Finally!!

Yesterday Emma was so fussy! I had taken her to the country Friday and Saturday (our first Mommy-Daughter Road Trip!) and she slept most of the time. I got to scrapbook and hang out with friends - it was fun. But Sunday, she was not happy. At all. I tried everything from feeding her to walking with her - none of her usual remedies seemed to do any good. Jeff and I took her over to my mom's house for some "Nanna Time" and still she fussed. When we got home, Jeff went to change her again and called me into the room. Her umbilical cord had turned and was now tucked into her diaper. It was gross and bleeding and she was screaming! Jeff said he figured it was coming off soon and perhaps it was painful and that was what was causing her to fuss and scream. I couldn't calm her down and we weren't sure what to do now that this thing upon closer inspection really was hanging on by a string of goo. We called family to get some advice. I wasn't sure if putting more alcohol would help her or hurt her, but that's what we did. We kept her clothes off of her so nothing would rub it and irritate her and finally she drifted off for the first time all day, really. My mother in law was here for a visit and thankfully Emma slept in her arms the whole time. We had a great visit and right after Jeff's mom left, he went to check on Emma who was now in her bed, and that nasty blackened thing was in her bed with her! YAY! Jeff ran out and said, "It fell off, it finally fell off!!" She's a much happier camper this morning and is sleeping soundly in my arms as I try to type this one handed.
Side Note: We asked the pediatrician what was the average length of time it took for the cord to fall off. Her office record is 68 days. However, that mommy got her instructions backwards. She was putting Vaseline on her baby's cord and alcohol on the circumcision. Seriously. It's a wonder some people have children.
Well, I'm off to give Emma a bath and wash her hair and get her in her daytime clothes. I'll spare you the picture of the renegade cord. It's gross. But of course I had to have the picture! I'm certainly NOT keeping the real thing!!

How Fun Is This Smile???

I can't look at her enough...and when she smiles like this...WOW!

My Sweet Little Girl

Freshly awake from a nap...

Meeting Her First Friend Lauren

OK, since I had surgery, going up the stairs has been hard for me and I apologize readers, for not keeping you all up to date on little Emma. So I'm now rapidly trying to post while she is napping. Which, by the way, she is sleeping beautifully, thank you for asking. So there will be several posts in a row...you may want to start at the bottom and read up. Just a suggestion. Or you could start at the top and go down...it might be like living backwards in time. Or maybe I've just been watching too much of the SciFi network or previews of The X Files movie. Either way, it's up to you.
Yes, I admit this "forward" on all of these posts is repetitive and perhaps boring, but I believe this is my last post for the day. Subsequent posts will not have the above message so this is the last time you have to skip through it.

We had our friends Rachel and Jason over for dinner (OK, that's a lie - they brought dinner to us. It was very delicious by the way and I'm craving that chicken she made...I wonder if we have any left in the refrigerator. Probably not, Jeff's been picking our leftovers clean!) and they brought their kids, Andrew and Lauren. Andrew is the spitting image of his daddy which is funny because Lauren is a little Rachel. Really. I've seen Rachel's baby pictures. Very uncanny. Good thing Rachel was a beautiful baby! LOL.
Anyway, we "introduced" Lauren and Emma when Emma was still inside me back at my baby shower.

As you can see, Lauren is still very hands on. While she is touching Emma's hair, Emma is NOT screaming - she was caught in a yawn; however, it made for a very entertaining picture, don't you think?

It's hard to believe that they are only six months apart. I can't believe that Emma will grow so fast!!!

What A Cute Face!!

OK, since I had surgery, going up the stairs has been hard for me and I apologize readers, for not keeping you all up to date on little Emma. So I'm now rapidly trying to post while she is napping. Which, by the way, she is sleeping beautifully, thank you for asking. So there will be several posts in a row...you may want to start at the bottom and read up. Just a suggestion. Or you could start at the top and go down...it might be like living backwards in time. Or maybe I've just been watching too much of the SciFi network or previews of The X Files movie. Either way, it's up to you.

Who could resist this face??

Ah!! We just love her so much. We have a hard time putting her down as you can tell...

