Sisters

"A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life."
-Isadora James

Coming Home from the Hospital

May 26, 2007:

Today we brought Emma home from the hospital. She had her 72 hour check up with a German Pediatrician and then we were on our way. The day was very hot and humid. It felt more like a mid July day than May 26th. Jeff and I were excited to get home and spend time with Lily and April. Although the hospital staff was great, we were ready to be home and sleep in our own bed. Emma was quiet as a mouse the entire time we checked out and drove home. When we arrived home we were greeted by Auntie April and Lily. They were so excited to see us. Lily was so anxious to see "baby Emma" and have Mommy and Daddy home. Here are some pics....

Leaving the Maternity Ward....

Home at last.... even our neighbors, the goat and the horse wanted to meet Emma!

Lily was so excited to welcome her little sister home!

Hanging at the Hospital

After Emma's birth we stayed three nights in the hospital. My sister April stayed at our house and took care of Lily so we were able to spend some quality time rooming in with Emma. It was nice to get a few days of rest and bond with our new baby girl. Unfortunately the hospital was doing construction so it wasn't as quiet as we would have hoped, but we have no complaints. Kim brought us a fan so we received relief from the heat and the constructions workers took long lunches and left early. Over all the staff was AMAZING and we are thankful for such a positive experience.

While in the hospitals we received lots of visitors, food, gifts, cards, flowers, balloons.... the showering of love we received was over whelming. Jeff, Lily, Emma and I feel truly blessed to have so many friends that care about us. Thanks to all of you for being so kind and showing your support.

Emma's first visitors were her Auntie April, her Godmother, Kim and her big sister, Lily. Other visitors included, Beth, Karen, Bernie and Mike, Larry, Chris Enger and Carolyn and Gavin. It was great to see so many friendly faces welcome our new baby girl. Here are some pictures during our stay in the hospital.

Emma's Birth Story

I woke up at five a.m. Wednesday morning because I was too anxious to sleep. We had scheduled the induction with Dr. Weiss for today, May 23, 2007. We would be delivering at Böblingen Krankenhaus, which is approximately 15 minutes from our house in Weil im Schönbuch. I was too nervous to fall back to sleep, although Jeff and I had only been sleeping for about five hours. I decided to ease my nerves I would give my Dad a call. It was only 11 p.m. on the east coast and when I called him he said he was just getting ready to call me. We chatted about 40 minutes and then I decided to get my life changing day started.

Jeff came down at six a.m. and I attempted to eat some cereal with him. Again, I was way too nervous and anxious to eat. I showered, finished packing my bag and then I heard Lily moving around in her room. When I went in to get her she greeted me with a big smile and said, “good morning Mama…..are you tired?” I guess I looked beat from my lack of sleep and nerves. I got her dressed and ready for Kim. She would be spending the morning at home with Kim and then the rest of the day at Beth’s playing with her best bud, Gabi.

Kim arrived at 7 a.m. and Jeff and I left shortly after. We had to be at the hospital by 7:30 and as usual we were running a little late. The plan of the day was this: Kim watches Lily until 12:30 and then drops her off at Beth’s house for the day. My friend Karen picks up my sister at the Stuttgart Airport at 11:50 and brings her back to our house for a quick shower and some lunch. Kim returns to our house and picks up April and they come to the hospital to be in the delivery room with Jeff and I. Larry picks Lily up at Beth’s house in the evening, brings her home and puts her to bed. It was truly a team effort to get the day organized. We can’t thank everyone enough for helping us with Lily.

Back at the hospital, Jeff and I got checked in and they hooked me up to the CTG machine to monitor Emma’s heartbeat and my contractions. Dr. Weiss came in around 8:15 and began the induction by placing a gel on my cervix. We were told to relax and give the gel time to work. They would check in with us over the next two hours to monitor my status and determine if labor was progressing. Over the two hours I had a few contractions and started to worry that it wasn't going to happen. The Germans incorporate a very natural child birth philosophy and would only give me more gel in six hours. After that, if nothing happened I would have to wait until the next day.

After two hours had passed (around 10:15 a.m.), our midwife Esther came in and said that we could walk around the hospital grounds for the next hour and a half and hope that the walking would jump start my contractions. Jeff and I walked around the hospital, visited the café for some yogurt and cappuccino and then walked around outside for over an hour. The hospital has beautiful flowers planted every where and the sun was shining, so it was a nice day to be outside. The weather was going to hit 80 degrees; it was an absolutely gorgeous spring day. The only negative...no air conditioning in German hospitals...yikes!

