The Arrival of Emerson Marie

On June 30th, 2015, one week and one day before her due date, we welcomed our sweet, little Emerson Marie into the world. She arrived at 10:15 pm, weighing in at 7 lbs 14 oz and measuring 21.25" long.

Throughout the pregnancy I had maintained that she would come early (as a favor to me, perhaps?!), even though I knew it was unlikely for a first time pregnancy. At around 37 weeks I started walking, swimming, eating pineapple (?) ... basically anything that google said would help me go into labor. Every time I got up in the middle of the night to pee, I would hope my water broke, but it never did. Finally, at almost 39 weeks, with only three days left of work before I started my maternity leave, I resigned myself to thinking I'd be better off if I just made it through the week and went into labor closer to my due date.

And then ...

It happened. Only I didn't know it happened. At 38 weeks and 6 days, my water broke at around 9 am in the morning. But instead of a break and a noticeable leak, like I was expecting, it was more of a reeaaallly slow trickle (sorry, TMI). I wasn't sure if my water had broken at all. I stayed home from work and moved up my doctor appointment for that day, just in case my water had indeed broken. But I really didn't think it did.

At 1pm I went to the doctor and described the morning's events. She checked out the goods and then stated so calmly and matter-of-factly that yes, my water had broken, and that I was going to have a baby today. WHAT?! I was instructed to go straight to the hospital, I couldn't even grab my bags from home on the way. Alexis was working so he would have to meet me there with our stuff. The whole thing was surreal.

I arrived at the hospital at around 1:30 pm and got settled while waiting for Alexis, who arrived a couple of hours later. I started to have some contractions and was put on pitocin to get them going even more. Once the contractions started getting stronger and more frequent, I opted for an epidural and instantly felt more relaxed (best. decision. ever.) The doctor eventually came into break my water even more, and the nurses continued to monitor my contractions for the next couple of hours. Most importantly, I asked Alexis to order Jimmy Johns, just in case the cafeteria was closed once the baby was born (this was my worst fear; hours of labor and nothing to eat when it was over. Also, I wanted my first Turkey Tom in 9 months).

When I was almost about ready to push, the doctor was busy delivering another baby via C-section, so we waited and shifted position to get the baby to move down even further. Finally, at around 9:30 pm, we got the okay to start pushing, and 45 minutes later, the doctor was holding up little Emmy for me to see, much like Rafiki held up Simba in the Lion King. I just remember thinking, even at almost 8 lbs, she looked so long and lanky. She was laid on top of me for skin to skin contact, and everything still just felt so surreal. There was no crazy roller coaster of emotions, just a sense of peace, like "we did it. That's our baby."

She was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed little beauty, which neither of us was expecting. I was so worried that she would look nothing like me, and instead she very much resembles the baby pictures of myself and my brother. I can't wait to see what features she gets from her father as she gets older.

I still can't believe the whole process was as easy as it was. Not that there's anything easy about labor, but I had prepared myself for the worst, and at the end of the day, my experience was so relaxed and peaceful, and (thanks to the epidural), far less painful that I had imagined. I feel extremely fortunate to have had such a healthy pregnancy, a safe labor, and a beautiful little girl. Not to mention, a husband that is such a natural at being a father, it blows me away. I simply couldn't be happier with our little family.

The Second Trimester (a look back)

Ahhh, the second trimester ... the easy one, where you just walk around glowing and can't get enough of those little baby flutters in your belly, right? riiiight.

Yes, it was way better than the first trimester, I'll give you that. The nausea and sickness had totally subsided. I could eat normal, healthy foods again, which was great. And I wasn't yet as big as a house, so there's that. But I also found the second trimester to be the surprisingly stressful trimester. Once we found out what we were having (a girl!), we actually had to start thinking about all of those things that we'd been putting off ... like names, and nursery colors, and what the eff stroller are we going to register for?

I'm not a good decision maker. I've always been a chronic over-analyzer and it can be stressful and paralyzing. All of the things I had been looking forward to, like designing a nursery and registering for baby gear, suddenly scared the shiz out of me. I spent hours and hours researching, and then changing my mind over and over and over. I found myself getting angry at my husband because he wasn't helping, but let's face it, I'm so type A that I wouldn't have let him anyway. Luckily there were a few helpful resources that I turned to on a regular basis, and I highly recommend them:

• Cricket's Circle was usually my first stop for a product recommendation because it's just so simple. They only offer up their top 3 picks for each category, and no more. They also give bulleted lists of pros and cons for each. Some of their picks tend to be a bit pricey, but I found the site very helpful. I also love their blog.

• Lucie's List was another favorite, and great when you wanted a second opinion, another option or a little more explanation. You also get timely emails based on where you are in your pregnancy, and I actually found them worth reading.

• My Registry took my registries from Pottery Barn Kids, Land of Nod and Amazon, and combined them all into one list. For me, this made it much easier to manage. I also kept a separate registry with Target, because for some reason I could never get that one to sync. BabyList does the same thing and is probably worth checking out as well.

• And of course Pinterest, for nursery inspiration. Duh.

And with that, somehow we made it. Thank goodness for the internet, no?

