Midwestern Adventures, Part I

Emmeline, Paul and I arrived safe and sound in Minneapolis on Wednesday afternoon after two very long flights. Since Emmeline is walking, she was very squirmy on the plane and wanted to get down off our laps. I packed lots of fun toys and books for her (I even brought some of those awful sugary Gerber puffs that she likes) to keep her occupied, but those things only worked for a few minutes at a time. Thankfully she took a short nap on each flight and that the people sitting around us didn't seem to mind her busybody. Many of them actually joined in entertaining her.
Emmeline has four cousins here in Minneapolis and she has been enjoying their company immensely. Her cousin, Hannah, is about six months older than Emmeline and they are having fun imitating each other and playing with each others' toys. Emmeline still isn't sure about Paul's parents or sister but she is doing a good job warming up to them. Paul and I have been taking advantage of the extra help and have been going out for a run when Emmeline goes down for her early afternoon nap. It sure is easier to run without a baby jogger! We may even sneak out to a late movie one evening after Emmeline is asleep.
Tonight we will be celebrating Emmeline's birthday with Paul's family and also have a trip to their lake trailer tomorrow and the Como Zoo on Sunday. Then on Wednesday we are off to North Dakota to visit my family. My parents and sister Jacy are so excited they can't hardly stand it!
Signing off for now from Minnesota...

Happy First Birthday Emmeline!

The Birthday Girl

Exactly one year ago today, our dearest Emmeline Louise came into this world at 7:31am.  I woke up at 3:00am feeling some contractions.  I had been having contractions for three or four weeks, but these contractions were coming every few minutes.  I woke Paul up and he called the midwife.  She told us to get our things together and meet her at The Birth Center.  My contractions were incredibly intense and close together.  I was expecting that the early stages of labor would last for several hours and that we would spend that time at home relaxing and leisurely getting ready to go.  Well this was certainly not the case and by 4:30am I was telling Paul to run the stop lights as we drove one very long mile to The Birth Center.  Katie, the midwife on duty that night, met us there and had everything ready for us.  I was about 4 centimeters dilated when we arrived and felt like pushing about an hour after we arrived.  We had taken hypnobirthing classes which helped me relax and focus throughout labor.  We also brought about six hours worth of Enya to set a comfortable atmosphere.  I labored mostly on my hands and knees and turned over on my right side in the last 45 minutes of labor.  Paul helped the midwife "catch" Emmeline but the cord was wrapped around her neck and under her armpits so he didn't get to help as much as he would have liked.  When I reached down for Emmeline, pulling her to my chest and saw her for the first time, the first thing that I noticed was her big, alert eyes.  She looked as if she was soaking in the entire world in her first look.  She didn't even seem to squint, even though the sunlight filled the room with bright rays.  It was the most gorgeous, sunny summer morning to have a baby.  And she was absolutely perfect:

Our first look at each other, just seconds

after she was born.

Sweet little Emmy Lou

Nurse Deborah, midwife Katie, new daddy

with his baby, nurse Peggy and midwife Nicole.

Today we had Emmeline's birthday party in Bellevue Park.  I made her this special little non-dairy, low-sugar cake with banana and mango glaze.  She didn't seem that interested in it but that could have been because there was so much going on.  Most of her baby friends were able to attend and we had a beautiful day to play outside.  The forecast had called for rain but Mother Nature was smiling down on us today.  The babies played on the swings and had fun climbing over each other and playing tug-of-war with each others' toys.  Paul's cousin and her husband were able to make the party but they were our only family there as our families are in the Midwest.  Today we missed our families and they wished they could be with Emmeline, but they will see her soon.  We will be flying out to the Midwest for two weeks this upcoming Wednesday.  Despite being without our families today, Emmeline was surrounded by people who love and adore her.  We have wonderful friends and we are very grateful for them all. Thank you to all of you who made Emmeline's first birthday so special for her and for Paul and me.

