Emmy's first road trip

We headed up to Greenville this past weekend for our first visit since Emmy was born. Both of my grandmothers are still living and they were itching to get their hands on her! So, we packed up the car and hit the road around 6:30 Friday evening.

I should have taken a photo of the car, especially the ride home. The stroller alone took up half the back of the car. We tried to limit the clothes we took, but oh, wait, you need extra because you are just as likely to need multiple outfits for the same reasons Emmy is. I have two words for you - spit up. Then on the way home we had a few gifts and things that inevitably wind up returning home with you. We'll have to be come better packers when we have a 2nd baby because I refuse to get a much bigger car!

Emmy slept the whole way up, which was great. It was very carefully timed so we fed her right before we got on the road. Any longer and we would have had to stop and feed her, I'm sure. My Uncle Mike was at Mom and Dad's when we arrived so he could see Emmy. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture and he was off to a wedding on Saturday so we'll have to take pictures next time.

Saturday morning my cousin Joanna and her boyfriend wanted to have breakfast so they came by the house before they also left for the wedding. We had a nice morning in pjs and Carolyn, one of Emmy's "other" grandmothers came by to dote on her.

We had lunch with some of "Da Group" Saturday so Emmy got to meet Uncle Justin (who wishes to be called Uncle Awesome) and Aunt Lindsay (who decided that therefore she should be Princess Fantastic) and see Lucas, Lisa and Baby Will again. After lunch, we headed back to Mom and Dad's. We had decided to have a drop-in and invite friends to come by because we knew there was no way we'd make it around to see everyone! So Emmy got to meet Amanda, Jonas, and Hannah, Carolyn (again) and John, Mr. and Mrs. Way, Mrs. Mardre, Cathy and Rafal, Meg and Jamie, Mrs. Hutchins and Mrs. Raney (more Greenville Grandmas), and our neighbor Debbie. I think that was everyone! I forgot

After the drop-in, we headed to Anderson to see Grandma, my Mom's mom. She came down to Augusta with my aunts the day after Emmy was born, but she hadn't seen her since and of course she hadn't held her! Grandma was so happy to see her! Mr. Hall came over to have dinner with us and we had a good evening.

Sunday we took her to my home church to meet lots of our church family. It was so good to be back and to meet their new minister. Trinity has struggled the last few years, and I hope and pray this is truly a new beginning for them. Mom and Dad were happily showing her off. She got fussy during church and there was no nursery, so she and I hung out in the nursery for a while. Fortunately the speaker was on in there so I knew when to go back. Ha! The minister, Charlie, said he loves baby noises, though, and I didn't need to leave! However, I think he might have disagreed when she really got cranked up.

We had lunch at Pete's and saw lots of people we know there and so Mom was showing her around some more. Then we went to meet Grandmommie, Dad's mom. She was hungry at first, but then she was happy to pose for some photos with Grandmommie.

In the afternoon we went to meet Baby Stella! She was born Friday the 24th so she was just a week old. So sweet! Oddly enough they were about the same size...haha. Eric and Erin are doing great and we're so happy for them! They struggled like we did to get pregnant and we couldn't be more delighted that Stella and Emmy will grow up together, and probably give Will a run for his money.

Of course we left Spartanburg way later than we planned (we were having too much fun) so we had dinner with Mom, Dad, and two of their friends before we headed home. It was a late night and were all pooped, but it was a great trip.

Plenty more photos are posted in Picasa. Enjoy!

The end of July

The last few July photos are up in Picasa. She's getting to be so much fun to photograph the more she giggles and smiles! She's really holding her head up and responding to you. She also still cries a lot, but you know, babies. She has had many more nights blissfully sleeping 7-8 hours, and for this I am so grateful. So is my body. I know it may not last and as there are growth spurts, teething times, and who knows what else she'll be up more, but I'm enjoying it while I can. Tonight (Wed.) would be the 4th night in a row if she'll go that long. Wow!!

