Welcome Sweet Baby Emily

Our sweet Emily Jean joined our family in November and we all love her so much! In fact, maybe a little too much from Zack and Sam. Haha!

Although I was definitely ready to not be pregnant anymore when she came, I was still a little surprised when she came a few days early. David was the only one that was early so far so I was fully expecting to make it to my due date.

On Monday night I went to bed and then woke up from a contraction at 12:30 am. This had happened twice before during the past week so I used the restroom and tried to go back to bed but kept track of my contractions just in case. Around 2 I realized I was not going to be able to sleep and that my contractions were getting stronger and closer together. At this point, I realized I wasn't completely ready for the hospital yet, so I got up to finish preparing. I wrote out the list for my mother in law so she knew the kids' schedule and I made sure the rest of my hospital bag was ready. I even decided to straighten my hair since I had just showered the night before. Haha!

Even with how painful my contractions were, I was still in denial that it was go time since most of my past ones hadn't come early. By 4:30 am, my contractions were about 10 minutes apart and we called John's mom to come over. We got to the hospital at 5 and checked in.

The nurses had me go into a triage room and said I'd be sent home if I wasn't at a 5 and wasn't progressing. They had no idea this was my 6th baby and I'm sure they were rolling their eyes in their heads when I walked in and in a very normal way told them my contractions were pretty painful and were 8 to 10 minutes apart. They were very surprised when they checked and I was dilated to an 8! As usual, they made the comment that I wasn't acting like someone that is at an 8. Thank you high pain tolerance!

After checking in to a room, I got an IV and an epidural and waited for my doctor to say I was close enough to push. Once I got to that point, my doctor checked me and the baby's head was half way out! He said he wasn't even going to tell me to push and waited to see if the next contraction would push her out, and it did! My doctor said he doesn't think he's ever had a delivery before where the mom didn't even have to push. So that was pretty crazy!

And just like that, our sweet little Emily was here. She was born at exactly 8 am on Tuesday, November 4th.

For the entire pregnancy, I kept feeling like her name should be Emma, even after finding out that was what my sister in law Lindsay was going to name her baby. But that Monday night before going to bed, the name Emily kept going through my head. And once our sweet girl was here, it just felt right.

Emily's middle name we decided would be Jean. John has so much respect for my mom and grandma that when I suggested using the middle name they both share for Emily, he loved the idea! It was sweet to call my mom and my grandma afterwards and surprise them.

Once Emily was here, it was just recovery for me and her just learning how to be alive. This was the first time I was actually thinking about going home from the hospital early. The idea of being comfortable in my own bed was nice but the fact that I didn't have to cook and clean and had a little more quiet time was what kept me there. I love my kiddos but a house of 5 excited kids plus a baby is not exactly relaxing and I knew they'd be dropped off as soon as we got home.

Having Emily in our family has been sweet. These cute little boys love her so much! Zack was immediately making sure he would be a favorite with all the cuddles and kisses he gave her. He learned early on how to sneak into my room where she was napping on my bed and roll her over onto his chest. We had to be careful with that since one time he rolled her over onto himself and fell asleep. Sammy has also been loving his new little sister but he kisses and hugs a little too hard sometimes. I've been having to help him learn to be softer and give him extra attention when I notice he needs it. Our other kiddos love her just as much, especially Brooke who is happy to finally have a little sister!

We love our sweet Emily and are excited to see the wonderful person she will become. Welcome to the family sweet girl!