Monday, December 29, 2008

Christmas and Such....

This post is dedicated to my grandmother, Dorothy Smith. Today is the one-year anniversary of when she went to be with her Lord. Miss you, Grandma. Thanks for looking down on us.

It's been a while since I've posted and a lot has happened. I've been sick with ear/sinus infections, Emma started day care today, and we had Grandpa and Nana for a visit! But most importantly, Emma had her first Christmas AND was baptized. Everything was wonderful. We spent the first part of the day with Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Josh in Raleigh. Emma (and we) received lots of fun toys. Then we went to Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw's house for dinner and more great gifts. Below are lots of photos to help explain the past week or so.

Here's Emma all dressed up for Christmas Eve service at church. Thanks to Kaycee at PrissyMiss Boutique and Life As A Mom at 21 for the headband!
Our family Christmas picture. Emma was clearly not feeling the camera.
Here's Emma looking at one of her new books she got for Christmas!
Here's what Emma gave her mommy and daddy for Christmas...she HELD HER OWN BOTTLE for the first time! YAY! :)
With Aunt Amy...
Playing with my new piano from Aunt Jen, Uncle Tim, Jaden and Dillon:
Emma was baptized on Dec. 28 while all our family was in town. Emma wore a dress my grandmother made for me when I was a baby. Here we are with the Grandparents.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Our Brave Little Girl

We took Emma for her 2 month check-up (even though she's technically 2 1/2 months old). She's looking great! She's up to just under 11 pounds and almost 22 inches long! That sounds huge since she was only 6 lbs. 13 oz. at birth, but she really is quite petite we think.

The big event for today's visit was getting her first round of shots. She took one orally that must have been quite tasty (her first taste of sweetness) because she gulped it down. Then she got three shots, one in one leg and two in the other. She cried of course, but was very brave and did great overall. A good friend recommended we wait and give her a bottle after the shots to help comfort her. We did that and it helped a bunch - she was asleep by the time we left the doctor's office! And so far today she hasn't been too extra fussy. Just extra tired and maybe a little more clingy.

Here's a picture of our brave little girl with her three band-aids...plus a random cute one and a rare shot of me and Emma - just for kicks.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Sunday Best

Had to share this precious moment. This is Emma completely zonked out after church this morning....shows you what hard core praise and worship can do!

Friday, December 5, 2008

Daddy's Little Tar Heel

This posting is for Eric. I married into a Tar Heel lovin' family. But Emma has it in her blood! Here's the proof...ready to cheer on Hansbrough, Lawson and all her boys in Carolina blue...making Daddy proud.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Two Months Old!

Can you believe Emma is two months old today? Me neither! Here she is sleeping in her swing tonight with the Christmas tree in the background and her Carolina Tarheels bib on in honor of the big game tonight.

A lot has happened in the last week of Emma's life. She had her first Thanksgiving...got to meet Great-grandpa who came to visit from Florida...helped decorate the house for Christmas (well, she slept through most of it, which was a BIG help - HAHA)...AND I went back to work. I was pretty sad about going back to work after two glorious months home with my baby girl, but it's time to get back to reality and settle into a schedule. Things have gone pretty good so far. I haven't cried (a small miracle) and Emma has behaved pretty well for both Eric and Judy, our great family friend who is helping to watch her through December.

Oh...and here's the best news of all. Are you ready for this? Emma is sleeping 9-10 hours a night. Yes, you read that right....TEN HOURS!!! She goes down around 9pm and sleeps until usually around 7am!! We know that this could end any day, but it sure is nice while it lasts. The only down side is that she tends to be a bit fussier during the day and is hard to get down for naps. Still, pretty awesome, huh?!

Here is Emma with her Great-grandpa and sleeping in her Christmas pants.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

All Smiles! *NEW VIDEO*

It's almost scary how darn cute my baby girl is. In the following video, you can see how she's started smiling. She can focus on toys and faces much better now. Here, she can't take her eyes off the bears hanging above her pack-n-play. Oh, to be a kid again. :)

Friday, November 21, 2008

IT SNOWED!

Well, we woke up this morning all snuggly in our warm beds to SNOW! Just enough to dust the ground and cover roofs. I can't remember the last time it snowed before Thanksgiving! Now it really feels like the holidays.

Here's a picture from off our back porch (mostly melted here).
Here is Emma bundled up for a trip to Wally-World. She was excited about the snow, too!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Here's Looking at You, Kid!

