Sisterly love

Katie may not like receiving less attention from us, but at least she adores her new sister!

Some recent Katie comments:
"Emily, don't cry, mommy/daddy will be right back."
After Emily cries "Oh, I go check her"
"I want to hug her/kiss her/hold her"
"Mommy, fix her head!" (when Emily's newborn neck makes her head flop to one side)

Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of. You know whatever you do, they'll still be there. ~Amy Li

Bargain: 50% off select magazines

Amazon is offering 50% off select magazines with the checkout code: OCTMAG50

Take a look here and you may find one you like! They have Smart Money, Forbes, Good Housekeeping, Dwell, House Beautiful, Popular Science and a few others.

Bargain: Nursing Cover

Go to www.uddercovers.com and get a free nursing cover. Type in"1free" and you just pay the $8.95 shipping.

They are normally $32. Even if you're not a mom this makes a great gift.

Thanks to Heather for forwarding this deal!

Emily's birth story

It is strange to think that 2 years ago, I was writing Katie's birth story and now it is time to do a write up on Emily's big day! Fortunately, this time around, the story is less traumatizing and much less painful.

Sept 25th - 5am
Of course, I'm up early to make sure everything was in order. Grandma arrived a couple days ago to be on Katie duty and accompany me to the hospital for the big day. We all got up, got Katie ready for school and headed to the hospital.
Sept 25th - 11am
I was told to get there early because I needed extra fluids before surgery(due to low blood pressure). Instead, I spent extra time in the waiting room because they were out of triage rooms. I eventually got into a triage room where I received my IV and was prepped for surgery. The nurse came in to tell me that she had another patient that was starting to push, so I could be delayed anywhere from 30 min to 2 hours.

The Final Belly picture:

Sept 25th - 11:30am
My doctor came into my room to tell me that the other woman wasn't pushing very well and she doesn't want to make me wait, so she's going to deliver me first. What luck...that never happens! So, within minutes, I'm up and walking to the OR. Kisses to Mom, Mom Mom and hubby while they take me back to give me the spinal.
Sept 25th - 12pm
The OR temp feels to be set around 40 degrees. I'm sitting on the table shaking like crazy...I'm not sure if it was the temperature or the fact that a needle was being inserted in my spine. Either way, the nurses were amazing and huddled around me with warm blankets. As soon as the spinal block was inserted, I was told to lay straight down so that it could start to work. Within about 10 minutes, I couldn't move my legs and concentrated on taking deep breaths (spinals and epidurals numb your chest as well and make you think you are not breathing because you can't feel your lungs). Hubby was brought into the room and things got under way.
The surgery took a little longer than expected due to pretty bad scar tissue. She said it could be due to the way my body heals or because last time was an emergency deliver. Either way, she said I need to think twice about having a 3rd child as it could be pretty damaging. It was depressing news, but we will stick with the happy story. Unfortunately, the scar tissue required them to use a vacuum and forceps to deliver me.

Sept 25th - 12:48pm
Emily Grace is born! She was just perfect, although I didn't get to see her immediately. Andrew went to cut the cord and she was brought to me all clean and shiny! They let me hold her for about 10 minutes and then she was taken to the nursery.

I'm so happy to have my two beautiful girls!

More to come later...