Our Baby Girl!

So, this is obviously a little late...but, Matt and I are proud to announce the arrival of our baby girl, Emerson Jo!!

Born April 11th, 2009 at 6:44pm, weighing 7lbs, 3oz, and measuring 19in long! She has a ton of dark brown hair and is just absolutely beautiful!

She's now 2 weeks and 1 day old and we've enjoyed absolutely every single moment with her! She's a wonderfully laid back little girl who enjoys eating lot, sleeping a lot and is already pooping at a 5th grade level!

Her big sister Wrigley just loves her awful and is very protective of her! Her favorite thing to do is watch over her and lick all of the baby lotion off of her hands and feet! But Emerson is always comforted by Wrigley's little nudges, letting her know that she's close. It's really very cute!

My labor was nice and easy going. My water broke around 930a on that Saturday morning - my theory is that Emerson was just waiting for her daddy to arrive in Pekin...he got there around 9p the night before! We got to the hospital (Methodist Medical Center in Peoria) and were admitted around 10a. I made it to about 6cm before my contractions got a little too uncomfortable and I got my epidural - this was around 2p. By 430-5pm, I was complete and pushing. According to mom, I was a great pusher...however, by 6pm, we realized that Emerson was asynclitic (crooked) and trying to come down a little cock-eyed...and it was then that Mom consulted the doc she has her practice with and it was decided that I would need a c-section. I cried - and cried. Not only was this not what I had hoped for or planned for - I was scared sh*tless. Never had I had surgery before...I'd watched about 50 cesareans over the course of my life, but never did I think I'd be the one on the table. I wanted my mom to deliver Emerson, and I wanted Matt to help her - that was the plan. Now I faced being stuck on an operating table, with a drape up so I couldn't see anything, and not being able to immediately hold my little girl...

Dr. Boyd was great. He really took every extra step to make sure that it was still special for me. The section started at 1842 and by 1844 our little girl had arrived. Before he pulled her out, he had the CRNA drop the drape and lift my head so that I could watch...and she was beautiful - and had the most amazing chubby cheeks ever! He held her over the top of the drape after they cut her free so that I could see her upclose and touch her. Then I just laid there and cried. Our little girl was finally here!

I was lucky enough to have both mom and Matt there in the OR with me. They video taped the entire thing - and I don't know how many times I've watched it - and every time I cry. Damn hormones ;o)

Matt was amazing. He immediately went over to Emerson and watched as they did everything. He got to cut what was left of her cord. However, I got to hold her first. She was crying and crying and proving to us that her lungs worked just fine - and they set her in my arms and I said "Hi baby girl" and she immediately stopped. That was the most amazing moment of my life thus far. Just incredible. We just stared at each other.

Matt and mom escorted her to the nursery - and on the way, stopped to see Grampy Dean, Grandma Dori and Grandpa Roger, all waiting in the waiting room. Matt got some pretty neat pictures of them taking her in. Once I was in recovery, after Matt had already rejoined me, mom brought Emerson back to us. That's when I got my first real chance to see her while sitting up and take her in completely. Of course, I'm biased, but she's just absolutely beautiful.

We spent 48 hours in the hospital, where, of course, we received excellent care - and should have - as we knew all of my nurses! We absolulely loved Jody, Pammy, Melanie, Mary, Janel, Kim and Karla! Jody even bought us dinner after the section!

We spent the following week at my parents - getting adjusted to life with a new baby. Luckily, mom had taken vacation time to stay at home and help us. Unfortunately, Emerson was a little jaundiced - so we had daily blood draws for her to check her bilirubin levels...by the end of the week, they were finally back down and we were cleared. The only upside to any of that, was that it got us out of the house at least once during the day...

We've now spent one week at our own home with Emerson. It's been an adjustment, especially with Matt back at work and me on a driving/lifting restriction. But thanks to good friends and a very laid back, sleepy baby, I was able to get plenty of rest and even out of the apartment for a little bit.

