Emma Madison Powell has arrived!!

Born December 4, 2010 at 10:20 am weighing 8 pounds, 8 ounces and 21 inches long, Emma is finally here! And she is precious as ever...

If we ever questioned "love at first sight" before, we have no doubt in our minds that it exists now. The moment they cut the cord and placed her on my chest, I was in love... and Daddy was already wrapped around her finger! :) She is truly a blessing and it is true what women say... all the labor pain is completely forgotten the moment your little one is in your arms. I would do it all over again 10 times over knowing the end result. For nine months I was eager to meet this little being in my belly, and towards the end was becoming impatient and wanting her to come sooner than later. Now that she is here I want to freeze time so she can stay this little forever!! We can't get enough of her.

The story...everyone keeps asking me how my labor and delivery went - just as my pregnancy was one of the easiest pregnancies ever, so was my labor. Completely natural, no pain meds and absolutely no complications. The worst of it was going in with a migraine! Yes, I was battling a migraine when my water broke, go figure. On our way to the hospital, contractions kicked in and migraine was getting worse. First thing I asked my nurse when we get admitted is if there is anything non narcotic that will take care of the migraine and nausea because the last thing I wanted was to be vomiting as I delivered. Unfortunately we couldn't prevent one bout of vomiting but they were able to quickly turn that around with some anti nausea stuff and knocked out my migraine with some non-narcotic something or other...whatever it was I want it in pill form!  So with the best nurses ever, an excellent doctor and the most amazing labor "coach" (aka Daddy), 12 hours of labor and our little angel was delivered. Matt was amazing through the whole thing. We had taken Lamaze classes and he really took in everything we learned and applied it in the delivery room. When it came time to push, he was so excited, encouraging me, calming me and working so well with the nurse to make it as comforting as possible. The look of excitement on his face during the whole process kept me going. The moment Emma came, his excitement turned to utter amazement, a pure look of "awe" and he was speechless. He remained that way for a little while afterward as well...

She had a lot of family waiting to meet her and we are so grateful for the love and support we received! I don't have pictures of EVERYONE who visited her in the hospital and after but will post some of what I do have...

Grandma, Grandpa and Daddy

Grandpa Nelson

Staring up at Grandma...

Uncle Jayson

Those were just a few of who visited and for the others, there will be plenty of picture opportunities to come I am sure!! Don't think you escaped the blog just yet... ;)

Now, Emma is almost 2 weeks old. How time flies! So far her schedule has consisted of eating, sleeping and of course, diaper changes!! She likes to mumble in her sleep, makes a lot of facial expressions with her mouth and eyebrows and stares in such a curiosity we wonder what she is thinking. For the first week I actually had to set my alarm to feed her, otherwise she would have slept through her feedings. Now into her second week she seems to be waking on her own every three hours to eat, she will engage and interact with us for a few minutes and then right back to sleep! She has such a calm demeanor about her and rarely cries. Even when she is hungry she just gnaws at her hand and maybe fusses a bit to make sure we hear her but the only time we've seen her cry is if she gets startled by a loud noise. And just as she was a kicker in my belly...she is still a kicker! Instead of crying, it seems she kicks - so much so that she has at times kicked herself out of a tight swaddle hahaha

As each day passes we watch her and learn more about her, curious about what her future holds but embracing today; holding on to this time as much and for as long as possible.

Baby Shower for Emma Madison Powell!

October 9th, 2010 - my beautiful sister Shannon and her Hubby put on a great baby shower for me. Some great friends and family came. I will be forever grateful to EVERYONE who participated and those special memories will be stored for our baby girl to see. Another development, as you may have seen in the title of this post, Matt and I have decided on a name...finally ;) Emma Madison... we have many people telling us that may change once she is born; we'll see but for now we really like this name and of ALL of the names he and I have considered, this is the only one we've agreed on yet haha To me it seems classic and soft. 

Here are some pics from the shower...

This is the cake made by Alma... Had to include the Gecko for "Geico" (for those of you who don't know, Matt works for Geico and it is his running nickname/alter ego ;) 

Matt trying to "introduce" the cake haha gotta love him! 

