Emery Nicole Staab

The almost Easter baby

Nat, Kate, and Paige

Lauren, Jamye, Neal, Linsay and Hillary-This pic will not get any bigger for some reason

Auntie Nat with Emery

How swollen is my face??? We are with the best doctor ever! So awesome!

My Mom and Emery

My Dad with his first grandchild

Proud Daddy

The NICU people-luckily they left

Me and my little girl

Just waiting...

Our little baby girl was born at 3:07 in the afternoon on April 13th! It was a weird day for me. I actually don't remember most of the labor and delivery. As I was saying in my last blog, I really wasn't there physically or mentally. That could actually be a good thing! I don't remember getting the epidural or really when I began pushing. The Moms and Nat came in during one of my breaks while pushing, and I hardly remember them. It is almost like I went to bed that night and all of a sudden I was pushing. It was crazy. It is like I snapped out it in time to deliver. All of a sudden there was this girl in front of me telling me pull a towel out of her hands. So weird. I remember begging Neal for ice chips. I was soooo thirsty. I was on a magnesium drip for my blood pressure, and I think that combined with everything else made me so thirsty and sleepy. My poor doctor would be talking to me, and I would just fall asleep in mid conversation. After 3.5 hours pushing he finally suggested using forceps. I was like sure! I was so tired by that point. Now that I definitely remember! That hurt alot. I am sure it was because I was tearing in half, but I was definitely awake then. I just remember waiting for her to let out her cry. I was so relieved she was ok. They whisked her off the her little warmer thing, and I just saw all of these people come in. I guess she wasn't very responsive, and I remember seeing her just lying there, and not really moving very much. Everything ended up fine, and they handed her to me. Well I started falling asleep with her in my arms, and my arms felt like mush. I had to hand her off to Neal because I felt like I was going to drop her. She was so precious and small. She weighed 5lbs. 13 ounces. It was so surreal. I can't believe we were parents! That night they kept her in the nursery since I was still out of it. My poor friends, and the grandmas came in to visit me, and I didn't remember much of that. How embarrassing! I apparently asked my friends for push pop and, I think it was Paige and Nat that I asked for chocolate. How random. Aside from all of the medication mess, it was the best day ever. I was so glad to have her safe and out of my belly. I never knew what she was doing in there so I was always a little concerned. Undoubtedly the best day of our lives!

What happened??

My Mom and Nat-visits in between pushes

Betty and Nat-So sweet- I am so happy Neal took these pictures

Not my best moment-definitely not my best hair day

I had these visions of what having a baby would be like, and I wasn't even close to my little fantasies. The night before giving birth to Emery my nurse gave me Cervadryl(spelling??) which makes your cervix ripen. That was not too comfortable. Also, let me say that Nat had that same thing put in, and she told me nothing would happen overnight. She said they gave her Ambien and that all was well. So I was like, great! Uh huh. Well I immediately started cramping. I then decided to ask for the Ambien because I didn't think that I would be able to fall asleep. 45 minutes later I was still awake and the pain had gotten worse. Now I had crazy back pain. It hurt alot! So I asked for a painkiller or something. I was given Demerol. That is when it all ended for me. That was the last thing that I truly remember. I have two flashbacks from that night. One was me standing up telling Neal that I think my water broke, and the other was me sitting on the bed being wheeled out getting sick and holding a little bag. That was it! What on earth??? I guess it was the beginnings of me going into labor, but I didn't know it at the time. Poor Neal was let to handle it all basically alone. I was of no use to him. Little did I know my little girl was ready to come out a little quicker than expected...

37 week appointment

Just waiting...

Thanks to Nat I have this tiny picture from that weekend

So Neal was out of town for my 37 week appointment so his Mom Betty went with me. I left straight from school and picked her up. Let me just note that I left my classroom a mess, and was going to start my maternity leave plans the next day. Okay, so we go off to the hospital with my fat feet and knees. The school nurse had taken my bp that day, and it was a little high, but I didn't think anything of it. So the nurse at the OB office takes my bp twice and weighs me. I had gained 7 pounds in a week. That added up to 15 pounds in three weeks. That is a ton of weight for the the last trimester. Still, the nurse didn't say anything. So I go in and meet with a new doctor. My office rotates so I had to meet everyone. She came in and basically said that I had preeclampsia and that they were going to have to run some labs, and that I was going to be admitted right then. What??? It took all I had to not freak out and start crying. I kept my cool, and called Neal who was 3 hours away. Luckily my mother-in-law was there! I would have totally lost it. I felt so nauseous from the nerves, and was just in shock when the doctor said that I could be having the baby that weekend(my appointment was on a Thursday.) So scary. So I was admitted and my doctor told me that I would have to be on hospital bed rest until the following Thursday because of the high bp. Poor Neal had to sleep there on the worst bed ever. So my parents decided to drive up and arrived on Saturday. At this point we were still thinking it was the following week. Well apparently my bp was going up, and my platelets were low so my doctor called me on Sunday at 10pm and told me that I would be delivering the next morning and that they were going to go ahead and give the thing that makes your cervix ripen that night. Gulp! I felt sick again. I was so scared and nervous. My legs started shaking. So begins a crazy night and day that I never would have predicted.

Pregnancy In a Nutshell

One of my last pregnant pictures

Love this picture!

I couldn't wait to show! Takes forever.

