And then there were 3.. Birth Story!

Emery Pamela Pace was born on Wednesday, September 21st at 7:35 PM.  Due to high blood pressure toward the end of my pregnancy I was induced at Alta View Hospital.  Adam and I went in for our 39 week Dr's appointment on Tuesday the 20th of September.  At that appointment, my goal was to get my wonderful doctor to either induce me or break my water and put me in to labor :)  I was so done being pregnant by this time and I just wanted my little girl here!  At our appointment that morning, they checked my blood pressure and checked on the baby's location and checked on my cervix to see if it was ready yet.  I was only dilated to a 1+, which I had been for weeks now, and I was about 70% effaced.  The Dr checked the position of the baby to see if it would be safe to break my water... we tried that before and she was in a dangerous spot so the Dr did not feel comfortable doing it that way.  This time, she was in a little bit better of a spot but the Dr still said there was a pocket of fluid by her face and it still wouldn't be the best thing.  I was so disappointed until I heard him say "But, I don't love your blood pressure and that is enough to get this baby here today!" WOO HOO!! The high blood pressure wasn't really bothering me yet so at that moment I was SO GRATEFUL for the 180/120 on the machine!! We were about to meet our baby girl!!!  The Dr then told us that he was going to induce me that night.  He sent us home and told us to wait for a call from Labor & Delivery, get our bags packed and head over!  That was at about 7:30 in the morning... we did not hear from Labor & Delivery until 8:30 PM! Boy was that the longest day of my life!!!  We were so anxious that whole day... They told me I could eat so my mom took Adam and I to Cafe Rio that night.  I didn't eat a lot cause I was nervous I'd get sick but I'm pretty sure Adam ate like a King since he wasn't sure what kind of eating he'd be doing in the next couple of days!  We went home after dinner and I got in a nice little nap.  Labor & Delivery called us to come in at about 8:30.  We got to the hospital at 9:00 that night and got checked in.  My room # was 205 and I could swear I had the nicest nurse out of anyone that night... and the funny thing was, come to find out, we were related!  I got changed in to my sexy hospital gown and we were just talking with the nurse.. She told us her last name is Pace and wondered if we were related.. Adam threw out some names and we found out that Grandpa Pace was her uncle!  So she was Adam's Dad's cousin!  She was so sweet and took really good care of me.. I know Grandpa Pace is watching over us and hand picked her for me! Thanks Tom! :)  After I got hooked up to an IV and a blood pressure machine, she started me on what is called Cydotek to soften my cervix and Magnesium Sulfate (HBP medicine.) That stuff made me feel like I got ran over by a truck!  Adam and I actually got a pretty good night of sleep that night.  She was able to get Adam a more comfortable bed and, well, I had all the popsicles and ice chips I could ask for and the bed wasn't too bad so I felt great!  The next morning was GO TIME!  The Dr came in at about 6:00 AM and broke my water and started me on Pitocin.  Adam said that part was pretty cool.. He was such a trooper, he wanted to watch EVERYTHING that any of the Drs or nurses did to me.. He loves that stuff!  That day was a long long LONG day!  Luckily, my mom and my sister and a couple of good friends Chelsie and Marlee came to visit and give Adam a break.  My sister was an angel.. brought stuff to do my makeup and brushed my hair for me and even offered to buy me a cute ring at the gift shop if I was a good girl :)  My mom was also a Godsend.. she rubbed my feet for me and got me whatever I needed.  They both fed me ice chips too, which was the best since I was starving at this point!  Adam was so wonderful too, he held my hand (& my leg) through it all :)  Back to me, I started to feel the contractions closer together and A LOT more painful and by about 9:00 AM, I had the anesthesiologist come in and give me my epidural.  I was really nervous for that part as I thought about a giant needle being stuck into my spine but it really was not too bad!  I just talked to everyone as he was placing it and tried to stay calm and make jokes!  Adam, of course, was right behind the anesthesiologist watching all the action!  He loved it.. He actually got so close at one point that the Dr had to tell him to back up since it was a "sterile area." Haha, getting in trouble, I love that boy!  So, yeah the epidural was not bad AT ALL and it saved my life.. All of the pain was gone, I honestly don't know if I could ever deal with labor pains without one! We'll see...  The day went on and the Dr and the nurses kept coming in periodically to check my dilation and effacement.  It was moving very slowly, and by about 4:00 I was only to a 6 or so, but almost fully effaced.  The nurse came in by herself at about 6:00 and checked me again.  I was a lot closer, about to a 8+ and she had me do a practice push.  She checked me a couple more times and had me do a couple more practice pushes and then told me she was going to call the Dr to come in because I was pushing so well and this baby was on her way!  Ahh... Best feeling in the world seeing your Dr come in and get ready to deliver your baby.  My mom, my sister and Adam were all there with me helping me through it.  Adam was holding a leg before he knew it and my mom and sister were taking pictures and standing by my side!  My nurse at the time of delivery was named Carie and she was the biggest sweetheart, I think her and my doctor were the best team and we worked super well together because with only 45 minutes of pushing I had my sweet, beautiful baby girl in my arms!!!  I can honestly say that was the happiest moment of my life and such a spiritual experience too.  I know that Adam's mom was there with us and I felt that Heaven was so close by.  It's so amazing how I felt and how the whole delivery went.  I can not think of a single time that I felt any pain or pressure or was even scared.  I knew I was about to bring one of God's children to this earth and be her mom and I could not have been more excited!!  They asked me, before I started pushing, if I wanted the mirror! Umm.. Heck YES I want the mirror... That answer from now on will ALWAYS be yes! It was so cool to see her come out, the moment we could see some dark hair we all got pretty emotional, but it was when her sweet head and precious face came out that I really lost it and started bawling!! It was pretty quick after she started to crown.  The rest of her body came out so fast and before I knew it she was laying on my chest!   She was so perfect, only cried a little bit when she came out and she did so good when the Dr and nurses were checking her and poking her with needles :)  She is a tough chick!  I got to hold her for a few minutes and I just kept crying and kissing her.. There is nothing like a mother's love and seeing your baby for the first time!  I would do that over and over again just to have that feeling more often!  So, there she was... Emery Pamela Pace. She was 8 pounds 10 ounces and 20 inches long!  Beautiful, healthy, PERFECT little girl!  My dad, my brother, and my sis n law all came to be with us that night and meet our new little bundle of joy.  Adam's Dad and Step-mom Connie also came to be with us... But like I said before, I felt like there were others there... It was Amazing and I was so grateful for everyone's love and support and most of all I was grateful to have such an incredible Dr! I love Dr. Later and would recommend him to anyone!  The nurses were all really great too!  After Emery was born, they put me on Oxygen and more Blood Pressure medicine because I was starting to get really dizzy.  Dr later said I lost a lot more blood than what is normal and I needed to just lay down and wait to see my baby again till the next morning.  As much as I wanted to be with her that night, I let the nurses take her to the nursery so that I could get my blood pressure under control and get some sleep. Adam got to spend some time with her though.  He fed her and held her and had his "moment"  He is seriously the cutest and best Dad!   So, there is my story... A wonderful labor and delivery and an amazing experience that I would do over and over again!  I love my new little family!!!