And now my friends, I leave you with some parting advice to keep in mind if you happen to be in your second trimester, or will be soon, because there's nothing better than learning from someone else's experience ...


1. Don't eat snacks during meetings at work, unless you want to look down and see said snack all over your (large) boobs and belly. And you probably don't.

2. Don't think you can squeeze into pre-pregnancy spanx just because they "fit" standing up.
I did this, and then upon getting to work, quickly faced the realization that I needed to get those things off, like now. The big question was, attempt to peel them off under my desk, or do it in the bathroom and then have to walk across the office with balled-up spanx in my hand? After failing at getting them to budge under my desk, I opted for the bathroom and nervously attempted to hide them behind a large pad of paper as I walked back. So, just don't. And do yourself a favor and buy some pregnancy spanx, they are the best things ever.

4. Go do things, lots of things, while you still can. Because once you get halfway through the third trimester, you won't want to do much of anything. Trust me.

Planning the nursery

I'm not going to lie, when I found out we were pregnant, decorating the nursery was probably one of the things I was most excited about (right behind the actual baby, of course). The secret interior designer that lives inside of me just could not wait to decorate a room from scratch, top to bottom. 

It was overwhelming at first, mainly because I had a hard time finding anything that I actually liked enough to build a room around. After searching and searching for a crib quilt, I finally asked myself why? Babies don't even use those dang quilts, at least not at first. So I threw out the idea of finding one and instead I just started pulling together things I liked. I went a little beach-y with it, because it just feels right for this time in our lives (we're hoping to buy a vacation home on the beach this year, more on that later). It's soft and feminine and uses pink, which is usually so not me ... but I just love it. I'm sure what we end up with in real life will vary a bit from this board, but the idea will be the same. I can't wait to see how it turns out, and will surely post updates. 

Get the look: flush mount lighting | oyster print | surfer print | flamingo print | pineapple print | crib | side table | ceramic pineapple | glider | pillow | knit pouf | floor lamp | rug | dresser | table lamp | hamper | tassel curtains | polka dot sheets | striped blanket

The First Trimester (what got me through)

The first trimester: How quickly the initial excitement fades as the reality of the "what-the-eff-is-happening-to-my-body" symptoms set in. Between the nausea and the secret-keeping, those first 12 weeks can seem to stretch on forever. Luckily I stumbled upon a few things that helped get me through ...

Lemon and Ginger Tea
Everyone knows that ginger is supposed to help with nausea, but I read somewhere that you need to be taking it on a daily basis before it starts to make a difference. I drank this tea on the regular during those yucky weeks of all day nausea ... and it did seem to help. (Bonus points for the probiotics).

Carbs, carbs, carbs
For awhile there, I wasn't able to stomach anything but simple carbs. I stocked up on crackers, bagels, cereal and anything else that made me feel good. I usually felt best when I had a full tummy, and would sometimes throw up (gross, yes) if I let myself get too hungry.

Forever 21 Longline Knit Camis
I kid you not, I wear one of these almost every day, even now at 24 weeks. I bought one on accident pre-pregnancy (I thought it was a normal length tank), and hardly ever wore it. Once I got pregnant and the belly started to get a little bigger each day, I realized this was the perfect tank to put under all those those shirts that would soon be too short on me. And they're only $4! Stock up on the cheap stuff when you can, because maternity clothes are expen$ive.

BKR Water Bottle
I know you're supposed to drink a lot of water when you're pregnant, and I had been on the hunt for a new water bottle anyways, so I used this as my excuse and went with one of the pretty BKR bottles. There are so many colors to choose from, and I get compliments on my water bottle all the time.

Vitamins
Take your vitamins, y'all! I've been taking this one since before I was pregnant. I hate swallowing pills so I mix my liquid vitamin with a little bit of pomegranate juice and suck it back. I like that it has the DHA in it, so you don't need a separate supplement. Chase it with some OJ or Mango juice if vitamins are making you sick.

Cocoa Butter
Boobies, belly and thighs, everrry day. Never too early to start slathering on the lotion, right?

An Extra Pillow
Congestion is a fun little pregnancy bonus symptom. At night I made sure to prop that head up in an effort to keep the nasal passages a bit clearer.

Rubber Bands
You know, for this fun little my-pants-are-too-tight trick!

Books & Apps
I've been reading the classic What to Expect When You're Expecting, and Your Pregnancy Week by Week, both of which I borrowed from a friend. I also checked in with these two apps every morning: Ovia for updates and it's list of approved/unapproved foods and medications, and Glow for a daily update of what's going on with my baby.

An Understanding Husband 
(This is a big one!) Even though this pregnancy has been pretty drama free on all fronts, I know there were times that my dear husband probably wanted to kill me. The first trimester is full of moments where you just want to lie there, and you can't be bothered to complete even the simplest of tasks. I know it was not fun for him to have (at times) a seemingly helpless wife, and I could sense his frustration, but he loved me anyways and we made it through the tough days.

Fun, right?!