The end of July was good for all of us. Charles' Mom and Dad came to visit weekend before last and of course she'd grown a lot since they were here! They came to church with us and for the first time Emmy woke up and fussed so I had to take her out. I think it's now time to go to the nursery on Sunday mornings!

The photos are of Em after church on Sunday in her cute outfit Aunt Priscilla and Uncle W.C. gave her, and then of bath time Sat. night. Richard took some cute photos of her during and after bath time! She sure loves her baths. More pictures of this past weekend and this month soon to come!

It's coming, I promise

I know, no new postings for over a week. It's coming, I promise. I will work on a nice long post about the last couple of weeks, including Emmy's first road trip to Greenville. We had a great time, and now I'm pooped! So was Emmy...she slept 8 hours again last night. Woohoo!

Emmy is getting to be such a big girl! She had her "official" two month check-up yesterday, which meant SHOTS. Yuck. She did very well, but she was grumpy and just wanted to comfort nurse yesterday and sleep. Then suddenly, around suppertime she was super happy baby and sat happily in her bouncy seat for about 2o minutes, looking around and playing. Then, unhappy baby reappeared. But who can blame her?

She was 6 lbs 11 1/2 ounces and 19 inches long. She's still below the 5th percentile in weight and height, but her pediatrician is very happy with her progress and she estimates that if Emmy keeps growing like she has been, then she will be on the growth curve by 5 months, which is wonderful! She'll be at the bottom of the curve, but at least she'll be on it. Now, we have no more check-ups until she is four months old. No more weight checks! Her doctor asked if she was following us and objects with her eyes, if she's smiling, and if when she smiles she moves her mouth or makes noises (all of which she does) so she was very happy! That's definitely ahead of her adjusted age, and we so pleased.

She slept for about 8 hours again last night, which was amazing! (This happened on Saturday night for the first time). I'm sure the vaccines had something to do with it, but still, it was nice. I feel like I can see how we might be working towards a schedule, which is fabulous. She woke up very happy this morning and after she nursed she "talked" to me and smiled a lot and cooed. Just like we knew would happen, overnight there are changes! Charles swears some days that she's grown while he was at work.

2 months old

As of Thursday 7/9 Emmy was 6 lbs 7 oz! We measured her ourselves earlier in the week and she was 18 1/4 inches long. The girl is definitely growing! Her pediatrician said we could stop giving her the formula supplement, but to keep giving it to her if it was too stressful for me nursing. I'm working to get her weaned off of it. It is wonderful that she's doing so well!

She has had a busy few days with lots of visitors, a wedding, and more. I will have to update you on these events later on, but for now you can see Emmy's 2 month birthday photo and more photos are in the Picasa July album.

Oh, and great news...Charles' Mom is done with her chemo treatments and so far everything looks great. There is still more blood work to be done, but looks like she's on the right track to being cancer free. Yay!

Love and hugs to you all,
Beth

Some firsts for Emmy

This weekend was a lot of firsts for Emmy! Friday evening we took her for her first swim, just a quick dip in the neighbors pool (it's a salt water pool, so no chlorine to bother her). She started to cry for a second, then figured out maybe this wasn't so bad! She LOVES taking a bath, so I'm hoping she likes swimming just as much. I didn't learn to swim until I was older because I hated getting my face wet, so hopefully we can get her used to the water at an earlier age.

Saturday morning I put her in front of the little mirror that Mer and I bought while shopping Friday afternoon. She caught a glimpse of herself for the first time and she seemed to enjoy playing for a few minutes. Too cute!

Aunt Mer arrived Thursday, so it was fun having her around for the long weekend. She went with us to the lake on Saturday for the picnic at our church property. It is really beautiful and we are lucky to have access to such a great, private facility! It was Emmy's first church function and several of our church family members got to meet her for the first time.
Of course, it was also her first 4th of July, so we decked her out in an outfit that Charles' parents bought her, topped off with a new hat we picked up with lots of

SPF in it since she's still too little to wear sunscreen. I know I'm partial, but I thought she looked adorable. She stayed in the building or in the shade the couple of hours we were there and she did really well. Next summer we can't wait to take her in the lake!