Here are some pictures from the hospital.  Due to a wet towel on my head and giving birth I don't look so great so please excuse the mess! But she sure is cute ;)

 The first night... and last picture of my baby bump!

 Adam and I the next morning.. ready for our baby girl!!

 Such a supportive husband... I'm a lucky girl!

 The screen we watched to show how close my contractions were and monitor my blood pressure.. Yep, minute apart and I could feel them even with the epidural!  MORE PLEASE!!!

Presh

My sweet nurse, Carie

 

 My incredible doctor and my sweet, sweet BABY GIRL!

 A Mother's love <3  I could just stare at her all day!

Emery Pamela Pace... 8 lb 10 oz 20 in

 Daddy-Daughter time... Love at first sight!

 Grandma Connie

 Grandpa Kevin

 Emery grabbed on to Adam's finger.. Sweetest thing ever!

 Kristin... thank you for ALL of your help, best sister in the world right here!  AND... I earned my ring for being a good girl :)

 Grandma Tami... thank you for being there through it all, I couldn't have done it without you!

 Looking at and LOVING my new little sweetheart... she is sooooooo yummy!

 Such a good daddy!

                                                  

Halle LOVES Emery!   Jack Loves her too!  She is lucky to have such sweet cousins!

Aunt Sally! Thanks for coming to see her when she got here! We love you!!                                               

                                    
 Papa Chuck! Thanks for watching her so I could sleep! I'm sure she loved her day with grandpa :)

 Found her thumb basically right when she was out!

 So in LOVE! ... With her, not my hairdo ;)

Cute Marlee and Dan came to visit.. They're next!

Just chillin in her bed.. loved the gangster hoodie!

Happy but sad to be leaving the hospital!

So tiny in her carseat.. she loved it!

