Birth Weight

One of Jesse's wonderful traits that Emme inherited is his love for food. She is a great eater and already has the nickname "Chunky Monkey"! When we left the hospital she was down to 6lbs 10 oz. The next day (Friday) she went in for a weight check and was at 6lbs 11oz. We returned on Monday to be weighed and she was 7lbs 2oz!!!! So from Friday to Monday she gained 7oz ! We will have chubby cheeks in no time!

Birth Story

As most of you know, I was induced on Monday, June 22 due to high blood pressure. Jesse and I arrived at the hospital around 7:00pm. I was already 2 cm and about 70% effaced. I was glad I had a head start, because I know how long inductions can take! They started the induction at 8:00 and gave me some Ambien. Through out the night they inserted a pill to ripen the cervix. I didn't get any sleep at all. They checked me again at 7:00am and I was 3-4cm. The doctor broke my water at 7:15 and then the fun started! I had been having back pain all night and we thought the baby might be sunny side up. Once active labor started, I had horrible back labor. It was the worse pain ever! My contractions were coming every 2 minutes and it felt like I had no time in between to catch my breath. I labored for one and a half hours using different techniques to try to control the pain. Finally, I couldn't handle it any more and got my epidural. The worse part was holding still through the contractions. Once the epidural was in, I felt great! I give so much credit to women to do it without, I could have never done it! My family came in at this time and we just relaxed. At this point I was at 4 1/2 cm. Soon after, I started to feel pain in my bottom area. We thought that I might have a hot spot in my ischial nerve, so they had me lay on my side to get some meds down there and hopefully get the baby to turn. I was still having a lot of pain and my wonderful nurse wanted to check my progress. She checks and says " you are a 10 and completely thinned out"! I had gone from a 4-10 in a little over a hour! She said lets do some pushing! We were shocked! We rushed my family out and started pushing. My mom, Jesse, and our nurse held my legs as I did some practice pushes. I was still in so much pain because of the hot spot. My doctor even gave me a shot to try to numb it and still had no luck. I pushed for 1 hour and 45 minutes. She was born at 12:51pm. She weighed 7lbs 1oz and is 20 inches long. It was so overwhelming to see my daughter for the first time. Jesse and I were both very emotional. Her Apger score was 9 and 9 and is a very healthy little girl. The first picture is on the way to the hospital.

Blood Pressure

Well, I had a very eventful Dr. appointment on Friday. It went from being very routine...to a little scary!My blood pressure has been slowly creeping up, but was still within the normal range. When they took my blood pressure yesterday it was 140/104! They quickly took me (in a wheel chair) to the hospital to get some tests done. After being monitored for 2 1/2 hours, my pressure finally dropped. Since my blood tests came back OK, they didn't admit me. But, they have scheduled my induction for Monday at 7:00! I was glad not to be admitted on Friday because my parents were 2 hours away and Jesse was at work. But, they do have me on strict bed rest for the weekend. I have had such a wonderful pregnancy so far, so this caught me a little off guard! I can't believe that we get to meet our daughter on Tuesday! Although I have made some progress, I was starting to think I would be here waiting well passed my due date. There are lots of positives to being induced and knowing the date. My family has been able to switch their schedules and my sister Kara and her family will be here when the baby is born. So I am sitting here on the couch, trying not to go crazy! I don't know how those ladies that have to be on bed rest for months do it!

Nursery...Finally!

I am finally posting some pictures of the nursery. It has been so much fun to decorate and is the only room actually complete in the house! Although, I do have a couple small things left to do. I am still looking for a shelf to go above the dresser. I also want to put her name up somewhere (once we actually pick one)! Thank you to Joyce for the beautiful bedding, my Mom and Dad for the glider, and Jan and my Dad for the crib. Now we just need the baby!

This is up above the crib. It might be a little hard to see in the pic.

37 Weeks

I had a doctor's appointment on Friday. I am now 1 cm and 50% effaced. The baby is head down, but still high. Dr. Westerholm said that was great for 37 weeks. I was glad that there is some action going on! Although, I would like the baby to stay put a little longer. I've been having a ton of Braxton Hicks and can't help but wonder each time if this is it!

Baby Education

We finished our last class on Monday night. It was an infant care class with lots of good info. I can't believe that in 3 weeks (or less) we will have a little baby at home. You know I am in trouble when I was getting teary-eyed giving the baby doll a bath in class! I have been laying on the couch this morning watching all of my baby shows and crying each time a baby is delivered and also crying if the mom is in a lot of pain! I have also had a ton of Braxton Hicks contractions and I am anxious to see if I have made more progress when I go to the doctors on Friday. I am so grateful to be on summer vacation and to be able to rest and relax before the big day arrives.

The Countdown Begins

I can't believe how fast time is going. I only have 4 weeks left!!! It is a huge relief to be done with school. Now I can finish the last minute things that I need to do. I also plan to take lots of naps and spend some quality time with my husband. I have started to pack my hospital bag and the babies diaper bag. We are going to put the car seat in this week. I had a doctors appointment today and got checked for the 1st time. I am officially dilated 1 finger tip! Yea! I now go to my appointments once a week. We have a sonogram scheduled in two weeks. I can't wait to see what the baby looks like!