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Today we took some pictures of Emma in her Sunday dress!

Not too much has been going on the past few days. George has been working and I've been home with Emma. My days are not very exciting. They consist of feeding, changing diapers, spit up, occasionally crying, and very rarely sleeping Emma! However, yesterday she did take 2 naps for approximately 45 minutes each without me holding her! That allowed me to do some laundry and empty the dishwasher. Hopefully this means her acid reflux medicine is working. She doesn't seem to be making quite as many noises. During the night is a different story though! All night long she is fussy making grunting noises and she sounds like she is struggling. I don't know when she will grow out of this but I really hope it is soon. We have been swaddling her well recently because she hasn't been pulling her nose canula out during the night.

Today we go to the eye doctor which I'm dreading. It will be my 1st time out of the house alone with her and all of her "stuff". I know I can carry all of it but it will be heavy. I have to carry her oxygen tank, apnea monitor, her in the carseat and the diaper bag. I need one more arm I believe! Then once we get to the eye doctor they have to dialate her eyes and we have to sit there for an hour! The actual exam only takes a few minutes but it's not a pleasant exam. Lastly, her feeding will be around this time so I'm not sure how well that's going to be worked in. She might be unhappy for a little bit.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday. My friend Gerri came over to visit and we had a good time. She was really good with Emma! Hope you enjoy!




She's getting used to her new swing.

Look how big these preemie shorts are on her!

Pediatrician Appt

Today Emma went to the pediatrician for the second time. We really like the office. The nurses are all very sweet and so are the doctors. It is a practice with five women. They all like to say her name really really country...Emma Graaaace. It kills me! Anyways, we had a great appointment. She now weighs 4 lbs 9 ounces! I can't believe we are so close to 5 lbs already! She has also gained 5 inches in length since birth, now at 17.5 inches. The doctor said she was doing awesome and she just seemed so caring. Emma is now on Zantac for acid reflux and we are supposed to elevate her bassinet mattress so she sleeps at an incline. We don't go back to the office until one month for now and that will be for her 4 month shots. We couldn't have asked for a better appointment!

George's wonderful parents are staying again tonight and they are really helping us out around the house. His dad has mowed the yard, edged & weed eated (sp?), washed my car, killed weeds and lots of other things. The man can't sit still! My favorite mother-in-law has been helping me with Emma and made us dinner tonight and she cleaned the kitchen! I could really get used to having them around! Unfortunately, they are leaving tomorrow. Peace out.

We Modeled Today!

Before leaving the NICU last week the lactation consultant had asked if Emma and I would model for the Medela company today. At first I was hesitant because it involved me breastfeeding her in front of lots of people and being photographed. Well after thinking about it and all of the perks (free $40 bra, free $350 breastpump) I decided we would do it! So today we loaded up and went back to the NICU for our big photoshoot. When we got there they had a makeup artist do my face and she kind of styled my hair. The makeup part was really fun! Then I changed into this horrible light yellow shirt. They also asked George to be in some of the shots so he got to shave, put makeup on and wear a green shirt.

After all of this we went into the NICU and in front of about 10 people they filmed and photographed me breastfeeding my precious little girl. Surprisingly, I wasn't nervous at all and Emma did a great job! There was one camera guy they moved all around us getting the perfect shot and he was super nice. They wanted certain shots of Emma using the breast shield and I think they got exactly what they wanted. We got to see all of the pictures on the laptop afterwards and they are mailing us copies of all the pictures to keep. It was all very cool!

I guess I should mention that Medela is one of the largest breastpump suppliers in the world. I'm sure that any mother has heard their name at some point. We were very pleased with how well they treated us today and made us all feel very comfortable. Our pictures/film will be used for Medela's marketing.

Here are a few pictures of us...not sure if you can tell but I still have on my makeup they did today.

Happy Mother's Day!

Grammy holding Emma

Again...

Me holding my precious girl!

She's just too cute!

Well today is Mother's Day and it is my very first one! I absolutely love being a mom and I can't wait until Emma is making me mother day gifts! We had a great weekend. George's parents came into town on Saturday and we had a good visit. I got some beautiful plants and flowers! We didn't do a whole lot other than sit around and ooh and ahh at Emma but that was fun!

After Grammy and Rus Rus (what Graham calls them) left my friend Katie picked me up in her convertible to get me out of the house! We had so much fun! We went shopping at Target and stopped by the mall and Lowe's/Home Depot. I bought another plant...I wonder how long it will take me to kill this one??? I don't have a green thumb at all! Overall I had a terrific weekend and I couldn't have asked for a better 1st Mother's Day!

I Survived!

Well I survived my 1st day home alone with Emma! It was a very boring day. I need entertainment! We did manage okay besides Emma pulling her oxygen plugs out this morning and turning white as a ghost! That was the start of my day. She came out of it when I gave her back the oxygen so that's a good thing. It really scared me though!

