~Out and About~

Last night was the last night that Amber Alseth was going to be in town. She moved to South Carolina last month, and came back to celebrate her 21st birthday with her friends. So, last night, I put on a dress and heels, and took her out to Katie Downs. We always have such a great time together! And it felt great to feel good, have good food and good company, and know that Josh had Emerson well taken care of. I know women who aren't comfortable leaving their little ones with their husbands, and I'm so thankful for Josh and his desire to take care of his baby girl!

~Whoo Hoo!!~

I haven't weighed myself since before I had Emerson. I would weigh myself once a week on our scale at home, and then of course when I went to the Dr. This morning I got up, and decided to see what I had to deal with. 13 days post pregnancy and I'm down 1 pound from my PRE pregnancy weight! YAY!!! I stood there dumbfounded! haha! I must have gotten on and off the scale 3-4 times to make sure it was giving me the same #. I only gained 19 pounds throughout the pregnancy, but there were those horror stories you hear about women delivering 8 lb babies and somehow only losing 6 lbs in the first weeks.... and then having to battle to get the rest of the "baby weight" off. Oh! And my scar from my surgery at 21 weeks is quite small now compared to how it looked on my pregnant belly, and lower than it originally looked... not even something I stress about anymore. No stretch marks so I'll be able to continue to enjoy my obsession with bikinis! Talk about a great morning!

~Newborn Sneak Peek~

I LOVE HER!

~Maternity pictures~

I am all over the place with these posts, but my goal today was to get as caught up as I could with the blog while Emerson took her first nap of the day. :-) These are the photos that Stepheni Mason of Mason Jar Photography took for us, at 38 weeks. I had decided against maternity pictures because I had no plans to print out and frame a picture of me cupping my bare pregnant belly... and then Stepheni came and took these... got AMAZING shots, and we will be printing out a couple to frame and hang up! She's phenomenal!

~Birthday pictures~

We had our AMAZING photographer, Stepheni Mason of Mason Jar Photography, with us the day Emerson was born. She was able to capture so many great images of one of the most incredible days of Josh's and my lives. She has been with us from the get go... engagement photos, wedding photos, maternity pictures, etc. We had Eme's newborn pictures taken with her as well, and we're so excited to get those back, she's NEVER let us down with her work! Wanted to post a few of the pictures she got for us to forever remember the day our baby girl came into our lives.

Playing her Baby Mine, by Bette Midler... I played it for her last night, and it put her right to sleep!

~Smiley girl~

Our friend Amber Alseth moved to South Carolina last month, and is home for a week to celebrate her 21st birthday. She spent the day with me yesterday, and got this picture of Eme smiling in her sleep! Too cute!

~First Milestone~

Throughout the night, Josh and I share the feeding duties. I fed Eme at 1230a this morning, so when she got up at 430a, Josh got up with her... then she got up again at 830a. I got up with her, and Josh was in the shower. She and I were on the loveseat while she ate, and Josh came up and asked me if I'd changed her yet. "Nope!" Wanted to feed her, and then get her dressed for the day, and figured stripping her down twice would be HORRID for our little girl. :-) Well, when Josh changed her at 430a this morning, her cord came off!! That means REAL baths! Though, like my mom said this morning, I don't really see how she's going to love baths, seeing as how she pretty much hates anything that doesn't include having clothes on... but, we'll see! Our little one eats 3oz a feeding now, up from almost 2 when we left the hospital. She's got one HEALTHY appetite! But with all the growing she did last week, it really doesn't surprise me.

~1 week appt~

Eme had her 1 week appointment with her pediatrician, Dr Penalver, on Wednesday the 17th. When she was born, she weighed 8lb 7oz. When we left the hospital, Friday the 12th, she weighed 7lb 15oz. At her Dr appt, she weighed 8lb 10oz! She also grew 1/2 inch! No wonder she eats so much! Haha! She is now in the 87% for her height (21inches), 75% for her weight, and only 26% for her little head. She passed all of her tests with flying colors... she's been holding her own head up since birth. It's funny to think about how well she's doing, and how alert she is... but it really helps that she spent an extra 8 days just hanging out before birth! She goes back in a month, and I'm already so curious as to what her measurements will be then!

