6 weeks Young - Learning as we go!

Once again I find myself in shock that 6 weeks have already flown by! As before everyday is an adventure and with each adventure we are falling more and more in love with our Nugget! I asked Shawn a few nights ago what "lessons" Emerson has taught him so far and afterwards I thought it'd be fun to list of few of the things we came up with. So here we go, lessons taught by a 6 week old.

1. We aren't as patient as we thought we were. I'm not sure if it's because we are tired, but sometimes a 5 minute cry session can seem like an eternity. I know for me most of the stress when she's upset comes from the fact that I'm her Mom and want to be able to calm and make her happy all the time, which unfortunately isn't always possible. So sometimes we just sing and wait for the fussy period to stop. Fortunately this hasn't happened very often. Thanks to the book, "Happiest Baby on the Block," and the 5 S's we have a pretty good calming routine down. Yay!

2. I get more sleep than I thought I would. This statement came from Shawn and I have to say that I agree. Sweet girl sleeps between 4-5 hours at night, most nights, and I'm learning to function pretty well with that. Shawn of course followed his statement with sweet encouragement that all his uninterrupted sleep is because I have been working so hard and making sure he is well rested for work. I'll take the encouragement and pat myself on the back! : )

3. Changing your newborns diaper in your bed, on your white comforter, although convenient, NOT a good idea. We have the stains to prove it.

4. Cream is a very good color for me...blends in with the spit up.

5. Always pack an extra outfit for your extra outfit. Home girl loves blessing Mommy with blowouts of all sorts. I swear it's like Niagara Falls in there sometimes.

6. You really can't hold your newborn enough. I already miss the stage of her being all squished up from being in my belly. She is stretching out and growing so much! It's awesome and sad all at the same time. Slow down please!

7. Nothing is more precious than watching your husband make your baby girl smile. Nothing.

8. You can tell yourself, "I won't do this," and, "I won't do that," before your baby comes and then once she's here all the, "I won'ts, " and, "I would nevers," go right out the window.

9. Even though you have a video monitor, you'll still find the need to "check" on your baby once or twice while they are sleeping in their crib. Emerson has taken 1 nap in her crib and slept in her crib for the first time overnight, last night and I was in and out of her room probably 20 times. What can I say, she's beautiful and I love to watch her sleep...if she weren't my daughter that would sound a little creepy.

10. LOVE. Before you have a baby you think you understand love. You think you know what it means to really love someone and as a Christian you think you understand the love of God. But until you hold your precious baby in your arms for the first time, look into her eyes and think I will do anything to make you happy and keep you safe, that is when you understand love. I'm not trying to say that you have to be a parent to understand what it means to love or to be loved. Or that you have to have a child to understand the love of God. I'm just saying that having her in my life brings a whole new understanding of how much we are loved and cherished by God. That He loves us so much that he would send his one and only son to live a perfect, sinless life and then to die for the sins that you and I commit everyday. I can't even fathom it, but I am amazed by it.

 

With all that being said Emerson is doing great! We don't have any official updates on her growth, but I did weight myself and then re-weigh myself holding her and I am estimating that she weighs roughly 10 pounds 5 ounces give or take. She is such a happy baby and is starting to respond to all our silliness, smiling back at us and cooing up a storm. I just can't get enough of her cuteness!

 

Big event since her 1 month birthday, meeting cousin Ethan! I'm so excited to see the two of them interact and grow up together. Here are some pictures of the two of them!

 

 

 

 

 

 

One Month

 

 

Holy smokes our Nugget is one month old! It's hard to believe that we are already celebrating this milestone considering that most of the last month has been a bit of a blur. Despite the fact that I feel I have been sleep deprived for most of the last 30 days, I have loved every minute of it. OK, maybe I didn't love the nights where she wouldn't sleep after feedings and Shawn and I spent hours passing her back and forth praying that she would just sleep for 30 minutes. Thankfully, we haven't had many of those and home girl is settling in quite nicely.

