We have a lot of cousins, on Seth's side, that live near us. It is really nice too because they are all pretty close in age, so they (usually) play well together. They are all girls too, poor Briggs. Hopefully as they grow up they will all be good friends.
This is Hannah, she is 6 months old
Emily wasn't very happy
Too Cute
What a difference 6 months makes
Following are just some random cute pictures of Little Miss Priss.
I am glad to have my back yard back, the kids love to go out and run. However this day they discovered a part of the yard I hadn't noticed. Two giant mud holes. It was too late to stop them by the time I found them. So I took some pictures instead. Brigham was a lot worse then these pictures let on. Oh the Joys of parenthood. Seth gave the baths while I dealt with the clothes.
Abigail and Brigham LOVE Emily. They just cannot get enough of her. All day long I hear, "Can I hold Emily." "Where is Emily?" "Whats Emily doing?" It really is sweet, most of the time. Abby is a great helper and loves to get things for Emily. She was holding her yesterday and Emily started to cry and Abby said "Mom, take her and make her stop crying and then give her back" Needless to say she doesn't like it when Emily cries. Brigham smothers her constantly and never stops kissing her. Hopefully this will last...
( For some reason most of the time I took pictures the kids were still in their jammies thus the slightly grungy look)
Emily had her first bath at home last week. She really enjoyed it, and it was fun to bathe her myself. I did it in the kitchen sink; as I usually do with my kids when they are this little. Its easiest on my back and easiest because of their size. Abigail and Brigham got a kick out of it too, a little perplexed as to why she was being bathed there, but they thought it was funny that she was being bathed by the dishes.
Almost there
.
Here she goes
She was a slippery little bugger.
She didnt like this position
My little peanut
The body scrub down
She loved her hair being washed
What girl doesn't love a good scalpel massage
Brigham loved to watch her, but he was rather upset that he was not taking his bath in the sink as well. The whole time we were bathing Emily; Brigham kept insisting on he taking his bath there too. Over and over and over again. Until finally we relented. He LOVED it! He was so excited to be taking his bath in the kitchen sink. We told him it was a one time thing, however I am sure the next time we bathe Emily it will be another battle. But it sure was CUTE!
Where to begin? So many things to say and little capability to put my thoughts on to paper. Thus, my feeble attempt. As many know, we wanted to have another baby. We, obviously, succeeded. Had we known then where life would take us and what trials we would have to face; we may have thought differently. Although, I wouldn't change it, life has a way of making things difficult no matter how much you plan or anticipate, so you might as well get on with it.
With all of life's stress, our one big concern was the delivery of little Emily. We knew fairly early on that I had a "low placenta." Thus, throughout my pregnancy my doctor kept checking its placement. Needless to say, it stayed low the whole time and complications can and often do occur. Around the 30 week mark we had a scare because I had some bleeding, thankfully all turned out well and the pregnancy progressed.
But, as time passed my doctor began to prepare me for these potential complications. In a nutshell, there was a 25% chance that I was going to have something called an Acreeta. It has to do with the muscle and placenta attaching to one another. The doctor would only know when he went to do the c-section, and if that were the case, the only solution to stop bleeding (among other things) was to preform a hysterectomy. This was not something I really wanted to know or hear, because I wasn't sure if we were done having kids or not and I didn't want the choice taken from me.
So there I was, the night before, scared to death knowing I was going into surgury to have Emily but also because I wouldnt know until I was already under the knife whether I was going to have to have a hysterectomy. Many prayers were said for us and by us, which were very much appreciated. I had Seth give me a blessing, and in the end there was nothing else I could do but wait. I had to accept the fact that this might happen. The week of the C-section I received a call that the doctor wanted to move the time up to give himself more time in case there were complications. Not to mention the fact he was already having another surgon scrub in and assist him, having back up blood and what ever else back up he could have. Dont get me wrong, I would rather have him prepared than not. I love my doctor.
But, still I felt reassured that everything would work out one way or another, and my doctor really didn't seem to think that was the case, he just wanted to be a boy scout about it. But as we came to the hospital the day of the c-section, I got a little different feeling. Like he was more worried than he showed me. Everyone we spoke with would say "oh your the one with the acreeta?" Then the anesthesia team came into prep me and there were two of them there as well, speaking like the acreeta was going to happen. So much so that they put in another IV just in case.
And so it began....I was honestly scared. I was having uncontrollable body convulsions and my mind was in knots. After my body was numb they brought Seth to me, which was a great help and the birthing began...it seemed life forever and then they stopped for a moment to call the NICU. They found that they were going to have to cut all the way through the placenta and in those cases, things can happen, so they waited until a NICU doctor came in. Yet another stress inducing moment. Thankfully not to soon thereafter they pulled Emily out and she was PERFECT!!!!!!! No NICU personnel were needed and they cleaned her up and handed her to Seth. She remained in his arms and at my head the rest of the surgery. I cannot express the relief I felt when I heard her cry. Immediate tears of joy and tension sprang forth and I was truly grateful for her safe delivery.
Then much to my surprise I hear the doctors almost in a state of shock. They cannot believe it. My doctor leaned over the sheet and told me "What an incredibly lucky person you are" Because the much anticipated acreeta, was not a problem, and the placenta came right out. Both of the doctors expressed their shock. Even in speaking with the other surgeon the next day he couldn't believe it. Literally, he said what he was looking at inside me was a classic Acreeta...and it should have been, yet it wasn't. All I know is that the lord was watching out for our family yet again and his out pouring of blessings never ceases to amaze me.
Emily, Seth and I then waited for them to close me up and we headed to recovery, where we got to spend some quality time together. She, like Briggs, lifted her head right away in search of food. She latched and nursed very quickly. She is such a tiny little thing. Very petite and fragile, but this girl can eat. She stayed with us the whole time. It was fantastic. They don't even take the babies to the nursery anymore. They do everything in the room with the moms, and it was a great time to spend with her and Seth.
She had a great APGAR score and seems really alert and awake, that is when she is awake. She seems to have a really great temperament and we adore her. She is such an incredible blessing to us. The gift of life really is an aw inspiring thing, and I am thankful to have been able to give birth a 3rd time.
Abigail and Brigham came a few times to visit, unsure of what to think of at first but they LOVE HER! Especially Brigham. He calls her "My Emily" he loves to kiss and love on her constantly and always asks where she is. Abby loves to help with her and is a great big sister. Of course everyone in the family is proud of her, all the Grandma's and Grandpas, Nanas and Papas, Aunts, Uncles and so on. Especially her daddy. Seth loves her too! That little gal is already melting hearts. We are thankful for her addition to our family and thank everyone for their prayers, visits, gifts and food. Especially to those who helped with Abigail and Brigham, we are indebted to you. Much love!
Nana and Emily
We are home now. Learning a new routine. Mostly recovering though. I came home Sunday morning and have been enjoying every moment since. That is unless I accidentally fall asleep, which has been known to happen. Emily came home weighing 6lbs 10 ounces and is just tiny, we had to put her in preemie diapers. However she has already gained some of that back. She did well at her first doctors visit and we have another one next week. She is already 1 week old tomorrow.! Happy One Week Birthday little Emily!!!!Now on to the rest of our lives....
Our Frog Princess
Brighams favorite part of the hospital, my food tray
He found my soda
Abby, Emily and Aunt Christy
The Ride home
Aunt Christy, Abigail, Uncle Luke and Emily
Siblings
Emily's feet
Papa, Nana and Emily
Abby, Uncle Luke, Emily and Briggs
Burping Time
Cute
Grandma, Aunt Lindsay, Aunt Christy, Aunt Chandler and Emily