Matt and his dad - Grandpa Powell

Grandma and Grandpa Powell - Emma is one lucky grandchild! :)

Auntie Jenny, Grandma Powell and Daddy :) 

Grandma P, Mommy and Auntie! Emma finally moved for Grandma at the baby shower... she decided she'd not be so stubborn anymore on her special day ;) 

Emma's beautiful cousin Kylie! 

Some random pics of people at the shower... 

 Buddy, Alma, Yvette and Aunt Jenny    Grandpa Nelson is in the far left (back) standing :)

Uncle Jayson and Aunt Amber doing the "Diaper" Game... 

The boys doing the beer bottle game - Jason (far right) bit the nipple and won! Slick move...
Uncle Chad is the second one from the left... then Uncle Jayson, Grandpa Nelson and Daddy :)

Auntie Alma and Auntie Yvette

The girls doing the beer bottle game... Alma got the bit nipple! 

This is the only pic that we have of the hostess and beautiful Auntie Shannon with Zackary (making a funny face), Kylie and Me... opening presents 

Unfortunately I also didn't get any good pics of Grandpa Nelson, Grandma Nelson, Uncle Chad and Uncle Greg but they were all there and I appreciate them just as well! I'll have to post pics of them in a later post if I can ;)

Baby Emma, Matt and I love you all!!

Third Trimester... the final lap!

It's been a while since the last post so here goes! This third trimester has been a busy one!! Aside from the regular hussle and bussle of getting everything needed for the baby, we also moved into a new house - a bigger place to bring baby home. A month later and we are still trying to get the house set up! So much to do...

Other than that, this trimester has gone off without a hitch! Migraines are non-existent, yay!! Aside from the normal aches and pains that comes with a human growing in your belly, this trimester is so far the easiest :)  I have, however, been feeling the fatigue. Being that it is hard to get a good night's sleep from the discomfort it is really hard to get out of bed in the morning and drag myself in to work haha then after a 10 hour shift I am pretty much useless by the time I get home. Hence the length of time it has taken us to get set up in our new home. Oh, and of course, the swelling of the ankles! I can't see my feet too well these days but flintstone feet have surfaced...so much so that some of my shoes don't fit anymore! As often as I can, I wear sandals, even in the rain we've been having :)

Matt and I also started Lamaze classes. When we signed up they said it is for five Tuesdays, 2.5 hours each class. My first thought was how much can they really talk about breathing?? So going in to our first class I was curious as to how they would be stretching this information over five weeks...little did we know, they actually teach you a lot more than just breathing! Not only do they teach the moms pain management, breathing and what to expect before, during and even after labor but the instructor is tough on the "coaches" aka dads! haha She has a few lessons for them to fall in line during delivery to save their lives from what could be an irate mom ;) I thought it would be a tough sell to get Matt to go to these classes but he seems to like them. I think they are somewhat of an eye opener and may give him comfort in knowing what is going to happen once that day comes. He and I are both increasingly excited and anxious for her to come.

Not only are we anxious for her to arrive but so are friends and family.... and sometimes I think she is eager too! Lately she has been moving sooo much! It feels like she doesn't have any more room to move in my belly. When she moves, sometimes, it's like she is literally trying to crawl out of my stomach through my belly button (which is pretty much non existent these days). Matt will tap on my belly a few times and then pull his hand back... a few seconds later she starts hitting/kicking the spot he was tapping. And she is most active in the morning when I get to my desk at work. Her every movement is very obvious with my belly being deformed in various shapes. Here is a picture from my angle sitting at my desk where it seems she is stretching her leg out or maybe sticking her butt out ;)

Lucky for me, she is usually only awake and moving when I am awake and when it is time for me to go to sleep, she stays pretty still. Good girl! ;) Let's see if that habit continues when she arrives...

As of today we have 6 weeks, 3 days left! That is if she stays in there until Dec 6th - myself, as well as majority of everyone else thinks she is coming early! I have a little anxiety over delivering but I am way more excited to meet her which overshadows that nervous feeling.

More to come!

Just for fun...

