Emery - 1 Month

A little update about Emery's first month of life-

one week old

one month old

 Emery has been such a joy and a wonderful baby.  I think Nick and I had really low expectations for parenthood.  We were expecting a baby that screamed and cried a lot and being so tired that we couldn't think straight- both of which very well could have happened.  But Emery has pleasantly surprised us.  She is laid back and easy going and has been a great eater and sleeper.  Pair that with lots of help from her Grammy and the rest of our family and we have had a very easy transition into being parents.  Plus, no one can possibly explain how much you are going to love your child and that makes every middle of the night feeding and poopy diaper a joy.  We have been trying to enjoy every little moment because the time is already flying!

Eating:  From the first time Emery nursed, she just got it.  All the nurses in the hospital couldn't believe what a good little eater she was.  I feel very blessed that this has been so easy.  She eats every 2-3 hours  (or more when she's going through a growth spurt) and will let you know when she is hungry!  There were times that first month when I thought she couldn't possibly be hungry because she had just had a great feeding, but turns out she was.  She got her first bottle around three weeks.  Nick gives her a bottle every night around 10:30 as a "dream feed."  She took it like a dream and never seemed to notice the difference.  This way I could go to bed and get a longer stretch of sleep.  Nick loves feeding her, so it works out well for all of us!

Sleeping:  Emery was very sleepy the first few weeks, which I think is pretty normal newborn behavior.  She slept most of the day and pretty well at night.  Since the very beginning she has been sleeping in her room.  The first couple weeks she slept in her bassinet but then transitioned to the crib no problem.  Nick and I would both go in multiple times a night to check on her.  She would wake up around 1:00 and then again around 4:00 or so to eat.  Sometimes she would want to stay up and party in the middle of the night.  Grammy stayed with us a lot those first few weeks and she was a lifesaver.  I would get up and feed Emery and then pass her off to Grammy and go back to bed. Grammy would change her and then put her back to sleep (or stay up if Emery wanted to party.)  That way we all got pretty good sleep.  

Nick was able to take off a little over a week to stay with us and then work shorter hours for a few weeks after that.  It was such a special time and I cried when he had to go back to work.

First Easter in her bunny gown- 3 weeks

Emery had lots of family and friends come visit her that first month.  Her aunt, uncle and four cousins even came all the way from London to see her!  Her big cousins were so sweet with her, wanting to hold her and share their toys with her.  I am so thankful she has them to grow up with!

Emery would get a sponge bath every night in the sink.  She started out hating it so much but after the first few times she grew to love it, especially having her hair washed.  

First bath at home

Some times when Grammy stayed with us I would wake up in the morning and Emery would have a new outfit or a hair bow in her hair.  Her and Grammy would play dress up while we were sleeping.  I called it her middle of the night makeovers :)

A preemie size outfit since all her newborn clothes were too big at first.

first hair bow 

We watched a lot of basketball those first few sleep deprived weeks- ACC and NCAA tournament time

Sleepy girl!

We had an unusually cold March this year.  Emery spent a lot of time in this sweet hat her Aunt Laurie knitted for her.

Emery saw the pediatrician at 5 days old, 2 weeks old and 1 month old all for well checks.  She gained her birthweight back very quickly and each time the doctor told us she was perfect!  Of course we agree :)  At one month she had to get the second hep b vaccination.  We both cried.  After a minute or two she was back to normal!  We are so thankful for a healthy baby.  

Growth-

1 month

Weight- 9 lbs 9 oz- 57th percentile

Height- 21 inches 39th percentile

size newborn clothes

Emery Kate Scheuer

Emery Kate Scheuer was born on Monday March 11, 2013 at 5:03 pm.  She weighed 7 pounds and 2 ounces and was 20.5 inches long.  She is absolutely perfect and we are so in love with her!

Emery was exactly a week late.  In fact I was scheduled to be induced that Monday morning.  My doctor scheduled the induction the week before, but kept saying she doubted I would make it that long. Well, Sunday the day before the induction, I was still very pregnant and also feeling uneasy about being induced.  Nick and I were really hoping and praying that Emery would decide to come all on her own but it seemed like we were running out of time.  We spent the day doing things around the house and had a romantic dinner of grilled steaks.  It was a strange feeling going to bed knowing that tomorrow was the big day.  The hospital would call between 5 and 8 am to let us know when to come in.
Around 4 in the morning I woke up in pain.  I tried not to get to excited, but then when another one came about 10 minutes later I knew I was having contractions!  I would walk through the contractions and then lay back down and try to sleep in between.  Finally I woke Nick up at 6 to tell him I was in labor!  I took a shower and packed up last minute things.  We sat on the couch and watched the Today show for distraction and timed the contractions. When the hospital called around 8:30 to tell us to come on in we happily informed them that I was in labor and would see them soon!  All morning we had been talking to Nick's mom on the phone. She warned us that we shouldn't wait too long because I could progress quickly and the hospital was 45 minutes away.  Right after that conversation the contractions became quite painful and I decided it was time to go.  While Nick showered and packed the car I paced the house, telling him I wasn't sure I was going to be able to sit in the car.   I made it in the car, but did not speak the whole way to the hospital.

