Isn't She Lovely?

Mommy & Emma together again!

First visit to see new baby sister.

Proud Big Sis!

Smitten Big Brother!

Our new family of five

When I started this blog I had a lot more time on my hands (I just didn't know it!).  When Owen was little, I managed to post pretty often and then when Anna Claire came along, sadly, my posts were fewer and farther between.  I completely stopped because getting to the computer to do this was something that I did not seem to have the time to do.  I love looking back at the monthly updates because it reminds me of what Owen or Anna Claire was doing at that time (I'm not the greatest Baby Book keeper, bet you guessed that).  I'm hoping that since we've upgraded to high-tech phones (say hello to the iPhone!) and I have a little laptop, that I'll be posting again to record those precious memories of my kiddos that I know I won't remember if I rely on my brain.  If anyone is still checking in here, thanks! and if not, it will just be for me and that's just fine.

Without further ado, let me introduce Ms. Emma Kate (we are calling her "Emma" but the kids insist she is to be called "Emma Kate").  She was born on Thursday, March 14, 2013 at 8:23 pm.  Labor started early that morning but was mostly uneventful and very easy until about 5 pm that afternoon (then I was pretty sure that we were having a baby that day).  Keith and I made it to the hospital and in less than two hours, our girl had arrived!!  Dr. Charles Padgett delivered her as it was his night on-call and he lived up to his reputation - laid-back, kind, and a great doctor.  It was very quick and other than problems getting the IV in (took three nurses and five sticks, ouch!) and the horrible epidural (it took two sites and at least five sticks that were shooting into a nerve, really ouch!!! and then it didn't work other than to numb the top half of my left thigh for 24 hours), it was a pretty uneventful and relatively easy labor/delivery.  Best part was a very healthy baby girl who cried for just a second, then got quiet, then cried a little more after some oxygen.  She weighed in at 7 lbs 12 oz and was 20 inches long.  She pinked up quickly and had some fluid pulled from her stomach (about 10 cc's).  She looked just like her big brother (everyone agreed) but, as one nurse put it, "she just looks like a girl, you know?"  The first time I held her, she was looking at someone else and when I spoke, she immediately turned her head and stared right at me.  It was as if she was saying, "hey, I remember that voice, nice to meet you mom!"

We were visited by Alexis, Amber, Deanna, Savri, Honey, and Poppa that night and then it was just mommy, daddy, and Emma for a few hours.  We slept a little at a time but Emma was a big fan of being held (name a baby who isn't!) so sleep was limited overall.  Didn't matter, I had a nice breakfast Friday morning and a cute baby to keep me company and I was waiting for my two kiddos to come and meet Ms. Emma.  

Owen and Anna Claire visited their new sister Friday morning and they were thrilled with her!  They wanted to hold her and kiss her and hug her and wanted to know when we were all going to be going home. We had a few visitors over the next 24 hours and then we were discharged and headed for home Saturday afternoon (Emma wasn't even 48 hours old and we were able to leave, yay!).

We had a little adjusting to do - Owen and Anna Claire needed some sort of "normal" life for a few days and we needed to become accustomed to being a family of five with one tiny new person who needed lots of care.  Emma has been such a joy and I love just staring at her whenever I can.  She is so sweet and seems to have a gentle disposition.  Even in the hospital, when she was awake she would calmly stare at you and would only cry out if she was hungry or needed a new diaper.  She is quite a snuggle-bug and loves sleeping right next to mommy.  She's also pretty content to fall asleep in the bassinet if she has a pacifier and is tired. 

The past seven weeks has brought us smiles and tears and sleepless nights but I finally feel like we're getting the hang of this "three kids" thing.  It is sometimes surprising to see all three in the same room and realize that we are a family of five when a few years ago I didn't know if we'd be more than a family of two.  Time has flown by and I hope the good days overshadow the bad for my kids and that they'll remember smiles and laughter more than mommy yelling or complaining.  I'm hoping this is the beginning of a new era of posting for me so that I can look back and remember the little details of our life with our babies.