The whole story

Since so many of you have asked, I thought I would post the official details of Emi's birth so as not to forget the deatails (yeah right) and to not have to recreate it multiple times via e-mail. So be warned, this might be long. I personally have a hard time with really long blog posts, so I will not be offended if you just skim it. :)

Here goes...

Contractions started sometime after 5:33am (I remember seeing this specific time on my alarm clock) on a very early Wednesday morning. I started timing the contractions at 6:03 after I woke Jacob up (in a panic, I might add, because these contractions HURT)and they quickly went from 4-5 minutes apart to 3 minutes apart. I called my Dr. (who was still out of town) at 6:30, and the on-call doctor told me to come to the hopsital Emergency Room and they would "check me out." It seemed to me that Jacob took FOREVER to get dressed and out the door, by the way, but we got on those icy roads and to the hospital by shortly after 7am. Jacob admitted later that he thought this was false labor, and that they would be sending us home after a brief visit to the hospital. He did have the foresight to bring his camera, however, but left out the memory card! The NICU was nice enough to provide us with a couple of pictures, though, so that was nice.

We left Miya at home (sleeping soundly) with Jacob's sister, in case any of you were wondering if we left our firstborn home alone. Deborah had some time off work, and had decided to come down for a few days...fortunately for us! If we had waited even 10 minutes longer trying to find someone to watch Miya for us, I might have had our baby in the car or in my front room - scary! Thank you, Deborah, for being in tune enough to decide to visit us that week - I don't know what we would have done without you!

So...by the time they got me up to labor and delivery, I was already 7cm dilated. The next thing I know, several minutes later, they say I'm "complete", and I hear them telling each other that there won't be time for any pain medication because this baby is on the way out. (Let it be known that the scariest moment for Jacob was hearing them say that I wouldn't get any pain meds...I thought that was pretty funny. And I had my own little surge of panic since Miya's birth was induced and I was saved by my epidural). By the time they delivered the information about no pain meds, I already knew this baby was coming, and then they have the nerve to tell me to "try not to push yet" because the doctor is still a few minutes out. Yeah right...I tried "not pushing" for a long time (it was probably more like a minute, but who really knows...at which point they reminded me to breathe because I was hyperventilating...great). It was over from there... and our little girl was born before the doctor could make an appearance. She was born at 7:49am - 5 lbs 9 oz and beautiful!

Yes, I experienced natural childbirth! Not really by choice, but if having a baby could always be this fast, I think it might not be such a bad thing. Don't think for a minute that I won't consider pain meds next time if I get a choice and a chance...having a baby still HURTS, HURTS, HURTS, and I haven't forgotten that yet. But I am so grateful it was relatively fast, and that I did it! And so grateful that Emi is healthy and doing so well. 5 days in the NICU, 2 weeks at home, and doing great so far!

There it is. The official story. Oh...no, we don't know why I went into labor at 35 weeks, though it seems unconnected to the reason Miya came at 34 weeks (preeclampsia) and it's difficult to say if the next time will be similar. Perhaps my body just gets tired of being pregnant...I don't know what I'd do if I had to go 5more weeks and get really huge like every other pregnant woman. I'm blessed for so many reasons. :)

Emi's Name

We neglected to post Emi's full name, so let me do that. We named her Emi Kate. Emi is a Japanese name meaning "beautiful, blessed ", and it's pronounced "em-ee" like the Em in Emily. In fact, we chose the name because of the Japanese meaning, and in honor of one of our favorite people whom we lovingly refer to as Emmy (a.k.a. Emily Chaffin...now Belnap). Kate came from...well, we just liked the sound of it next to Emi. It fits beautifully, don't you think?



Incidentally, Miya is also a Japanese name meaning "temple/sacred house", and her middle name Mae is in honor of Michelle's grandma Miller, Della Mae, the best grandma in the world. Really.

Emi Update

Our little Emi is home and is doing very well! She was born at 5 lbs. 9 oz., went home at 5 lbs. 3 oz., and was 5 lbs. 8 oz. at her one week check-up. She is eating like a champion and consequently pooing like champion as well. We have had lots of help with meals (thanks dinner swap group and our ward) and we have had family come and help too (thanks Deborah, Mom Miller, and Dad Nishida). Miya is adjusting well and is our little helper. We are just so happy! Here are some pictures that we snapped yesterday.