Birthday smiles for mommy

"Happy 1st Birthday Pokey" cake from

Serpes Bakery.  This is what was on her

birthday cake last year; we didn't order

it until after she was already overdue.

Emmeline and her baby friends. Marysol is

sleeping in her stroller, clockwise from her 

is Estella (standing), Elisa, Sabine, Haley

and Emmeline.

Playing with one of her fun new toys

A quiet moment

Birthday parties are fun!

Visiting the "yellow room" at The Birth Center

where Emmeline was born.  We took this

picture on Thursday when we were at TBC

for our play group.

Overdue Reminiscing

As Emmeline's first birthday nears, I keep thinking about what it was like one year ago when we were waiting (and waiting and waiting) for her to arrive.  As most of you reading this blog know, Emmeline was born eight days "late."  Our due date was June 14th but she did not arrive until the 22nd.  Due dates, of course, are just best-guess estimates.  And generally most first-time moms deliver "late."  But since my mom delivered all of her four children early (I was even 10 days early), I was convinced that we, too, would deliver early or on time.  I couldn't have been more mistaken.

We invited my mom to be with us when the baby was born so she arrived in DE on June 10th. She agonized over the day to arrive because she didn't want to come too late, thereby missing the birth but she also didn't want to arrive too early and miss out on time with the baby after the birth.  Well, she ended up having plenty of time before the baby was born.  For twelve days we tried to fill up our time as much as possible.  We went to the Wilmington Italian Festival (at which a lady told me she went four weeks overdue with one of her children), shopped, did a lot of walking, went out to lunch, ate quite a bit of cheese, ice cream and fruit, and spent time with our friends.  We also finished preparing ourselves for the baby to arrive but since I had been working on the nursery all spring, there wasn't a whole lot to do.  On Emmeline's due date my mom and I actually got into a car accident.  It wasn't a big accident and we were fine but it certainly was very traumatic.  To made sure that the baby was OK, I opted for the ambulance and the maternity triage.  Since I had been contracting for a couple weeks, the doctors made me stay for 24 hours.  It was an awful 24 hours.  It was exactly the opposite of what we wanted our labor to be.  Since we had planned to deliver at The Birth Center with midwives, I did not have an OBGYN.  Because of this, I had to deal with several male doctors checking my cervix periodically.  They treated me like some sort of animal as they were cold and uninterested.  The doctors and nurses did not relay very much information to us and ignored our questions.  This is completely different from the midwives and nurses at TBC who are warm, caring, and helpful.

While in the hospital I wasn't allowed to eat or drink for 24 hours (and that is an eternity to a pregnant woman!), I was hooked up to an IV and two different monitors, I had to spend the night alone and got chastised by the nasty night nurse because the monitors shifted as I slept.  Thankfully my contractions did not get any stronger and I was allowed to go home the next day.  We were all so relieved to be out of the hospital!  That evening my mom made the best spaghetti dinner that I have ever had in my entire life.

While in the hospital, I had begun to lose my mucus plug.  I was convinced that the baby wouldn't be long.  Little did I know that she would wait another seven days!  I know that I was not very pleasant to be around as I was huge, uncomfortable, hot, grouchy, hungry, and overdue; I am sure I did a fair amount of whining.  To induce labor we walked a lot, I took black and blue cohash drops, and walked up and down stairs.  We talked to Emmeline quite a bit, too, hoping that she would get the hint.  People had all sorts of ideas about how to induce labor (see "Going Greek" post about the Ouzo).  One of my uncles even called to sing to me!  On Thursday, June 21 I had an appointment with one of our midwives.  To get labor going, she scraped the membrane around the amniotic sack.  This didn't break my water; it was just supposed to separate the sack from my uterine wall.  Apparently it is an effective, non-invasive way to kick-start labor.  And for us it was.  I went into labor at 3:00am the next morning. Stay tuned for Emmeline's birth story in a following post! 

