Our first night with Emma in the hospital. I remember thinking that I’d never been happier! (Or more tired, haha.)
It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Mommying (and working) has proven to be quite time-consuming, and finding a few moments to actually compile posts like this one has been challenging. But I promised myself that I’d sit down tonight and do it, if only to memorialize this incredibly special time in our lives. And it’s 11:45 p.m., which means I kept my promise. #momfeat!
There’s absolutely no way that I’ll be able to get everything into this post, though. I mean, the last time I wrote a “Life, Lately” post was July 30th! And, honestly, I don’t want to leave out any special photos or memories. So I’m just going to start at the beginning, with the hospital, and stop when I get sleepy. (And maybe add some more photos tomorrow at some point.) With any hope, I’ll continue next week, and eventually, we’ll be up to speed. Sound good? Fabulous. ;)
You saw the “Welcome to the World” and “Emma’s Delivery Story” posts, so why don’t we pick off from there?!
The parents meeting Emma
I think I’m going to do an entire post on what occurred after Emma’s delivery, as I received a lot of emails asking for more detail on that. But long story short, we stayed in the delivery room for about two hours after Emma was born, and then we went to our recovery room (by wheelchair for Emma and me), where we stayed until discharge. When we got there, a nurse helped me use the bathroom (more on this later, haha), and another nurse came in to show me how to breastfeed. Once Emma had eaten, she passed out pretty quickly. My nurse told me it was imperative that I get some shuteye then, as I hadn’t slept in over two days at that point. From what I remember, I slept for something like two hours, woke up to feed Emma, and then sometime around 11 or 12, I showered with Mitch’s help.
Shortly thereafter, Mitch’s parents arrived, and around 5 p.m., my parents arrived. I couldn’t believe that they made it. Mitch had texted them the night before when I went into labor, so they left at the crack of dawn the following morning and booked it to Chicago. Word on the street is that when Mom needed to use the bathroom, she literally ran into the rest stop and ran back out to the car. Pretty cute. ;)
Seeing our parents meet Emma for the first time were some of the best moments of my life. My in-laws just couldn’t put her down–how adorable is the photo of Lisa holding Emma? I absolutely adore the expression on her face! And I’ll never forget just how excited my mom looked when she walked into the hospital, or the smile and look of disbelief on my dad’s face when he saw his granddaughter. My parents were so excited that they actually forgot to say hello to me. It was the sweetest!
Mitch took a ton of videos of this happening, so some of the photos you see above are actually just screen shots. But I can’t wait to show you the compiled movie once we’re done with it!
Emma and Daddy, Chicago
I love this photo so much, as you can see the city skyline in the background. Mitch was born in Chicago, and it was really special to him that we had Emma here, too. Can’t get enough of that “no sleep” hairdo, Love. ;)
Grandpa & Nanny
As you guys know, I thought Emma was going to be a boy. So much so that I only bought boy clothing, and took all the tags off and washed everything. Well, Mom marched herself down to Baby Gap on Michigan Avenue and got Emma a bunch of adorable outfits, like this one, this one and her “going home” outfit, shown above and below. ;) Thank you, Parents!
Before Emma got her name tag
Baby Girl!
The bow hat
Our nurses made Emma this bow hat from two hospital caps. I love it so much I may have cried. #allthehormones
Father/daughter dance
Sniffle…
Our view from the hospital
Insane, right?! And believe it or not, we didn’t have the best room.
Oops, you’re adorable.
I can’t get enough of her little mouth!
Jazz hands.
This was taken outside our room, as we were leaving the hospital. This is the outfit I was talking about. Thanks, Mom!
Oops.
We forgot to sign out, which technically means we tried to steal a baby. But whatever. Everyone was super understanding. ;)
Leaving
Goodness, do I look exhausted!
Right after this was taken, someone from the hospital came to inspect the base of the car seat. We thought we’d installed it super tightly, but we didn’t even come close to this guy’s job! The nurse also helped us tighten Emma’s fasteners. So much to learn.
The drive home
He literally drove six miles per hour, and I sat in the back with Emma, terrified that she’d wake up.
(She didn’t.)
Okay, clearly I got sleepy very quickly, as my descriptions became shorter and shorter as we progressed. But that’s all for now! You can see more photos from our stay at the hospital in “Emma’s Delivery Story.” And stay tuned for the next “Life, Lately” post, which will be about our first days with our little girl! <3