Hosting All Of The Grandparents

OK, since I had surgery, going up the stairs has been hard for me and I apologize readers, for not keeping you all up to date on little Emma. So I'm now rapidly trying to post while she is napping. Which, by the way, she is sleeping beautifully, thank you for asking. So there will be several posts in a row...you may want to start at the bottom and read up. Just a suggestion. Or you could start at the top and go down...it might be like living backwards in time. Or maybe I've just been watching too much of the SciFi network or previews of The X Files movie. Either way, it's up to you.

On Sunday the 13th, Jeff's dad came into town with his stepmom. They stayed with us for the night and we hosted a BBQ for the family to get together. Unfortunately Jeff's brother had to work, so they weren't able to make it, but we did have a special day nonetheless. We had Jeff's dad and stepmom, his mom and stepdad, his niece and nephew and my mom. We realized that my dad was the only missing grandparent! He was on a flight from Florida as my grandfather had been in the hospital and Daddy flew down to be with him and so I called him and left a message that when he landed, he should come over because when would we get an opportunity like this again? So he showed up and we took lots of pictures. We even had 4 generations - Great Grandma Arcangeli, Jeff's mom, Jeff, and Emma. Very special. A scrapbooker's dream come true! Those will be some great layouts...if I ever get to scrapbook again! LOL.

The First Bath

OK, since I had surgery, going up the stairs has been hard for me and I apologize readers, for not keeping you all up to date on little Emma. So I'm now rapidly trying to post while she is napping. Which, by the way, she is sleeping beautifully, thank you for asking. So there will be several posts in a row...you may want to start at the bottom and read up. Just a suggestion. Or you could start at the top and go down...it might be like living backwards in time. Or maybe I've just been watching too much of the SciFi network or previews of The X Files movie. Either way, it's up to you. Enjoy.
So back to the first sponge bath. It's a good one people. Trust me on this one. And fortunately it's complete with pictures. And laughter. Settle in and find out what happened.
Mom was staying with us for the first week to take care of me. Very nice, I might add. She had food prepared for us, kept me on a healthy diet, brought me drinks when I nursed, did laundry, vacuumed...you get the point. So we had her talk us through a sponge bath since Emma's hair needed washing and we wanted her all clean and sweet smelling. (although does a baby ever NOT smell sweet?) We took her diaper off and she was really enjoying being naked. She enjoyed it so much that she peed all over her daddy. And the kitchen counter. And the floor. I guess she was saving up for a rainy day and rain it did!She then proceeded to spit up on Jeff. I was giggling (and obviously taking pictures!). We managed to get her wiped down and washed her hair, which she LOVED!! We got her all cleaned up and she was a happy camper. I brought her into our bedroom to put a new diaper on her and while I had her legs in the air, she projectile pooped all over the front of me!! It was all over the front of my robe and the changing table, but thankfully not on the floor or anywhere else. I cleaned her up, managed to get the dirty towel out from under her and my robe off of me without spreading the damage, was about to put the diaper on her when she did it again! This time it got on my hands and Mom's hands and we were trying to clean up a freshly bathed baby and ourselves all the while trying to not bust a gut laughing. Needless to say, Daddy got the last laugh!! Fortunately for me, there is no pictoral proof of the "pooping" events of that day, but it was pretty hilarious. Note to self: When chaging a diaper, leave the baby exposed for the minimal amount of time. Naked baby = free for all. I think nakedness triggers an innate response in babies: "UNLOAD" the bodily functions as fast and as furious as possible. Lesson learned.

She's FINALLY Here!