For us most days look like this. She wakes up between 5:30 and 6:30 to eat at which point I have my first choice. Stay awake and get a few things done in the morning after she goes back to sleep, which is usually right after feeding, or sleep some more. Every day it's a split minute decision, but I usually don't regret whatever decision I make. From that point on we work in 2-3 hour cycles of sleeping, eating, playing (tummy time/reading a book/staring at the ceiling fan in the living room...she loves that thing) and then sleeping again. Sometimes she is hard to go down and only sleeps for 30 minutes or so, but other times she sleeps for 2 hours straight and I end up begging her to wake up because I'm ready for her to eat. Moms who breastfeed will understand that one! She's starting to be more alert during her wake times, although I feel like she has been alert from the beginning, and she is starting to make eye contact with us. Every now and then she cracks what could be a smile while looking at us, but I'm still waiting for that ear to ear grin when she looks into Mommy and Daddy's eyes. Every day differs for her in terms of her sleeping, but we just go with the flow. My only hope is that once I go back to work in March, that she will have some sort of set "schedule."

We've had several firsts for the month starting with our first co-ed sleepover, don't worry it was supervised. On New Years Eve our friends the Edwards came with their 2 month old and we brought in the New Year together for the third year in a row. Uncle Keith was there too!

 

 

We had our first family outing, well technically a few. Emerson went with us into Firehouse subs to pick up lunch, target for a return, to our friends house for a group gathering and to Cracker Barrel for breakfast on Sunday before going to church. I didn't let anyone hold her or touch her for that matter, which may make me seem crazy, but I was feeling Mommy guilt already about bringing her out, so it was my way of protecting her. However, the reality of the situation is God is BIGGER than germs and He's got our little family wrapped in his arms.

And last but not least our first bath! The good news is it seems we have a water baby! She loves being in the bath tub, but like most babies hates getting out and being cold. This is usually where she gives us the really pitiful cry that breaks Mommy's heart.

 

Emerson is really such a joy and even during the hard moments she brings us so much happiness. I still have to pinch myself when I'm starring at her just to remind myself that this is real life. Every day brings something new. Just when I think that I may be getting the hang of things, she throws us a curve ball and I feel like we are right back to square one. She is a constant reminder of God's love and God's grace and she is making me a better person every moment we are together!

I love you Emma Page! : )

 

And here is what really happens during a 1 month photoshoot...I know, so sad!

 

Happy Saturday!

Update: 2 weeks Old

Can I just say that I am so proud of my girl! She is such a little blessing and is teaching her Mommy and Daddy something new everyday. It's hard to believe that we have had her at home for almost 3 weeks. Every time I look at her I am more amazed and have to remind myself that she is ours. She is absolutely perfect and I fall more and more in love with her everyday.

Emerson hasn't been up to much these past few weeks. She sleeps, eats and relieves herself, which includes spitting up. She has been spitting up a lot actually, which we were initially concerned about. I of course was worried that she was loosing too much of her meal, but since her appointment revealed that she has gained nearly a pound since birth, she weighs 8 pounds 11 ounces and is 21 inches long, we don't have to worry about her not getting enough to eat. In fact, we are going to try and make her wait 3 hours between each feeding and see if all her spitting up is due to the fact that she doesn't know when to stop eating. I wonder where she got her love for food and overeating?!? ; )

With all that being said I have been really blessed with nursing. She latched on right away at the hospital, which is always a worry, and I have been producing so much breast milk that I am having to pump and have already formed a little stock pile. Daddy is anxious to get to bottle feed her, so once we get through this first month he is going to get his go at feeding her.

Her sleep habits, well I wouldn't call them habits because lets face it she doesn't have any habits just yet, are different everyday. Some days she naps great during the day and sleep 3-4 hours at night and sometimes she hates napping during the day. Thankfully she has been pretty good about giving Mommy and Daddy 3-4 hour stretches of sleep at night, but I'm hoping that once we get a more regular feeding pattern that she will form more regular sleeping habits. Sleep, eat, play and sleep is the schedule we are going for (Baby Wise), so we'll see if how things go in the next few weeks!

 

Here are some pictures from the Doctor's office visit! She was such a good girl!

Happy New Years Eve!

CHRISTmas Highlights!

