Welcome Emory Lea

The story began on Friday night. I began having some contractions during the night Friday and on Saturday they began around 9 am. They came pretty consistantly every 15 mins. I made Aaron stay close to home after checking on his cows early that morning. Around 5 pm the contractions began coming every 5 mins and was more painful. So we monitored them for an hour and a half and decided to go up the hospital around 7. When we got up there I was dilated to 1 1/2 cm so they decided to monitor me for a couple of hours. I did not change any in those hours so they gave me the choice of whether or not to go home. We all decided it would be a while longer and I would probably be more comfortable at home. So we came home around 9:30.

It was a very long night. On the way home my contractions started becoming more intense and stayed close together. The dr gave me pain meds before sending me home, but they did nothing to ease the pain (well it probably would have been worse, but I was still hurting). They did however make me very sleepy. So all night I would be completely out of it and wake up every 3-5 mins with a minute worth of pain. I kept waiting for my water to break or some sure sign that I was in actual labor before going back to the hospital. Around 9 am I could not stand it any longer and we went back to the hospital.

I was dilated to 4 cm when we got back to the hospital and Dr. Holt (my dr was not on-call) came in fairly quickly to break my water. After that things moved pretty fast. It took a while to get my lab work done so I had to wait on an ephidural, but was given more pain medicine in the mean time. So I stayed out of it for the remainder of the labor pains. Once I had the ephidural it was smooth sailing. I was dilated to 7 cm around noon and grandparents began making their way up to the hospital. At 1:30 or so the nurse said I was at 9 cm and told Aaron he better hurry to get the camera. I started pushing around 1:45 or 2:00 and she came at 2:15 without any problems.

The nurse and dr both said everything went so smoothly, they were impressed. They told me I was born to have babies which was good news for Aaron since he wants a complete football team. (Yeah right, we'll see how his mind changes.) Here are a few pictures from moments after. She is just beautiful and everyone is doing well.

You know me I can't keep from crying and still want to cry every time I look through the pictures.

Dad shared in some tears as well. I think most of it was the overwhelming joy of his new daughter, but I'm sure some of it was all the things he just witnessed. :)

6 lbs 15 oz - 20 inches long

All the things I was not able to see since they took her away without much of a glance. I did not like not being able to see what they were doing to her, but Aaron stayed right beside her making sure they did everything right.

We have been home for 24 hrs and I will post more later about our first days home.

The Waiting Game

Well we have 13 official days left before Emory arrives. I have found my spot inside the nice cool house reading books, getting school stuff ready, and scrapbooking. That is now my routine since it's too hot to go outside and I'm a little too miserable to do much of anything else. It's been fine so far, but I am definitely getting a little tired of it all. My blog next week might not be so upbeat if I'm still pregnant. I'm getting more and more anxious by the minute.

Last night we thought it was time, but were sadly sent back home after making a trip to the hospital. I had been having some Braxton Hicks contractions spread out throughout the day and evening. Around midnight they started coming every 8 minutes for about 30 minutes and then started coming every 4 minutes. So I called the Labor and Delivery and they told me to drink a glass of water and lay on my left side to see if they continued or got worse. They never got worse, but continued for another hour so we decided to go on up to the hospital and get things checked out. After an hour of monitoring things the contractions began to space out a little and since they weren't intense they sent me home. Last week at the dr I was dilated to 1/2 cm and yesterday and today showed the same thing. So NO PROGRESS what so ever.

So at today's doctor's appointment I asked him if he was going to let me go all the way to my due date. He said things are much easier on me if I go into labor on my own rather than inducing. So he said he didn't want to induce unless there was something medically wrong. I completely agree with him and don't want to rush things and end up with a hard labor or an unnecessary C-section. So we're just waiting (not so) patiently for Emory to decide it's time. Until then I will continue to be cooped up in the house, walking in the evenings while it's cool, and doing whatever I can to speed this process along.

One Hot Wedding

This weekend Aaron and I went to my cousin Lindsey's wedding. It was absolutely beautiful. It was at the Winfield Inn in Kyle, Texas. The wedding and reception were lots of fun. BUT it was SOOOO hot. When the wedding started at 7:00 it was still 103 degrees and I was definitely very uncomfortable. I don't know that my dr would have given me the go-ahead for the wedding if he would have known it was going to all be outside. Here are some shots from the wedding, but for the more professional ones check out Kristi's blog. While you're there check out the belly shots she took of us this weekend. It's so nice to have a cousin that's a professional photographer. She does such a good job.

This is my cousin Ashley's baby, Ensley. It was the first time for me to see her since she was born in February. She is so cute!!

Some of the group getting their dance on...nice look Clay! :)

My brother and a groomsman playing the first song. They sounded great.

All the bride's attendants. They look hot!

As for baby news...there is no news. As of last week I had not dialated and there was no progression so this week my dr didn't even check me since I hadn't been having contractions. I did have a small contraction the other night, but that has really been it. I'm feeling fine, but I definitely am getting to the very uncomfortable stage. Everyone is telling me that I have dropped (looking at yourself every day you can't really see a difference). We'll see what the dr says next Tuesday. We're just waiting. Our backs are packed as of today. Since I can't control anything else, I can control being as prepared as possible. I have to do something to pass the time so I'm doing little things everyday to get ready. It will be here before we know it.

