Friday, August 29, 2008

She's Here!!!

Just wanted to let everyone know that Emersyn Grace Jensen was born at 3:45am on 08/28/08, weighing in at 7lbs, 13 oz and 20.25 inches long. She is a doll and I had an amazing birth experience which I will post about later. We got home from the hospital later this afternoon and then just had dinner but I wanted to let everyone know that it went so well and we have a beautiful little girl!! Here is a link to some darling pictures!! I will post more later!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=31489&l=284f4&id=501322979

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Tomorrow's the Big Day!

Well, this is my last blog before becoming a mommy to Miss Emersyn Grace tomorrow! We can hardly wait to meet her and see what kind of a little girl she becomes. I had a dr. appt. this morning and am dilated to a three! I am pretty happy about that and my dr. was ecstatic which makes me feel good as well. All these contractions haven't been for nothing, whoo hoo!

Here is a pic of me and all my 39 weeks of pregnancy. I am lookin' a little tired at this point but what do you expect!!

I haven't hated these last few weeks like I know a lot of women do. I have just tried to soak it all in and know that it is such a special time and I will miss it in a way even when she is born. The feeling of having a baby move around inside you is so special and intimate.

Here I am in our guest room, doing some final laundry and packing. I have her bag 100% packed and mine about 75% packed. I will finish that up tonight and tomorrow morning. It is hard to know what to bring for her in a way, I am sure I overpacked but who cares. Brett will have to carry it all anyways! :) Hee hee, just kidding. Emersyn's stuff is all in the darling pink/brown diaper bag that you can see on the bed and it is pretty full and probably weighs like three pounds because all her stuff is so tiny.

Today my house is being cleaned (Thank you Jesus and Mom!) and then I am going to finish up some final packing details for tomorrow and who knows what else. Brett gets off at 6, we are going to grab something to eat and then head to the airport to get my mom, perhaps stopping by Ikea for a fat free frozen yogurt cone! :)

Wish me luck! Next time I post, there should be pictures of our baby girl included!!!

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Final Preparations

Is having a baby something you can truly prepare for?? It is so interesting, each morning when I wake up, usually by myself because Brett has gone to work leaving me to sleep in (praise the LORD for that), I am in a state of reflecting on the countdown that is dwindling towards parenthood for us. I have very mixed emotions. If I had to break it down in percentages, which I am very fond of doing to describe all sorts of situations, I would break it down like this:
*85% stoked to get to meet our little girl on Wednesday/Thursday sometime. I can't wait to see what she looks like, what kind of coloring she has, etc. Brett's family is predominantly blonde, my family is predominately red/brunette. What kind of a nose does she have? Will she have hair? How big will she be? What kind of personality will she have? I know not all of these questions will be answered on Wednesday/Thursday but some of them will.
*5% scared to death of labor and delivery. I have received a TON of encouragement in this area and am not lacking the confidence that I can do it, it is just such an unknown process, other then what I learned in birth class of course, but I am just hoping it will go well and not involve issues such as "tearing". Ugh.
*5% nervous about being a mommy and being a good example to my daughter, while maintaining a good relationship with my husband.
*5% nervous for a silly reason really, I think just the fear of change. With my parents moving and this baby coming, it has been a lot to take in this past week/month. But change can be good and I am ready. Sorta.

It is a surreal feeling to know the day that I am going to deliver my baby. Being a hardcore planner, I couldn't be more thrilled to know but it is still pretty trippy.

Today I ran a couple errands, including getting our wedding rings cleaned and re-surfaced. They look like new, I am so happy. I haven't worn my wedding ring for all my third trimester, I had heard terrible stories about swelling in the summer and having to have wedding rings cut off so I figured I would be safer rather then sorry. I am anxious to wear it again after Emersyn is here and see it all shiny and sparkly. I also ran into the mall for some of my favorite lip gloss, I figure running to the mall is going to be a low priority with a newborn and I may as well be prepared, plus the jeweler that cleans the rings is across the street from the mall so I really multi-tasked with the gas usage. I also went to a laundromat today and washed our quilt that goes on our bed so that it is nice and fresh for when the baby comes home. After I finish up this blog, I am going to go downstairs and clean out the fridge. Tonight and tomorrow are really our last days to get things ready. Tuesday morning I have a dr. appointment, then the cleaners come and then that evening we pick up my mom from the airport.

