Introducting...

Emma Carolyn Hill

May 2, 2013 at 10:28pm

7lbs 0oz

20.5in

Isn't she beautiful?!  :)  

A short recap of the day she was born:
First of all, I really wanted to go in to labor naturally without being induced...for some reason this was very important to me!  I wanted to do this with Watson, but ended up having to be induced at 39 weeks because I was measuring behind a good bit.  This time, however, I was determined to have that "this is it!" moment from either my water breaking or contractions.  Well...I made it to 39 1/2 weeks and I. Was. Miserable!  I went in to see my doctor and as we began talking about things, I ended up scheduling an induction for the next morning.  Pretty much she said that because I was already at 4cm, if I wanted to ensure that I would get an epidural and if I wanted to ensure that Graham was not cutting the cord on the side of the road, I better go ahead and be induced.  That was ALL it took to get me to agree to that!  She did say, however, that she would not be surprised if she saw me that night (she was on call).  Well, after that appointment I went to my parent's house to pick up Watson.  I was there for maybe 35 minutes when I started cramping really bad in my lower back.  I wasn't sure if it was contractions or not because she had checked me at my appt and I thought that maybe that was just causing me to cramp.  It was almost 5:00, and since I live at the other end of 280 from my parent's, I decided I better stay at their house just in case it did turn in to contractions and I needed to get to the hospital without 280 traffic!  About an hour later, I had no doubt that I was in full blown labor.  I called Graham and told him I needed him to get to my parent's house as soon as possible!  He was in Mountain Brook at the time, so luckily he was close and able to make it there pretty quickly.  In the meantime, I called my doctor and told her I was headed her way.  This was about 6:30.  We got to the the hospital and they were already prepping a room with everything they needed (apparently my dr had warned them that my babies come QUICKLY once they decide to come!)  When we got there, I was at 5cm...which is where I stayed for the next little while.  I got my epidural about an hour after getting there (which was wonderful..I did not have to endure contractions long at all!)  They actually ended up starting me on pitocin to get things progressing because I wasn't moving past a 5...but after that I quickly progressed to a 9...and then about 2 minutes later I was at a 10 and Emma was coming!  Luckily my dr was close by so she came in there and a few pushes later our sweet Emma was born in to this world at 10:28pm!  And let me just tell you...this girl made her presence known!  There was no one...probably in the whole hospital :)...doubting whether or not her lungs were nice and strong!  Even all the nurses were laughing at how loud she was.  I was laughing then...but since have stopped laughing so much at that unique quality of our little girl :)

All ready to go! 

Right after sweet baby was born!


I'm pretty confident she already has her daddy wrapped around her little finger :)

 
Mana and her fourth grandchild! 

 
Emma meeting Poppa for the first time


Emma's #1 fan! 

Mel - so thankful she was able to be with me when Emma was born!

Watson meeting Emma for the first time.  As you can see, he was much more interested in her paci :) 

Uncle Alan - so glad he could be here to meet his niece and spend some quality time with Watson!

Nannie loving on Emma.  Can't wait for her to come back and spend more time with her grandchildren!

Melt. My. Heart.

Ready to go home!

She did great nursing in the hospital.  It was hard, but she only dropped down to 6lbs 8oz...so that was not near as much as they had expected, which showed that even though I was having difficulty figuring everything out, she was at least getting what she needed.  I was blessed with incredible nurses while in the hospital who were a HUGE help when it came to nursing.  Needless to say, due to the awful experience I had with Watson (you can read about that in another post), I was nervous to try and nurse again, but determined to make it work.  Along with the health of our baby and her relationship with Christ, this is what I prayed about most during my pregnancy!  So far, things are going well with no sign of all that I experienced with W.  We continue to pray that this will be the case for the duration of my time nursing her!  



The first couple of weeks were a rough transition for sweet Watson...to say the least.  Poor baby did NOT like sharing his mommy...at all!  Any time I would go near Emma or pick her up, he would pitch a fit...which made an already hormonal and emotional me that much more emotional!  I felt so torn.  I wanted to badly to comfort Watson and assure him that he was not losing his mommy, but at the same time there were basic needs that Emma was needing...that only I could meet!  Graham was a HUGE help in all of this as he would take Watson on errands, walks, and just give him extra special attention.  After those two weeks it was just like a switch turned and W was perfectly okay with having Emma around.  He did...though...call her a puppy for a while.  :)  He now loves her so much and is very attentive to her.  Any time she cries he wants to let me know and then runs to take her a paci...and in his own loving way shoves it in her mouth :)  He also does not like for both of us to leave the room or go to the car without her so I have to assure him often that we are not going to forget Emma...we are just going to another room or putting him in the car first :)

We are truly loving life as a family of four..it was a crazy start (did I mention that Graham broke his back in FOUR places a few days before Emma was born?!) but things are beginning to settle down and we are loving our new normal :)

Easter...

Since I am incredibly late in posting this...I will just post some pictures from our Easter this year. 

It was a wonderful day getting together with family and celebrating our risen Savior!

Easter morning - checking out his Easter basket!