I can hardly believe that Christmas has come and gone already! With Emerson being born just before the big holiday, time definitely seemed to speed up and before we knew it, we were eating leftover turkey and taking down decorations. With that being said, we had a fabulous holiday at home. Shawn's "paternity" leave had finally started and we spent lots of time at home with our girl. Both of our families made trips to see us, the Ludekers on Christmas Eve and the Sellers on Christmas Day, and we were so blessed to be able to celebrate Emerson's first Christmas with them.

 

"But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.'"

Luke 2:10-11
 
Now that I have a daughter, I am amazed at the love of our Father. I thought I understood it, but I didn't truly understand it, and I still may not, until I held my daughter in my arms. The love I have for her is unlike anything I have ever experienced and as we celebrated Christmas this year, I appreciated so much more, the true meaning of the season; the gift of Jesus, our Savior.

Here are a few pictures from our Holiday with family. We are so blessed!

On Christmas Eve, Shawn made his first Turkey and Emerson got to meet her Great-Aunt Pat, Great-Uncle Mark and Cousin Katherine. Later that evening we spent time with Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Keith, opening presents. Let me just say, I'm pretty sure I opened more presents that were for Emerson than were for me. Guess I better get used to that! She is spoiled already and I wouldn't have it any other way. Not that I have a choice! : )

 

 

On Christmas Day Granny and Papa came up to visit as well as Aunt Katie, Uncle Luke, Aunt Alli and Jason. Once again Emerson was spoiled with lots of goodies and we had a great time celebrating with my family.

Love this picture of Emerson and Daddy!

 

Santa came! O wait, that's just Granny! ; )

 

On Christmas Day we asked my brother and his soon-to-be wife to be Emerson's god-parents. We are so proud of the life that they are living and couldn't have two better people to come along side us as we seek the Lord's best for little Miss Emerson!

 

Emerson's Hospital Visitors

They day that Emerson was born was one of the most monumental moments in me and Shawn's lives. A day that was anticipated by not only us, but by those closest to us. We were overwhelmed by the love and support that was shown to us during our stay at the hospital. Here are a few pictures of the people that showed their love by visiting. We tried to take pictures of everyone that stopped by, but we did miss a few. Thank you everyone who came out to meet our precious baby girl.

 

Both our families waited patiently at 0500 to meet our sweet baby girl.

 

 

Uncle Keith and Uncle Luke

 



 

Aunt Allison and Aunt Kim

 

 

Grandma and Grandpa

 

 

 

Great-Grandma

 

 

 

Granny, Papa and Great-Grandma (Love this one of my Dad)

 

 

 

Cousins, Lisa and Ginny

 

 

 

Laura and Zach and Nicole

 

 

And I had to throw a few in of Mommy and Daddy

 

 

Emerson is 1 week old today and doing great! We had our first doctor's appointment on Monday and she has already gained 8 ounces. The hope is that she is back to birth weight by 2 weeks, so prayers that she continues to grow healthy and strong are greatly appreciated!

 

Happy Wednesday!

 

 

 

 

EPL - Our Birth Story

The day Emerson came into this world, our lives immediately changed forever. From the first little scream I heard her let out, I knew that everyday from now on would be about making sure she knew how much she was loved. And she is, so so loved.

Emerson Page

Born Wednesday, December 11, 2013 at 05:18 am

7 pounds 13 ounces and 20 inches long

I woke up Monday morning, having just had yet another "false" labor and thought to myself that I was never going to meet our Little Luda. Although I knew that wasn't true, I was just so anxious to meet her that every day that passed felt like an eternity. Shawn was with me most of the day on Monday and then he left to go out of town for work for a few days. As he was leaving he made sure to tell our Nugget to stay put, or to at least give Mommy and Daddy enough notice of the arrival so that Daddy could make it back in time to see the big debut.

Later that evening, I started to have what I was thinking could be real contractions, but because of all the false alarms, I ignored them as much as I could. As midnight rolled around I was still up and having the same contractions, so I thought maybe these are real and I am in early labor, which can last 12 or more hours. We had started to get some snow that morning, so I did let my good friends the Edwards know what I was experiencing, just in case things started to pick up and I needed a little help getting to the hospital.

