Month 8!! Oh my goodness, its so hard to believe and then again not hard at all. Oh the growth that has occurred since the last blog! She keeps me so ridiculously busy that my oath to blog monthly was less of a realistic goal than I could have possibly imagined. I suppose I could abandon all other personal interests for the sake of the blog but call me selfish, sometimes my sewing machine or my paint brushes need a friend. That being said, I can't ignore the keyboard forever as it also is still my close friend AND I do love writing about our little one and our life :)
SO where are we now? I'll just jump right in...Contrary to popular belief, a little girls hair does not fall out and regrow before she turns 1yrs old. I don't know, I heard that somewhere :) Emerson's hair continues to grow and is almost shoulder length! (and by almost I mean it reaches her ears ;)) It is coming in thick though, yet another trait of her dads that she aquired. She smiles all the time which is such a beautiful thing! Her first two teeth are in, both came in within a couple weeks of each other and let me tell you, those were preeeeetty rough nights. For all of us I think, but of course mostly for her. A little Tylenol didn't seem to go very far and it was heart wrenching with each tooth :( But they're here now and it definitely enhances her cuteness!! Though just because the first two teeth are here doesn't mean the teething is over, oh no. The 'bad' nights come and go as she continues to work on what I can only assume are her top front teeth. We as a family will be more than happy when the little lady has all her pearly whites, my heart can't take her being in so much pain so often :(
Beyond that cute grin of hers, her sitting position has improved to the point that she can more or less sit and hang out without a supporting hand on her back. She is now able to even transition from sitting up to a laying position pretty smoothly. I didn't realize how easy it was for an 8 month old to do the splits! Pretty incredible how limber the little one is. Once in a while she takes a head dive back but we surround her with blankets if its not a padded situation and that seems to do the trick. She has been working on the crawling for a couple months now but beyond getting herself into the hand and knee position and rocking back and forth she kind of just slides back to her belly and scoots around. So she's still a mover but just doesn't want to bruise up her knees, and who can blame her :)
Its been a few years since I've spent a whole lot of time around an infant and in the meantime I forgot how entertaining non 'toy' items are for them. For instance, cords. Electrical cords. If there's one in the room, she will find it. And get to it. By scooting of course. Its to the point that I have to make sure everything is unplugged lest I walk away for a second and she finds the cord thats hidden under the chair, has a blanket over it and is tucked into itself (??? i mean, a really well hidden cord:)), if its there she WILL find it. I don't know why we even bother with store bought stuff. Other than wires of the electrical kind her favorite toy is a toy made of all wood where there's 5 different stacks, each with a their respective amount of holes in them that fit over a matching number of pegs, all different colors of course. Its designed for 1 yr olds and above I believe and she definitely hasn't grasped the concept of fitting each circle over its matching number of pegs but she just loves playing with the pieces... picking them up and turning them over, chewing on them, rolling them across the floor... really she can entertain herself for quiet some time with this toy alone. The brand is Kid O... I highly recommend it! (Thanks Martha!!:))
Oh boy, what else? She says Da da, or rather dadadadadadadaaaaaa (indiscriminately is what I'm getting at ;)). I hear this is common, but either way I wouldn't be surprised. She definitely has a lot of love for her Dad. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside:) We work on waving hi everyday and some days she embraces it, other days she acts like she has no idea what I'm talking about in which case I look like the crazy babbling mother when I'm just trying to get whatever dotting stranger to see how cute our baby is. I guess its all a part of the learning process.
I'm writing this now while cooking her baby food at the same time (she's napping, not wrapped up in cords... don't lie, you know the thought crossed your mind). Yes, I make her baby food from scratch at home and puree it. I figured why not? I don't have an excuse not to (well, i used to think I didn't have an excuse not to and now I know that I do and its valid, I'm BUSY all the time with her! but i still do it anyway). Whats funny about this making food at home for her is that I find recipes that even Luke and I would love. And then I find recipes that even Luke and I wouldn't make for ourselves! Like: Fillet of Fish in an Orange Sauce; Fillet of Flounder with Carrot, Cheese and Tomato; Chicken Liver with Vegetables and Apple; and Sweet Potato and Lamb Casserole. I mean, really??? And yes, these recipes can all be found in the book "Top 100 Baby Purees". But again, I've found lots of valuable ones and its been great for Luke and I too. We just leave the puree step out at the end when it comes to the recipes I follow for us. At least for now. Give us about 40 years and I'll readmit the step :)
Moving on.... this weekend bodes to be a big weekend for the Sehy family and the Broeren family too! Both add a beautiful addition to their families on Saturday, October 8th as Zach and Ally make it official!! We'll be headed up to Champaign this evening to begin the festivities surrounding their wedding. I have to thank Ally a million times over for many reasons but one of them is having an excuse to finally get a massage!! (and a sitter! ha, i kid i kid :)) We're so excited for them and really looking forwarded to celebrating such an amazing occasion. All that being said, you'll understand why I have to sign off now. It takes A LOT longer to pack for a trip now that we have a little one. Tune back in soon because I'm sure I'll have an experience to write about after our first family flight to San Diego for a November wedding. Lots of love in the air!! Hope life is treating you all as well as it is us :) Much love!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Look at me Mom and Dad, I'm SOOOOOO strong!!
