Christmas outfits....just because they are too darn cute!

Christmas Eve Service
Christmas Eve night
(What will Santa bring?)

Christmas day

2 months old

Today I weigh 9 lbs 12.1 oz and am 21.4" long.

Dr. Bruce says I'm in the petite category and am perfectly healthy!

I'm able to wear 3 mth clothes, even though they are a bit big.

This was my Christmas Eve outfit for church.

Stocking, Pappaw's baby blanket, first bath

I took lots of pictures of Elizabeth from starting from the day she was born. I guess I was so excited and happy to finally have her here that I wanted to capture every moment. Well I haven't been as good with Emily. The reason I know is because I've been putting together the traditional Christmas picture book for my parents and realized I don't have hardly anything of Emily. So last night at 3am ( Emily and I were awake) I went through Elizabeth's first book and saw that I took pictures in her stocking, the sweater outfit that Grandma had made for us out of Dad's baby blanket, and her first bath (I had taken that picture but not posted it). So this morning I decided to get Emily dressed up and take these special pictures. She is the happiest baby even after being up all night. I love Emily's smile!!

First Bath

My stocking that I actually fit in!

The sweater set Grandma made.

We got the final GREEN!!!

Yep we passed the final inspection for the master bedroom. Now we can move in.....YAY!!! Finally we will have a king bed, Tyler will have his own bathroom, Elizabeth will have a twin bed in her "Big Girl" room, and Emily will have the baby room.

Halloween 2010...Trick or Treating with Daddy

Little Ladybugs
Trick or Treating with Daddy

Fun in Pink Tutus

Emily at 4am

So tiny!Long fingers!

Cute feet!

Big eyes!

Hmmmm......what is mommy doing?

"My Village"

So a few posts ago I mentioned my "village". Well my biggest supporters have always been my sister, Mom and Dad. Of course, they were on the phone during labor making sure I was ok and then visited Emily everyday to see their new niece/granddaughter.

Hanktoberfest

Doing some kind of jig
She came around the corner with this cowgirl hat on cocked to the side like Pappaw used to do.

Each year since Hank was born on Oct 24th my Sister's family hold Hanktoberfest. All of the kids dress up and they have a big halloween festival. It is so much fun! Well since I was in the hospital this year Mom and Dad took Elizabeth. She was supposed to be dressed as a ladybug but the outfit was too hot. So she just went in black.

Emily Kate is here!

Our girls!

Flowers from Tyler....Falls colors....Beautiful!

Tamara, Dr. Krombach, and Rebecca

Our new Town & Country

Yep its a minivan and I love it!!

Last picture of the bump!


As Pappaw would have said: "Never fear, Emily Kate is here!" (Or that is what I've been told he said when a baby was born). Yep our Emily Kate is here. After the nonstress test on wednesday Dr. Krombach decided that we could induce on Friday AM. So here we are at 6am at Arlington Memorial Hospital. I'm very excited to see Emily and hardly slept last night. We checked in at 6am. They showed us to the labor room and let us get settled. I was hooked up to the IV and given pitocin to get the contractions started. Debbie, my first nurse, told me that she would increase the level of pitocin every 15 min so I expected to begin having horrible contractions very soon. At 7am I was up to Level 8 of pitocin and didn't feel a thing. At 7:30 Dr. Krombach came in and broke the water and increased the pitocin to 12. At that point the contractions were felt. They hurt so bad!!! Around 8am I was given a pain medicine by IV because the anesthesiologist was in the middle of helping deliver twins. The drugs must have been extremely strong because I was completely out of it. I remember talking to my sister or trying to talk to my sister but everything was garbled. I could still feel the contractions but I couldn't think straight. A while later the epidural arrived which I was very happy to be getting since everything hurt. However I don't really remember it being given only that I was laughing so hard that I had a difficult time sitting up straight. Tyler was helping me stay as still as possible. Epidurals are wonderful!!! I think that was about 9:30. At 10:45 I was told Emily was on her way and they were calling in Dr. Krombach. And finally at 11:18 Emily arrived! 4 1/2 hours of labor and it was all over. She is perfect at 6 lbs 8.9 oz, 19 in long and an apgar score of 9.9!