So a co-worker introduced me to this site called "morphthing" where you can put mug shots of two individuals and it will morph them into an image; whether it be a combination adult pic or as Matt and I chose to do, a picture of what your baby would look like. Of course this site is strictly for fun and entertainment and those who choose to use it can't take it too seriously so we thought it would be fun to post it on the blog. Keep in mind, our mug shots provided were somewhat distorted and not the best pictures but I don't want to change it because the result was somewhat comedic! In my opinion, not what our baby will look like at all but interesting how they take your facial features and combine them... Keep in mind we are having a girl and the picture they morphed for us is a boy. Also, neither of us have brown eyes! I'm crossing my fingers our baby girl is blessed with Matt's gorgeous blue eyes. Anyways, thought we would share! hahaha

Those Notorious Cravings and Dislikes... (up to the 25th week)

Everyone knows pregnancy comes with those special cravings, dislikes and other miscellaneous nuances and this pregnancy is no different. While the cliche "pickles and ice cream" craving hasn't hit me yet, although I don't think I'd mind a serving of that sweet and salty combo ;) there are other ones worth mentioning...

First, we'll start with cravings. The list might be small now but I anticipate it will expand here in the near future!

• My main craving - Mexican Food! She loves barbacoa (Chipotle) and spices. It's a no fail solution when someone asks "what does the baby want to eat?" because we know it's all about the baby now :) Also, there is this place by my work that sells these "pork chili verde cheese fries" that taunt me almost weekly! Being that mexican food, and these chili cheese fries aren't of the healthiest nature, I have to refrain from tending to my cravings sometimes but the baby wants what she wants....and I can't necessarily deprive her.... right? ;) So far so good, we found healthy alternatives to suffice her desires for most days and like most of us girls, she gets her "cheat days" haha
• Now, I don't know if I can blame this one on the pregnancy because I have always been one to have a sweet tooth BUT now more than ever I want sweets all day every day! Ice cream, cookies, carrot cakes (with extra icing!!), and more recently (25th week) banana cream pies. I have yet to give in to the cakes and pies craving but I almost always have a supply of ice cream in the freezer and my kitchen staff at work doesn't run short of my white chocolate macadamia nut cookies :) Again, another craving I have to limit my portions but baby girl is a bugger sometimes when she doesn't get what she wants... I mentioned her movements, yea, she kicks like no other!
• On to some of the more healthy cravings... she looooovvvveeesss fruit. Honeydew melon, strawberries, cantelope and pineapple to be specific. We could eat that all day long and be happy campers! In fact, it has become part of my daily kitchen request - a side of fruit that we tend to munch on throughout the day. This week (25th week) we have been eating lots of bananas (they help with those midnight charlie horses/leg cramps!) and oranges.
• Lastly, I think about 85% of my mornings since I became pregnant have consisted of wheat toast with peanut butter and a yogurt. I don't know if it is the peanut butter or the toast and one would think I'd get sick of it but nope! Every morning when I wake up, for the most part, she is asking for wheat toast with peanut butter. Sometimes of course she wants waffles, pancakes or cereal, but wheat toast and peanut butter are always a sure hit! So, see, she's not that much of a junk food eater... she has a sense of healthy eating too ;)

And of course, we have to mention the dislikes. This list is much shorter...

• Since pretty much day one, no chicken! The sight of chicken, the smell of chicken, grilled, fried, baked, boiled, raw (especially raw!)... my tummy turns. She is in no way interested in eating that precious bird... I was thinking maybe I have a vegetarian on my hands but nope, she does like the red meats (sorry Grandma Powell and Auntie Jenny haha). And she isn't one for veggies...
• Before pregnancy I loved vegetables in all forms, especially raw and dipped in ranch but steamed, grilled or cooked any way was always one of my favorites. Unfortunately, early in the first trimester, I discovered that eating cucumbers, brocolli, or salads, pretty much anything green, made me sick. And not just sick while eating and shortly after, but sick for a couple days. So we have had to work around that with, for example carrots and yellow squash instead of green squash (if we can find it). Fortunately though, into my 20th week I was able to finally eat a salad! And it was soooo so yummy. How I took those for granted before. She still isn't too keen on raw green veggies but I've managed to muscle down steamed veggies here and there just fine so we are making progress!
• Another thing... pizza. Who doesn't like pizza? This baby definitely doesn't like pizza. And she tortures me for hours if I ever attempt to eat it! So guess what, after she is born, I want a big pizza party! haha

That's about it for now... I am sure I will add more to this rounding out my second trimester and into my third. Friends have already prepped Matt for those midnight cravings that will supposedly send him out to the streets in the middle of the night; he's not too excited for that :)

Some pregnancy pics...