Here are some recent pictures of little miss Emma.  So cute I can't hardly stand it...even on days like today when she's copping an attitude.  That's a momma's love for you.  :)

Officer:  "Hands Up!"  Emma: "I surrender.  I am guilty of being the cutest baby in the world."

Dressed in her Sunday Best:
Something extra peaceful about a Sunday nap:

It's a hard life for a little girl:



Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Doctor's Visit...Right on Track!

Emma had her first month (technically 5.5 weeks) check up today with the pediatrician. Dr. O'Kelley actually goes to our church and is super nice so we're thankful to be able to see him. Emma is up to just over 9 lbs and 20 1/4 inches long! Right where she should be. Other than a little cradle cap on her forehead (nothing some cream and time won't clear up), she got a clean bill of health AND was deemed "beautiful" by Dr. O'Kelley - but we didn't need an expert to tell us that. :)

Developmentally, she is starting to develop a real personality. She has begun cooing those sweet baby noises. She even is starting to smile at us. However, she also can have a bit of an attitude when she's impatient for food or sleepy. Gee, wonder where she gets that. Hee Hee.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

"Watch Me Play!"

Watch Emma play on her play mat...looks like fun! Not sure if she really knows what she's doing at this age, but she seems to enjoy making the chimes jingle. So cute.

One Month Old!

It's hard to believe, but Emma is now one month old! As a mom, I'm amazed at how fast she is growing and already want her to slow down. Here are a few pictures we took yesterday (her one month birthday).

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Happy Halloween!

We're all just about feeling better now, just in time for Halloween! Even though miss Emma did not have an actual costume this year, she did sport some pretty cute pumpkin attire to celebrate the festivities. Here are some pictures...Enjoy!

"My first Halloween and all I got was this stupid hat."


"Babies Gone Batty!"

Pat from the church carved this for Emma...great, huh?!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Under the Weather...

I regret to inform you that 2/3 of the Tysinger household are under the weather. Poor miss Emma has developed a snotty nose and a tiny cough. And I've been battling a nasty stomach bug the past day or so. I'm getting better, I think, but according to the pediatrician, Emma might hold on to this tiny cold for a few weeks. He checked her out really good today and feels that it's nothing serious. No fever or congestion in the chest.

Let me tell you, as a momma, it breaks my heart to think of Emma being sick so soon. She does not act like she feels badly, so that's a blessing. But when she wakes up from naps she sounds just pitiful trying to breath through all that snot! We've been instructed to give her saline drops in the nose and suck out the boogies (gross, I know), use a humidifier, and let her sleep in her car seat to so she doesn't get too congested lying flat. Hopefully within a week or two she'll be back to normal.

We'd appreciate prayers...that Emma doesn't get worse before she gets better. That I continue to bounce back. That Eric doesn't catch anything. And that Eric doesn't loose his mind taking care of his girls. Have I mentioned lately that he'll be winning the Best Husband of the Year award? :)

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Mom's Brag Day

As a new mom, I am entitled to brag about my little girl as often as I want. So, I have self proclaimed today as "Mom's Brag Day" during which I will post several pictures (below) about how cute and wonderful Emma is. Anyone have a problem with that? Didn't think so. :)

As an update, we're doing good and starting to get into some sort of routine. Emma and I try and go out at least once a day...to the store, for a walk, for a drive - to give us something to break the day up. She sleeps almost the entire time we're out. I think she loves the motion of the car and the noises out in public. So far we've been to Target, Wal-Mart, the Bicentennial Gardens, the church office to see folks, and to daddy's work (Triad Stage) for introductions. So, it's been a fun week. And, even though we didn't want to, we've done it all without Grandma! Who knew we were capable on our own. Ha. :)

My baby lost her cord nubby! I was so proud - funny what excites you as a mom:


Emma on her play mat for the first time. So cute watching herself in the mirror:


On our first walk at the Bicentennial Gardens. Loves fall as much as her mom:


Simply the cutest kid in the world:

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Getting Back to "Normal"

OK, so for all of you fellow women readers out there, you'll appreciate this. So this morning I'm getting dressed to meet friends for breakfast (thanks for watching Emma, Mom!). On a whim I decide to try on my pre-pregnancy jeans, thinking the whole time that I'm setting myself up for a disappointment. To my utter amazement, they slip right on! Holy postpartum weight loss, Batman!