Today we took Emmy to church for the first time. She did really well and only let out one little cry in her sleep. Everyone was glad to see her at church. She got to hear her Daddy sing the national anthem as a part of a quartet for the call to worship. Our pastor commented how special it was to have two active duty service members singing (we have a new tenor who is also in the Army). They sounded great! When the organ started and we all started singing the opening hymn she opened her eyes, but settled right in to enjoy the service.

A year ago

One year ago today I was just over 8 weeks pregnant. In early June of '08 we were shocked and thrilled to find out I had gotten pregnant after just one round of Clomid (clomiphene citrate), a fertility drug. We had been trying for 2.5 years at that point to get pregnant. I'd taken a couple of drugs known to help control PCOS symptoms and help women get pregnant, but to no avail. Finally we had managed to navigate through the system at the hospital on post and get up to the OBGYN clinic for some infertility support. I was VERY lucky to respond so quickly to the Clomid and become pregnant without further intervention. We had just started to share the news with more friends and family and we were so excited! Finally, our baby was on his or her way.

However, Wednesday, July 2nd I woke up spotting more than I thought I should be. So I called the OBGYN clinic and the heard nurse suggested I come in if I could make it before Sick Call ended at 10:30. So off we went, and after several hours and two ultrasounds it was confirmed that there was no heartbeat. The baby had stopped growing around six weeks. I was absolutely and utterly devastated. We both were.

What began on Friday, July 4th is not something I'd wish on anyone. It was a horribly painful experience, physically and emotionally and it's still hard for me to put it into words. While I'm grateful nature "took it's course" without medical intervention, if I were to ever receive such news again I would schedule a D&C immediately. Knowing how long it can take for your body to take care of it on it's own, I couldn't imagine walking around for two weeks waiting. I was grateful that it was a long weekend so Charles was home with me and could bring me food and lots of DVDs to distract me. I'm pretty sure we watched the entire 3rd season of Weeds in 24 hours.

I've read conflicting statistics, but at least 25% of pregnancies end in miscarriage, some places I've seen that estimated as high as 50%. Many women may miscarry with a chemical pregnancy, which occurs often before they even realize they were pregnant and may just seem like a regular cycle to them. But if you are going through infertility treatments, you are taking that test as soon as possible, sometimes even sooner! This is partly why the statistics for women with infertility problems often are higher. One of my online friends experienced 15 miscarriages before finally having three beautiful babies. I cannot even imagine. When you have waited and waited and tried for as long as many women have, to go from the high of a positive test to the devastating news that your baby has no heartbeat or your hCG levels are dropping is just devastating. (This is not to say that a miscarriage for someone not experiencing any fertility treatments is any less painful, I'm certain it is not).

Quite possibly my blood flow issues/clotting disorder may have contributed to this first miscarriage, we will never know and when we are ready to try to have another baby the doctor has some treatments she will give me to hopefully prevent any problems.

I don't really have a specific point in sharing this with the Internet, other than just to do just that: share. We have been fairly open for a while about our struggles and I think I do so in large part because when we began this journey we knew practically no one who had difficulty getting pregnant, or who had experienced a miscarriage. It gave me comfort to talk to others eventually who had been through it. And, in the last several months I've had friends notice my link to the PCOSA on my facebook page or somehow find out what our story was and they wanted to ask questions and share their infertility struggles. And if I can do that for them, that makes me glad because I'm thankful for those who shared with me. Everytime I see a new post on the PCOS community board for pregnancy loss, or everytime I hear about someone who has gone through a miscarriage, my heart hurts for them.

In the end, we have a beautiful and healthy baby girl to show for it. Would I change it? Of course I would. I'd rather it no have been this way. But I cannot look back and have regrets or wish things could have been differently because that's not the way it works. What can do is be grateful for the end result and the doctors and nurses, not to mention supportive friends and family who helped us get to this point.

This July 4th we're going to take Emmy to the lake and celebrate and make new memories with her, ever mindful of how blessed we are to have her with us!