Is the honeymoon over?

As I said in an earlier post, Emma has been sleeping for almost 7 hours every night for the last week. Last night, the new parents hit reality. She was not having it! We tried everything, but Emma was just not sleepy. She finally went to sleep around 2:00 am and slept until a little before 6.:00. Lucky for me, she ate and went back to sleep until 10:00! I was exhausted!!

On another note, I finally finished my report cards. They go home tomorrow! I tried to do most of them before Christmas break, but some students were borderline and the quarter did not end until last Friday. I had to give them a little more time before giving them a grade, but MAN!!! has it been rough to try and work while taking care of a newborn. Emma doesn't really nap that much during the day so I have had to be very creative about finding time to work on my report cards. Anywhooo, I am so excited to be finished with them! It is a pretty nice day outside, so I am thinking about wrapping up our little cutie in a big thick blanket and taking a stroll. I haven't used the stroller yet, but I'm thinking a walk will do us both good!

Doctor Visit #4

So it has been a rollercoaster of weight (for Emma) and emotions. (for Mommy and Daddy) At our first pediatrician visit, Emma had lost a whole pound since birth. She weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz. At the next visit, she had gone up to 8 lbs. 4 oz., but at the next visit she had lost an ounce. Today's pediatrician visit went well. She is back up to 8 lbs. 7 oz. and looking good! We are still supplementing with the formula after every breastfeeding, but it looks like what we are doing is working and our little girl is finally gaining weight. We go back for another weight check in 10 days and hope to be well past her birth weight! Grow little Emma, Grow!

Visit with the Price's

Emma got to finally meet her Grandpa Poke and Auntie Joan Aubrey. The whole Price crew came up this weekend to see baby Emma and to celebrate Grandma Joan's birthday! It was nice to spend time with family and of course, we ate Outback take-out to celebrate Joan's birthday. Can't wait to see you all again! Come back and see us soon!

Is this crazy or is she just that good?

Well for the past several nights, Emma has slept for 6 hours straight. She gets in marathan feeding sessions about every hour before she goes to sleep and then amazingly, she is out. (I should also say that she doesn't sleep much during the day, only 30 minute little cat naps between feedings.) I get confusing advice from different medical professionals. Our pediatrician says not to wake her to eat, that she will eat when she is hungry, but the lactation lady says to wake her at least every four hours to eat. I tried this one night, and it took me over an hour to get her to wake up to eat a drop. Right now, I am sticking with the advice from the pediatrician and if she hasn't gained weight by our next visit on Tuesday, we will reevaluate the situation. What do you all think?

Great-Grandma and Granna come to visit!

My mom and grandmother came up to visit on Monday. It was a long day for my mom, considering she had just left my house the same day to travel back home. With the news from the doctor, my mom just knew that I needed some "mom" time and I am so glad she came back! She is so wonderful and helps me remember that I am a good mom too! They made it up just in time for the big snow. We got almost 7 inches! Everything looks so beautiful! I wish my mom (and dad!) could stay forever.

Our Little Glow-worm

We went for our first pediatrician visit on Monday. Emma's bilirubin levels had jumped up, so the doctor ordered us a bilirubin blanket and instructed us to supplement her feedings with formula until her levels went back up. (For those of you that don't know about bilirubin, high levels means that she has jaundice.) She had also lost a whole pound since birth! I am so worried about our little girl. Breastfeeding is not going as well as I had wanted, it's just so hard for her to wake up and eat! We went back to the pediatrician today to have her levels checked. She had gained 5 oz (WooHoo!!!) and the doctor said she looked a lot better. We should be getting the results from her blood work any minute. I am hoping that she is on the mend!

It's the story...of a lovely lady...

After a long and emotional Wednesday, the hospital called early on Thursday morning and told us that a bed was available and we were a go! I could not contain my excitement as we prepared to leave the house, knowing that when we returned we would be a family of three! We arrived at the hospital around 8:30, registered and were put into a birthing room.

The whole process started very quickly. (a lot quicker than I had expected) The gave me pitocin and a folly bulb (?) to start contractions and dialate my cervix. I quickly went from 2cm to 4. That was when I asked for the epidural. Anastegeologists are my best friends!! Ours was absolutely wonderful and I was amazed that the pain was not as bad as I thought it would be. The only complaint about the anastegeologist was that he was a Tarheel fan and he kept cracking jokes on Clemson while trying to stick a needle in my back. I was worried that my laughing would make him stick the needle in places it didn't need to be, but he did make me feel very comfortable. After the epidural, the wonderful Dr. White came in to break my water. He said that I had a " bag of water of steel." That is why I had not gone into labor on my own.