So before I go on about the delivery of my Emery I wanted to sum up my pregnancy. The first trimester for me was not really fun. I was excited to be pregnant, but didn't want to fully invest myself it in just in case something happened. I was nauseous from time to time, but nothing major. I didn't have an appetite ever, and when I did I went straight to Whataburger. Love those fries! I also could be seen eating out of an ice cream container from time to time. Once that was over, my second trimester was a little easier. I still didn't have an appetite, but at least I wasn't nauseous. I still wasn't really showing yet. I luckily was able to stay in my normal clothes with the use of my belly band. That is the greatest thing ever! The only thing that was awful was the whole thigh and inner thing widening. Horrible! You know your stomach is going to get big, but your thighs? Not fun. Then came the third trimester. All of a sudden, I started to get a little nausea, and then fat ankles. That was fine, but then my knees disappeared! I feel that I am fortunate that that all came at the end. Some poor things get it way sooner. What I enjoyed most was that feeling of a little girl stretching and kicking in my stomach. The anticipation of her arrival was so much fun. What was she going to look like? How was she going to be? Will we be the best parents we could be for her? Aside from the end, my pregnancy was just a miracle, and I was so priviledged to be able to experience it. It is truly a fascinating thing that our bodies know what to do to protect this little being that is growing in our bellies. Although I may not have always enjoyed every minute of it, I loved being pregnant, and would gladly do it again! After coming home with Emery after having left the house pregnant, I was actually a little sad it was over. It was a really weird feeling. There is only one first pregnancy, and my moment was over. Can't wait for the second!

My School shower

The happy parents-to-be

The best people to work with!

Krista and I delivered two days apart

My sweet friend and fellow first grade teacher Hillary and me

Me and Lindsay-she is due August 24th with a baby boy

Lindsay, Melanie and me

As everyone says, there was definitely something in the water at my school because we had 5 girls pregnant at the same time. There were losts of bellies in the hallway! Well my school shower was the Monday before I went into the hospital. I barely made that one as well. It was a triple shower. It was for my friends Lindsay, Melanie, and myself. Melanie is due in July with a baby girl, and Linds with a boy in August. I was so glad to be having the shower with them! I think I would have been too embarrassed to be there alone. It was such a neat thing to be able to have such fun girls to be pregnant with and to gripe about some the not so fun things of pregnancy, but also to share in the good things, like kicks, and shopping for the nursery... My school has been really supportive since the very beginning. I could not have been at a better place with better people!

Shower time!

Happy me!

The best friends ever! Thank you for everything girls. Love you!

We just loved this bib! I don't think Neal is going to share this one.

My constant cheerleader Jess and Amy Kerr-UTEP girls

Love these girls-Melissa, Lauren, Hillary and Lindsay

So cute!

Paige and I two weeks apart(so we thought)

Us with the grandmas to be

My last bridal shower was something that signaled to me the end of my pregnancy. It always seemed so far away, but once it came, it kind of sunk in that I was going to have this baby pretty soon. Little did I know how soon! One more week and I would have missed my shower! I had just the best time at my shower. Natalie, Lindsay, and Paige hosted it at Natalie's house. It looked so pretty! There were fairies everywhere. I kind of stumbled upon that theme for the Emery's bedding, but it looks so cute on everything else too. My Mom came in town, and I was so excited for her to meet my friends. I wanted her to see what kind of support, and what kind of great people I was surrounded by in Dallas. She has only met a few of my friends here. Almost everyone was there, and I felt soooooo blessed to have such wonderful people in my life. It makes these special moments in life so much sweeter. Emery received such great gifts from such giving people. I particularly lost control of my emotions when I was surprised with my car seat and stroller that Nat, Paige, Linds, and Paige's Mom got for me. It just screamed baby for me. It made it real at that moment. I was overwhelmed by the generosity of my friends that had already done so much. It was a really sweet gift along with the other great things that I have been able to really put to use! Then there was the video. Nat told us all to go the where the TV was, and there was Neal on the TV screen answering some questions about me and the pregnancy. I lost it again. My emotions were already kind of out of whack and this just sealed the deal for me. It was such a cute video, and I can't wait to look at it when time has passed, and Emery is a little older. It is such a great keepsake. It was such a special day, and I couldn't even imagine how special it was going to be to actually use everything on an actual baby. It has been such a joy in my life, and no one could have truly explained what it was going to be like to be a mother. I had no clue that day. Thank you to all my friends and family for making that day a special moment in my life that I will never forget.

Potato feet

What on earth?? My feet were starting to get so big! I had had it so easy the whole pregnancy, and them poof, potato feet. I wasn't wanting to do anything. I really couldn't walk very much, and my shoes were not fitting at all. I had to go buy the ever so glamorous Crocs so that I could wear them to school. At my 35 week appointment I had gained 8 pounds in one week. Blood pressure was still ok at the point, but the water retention was crazy! Not pretty! I know it's gross, but I just have to document it!

Packing day

All clear!

The family before baby

So nice of Jeff to come help!

Neal protecting the furniture

Well it was finally time to pack up the guest room, and start getting the nursery together. I had put it off long enough. I am a really bad procrastinator, but I figured that I still had some time left! We started to pack up everything, and decided to just store it in our garage. Neal's truck can't really fit in there anyways, so we could just use up the entire half. Hillary and Jeff came over to help us move stuff down, and I am so thankful for them. That really helped us so much. Finally the room was ready for the crib! Everything was really starting to move much faster now. I felt like I couldn't keep up with all that needed to be done for some reason. At about this time, I was starting to feel really tired again, and really didn't want to do anything. Nat actually warned me that that would happen, and that I should probably get stuff done sooner. I missed that boat I guess. Next we had to get the crib in there! Couldn't wait...