As of today, I officially feel like I'm getting old. Today my sweet princess Emma turned seven! Yep, you heard me correctly. S-E-V-E-N. It really feels like it was just last month that we found out we were pregnant. My pregnancy with Emma was completely the opposite of the one with Aven. Emma was very, very unexpected! We were 21 and had only been married for 6 months. Kids were no where on our radar. But life never seems to happen the way we expect, and in this for instance, we're so glad for the redirection.
Although I had pretty bad morning sickness, once I was past that, things couldn't have gone more smoothly. I was 10 days over due when she finally decided it was time. My labor with her looked just like in the movies - I was completely fine and then at 11 pm, POP! WHOOSH! And the contractions hit like a freight train, one right on top of the other. I was ready to go to the hospital by 8 the next morning. I had zoomed to almost 8 by the time we arrived. And then things started to fall apart - our midwife became so aggressive and hostile that my labor completely stopped. My friend and doula called it mother bear syndrome. Long, painful story short, I ended up electing to have a c-section in order to get away from my awful doctors. I just wanted to meet Emma and all these crazy people were keeping me from seeing her sweet face.
Finally at 2:13 am on April 26, 2002, Emma Mallory Benton made her grand entry weighing 10 lbs 2 ozs and was 22 1/2 inches long! Wow, right!?! I fell in love the second I saw her perfect, scrunchie face and that thick black head of hair.
Emma has grown into such an amazing little person. She's loving, sweet, kind-hearted and a free spirit. She's so creative and imaginative that we call her version of reality "Emma-world". She's also completely impulsive. She brings so much liveliness along with her. Life is definitely never dull when Emma is involved.
She's my first born. The one who's had to endure the learning curve of first time parenthood. She's such a joy. Here are some of my favs over the years ...