And she most certainly is! Little Emerson is rocking our world on a daily basis (though this was always the case :)). Her growth and learning has become almost rapid-like, now being able to lift her head 90 degrees to her body and keep it that way for long periods of time, roll over as well as put most of her weight on her legs. She is just so cute I wish there were words for it:) When we pull her into sitting position and she maintains a 'level' head, she looks around with wide eyes and a big smile. I have a feeling that its not only because we are SO proud of her but she seems pretty proud of herself too... It makes my heart *thump thump*. And she LOVES her bumbo! We're not able to use it for more than a couple minutes at a time quiet yet as her head seems to get a little heavy for her but its her big girl seat and its clear that she knows this... when she sits in it its like a whole new world for her. It is just so delightful to witness and be a part of her 'awareness', especially as it grows in leaps and bounds everyday... have I said just how cute she is? SO SO SO cute :) Now that she can roll over, which she had been doing by 2 months but very rarely, she does it all the time. She's realized her ability to do it and so its an automatic response when you lay her down. Her head hits the mattress, she curls her back, throws her head back and swings her left leg over her right and her body follows. And there she is, sleeping on her belly. It made me really nervous the first few times; I would check on her every five minutes. One of many moments she will turn me in to a nervous wreck. But that being said, nothing beats the feeling I get when I walk into her room in the morning and she's on her belly, lifting her head and curling her legs up (think seal-style) with an expression on her face and delight in her eyes that says "Look at me mom! I'm sooooooo strong!" :)
Yesterday was our first family swim outing. We took Emerson to the pool at the YMCA and she was the fish we knew she would be, already swimming on her own and everything! (kidding, kidding;)) But she did seem to really like the water. She loves her baths so that was to be expected a little and she seemed to be a bit on the tired side so her reaction wasn't as extreme as I expected but we could tell she was in awe. A bath that mom and dad fit in and we're all wearing clothes??!! WHOA! It was adorable (I say this a million times as if you'll only get how adorable she is if I put the phrase on repeat:))
So as the little lady works on turning 4 months old (and an adorable 4 month old at that ((notice i fit 'adorable' in there again)) Luke and I work on planning for our future, particularly the wedding with its pending arrival. It is alot more work than I could have begun to imagine but I feel like the stressful parts of it are melting away and the detailed part of the planning is kind of fun:) It helps that we have 11 months now to work on the little things which in the end will hopefully keep the stress levels to a minimum as we near the big day. I'd love to share some of those details that are taking shape but I don't want to give anything away sooo..... yeah :) April 14, 2012 is the special day if I haven't already mentioned that in the previous blog. We are so excited! I absolutely can't wait to marry someone that I fall more in love with everyday:)
We're looking forward to the family reunion at the end of June and can't wait for everyone to meet Emerson! Much love to everyone!
Yesterday was our first family swim outing. We took Emerson to the pool at the YMCA and she was the fish we knew she would be, already swimming on her own and everything! (kidding, kidding;)) But she did seem to really like the water. She loves her baths so that was to be expected a little and she seemed to be a bit on the tired side so her reaction wasn't as extreme as I expected but we could tell she was in awe. A bath that mom and dad fit in and we're all wearing clothes??!! WHOA! It was adorable (I say this a million times as if you'll only get how adorable she is if I put the phrase on repeat:))
So as the little lady works on turning 4 months old (and an adorable 4 month old at that ((notice i fit 'adorable' in there again)) Luke and I work on planning for our future, particularly the wedding with its pending arrival. It is alot more work than I could have begun to imagine but I feel like the stressful parts of it are melting away and the detailed part of the planning is kind of fun:) It helps that we have 11 months now to work on the little things which in the end will hopefully keep the stress levels to a minimum as we near the big day. I'd love to share some of those details that are taking shape but I don't want to give anything away sooo..... yeah :) April 14, 2012 is the special day if I haven't already mentioned that in the previous blog. We are so excited! I absolutely can't wait to marry someone that I fall more in love with everyday:)
We're looking forward to the family reunion at the end of June and can't wait for everyone to meet Emerson! Much love to everyone!
