen!!! I swear I could barely smile due to all the fluid. I still had no ankles and my fingers and face were now swollen. I had counted at least 5 liters of fluid given to me in Labor and Delivery. Beware these pictures are scary!!! Steve went home that night and slept. He was exhausted from being up all night and all day. That first night was tough since both Emma and I were new to breastfeeding. We were up a lot.

Steve came back the next day around 10:30 and gave me the much needed naps I needed. He is so in love with Emma! Crazy how having your own child changes you. The emotions and love you feel for this little being is incredible. No one can prepare you for it. After getting some naps in, I felt like I had been hit by truck. My body hurt all over. We took it to using muscles you don't know you have during delivery. Unfortunately by Friday I felt worse and was getting worse. I had them test me for the flu before we went home. They recommended me wear a mask around Emma since we didn't know if I had the flu or not. Another problem we had was Emma was looking a bit yellow. They drew a bilirubin level and it was high. It was still under the cut off of needing light therapy. The doctors wanted us to come back to the hospital the next day to get her bilirubin checked and her weight checked. We were discharged at 5:30 P.M. and it was in the single digit temperatures outside. I was already freezing and feeling awful and to go outside was horrible. My mom helped load us up and get us home. I felt so bad for Steve...he now had a newborn to care for and a sick wife. He was awesome. He made me soup and a yummy honey vanilla drink when we got home.

The next day we took her back to the hospital and received good news about her bilirubin levels. They were going down and her weight was 6 pounds 6 ounces which was the same as Thursday night. The pediatricians were very happy. I looked up my test results for the flu and received bad news. I was positive for Influenza A. For the next week I wore masks anytime I was holding Emma or feeding her. Anything to do with her I was masked. I felt like I would feed her and then pass her to Daddy. It made me very sad.

Now 10 days after her birth I am feeling much better but still have a cough lingering behind. We are getting into a routine and getting much better at breastfeeding.
These are pictures of our visitors that I remembered to take!

New Years Day and Shelton Family Christmas

Steve and I have been working hard on our house ever since we moved in back in May. Our main goal ever since finding out we were pregnant was to get the upstairs updated to our preferences. We have accomplished 99% of our goal. 

New Years Eve we spent at home. We thought about going out but decided to hang out at home since we are so close to our due date. I spent the night putting together baby swings, bouncers and bookshelves. I had run some errands earlier in the evening to get a mattress and crib sheets and the bookshelf. I sort of forgot it was New Years Eve and barely made it before the stores closed. I set up her crib with the bedding. We moved her clothes upstairs. I filled her dresser with clothes and added her monkey stickers to the wall. I guess in a way I was nesting which I have been dying to get her room done for the last month. We still have her closet doors and main door to sand and paint but she doesn't need those for quite a while. 

We stayed up til 12:30 and rang in the new year...2013!

On New Years Day we cleaned up our house since we were hosting the Shelton Family Christmas get together. Steve's brother Brian and his wife Christina had flown in from Conneticut 2 days prior so the family delayed Christmas for them. I enjoyed it since I had to work Christmas Day. This was my Christmas. We also were getting together to do family pictures that day up at the Capitol.

We met at the Capitol at 4 pm with the whole family and did lots of pictures. These will be my last pictures of me pregnant that I got. I never got around to taking a picture of myself. When I get these pictures I will post them. 

After picture time, we all headed back to our house for a potluck of appetizers and drinks. We all chowed down on yummy food and then settled down in the living room for opening of presents. We exchanged presents with our siblings and gave our niece and nephews their gifts. Claire helped open all of Emma's gifts for us. 

After we were done opening presents, we were all sitting in our living room chatting. I was sitting on a chair my grandma had given us when I felt something like I had peed my pants but just a little. I stood up and felt a big gush of fluid that I had no control over. I ran to our master bathroom and pulled my pants down....sure enough all the fluid had gone through my pants. I just had my water break at home!!! Steve came to check on me and I told him what happened. He told his family and from the bathroom I could hear them all cheer. I found my other pair of maternity pants to wear and went back out. Everyone was cleaning up and trying to help clear out our house. As they were all doing that my contractions became a whole lot stronger and painful. I felt like they were taking forever to get out of the house and when people were talking to me during a contraction I definitely could not listen. Steve and I finished packing our bags to go to the hospital in. 

See next post for story about our labor!