I thought blogging might be therapeutic in a sense but my mind is still jumbled. I am going to channel that into good cleaning energy though. Wish me luck!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Lack of nesting!!! :(

Well, one week from today I will be at St. Vincents, getting ready to give birth to our daughter. I made the mistake of watching some births on YouTube yesterday (DON'T DO IT!!!) and got a little freaked out but I have to remind myself that women do this every day.

I think this week has been a lot for me to take in emotionally. My parents left on Monday and seeing their house empty was more then I could handle. My parents are amazingly supportive people and have been more then we could have ever asked for in parents. They have bought us so many things for Emersyn and more then that, they are just so supportive and positive. I think because I am becoming a parent myself, I see and appreciate that more then ever now and just wish that we didn't have to deal with this but I have to count my blessings that both my parents are healthy, my dad has a good job, and luckily, they have the means to come visit, hopefully often. So, dealing with my parents leaving and the impending changes that surround having a baby have made for a very emotional Patti this week. :) Bless my husband for being so patient and loving with me.

I am desperately wanting some major nesting instincts to kick in but I find myself kind of dawdling (is that a word!?!?) through the day, just waiting for Brett to get home. My mother-in-law is going to come over this afternoon and we are going to go through Emersyn's clothes and get all her 0-3 month stuff washed and get the rest of it sorted by size. That will be fun to get done. Brett is going to help me clean up the house tonight, we are having our neighbors over for dinner tomorrow and the house needs to be presentable. They haven't seen the nursery yet and I want it to be super cute when they do. Not sure what I am going to make for dinner yet. Luckily it isn't so blazing hot here right now, I can use the oven without fear. :) I am a little annoyed though, from what I have heard and read, I should be a nesting machine at this point. What the heck?!?! :)

Monday, August 18, 2008

NEXT WEEK!!!!!!

Just got home from my dr. appointment where my dr. agreed to induce me next week! I am so excited!!! I adore my dr. and she feels that an induction will go well but in the event that for some reason I don't progress, she isn't going to just give me a c-section, she will send me home. That is fine with me, I don't want to be cut open, believe me! But I am already dilated to a 2 and still 70% effaced so that is good. I will keep trying to trigger labor this week and next and see where were are. But I have a 95% chance of having a baby one week from this Wednesday/Thursday. The dr. is admitting me at noon and then she will probably plan on breaking my water around 6pm and I will most likely have her late that evening/early Thursday morning. Brett is absolutely giddy, it is really cute. We have a lot to do in the meantime. My mom gave me what I think is my favorite present ever: she is having my house cleaned the day before the baby is coming. I am sure all pregnant (and non-pregnant for that fact) women can agree, having someone scrub your floors is a BLESSING. Not that I don't enjoy cleaning, it's just the whole 9 months pregnant thing that makes it less enjoyable. :)

My mom comes in the night of the 26th and then we are getting manicures and pedicures the morning of the 27th and then heading to the hospital at noon. I will have freshly painted nails for my little girls arrival, which is important!!!

I am officially on maternity leave now and looking forward to preparing this week. I am in such a state of shock right now, it is very surreal. My parents are moving today so I will be headed over to their house this afternoon to say "see ya next week!". My dad won't get to be here for the birth but that is okay, he will get to spend a lot of quality time with her when he comes back next weekend after she is born.

I'll keep you posted..... :) :) :)

Thursday, August 14, 2008

37 Weeks

My little Emersyn is considered full term now!! I am pretty much ready for her to come, just need to finish up some cleaning at my house. Oh to have a maid for a day! Scrubbing floors on my hands and knees isn't too appealing nor possible really with this belly right now! I am excited for my maternity leave though, I am hoping that some major nesting instincts will kick in and I will go crazy cleaning while Brett is at work. I think right now I am so pooped at the end of the day, cleaning and organizing doesn't sound like much fun. Today is very possibly my last day of work. I will find out more on Monday!