Friday, May 6, 2011
You Move Me Honey, Yes You Do...
Hello all! So here we sit at 3 months... WOW!! time flies, though I knew it would. Things are pretty uneventful in the Sehy household of St. Louis, we're all just living and loving each other. Everyday we find ourselves gawking at each other, love just oozing out our pores, still waiting for the fact that we have such a beautiful little one (thats actually ours!) to sink in. Sounds cheesy but funny enough its true!
Before I share a little bit of Emersons fun personality with you, I'll share some other exciting news (that I'm sure most of you are clued into by now) but Luke and I are getting married!! :) :) Now, you may be thinking to yourself 'Isn't that a little backwards?' or 'duh, you have a kid. Of course you're getting married!' or many other sarcastic or even supportive thoughts but I'd like to clear the air a little. We are not getting married just BECAUSE we have a child and yes, backwards according to the societal 'norm' (not that I've ever been a big fan of following the rules just because they're rules) but when it comes down to it, child or non we are absolutely crazy about each other and simply put, that is why we're getting married. We are fortunate to have a child as some people in our position may not be so lucky to even get pregnant down the road. I love the fact that Emerson is around to be involved in our wedding and everyday we show her how much we love her and each other and she will be a testimony to that as we make it official :) It will be one of the greatest days of my life (following meeting Luke and then meeting Emerson for the first time :)). I cannot stress how lucky I feel that Luke loves me back in such a way that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me... I know without any doubt or hesitation that there is no one else I would want to share my life with and for all of the above reasons we are all incredibly happy!!
Now for the joys of parenthood :) That sounds sarcastic and maybe it should be a little bit but surprisingly I can tell you that there is not a minute that I have been even remotely close to throwing my hands up, nor has Luke for that matter (at least I'm pretty sure on his part ;)). You know, we'd heard before Emerson arrived that if our relationship could survive pregnancy and the first year of raising her together that we'd be 'good'. Maybe because we're not married yet our relationship could be viewed as not being as strong. That is SO wrong. This being said, everyone is different. Perceptions, temperment, patience, background, ideals, virtues, etc, etc... I feel like all of those things plus more determines the outcome of such a situation. For us the pregnancy and the first 3 months have been such a positive experience and I feel has only enhanced and strengthened our relationship. The end of the pregnancy was difficult physically and there were a few nights in the first 3 months that were long nights but overall with a little bit of team work we've made it efficient (if you can call it that ;)) and positive. We are nothing short of a happy family :)
Now all of this may sound 'fairytale' and you might be thinking "right, she's sugar coating it. No way can it be so 'perfect' and positive and blah blah blah" and again this is where I'd say its perception of experience which is fueled by so many things past and present. For me I loved the long nights holding Emerson, consoling her, feeding her, simply realizing that she is real, and amazing and ours :) Knowing that this part of her life will pass and she'll be an adult before we know it, I try to take every experience with her a positive one and really absorb it. We are all learning together; her, Luke and I :)
Moving on I do have to say I never thought I'd find myself just staring at a baby. Staring at her for as long as she'll let us, she probably finds her parents a little creepy :) (I kid, I kid:) Of course she ours and that makes the difference. We never thought we'd find 'poop' so funny, hilarious at times. Her 'poop face' as we call it never gets old... we laugh every time! We see it less and less the older she gets and so I even find myself missing it at times. We know there's a package coming when we see this expression, never fails... typically referred to as "a package for dad!" because it happened frequently in the beginning when he was holding her:) The running commentary on the color of her dirty diapers also so funny. They're all reruns at this point but still hysterical :) I find myself having conversations I never thought I'd have, mostly because they're one sided conversations with a 3 month old. But hey, I might as well treasure the moments she finds me interesting and engaging because it might not always be that way. I've never had a smile melt my heart the way her smile does :) I've never had a cry cripple me the way hers does :( As every parent does, I wish to keep any pain away from her all the days of her life and knowing thats not going to be possible breaks my heart.
