just sitting around

Who is that baby sitting up like a big girl? Last week I was able to sneak in some vacation time and I pulled out the ol' bumbo chair, and wouldn't you know my little lady can sit up like a pro.

yay for the holidays

I am so happy that we have our sweet baby to enjoy all of the holidays. I feel like I have so much more holiday spirit than normal - a lot of it has to do with actually taking the time and slowing down to enjoy things, but more importantly sharing it with my little family. We have so much to be thankful for this year.

Here is her first halloween picture

We attempted to take some Christmas themed pictures yesterday but it turned out to be unsuccessful - not for the lack of a cute subject though! I did end up and get some cute pictures in our regular get-up 

two months

Emma turned 8 weeks on Wednesday and I'm not even sure where the time went - I can't believe my baby is two months old.

It is amazing to watch her little personality develop and see her discover new things each day. I am looking forward to the holiday season, although I'm really not quite ready for cold or snow.

Here are some pictures off my cell phone from October. I need to upload all the photos from my camera, especially the adorable halloween pictures!

one month update

Emma is five and a half weeks old, but I am just now getting to her official one month update...time is flying! Her doctor's appointment went well - my little girl is growing, her height is 21.5 inches and she weighed in at 9 pounds 11.5 ounces - the doctor joked and said she certainly isn't missing any of her meals. She is in the 55th percentile for both height and weight so she is proportionate except she got her mommy and daddy's slightly larger head.

Ryan had his first full week back at work and Emma and I have been on our own during the day - I love being with my little baby - she is so good and I love seeing her personality develop more and more. It is amazing how one little smile can make you feel like a million bucks.

At night, she is like clockwork and has been waking up pretty consistently every three to four hours to nurse (and a diaper change) and then she typically goes right back to sleep. I really can't complain about the night schedule although generally, I am not a happy camper without a lot of sleep, but I think I am managing surprisingly well (I think, but Ryan may have a different story). It probably helps that I go to bed obnoxiously early and I currently have the luxury of sleeping in too.

I am down to a little over two weeks left of maternity leave and I am going to soak up every minute of the relaxed life with my baby girl.

1 month

My baby is going to be 1 month old tomorrow! Time has gone by so fast - I am really trying to absorb every minute with her before I have to go back to work - I am now officially half-way through my maternity leave which makes me sad to think, but luckily I still have a whole month to go. Ryan heads back to work on Monday but we feel so lucky he has been able to spend the month with us.

Emma has always been a pretty smiley baby, but she is now smiling in response to things which makes our hearts melt even more. She has her one month check up soon, but she has been doing great as far as I'm concerned.

This is going to be a big weekend for her - her first wedding! Some of our very favorite people are getting married this weekend, and both Ryan and I will be in the wedding. We can't wait for all the fun!

birth story

I have been working on this little post for nearly 3 weeks now, but I am slow because 1. I don't want to do anything but be with Emma right now and 2. my computer is quite possibly going to blow up...but finally - here is my best - yet short, version of our sweet baby's birth story.

Labor day came and went - I tried with all my might to get baby girl to arrive, but she was on her own schedule. On Tuesday (the 6th), I went to the doctor for a non-stress test, fluid test and fetal heart monitoring test - during the testing they took measurements to estimate her size and determine about how big she might be - they were all confirming she was going to be a big girl they said anywhere from 8 to 10 pounds...long story short - the doctor strongly recommended we schedule a cesarean because at that point she did not believe I would have much luck delivering her on my own, so we later were able to schedule for the very next day (I was so happy to know that I would have my baby girl the next day). We had been preparing for Emma for months but being told she would be here the next day we were all set on getting very ready - grocery shopping, review our bags we had packed for the hospital, etc etc.

We had a big night preparing for her - grocery shopping, grabbing some dinner the two of us, and laying all of our stuff out for our big day, but our little miss had a different plan in mind. At about midnight, I was laying in bed finally about to fall asleep and suddenly I started to feel very uncomfortable and I told Ryan I thought I was going to have to sleep on the couch because I couldn't lay down...turns out I was going into labor but I was in denial for a little bit. I didn't believe I was actually having all these contractions and Ryan had downloaded an app (yes, there is an app for that! ha) and sure enough I was having 30-45 second contractions that were ranging from 3 to 5 minutes apart. I thought for sure they would go away so I walked around our house for awhile and they were not leaving, and they were getting worse. We finally called the hospital and they said they would have my doctor call me back, but my contractions were getting worse and I told Ryan we just needed to go to the hospital.

I finally got my epidural at about 5AM and I was completely exhausted - I can't possibly imagine giving birth without an epidural! I tried to get some sleep but that was not going to happen. They went ahead with my scheduled early morning cesarean because I was not progressing at all. Finally, at 8:39AM my baby girl arrived. I was so tired and delirious but as soon as I heard her cry and I got to see my baby girl I have this huge sense of relief when I knew she had a safe and healthy arrival.

 

 

Happy I finally have my epidural!

She's here! Getting all cleaned up :)

I worked so hard for all that hair - the heartburn was out of control!

My girls - Riley loves her baby Emma!

This picture is dark, but too cute not to post!

the world had less color without you

She's here, and I'm in love. Emma Grace O'Grady was born on September 7th weighing in at 8 pounds 7.4 ounces.

She is almost two weeks old now, and I love her so much. She is such a good baby. Ryan and I are so happy to have this time together to enjoy her arrival and be together as a family.