I was pleased with how my chimichanga's turned out last night. They are a a really easy recipe and you almost can't go wrong. I just get a rotisserie chicken from Costco, already cooked, flavorful and super moist! I tear apart the chicken, shred the meat and set aside. Then I sautee an onion until golden brown, toss in the chicken, along with some canned/diced tomatos that have peppers in them. I sprinkle with taco seasoning liberally as well as some oregano. I usually add some extra cumin too but I was out and decided to improvise with the taco seasoning. Then I take the chicken mixture and spoon it into flour tortillas, add some cheese, roll up and place in a glass baking dish, brush with butter, lightly sprinkle with cheese and bake for about 15 minutes on 450 degrees until they are light brown. They turn out so good every time and are best with rice and beans and some fun garnishes like sour cream, guacomole, salsa, etc. We love mexican food at our house, that is for sure. My family seemed to enjoy it too, my dad ate like 5 of them!! For dessert we had homemade strawberry shortcake. Yumm.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

22 Days Left....Maybe less!!!

I can't believe how quickly labor and delivery is approaching. I am WAY excited for my appointment on Monday where I can hopefully get the answer I am looking for. We'll see. It is on my mind a lot obviously. :)

I have been having some pretty serious Braxton Hicks contractions but nothing too serious, darn it! :) They are very uncomfortable though. Walking is getting to be uncomfortable too, I was at Costco yesterday and with each step I would flinch because it felt like the baby was using my bladder as a pillow or something.




Last night we went and saw "Iron Man" at the Grand Lodge in Forest Grove on a spontaneous date. It was a great movie, I really really liked it! Brett loved it too, he was like ecstatic that I wanted to go see it in the first place. I figured that our date night opportunities are dwindling.


When I got to work, my co-workers had decorated my cubicle with pink balloons and they threw me a surprise baby shower! I was genuinely surprised! It was fun, they got an ice cream cake and some munchies and I opened a couple gifts, including a Target gift card! Score!





Tonight, having my parents over for chimichanga's! Probably the last time they are coming over for dinner before they move to Minnesota next week. Sad!! :(

Monday, August 11, 2008

Monday Update

This is very possibly my last Monday at work!!! Next week at my dr. appointment, if she decides to induce me at 39 weeks, I won't have to go back to work because my disability policy will kick into effect that day! I am so praying that the induction happens, it would just be better for me as a planner. I am trying to surrender my need to control things though, as I know that this becomes near impossible with an infant!! :)

Here are some pics from our visit with Riley Langford and his mama last weekend!!




I love his little hands and how he is laying on his mom, just chilling.





SO cute!!! I just love his little face!!


Riley was not as enthused about happy hour at Gustav's as we were!! Brett is so cute with the baby though, I can't wait to see him with Emersyn!!!

Cuddling at church.


This is from my visit to Boise in December. Tiffany was about 14 weeks pregnant I think and if my calculations are right, this is right around the week before I got pregnant! She is my very best friend and I SO wish she lived closer but I am so happy for the amazing life she and her husband have built for themselves in Boise. We are going to visit her with Emersyn in November so our babies can meet! :)

In other news, the nursery is just about done!! Some updated pics!








Decorating the nursery has been such a fun hobby for us. We have gotten some good deals and had a blast looking for fun accents.
Hoping that this week goes by quickly! Our last birthing class is tonight, hard to believe that 6 weeks of classes flew by so fast!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

36 Weeks, 6 lbs 6 oz.

Today we had quite the morning at the hospital. We started with an 8:45 ultrasound appointment to find out how big Miss Emersyn is. She is perfect, 6 lbs 6 oz, 54th percentile. I still can't get over how big she is on the screen. Like, we saw a tiny little foot at the gender ultrasound, now it is like a giant foot in comparison! It was fun to see her moving around. 10am I had a dr. appointment where she checked my cervix and I am 1.5 cm dialated and about 70% effaced. Not too shabby. Her checking was a VERY uncomfortable feeling though, not one I am looking forward to. After that dr. appt. I had a non-stress test where Emersyn was really showing off and being a very very active little girl. She is so cute already. I had a couple contractions on the monitor, nothing significant but enough to be noticable. Everything is going well!

The list is starting to grow of things to get done before baby is born. This week I absolutely need to get the hospital bag packed, which is a fun thing to do! I am getting a photo mat for people to sign at the hospital when they come to visit Emersyn. I thought that would be fun to have and hang in her room, her first visitors! :) That needs to go in the bag, along with lots of other fun stuff. I only have about two weeks left at work, I wish it was less but I don't want to take unpaid time off.

I had such a nice visit with Tiffany this past weekend, I will have to post some cute pics that I got of her little man while she was here. He is too cute and I miss them so much already!!