Emerson has many nicknames, all applicable depending on the time of day or kind of day but amongst them is One Eyed McGee (though this is fading), triple chins, stinkybutt (slowly becoming 'stink' for short), chunk, beautiful (thats a given:)), bean (this will never get old), beanerson, little bean and many more bean oriented nicknames and most recently, quarter-slots (tends to happen as she's fading to sleep).... all said with fondness and love of course :)
One of the first questions that usually comes from strangers when we're out and about... "Is she a good baby?" Ummmm, no, no she's not. She's awful, just awful. Really?! I know people mean well but like any new parent is going to say their child is not a good baby. In my eyes she is an amazing baby. Also, "Is she a good sleeper?" which usually directly relates to the good baby question. Because there is quiet the broad scale when it comes to a newborn's sleep habits I would say yes, I think she is a good sleeper. I think it could be much worse... I know it could be much worse. She was never hard to get back to sleep after a night feeding, only wakes up when she's hungry and has transitioned nicely to longer bouts of sleep and fewer feedings at night. There is an occasional night when she has some difficulty being perfect ;) but there is also the occasional night when she sleeps through the entire night without waking up (though this has only happened a couple of times but hey, its a good sign). A typical night is as follows... around 5:30 or so its bath time. We spend about 10 minutes in the water because she loooooves it:) Then she has a bottle (if she's hungry), then story time (if she makes it through though a lot of times she's just ready for bed) and then bed (by about 6:00 or 6:30pm). She sleeps until we wake her up about 9pm to try and feed her as much as she'll eat. She goes right back to sleep (most of the time doesn't even wake up, just 'eat-sleeps' :)). Then she'll wake up between 2 and 3am on her own, take a full bottle and then go right back to sleep until between 6:30 and 7:30am. We get up in the morning, hang out between an hour and an hour and a half and then she's ready for a nap... between 1 and 2 1/2 hours. No, I'm not making this up :) I think its amazing. I think we're going on about 3 weeks or so of this being a steady occurance. And trust me, this is her setting her own schedule. We have not forced anything that hasn't been natural for her. And when she gets all the rest that she needs she is the happiest 3 month old I can imagine. So, is she good baby? yes. Is she a good sleeper? yes.
And lastly.... ( I need to do this more often so i'm not writing books).... She lifts her head on her own and is almost to the point that she can control it. Everyday she gets better at it:) Also she has rolled over a few times on her own. She smiles ALL THE TIME and is starting to talk a lot :) We are absolutely in love with her!!
I'll try to post more frequently to keep everyone updated.... next blog will highlight our parenting skillz :)
Love and hugs to everyone!
Before I share a little bit of Emersons fun personality with you, I'll share some other exciting news (that I'm sure most of you are clued into by now) but Luke and I are getting married!! :) :) Now, you may be thinking to yourself 'Isn't that a little backwards?' or 'duh, you have a kid. Of course you're getting married!' or many other sarcastic or even supportive thoughts but I'd like to clear the air a little. We are not getting married just BECAUSE we have a child and yes, backwards according to the societal 'norm' (not that I've ever been a big fan of following the rules just because they're rules) but when it comes down to it, child or non we are absolutely crazy about each other and simply put, that is why we're getting married. We are fortunate to have a child as some people in our position may not be so lucky to even get pregnant down the road. I love the fact that Emerson is around to be involved in our wedding and everyday we show her how much we love her and each other and she will be a testimony to that as we make it official :) It will be one of the greatest days of my life (following meeting Luke and then meeting Emerson for the first time :)). I cannot stress how lucky I feel that Luke loves me back in such a way that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me... I know without any doubt or hesitation that there is no one else I would want to share my life with and for all of the above reasons we are all incredibly happy!!