Miya discovered "forts" today

We just got a package today and it was packed with a long crumpled sheet of brown paper. Miya had fun playing with it and when we twirled it around her, she didn't want to get out. She wanted her Dada to come inside with her, but as you can see from the pictures there wasn't room for him. (Please note that the sticker that is on her forehead was placed there by Miya. She likes to accessorize.)

She just couldn't wait!

This is Jacob. I just wanted to share a little bit of our excitement and surprise with you. Rather unexpectedly, Michelle delivered little Emi to the world this morning. After two hours of contractions and no time for pain medication, it has been a whirlwind morning (I am sure that Michelle would have a different adjective). Michelle is doing well and so is Emi. Since the birth came so early we expect to be at the hospital for a minimum of several days and a maximum of...well, we are really not sure. Here is our precious baby girl:

Miya at 19 months

Here's our little baby Miya, looking (and acting) more and more toddler-like every day!


She did a great job posing for the photographer, though it took a little while to convince her to lay on her tummy.



We didn't get a family picture taken...I'm a little ashamed to admit that it mostly has to do with the fact that I feel huge. Okay, so I look huge, too, and I'm holding out for a family shot when these extra pounds take the form of a baby outside of my body. :) So stay tuned.

Christmas morning

Here are a few fun pictures of the Christmas morning present extravaganza. It sure is fun to see children get excited over new things. I love that Miya is such a happy little girl in general, but it was double the fun hearing her giggle and enjoy all the attention.



Almost all the presents under the tree were for Miya, and after a while, she got burnt out. So we finished opening the last few later in the evening. Evidently opening all those presents is a lot of work!


We were glad to have grandma and grandpa Nishida visiting with us as well. Miya is going to miss her favorite playmates when they leave!

Merry Christmas!

Well, this is my first post on our family blog in quite some time. I completed my finals a couple of days ago and have been enjoying my time with Michelle and Miya. Watching movies, shopping, and eating yummy food...I sure love holiday break! Here is a picture that was taken at our church Christmas party.

Houston

I thought I would let Jacob post this, but with finals looming, it looks like it may not happen any time soon. So to make the announcement, he has accepted a summer internship with Shell Oil in Houston, TX. He had some really great offers, and it was a tough decision. But we both feel good about this choice and look forward to a summer of fun in the hot and humid Houston sun!



Okay...maybe I'm not really looking forward to the "hot" and "humid" parts, but I'm warming to the idea.

Negligence... and Baby Updates

Talk about failure to blog on a consistent basis! It's been nearly a month, and I apologize for our negligence...time flies.

As for updates on the baby...I've had more Dr.'s appointments these past two weeks than I have had in the past 6 months. 6 all together, with 4 ultrasounds. Yes, you heard me right. Our little 3-pound 9-ouncer seems to be doing fine, but we're all keping a close eye on her. I went in for an appointment the Monday before Thanksgiving, and after an hour and a half of being hooked up to the machine for a non-stress test, the baby's heartbeat wasn't accelerating with each movement like they expected it to. This led to the first ultrasound, which lead to a second follow-up ultrasound 2 days later. Then we got to have a pediatric cardiologist do another one to look at the baby's heart, followed by another ultrasound to do all the measurements again. Those last two were on Friday, at which point they declared everything to be just fine, (good muscle tone, movement, heart rate, practice breaths, etc.) with the baby's size consistent with my due date.

So...I still get to have weekly non-stress tests, but probably not more than one or two more ultrasounds. It's actually quite a treat to be able to see our little girl so frequently, and to be able to really watch her grow and develop. Most women only get to have one, and I've had 7! I am grateful for a careful and thorough OB, and for insurance. :)



She often has her hands up by her face, but here are a couple of the most recent pictures. I've seen her blink her eyes, open her mosuth and swallow, empty her bladder, and turn over. Pretty cool.


Oh...and evidently she has "lots" of hair (according to the tech). I'm not sure what "lots" means, but maybe she'll be lucky enough to not be hairless for the first year of life like Miya was. Maybe...