Emelia, Emelia, Emelia

For the 2 weeks leading up to Emelia coming I had been having TONS of contractions and pre-labor. Our midwife, Suzanne,  kept saying it is going to be fast when the baby does come with all of that happening and sooner than later, but it was hard to be sure of that! I had an appointment on Monday and she was excited that it was going to be soon. That night I had so many contractions I thought it was going to happen too. But once I went to bed, they went away and I felt normal the next morning again. By the next afternoon, I was starting to see a little pattern but nothing too much. We went for a walk and then I went to knitting where some of the girls were happy to see me and some were a little nervous. When I got home the contractions were getting more even and we went for a walk and called the hospital. They said to wait for a while longer so Garrick went to bed and I tried to sleep. By 1AM we were calling our neighbor to come over and my mom to get her ready to come. At the hospital when they checked- I was already at 8cm- almost set to go. Suzanne got there in about 10 minutes too- she said she wasn't going to wait either to get in! After about an hour of labor, walking and in the tub I was getting ready to start pushing. Suzanne told me I had to get out of the tub- no water births at our hospital... even though she'd be fine with it. So we got out, sat up in bed with my feet below me and pushed. It took a while... not sure how long, but before the last push Suzanne asked me if I wanted to catch her since I was sitting up and I said SURE! So, one more push and I got to catch my own little baby! I set her on my tummy and we snuggled for a few minutes before someone asked- BOY or GIRL? It was so neat to get to see for myself that we had a little Emelia. This was so different than Pete's birth since I wasn't induced. Overall I think that it was easier and a little faster even though I had been in labor for 2 weeks probably already. 

Stats: 6 pounds 6 ounces 19.5 inches long 37.5 weeks

Suzanne with the baby and me-- she is AMAZING (it is as this point I realize that I don't have a picture of me and G and Emi...)

The other thing that we decided to do differently was to check out of the hospital the same day as long as everyone was ready to go. I knew I could rest at home better and that Petey would like to have us there sooner than later as well. Some of the nurses thought that we were crazy and some thought it was a great idea... I am happy that we did that- it is funny though that we sometimes had to stop and say- oh yeah, she IS just a day old- not 2 or 3 like some babies are when they come home. I had the best support that I could have asked for- just one nurse who was  great, Suzanne who just knows what to say and do and how to encourage and motivate and Garrick who does all of the above and relaxes me, backs me up and makes sure that we are all on the same page.

We are so THANKFUL to have a beautiful healthy family and are so greatful for all of our friend's and family's support, love, prayers, thoughts, toys for Pete, gifts for Emmy, food for us and TIME spent. It is more than we could think of or ask for.