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? :)

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:

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.

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:

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!