Emerson's hates...
sponge baths
diaper changes
having a wet/dirty diaper


Emerson's loves...
her pink binky
being swaddled with her hands at her face
having that FRESH clean diaper
Stevie Wonder
her swing

~Emerson Raye Barnard~

We did it! Emerson Raye Barnard was born on Wednesday, August 10, 2011 at 6:43pm. I was induced on Wednesday morning, and thought the whole process to be very smooth. I'll fill you in on my point of view and then the point of view for the people paying attention to the drs and nurses. :-)

We went to see Dr Majors on Monday afternoon, and he said we would have the induction on Wednesday, and that his nurse would call to make sure we had all the details with time and everything. We were expecting the call Tuesday, and she actually called a whole 20 minutes later. We were to be ready to come in any time after 3a on Wednesday. THREE AM?? wow! So, we set an alarm to be up at 2:50am and waited for the call. Nicole called us at 4:45am (she's my sister-in-law Robyn's dear friend, who happens to work as an OB nurse at Good Sam) and said "do you want to have your baby girl today?" DO I? we jumped up and got ready to head down to the hospital. We were told to be there between 6a and 6:30a and got there right on the dot at 6:15a. We got all checked in, and settled, and at 7:30a I had this pill placed on my cervix that would help "ripen" it. I was 100% effaced, but my cervix was so high and back it needed a bit of help. :-) so then they checked me at 11a and I had dilated to a 4, and they put me on pitocin. I still hadn't felt my contractions, so I walked around and visited with family in the waiting area. At about noon I went back into the room, and they gave me my epidural. Ok, it is not as bad as everybody says it is! I got stressed that it would hurt super bad, etc, and maybe it was my anesthesiologist, but it was just like a regular shot. Anyway, it started to take effect on my right side but not my left side. After about an hour the Dr decided he wanted to change the direction of the needle to try to get the left side numb as well. That worked beautifully... and then the anesthetic started wearing off on my right side. We just left it. I knew it wouldn't be forever, though some of the contractions did bring me to tears. I don't remember exact time frame, because, well, in my book, I can't even believe I was in labor for 12 hrs... the time flew by, and I didn't start hurting until the home stretch. The nurse had me start pushing, and she would giggle every time she could see Emerson's head. She was turning it like she was trying to get comfortable where she was! Sorry babe, you're coming OUT! They had me push several times on my side, and I didn't think much of it, especially after the nurse talking about how squirmy Eme was. Then it came time for Dr Majors to come and assist. From the time I started pushing until she was out was about 1 1/2 hours, so not bad at all for a first baby AND an induction! I saw Dr Majors grab the scissors and say he needed more room, and I was ok with him cutting my leg OFF to get her out. :-) Thankfully it only ended up needing a few stitches! Anyway, she comes out, and everybody says "Danielle look at her!" and so I open my eyes and see a rather large baby. The first words out of my mouth were "That is NOT a 6lb baby!" haha! She was just too precious though! Josh cut the cord and they gave her to me. We were in total awe. We still are, who am I kidding?? So we're just oogling over the fact that we just had a baby, and I see a nurse come up and give me a shot in my left thigh. Don't think much of it. The nurse that pretty much ran the delivery came over and started massaging and pushing really hard on my stomach. Again, nothing to compare it to, so I assumed this was standard procedure... like maybe they were trying to get the placenta out? Well things settle down, and they bathe Eme and measure and weigh her (20 1/2 inches long, 8lb 7oz) and gave her back for more snuggles. After about 20 minutes Josh went out and got the family to introduce them to Emerson. We had Josh's parents, Angie, Robyn, DJ, Amber, Ray, Mikey, Owen, and of course my mom and sister. The staff was great at letting them be in there all giddy for Eme. Everybody left about 8p, and a few times during the chaos, the nurse would come back in and massage my stomach. It was super painful. At about 9:30p Christina came in to see her, and they decided to move us from the delivery room over to our mom/baby room. Glenda had me stand up and walk to the wheel chair, and MY HIPS DIDN'T HURT!!! I wanted to cry with happiness! Josh had our cart of things for the next couple days, and Christina got to push Eme in her bassinet to the room. She was so cute, she was super slow and careful so she wouldn't wake her. She stayed about an hour, and then it was just Josh and I with our beautiful baby girl.