At about 11:00 a.m. while we were walking around outside, the contractions came and came quickly. Just like with Lily’s induction, I just needed a little jump start to labor. We went back upstairs to Labor and Delivery around noon and told Esther that the contractions were coming regularly. She suggested I take a relaxing bath to keep calm and help me breathe through the contractions. It was a perfect suggestion and I appreciated the relaxed atmosphere.

After the bath the contractions were coming regularly and I was in pain. Dr. Weiss said I had dilated a few centimeters and could have an epidural if I wanted. I of course said yes and they called the Anesthesiologist up to get me started. Unfortunately during the first try the catheter bent when it entered so they had to insert it twice….ouch! At this juncture, Jeff became light headed (he passed out while I was getting my IV with Lily) due to seeing me in so much pain. The midwife and Anesthesiologist quickly made him lie down and within minutes he was fine. Jeff truly hates to see me in pain; it actually makes him light headed. However, minutes after the second epidural I was virtually pain free. At this time it was two p.m. and my sister and Kim had arrived at the hospital. Our afternoon midwife, Heike, brought April and Kim straight back to the delivery room. It was so wonderful to see Kim and my sister. April had been traveling for two days to get to Germany and was so excited to finally be with us. Jeff and I were thrilled that Dr. Weiss and Heike (our midwife) let them both stay in the room during the entire labor and delivery.

So, from two p.m. until about seven p.m., I received regular shots of epidural and was able to sit comfortably with Jeff, April and Kim. Dr. Weiss checked me one more time at about 4 p.m. and told me that my water had broken. This was quite a relief because now we knew for sure that the baby would come that day. The actual labor was quite benign with the epidural. We all talked and joked and wished I would dilate quicker. I couldn’t believe how comfortable I was considering with Lily’s labor I was in constant pain (with out an epidural of course). My two cents if anyone is interested….get the epidural. It is such a better experience. Dr. Weiss went home for the evening, but told the midwife to call him as soon as I was ready to deliver.
At around 7:15 p.m. I started to feel a lot of pressure and the epidural was not relieving any of the pain. The midwife said that I was at 8 centimeters and progressing quickly when Dr. Weiss returned to the room. Dr. Weiss seemed to arrive right on time because at about 7:45 p.m. I was just about ten centimeters and began pushing. We soon realized that we didn’t have to worry about having too many people in the room because Dr. Weiss gave everyone their own job; it was a true team effort. After 30 minutes of intense pushing, Emma Rose Prager made her appearance into the world at 8:15 p.m. CET. She weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces and was 22 inches long. Everyone in the room was crying and overwhelmed with joy. She was beautiful, an absolute angel. Jeff and I were so happy to be holding another healthy, baby girl in our arms. We were officially a family of four. Having Jeff, April and Kim in the room was an amazing experience. I felt so loved and happy to share such a miraculous experience with three people I love dearly. It is a day, I will never forget. Emma, we are so blessed to have you in our lives. You add such a special dynamic to our family already. Your sister Lily loves you so much and is thrilled to be your “big sister.” She can’t wait show you the ropes and play with you. You’re Daddy and I love you and are so happy to be your parents. We can’t wait to share you with the world and watch you grow into a beautiful, young woman. You have so many people who love you and want to meet you. You are a blessing, another miracle from above. Thank you for being our daughter and making us all so happy.

She's Here

Well she's finally here. Emma Rose Prager was born in Böblingen Hospital in Germany on May 23 at 8:15 PM. The 9 hours of labor went well (go Epidural!) and after about 35 minutes of some pretty intense pushing....she was finally here. We were so blessed to have April and Kim in the room with us, helping out each step of the way. Mom and baby are both doing very well. We will post more later but wanted to get some pictures up. For those of you who count stats: 7lbs 15 oz.; 22 inches.

My Baby Shower!

On Saturday, May 12th my good friends Kim and Beth hosted the most beautiful baby shower for me. I was so overwhelmed with the amount of love that was visible in every pink, little detail. The ladies made so much yummy food, sandwiches, fruit and meat platters, dips, breads, salads and much more. They also had a beautiful cake made. The house was decorated to absolute perfection, if you need professional hosting/decorating call Beth and Kim. They also made me a diaper cake and had pink flowers and candles everywhere. It was very elegant and oh so girly!! I truly loved it!! We played several games, including "Name the Baby" game with guests baby pictures, the "Poopy Diaper" game and several others. I received so many wonderful presents for baby P2 and myself. Thank you ladies for being so generous, but mostly thank you for sharing such a special day with me. I felt like a princess. You're all such wonderful friends! Now on to having this baby....

A special thanks to the hosts, Kim and Beth!! You out did yourselves! Thank you so much for making me feel so loved and helping me welcome my new little flower into the world. You're the best!!