All dressed up and ready for church!

Cousins.  (How adorable does Hampton look in this picture?!)

Telling secrets :)

My wonderful parents.  So blessed by them!

21 Months...

This month we tried to do several fun things with Watson to enjoy our last few moments as a family of 3.  We decided one Saturday that we were going to have a day full of fun things that W would love so we started out at the Pancake House in Five Points...this boy LOVES pancakes so he was a big fan (as was I...they have gluten free pancakes!)  Then we headed off to the zoo.  Along with the rest of Birmingham.  After standing in line for quite a while, we finally got in and were excited to show Watson all of the animals!  He last maybe 30 minutes :)  Sweet boy was OUT in his stroller...he never naps in the mornings, but of course this would be the time that he did!  It was okay, though...Graham and I thoroughly enjoyed our time with the animals :) 


We spent the next Saturday morning doing a service project with an organization called Both Hands.  A couple in our small group is in the process of adopting, so this was part of their fundraising efforts...and ultimately an incredible ministry opportunity to love on a widow, Ms. Tonia.  Her house was in need of LOTS of work, so we were able to spend the day working on her house and ministering to her.  Amy and Jonathan, our friends adopting, did an incredible job of getting everything set up and making Ms. Tonia feel loved on.  W and I were only able to stay for the morning part due to his sun poisoning from the zoo...yikes...but we loved spending the morning with them! 



Speaking of sun poisoning...W apparently has the most sensitive skin when it comes to detergents, lotions, soaps...everything.  Does anyone know of a good sunscreen made for babies with sensitive skin??  He burns SO easily so it needs to be as high of an SPF as possible...  The only one that I have found is Blue Lizard and it does not cause any reaction, but the highest SPF is 30. 



We also went to see Miss Pattycake when she came in town.  Abby was a BIG fan of the show...Watson was a big fan of the wheelchair lift in the back of the room... We were able to get a picture with Miss Pattycake afterwards, though, so that was good!



Watson's language is developing so much each day.  When we are at home or in the car he talks and talks and talks...then we get around other people and he is silent.  I think we have a bashful boy on our hands :)  You would never know it by the wild man he is at home, though!

Poppa playing with his grandkids...they LOVE him!


It has been a good month, but we have also seen A LOT of this face as well...  Think we're getting close to turning 2?!  :)



We are SO glad that the weather has warmed up...and therefore spend all day, every day, outside.  Sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and balls are our favorite toys these days...sweet boy could play outside with them all day. 



W still adores Abby, and Abby is all about t-shirts right now so they just HAD to put one on before going outside!


His current fascination is with puppies, the dishwasher, trucks, the moon, and airplanes. 



Checking out the never-ending construction at Mana and Poppa's house


Graham and I could not love this boy more - we cannot wait to help him transition into his role as big brother...I pray it will be a smooth, easy and enjoyable transition :)

20 Months...

Not too much has changed over the past month.  The biggest difference...Praise the Lord...is that Watson has gone back to being the wonderful sleeper that he has always been!  I'm not sure what was going on the past couple of months, but we are ALL thankful for full nights of sleep...especially before baby girl comes.  (Well...Graham and W are getting full nights of sleep...I on the other hand am barely sleeping at all...thank you pregnancy insomnia.)



He cracks himself up all day :)  And me too :)



Watson is repeating EVERYTHING these days and copying every single thing that we do.  It is so much fun watching him learn every day.  He is still the most curious child I have ever met...in my life.  He loves trying to figure things out...anything that he can take apart and put back together is his favorite.  I LOVE this about our sweet boy!

The crazy Alabama weather...freeeeeezing one day, hot the next!


Our make-shift water table one afternoon.  Oh how this boy LOVES being outside!!!


"Cheeeeeeeese"


We are working hard on sharing...hard.  I really hope that having a little sister in the house will help him learn this concept...has this been the case for anyone else?!  He does great sometimes, but then other times he refuses to share or even let anyone get close to the toy he is playing with. He is much more in to toys these days though...like I said before, he is more in to taking them apart and putting them back together, but he will keep himself occupied for long periods of time playing with toys...which is different from before when he seemed more interested in doors and cabinets than toys!

One of my best friend's little girls, Alli...love that Kerri and I are able to go through this time in life together! 


We found Watson...clothed...in the bathtub the other night.  Funny to look back on now, but so scary at the time!  We still are not sure how he got in the tub without going head first, but he somehow managed and was SO proud of himself!


Watson and his best friend, Abby.  Love how much these two love each other!


Whining/fits are in full force these days.  We usually have about one good fit a day...especially when he is tired...but then he goes back to being sweet as can be.  I think part of it has to do with the fact that he wants to be able to communicate more than he is able to right now...but we are working hard on that every day and I am seeing a lot of progression as he is pointing1 asking "whas dat" 800 times a day...literally! :)

Shades are our new favorite thing :)




For some reason Watson has become EXTREMELY attached to his paci lately...or as he calls it, his 'saci.'  We are officially in 'saci' bootcamp at our house...and it is not easy!  He can sleep with it...but that is it :)




Sometimes you have to get creative on keeping this boy entertained.  If it involves water, though, he is content as can be!


