Another Homecoming for Emily

For the most part, Emily has been adjusting quite nicely to life at home, and has been eating and sleeping well. However, as some of you already know, we had an unexpected trip back to the hospital this past Thursday. During a long night of fussiness, we noticed that Emily's left arm was strangely limp, especially compared to her right. Concerned about this and her unusually high crankiness, we took her in to the pediatrician early Thursday morning. Two pediatricians quickly became concerned about her arm, since this was a new condition, and were worried about possible central nervous system problems or bleeding in the brain. We burned rubber to the hospital downtown and quickly got a CT of her head. After some very anxious waiting and praying, we learned that it was negative (praise the Lord!). The rest of the day and part of the next was spent ruling out arm or clavicle fractures and any central nervous system problems. Fortunately, Emily's arm function began to improve dramatically around midday (almost like she had been playing possum), and the pediatric neurologist eventually decided that based on Emily's arm function and the normal MRI results, she probably just had an unusual presentation of Erb's palsy, and would likely return to normal over the next few weeks. Exhausted but greatly relieved and in good spirits, we left the hospital for Emily's second homecoming, exactly two weeks after her first. Since then, she has been busy eating, sleeping, staring at various objects (new!), and of course being cute.

Wunderkind

Breaking news on the baby front: at 1 week of age, Emily can...wait for it...hold her own bottle while eating! Yes, it's true, and she did so for such a long period of time that I was able to produce compelling video evidence. Seen here with her special Pittsburghian trainer, Emily's abilities are undeniable.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/1170604]
I know, we were as surprised as you are. Where she got this ability is a mystery, but one thing is clear: Emily is headed straight for the 2026 Olympics.

6 days old

Emily is almost a week old already, which is hard to believe!  So far, this parenting thing is both the hardest and most rewarding thing I have ever done.  Emily's entrance into this world was rather traumatic, as I pushed for almost two and a half hours before having a c-section, but since then she has been a rather good baby.  She likes to sleep a lot more during the day than she does at night, and that is my biggest complaint thus far.  Luckily, I have a very, very supportive husband.  Plus, my mom and sister have been staying with us since Emily was born.  Between all of us, we are pretty good at getting just enough sleep, but I do worry about how things will go when my mother and sister leave in a few days.  So far, here are some of Emily's likes and dislikes:

Likes:

her hands, music, rocking and bouncing, being held, eating, sleeping on her side (she can already get from her back to her side by herself!)

Dislikes:

diaper changes, baths, getting undressed, and being woken up to eat when she doesn't want to

Emily's Homecoming

This afternoon we had the pleasure of bringing Emily home from the hospital and introducing her to her home for the first time. After feeding, a diaper change, and lots of discharge instructions, Emily was ready to get into her fancy new duds:




Thankfully, she took to the car seat like a champ:


Emily snoozed the whole way home, and didn't wake up until well after she arrived home. We are all happy to be home, and are looking forward to giving Emily a tour of her new home in the days to come.

Emily's Hospital Visitors

Emily entertained many visitors yesterday, considering it was only her second day in this world. Everyone was happy to see her, and she enjoyed being held and socializing (those hospital rooms can get boring otherwise).

Grandpa, already a frequent visitor, was perhaps the happiest to see Emily again:


Jonah, Megan, and Noah were also excited to meet her:


Kristy enjoyed holding Emily too:


We had a few non-photographed visitors as well, and have had hundreds of calls, emails and notes of congratulations, which have been great to receive. It seems that there are lots and lots of people who are happy that Emily has joined us, and for this we are very grateful. We hope that over the coming weeks and months we can help Emily meet all these great people and spread the joy that she brings.

Praise the Lord - Emily Ruth is Born!

Today was a momentous and happy day in our family. After some difficult labor this morning, Sarah gave birth to little Emily Ruth via cesarean section at 10:25 am! Little Emily was tired and blue for a couple minutes after coming out, but responded quickly, pinked up, and began crying, which was a joyous sound for her parents to hear. Emily is now very pink, very happy, and very healthy. She weighs 7 pounds 10 ounces, and is 20 inches long. It turns out that Emily is a voracious eater, and also enjoys wiggling parts of her face and sleeping. She has a beautiful head of dark brown hair which she is eager to show off in future pictures.

Sarah is doing well, now that all the hard work and pain of labor and c-section have passed. She is exhausted but healthy and happy. As I write this, my two girls are blissfully sleeping next to me, no doubt dreaming of each other. We feel very happy and blessed that God has given us such a beautiful gift.

A 2008 Baby

2007 has officially ended, and our little one is still gestating happily.  However, I now know the end is near - very near.  Eric and I are going to check in to the hospital tonight, and I will be induced early tomorrow morning (unless she decides to come between now and then).  At my last doctor's appointment on Friday, my doctor told us that I am now a very good candidate for an induction because I was dilated some more (2 cm) and 80% effaced.  She thought that our baby would come over the weekend on her own, but alas, she appears to be rather contented where she is!  I have a feeling that this is going to be a long day, and I am overwhelmed with a mix of feelings: eagerness to meet our daughter, nervousness about how the birthing process will go, and joyfulness to have so many friends and family around us at this special time.  I can't wait to introduce the whole world to our little girl!