Emmett Homer

Emmett Homer Doman

7lbs 14oz

20inches

and 3 weeks early

He's here, and it feels like a dream.

This post is finished much later than I would've liked.

But, man! I hardly have time for personal hygiene these days, let alone blog posts! 

Having this newest addition in our home, I feel more blessed than I deserve.

I also feel so vulnerable. To love so deeply takes my breath away.

My sweet cousin and sister Jessi told me a quote that I now constantly have on my mind.

“Making the decision to have a child - It's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”- Elizabeth Stone

Emmett is 1 month today.
He is a sweet little love.
Still can't believe I have him, and that he is mine.

It has been a month of transitioning for our family, to say the least.
Welcoming our son and brother into our family has meant having to help Reagan get use to sharing her parents, after not sharing them all of her little life.

Her love for her brother is obvious. Her holding him for the first time, was by far the sweetest way to begin our new chapter as a family of four. Isaac and I will never forget watching her, she sweetly giggled as she took him. Then she softly stroked his head for a few moments, and pointed to all of his little features, eyes, nose, etc. When we went to move him out of her lap she shook her head. "No thanks", I'm sure were her thoughts.
She immediately could say Emmett (menett).
And now she'll point at him and say "brother".

But the first week or so was hard to see her having a hard time with me being so occupied.
Nursing and nursing, while she wants so badly for me to just sit next to her and read her a book.
Heartbreaking.

But, at this one month mark, I can say I feel like we are in a good routine, and nursing doesn't take quite as long, so she and I can play a bit more.
I have confidence that things will only continue to get so much better.
Especially as Emmett becomes more alert and my littles can interact together.
As painful as it is to know he is going to get older too fast, I am excited for them to have each other!

It has also been hard to have daddy in school. We are all kind of infatuated with each other....
So, we'd prefer to spend every waking moment getting to hang out together.
It is a huge transition to have him gone more.
BUT, we all have to do hard things.
And we realize other families have to have dad gone a whole lot more than we will ever have to experience.
We have a whole lot to be grateful for.



Emmett's Birth 

I was measuring ahead of schedule. 

I was dilated to a 2, and for weeks had been having lots of contractions, and as I got closer to when I had him, I would have the contractions more consistently for hours at a time. 

Dec. 16th, I had had regular contractions for 8 hours. 

We finally decided to make the drive from Rexburg to IF.
We drove our baby girl to my parent's house.
I never like leaving her. We have been mostly inseparable for all of her little life.
But we gave her loves and had to be on our way.
Walking in to the hospital I always feel so lame, last time I walked up to the desk and said "uhhhh, I think my water broke?" and this time I was even more nervous to say "I'm pretty sure I'm in labor?"
And then they all look at  you like "ok, let's go prove another one wrong."
But as soon as I laid down to have her hook me up to the monitors and as she started asking me questions, those contractions reached an all time new ouch, and was pretty sure this thing was happening!
She said "Well, you're having contractions, but we need to make sure you're laboring."
She said I was at a 3 and that she'd give me two hours to progress.
Even after being a little more confident about the strength of my contractions, I was still so worried about progressing, because with Rea it took me hours and hours to progress, but that was with PIT and this time my body was doing it on its own.

A half hour before my nurse was due to come check me, my contractions had really started to become extremely painful, and I told Isaac that I was pretty nervous for her to come tell me I would have had to go home. How was I going to go home feeling this awful....Thankfully enough I made it to a 4!!!
Immediately,  Isaac said, "Well, she progressed! That means she can get her epidural, right?"
He doesn't mess around about that epidural business.
She said, "I'm pretty sure, I'll check with your doctor!"
The anesthesiologist quickly made his appearance.
Thank goodness.
And he did a brilliant job.
Then for the next several hours I attempted to sleep, and failed miserably.
Fortunately, Isaac could!
By 8 in the morning, we made plans to break my water because after hours of laboring I was only at a 5.
So when sweet Dr. Huggins came to do rounds, she broke my water.
We were expecting things to speed up...
Didn't exactly happen.
 A couple hours later they started me on pit.
By 12:30 ish I was at an 8, and my nurse said, Well, I called Huggins and let her know we should be having a baby here soon and to be here at 12:53.
I thought to myself...yeeeeeeeeAH right. With Reagan I was at a 10 for an hour before I even started pushing, then pushed for an hour and half.
At 12:50 my nurse asked me to give a practice push, so I did, and she said "Ok, ok, ok! I can see the head."
Really?

EXCITING!
A couple minutes late, about 12:56ish, Dr. Huggins came in, and we got started!
It was amazing because with this epidural I felt pressure with zero pain.
With Rea I felt nothing. NOT ONE THING.
So this time I could feel the contractions, and knew when to push, and felt like I was actually participating!
As he slowly worked his cute little self out, Huggins kept saying, "Wow, his hair!!!"
"That is some hair!"
 I heard the nurses, Isaac, and my mom laugh, and comment about her playing with his hair.
(the same kinda thing happened with Rea, although she didn't have quite as much hair)
At 1:14 I got to meet the new man in my life.
He was a little "Michelin baby".
With some seriously chunky feet!!!
Because he was 3 weeks early, his lungs were a little "wet".
His heart rate and breathing were a little accelerated.
So my all time favorite nurse (she has been involved with both my  babies) suggested doing "skin to skin" and within an hour things turned around and he didn't have to spend anytime in the NICU.
He ended up having a little jaundice, and had to be on a bili light for a little less than a week.
Now all is well and we are just enjoying getting to know him.
Best Christmas present I have ever been given.