Christmas 2010

We had a very busy Christmas this year!  We had Josh's family over Christmas morning, then drove to Winter Haven to see my mom and brother and then drove back home to see my dad.  Emslee got to meet her Uncle Shaun and Aunt Izzy and my dad, her grandpa and we're so happy to see them also!  I was surprised at how well she did opening presents!  She knew exactly what to do, even at 5 months!  Emslee loved every minute of her day!  She got books, a baby doll, a leapfrog dog that says her name, an activity table, shape sorter, clothes, a ball popper, and many other great gifts!  Josh and I are truly blessed and she was our gift to each other this year! 

Our Little Monkey

 

Emslee has had the nickname "monkey" since I was newly pregnant.  Josh and I picked out a bedding set with monkeys and started calling her that.  Our little monkey will be 5 months old on December 23rd!!  Crazy!!  She is getting so big!

Can I just say...

how much I love this little girl?  She seriously is the cutest and sweetest baby ever!  I'm so blessed!  Everyday with her is a new adventure and it never gets old!  Being a mommy is the best!

One of Emslee's Favorite Things:

a nice warm, wet bath!!

First Cereal Feeding

We started rice cereal when Emslee turned 4 months old at the end of November!  At first she was completely unsure of it...but now she LOVES it!

My Birth Story

So this story is from way back in July, but I never really got to share my first birth experience. I want to document it for my own sake and maybe some of you might want to hear it :)

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

This was the day of my 39 week doctor's appointment. During this visit, I found out I was not dilated or effaced AT ALL! However I was having contractions off and on and I was completely miserable! We opted to be induced as I was pretty sure I'd be going past my due date and I was going to lose my insurance on the 31st of July (that's a long story). My due date was the 27th. My doctor said let's do it so the office called the hospital. I was thinking...this is really happening and I am so scared! I was so ready to have her, but I was so nervous about the process of having her.
The hospital scheduled the induction for Friday, but I would go in Thursday night to start Cervidil (sp?) to soften my cervix. My doctor came back in to ask when it was scheduled and I told her Friday...to which she said "want to have it earlier"...I was like..no thank you Thursday is soon enough! We left the office and headed straight to get an ultrasound to see how big Emslee was. They estimated her weight at 8lbs 3oz and I about died! How was I going to have such a big baby??? I don't think I slept the next 2 nights as I was in shock over the fact that we were having a baby.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

I spent the whole day worrying about labor and cleaning...trying to take my mind off of the fact that I was having Emslee the next day. Don't get me wrong I was SO ready to meet her but I was equally scared to death of labor and delivery. Josh and I cleaned a lot and walked around a lot of stores waiting for the hospital to say it was time to come in. I think it was around 9:30 pm that they finally said come in. I filled out all the paperwork and was so happy that my momma showed up to see me even if it was only for an hour or so. They put in my IV, took blood (because my blood pressure was elevated thanks to my nerves), and put in the Cervidil. Then I was told to get some rest. Yeah right...I was up all night tossing and turning. Except when you turn over, the monitors move and then like 3 nurses come running in because they can't hear the baby's heartbeat and so you get woken up. Then you fall asleep finally and get woken up because you have to have your blood pressure taken 4 times over an hour. To say the least I did not get any rest and was only getting more nervous. I was having contractions all night long, though they weren't too bad.

Friday, July, 23, 2010


That morning at 9:30 my doctor came in and checked me (2cm) and broke my water. Then she let me get up, take a shower, and eat breakfast! That was so exciting since most doctors aren't that liberal while you're in labor. My goal was to have an all natural labor with no pain meds. I was doing okay at this point. Somewhere between 9:30 and 2, the contractions got really intense. They started the petocin at 11:30 so I'm sure that had a lot to do with it. I wanted to get up and walk around..which I was allowed to do, but I just couldn't. The pain was unbelievable. It took everything in me just to walk to the bathroom. Around 1:30 or 2 they wanted to check me again. I was happy, because I figured since the pain was so intense I had to be above 5 cm. Come to find out I was still 2 cm. Seriously! I had gone from 9:30 until now and had not dilated anymore! At this point I was majorly disappointed and physically exhausted. I just needed to sleep. I didn't want the epidural originally, but it finally sounded good. I figured at the rate I was going that I wasn't going to have the baby until early in the morning Saturday. So I caved and asked/begged for the epidural. I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't even feel it get put in..as the contractions were so intense. Once it was in I felt great! I was able to relax finally! My nurse said she'd be back in an hour to put in the catheter (the joy of an epidural)so I would be good and numb. I tried to sleep, but still couldn't. My mom left to go get a baby book. After an hour the nurse came back and figured she would check me since she was putting in the catheter anyway. I will NEVER forget the look on her face when she did. She was so confused! I thought something was wrong, but come to find out in less than an hour I had gone from 2 cm to 10 cm and fully effaced. Immediately Josh got on the phone to call my mom to have her come back lol. She didn't even make it to the mall to get the baby book. I told the nurse I was too tired to push and she suggested I just "labor down" which means just rest and let the contractions bring the baby down, for a while. Around 6:15 or 6:30 I was feeling severe back pain and pressure. I was ready to push. I pushed constantly with each contraction for the next hour and a half! I was so exhausted! My doctor came in and asked how I was doing and I told her I was exhausted and didn't think I was going to be able to do this. She said I was doing great and the head was right there. She left to get me some ice chips (how amazing is she...she even offered Gatorade) and when she walked in I had pushed Emslee's head out. She told me to stop pushing and I said I can't it hurts...and she said "push the button then". I was like...what button??? OH yeah, the anesthesiologist never told me that I could push the button and get more pain medicine. So she pushed it for me and then in a matter of seconds my little girl was out and on my tummy! I balled like a baby and I couldn't believe that she was mine and I actually survived having her lol. Emslee Grace Panton was born at 8:12pm and was 7lbs 9oz and 20 inches long....guess the ultrasound proved to be wrong lol. Unfortunately I tore as she came out so for the next 30 minutes or so everyone else got to enjoy her while I was being sewed up.
When I finally held her I was in awe. I think I kept repeating to myself that I can't believe she is actually mine. I can't believe she came out of me. What a true blessing from God she is....as her name means!

So that was my birth experience. It was not what I planned, but everything I hoped for and more! That night as I lay in bed holding my new daughter I turned to Josh and told him that I could definitely do that again! Praise the Lord for our precious baby girl!

Welcome!

I finally caved again and decided to try and keep up with a blog to update close friends and family on my little family. It's so much easier to update this way, than by sending out emails, etc. Hopefully it will give those of you who live far away a bigger glimpse into my life and allow you to see Emslee grow up! I hope you enjoy a look into our family!