22 weeks along...

23 weeks along...

25 weeks along... 

Second Trimester...

This trimester got off to a good start... nausea no longer an issue, energy seems to be coming back and migraines seem to be fading. Oh, and those emotional tantrums and tearful explosions were a little more manageable ;) Doctor's appointment on May 25th (second one which would still be considered first trimester, 12 weeks along) shows a very active baby; moving so much the doctor has a hard time catching up to find the heartbeat with the sonogram instrument! Good sign for health reasons but parents beware haha Everything sounded great, heart beat still pumping at about 160 beats per minute and mommy-to-be finally gained a pound. 

It was around my 14th week I started to notice a pooch. Well, let's be honest, it was more than just a "pooch", it was a belly in the making. Clothes were still fitting but they were tighter than normal so next stop, bigger pants! My sister Shannon and I decided to go buy some shirts and pants that weren't quite maternity but were a couple sizes bigger than what I normally wear to give my belly room to grow into. Also, they have this new thing out called a "belly band" that literally wraps around your pants so on that fateful morning when you can no longer button your pants, you strap on the belly band and it holds them up for you while providing the comfort of maternity pants! Greatest invention. Still into my 25th week I am able to wear my pre pregnancy jeans because of this lil gadget. I mentioned in the first trimester I had to remind myself I was pregnant because of no physical signs... well that was no longer the case here! Buying bigger clothes and seeing the belly form day by day was reality enough :) 

Now we sit and wait for our ultrasound appointment to make sure the baby is healthy and of course to find out the sex!! Matt finally came around to wanting to know the sex for fear the baby was a girl.... he felt he would have to mentally prepare for that haha. From day one I thought it was a girl but funny enough he and I only had a boy name picked out. The ultrasound was scheduled for July 9th (one day after Grandma Powell's birthday and one day before mine... a great bday present!). My oldest sister came with us along with her three kids (16 year old nephew, 9 year old niece and 5 year old nephew). First the tech asks me to go in alone while she does the diagnostic portion of the ultrasound. Having had to drink a lot of water and hold my bladder for this procedure, the ultrasound instrument pushing on my belly was not very comfortable! While laying there, I look at the tech's expressions for any insight as to what she might be seeing on the screen since I couldn't view the screen. She kept letting out sighs, tilting her head and readjusting the instrument. All these signs would lead one to be concerned that maybe something is wrong but no, with a full bladder I was completely sure that the problem was an active baby moving so much that she couldn't get the still shots she needed. Sure enough, she finally said she was having difficulty because the baby was moving so much! Again... parents beware ;) Once that is done, she leaves to bring family in to find out the sex of the baby. For this part she turns the screen so we can all see... to see our baby, more human like than the first ultrasound, moving it's head, arms and kicking like crazy was the most amazing feeling. My niece saw how much she was kicking and immediately said "soccer player!" :) It took a few attempts to get a good view of that "tell all region" but low and behold, it's a girl! I immediately glance at Matt's face and he is in disbelief. He's not sure what to think at that point.

While it took a couple days, or weeks for that matter, for Matt to accept we were having a girl, I think he is now embracing it. He knows she will be "Daddy's Little Girl" and will have him wrapped so tight around her pinkie. I am so excited for them to meet :) We still have yet to finalize her name so for now she is "Baby Girl Powell". 

First Trimester...

