Introducing Emery!

She is here!

Emery was born on February 7 at 6:56 p.m. She weighs 9 lb. 4 oz. and is 20 inches long! She has a double chin, leg rolls and dark blond hair. She is the sweetest, most easy-natured baby and we already wonder how we ever existed without her!

For my own record I want to record her birth story. I was to be induced on Monday morning and my instructions were to call the hospital at 7:30 a.m. to find out if they had room for me. I called and they told me to come in at 9:00 a.m. We ran the kids to school and dropped Addison off with a friend and headed to the hospital. When we got there they still didn't have room for me so we waited an additional (excruciating) hour in the waiting room. Finally, at about 10 they came and got us and we got settled into my room. Of course, it takes FOREVER to get everything situated - paperwork, bloodwork, IVs inserted, etc. They didn't start my pitocin until almost 1:00 p.m. It was a long morning. I had been dilated to a 4 for a couple weeks so we were hoping the labor would go quickly.

As per usual with my inductions, things didn't really move along at all for the first couple of hours. My doc decided to break my water to speed things up so I decided to go ahead and get my epidural. I had no idea how fast things would progress with my water broken and I wasn't taking any chances. I got the epidural and have to say it was my best one ever. No pain but I could still feel and move my legs and feel the urge to push. It was perfect. About an hour after my water was broken I felt a ton of pressure. Allen called the nurse and when she checked me I was dilated to a 9! She hurried and called my doctor but it took her another 45 minutes to finish up a delivery and get into my room. It was intense and I wanted to push so bad. The doc finally came in and I was fully dilated. Three pushes later our little angel was here! Overall, it was a piece of cake delivery and probably my best one of all 4 kids. Emery was 2 oz. smaller than Carter but she was born at 39 weeks and he was born at 42. My doctor had been leery of inducing me and after she was born, she kept saying how glad she was that I had pushed for a 39 week delivery. Had we waited, I probably would have delivered a 10 lb. baby!!

{a few seconds old}
{Super proud daddy!}

After delivery Allen hurried off to get the kids from our friends so they could meet her for the the first time! It was totally chaotic when they got there since they were moving me from delivery to recovery. We got a lot of looks as we traipsed through the hospital with all 4 of our kids! I guess we'd better get used to that though! The kids are smitten with her. It is the cutest thing ever but also a bit overwhelming as someone is always wanting/trying to hold, touch, comfort or love on her.

The first night at the hospital was super dreamy. She slept next to me all night and nursed a ton. She is an awesome nurser and latched on immediately with no problems. Allen was able to spend Tuesday morning with us thanks to some awesome friends who took Addison for us. It was nice for him to get to spend some bonding time with her since he had rushed off to get the kids so quickly after she was born. The second night in the hospital was a bit rough. Emery hadn't pooped yet and I could tell she was uncomfortable. Her tummy was super grumbly and hard. She cried off and on for about 4 hours so I finally called the nurse in and we tried a few things to get her to poop. After a couple more hours of sad baby I finally asked for a bottle for her. She wouldn't nurse and I was hoping the bottle would push things through. It worked! About an hour later she had two enormous diapers and was a ton more content. We both only slept from 4-7 a.m. that night though.

By Wednesday morning I was totally ready to go home. Allen took Addison to ballet and then they came and picked us up. This is us right as we were ready to head out the door.

This has for sure been my easiest recovery of all. I have felt awesome the last few days. I keep telling everyone that I find ironic that just a few days after delivering a baby, the most sore thing on my body is my arm where I got a tetanus shot a few hours before leaving the hospital (apparently the new tetanus shots have a whooping cough booster that they are recommending all parents of infants get). I also didn't realize how physically difficult the last couple months of pregnancy had been until I realized that I feel about 100% better immediately after having delivered a 9 lb. baby than I did the previous two months! We're just so happy and relieved to have her here and that she is perfectly healthy.

Being home the past two days has been wonderful and intense. Emery is a dreamy baby - she is sleeping and eating great. My recovery has been amazing and I have not even had engorgement problems (which I'm attributing to the fact that I've set my alarm for every 2.5 hours and fed her round the clock at that interval). The big difference I have noticed is that it is going to be difficult to fulfill everyone's needs all the time. That will be the biggest adjustment for us but hopefully I'll be able to juggle all the balls in my life effectively soon! Allen has been home this week and my parents and Allen's mom come next week. Our ward family has been truly AMAZING and have stepped in and are proving meals (10 days worth!!!) and childcare and are fulfilling every need imaginable! We are truly blessed!!