Going home!!!  We loved our stay at Alta View. Minus the blood pressure machine beeping SO loud every half an hour or so and the nurses sometimes taking a while to come in and turn it off, the nurses and doctors were all great and the service was excellent.  It's going to be hard to go home and not have someone every minute of the day to get me whatever I want! We look forward to starting REAL life with our little Emery.. :)

The Craves, the Bump & the COUNTDOWN!!!

Well, I truly am a horrible blogger but I HAVE to post about the pregnancy!  Let me just tell you, this has been the most amazing 8 months of my entire life.  I have loved everything about being pregnant, yes, even the sickness.  Here are some moments that I never want to forget and some that I could probably live without... ;)

*8 Weeks.. First Ultrasound: I could NOT stop crying when I saw for the very first time my little babe.  At this point, it just looks like a blob but a blob you couldn't love any more!!!  We were able to see where the baby was and the coolest part is we were able to see that first little flutter of the heart <3 There is nothing more amazing than this!  Another cool thing is that we were able to hear the heart beat.  It was a fast one.. which led us to believe we were having a girl (we had heard that the faster heart beats tend to be girls)  Anyway, that 8 week Ultrasound was another time in my life where I was overwhelmed with gratitude and felt so blessed to be given this opportunity to be a mommy!  There is nothing better than laying there holding my hubby's hand and listening to our little one's heart beat :) 

*10 Weeks.. Our First Dr's Appointment:  We were SO excited for this day to come.  We were anxious to meet our Dr (even though I already know him) We were excited to meet all of the staff and mostly, we were excited to see how our little babe was doing and get a look at he/she again!  This was a quick appointment, but we were able to talk about how the next 9 months were going to be, get all of our questions answered and see our baby and hear it's little heartbeat again!  We loved our first experience there and would recomment Dr. Bob Later to anyone!  He just so happens to be a good friend of mine's step-dad so I had met him before and know a couple of the girls who work in the office which makes going there even more pleasant :)

*14 Weeks.. The big Day! (Well, until Delivery)  Can I just tell you how completely spoiled I have been when it has come to getting to see my baby?  Usually, you can't tell the gender of your baby until your 20 week Dr Appointment but I could NOT wait that long.. Plus, why would I when I have access to the greatest place on earth (besides Disneyland) FETAL FOTOS!  Needless to say, I have been there quite a bit to see how my little one is doing.. and on this particular day, I was able to bring anyone and everyone who wanted to to see my baby on an ultrasound and find out what he/she was!!!  My family, Adam's family and a few of my close friends were able to come with me and be in the room when we found out the gender of our little one.  Everyone was so THRILLED when our little GIRL showed us very clearly what she was :)  She was not a bit shy and showed us right away those 3 lines that let us know she was definitely a she!  Adam and I thought from day 1 that we were having a boy.  My family has 3 nieces and 1 nephew and it was time for another boy...  So we thought!  Turns out the 5th grandchild for my family was indeed another little princess!  Everyone, including Adam and I, was so happy and so excited to welcome another sweet girl into the family.  I secretly was the happiest! I have always wanted a girl first.. My oldest sibling is my sister and she was so great to hold that position of being the oldest.  She taught us all so much and has always been a great example of love and friendship.  I can't wait to meet my little Mini Me :)

                   The 3 lines we were oh so happy to see!!!

                          Pink Envelope = Girl!!!


*20 Weeks.. Half way mark!  Ahh.. This was the best feeling knowing that we were HALF WAY THERE!  Up to this point, I hadn't been too sick.. the first trimester was a little rough but nothing I couldn't handle.  I was mostly just nauseated at night and super tired all day long.. The couch was my best friend!  I think I went through a gallon of milk every like 2 days, I have been obsessed with milk! Either on cereal (which has been a craving) or just plain!  Yogurt was constantly stocked in our fridge and I made my sweet husband go on many midnight runs to the nearest McDonalds or jamba for a juice!  Thanks babe, I owe ya!  Other than that and Arby's roast beef sandwiches, I haven't had too many crazy cravings... I did go through a phase where I liked hummus and eggs and now I HATE both. Oh, and I can't stand to even look at toast, it makes me gag :)  Gotta love Pregnancy!  At 20 weeks, we had another Dr appointment.  This time they did an ultrasound and checked on all of her organs and made sure again that she was a girl!  Everything looked great and the Ultrasound Tech did an awesome job at showing us what and where everything is.. We had a healthy little girl in there.. Such a relief! :)  After that appointment, OF COURSE we had to get more pictures of our little one so we went in to Fetal Fotos again to see how she has grown...  Here are some pictures from that little photo sesh...