Whoa!  We were about 39 weeks

when this picture was taken. I was

pregnant for two more weeks.

 

Paul and I at the Wilmington Italian Festival

in front of their version of the Trevi fountain.

This was one of my biggest maternity shirts but 

you can see that my belly was still hanging 

out the bottom.

On the phone with my sister Kelsey

 ("Yes, I am still pregnant..."). My mom

and I were on a walk in Brandywine Park.

This was the last picture taken of me pregnant.  It was June 19th and my mom, my friend Kate, and I were at the mall trying to kill time.  I saw this magnet at a coffee shop and thought it was appropriate for my situation.  It says: "What are you waiting for?".  While we were at the mall, several people asked me when I was due.  When I told them that I was five days overdue, they would smile nervously and slowly back away.  I guess people think of overdue pregnant ladies as a ticking time bomb.  While I was in one store, a clerk asked me if I was alone and then said "Don't have that baby in my store!".  She also told my mom that it was not a good idea to leave me alone.  I still am not sure if she thought I was going to wander away in a pregnant stupor or maybe sneeze and pop the baby out.

Fab Father's Day

It was a special Father's Day for Paul as this was his first!  Last year Father's Day was on the 17th and I was convinced that Paul would be a father by then.  Emmeline's due date was on the 14th but she didn't come until the 22nd.  It was a really, really long time to wait!  More about last year's over-due adventures in a following post.

This past weekend was filled with all kinds of Father's Day fun.  On Saturday Paul and I went to see Our Town at the Arden in Philadelphia. For the second act (a wedding sequence) the audience was ushered next door to Christ Church and then back to the Arden for the third act.

The current Christ Church structure was started in 1727 and it is absolutely beautiful.  The surrounding burial grounds contained historical figures such as Benjamin Franklin and four other signers of the Declaration of Independence.  Paul and I both love history so it is always a treat to go into Philly and explore historical landmarks and sites.

On Sunday Emmeline and I made Paul biscuits and gravy for brunch (his favorite!) and then went to an arcade/indoor playground for the afternoon.  We were a little disappointed as it boasted a special toddler play area but didn't meet our expectations.  Still, Emmeline had fun running around and Paul enjoyed playing air hockey, hoops, bowling and other various arcade games. That evening we went to Cheeburger Cheeburger (name is reminiscent of an old John Belushi skit on SNL), a burger joint that Paul has been wanting to try.

Paul really enjoyed himself this weekend not just because it was Father's Day but because last Friday was his last day of school for the summer!  He is doing some tutoring this summer but is going to be with Emmeline for most of the time so that I can get some work done on my dissertation.  I know that they are going to have a great time together this summer.  Paul is a very caring, sensitive and playful daddy; Emmeline and I are so very lucky to have him.

I made Paul and Emmeline dress in matching

 Minnesota Twins outfits for Father's Day!

Only fifteen more years until I get my

own driver's license!

The Screaming Banshee

We have had an interesting week here.  I use the word "interesting" for lack of a better word. Emmeline had a mildly high fever all weekend.  This resulted in very little sleep for all of us and a very fussy baby.  We took her to the doctor on Monday as the nurse practitioner we talked to on the phone suspected an ear infection.  Thankfully Emmeline got a clean bill of health but her fever remains a mystery.  Our doctor thought that her fever had been too high for just teething but wasn't able to pin her symptoms on anything concrete.  I came down with some sort of 24-hour bug Wednesday afternoon so Paul had to take a half day off on Thursday to help with the baby.  I am feeling better now but still a bit off.  Hopefully I haven't given whatever this is to Paul or Emmeline.

