Best Big Brothers

I can admit that I was a little nervous about bringing a new baby home. I did not want to upset the balance in our home and create feelings of jealousy. I should have known that i had nothing to worry about, the boys adore their new brother. They are constantly asking to hold him and get overjoyed when they make him smile. Connor already has plans to teach Emmett how to read and write when he gets older. Aiden is planning to teach him baseball and how to make pancakes. I love watching their faces as they hold him and sing to him. They make up cute little lullabies for him, which makes my heart completely melt. I am so blessed to have three amazing sons and two boys that instantly welcomed our new addition into their hearts.

Emmett Henry Sanders

Last Pic before going into the Hospital

Baby #3 has arrived! I should not have been surprised that his entry into the world was the hardest of the three, since this pregnancy has been the most difficult. This whole journey of being pregnant and having a baby during a pandemic has been a roller coaster and less than ideal situation. Dave did not get to go to any appointments with me, half of the appointments were over the phone and I had to take my own blood pressure regularly from home. I had horrible heartburn the whole pregnancy, everything hurt to eat or drink, including water. 

We moved and bought a house while I was pregnant, which is amazing to have our own home but presented us with a new set of challenges. We were now an hour + away from the doctors and hospital where I had to deliver, and our area is known for it's residents getting snowed in. It did end up snowing close to my due date, but Emmett was not yet ready to make his appearance. On February 4th, I had my last doctors appointment. She told me that I was at 3cm and scheduled induction for the 7th, but said that she did not think that I would make it till then. She suggested that since I lived so far away, that I go for a long and walk and try checking into the Labor and Delivery building to see if I progressed at all. 

Dave and I went to downtown Lancaster to walk the boulevard and get some ice cream. I did not want to walk there for very long because it was surprisingly crowded for a Thursday. We decided to go to a park instead, and I basically ran in circles for 20-30 minutes hoping that would be enough. We went to the WIP (the Labor and Delivery Building) and they allowed me to enter but Dave had to remain outside. The told us if I was admitted and I tested negative for COVID that they would allow him to enter and join me. They took me back to triage where I got strapped to a bed with monitors and they "monitored" me. I could not reach my phone to let Dave know what was going on, the nurses were not very nice and left me alone most of the time and did not tell me anything. Finally after a couple of hours, I was able to reach my phone (while almost falling out of the bed) and told Dave they still weren't sure if they were going to admit me even though my contractions were 3 minutes apart. Finally, after 4 hours they said they were going to admit me, gave me a COVID test and Dave was finally able to join me when I was assigned a delivery room.

The people in this department were a LOT better. We had a wonderful nurse named Marla, who made me feel as comfortable as possible and chose to stay 2 hours after her shift to try to be there when I give birth. We met the doctor, who is said to be the best, the doctor that the nurses would choose to have their babies with if they had the option. He made sure that I had ice chips, and laughed at how much I was enjoying them, saying that I was eating them like it was a fine steak. I hadn't had anything to eat or drink for 5 hours at this point, so it felt like I was enjoying a rare delicacy at that point. Unfortunately, Emmett decided to not be a quick delivery like his brother(Connor), and we had to get a new nurse and a new doctor. Thankfully, the next nurse was equally as great, after the horrible time in triage I was quite nervous about new personnel. Our new nurse, Jasmine, was very personable and did everything to make me as comfortable as possible. I wanted to have this birth without an epidural because the last time I got one, they had to poke me 3 times and I had back pain at the site for the next two years. I held out for a long time but unfortunately my blood pressure started spiking, reaching 199 multiple times and our nurse recommended the epidural to get my pain under control because my body was not handling it well. At 6:00 in the morning I got the epidural and my blood pressure finally stabilized. Finally, I reached 10cm and our nurse said I could start pushing. When the doctor came in, the nurses made sure that my mask was pulled up until Emmett came into the world and the doctor had left the room. He had the cord wrapped around his neck one time but the staff all said he was fine and that everything was normal and that sometimes that happens on the way out. He passed all of his tests with flying colors and latched right away. We checked out of the hospital the next day and took our third perfect little boy home.

February 5, 2021  9:38am
8 lbs 10oz   21.5 inches

Let’s Try This Again

 It has been a couple years since I posted on this blog, but with this new addition about to arrive I find myself needing to start it back up. I have written about the birth of both my boys so far on this blog, and it would not be right if I did not have an entry for my third son when he arrives. To say a lot has happened since I last posted would be an understatement of epic proportions. The world that we live in has changed in ways, I do not think that any of us could have foreseen. But despite all the challenges life has thrown at us, we continue to rise and find the good where it is to be found. Last year, we were blessed with the good fortune to buy our first (and forever) home. We live in the most beautiful and safe community and I feel incredibly lucky to be able to raise my boys in such a magical place. I will be updating the blog with pictures of the house and more details later, for now I just wanted to say I am breaking my way back into the writing world and to apologize in advance if I am a little rusty. 🙂