It’s been a while!

I’m not even sure where to begin!  It’s been about 7 months since I last posted anything on my blog and my life has completely changed.  I haven’t had really any free time to be active with my blog because I’ve been a little busy, taking care of my baby girl!  That’s right… my husband and I have a baby now and I’m FINALLY getting a chance to tell you all about it 🙂

On May 8, 2018 we welcomed our baby girl Emilia Mae:

Her birth seems like ages ago, yet I can remember everything so vividly.  Her due date was May 7th and that was the final doctors appointment I had.  My husband decided to go with me in hopes that the doctor would do the pelvic exam and tell us “she’s coming today”.  Not a chance… the doctor basically said that my cervix was shut tight and the baby wasn’t going to come anytime soon.  We went ahead and scheduled for me to be induced for a week later (May 14th).  We left the doctors appointment feeling really sad, because we were so ready to hold our baby.  My husband and I were about to celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary (May 14th) and before we were even married we were ready to have kids, so the fact that we had to wait one more week to welcome our first baby, made us a little sad.

So, we left the doctors office and went about our day.  I remember sitting on the couch trying to make myself as comfortable as I could.  I was officially 40 weeks pregnant and my body was tired.  About four hours after we left the doctor, I started to have dull contractions.  Around 9pm that night, the contractions started to get a little more intense.  I tried to go to sleep, but just couldn’t.  Around midnight the contractions were regular… they lasted for one minute, were five minutes apart, and lasted for two hours.   Around 1 am my husband and I decided to go to the hospital…

We got all checked into the hospital and they checked to see if I was dilated.  The nurse said I was only 1 centimeter so they said we should go back home and wait it out.  They basically said that the contractions I was experiencing were only the beginning and that they would get way more intense and I’d know when it was time to come back.  I was totally freaked out because the contractions I was having were somewhat painful… how intense would they get?!

Around 4am, about an hour after we got home, the contractions got CRAZY.  I can seriously still remember it.  The pain was so intense that all I could do was yell.  My poor husband heard some of the weirdest noises come out of my mouth.  The only thing that I could do to help ease the pain was sit in the bathtub.  Around 9am, my husband came downstairs to check on me and I basically told him that I couldn’t handle it anymore and that we should go back to the hospital.  That was the LONGEST car ride ever!

When arrived to the hospital (AGAIN), this time I couldn’t even walk.  They checked us in and the nurse checked to see how far dilated I was; 5 centimeters this time… it was go time!  It’s so crazy that the day before we had our final doctors appointment and she predicted we’d have a baby in a week, instead it was only 1 day after.

By the time we got to my labor room, I was so ready for the epidural.  I had been up for over 24 hours and was just exhausted from the pain.  Once the medication started to take effect, it was time to rest!  We spent the next 10 hours resting and waiting for the baby to come.  By 8pm I hadn’t progressed much so they decided to give me a bit of medication to help get things moving.  My water had broke earlier that day and the doctors noticed there was merconium, so they decided that it was best to have NICU in the room when the baby was born.  They said it was protocol to have NICU there to ensure the baby didn’t have any trouble breathing when born.  Around 9pm the doctors came in one last time to check me and said it was time to go ahead and start pushing.  The baby’s heart rate kept dipping so they said we needed to get her out!  The room was dark and calm, I had some music playing in the background, and it was just my husband, a nurse, two doctors, and me.  The “pushing” part lasted for 30 minutes or so and with one final push, at 10:27pm Emilia Mae was born!

My husband has a much more graphic story but we won’t go there 🙂  I just remember pushing, feeling a huge pop, and laughing as the baby came out.  The NICU doctors immediately grabbed the baby to get her checked.  From that point, things are really a blur for me.  The NICU doctors were taking care of the baby and there were nurses and doctors taking care of me.  It’s hard to really describe the feelings I had…  Emilia was having some trouble so the doctors had to put her a ventilator to help her breathe and she stayed there overnight.  My husband and I were crushed… we really didn’t know what to think or do.  We literally just met our baby after waiting 9 months and she was being rushed away from us.  The doctors really didn’t give us any information, good or bad, just that she needed to be observed overnight until she could breathe on her own.  Before they took her away, I finally got to meet my baby girl and hold her.

By some miracle, about 10 hours later, our sweet baby was breathing on her own and all signs were looking good!  She spent most of the next day in NICU just to make sure she continued to improve and get healthy.  After 18 hours in NICU, Emilia was released and we got to have her all to ourselves!

It’s so crazy to look back at these pictures of her a few days old.  Although her birth story isn’t exactly what I was hoping, it is THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE.  It’s hard to even imagine my life without her.  Life is so incredibly different now and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’ve taken a much needed long break from blogging.  It honestly took me a long time to get adjusted to being a mom… not in a bad way, just took me a while to really have “free” time.  Before I had Emilia, I dedicated most of my days to cooking for the blog, taking photos of food, writing, editing photos, or working on freelance work.  Now, my entire day is focused on raising a little human.  The moments that I do get free during the day are spent cleaning, cooking, doing freelance work, or taking a shower!  I really admire parents who stay at home with their kids and blog at the same time.  I literally do not understand how that is done!

Emilia is the light of my life.  I’m so thankful and happy that I made the decision to stay home and raise her rather than have a traditional job.  I’ve spent the last 6 months becoming a mom and caring for my daughter.  Some days are hard, but being a mom is all I ever want to be.

The last month has been one of the most fun months with Emilia.  Her little personality is really starting to develop, she is sitting up on her own, smiles, laughs, talks, and started to eat “solids”.  As a home cook and foodie, introducing her to food, other than mama’s milk, has been SO FUN!  Of course, I have been making all the baby food myself and can’t wait for her to try all the foods.  Her favorite so far are pumpkin, pears, sweet potatoes, and mango.

This girl is just the sweetest, happiest, and sometimes super serious little baby ever!  I’m so lucky to be her mom and  spend all my time with her.  Cooking hasn’t really been a huge priority, nor has being on Weight Watchers, but I know this blog will always be here and once I have more time, I will be back to food blogging.  Cooking for me lately has been all about what is easy and what can be made a head of time.  I usually cook dinner all throughout the day when the baby is napping, so fancy and complicated recipes are non-existent in my kitchen!

I still have a few recipes that I have yet to share with you… so be on the look out for those.  I will write more “personal” related posts too!  Stay tune for more… but for now, here is my beautiful family and my whole heart.