Our First Month

We can't believe that it has been a month since we welcomed our precious Emory into this world. I can't get over how much Emory has changed over this past month. Last Wednesday was a big changing day for her. Emory's umbilical cord finally fell off that day and the change began. She was wide awake on the way to church so we decided to take her to her own class that evening. They said she stayed awake the whole time, but wasn't too interested in the whole thing. Other changes that came: she's getting chubbier, going longer between meals, losing her baby hair, and smiling more and more. I got in the car after church and began complaining to Aaron about how quickly the changes are coming. He laughed at me and is already preparing himself for handling my emotions on the first day of Kindergarten. haha...like he's going to be so calm.

We also gave Emory her first bath the next day. She HATED it. She screamed and cried the whole time. I think the shock of the water was a little too much for her. It was a traumatic experience for all three of us. I'm happy to report that her next bath was slightly better. I'm hoping that she will get more and more relaxed with each bath...maybe one day she will even like them.

Enjoying our time

Well I have definitely loved the past 2 1/2 weeks. I can't tell you how much fun motherhood has been for me. We have been getting out more and it's getting a little easier every time. We made it to church on Sunday. She did great and everyone definitely thought she was adorable. She was even introduced for her first time visit. That night our friend, Aaron Watson, was having a concert at the Paramount Theater. It was a perfect event to bring Emory to. Since it was a family show, it was great. I didn't ever think of the noise level until I was holding a 2 week old. It didn't bother her at all and she slept through the whole thing.

We had to get a picture with Aaron at her first concert. Kim, he was a little nervous about holding her. Do we need to keep bringing her over for him to get his practice in before little Jolee arrives? :)

She is growing and changing more and more every day. It makes me sad that she's already changing so much, but makes me excited about what the next day brings.

My How Time Flies

We have definitely had a busy week. I could not post all the pictures of our visitors, but we have had lots of friends and family that just could not wait to get their hands on precious Emory. All aunts and uncles (except Jerry) has made their way for a visit. Several cousins and great aunts and uncles have come. I'm sure the rest will be here as soon as they can. We did make a couple of outings this week. I've been starting to get a little stir crazy. Aaron and I went to change our insurance stuff and go to the chiropractor. We only had to stop once and let Emory eat. Mom and I went to Dillard's and Target to find some pants that would be small enough to fit Emory. It has not been so easy. She's too long for premie clothes and the newborn clothes are huge on her for now. We have gone on a walk, but mainly have sat around and watched Emory. Waiting for a sneeze, a hiccup, a groan, anything little thing.

This is the first time I have been completely alone with Emory and I think we're going to make it. My mom left yesterday which was harder than I thought it was going to be. My emotions now are worse than they ever were while pregnant and I had a hard time watching my mom leave. Not that I don't think we can handle things without he, it is just definitely one of the moments in your life you just want you mom. Which makes me think about many, many years down the road I will have the opportunity to return the favor for Emory. Thanks Mom for coming and taking care of us. We already miss you and are ready for you to come back.

Pali has had a hard week adjusting to the new way of life. We did introduce her to Emory the other day and she did very well. Aaron finally let her in the house this morning while no one else was here and she could be calm. She did fine then too. It will take a little while to make the complete adjustment, but at least it's a start.

Emory and I were both exhausted last night. While we both (or all 3) enjoyed our company and really wanted everyone to be here, we both felt just about like this about 10:00. Today we have been able to get some much needed rest and caught up on some things that have been put on hold for a week of spoiling.

I can't not say enough how much I have enjoyed this week with Emory. I still look at her in awe. In awe of how much I love her, in awe of how beautiful she is, and in awe that she is actually our's. :) Thank you for allowing me to brag and go on and on about the best week of my life.

First night and day

The first day we spent most of the time at the hospital. Emory came back to us at 8:30 and stayed the whole day. It was great. Aaron's mom came up early and my parents and Justin and Kendall came up shortly after. We had several visitors throughout the day. Emory's doctor, Dr. Wiley, came in and said she looked great and as long as she was eating well we could go home that day. My dr came in and was mad that I had Emory without him, but he heard that everything went smoothly and I could go home as soon as I felt like it. I played it by ear until about 2:00 and decided that we both felt so good we decided we would be more comfortable at home.



We never dreamed this premie outfit would fit, but it fit just perfectly. It probably won't last long, but she'll wear it as long as possible.

We had our wonderful nurse take our picture before we left. The nurses at Hendrick are truly amazing. They went over and beyond to make us comfortable and answered all of the questions of the anxious new parents.

I know this picture is sideways, but I don't want to go through the trouble of changing it. This is her going home outfit. The dress was made by one of my teacher friends. It is so cute and beautifully done. The blanket was a gift from my good friend, Mendi. I'm so excited to finally get to use all the great gifts we've received.

One of the few times she was awake.

The first night was a little rough. She slept from 11:00 until 2:00. At 2:00 she ate and then was WIDE awake. She was quite restless and fussy. I tried changing, burping, rocking, etc and she just didn't want to be asleep. At one point, she was screaming, I was singing, and Aaron was snoring. Probably the typical noises that will be heard in our room at night. :) She finally went to sleep around 7:00 and we all slept until 8:30. It will take a while to get the whole sleep schedule down and get used to what she needs when, but we will get it. It's already getting better. Even at 4:00 a.m., crying her little eyes out, she's still the most precious thing I've ever seen.

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.