We have started doing a more formal family worship time at nights with Watson.  We have always read him a Bible story before bedtime, but we are now sitting down together as a family just before bed and reading a story and really talking through it and about it.  Watson always brings us the Jesus Storybook Bible, then gets another one of the Bibles that we have for him and sits in his chair and 'follows along.'  It is precious.  I love this time at nights and pray that we are planting seeds of truth in his heart from an early age. 



Stud.


Leaving church.  I absolutely love watching my parents with Watson and am so incredibly thankful for the relationship that they have with him.

19 Months...

Toddler...we have officially switched over to this title :)  I think the 'books' start the toddler phase at 13 months, but this is the first month where I have felt that we are in full-fledge toddler mode around this house.  Every day I am caught off guard at just how much Watson is learning and picking up on.  There are times when it is sad to me to see the baby phase fading away with him, but it is also so exciting and fun to venture into the journey of toddler-hood with our sweet boy! 



We finally began the process of transforming the guest room in to baby girl's nursery and changing Watson's room around to a big-boy room.  I call it his big boy room because it no longer has the nursery furniture and rocker, but big-boy furniture and a recliner.  He is..though...still in a crib, so I guess it's not technically a "big-boy room" yet :)  We did go ahead and put a twin bed in the room for guests and for W as he gets older.  I will post some pictures of the rooms as they come together - right now they are far from ready, though!  He has done pretty well transitioning..we have been so proud of him!  He is having some issues getting to sleep lately - I feel like we are having to do the CIO phase all over again...anyone else go through this around this age?!  I have heard it is pretty common around 18-20 months to go through a "sleep regression."  Once he is finally asleep he does fine (most nights...), but we are reallllly hoping to be out of this phase sooner rather than later :)  It was actually so bad that I was convinced that he had an ear infection or something that was hurting him - took him to the dr and he checked out perfectly - bad news for W because that means I didn't feel AS bad about letting him cry it out :)   He does wake up really early these days...like 5AM...are our days of sleeping until 8 or 8:30 over?!  I was really hoping those days would continue when baby girl is born... Surely...surely...this is just a phase! 

He is loving playing with all of the baby toys that we are pulling out...oh what an awakening he is in for in just a couple of months!




We have been keeping busy lately...it's amazing how quickly our days fill up with activities!  Between my Mom Time Bible Study at the church, MDO, and Music Class, we really only have two days each week that aren't already full...and we generally have no problem finding plenty to do on those days as well...especially getting the upstairs transformed! 



The weather has been pretty wet and cold lately so our time outside has been extremely limited.  I hate this for W because as I've said before...there is no where he would rather be.  We are both looking forward to Spring and some warmer, sunnier weather! 




Graham has been traveling the majority of the past two months, so we have missed having Daddy around A LOT!  Luckily that will end at the end of this month so we can return to a somewhat normal feeling as a family.

'Spidey' is our best friend these days.


Sweet boy loves being held lately - and gets extremely emotional when someone leaves him...especially his Mana, Poppa, or "Melly".

W thinks it's hilarious to stay in the bed while I make it up in the mornings...usually I will get it all made up with him sitting right here...then he stands up and pushes all the pillows over and cracks up :)



Brushing teeth is still a favorite activity around our house.


He is not talking as much as I would have expected by this age, but I am seeing a lot of progress with his language each day so I am extremely thankful for that!  He still says "Daaa-deeee" and "Maaaa-meeee" all the time...as well as "uh-oh", "shoes", "outside", "funny", "silly", "bye-bye," all done," "all gone," "more," "upstairs," "Poppa," "no," "mine" and some other phrases that we can understand but may be confusing for others :)  "Where did it go?" being one of them...right now it just sounds more like "as;dlkfasdf go?" but he puts his little arms up like he's asking a question and uses it appropriately :)  He understands everything and has no problem following directions so his receptive language is right on track.  I was beginning to be concerned about his expressive language, but have been encouraged over the past week or so with how quickly he is picking up on more words and repeating everything. 

Painting..he prefers using his fingers over this brush, but he did great with it!


Long story...but he loves his bicycle helmet.  Graham..being the 'Prepper' that he is..bought us all helmets for tornadoes.  I laughed, but we actually pulled it out for Watson this month just in case...he was a fan :)


To say that Watson is a mama's boy is quite the understatement.  He very clearly loves his daddy dearly, but he prefers mommy...especially when anything is wrong or for bedtime. 

In deep thought...in his Christmas PJ's...in February... :)


We love this sweet boy with all of our hearts and cannot wait to see him as a big brother!  To think that I only have 10 more weeks to go is just crazy...we are so ready to meet our sweet baby girl!  Oh how I pray and trust that the Lord is preparing us to be a family of four.  It is completely overwhelming to think that the Lord has entrusted two precious lives to us...we pray that they will never fail to see HIS love and HIS character in us as husband and wife, mommy and daddy, and as individuals.