My first trimester went relatively smooth. Once news gets out that you are expecting, you always hear the "horror" stories of morning sickness, fatigue, sensitivity to smells, foods, etc... Lucky for me, 6 weeks of minor nausea and extreme fatigue putting me to bed by 7pm every night was about it for me. Nothing some crackers, ginger drinks, 7UP and 10 hour nights of sleep couldn't cure! AND it only lasted 6 weeks! BUT the one thing I did experience were migraines. Having suffered migraines since a very young age, I was used to popping some ibuprofren, drinking lots of caffein and taking a nap to cure the pain....unfortunately two of the three were no longer an option and Tylenol gives me adverse affects so let the suffering begin! There was a period I was getting 2 migraines a week... debilitating migraines that would leave me bed ridden. Into the second trimester though, these would eventually fade. Still I consider myself to have probably one of the easiest pregnancies ever recorded in history ;) 

Now that the first trimester was coming to an end it was time to tell my boss and co-workers. They were all just as excited as family and friends! And since that day have been spoiling me with food and treats. Turns out I am not the only one who is pregnant though! This seems to be the start of another baby boom which is odd considering the recession and all but that's how it seems to be working out. So the few of us in the office (and those I know outside of the office) who are expecting have been able to share stories and experiences. It's been helpful to say the least! 

Having not gained weight, the reality of being pregnant didn't really settle in during the first trimester. Although we knew that there was definitely a growing baby in there, I had to sometimes remind myself that I was pregnant and each time the thought crossed my mind was just as surreal as the moment we found out. Aside from the minor nausea and fatigue, there were no other physical symptoms of pregnancy but wow, did the emotional symptoms kick in ten fold! Not being a cryer on a normal day, I found myself crying over spilled milk... The slightest lyric of death, heartbreak, even joy and happiness had me bawling like a baby, if something didn't go exactly as I wanted or planned, there were the waterworks and/or angry tantrums and poor Matt had to deal with the brunt of it even if it wasn't his fault (sorry babe). This fluctuation in emotions had me questioning my sanity at times but then Matt and I would get a moment of brief sanity and he'd help me realize it's just the pregnancy. Thank you to him for being so understanding and patient!! :)

Overall, the first trimester was easier than expected and the excitement for the changes and new developments during the second trimester was kicking in. I very much was waiting for the day the doc scheduled the ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby but Matt on the other hand wanted it to be a surprise on the day of delivery. I promised him I would keep it a secret if I found out but curiosity got the best of him when friends decided to taunt him with the thought of having a girl (he desperately wanted a boy)... 

From the beginning...

It was a Sunday morning, April 18th to be exact when Matt and I discovered that our lives were changing... for the better of course...and it was a big surprise, but a pleasant one! To be honest, we had no inclination to test for pregnancy until our friend Yvette decided to "joke" about the possibility the night before when I wasn't feeling so well and with no good explanation. Considering we had our playoff games for soccer scheduled this particular Sunday, we figured maybe taking a test would be ideal... sure enough! There we saw two pink lines...to our utter surprise. Once the initial shock faded, and the second test came back with the same two pink lines (for confirmation of course) the planning began. The next day doctor's appointments were scheduled and the many changes to take place in order to provide a good, healthy growing environment for the lil one began. The realm of emotions that swarmed over us are hard to describe but for mommy-to-be, anxiousness was the overwhelming emotion - anxious to see the doc, to hear the heartbeat, to hear that beautiful date of the baby's expected arrival and jumping forward to finding out the sex.

The picture above is the first ultrasound at our first doctor's appointment. Estimated 8 weeks, 2 days, April 29th (original due date was Dec 7th but after the 18 week ultrasound, they bumped it up a day). Although the tests were confirmation that there was a beautiful little being in my belly, seeing this ultrasound and hearing her heartbeat at 163 beats per minutes was so surreal. It was love at first sight! Matt's eyes lit up and he grinned this grin which was so expressive that pretty much summed up all emotions into one expression.

Finally, almost two weeks of this information to ourselves, we can tell close friends and family!! It was so hard keeping it a secret but seeing and hearing the excitement from friends and family upon the news of our newly expected baby were moments I wish I could have recorded and archived to replay over and over again and for our baby girl to hear when she is older. She has lots of people excited and anxious to meet her...