We are so happy to welcome our 2nd daughter to the world and I think Elizabeth is getting used to having her baby sister at home!

update

So yesterday I went in for a nonstress test on Emily because she wasn't moving much and it worried me. I drank OJ, ate pineapple, and had a donute and only 1 kick. Normally that would make her go crazy! So when I got to the Dr they did the usual checks and everything turned out good. But since she wasn't moving much and I was hurting they did the nonstress test which is what they do in triage. For the first 15 minutes no movements could be felt. I was supposed to push a button if I felt anything. And her heatbeat was steady between 138 - 143. That wasn't what the Dr wanted to see. So they had me eat a lollipop and drink some ice water. About 15 min later I had felt 6 movements and her heartbeat was all over the place and I felt 2 contractions. So that was much better. But since that was a sugar and cold reaction the Dr gave me the option of being induced. I jumped at it. I would love to have gone into labor on my own but it just isn't happening and I'm not guaranteed that it will. The longer she is in the more cramped she will be and the more I hurt. So tomorrow at 6am I will be induced in the hospital and if it goes like it did with Elizabeth we will have our Emily by noon.

I'm very excited! (And not including how much she weighs I've only gained 28 lbs) So wish us luck that we have a fast delivery. We will keep you posted.

Next day and this morning (39 weeks)

NOTHING!!! Not a thing! I'm so ready for Emily to arrive so I'm walking, eating pineapple, and drinking raspberry tea. So she might not arrive till next week and I'm ok with it since she is just becoming healthier each day.

I woke up 3 times last night because I couldn't feel Emily move. I know she was probably asleep but it still alarmed me. So I just wanted to make sure she was ok. She would kick a few times and then I went back to bed. This morning I woke up hurting more than ever.....back, ankles, knees, shoulders, etc. Had a small melt down before Tyler left for work then decided to take a very hot shower. It did help. Elizabeth was still asleep so I figured it was a good time to walk before she woke up. See she loves to play with the treadmill while I'm walking on it and it scares me that she will get hurt. In the middle of the walk Mom came over, oh yes Mom and Dad are back thank goodness, to check on me because I had called Elissa a little down. She got Elizabeth up and took her for breakfast and to run a few errands.

What would I do without Elissa, Mom, Tyler, Dad, and my friends!?!?! They are the best!!! I never understood the village theory until this pregnancy. Now I'm so glad to have my village!

38 weeks and 5 days...night

Well I began contractions around 5pm and it was one long contraction till 5:45 or felt that way. I began timing them because I was getting exited and they were 3 - 5 min apart for 1 min each. So I was ready to go to the hospital after 3 hours of this convinced Emily was on her way. Unfortunately they stopped and I found out that after the procedure today this can happen. But I should also begin actual labor in about 24 hours if the everything took. So we will see.

38 weeks and 5 days

So we went to the another appt today. We were scheduled for another sonogram because my uterus is not growing and Dias was worried about Emily's weight. Well we found out that Emily now weighs 7 lbs and 8oz and is 20" long. That is huge!!! If she goes to 40 week she will probably be 8 lbs!!! We are not going past 4o weeks and Dias agrees. I asked her to do whatever she had to do to encourage contractions so she "stripped the membranes". Let's just say that it was extremely uncomfortable and unexpected. But if she had warned me I probably would have chickened out. So technically I've been induced and we are just waiting to see if anything happens. I've also read that pineapple and raspberry tea works to help contractions.

Oh the other funny thing....when my blood pressure was first taken after realizing how big Emily is it skyrocketted. I had to sit for a while before they took it again and could record it.

In the mean time it is walk, walk, walk, and maybe run!

38 week visit

So I had another visit today. I've been feeling like Emily has been trying to arrive with more intense contractions but not regular. So the good news is that I'm healthy and her heartbeat is in the 140s. I'm happy about that. What had me shook for a while is that I haven't gotten any bigger which I should be at least 35 cm this week. I'm at 34cm. So Dr Dias wants me to have another sonogram to check Emily's weight. That is scheduled for Monday. While I was really scared after the visit I've calmed down and been reaffirmed that nothing is wrong with me or Emily. If Dr Dias thought there was a problem she would induce immediately. So now it is a true waiting game. I'm still at 1cm dialation and 50% effaced which doesn't concern me because Elizabeth arrived when I was at that stage. So I'm supposed to walk, walk, walk and see if Emily will arrive on her own. If Dr Dias is not happy with Emily's weight then she will induce. If she is on Monday then I will wait till Emily arrives. So now I'm hoping we have our baby girl by Monday.

Oh the other good news is that Dr Dias said Emily has definitely dropped and is ready to be born. That makes me happy too!