They had a room waiting for us when we got there and we checked in immediately.  Labor progressed pretty quickly.  After the epidural, I was able to enjoy the day.  Nick and I were able to visit with our family and he even caught a quick nap.  Around 4:00 the doctor informed us it was time to push!  I remember thinking "okay this is really happening!"  After 30 minutes we met our sweet Emery Kate for the first time!  Words can't express what an incredible experience that was.  I will never forget it!

Now for tons of pictures!

Seeing Emery for the first time.  She stared right at me.

Such a proud dad!

Our little family

Meeting her Aunt Laurie

Proud grandfather

Meeting her Grammy

Learning how to swaddle from the expert

Sweet sweet girl!

Wednesday morning we were discharged from the hospital.  Emery did great in the car and didn't even make a peep!  It was surreal leaving the hospital with a baby.  We kept saying "I can't believe they are letting us take her home!"

 




More to come soon!

Nursery- Before and After

For the last several months, Nick and I have been working on the nursery.  We knew we wanted something fairly neutral and calm.  We both love the way that it turned out!  Before we get to the good stuff, here are some before pictures.  Just keeping it real-  this room was pretty much a junk room/ storage space up until Christmas break when we finally cleared it out and painted.

Before-  no closet doors, bright blue inside closet...

And now for the after-

My MIL Chris and I found the fabric for the curtains and fell in love with it.  It provided the inspiration for the rest of the room.  Nick and I painted the walls a neutral tan color (as well as the inside of the closet).  We (Nick) also hung doors on the closet which makes a huge difference and switched out the ceiling fan for a chandelier.  I found the chandelier at a yard sale and Nick spray painted it for me.  I hung little crystals on it to finish it off.

Chris made the curtains and I just love the way they turned out!

I made the bird mobile one weekend when I needed a project.  The birds are cut from card stock and hung from a branch from the yard.

I found some free printables online and we printed and framed them for above the crib.

The crib was actually mine from when I was a baby!  My dad saved it for us all these years.  Nick cleaned it up and painted it.   We also added a fluffy rug that makes the room so cozy!

I love how calm and relaxing this room is!  I love just siting in the rocking chair and day dreaming about the baby and what she will be like.  This quickly turned into my favorite room in the house!  I love how everything came together.

It is all ready for whenever she decides to make her appearance!

Me and baby at 40 weeks- on my due date.  

We are ready whenever you are!

Pregnancy Progress

So, now that I am almost at the end of this pregnancy, I decided to go back and document it a little bit.  I can honestly say that I have loved being pregnant and I think I will really miss it! I have tried to really enjoy each stage for what it is. Warning- this will be long!

Looking back-

First Trimester-  From the moment Nick and I found out we were going to be parents, we were thrilled. We were a scared and nervous too, but so thankful that God was giving us this opportunity.  Soon after finding out I was pregnant, I started feeling sick.  Thankfully I was never throw-up-sick but was nauseous all day.  I pretty much hated food- which is not normally the case at all!  I had plenty of aversions- coffee and vegetables were the main ones but really nothing sounded good to me, not even dessert.  The only things I wanted were chicken noodle soup and crackers, baked potatoes and egg sandwiches.  Nick couldn't believe how much chicken noodle soup I ate, especially considering it was the middle of the summer and 100 degrees.  On top of being nauseous I was exhausted!  It's a lot of work to grow a baby!  I also started getting up a lot in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, which became very common.  I could still wear all my regular clothes throughout the first trimester although towards the end I noticed my stomach poking out more (although I'm probably the only one that could see it!)

The best day was going to the doctor for the first time and seeing the little baby on the ultrasound.  There was actually a baby in there! Nick and I were blown away! Words cannot describe that moment, such a miracle!

We also bought a house while all this was going on.  We closed on the house, cleaned it from top to bottom and started turning it into our first home.

Second Trimester-  I finally started feeling better around 14-15 weeks.  It's amazing how good it feels to feel "normal" after feeling so bad for so long!  Slowly food became appealing again although it took a few weeks to find the energy to cook real meals.  I do remember one week in particular that I cooked dinner several nights in a row and Nick was so excited to have a "cooking wife" again!  I was excited too.  My energy picked back up as well.  I was still able to wear most of my regular clothes for most of the second trimester, using a belly band to keep wearing my jeans.  Towards the end I started wearing more and more maternity clothes.  Thankfully my sis-in-law Cait gave me tons so I didn't have to buy much!  I felt great throughout the second trimester and slept really well too.