As you can imagine, I'm on cloud nine right now. Not only have I dropped all but ONE pound (updated) of my baby weight, I'm wearing NORMAL clothes AND have a beautiful baby girl to go with it. Guess you could say we're getting back to "normal"...even if a new, crazy, wonderful normal.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Emma's Firsts...

We've had several firsts this first week. There are sure to be many more!

First Walk Outside:
First time sitting in bouncy seat:
First time in swing:
First story time with Mom:

Friday, October 10, 2008

Introducing Emma Grace

So, obviously, she's here! As you can imagine, life has been crazy since little miss Emma's arrival on October 3. She's now a week old and ever bit as beautiful as the day we met her. Check out some photos below. More to come, of course.


Here's a brief summary of our birth story. The doctors decided to induce me on Wednesday, October 1 due to slightly elevated blood pressure, which they were concerned would continue to increase. We arrived at the hospital at 9pm that night, expecting to have a medication that would help soften the cervix and prepare for labor. Well, I was already contracting on my own according to the monitors, so instead they started the pitocin on a low setting to keep them coming regularly. That continued overnight. At 8:30am the next morning, the doctor tried breaking my water but failed because I was only 2cm and not very effaced. So the pitocin was increased throughout the day until 5pm, at which time Dr. Adkins WAS able to break my water.

Now, up to this point in the labor game, my contractions were NOT bad. I could feel them and was even uncomfortable at times, but kept thinking "this isn't bad at all." Once the water broke, however, TRUE labor contractions began and the whole ballgame changed! I was only able to tolerate those contractions about 45 minutes before asking for an epidural (no hero here)....God bless the inventor of the epidural. After several more hours of contracting and laboring, I was not dilating much at all and Emma was still high up.

At one point in the evening we had a scare. The nurse tried flipping me from laying on one side to another hoping to encourage Emma to drop lower and help me dilate. However, as soon as I got to one side, her heart rate dropped significantly and before we knew it there was an intense rush of nurses helping to lie me back, put oxygen on me and help get her heart rate back up. Took several minutes, but all ended up being OK. But it sure was scary and upsetting. After that episode, the nurse called the doctor and it was decided that Emma was getting tired of labor and needed to go ahead and make her entrance - so a C-section was planned.

So, Emma Grace Tysinger arrived into this world on Friday, October 3 at 12:57am. She weighed 6lbs 13oz and was 18.5 inches long. She is absolutely beautiful and has had her eyes wide open and been holding her head up from the very beginning. We left the hospital on Monday, October 6 and have been getting to know each other at home with dad ever since. I'm feeling great and Emma is a wonderful baby - doesn't cry much and smiles at us (even if she doesn't know it yet). Although I expect it to be hard to find time, I will try and give updates as often as I can. Thanks for the love and support!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

The Wait is Almost Over!

How does October 2 sound for Emma's arrival date?! At our doctor's appointment today, she is measuring around 7.5 lbs and looks great. But because my blood pressure is slightly elevated (not bad) and we're at 39 weeks already, and the fact that she's a good size and I've started to dilate/efface on my own, the doctor feels it's a good idea to encourage her to come on out. I think they might be concerned about her head growing too much if she "bakes" much longer because she's still not dropped down very far. But that's just my opinion.

So, the plan is to admit me to the hospital on WEDNESDAY night to begin a 2-stage induction. I'll see our OB that afternoon for one more check. Then when admitted, I'll get a medication that softens the cervix and gets things started. Once that kicks in, they'll start pitocin to regulate things and really get it moving. From there, we'll just have to wait and see...but she should arrive sometime Thursday.

We're very excited to know we'll be meeting Emma very soon. We'd appreciate your prayers, and will update as soon as we can. Love to you all!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Momma's Little Pumpkin (And u/s Update)

Today's doctor's appointment went well, but we were expecting to be scheduling an induction for within a week or so since the last appointment showed Emma measuring ahead. Well, the ultrasound we had today showed her measuring pretty much on schedule (around 37.5-38 weeks) and at 7 lbs. So, if I've not gone into labor on my own, we're going to wait and see how big she is with another u/s in two weeks. I am around 1 cm dilated, so we're at least headed in the right direction!