After waiting seven extra days, enduring over 20 hours of labor, and time in the operating room, Emma Elise finally made her arrival into this world! I started having contractions (finally) at 4:30 am on the 6th. I didn't wake Jeff up for another hour because I wanted to make sure that this was IT! I woke him up about 5:30 and we started timing them. He was really very cute, walking around with the stopwatch. My doctor said to call him when the contractions were 5-6 minutes apart for 2 hours. We were about 5 minutes apart by 8:00 am so he made the call. We got a call back and after talking with the nurse on call, she said to go ahead and drive down to the hospital. Once I checked in, the contractions were about 3 minutes apart. But I was still only at 1-2 cm. They had us walk around the hospital for an hour and then were going to check my progress. I had not eaten since 5:00 pm the night before and one of the hallways we walked down smelled like food. Not good for me! But after that hour, I still hadn't made any progress and there was talk of sending me home. By now the contractions were increasing in severity and my pain tolerance was beginning to wear thin. We walked around my labor and delivery room for another hour and my water broke. Good news. But I was still not making any progress. However, they decided they weren't going to send me home since my water had broken. I'll spare you all of the details of the labor, but I would like to kiss whoever invented the epidural!! About the last hour before the epidural, life was pretty much at a standstill every few minutes when the contractions hit me...until that glorious man arrived to deliver me from the hell that was room 10 on the third floor. Once that epidural went in, I could have hosted a party. Seriously. My mom was there, along with Jeff's mom, my brother and his wife. Jeff's mom left after about an hour since there was no progress. What was happening was that Emma's heart rate was dipping after I would have a contraction which is a problem. They tried moving me from side to side, which would help for a while, but the problem kept coming back. At about 10:00 pm, they mentioned that I may have to have a C Section. Darren and his wife came in and prayed with me, Jeff prayed with me, and so did my mom. Finally at almost 11:30 pm on July 6th, the doctor said they needed to get her out. It was time. There was nothing else they could do. I was terrified and the doctor gently said that she wouldn't have me carry this baby for 9 long months to have a problem at this stage of the game. Jeff asked if they could get Emma out in 30 minutes to ensure she would have her own birthday and the doctor said no problem. Jeff ran to put on scrubs and tell our family that was in the waiting room that I was now having a C Section. They wheeled me down to the OR and got Emma out at 11:40pm. She was 7 lbs, 10.6oz, and was 19 3/4" long. With a ton of hair! Like her Mamma. After the surgery, Jeff was able to go with the nurse and Emma and the nurse told him to run ahead and get our family. (This is what I was told - I missed several hours as I had the epidural and whatever else they gave me plus time spent in recovery) Jeff's brother and sister in law, my mom, Jeff's mom, my brother, and my sister in law got to see Emma and actually ride in the elevator with her as she was transported to the 4th floor nursery. They watched as she received her first shot and was put in her little crib. My mom said she was the only one in there who had her feet completely stretched out! Those feet were sticking out straight and that tongue was in and out of her mouth. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I was sent to recovery and didn't get up to my room until after 2:00am. We had the cutest sign on the door which Darren had labored over. We had people sign it when they came to visit and we got quite a few comments regarding the "Class of 2030" part. Proud Uncle Darren.


They brought Emma to us finally at about 4:00 am and tired though we were, she was of course welcomed with open arms. We had her to ourselves until about 10:00 the next morning when the visitors started showing up. She met cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents and friends.


Aunt Sally was one of the first to arrive

Uncle John


Nona


Claire, Elizabeth, Emily, and Katherine

Nanna


My BF Laura


Grandpa

She really stole her grandpa's heart!

Great Grandma Arcangeli


Uncle Darren and Aunt Mary Beth


My friend Christine


We were so fortunate to have so many visitors. Emma is so loved!

Here's a real laugh out loud moment...

Heather: Knock Knock
You: Who's there?
Heather: Who cares? I'm at work. Again.

OK, so I don't really think that is funny. But maybe you do.

I Got Nothin'

No news. No baby. No problem? OK, slight problem. I'd like to not be pregnant anymore.
But since I have no pearls of wisdom to dispense this morning, or funny anecdotes to share, I thought I'd at least provide something for your entertainment.
On the way to work this morning, I heard a great song from my middle school days and now it is stuck in my head. I am not complaining, as it is a great song, and I do not feel evil sharing it with you. Jeff and I like to get horrible songs stuck in each other's heads (mainly a heinous song we heard on American Idol - Renaldo Lapuz - You Are my Brother - Google that and see what you come up with. I'll spare you the details today as the song really is evil and will circulate around in your head FOREVER!)
But back to the GOOD song. I have the upbeat exciting "Just Can't Get Enough" by Depeche Mode stuck in my head. Dave Gahan looks yummy in the video so I thought I'd share the magic of the electronic new wave sound of the 80's.



Enjoy while Dave and the rest of the boys rock this song.

Still Waiting

If my sweet stubborn baby doesn't come out on her own, I'm scheduled to be induced on July 8th.
I love the waiting game!

Apparently video clips of this are hard to come by. Unless you would like to see it in Polish. Or Dutch. Or Finnish. But NOT English!! But you get the idea.