Due to Emma ALWAYS pulling her plugs out she really needs constant supervision. I have a hard time running to the bedroom or even the bathroom when I'm alone with her! I never even brushed my teeth today until George came home...gross I know. So anyways, when he came home I decided to do the dishes and take the trash out. Below are pictures of what I came back to! Isn't that sweet?

Stuff...

She's so adorable!

Emma chillin in her bouncy seat



George being a great daddy!

Emma's favorite pose...talk to the hand mom!

In her stroller for the 1st time



Not a whole lot has been going on this week. We've just been hanging around the house occasionally cleaning but mostly holding Emma on the couch! She loves to be held and she sleeps better when we are holding her. It's really sweet!

Yesterday we took her for a walk around the neighborhood, but since it was so hot we only did one lap. She slept the whole time. It felt nice to get out of the house. I also got out and went to Rosie's for dinner...I hadn't been out of the house since Sunday when we came home! I miss the outside world.


So nothing too exciting this week. I think George might go to work tomorrow since he is taking off on Monday. That will be my 1st day alone with her...what am I going to do??? Wish me luck!

Random Pics

My 1st Bath at Home!

She doesn't know what to think of this bath...so she poops!
We moved her to the sink and that was better!
Drying off...isn't she a cutie?
Hooking her back up
Look at those eyes!

Finally Home!

Emma loving the car seat!


Proud parents!


Look how tiny she is!


Thumbs up...we are ready to roll!


Not a happy camper!


Some of our NICU nurses saying goodbye.


After I shed a few tears I was ready to go!


She's was sound asleep on her 1st car trip!

Leaving the hospital was bittersweet...after twelve weeks we were ready to have her home but it was a very emotional time. I already miss my nurses and my daily trips to the hospital but it's great having her home!

I am so glad they made us room in Saturday night! It gave us a chance to see & hear what babies do all night. We were a nervous wreck! All night she kept making noises and doing weird things with her mouth and we didn't know what to think. The nurse told us that is normal for babies so now we just ignore it. We really didn't get much sleep that night but it has gotten better since coming home. After the nurse and doctor finished the discharge paperwork we were ready to go. We packed everything up and got her situated in her carseat...that was a challenge! I couldn't believe how small she was in it and we had to roll a couple of blankets up and fit them around her. As you can see in the pictures she wasn't too thrilled about the carseat! I did cry a little when we were walking out b/c lots of our nurses were standing in the hall and a few of the nurses got teary eyed too. Other than that the day was okay...she slept the whole way home and then George had to go back downtown to pick up her presriptions and to pick up Braxton from the vet. It was very scary being left alone with her mainly b/c of the oxygen. I've had a hard time getting used to the cords and stuff & I can't wait until we can get rid of the machine! George is much better with it than I am!

Now that we are home things are going smoother everyday. Last night I slept from 9pm-1:30am and then George slept from 2pm-9pm. We both got some good sleep in!

We also went to the pediatrician yesterday and she has gained weight...4 lbs 1 oz! So we finally hit the 4 pound mark! They took her blood to see if she needed another transfusion but she was fine and that's about all that happened. Oh, they did suction out the biggest booger in the world! The nurse even showed it to the doctor! They all loved her & thought she was the cutest thing! We go back next Tuesday for a follow up and we also go back to the eye doctor.

Right now we are enjoying George at home and I dread him going back to work next week. It really helps to have two people especially with all of her cords! Maybe my favorite in-laws will come visit us!

Exciting News!!!

Well I just got the call from the social worker at the hospital and they want us to room in with Emma on Saturday the 5th!!! This means that we will stay the night at the hospital and we will do all of Emma's cares during the night. The oxygen company will set up her monitors that she has to come home on and they will teach us how to use them. We have to be there around 3 pm and then we can leave on Sunday whenever we feel ready. They don't provide us dinner but we will be served breakfast and we will be sleeping on two twin size beds with Emma in a crib!

This morning they moved her into an open crib so that was a big deal and then we also got her hospital pictures made. They didn't turn out that great b/c with the flash she looks so pale. So I'm going to ask if they can redo them tomorrow and if not, we will make our own announcements for everyone.

I've got an appointment tomorrow to install her car seat base and tonight I will take her car seat and leave it at the hospital. They do a car seat test before any baby leaves to make sure they don't have any apnea spells. Apparently with preemies their airway is easy to get blocked because they don't have good neck support so lets pray she handles that fine. She will sit in her car seat for 30 minutes b/c that is approximately how long it takes us to get home.

We also took infant CPR Tuesday night b/c it is required when going home on oxygen. It was a free class and I'm so glad we took it. I feel better prepared now!

Well I guess that's about it for now...oh she was 3 lbs 13 oz last night so she's doing a great job at growing! Go Emma!

Our House & Emma's Nursery

Here's a few pics of our house and our newly painted green living room, dining room (computer area) and the front walkway. I love love love our green rooms...some people might think the color is too bold but it looks so beautiful with our white trim.

The front and back view of our house...

Our green rooms...

Finally, here are some pics of Emma's nursery! We haven't put any pictures on the walls yet but we are in the process of painting letters of her name right now. I love her furniture!