Still so skinny, and still a little alienish but we LOVE every bit of her!  I love seeing her hands in all of these pictures, she always has them on or near her face... I have a feeling this one is going to be a little thumb sucker :) <3

*30 Weeks... The 10 Week countdown!  This is about the time I started to feel SUPER pregnant... I could hardly bend over to put my own shoes on... Around this time Adam and I took a "babymoon" trip to California to see an Angels game and just relax before it's not just the 2 of us anymore... This was such a fun trip!  I have to admit, I was quite the sport for being 30 weeks prego and going, going, going this whole trip!  We went to the game, we went to Balboa Island, we went to Huntington Beach and Newport, did a lot of shopping and walking around, and ate out at some of our favorite places! I love my traveling partner and look forward to many more Vacas with him... I've kind of had to welcome him slowly into the world of traveling as his family didn't do a whole lot of it and my family, well, that's all we did!  I think Adam has loved it though and gets more and more excited every time we go somewhere he has never been... I have now dragged him to Vegas, California and Hawaii!  Can't wait to bring our little girl along for the next one! 

 Huntington Beach Pier... That pier seems like a mile long when you are 30 weeks prego!

 Ad and our sweet rental car... The Charger! He thought he was pretty cool!

 Eating a Balboa Bar on Balboa Island... Heaven!

At the Angels/Yankees game! Great game but a sad loss for our Angels :( It was still fun to see a bunch of all stars playing ball!  We had a good time on this trip and it was nice to get out and enjoy some sun and each other before I was too big and miserable to do anything... ;)  This trip was also a little surprise for Adam's birthday! He turned 28 on June 2nd!  Happy Birthday to my hot husband! I love you so much and I could not imagine life without you!  Still lookin good at 28 babe!  I look forward to many more birthdays and trips with this man! :)

*35 Weeks...  I figured this was going to be about the last time I could get some good pictures of our little Princess.  My whole pregnancy, she has been ahead of the game by 2 weeks! She is a big girl and growing so fast! Every Dr appointment, they tell me I am measuring 2 weeks ahead and that she may come early!  At 35 weeks she was already close to 6 pounds!  I know that is still pretty small but just thinking how fast they grow in the last weeks scared me a little!  I knew for sure if she stayed in the whole 40 weeks I was going to have one BIG baby!  We went in to Fetal Fotos again to try and get some good shots of her and this was the best one YET!  She was so dang cute.. and so big!  She really had filled out her face and has the cutest cheeks ever that I can't wait to kiss!!  I love her lips too, she definitely looks more like a Pace to me than an Anderson but we will have to see.  She is starting to open her mouth a lot and her eyes a lot and suck on her hands (which isn't surprising)  At this Ultrasound, I could see tons more HAIR, her open eye, her feet that look just like mom's, and her chubby chubby cheeks!  Enjoy!

 These ones were more like 33 Weeks... I thought they were the cutest cause it looked like she had Adam's dimples, which I have been hoping for!! Her little face is so sweet!

 A few weeks later.. this was our last Ultrasound, she was so cute and so chubby!  I love me those cheeks :)

 Poor thing has her mom and dad's flat feet!  Hopefully they are cuter on her :) Sorry Em.. That's one we can't help!

 DOUBLE CHIN!  Oh, my poor baby is so squished in there!  These pictures made me so sad cause she just looked so miserable and too big to keep growing in there!  I hope she is ok, I'm sure she is going to be THRILLED to get out and be free!   

 Cutest picture of her little toes!  Can't wait to meet her and kiss those feet of her's!

 I love this one of her lips puckered! And again, those CHEEKS! <3

This is right before she started licking her hand, it was the cutest thing I've ever seen... She loves her hands and is opening her mouth like crazy and eating whatever she can get ahold of!  I guess that's why I feel her get hiccups so often!  We have loved getting to bond with and see our sweet Emery so often.  It is amazing to see how a baby grows and how a beautiful life is made right before our eyes!  Can't wait to meet this little bug and see those chubby cheeks in real life!   5 more weeks! Or less! :)

At about 6:30 tonight, we found out that Adam's loving grandpa, Tom Pace, passed away.

Let me tell you a few things about Grandpa Pace...

