At the Hospital

I delivered Emma at California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) on California Street. We were taken care of very well while we were there. We had great postpartum nurses that were all very friendly and helpful. Emma also slept very well her first night! I hope this is a trend going forward!

Good morning little miss!

Loving up my precious baby girl!

Love that face!

Welcome Emma Grace!

Emma Grace Harris arrived Sunday, January 30, 2011 at 3:32 pm weighing 7lbs. 11oz and is 20 inches long. She has a full head of black hair and looks very similar to her brother Caden, but has her own distinct features. She is absolutely precious and looks like a little doll with beautiful blue eyes!

Emma's birth story:
I started having painful contractions at home starting about 11:30am and they were pretty far apart. By 12:30 we decided to go to the hospital because they were getting closer together and stronger. We checked into the labor and delivery triage first and they took blood, made me do a urine sample and then hooked me up to the monitors and checked me. I was 4cm dilated and 75% effaced - so that was great progress! (The nurses down at the triage couldn't believe I was going to go totally natural and I think were glad they didn't have to start an IV)

At 1:30pm they brought me up to my labor and delivery room. I walked the halls some and had a few very strong contractions. I remember thinking that I needed to breathe deep and try to relax as best as I could with each contraction. Between contractions, Chris was happily singing the "la la la la Elmo song" because we had just been watching the little video on my iphone on youtube with Caden. It will be funny to tell Emma that my birthing theme song was the "Elmo Song.!" I met the Doctor on call in the hallway about 2:15 and she told me she was on til 6pm and that she would probably by the one who would deliver for me (and I remember thinking yeah right...I won't have this baby before 6pm).

I then went back to my room and decided to labor in the shower with warm water on my belly because I remember that it felt really nice when I was in labor with Caden. The nurse told me I could be in the shower for about 20 minutes. Well, after about 15 minutes, the contractions really started picking up in the shower and were coming about every 90 seconds. I told the nurse that I thought I had to go to the bathroom. She said she was going to go get the doctor. Sure enough, when I was out of the shower I was having the urge to push. The doctor checked me and I was 9 cm and totally effaced. She then broke my water which felt like a warm gush (not a huge pop, like with Caden) and about 1 minute later I was pushing. I only had 3 pushes and Emma was out at 3:32pm. It was incredible! I couldn't get over how fast it was this time around. I just kept saying, I can't believe she's here already, that was so fast! I even told my mom I didn't even have time to work up a sweat!

The Doctor and nurses were absolutely fantastic! They were so encouraging. It truly is amazing what your body can do. I am proud to say that I have delivered both my babies without any medication at all! Life is such a miracle!

Just checked in at the OB triage

laboring on the birthing ball

Chris must have been singing the Elmo Song!

Our wonderful doctor and nurse

Hi Emma Grace!

Proud Daddy!

Sweet baby girl!

Hi Nana!

Big brother Caden meeting Emma for the first time!
So sweet with all his kisses!

Caden and his new baby sister

Mommy and Caden

Deepti and Nick were awesome! They watched Caden and brought him to the hospital so he could meet his new baby sister! Thanks you two!

Emma Grace!

Mommy and her little girl!

Prenatal Massage

Okay! I've been getting very antsy! I've tried all sorts of things to get his baby moving again in the past few days. I've been eating pineapple (which is supposed to help with efacement), looking up acupressure points and making mom and Chris rub those spots that are supposed to bring on labor, I made "labor cookies" that are just like ginger cookies, only you add cayenne pepper to make them spicy, I even tried a castor oil and pineapple smoothie (totally gross). This little girl is staying put! I made an appointment for a prenatal massage this afternoon with the hopes that I will go into labor...no such luck, but the massage did feel very relaxing. So...I am just waiting, waiting, waiting for this little one to come on out!

Jungle Gym again!

Well, after our false alarm yesterday we decided to go to the jungle gym at the YMCA today to see if I could get the contractions going again by chasing Caden around the gym! Chris came down to join mom, Caden and I.

In the police car

Pushing the cart!

Slam dunk!!!

False Alarm!

So I started feeling some contractions and they were pretty regular starting about 8pm. I called the nurse, and she said to head into the hospital because this is a second baby and things go quicker. So we went in when the contractions were about 6-7 minutes apart at 12:00am. Nick and Deepti came over to watch Caden, so Mom, Chris and I could go to the hospital. However, when we arrived at the hospital, the contractions stopped after being monitored for an hour...nothing! I think she must have gotten stage fright! So we came back home. Here are some pictures as we are about to leave for the hospital.

39 1/2 weeks

We thought we were about to be parents of two!

20 Months!

Well, I'm feeling like a bad mom! No pictures from Caden's 20 month birthday! We went to playgroup and then I had a Doctors appointment at 10:15. Sorry it wasn't a very exciting day!

Follow up

Today we had our follow up eye appointment with Caden's eye doctor. She says everything looks great. The surgery was a total success! No more goopy eyes around here. Let's hope the baby doesn't also have a clogged tear duct (I'd rather not have to go through surgery again). I also discovered a new park today! After his appointment I decided he needed to run around a bit, so went to this park that we drive by on the way to our appointments. It was super cute! Here he is at the park playing!

loves the swings!

driving the choo choo

holding hands leaving the park - just cute!

Mom's Group Surprise!

Oh! The sweet moms in my moms group threw me a surprise baby shower! It was so sweet of them! If I had known I would have brought my camera to take pictures of all the cute things they did. I got quite a few little pink outfits! So fun to get some pink around here!

Construction and Belly at 38 Weeks!

So we have been having some construction done in the parking lot outside our house. Caden loves watching all the "Truh" (trucks) come and go with dirt, cement, etc. He can watch outside for many minutes - like 20! He just sits on his little stool. I think it is super cute!

watching the "truh"

38 weeks!

Swim Lesson with Daddy

Well...the time has come! I am no longer able to take Caden to swim lessons, so Chris took Caden today. So cute! Enjoy!

floating on the "Magic carpet"

love the goggles!!

Enzo

Fridays we go down to Sports Basement in the Presidio and watch Breakfast with Enzo. He is a local musician who plays a lot of different instruments for the kids. He even plays the saw...its pretty cool! Here's Caden watching Enzo looking a little bit serious!

Jungle Gym at the YMCA

Every Thursday from 10:30 to 12 the Letterman Gym in the Predisio has a "Jungle Gym" where kids get to run around and play! It is great, especially for Caden who needs to get some of that extra energy out! They have a bouncy house, lots of basketballs, push carts, those little red cars that you pedal with your feet (like Fred Flinstone), a little slide, and lots of space to run.

Eye Surgery

Today was the big day. We decided to get Caden's clogged tear duct opened up. We went to the hospital (CMPC - the same hospital where he was born) at 6:30 am, and his procedure was at 7:30. We had a lot of waiting to do... Chris took him back when they gave him the anesthesia mask, I don't think I could have handled that! The procedure took about 15 minutes, so around 7:50am Caden was out and waking up. I think that was the hardest part for me, watching him "come to." He was just crying, and we couldn't really comfort him as he was so confused. Poor baby! The surgery went great and our Doctor, Susan Day, was able to open up the clogged duct. His eye looks wonderful! No more tearing and goop in the mornings!
I'm so glad we had this done.

Pre-operation - having fun in the wagon!

Caden and Daddy, post operation (isn't he cute in those little scrubs?)

Discovery Museum

Caden loves playing at the Discovery Museum.
Here he is playing with the "Truh!!!" (truck)

Playing with the trucks like the other "older" kids

Classic!

What kid doesn't have this picture??? Dinner rubbed all over his head and face!

Just a funny moment :)