Now for the joys of parenthood :) That sounds sarcastic and maybe it should be a little bit but surprisingly I can tell you that there is not a minute that I have been even remotely close to throwing my hands up, nor has Luke for that matter (at least I'm pretty sure on his part ;)). You know, we'd heard before Emerson arrived that if our relationship could survive pregnancy and the first year of raising her together that we'd be 'good'. Maybe because we're not married yet our relationship could be viewed as not being as strong. That is SO wrong. This being said, everyone is different. Perceptions, temperment, patience, background, ideals, virtues, etc, etc... I feel like all of those things plus more determines the outcome of such a situation. For us the pregnancy and the first 3 months have been such a positive experience and I feel has only enhanced and strengthened our relationship. The end of the pregnancy was difficult physically and there were a few nights in the first 3 months that were long nights but overall with a little bit of team work we've made it efficient (if you can call it that ;)) and positive. We are nothing short of a happy family :)
Now all of this may sound 'fairytale' and you might be thinking "right, she's sugar coating it. No way can it be so 'perfect' and positive and blah blah blah" and again this is where I'd say its perception of experience which is fueled by so many things past and present. For me I loved the long nights holding Emerson, consoling her, feeding her, simply realizing that she is real, and amazing and ours :) Knowing that this part of her life will pass and she'll be an adult before we know it, I try to take every experience with her a positive one and really absorb it. We are all learning together; her, Luke and I :)
Moving on I do have to say I never thought I'd find myself just staring at a baby. Staring at her for as long as she'll let us, she probably finds her parents a little creepy :) (I kid, I kid:) Of course she ours and that makes the difference. We never thought we'd find 'poop' so funny, hilarious at times. Her 'poop face' as we call it never gets old... we laugh every time! We see it less and less the older she gets and so I even find myself missing it at times. We know there's a package coming when we see this expression, never fails... typically referred to as "a package for dad!" because it happened frequently in the beginning when he was holding her:) The running commentary on the color of her dirty diapers also so funny. They're all reruns at this point but still hysterical :) I find myself having conversations I never thought I'd have, mostly because they're one sided conversations with a 3 month old. But hey, I might as well treasure the moments she finds me interesting and engaging because it might not always be that way. I've never had a smile melt my heart the way her smile does :) I've never had a cry cripple me the way hers does :( As every parent does, I wish to keep any pain away from her all the days of her life and knowing thats not going to be possible breaks my heart.
Emerson has many nicknames, all applicable depending on the time of day or kind of day but amongst them is One Eyed McGee (though this is fading), triple chins, stinkybutt (slowly becoming 'stink' for short), chunk, beautiful (thats a given:)), bean (this will never get old), beanerson, little bean and many more bean oriented nicknames and most recently, quarter-slots (tends to happen as she's fading to sleep).... all said with fondness and love of course :)
One of the first questions that usually comes from strangers when we're out and about... "Is she a good baby?" Ummmm, no, no she's not. She's awful, just awful. Really?! I know people mean well but like any new parent is going to say their child is not a good baby. In my eyes she is an amazing baby. Also, "Is she a good sleeper?" which usually directly relates to the good baby question. Because there is quiet the broad scale when it comes to a newborn's sleep habits I would say yes, I think she is a good sleeper. I think it could be much worse... I know it could be much worse. She was never hard to get back to sleep after a night feeding, only wakes up when she's hungry and has transitioned nicely to longer bouts of sleep and fewer feedings at night. There is an occasional night when she has some difficulty being perfect ;) but there is also the occasional night when she sleeps through the entire night without waking up (though this has only happened a couple of times but hey, its a good sign). A typical night is as follows... around 5:30 or so its bath time. We spend about 10 minutes in the water because she loooooves it:) Then she has a bottle (if she's hungry), then story time (if she makes it through though a lot of times she's just ready for bed) and then bed (by about 6:00 or 6:30pm). She sleeps until we wake her up about 9pm to try and feed her as much as she'll eat. She goes right back to sleep (most of the time doesn't even wake up, just 'eat-sleeps' :)). Then she'll wake up between 2 and 3am on her own, take a full bottle and then go right back to sleep until between 6:30 and 7:30am. We get up in the morning, hang out between an hour and an hour and a half and then she's ready for a nap... between 1 and 2 1/2 hours. No, I'm not making this up :) I think its amazing. I think we're going on about 3 weeks or so of this being a steady occurance. And trust me, this is her setting her own schedule. We have not forced anything that hasn't been natural for her. And when she gets all the rest that she needs she is the happiest 3 month old I can imagine. So, is she good baby? yes. Is she a good sleeper? yes.
And lastly.... ( I need to do this more often so i'm not writing books).... She lifts her head on her own and is almost to the point that she can control it. Everyday she gets better at it:) Also she has rolled over a few times on her own. She smiles ALL THE TIME and is starting to talk a lot :) We are absolutely in love with her!!