Lately Emmeline has started screaming at the top of her lungs when she does not get what she wants or is bothered by something.  It seems that she is very irritable as of late.  I am looking forward to the time when she can verbalize her feelings or tell me what she wants.  I am also looking forward to the time when she will be able to understand what I am saying.  It is so very hard to reason with her when you know that she does not understand.  I want her to know why I take things away from her or why I need to change her clothes.  (Then again, maybe she will never understand these things...)  I know that this is just a phase and it will pass but my goodness!!  There is only so much screaming I can stand in one day.  She has such a strong will for one so young.

Despite our rough and tumble week, we have had lots of fun.  We have managed to snap a few good pics for you all to enjoy:

I blow out candles on a belated birthday cake as Emmeline takes notes for her upcoming big day.  My friend Kate made me this oh-so-yummy cheese cake for a belated birthday celebration.  Kate and I went to Sex and the City (my second time!) on Saturday and then we went back to her house for a fun little BBQ with Emmeline, Paul and her husband, Mike.

Emmeline's first balloon

Let go of the string! I got it!

Emmeline plays in her wading pool yesterday 

on our back deck.  She only played for a little 

while and was more interested in climbing out 

to see the rest of the deck.

In addition to the rest of our harrowing week, Emmeline got her first fat, bloody lip yesterday.  She fell when she happened to have a toy in her mouth.  It was pretty scary to see her bleeding but after I could see that her teeth were intact, I felt better.  I was worried that her lip might get puffy so I got an ice cube and covered it in a washcloth.  She had fun sucking on that which helped her to calm down.  I took these two pictures as Emmeline was swinging in Bellevue park today.  Poor baby!

Going Greek

We have been enjoying our past couple evenings at the 2008 Greek Festival in Wilmington.  I vividly remember standing in the gyro line last year when I was hugely pregnant with Emmeline. The Greek man I ordered my gyro from said that I should sip some Ouzo because it would make my baby come out dancing!  The gyros were so good that I thought about it for days afterwards. Since we live within short walking distance of the festival, we have gone twice so far this year (OK, I also went for lunch once without Paul). Thus far at this year's festival, between Paul and I, we have eaten four gyros, one order of mousaka (eggplant casserole), an order of stuffed grape leaves, and one order of loukoumades (fried honey balls).  And Emmeline, of course, has not been left out of all of the fun.  She has throughly enjoyed  herself dancing to the music and interacting with all of the people.  It was very hard to keep her contained to her stroller.  As you can see from the following pictures and video, she much rather preferred being in the middle of all the action:

It looks like Emmeline is eating some of

my gyro, but she is actually eating her

own dinner: sweet potatoes and eggplant

Exploring with daddy

Bye, mom!

Dancing with the big kids

This video is super cute of Emmeline dancing at the festival but you will have to watch it sideways.  I can't figure out how to rotate this video right-side up without buying new Quicktime software.  So, crane your neck or turn your computer sideways and enjoy!

Runaway baby

I took this video yesterday in Bellevue Park before our walk. I try to encourage Emmeline to play ball with her friend Haley, but she instead decides to make a run for it!

Celebrating mama's birthday

I turned 28 on Saturday and I had a lovely birthday.  Paul and Emmeline treated me like a queen as they had a whole weekend of activities planned.  I actually began celebrating my birthday on Friday with a group of my girlfriends.  We went to the new Sex and the City movie and imbibed in cosmopolitans, cheese and fried foods.  Paul happily watched Emmeline while I enjoyed a night out.  On Saturday the weather was nasty for part of the day so we went out to lunch and took a late walk when the weather cleared.  On Sunday Paul and Emmeline took me on a picnic and long walk in Bellevue Park.  The weather was lovely and Emmeline was an absolute doll.  She must have known it was her mama's birthday!  Thanks to all of my family and friends, I had a wonderful birthday and I am grateful for all of you who made it so special.  

Emmeline spots the geese and their goslings

near the pond in Bellevue

Look at the ducks, mom and dad!

Emmeline's first swimsuit; she was

invited to swim on Sunday with her good

friend, Estella

Chunky legs, courtesy of her mother

Emmeline's first orange

Yum!