Since I didn't get much sleep on Monday night I tried to take naps throughout the day on Tuesday, all while still experiencing the same contractions every 15 to 20 minutes. At around 4:30 or 5:00 in the evening the contractions started coming closer together more like every 10 minutes or so, so  I talked with my friend Liz and made the executive decision to drive to their house to stay for the night. I figured that even if this wasn't the real deal, that I had a doctor's appointment in the morning, so staying with them meant I was close to the hospital and my doctor's office.

As I got packed and started driving to their house, my contractions started coming closer together between 6 and 8 minutes, so I went ahead and ate dinner, because I knew they would starve me once I got to the hospital. I made the phone call to my Doctor and was told to wait until they were closer together, so at around 11:00 Liz drove me to the hospital.

When I arrived around 11:45 pm, I was 4 cm dilated and contracting every 4-5 minutes. I called Shawn and said it was go time. He got in his car and started heading home to meet who we would later know was his baby girl. After about 2 hours they checked me and told me I was 7 cm dilated, fully effaced and that baby was down and ready. The last 3 cm were the worst. Shaw arrived at 2:30 in the morning and relieved Liz from her duty as labor coach. She was AMAZING and I am so thankful that I had her there with my through part of the labor process.

I continued to labor, making rounds in the hallway and breathing through the contractions. It is amazing how your body just knows what to do. Our families arrived and my Mom came back and labored with me and Shawn through the worst of the pain. My water broke spontaneously around 4:45 and I started pushing a little after 5:00 in the morning. I pushed through 3 contractions and Emerson was out. She made her debut at 5:18 in the morning and Daddy was the one to tell me that,  "we were right, we got our baby girl!"

She is amazing. Absolutely perfect and we are two very proud parents!

Here are a few photos from her birthday, I'll post more later:

Me and Liz...right after Shawn got there. So thankful for her.

Our Baby Girl!

First Family Photo : )

Love those feet!

 Some thoughts on Pregnancy and my labor:

1. I loved being pregnant. Carrying our baby girl in my belly was one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and Shawn and I are so blessed to be used by God to create a masterpiece.

2. Running and staying active during pregnancy was the best decision I ever made in terms of my pregnancy. It helped me through the labor process and I believe is the main reason I was able to have a natural delivery.

3. Shawn is simply amazing and I am so thankful for his love and support through our pregnancy with baby Emerson and labor. (He did amazing.)

4. Labor was hard, but I'm thankful that I was able to not have an epidural and deliver naturally. The doctor was right. Just when I thought I couldn't do it any longer, I was moments away from meeting my daughter.

Thank you Lord for giving us this child. For trusting us with your daughter. Help us to be parents after your heart, so that we can raise a beautiful baby girl who loves and serves You with all of hers.

Waiting on the Babe

If someone had told me how much I would anticipate and long for the day that I am to hold our precious baby in my arms, I don't think I would have believed them. With every movement I feel and with each passing day, I know that I am closer to that anticipated day. I wake up every morning thinking, "Maybe today is the day we will meet our son or daughter." As you can guess, with each day that passes there is a hint of disappointment. Okay, maybe more than a hint, but you get the picture. We can not wait to meet this baby and know that God has a perfect birthday picked out for our most precious gift. 

I keep reminding myself that God's timing has been more than perfect with every step of this pregnancy. From the day we found out that we were expecting, we knew that God was the one calling the shots. That He was the one who had blessed us so tremendously and who has continued to bless us and our growing baby. Every time I think something may be less than picture perfect, God reveals just how perfect His plan is. He has done this time and time again in our lives and it is because of this fact that I hold confident to the knowledge that God is in control and his timing for the debut of our Nugget is going to be perfect!

"But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,; they shall mount up on wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." - Isaiah 40:31

So we wait. Using the time as wisely as we can, knowing that are lives as we know them are about to change forever, and in the most amazing way that they can. We anticipate the day with excitement, knowing that the day will come when we meet our Nugget and what a glorious day it shall be!