The rest of the dialation process went fairly quickly, that is until I hit 9. That last centimeter was a killer. We finally made it to 10 cm around 9:00, but the doctor wanted us to labor through the birth canal before pushing, so I wouldn't have to push as long. (I thank him for that now, but at the time, I just wanted her out!) The nurses told us it was time to push around 10:00. Up until that point, my contractions had been 2 minutes apart and very consistent, but it's like Emma heard them saying it was time to come out and she said "No Way!" We waited almost 10 minutes for the next contraction so that I could push. My contractions became increasingly irregular, so my pitocin was upped. Finally after three hours (yes THREE hours!!), Emma was born at 1:02 am. It was the most amazing moment of my life and John Allen surprised me with his reassuring and caring nature. He did very well during the whole labor process and even cut the cord! I am so glad that Emma has such a wonderful daddy! I can tell he loves her so much! She has been such a joy and reminds us every day of the wonderful power and love of God.

More Pics from Emma's First Few Days

Welcome to the World Emma Kathryn!

We welcomed Emma Kathryn Price on January 16, 2009 at 1:02 am. She was 8 lbs. 15 oz. and 21 inches long. Everyone is doing well and are excited to be at home. Enjoy the pictures and we will tell you the "story" later. Everyone needs their rest. Thanks for all the well wishes! We love you all!

We're a GO

We are leaving for the hospital right now! WooooooHoooooo!

Wake Med needs more Beds

Well today is not the day. The charge nurse just called and said that they were still full and to call back at 8:00 in the morning. This rolllercoaster of emotions is about to drive me mad. Excitement, disappointment, Excitement, disappointment...will it end? I hope tomorrow does not turn out like today!

Call back at ...........

I've gotten very used to hearing the phrase..."Call back at ...." We called at 5:00 and were told that some beds had opened up but that three more laboring mothers had arrived! Apparently everyone in Raleigh is delivering today except me. They told us to call back at 8:00 and hopefully we will get to go in. If not, I am thinking about bringing our blow-up bed to the Labor/Delivery waiting room and telling them to "give me the drugs and get this baby out! :)" Deep down I know that waiting is not the end of the world and that it is more important to admit someone in labor than someone who needs to be induced, but it is just a blow to the heart every time I call and am told "Call back at......."

40 Weeks Pic

Looking big, Huh???

Today is probably not the day...

For anyone who knows me well, you know that this is driving me mad. I have a total Type A personality...very organized! I called back at 11:00 and the Labor and Delivery floor is still slammed. The nurse said she is looking to get me in later this afternoon and I that I would probably deliver tomorrow. We'll keep you posted. Hopefully in the next post, we will be headed to the hospital.

More Waiting

Just my luck, the labor beds are full. We have to call back at 11:00 to see if beds have cleared up! So the waiting game begins!

Today's the day!

It is so hard to believe that this time tomorrow I will be holding my little girl. I have had such a nice relaxing day! I slept in, watched some TV, did some last minute shopping, met John Allen for a smoothie (YUMMY! I love Planet Smoothie!), and got a manicure. We spent the evening preparing the house for visitors and having a delicious meal. It's now time to hit the sack and get some much needed rest before we head in to the hospital tomorrow! See you soon! Can't wait to introduce you all to our little Emma Kathryn Price!

It feels so good...

to finally have a date! We will be induced on Wednesday morning if Emma doesn't decide to come on her own before then! Man it feels good to have a date!!

Better to be safe, than sorry.

I have had a headache all day today. Tried taking Tylenol, didn't do anything. Finally decided to call the doctor at 5:00. (I have had elevated blood pressure the last two office visits.) Dr. White wanted me to come in and be checked. If my blood pressure was still elevated, I could have developed a condition called pre-eclampsia. (very scary and bad!) Luckily, my blood pressure was fine and Baby Emma is doing great. He gave me some perkiset (?) and sent me home. We still go to the doctor tomorrow morning for a check-up and to set up an induction date. Looks like this little lady is going to be stubborn. Dr. Price (a.k.a. John Allen) is upset that we went to the hospital and were sent home again (another $$$$ down the drain), but I thought it's better be safe than sorry.

How does this work?

So far the "full moon" theory is not working. Maybe I am doing it wrong. Do I need to go dance in the moonlight? How about howling? Should I perhaps sit and stare at the moon until something happens? Maybe I need to "moon" the full moon! Now that would not be a pretty sight!
All joking aside, we had a great day. I fixed Cinnimon Rolls for breakfast this morning. YUMMY! After breakfast, we crawled back in bed for a little nap. John Allen hasn't been feeling that great. Our sweet new neighbors woke us up around 12:30 with a delicious batch of brownies and a kind word. They just wanted to stop by and check on us! How sweet! We then decided to get up and go walking! We walked around the mall and several different shopping centers hoping that labor would start and we could head to the hospital. No luck. Several hours later, we returned home with some new things for the house, severely swollen ankles, and a back ache. I think Emma is going to get a little "talking to" tonight.

