Well, Emma is four weeks old today and I thought I would finally write an update on the past few weeks.
I will begin with our hospital adventure.
Labor and Delivery: Since Emma did not arrive by her due date (April 23), we decided that it would be in the best interest of both mom and baby to schedule an induction. So, Bradley and I checked in to St. Vincent's on Sunday, April 25 at 8:00 PM to begin the process. We did our best to sleep, but with the excitement of the day ahead and the uncomfortable sleeping arrangement, neither of us got very much sleep. The great part was that we were able to listen to Emma's heartbeat all night long on the monitor. Bright and early Monday morning (April 26) the Dr. came in to break my water at 6:00 AM- soon after I began having TRUE contractions. I was given a little pain medicine to help with the pain until I was able to get an epidural. At this point I was thinking (along with Bradley) I am so glad that we are at the hospital having these contractions and not in the car driving from Tuscaloosa. The Lord took care of us in that aspect because we were both a little nervous about that drive. I finally received my epidural around 9:00 AM (which I must say- was a lot more painful than I had anticipated, but so worth it.) Once I received the epidural I was great- Bradley had to tell me when I was having a contraction. Haha. By 11:00 AM I had progressed to 4 cm. and then I went no further. My awesome Labor and Delivery nurse- Melissa- tried everything she knew to do to help me progress more, but Emma was determined to stay in her mommy. After a discussion with my Doctor at 2:00 PM, no more progression, and a concern that Emma was going to be well over 8 lbs. based on her 39 week ultrasound we decided that it would be best to have C-section. We informed the family that was there with us, packed up our room because we would now be on the C-section floor instead of Labor and Delivery floor, and prepared for surgery. I remember feeling a bit nervous and scared about the surgery, but also excited that we were about to meet our baby girl. We said our good-byes to our family and Bradley's mom said a prayer for us - and prayed that the Lord would be glorified through this surgery, and then we were wheeled into the OR. With Bradley sitting at my head and the best Dr.'s and nurses in the world we were ready to meet Emma. Things were going great and I will never forget the sound of Emma's first cry and the Dr. saying- she has a head full of hair!! AT 3:41 PM Emma entered the world!! At this point things changed- I remember having a severe burning feeling in my right chest and asking the nurse if I should be feeling that and in pain. She of course said no and began giving me more pain meds. I then realized that I was feeling a lot more than I should and was in more pain that I can describe as they stitched me up. My doctor told me they could put me to sleep, but I knew that I had almost made it to the end and I wanted to see and hold my baby girl, and putting me to sleep would only prolong that. So I asked her how long it would be before they were done and she told me 20 minutes. So with Bradley encouraging me, I just breathed as deeply as I could, focused on Emma's crying, and repeated "God will not give me more than I can handle" over and over and over. I tell this part of the story only because I know that did not have the strength to get through those 20 minutes by myself. I want people to know that it was ONLY because of the Lord's strength that I was able to get through this and I want HIM to receive the glory. The Dr.'s were finally finished and I was able to hold my sweet baby girl making it all totally worth it. We really aren't sure why I experienced the pain- it was either a reaction I had to the pain meds or the epidural just did not last long enough. (Just one of those freak things.) The Dr. also told me that the Umbilical Cord was wrapped around her neck- so it was the Lord's plan for her to be born by C-section. HE ALWAYS KNOWS BEST!!
We spent the next four days in the hospital and were given the BEST care. We were visited by lots of family and friends and just enjoyed loving on our sweet baby girl. We came home on Friday, April 30 and began adjusting to our new schedule involving Emma. We were so blessed to have meals provided by the music department of FWC and our family. It was such a blessing to not have to worry about fixing a meal. A big thanks to all that contributed. :)
We are slowly learning how to be a mommy and a daddy. I can't describe the love I have for this precious baby. I remember telling Bradley in the hospital that people always tell you that you will love them like you have never loved anything before- and yes that it so true, but it is SO much more than that. It is a feeling that you just can't explain. To know that this sweet little girl was created inside of me - is just simply a miracle. I am overwhelmed at the awesomeness of God. To know that this little girl was created by Him and that He chose Bradley and I to love her and care for her just fills my heart with so many emotions. We are so blessed and are relying on the Lord's strength to get us through each day and trusting in His wisdom to guide us as we raise this precious little girl. We ask for your continued prayers as we travel down this road.
Memorable moments from the past 4 weeks:
1. We discovered right away that Emma does not like footed pajamas. She kicks and squirms and screams if she is put in them. I guess she was so cramped inside me that she wants to be able to stretch out and not touch anything when she does. So needless to say we do not wear footed PJ's.- only gowns with socks.
2. We recently tried size 1 diapers on Emma - and Bradley quickly discovered that the size 1 diapers do NOT have the yellow line on them that turns blue when Emma tee-tees. He quickly announced that he did NOT like this and wasn't sure what he was going to do about it. ( I will say that he is learning how to tell if she is wet without the yellow/blue line.) He's a GREAT daddy!!!
3. We tried to put Emma in her swing after we got her home- well to say she wasn't a fan would be an understatement. She SCREAMED!!!! So we will try it again when she is little older.
4. I love it when someone else is holding Emma and she hears my voice or Bradley's voice and turns her head to find us. So sweet to know that she knows who we are.
5. I love to watch her as she is just waking up- she loves to stretch and arch her back.
We are blessed to call her our daughter.
B and K
