Headed Home

We went home on Friday, 4 days after we had baby Emerson. I was very ready to come home! I felt pretty good after my C-Section this time so I was ready to sleep in my own bed and be in my own house. It is never very easy when you go home but I think we did okay. It is always more stressful than I think it will be but I guess I knew bringing home #4 would probably be a little hectic. I guess I figured that since Emerson was my 4th kid I would have it more together this time. I was counting on myself to not be an emotional disaster and to altogether just handle things better. What I didn't take into account is that no matter how many kids you have,you go through the same ups and downs in hormones after each baby. Whether you think you will cope better or not...You won't. I was still an overwhelmed mess at times. Lucky for me we had help from Robb's mom and of course Robb was a huge help too.

When we went home Emerson weighed 7# 4oz so the agreement was that we would meet with a lactation consultant from Milkworks on Saturday since she had lost 10% of her birth weight.

Cute Pictures

Meeting the Family

We had Lots of friends and family that came to visit us and congratulate us on the new addition to the family. It was wonderful to have so many people we love and care about come to see us!

Grandma Susie

Grandpa Bob

Grandma Jody

Megan

John

Grandpa Steve

Grandma Cindy

Aunt Steph

Cousin Draven

Aunt Ginger

Cousin Brook

Uncle Mitch

Aunt Courtney

Meeting Baby Emerson

The kids couldn't wait to come to the hospital and see their new baby sister. Grandma picked the boys up from school before lunch and the kids came up then. It was perfect timing. I had gotten back into the room about an hour before that so my nurse was done with my assessment and the nursery had already taken Emerson to measure her and give her a couple meds. I did ask the nursery to wait to give her the first bath until the kids could watch.

Caleb proudly holding his baby sister.

 

Abby was instantly in love with her.

Bryce couldn't wait to get his hands on her.

The kids were also glad to see that I was okay. Bryce had been pretty nervous about me having surgery. I was glad that I was feeling pretty good so I could chat with the kids and see them holding Emerson for the first time.

They weren't sure about her getting a bath. She cried the entire time which made them all very nervous.

Welcome Baby

I was very excited to meet our new little girl but a big part of me was terrified for another C-Section. In the past I have had 2 C-sections that I would have considered to be atyipical and complicated. Not to mention I hate the recovery of a surgery. That being said, this is how it has to be so I have been  praying for a better experience but most of all a healthy baby.

Robb was a little nervous too. He doesn't look to thrilled about his paper outfit in this picture.

This C-section was great compared to the others, for the most part. My epidural and spinal went well and our baby girl came out screaming and crying. I was a little nauseous at first and my blood pressure dropped but by the time they had her out I was feeling better and loved that I was awake enough to meet her right away. At one point I was a little worried that I was bleeding too much like I did during the boys delivery but the Dr reassured me things were fine even though he gave me clotting meds and contacted the blood bank to find matched blood. Luckily everything was fine. Not sure if he was worried for a minute or just being cautious. Either way it turned out okay.

She got the once over by the nursery and NICU nurse and everything looked great.

Robb got to cut the cord over in the warmer.

The big moment... 7lbs 15oz. She was much smaller than I thought she would be.

19.5 inches long- a shorty for our family

The nursery was working on a new way of managing mom and baby care during a C-section. They really promote skin to skin time for mom and baby as soon as possible. This was something very new. I got to snuggle her right away after she was checked over by the nurses. She stayed laying on my chest the entire time the Dr closed after the C-section and during my time in the recovery room. I was in heaven, getting to hold her the entire time,but I felt a little bad for Robb because he didn't get to hold her until she was a couple hours old. With our other kids he got to hold them right away.

Welcome to our family Emerson Paige.

Family of Five

This is our last picture as a family of 5. I am nervous and excited for tomorrow when we will meet our new little girl. The kids are also very excited! I am worried about sharing my time and being a good mom to 4 kiddos but I am just praying that I can figure it out and that this isn't a hard transition.

Robb and I had a pretty sleepless night the night before. We had to be there at 5:30am which didn't help matters any. Last picture before going into the hospital. Lets meet this little girl!