I'll try to post more frequently to keep everyone updated.... next blog will highlight our parenting skillz :)
Love and hugs to everyone!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
She's a soul shaker, heartbreaker, dream maker....
The most beautiful little girl graced us with her arrival February 4, 2011 at 9:23am!!! There is entirely too much emotion to possibly convey even a fraction of what we feel for her and for the experience of bringing her into the world via words alone but we'll try :)
Emerson Zo Sehy weighed in at 6lbs 12oz and 19.25 inches after 15.5 hours of "labor". I put that in quotations because to me labor insinuates movie-like groans, grunting, sweat and pain. It wasn't really like that. At all. My water broke at home two hours after the doctor had told me that it looked like I was going to carry well passed my due date (keep in mind my due date was Feb 9). We had scheduled an appointment for an ultrasound on Feb 14 and were hoping the doctor on call might be so kind as to induce at a week passed her due date. I was extremely discouraged as the discomfort of being 9 months pregnant was starting to really weigh on me, literally and figuratively. I came home teary eyed while Luke did his best to console me. Within a couple of hours I felt what can only be described as a "pop". The short of that feeling was that my water broke. We were in disbelief to say the least and as we grabbed the hospital bag and a few other essentials I was expecting a tremendous amount of pain to immediately follow the breaking of the water. Instead I found myself hoping that with as much water as it felt like I was losing that it didn't look like I couldn't stop peeing my pants as we maneuvered our way through the hospital to the labor and delivery ward. We checked in and as they confirmed that my water broke, they hooked me up to the appropriate machines. Slowly the contractions started coming but were tolerable. I had set myself up to expect the worst. When I remained 1cm dialated for a few hours they decided to hook me up to a bag of pitocin. I said yes, please to the epidural at that point, knowing the pitocin was suppose to increase the rate of my contractions and invite the pain in with open arms. After the epidural, it was literally a cake walk. I wasn't in any kind of pain, just tired and starving. We tried to nap throughout the night without much luck as the doctors and nurses were in and out every few minutes. In the morning (exact times escape me), Bean still hadn't dropped so they decided they needed to break what they called a 'forbag' of water. Once that was accomplished it was only a matter of 3 or 4 hours before I was fully dialated and it was time to push. We pushed for 15 minutes and she came out screaming and healthy :) (I say 'we' because i feel like Luke's support was just as effective as my physical efforts in pushing... I really, really could not have done it without him by my side.) They handed her directly to me as Luke cut the umbilical chord and I found myself drowning in emotion that I have never come close to experiencing. She was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and her Dad standing there with us both.... well, I just don't have words. I couldn't contain my tears and I didn't even try. She stole my heart and shook my soul in a matter of a split second and I know without a doubt it will last a life time :)
Enter: pain like I've never experienced. After the epidural wore off I found myself scared to even go to the bathroom because of how much it hurt. I had a second degree tear that they had sewn up (pre epidural wear-off) and I couldn't sit, lay down or walk without asking myself if I would survive this. But everytime I thought about her I knew I'd go through whatever was necessary to have her again and again. My extreme frustrations grew from the fact that I couldn't even situate myself to hold her for a lengthy period of time or feed her or change her diaper because of how bad it hurt. It was almost painful to watch her float around the room to the arms of everyone but me. Well, other than her dad. Seeing how Luke was with her made me (and makes me) feel complete in a way I didn't realize was even possible. When I say he is amazing, I mean he is AMAZING. Emerson and I could not be luckier or happier.
We brought her home last Sunday. Surreal as it was, it was also so natural to the point that it felt right, not scary, not weird, just right. We have been so fortunate as to have had an easy first week. She sleeps alot, only gets a little fussy when she's in need. And i mean it when I say a 'little' fussy because she makes enough noise for us to know when she needs a diaper change, or needs to eat, or just wants some love and thats it. I have yet to hear an outright cry from her (knock on wood) and know that my heart will break the first time I do.