Now ready for what really happened?? I get an email from Stepheni Mason of Mason Jar Photography, telling me how happy she was for us, and to tell me how worried she was for me with all the bleeding. It scared her. I thought, "huh... I thought things went beautifully". Maybe she just hasn't been around a birth outside of her own boys, and you can't really see what's going on down there when it's your own child, you know? So my mom and sister come over to bring us dinner, and fill me in. Apparently each time the nurse had me push through a contraction on either my left or right side, it was because Emerson's heart rate was getting too low. So much for thinking it was just because I had a squirmy baby girl! Then, afterwards when the nurse was pushing so hard on my stomach, she was trying to contract my uterus from the outside while Dr Majors was INSIDE trying to contract it from there. I was bleeding entirely too much. So when I saw the nurse give me the shot in my thigh, that was actually to try to stop the bleeding. Apparently Dr Majors, and Glenda the nurse were getting worried. My family stepped back and just let them do what they needed, while Josh and I, blissfully unaware, loved on our little baby girl.

Now when Dr Majors was leaving that night, he came up to me, took my hand, and said "You never want it to be interesting... you... were interesting". Again, because I was unaware of everything that was going on, I assumed it was because of the shape of my uterus, and the pain I had the whole pregnancy, etc. Yea, not what he was talking about.

So all in all, I thought labor was surprisingly the easiest part of the whole pregnancy. We go back to see Dr Majors mid September, and we'll see what he has to say about the whole debacle. We're a bit nervous about the dangers of me having another baby, but we're just loving on our sweet girl right now, and not thinking too much into the future. Cherishing every cry, groggy midnight feeding, and snuggle we get from this sweet gift!

~41 weeks~

Well, here we are, at the 41 week mark. Didn't bother with a picture, looks the exact same as the 40 week 2 day picture. Even though I'm a whole week overdue, for the most part, I've felt better than I have for the majority of the pregnancy. Weird, I know, but I'll take what I can get. Emerson still squirms like crazy, and at our appt yesterday Dr Majors said he has never felt a baby so low. So when this little one decides to come out, it will be a very fast delivery!

~Pintrest~

I read this on Pintrest... it made me laugh and cry.

Love Tina Fey: “First, Lord: No tattoos. Neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches. May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty. When the Crystal Meth is offered, may she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer. Guide her, protect her when crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age. Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels. What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, dammit. May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers. Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen.Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short – a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day – And adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait. O Lord, break the Internet forever, that she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed. And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it. And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back. “My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes. Amen.” -Tina Fey

~40 weeks, 2 days~

Here's PRAYING that this is the last pregnancy picture we take!!!

~39 weeks, 6 days~

Went back into the Dr today. Called on Friday afternoon because of severe period like cramping, and every move Emerson made felt like I was being stabbed. The nurse told me to try through the weekend, see how I feel, and if I'm still miserable Monday to call back. So we called, and went in again. I'm now 100% effaced, and 2cm dilated. But because I'm not 41 weeks, Good Sam Hospital will not allow an elected induction. Emerson is at a -1 station, so when we go into labor, it'll be really fast. We're home, sore, tired, and dreading the appointment scheduled for NEXT Monday, at 40 weeks 6 days.