The First Trimester (a look back)

The beginning

So I'll start from the beginning, because I should probably be documenting this little miracle of new life in some way or another, no?! The beginning of the pregnancy would bring us back to October, but if we really start at the beginning of the journey, it's when we decided to start trying for a baby, which was just a few months before that. 2014 marked 7 years of marriage for us. SEVEN YEARS! We got married fairly young, and back when we were just babies ourselves we used to say we'd have kids while we were young, too.  I wanted to wait until after I was 25 and Alexis wanted to do it sooner than that. But as the years passed by, we waited and we waited (much to our parents dismay). The timing was never quite right.

In 2013 we decided to do "one last big trip" before maybe-sorta-kinda being ready to start trying for kids. We spent a gloriously amazing week in Maui that I will never forget ... and then we started planning our next trip, because, duh, "we need to do a Europe trip before kids!" So in May 2014 we spent two weeks in Italy. After that, we knew it was time, because if we didn't do it now, there'd always be "one more thing" to do or see before we did. Pretty soon we started ... well, you know, trying. The problem with that is, I'm the opposite of patient. Once I decide I want something, I want it yesterday. So it wasn't long before I caved and bought an ovulation kit. It was a 2 month kit and I didn't even get through the entire box before, BOOM, the bun was officially cooking in was in the oven. 

We're pregnant

In October we were pregnant, but of course, you don't really know it right away. I kind of assumed it would take several months of trying before it happened. Still, every month I took a pregnancy test, and for October I had a date in my mind on which I would take one, first thing in the morning, just like you're supposed to. However, there was this one particular Monday while walking to my car after work, I had the most overwhelming urge to TAKE ONE NOW. I drove straight home and while Alexis was working, took the only pregnancy test we had in the house. Lo and behold, there was the faintest little line I'd ever seen in my life. You could barely see it. So I drove to Publix where I bought an early predictor test and, yes, there it was, a real line! (well, a cross actually). I was freaking pregnant. 

Sharing the news

I couldn't wait to tell Alexis as soon as he got home from work. While I was out picking up the second pregnancy test, I also bought a "welcome new baby" balloon, so I left it sitting in the garage for when he got home. As much as I wanted to see his face the instant he knew, I also kind of wanted him to have a moment to himself to take it in before I bombarded him. In typical Alexis fashion, his reaction was "no way, you're kidding me, there's no way," even though he knew full well, it's for real. I had both tests on the counter (safely sealed in a plastic baggy) to prove it. We were both so excited and yet it felt so surreal.

The hard part was waiting until 12 weeks to share the news with everyone else. The week of Christmas would be 12 weeks, so we decided to have our families over for a gift exchange where we would drop the bomb. We gave our parents gifts that they had to open at the same time, and each one contained a framed picture of our 8 week ultrasound, with the words "The best parents get promoted to Grandparents" engraved on the front. Upon opening there was a lot of shouting, screaming, and freaking out that ensued, followed by a quiet "what is it?" from my father-in-law. What, that black and white etch-a-sketch looking thing doesn't scream "little grandbaby" to you?! 

The first trimester

Looking back on the entire first trimester, I was extremely lucky to have a (mostly) drama-free pregnancy. There was that one time I went to the doctor for extreme cramps and they couldn't find a baby and told me it could be a molar pregnancy and to come back next week ... but after a week of wondering (and pretending to drink at my sister-in-law's 30th birthday bash, complete with party bus), praise God, they found a baby! And the cramps were gone. Other than that, I had it pretty easy. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't fun. I had food aversions to anything even remotely healthy (which means I ate mostly fast food and packed on 5 more pounds than I was supposed to, right out the gate). There were a few weeks of all day ickiness and nausea, some occasional vomiting, and there was a lot of being tired (can't wait to do this again, y'all!). But I've heard crazy horror stories of extreme nausea lasting for up to 16 weeks, so I'll thank my lucky stars. My symptoms subsided fairly quickly and by week 10 were pretty much gone. By the end of the first trimester, I almost felt ... normal. (We'll see how long that lasts).

To be continued ...

20 weeks!

So tomorrow is officially the halfway mark: 20 weeks down and 20 weeks to go with this pregnancy, but today held all of the excitement as we went in for a checkup and saw a healthy, active baby GIRL! I don't know if I'm not surprised (because I assumed girl from the beginning, as did everyone else we talked to), or shocked (because for sure it would be the opposite of what I thought it was, right?), but either way we are so very, very excited. I didn't know if she would cooperate based on the positioning she was in, and at one point she even shielded her privates with her hand while we tried to look (so modest), but eventually we saw what we needed to see (or at least the ultrasound tech did, because I didn't see much of anything I could make sense of at that angle). Of course we had to stop at Target after dinner where we were each going to pick out one baby girl outfit; I picked the one above, and Alexis left with two outfits because he couldn't decide. She will be a daddy's girl for sure, and I can't wait!

Keepin' it real for Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!  No pretty pink flowers and beautifully wrapped chocolates here ... we celebrated a day early with dinner from my favorite midwestern fast food chain, which has finally made it's way down south to Tampa. Culver's opened earlier in the week just down the street from us, and take note fellas, it is the key to a pregnant woman's heart. Love and butterburgers, what more do you need?!