Summer Time

I'm now in my second week of summer and it's already flying by. I have definitely stayed busy, but have been able to get some things accomplished. Rest is the main priority right now since I know that will soon come to an end. Since I'm not sleeping so great these days, I usually have to have a "little" nap during the day to make it. We had a wonderful shower with our church friends last weekend. I was VERY nice and we got lots of great stuff. With the gifts from our great friends and family and very generous gift cards, I think we are just about ready for little Emory to arrive.

Mom came yesterday to help finish the nursery. She did an amazing job on the border in the room to match the bedding and Sherla (Aaron's mom) made a valance to add to the finishing touches. The last thing we're working on is the changing table and some shelves. Aaron is refinishing a vanity given to us by Aunt Martha for the changing table and then we will hang the shelves and add the love of reading to the room. (You'll have to wait and see for those pictures.)

I'm taking one class this summer, but it is going well and going fast. I am tutoring an 8th boy which is definitely a new experience for me, but I really am enjoying it. We're just crossing our fingers that a biology lesson doesn't come into play during this time. I finish with this class July 2 so anytime after that I'll be all set for the big day! Til next time, I will be enjoying my summer and continue the whole nesting phase. :)

A Month in Review

Ok to catch up I'm giving quick snip-its of what's been going on this month. We spend Mother's Day weekend with the whole family. Grandmommie turned 80 that weekend so we all met together to help her celebrate. She is doing very well in her new unit and it was so good to have everyone together with her not at the nursing home.

I also had a wonderful shower at school this month. We got lots of goodies. So much fun!!

This is my grade level (minus one). They are WONDERFUL and I am going to miss working so close to them next year, but luckily we will all still be working together.

Our Ackerly shower was great as well. We were overwhemed with the amount of gifts we received and couldn't be more appreciative. Ackerly is definitely blooming with grandbabies on their way. All these girls will have (or have had) babies this summer and all the grandparents are part of Mom and Dad's church. It's so much fun. Hollie had precious Cy 9 days after this picture.

The lovely ladies that hosted the shower. These ladies have all known me since birth and have been there for me through every part of life. I love each of them dearly.
Finally the nursery. Aaron was hard at work with the painting and putting the crib together this past weekend. It turned out wonderful, but Mom and I will be putting our special touches on the room soon. It will all start to come together before we know it.
As for me, I'm feeling great. I'm just trying to make it through the next 4 days. I have NO idea how you women that work up until the day of delivery do it. I am becoming pretty miserable after work and relieved I have the summer to rest. We're on the countdown now...only 8 more weeks.

lost blog

Just so you know I had a blog all written up about last weekend. Pictures included, perfect length, video...yep that's when it all went away. So until I have time to rewrite the post or until something better comes along, you'll just have to wait.

We're headed to Ackerly this weekend for our shower at my home town church. There will be lots to post from that.

Let's catch up!

Alright where to begin? I guess Easter was the last post I was able to post so...

We spent Easter weekend with Aaron's family at Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas. We all had a wonderful time and it was so great to see everyone. This was especially good for me since I hadn't spent time with most of them other than busy times at weddings. So it was very nice to get to know everyone a little better. They were very sweet and gave us a surprise baby shower. We received many great gifts including a Japanese lunchbox set Aunt Martha and a beautiful afghan made by cousin Natalie. Thank you all for the gifts. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

We've also been busy with doctor appointments. My appointments have been fine. Everything is still going well and there has not been any change with my kidneys. My dr is not too concerned about it and neither am I since I haven't had any more pain. I am continuing to drink plenty of water and unless the pain comes back I will continue to plug along.

Aaron has finally gotten to the bottom of all of his back problems. He has a bulging disk and is getting injections for treatment. He had his first injection a couple of weeks ago and has not received much relief from that. He is scheduled for another injection May 28 and hopefully after that one he will be able to see some improvements. The injections come in rounds of three so he's still got two more to go before we can tell if they are going to work.

Another busy aspect of our lives have been showers. In April I went home for one of my best friends baby showers. They are taking her precious little boy on the 28th of this month and it was so good to help her celebrate. Ackerly CoC is staying hopping with baby showers and two weeks after Hollie's we celebrated her sweet sister-in-law's shower. Davida is due June 7. Here's a pic of the three of our big bellies at Hollie's shower. With these showers and Lindsey's shower, spring has been very fun!!

As for me...I'm continuing to grow and grow. Last weekend I had to have Mom paint my toenails because I couldn't bend over for that long. I am feeling pretty good and just trying to make it through the year. I come home with throbbing, swollen feet and an aching back, but only 4 more weeks and then I'm home free. Oh yes, I haven't been able to mention that I will no longer be teaching 2nd grade next year. I am going to be the RTI specialist on our campus. For those that don't speak the school language, that means I will be helping teachers with their reading assessments, interpretting data, and helping plan interventions. So basically using my master's properly!! I am thrilled for this opportunity and looking forward to not having a classroom.

I will leave you with a picture of me with only 81 days to go! WOW...it's flying by!!