Progress...week 37

Well I haven't written much about this pregnancy and I'm not sure why. But I have been tracking how everything went with Elizabeth so I would know what I'm feeling. Here are the stats:
Dialated to a 1
50% effaced
Emily's hb = 143
Bump is finally at 34 cm. (it was a 32 for the past 3 checkups)
And I've gained 30 lbs but I look HUGE!!!

So I went back to see what week I finally dialated with Elizabeth and it was at week 38. Then she was born 12 days later. So I'm betting on Oct 20th or around then if not sooner.

Our addition is almost finished which is a miracle! We might actually make the deadline. Mom and Dad just left on a cruise for a week....great timing huh!

Anyway, I'm glad to know that the pains I've been having have been contractions and not just Emily trying to find room.

Elizabeth's 1st day of school

1st day of school
This backpack is kind of heavy!

I'm so excited!!!

Artwork for the 1st day

They had this on the outside wall so all of the parents could look at their kid's work!

So today was the day. Elizabeth was so excited this morning to wear her new backpack. She is in the "Little Ducks" class at FRBC from 9 - 2:30. Her teachers are Mrs. Kathy and Mrs. Julie. Her PE teacher is Mrs. Whitney who is a good friend of mine. I'm really excited about that! We walked over from Mom's this morning at 5 till 9am. Well actually Elizabeth ran and I walked. : ) She walked right in to the class and began playing with the kitchen toys. When I picked her up they ladies said she took a nap (incredible since it was the 1st time on the floor on her nap mate), ate all of her lunch (I'm very happy about that!) and was having fun chasing the bubbles under the table (not surprised at all). I know she has had a blast today and I'm so glad I chose FRBC ECC!!!

Emily Kate at 29 weeks

Emily's arm is in cradling her head.

Her feet are crossed

I love the 4D sonogram! It is the coolest way to see the baby a few weeks before she is due! Thankfully Emily cooperated with the technician. We got a few good face shots and then she put her had in front of her face. But we verified that we are having a girl, she is about 3 lbs and gaining fat. She has all 10 fingers and toes and looks perfect! And she looks alot like Elizabeth. Same rosebud mouth, same nose and beautiful head! Emily is head down with her bottom under my left rib cage and kicking my left side. At one point I could feel her back and I know it was her back because the tech got a picture of the moment and we could see her spine. So I'm relieved and very anxious for her arrival.

7 months with Emily Kate

We were in San Antonio and went to a small party that night for work. Since I was all dolled up I thought it was the best time to take an update picture. It was been 100+ degrees and I've felt the heat every morning and night when I walk outside. So I've been drinking lots of water but I don't feel like I'm getting enought sometimes.

My stats:

gained 20 lbs (not surprised since I'm loving ice cream and popsicles)

feel bigger than I did with Elizabeth

Emily's heartbeat was 150 bpm last checkup

I'm having a hard time sleeping but I expected that.

Craving fried shrimp, chocolate, and milk

Elizabeth is doing great! I think she is beginning to realize that she is going to be a big sister soon. She keep pointing to my belly and saying "baby". She starts school in September and will be going twice a week. Basically giving me enough time to do some work and give attention to Emily when she arrives. She loves her cousins, aunts, and Mimi & Papaw! She is talking up a storm although we are the only ones who really understand her.

We have decided to add on to our house vs selling because we love our neighbors, love our house, and feel that it fits us perfectly. Tyler and I are the contractors on this and are doing pretty well figuring everything out. Tyler is doing good. He works hard and just finished fire training school for Chemguard. We are much more relaxed about Emily's arrival than we were with Elizabeth's. Funny how already having a child makes you chill and enjoy each day!

Announcement

Yes are having another girl! Yep we found out today and to say the least we are both very excited!

Emily Kate is 11 oz , 8.6" long and has a heartbeat of 154. . She is very active all of the time and loves to kick me. :) In fact at this very moment she is kicking me. But I do love it.

So the nurse and doctor said that everything looks great and took measurements of all organs and limbs. They were very thorough and told me everything as watching. Emily was quite as cooperative as Elizabeth was for the first good photos hence why the photo above is a bit blurry. But I love how active she is.

So we are very excited to be welcoming in our new addition in late October (10/27 is the due date).

BTW we are all doing well. Elizabeth is excited to be a big sister and has begun to point at my belly and say "Baby".

Some of Mommy's favorite Spring pictures

Learning how to pick blackberries

Helping Papaw fix the tire

I LOVE the beach!!

Happy Easter!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

This is fun!

(the billy goat tried to eat Mommy's dress....LOL)

Pretty

Same spot on the Seawall 1 year later