Around 18 weeks I started wondering if I could feel the baby move.  I wanted to so badly, so I would lay still waiting for any sign.  Soon after there was no denying that I could feel her.  Nick was able to feel her around 21 weeks although she was quite shy and would stop moving whenever he got close.  We found out at 20 weeks that our little "Leroy" as we had affectionately been calling the baby was a girl!  We were amazing to see her again on the ultrasound.  We were able to start imagining what our life would be like with a little girl!

Around 18 weeks and starting to show!

At the gender ultrasound my blood pressure was high.  The doctors had me do a 24 hour urine sample and ended up sending me to a high risk doctor for another ultrasound to be monitored there.  I was really, really scared that something was wrong.  They were just being very careful to make sure I didn't have preeclampsia.  Everything looked great with the baby and they determined that I probably had "white coat hypertension" or anxiety around doctors (which is true!) that was causing high blood pressure.

We continued working on our house- painting almost every room, replacing the kitchen counter tops (Nick and his dad) and making it into our home.  All along the way we were dreaming about what it would be like to have a baby around.

Third Trimester-  I still feel really good even towards the end of the third trimester.  I don't sleep great because I am awakened by leg cramps and having to go to the bathroom a lot, but thankfully I'm able to go back to sleep.  I started craving peanut butter, milk, and pancakes with maple syrup (which is something I normally don't like!)  We have been having pancakes for dinner at least once a week recently, something Nick is happy about.  I never have liked breakfast for dinner until now.

I continued to be monitored by my regular doctor as well as the high risk doctor.  I had to do several more 24 hour urine samples.  While this was a little frustrating and time consuming, I did have monthly ultrasounds to check the baby which was so reassuring.  We were able to see her grow, have hiccups and suck on her hand!  Last Friday I went in to the high risk doctor and he (finally) said I was done there and didn't have to come back!  He said I looked great and so did the baby.

Registering with Cait and our nephew Luke.  He helped us test out the gear!

Over Christmas break Nick and I started working on the nursery.  It has been a slow process but it is finally coming together.  I will share more on this soon!  Nick's mom and I washed all her little clothes last week and put them away.  I find myself just stopping in there all the time daydreaming about what it will be like when she gets here.

In January I had two wonderful showers.  I felt so loved and celebrated and we were blessed with so much of what we needed!  The past few weekends have been spent getting the last minute things we need and checking things off our to-do list.  Nick installed the carseat this past weekend, so I have been driving around with it in my car- crazy!  We have also just been enjoying our last few days as a couple, going out to eat, seeing movies and taking lots of naps.

I am now 38 weeks and so our baby girl could come any day!  We are excited and anxious at the same time.  We are praying for a smooth delivery and a healthy baby.

37 weeks- need to get some better pics before she gets here!

We will keep you updated!

Grayson Highlands

All the way back in December Nick and I decided to go backpacking at Grayson Highlands in Virginia.  We wanted to celebrate Nick's birthday and also enjoy one more backpacking trip before we welcome our baby girl.  The weather was perfect and we had the best time being together and enjoying one of our favorite places.

We saw the wild ponies that live up on the mountain.  They just roam around.  Nick got close enough to feed them.

We ended up hiking a good ways- about 2 1/2 miles one way.  I felt pretty good up until the end when I started to get tired.  Nick being the gentleman that he always is ended up carrying my pack for the last mile or so.  His words were "you carry our baby, I'll carry your pack."  What a great husband :)

We made it to a great spot up on the ridge at Three Peaks just in time for the sunset- so beautiful!

This was taken after we made it safely back to the car.  Me and baby at around 28 weeks- her first camping trip!  I am sure there are many more in her future! 

Ocracoke, NC

Towards the end of October,  Nick had a conference on Ocracoke Island.  I decided to tag along and we planned on staying a few extra days after the conference.  Our inn was simple and quaint, perfect for what we needed with a beautiful view of the marina.  Everything in the village was within walking distance.

Every morning we would ride our bikes to the cutest little coffee shop.  It was a house with a huge yard full of adirondack chairs and all the locals standing on the front porch talking.  Each day we would get our coffee and a delicious muffin and relax in the chairs.  Then we would head to the beach for a walk all before Nick had to be at his conference.

sunrise over the marina

walkway to the beach- from this point on the island you could see both the ocean and the sound

The beach was endless!  There are not any houses right on the beach on Ocracoke and it's beautiful.  The weather was unseasonably warm and so while Nick was in his conference, I spent the day on the beach!  When he was finished we would head back to the beach for a bit and then to dinner.

Unfortunately, we had to cut our trip short.  Hurricane Sandy was coming through and they were stopping all ferry service to and from the island.  We caught the last ferry out Saturday morning.  Even though it was shorter than planned we had such a great time and can't wait to go back.