I have only been a part of the Pace Family for 7 months now and feel like I have known grandpa Tom for a lifetime. I have never felt so warm and so welcomed and so loved as I did the day that I met Tom. It was in December of 2009. I went over to Adam's parent's house for Sunday dinner and Grandpa Pace was there. He usually goes over there for dinner at least one Sunday a month. I remember seeing him as soon as we walked in the door and Adam introduced me to him. I just remember thinking how tall and how handsome he was! We skipped the handshake and went straight for the big teddy bear hug! Grandpa was a hugger.. Or maybe that's me. Either way, that was the best hug I had received from someone I just met EVER. Grandpa was just such a loving man and a best friend to all. He loved the Gospel, his family including all of his kids and grandkids and especially his wife. Grandpa always sent Adam and I letters for Christmas, birthdays, etc... and there was always a quote from his wife or something about his wife in those letters. We knew that those letters weren't just coming from Grandpa because of how much he included his dearest wife in everything that he did. I never did get a chance to meet Vera, Grandma Pace, but I have heard how amazing of a woman she was and I am sure she was nothing less than that. You could see it in Grandpa and the way he spoke about her.

Needless to say, I am so glad that grandpa got the chance to be reunited with his sweet wife. He has missed her a lot and we all looked forward to that day where they would get to see each other again.

Another memory I have of Grandpa Tom is our New Years Tradition. Grandpa would invite all of his family who could, to go to breakfast at IHOP on New Years Day every year. I remember the first time was right when I started dating Adam. Grandpa paid, of course, and we all just sat around stuffing our faces with pancakes and enjoying our time together. I think that is so neat that he gets everyone together for that. I know it is something their family looked forward to every year and I was so happy to be a part of it all. Well, I have now been able to take part in that tradition for 2 years now and i LOVE it. I used to hate IHOP to be honest with you, and now it is one of my favorite breakfast places just cause of the memories ( and their strawberry banana pancakes) :)

I will miss you Grandpa Pace. I am so grateful for the chance that Adam and I had to say goodbye to you and be by your side yesterday. I am so thankful for your example and for the beautiful family you have raised here on this earth. I see a lot of your qualities in my own husband and I know that he has had you to look up to and his father and I can only thank you for the things that you have taught them and the example that you have been. I can not wait for Adam to be the kind of father and grandfather that you were!

God be with you till we meet again.... I love you.

Me, Him, AND...............

A BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

On Sunday, January 16th Adam and I woke up for church after a long weekend in Idaho.  We had church at 11:00 which is the perfect time in my mind.  We had to drive up to Ashton, Idaho that weekend for Adam's grandma's funeral.  It was a really good time and it was nice to be with family and celebrate her life.  It was also nice for me to meet people from that side of the family I haven't met.  I did, however, get the opportunity to meet Grandma Lords when she came to our wedding and that really meant a lot that she was there when she was so sick, there was no way we were going to miss her funeral! The service was really nice.  All of her kids spoke, including Connie Adam's step mom.  They all did a really good job.  Kevin, Adam's dad, played a piano medley and it was amazing. He is so talented and I love listening to him play.  Grandma's favorite song was "Far Far Away on Judeas Plains" so all of the grandchildren and great grandchildren sang that song.  We had to practice only a couple of times and I think we did a pretty good job, Well, everyone except for me which brings me to the point of posting this... HOLY COW, I usually do a pretty good job at funerals (even those who I am super close to) Not this time... I had only met Grandma Lords once and I could not control myself.  While we were up singing in front of everyone I was a MESS! I have never cried so hard.  I had to literally bury myself in Adam's chest while everyone else was singing so that everyone did not have to see me crying so hard with mascara running down my face!!!  I bring this up because I am never that emotional of a person.  I knew something was up and that was either A. It was my time of month (which seemed even a little much for that) or B. I was pregnant.  I had been a little sick and tired the last couple of weeks so we though maybe that was a possibility so we bought some prego tests before our trip to Idaho and the first one we took was Negative.  We decided to wait till we got back from Idaho because then I would officially be late and it would maybe show up more clear.  That morning when we woke up for church we took two more tests... The result=    

POSITIVE, Both of them!  There is nothing like seeing both of those pink lines show up!  I have always wanted to surprise Adam when it came to this day but he insisted on being there for every test.  He wouldn't even let me look at it without him.  We literally had to walk towards the sticks with our eyes closed, cover it with our hands and then count to 3 and look together.. He is so cute wanting to be involved in it all!  I have never seen Adam more excited (& probably a little scared) then he was that morning.  We had smiles on our faces that entire day but decided that we still weren't going to tell our families until we got our first Ultrasound.  We feel so blessed and we're both so excited for this new adventure and are looking forward to the next 9 months!!!  Baby, Baby oh Baby....