The great part about today was seeing our baby girl again. She's got such adorable chubby cheeks, so I decided since it looks like she'll be an October baby, "Pumpkin" sounds like a great nickname. Momma's little pumpkin. :)

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Another shower...and some pictures

Here are some pictures from our shower on Saturday. We loved seeing some of Eric's family and friends from Asheboro. The ADORABLE cake was made by, of course, our good family friend, Tammy! (She also did our wedding cake.) The quilt we're holding was made by Judy, our "third mom." We knew we were getting a quilt but are blown away by this one. It's so perfect for our little girl and her nursery. Below are some pictures from the shower. Man, I look so tired and puffy! And I posted a few photos of the completed nursery and a belly shot taken today. Can I grow anymore?!?! :)

Monday, September 8, 2008

Emma Measuring Ahead!

Well, it's late, so this will be brief. We had an appointment today and I am measuring at 38 weeks...that's TWO WEEKS ahead. About 6 weeks ago, at 30 weeks, I was measuring at 32 but that doctor said it didn't mean anything at that point. Then our 35 weeks visit had her measuring right on schedule. Today, however, the doctor felt it warranted an ultrasound to make sure just how big she's getting. So, next Thursday (the 18th) we go for an ultrasound and to see our primary OB to discuss the results of the u/s and any suggested measures to take. If she is, in fact, getting big, he may suggest being induced sooner than later. Or, if she's REALLY big, a c-section. We're hoping for the former if she's getting big.

We'll keep everyone up to date, of course. It would be great to see her sooner than we thought, and would be great to be able to tell the folks when to hit the road...but I'm really hoping for things to be as natural as possible as far as being able to let my body labor. So, thanks for your prayers as we wait to see what happens. Love to all! Oh...and I also owe you all some pictures. Finished the nursery and had another shower or two since the last posting. Will get to that ASAP.

PS - Yes, her name is Emma. Emma Grace. :) So, that cat's out of the bag.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Nursery....It's Coming Along.

Just posted a few pictures of the nursery. There's a lot left to do...I can't wait to get my creative juices all over that room! We hope to get the crib soon. It was out of stock when Eric went to get it on Monday - pooh! The cradle will more than likely be in our room the first few weeks. I'll post more as we get more done.

On another note, I'd appreciate prayers for me at work. I'm starting to feel quite overwhelmed as my time begins to run out doing projects and extra work ahead of time. I've been working over several days the past few weeks and the list keeps getting longer! Thanks. Love to all!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Baby Shower #2 and 33 Week Update

My mom and sister threw me my second baby shower on August 2. It was so much fun, even though I was exhausted. I had not been sleeping well for several days and woke up that morning feeling tired, weepy, and sore. But, thankfully had a good time with friends at the shower. We played some fun games. My favorite was a game where my sister melted mini candy bars (chocolate) inside of diapers, then everyone had to guess what candy each "poop" was just by smelling it...see the grossness below! The other game was the one where everyone tore off a piece of crepe paper to guess the girth of my baby bump...Patty won! Thanks to all the ladies for such a great shower and great gifts....including our stroller/car seat, pack-n-play, clothes, diapers, blankets, etc.


Now for an update. I'm now at about 33 weeks. So hard to believe we're in the home stretch. After a couple of weeks of bad sleeping, and waking up with a severely sore arm in the mornings, I asked the doctor about it and found out I have pregnancy induced carpal tunnel. Thanks to a wrist brace, I am sleeping and feeling SO much better. I feel like a new woman! Although, I think I've started puffing up a bit in my face which makes me look tired all the time. Baby girl is doing great. The doctor estimates she's about 4.25 lbs. She's really low, head down, and the doc thinks she'll more than likely stay that way until birth.

I think I mentioned we started our birthing classes a few weeks ago at the hospital. They're going great. I'm actually thinking hard about trying to do things a lot more naturally than before. I just figured I would HAVE to have an epidural to make it through. But, pregnancy has a way of making me feel like I can take on the world. I've not ruled out pain medications (I'm no hero!) but I'm hoping breathing and relaxation can help me through a lot more of it than I originally thought. Who knows...we'll see. I posted some 33 week pictures, to the right.

Since we're approaching the last several weeks, I'll try to post whenever there's news or progress. Otherwise, I'll be spending lots of time in the nursery, at work (trying to get ahead for maternity leave) and extra sleeping (while I can!). We'd appreciate prayers for these last weeks and a great delivery. Will write more soon. Love to all.