She had her first doctors appointment Thursday and he said she is perfect (of course I already knew that but its comforting to see that others recognize it as well ;)). *phew* I cried. A sign of times to come. Relief when I didn't even realize I was as nervous as I was. I just want her to be healthy, that is my first priority and number one objective. So yeah, I cried out of happiness and relief. Ok, I shed a few tears. I didn't CRY cry. Just to clarify :)
So, my pain has subsided and so far any raging hormones or lack there of are just emphasizing my happiness rather than dragging me through any baby blues. I find myself shedding a few tears from time to time when I look at her and see that the man I love and myself created what can only be described as a soul shaker, heartbreaker and dream maker, Ms. Emerson Zo Sehy :)
Emerson Zo Sehy weighed in at 6lbs 12oz and 19.25 inches after 15.5 hours of "labor". I put that in quotations because to me labor insinuates movie-like groans, grunting, sweat and pain. It wasn't really like that. At all. My water broke at home two hours after the doctor had told me that it looked like I was going to carry well passed my due date (keep in mind my due date was Feb 9). We had scheduled an appointment for an ultrasound on Feb 14 and were hoping the doctor on call might be so kind as to induce at a week passed her due date. I was extremely discouraged as the discomfort of being 9 months pregnant was starting to really weigh on me, literally and figuratively. I came home teary eyed while Luke did his best to console me. Within a couple of hours I felt what can only be described as a "pop". The short of that feeling was that my water broke. We were in disbelief to say the least and as we grabbed the hospital bag and a few other essentials I was expecting a tremendous amount of pain to immediately follow the breaking of the water. Instead I found myself hoping that with as much water as it felt like I was losing that it didn't look like I couldn't stop peeing my pants as we maneuvered our way through the hospital to the labor and delivery ward. We checked in and as they confirmed that my water broke, they hooked me up to the appropriate machines. Slowly the contractions started coming but were tolerable. I had set myself up to expect the worst. When I remained 1cm dialated for a few hours they decided to hook me up to a bag of pitocin. I said yes, please to the epidural at that point, knowing the pitocin was suppose to increase the rate of my contractions and invite the pain in with open arms. After the epidural, it was literally a cake walk. I wasn't in any kind of pain, just tired and starving. We tried to nap throughout the night without much luck as the doctors and nurses were in and out every few minutes. In the morning (exact times escape me), Bean still hadn't dropped so they decided they needed to break what they called a 'forbag' of water. Once that was accomplished it was only a matter of 3 or 4 hours before I was fully dialated and it was time to push. We pushed for 15 minutes and she came out screaming and healthy :) (I say 'we' because i feel like Luke's support was just as effective as my physical efforts in pushing... I really, really could not have done it without him by my side.) They handed her directly to me as Luke cut the umbilical chord and I found myself drowning in emotion that I have never come close to experiencing. She was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and her Dad standing there with us both.... well, I just don't have words. I couldn't contain my tears and I didn't even try. She stole my heart and shook my soul in a matter of a split second and I know without a doubt it will last a life time :)
Enter: pain like I've never experienced. After the epidural wore off I found myself scared to even go to the bathroom because of how much it hurt. I had a second degree tear that they had sewn up (pre epidural wear-off) and I couldn't sit, lay down or walk without asking myself if I would survive this. But everytime I thought about her I knew I'd go through whatever was necessary to have her again and again. My extreme frustrations grew from the fact that I couldn't even situate myself to hold her for a lengthy period of time or feed her or change her diaper because of how bad it hurt. It was almost painful to watch her float around the room to the arms of everyone but me. Well, other than her dad. Seeing how Luke was with her made me (and makes me) feel complete in a way I didn't realize was even possible. When I say he is amazing, I mean he is AMAZING. Emerson and I could not be luckier or happier.
We brought her home last Sunday. Surreal as it was, it was also so natural to the point that it felt right, not scary, not weird, just right. We have been so fortunate as to have had an easy first week. She sleeps alot, only gets a little fussy when she's in need. And i mean it when I say a 'little' fussy because she makes enough noise for us to know when she needs a diaper change, or needs to eat, or just wants some love and thats it. I have yet to hear an outright cry from her (knock on wood) and know that my heart will break the first time I do.
She had her first doctors appointment Thursday and he said she is perfect (of course I already knew that but its comforting to see that others recognize it as well ;)). *phew* I cried. A sign of times to come. Relief when I didn't even realize I was as nervous as I was. I just want her to be healthy, that is my first priority and number one objective. So yeah, I cried out of happiness and relief. Ok, I shed a few tears. I didn't CRY cry. Just to clarify :)
So, my pain has subsided and so far any raging hormones or lack there of are just emphasizing my happiness rather than dragging me through any baby blues. I find myself shedding a few tears from time to time when I look at her and see that the man I love and myself created what can only be described as a soul shaker, heartbreaker and dream maker, Ms. Emerson Zo Sehy :)
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