Little known fact.

Who knows why I am up at 5:00 am, but I couldn't sleep so I decided to do a little facebooking and blog-stalking. The lead story on YAHOO stated that tonights moon will be the BIGGEST of 2009. It will appear 14 % bigger and 30% brighter because it will be traveling the closest to the Earth. Go out tonight and check out the BIG moon! We are hoping to be looking at it from a hospital window! So excited!

TGIF

I decided to go to work today. So far, I have had a pretty uneventful day. Friday's are wonderful at school because my kids have two specials. (Library and Science Lab!) This gives me a little extra planning time on Friday! I am planning to rest and relax all weekend ~ that is unless Emma decides to make her debut. We go back to the doctor on Monday if nothing happens this weekend. At the appointment Monday, they will set up my induction date for some time next week. So I now know that she will be here in at least one week. (Now I'm just praying that she is under 9 pounds!) John Allen and I were both 9 lbs. at birth. OUCH!

Exciting Morning

Well it all started yesterday. I was having lots of braxton hicks contractions at school. Called the doc and they said to go home and rest, drink lots of fluids, and lay on my left side. (apparently this works for lots of pregnancy ailments) I got to feeling a little better, but the contractions did not really stop. Finally got to sleep around 1:00 am
Got up and dragged myself into school this morning. I had been at school around 5 minutes and decided to have a seat at my desk and start mentally preparing for the day.....R-I-N-G. That's the bell, my 25 little darlings will be making an appearance any second now...O-U-C-H...what was that! Well, it was yet another (and can I say a little more painful) contraction. I thought to myself...I am NOT going into labor at school...could you imagine explaining to 25 seven year olds why you just "peed" in your pants! So I left school and called the doctor. They wanted me to come in and be checked.
Long story short, I am having some contractions. (probably just braxton hicks) The doc doesn't think it is labor yet and I am still a little over 1 cm. I don't like this waiting game. I haven't decided if I will venture into work tomorrow. Guess I'll wait and see what the rest of the day brings!

Full Moon

So I have heard that a full moon can bring on labor. There is a full moon on Saturday...my due date! Has anyone else heard about that? Let's hope that it works!

Nothing.

That's all I have to say.

We joined!

We are excited to announce that we transfered our membership and became members of Rolesville Baptist Church on Sunday! It is so nice to be part of such a wonderful and loving church community. We have attended this church for the past two years, but felt God calling us to make it official. We look forward to becoming more involved in the church and are glad that Emma will have a church to grow up in.

I'm going...but I'm not happy about it!

Well the weekend has unfortunately passed with no Emma sighting so I will be heading in to work today. My mom called last night and insisted that Emma was coming in the middle of the night last night. She had already packed her bags in the car. Check back tomorrow...if you don't see a post then we just might be in the hospital!

***On a positive note, I finished all my thank you cards, report cards, the house is clean and I only have two more weeks of lesson plans to do for maternity leave. I got stuff done yesterday! Go Me!

Can you say, NESTING!

So far in the last month we have.....

1. Ripped up the carpet in the living room and kitchen and put down new beautiful hardwoods!

2. Painted the dining room ( three different colors, will have to post a pic...it looks great!)

3. Changed most of the lighting fixtures in our house.

4. Cleaned all of the window sills and molding in the house. (It's amazing how dusty that is. Can't believe I never noticed it before!)

5. Disinfected about every surface in the house...cabinets, counter tops, bathtubs, etc.

6. Washed and Organized every bit of Emma's things.

Today we are headed to Home Depot to buy a new fan for the living room and one for Emma's room. We'll be calling an electrician to install the two fans, but John Allen has done the rest of the work himself. (Sans the cleaning, that is my forte! ) I am so proud of my handsome handyman!

New Year's Resolutions

I have never been very good about keeping my resolutions but here goes:

1. To continue to develop a closer relationship with God and become more involved in our church. (and to transfer my membership to the church here in Rolesville)

2. Lose weight and eat healthy! This is very important seeing that my only brother is getting married in May. (and I am about to give birth!) Pictures are permanent baby!

3. To spend more time making my wonderful husband feel loved and needed. I want to go on more "dates." This might be hard with a newborn, but I want to make taking care of our relationship just as important as taking care of Emma.

4. Be the best Mommy that I can be. I want to feel comfortable asking for help and opinions when it comes to taking care of our little darling, but I also want to remember that we are the parents and we can make decisions about how to raise her.

5. Cook more. John Allen does a lot of the cooking around our house. I would love to have dinner on the table for him when he arrives home from work. I will strive this year to be one of those 1950's wives!

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope that you all have a very happy and healthy 2009! I have a feeling that this is going to be my best year yet! I can't wait to be a Mommy!