Our new life...

Michael, Emerson and I spent the 2 days following her arrival in the hospital. Gage stayed with his MeMe and made several trips to see us. Every time he would walk in the hospital room his face lit up and he quickly asked "where's Emerson?". We would point him in her direction and he would make sure to hug and kiss her and tell us how much he loved her. There aren't enough words out there for me to express how happy it makes me that he loves her so much! He is the sweetest Big Brother and so gentle with her! 

We had lots of visitors in those 2 days. Most of the family came to meet Em, along with lots of friends. We were and still are so blessed to have so many loved ones and that is something I never want to take for granted! 

Because neither of us had much sleep in the past few days and Emerson was having some trouble with her formula, Michael and I decided it would be best for her to go to the nursery both nights we were there. We didn't do that with Gage, and it seemed so sad to send her, but we both felt it was the best thing to do. We knew we needed to get some rest before we took her home. Although it was so hard for us, I'm so glad we made that decision. We were both able to get a good nights rest (as good as possible in the hospital) and felt much better because of it. By the time 6AM rolled around, they were bringing her back to us and we were able to love on her again! 

On Friday, January 13th, at around 11AM, we left the hospital and started our new life as a family of 4. For the first time, Michael and I had not only one, but two kids to take care of. Two kids were our responsibility...forever! I can remember being a bit overwhelmed for a little while after we left. I knew everything would fall into place and we would figure everything out, but it was still a tad nerve-racking. How in the world would I ever give two kids enough attention for them to know how much I love them?

It seems strange to me, but I always thought that once you raise one baby, you surely wouldn't have any problems raising two. Everything was bound to come naturally...you know, kind of like riding a bicycle. Once you do it once, you never forget it. Boy was I wrong. I seemed like taking care of Emerson was equally as stressful as it was with Gage. I think you just forget how tiny they are and how much care they really do need. I absolutely LOVE having newborns. I love their smell. I love the way the grunt when they move. I love everything about them really. However, I still find it difficult to do every day activities from time to time ;) I had forgotten how hard it was to get myself bathed, my hair fixed, my makeup on, and a baby dressed and ready in order to be somewhere on time. Add a 3 year old to the mix and I guess you just get used to it...your going to be late! I'm pretty sure I have been pushing the clock to every appointment I have been to in the past couple weeks! Hopefully this will get better and I'll get back to my old ways of being places 15 minutes early. We shall see!