We spent this weekend back at my parents, as today was my 27th birthday. It was a nice laid back day, not a lot of hoopla and very relaxing. The best gift I got came 2 weeks and 1 day earlier...at 6:44pm :o)

Update

So, I'm 37.5 weeks pregnant. Last Wednesday, April Fool's Day, I started contracting every 5-6 minutes or so...and rather uncomfortably (I had been able to deal with them up til then), so I called into work and came up to Peoria to see my mom in the office.

She put me on the monitor for a few hours (cuz I had nothing else to do and no where else to go) and sure enough, I was every 6 minutes...just pumping these contractions out like a pro. So, she checked me. I was 2 cm dilated, 80% effaced...a change of 1cm, 50% efface 4 days earlier. Wow - looks like I might be headed into LABOR!

So, she pulled me from work (I had 5, 12hr shifts left) and put me on "Pekin arrest" - basically, I was to live with them until Miss Emerson Jo arrived. Now, mind you, this was the original plan...only, beginning the 12th, because our induction date was set for the 18th (and still is).

I received a dose of beatmathazone to help Emerson's lungs mature a little quicker - just incase I delivered before 37 weeks. But once we reached the 4th, we knew we were safe. Not to mention, I had been contracting since about week 25 with your typical Braxton Hick's contractions, so her lungs were probably more than fine from the get-go.

I had planned on coming up to my parents for a few days anyways that week as I was to take my state boards on the 3rd. Well...we waited until late, late Wednesday night to decide that these contractions really meant something, and that I should probably unschedule...something I couldn't do past 8am on Thursday morning...so I did. I have yet to actually reschedule the date.

So...Mom did her best to get me either into labor, or to fizzle the contractions out on Wednesday - she dragged my pregnant butt all over the mall...and made it worth my while (and Emerson's too!). But after a couple of hours, we headed back to the house because HER feet hurt.

Dad was excited, but convinced this was all an April Fool's joke. Not. Then his concern fell for Matt - who was still in Champaign!!

I hadn't packed my bag. Which, at 36 weeks, should have been done, but in my defense, seeing as I was being induced at 39 weeks, and coming up to Pekin at 38 weeks, I thought I had plenty of time. I wanted to pack 1 big bag for the entire trip, then, once in Pekin, repack the bag or a different bag for the hospital. Made sense to me! But, not to my husband, who simply told me "told ya so" when I called and told him that I was now on "Pekin arrest" and would not be returning to Champaign...and only had enough clothes for the 2 days I had planned on being there! Luckily, I made those clothes last and Matt was able to make it up on Saturday to bring me everything else - or most other things. After he left on Sunday, I realized, the clothes I had him bring...were for AFTER the baby was born. God, I'm dumb.

So, I've been contracting up a storm for the last week. I'm not sleeping at night, almost not at all, as this seems to be when they get really bad. They're finally moving south (I feel them really bad in my hips and butt) - which is a good sign of impending labor. I went up with mom to the hospital last night (can't be left alone, either!) for one of her deliveries. When we got there, I started contracting really close together and she checked me and through me on the monitor for a bit while she checked on her patient. I was impressing the nurses with the fact that I was contracting every 3-4 minutes and had progressed to "a good 3cm, still 80%" and my cervix was no longer posterior and Emerson's head was way low and my membranes buldged with every contraction. My mom is now convinced that it is HIGHLY unlikely that I will even make it past this weekend.

I was lucky enough to spend Monday and Tuesday with dad...he was off. You can tell he's anxious and excited. Constantly asking me how I'm doing and everything. On Thursday and Friday of last week, while I was home and he was at work, he would call or text me on an hourly basis to make sure I was doing ok. Then, he tells me Friday, "You know, this would be a great weekend to have a baby." I replied "oh yea? Why's that?" And his response? "Cuz I'm off Sat, Sun, Mon, Tues!!" Thanks, Dad - I'll get right on that!

So...still hanging in there. Wishing she would come. But I think our friend Megan said it best - "You can tell she's a Pontifex/Goff already - doing things her own way!" And yes. She certainly is!