Baby Emma Joy

After feeling like I might be pregnant forever, Emma Joy decided to make her appearance last Friday, March 25, 2011.  While she certainly took her time deciding to arrive (10 days late!), she was not hasty in coming, once her decision was made.  I had been up all night having contractions, and about 7am my water broke.  Kevin and I grabbed all our things and quickly skedaddled.  This put us right into morning traffic, but my dear husband was having none of it.  With contractions now coming every three minutes, he made several passes on the shoulder, was in and out of the carpool lane crossing the double line, and on the off ramp, he drove on the shoulder once more, waving and shouting "baby, baby" out the window.   Under normal circumstances this all might drive me to strangle him, but not that morning.  As I tried desperately to get comfortable in the front seat, wailing and screaming in pain, the biggest fear on my mind was not that I would have this baby in my spiffy new minivan, but that I would not get to the hospital with enough time to have an epidural.  When we arrived at Swedish, I made sure everyone in Labor and Delivery knew I wanted one, stat.  Well, for whatever reason, it didn't work (oddly, when Grace was born we were in the same situation, but there was enough time for a second epidural which did work.  Not so this time!), and I delivered Miss Emma Joy Kincaid without a single drug, a total opposite experience from the first time around.  In hindsight, I am thankful for this, but certainly wasn't at the time.  Kevin will tell you that I shouted some ridiculous, funny, and not so nice phrases that morning, but at 8:51am when our second little miracle came into this world weighing 8lb 5oz and measuring 19.4cm, none of that mattered, nor does it now.  We are a family of four with two adorable and precious little girls.  Life just can't be any sweeter.      

There are no words that can describe the feeling of having your baby placed on your chest for the first time.  Hearing those tiny little sounds and seeing those precious eyes looking at you....it's heaven.  All the pain and agony of the previous hours is forgotten as you are lost in awe and amazement at this gift God has just placed in your arms.  In those first few moments, I was overcome with a feeling of love and appreciation for my blessings.  Kevin and I talked about what a sweet spot we are at in life, and how incredibly blessed we are. 

Now that we are a week into this, sleep deprived and drained, I am still in awe of just how precious life is.  My biggest fear when I found out I was pregnant was that I wouldn't be able to balance my love and attention between two kids.  Fortunately, God knows what He is doing, and has given me more than enough love to spread between them.  He has also placed some incredibly special people in my life who have helped make the past few weeks of this transition as smooth and painless as possible, particularly for Grace.  She is so lucky to be loved so much by such wonderful people, family and friends alike.  Kevin and I have the best moms in the world who love us and our children in a way I am only beginning to understand.  We are so lucky to be learning from them how to be parents.