Welcome Emmett Henry!

He's finally here! After weeks and weeks of anticipation, we're excited to announce and introduce Emmett Henry Helleen! 

Emmett's birth story is a little less dramatic than big sister Harper's and we're extremely thankful for that. Having a scheduled c-section was so strange. Everything was so… planned. We picked the exact date and exact time for my surgery and prayed everything went according to plan.

I was scheduled for a 7:30am c-section at Maple Grove Hospital which meant we needed to arrive no later than 6am. Deb came to our house that morning ready to greet Harper when she woke up. Mitch and I gathered our bags and headed to the hospital. Even at 5:45am as we pulled out of the driveway, I'm not sure either one of us could wrap our head around the idea that TODAY we were adding to our family. 

At 6am, hospital parking is pretty easy to come by. We parked in the front row and walked into the hospital anxious to start the process. We stopped at the information desk to let them know I was here for my c-section. Minutes later we were being escorted to the birthing center and our "home" for the next few days.

Nurses immediately popped in and out of the room poking me with needles and attaching me to numerous machines. Mitch and I joked about the attractive hospital getups we were both sporting. I was given a fashionable lavender paper hospital gown, hair smock and grippy socks. Mitch put on the XL scrubs and was practically drowning in them. After what seemed like hours, it was finally 7:30am and the they were ready for us. 

They wheeled me down to the operating room and while they prepped me for surgery, Mitch had to wait in the hallway. The hospital staff was remarkable, walking me through step-by-step of what was going to happen so there were no surprises. Just as I remembered, the room was freezing. I was thankful for my grippy socks and could barely control my shivers. Immediately the anesthesiologist gave me my spinal block. With Harper I had an epidural, but since this was a repeat c-section they chose to do a spinal block this time around. The tingling started right away and before I knew it, my lower half was numb. Prep was done, and they brought Mitch in to start the surgery. 

Everything was going smoothly, until they started pushing on my ribs for E's big arrival. I remember this sensation with Harper, so it's something I was expecting. I quickly realized they were pushing harder and much longer than I remembered. I heard Dr. Martinie request the vacuum, which had me rolling my eyes. Couldn't this one just go according to plan? After a couple unsuccessful suctions, I heard her say, "he must have a big round head." The failed vacuum attempt led to 4-5 people pushing on my ribs and stomach trying to push that baby out! Meanwhile, I had a death grip on Mitch's hand. Being the wonderful husband that he is, he kept reassuring me that I was doing great. Minutes later I heard the doctor day say, "oh here he comes!" 

At 8:09am, Emmett Henry Helleen was born. He weighed 8 lbs even and was 20 1/2 inches long. Mitch got to cut the umbilical cord and watch them clean him up. Afterwards they brought Emmett over to show me and I even got to "hold" him while they sewed me up. It was such a special moment! 

 

Our families were able to come visit right away and had the opportunity to meet lil' E. I was eager for big sister Harper to come and get a look at her baby brother. We've been prepping Harper for weeks about becoming a big sister. Thanks to several conversations and plenty of "I'm going to be a big sister" books I think she was finally starting to understand. She walked into the room Monday afternoon with a smile on her face. We introduced her to Emmett and she practically beamed. In her perfect baby voice, she looked at us and said, "oh he's soooo cute!" My heart was full.

 

After one night in the hospital, we were quickly reminded the joys of "newborn world." Warm cozy cuddles and sweet baby noises. Not to mention frequent night-time feedings and diaper changes. (That might take some getting used to!) We're learning how to care for a boy quickly, and luckily Mitch is the only one who has been peed on so far… oh and a couple nurses. 

We had a few more visitors on day 2 and Harper came a couple times that day to visit us. Mitch brought McDonald's for lunch and we all laid around most of the afternoon watching Frozen taking in our new family of four. With each visit, Harper seemed to be more comfortable and even more adorable around her baby brother. When he cried, she would stare at him with the most sincere look and say, "it's okay buddy." He'd make a sweet baby noise, and she turn and smile. After each visit, she gave us all hugs and kisses goodbye - including baby Emmett. She couldn't have been better with this transition and it literally brought tears to my eyes - and quite frankly it still does. I couldn't be happier with our little family of 4!

Three nights in the hospital was plenty and we were all eager to get home. My incision seemed to be healing great, so we were cleared to be discharged. Late Thursday morning we were packing up our room, ready to head home! We put Emmett in a take-home outfit and buckled him the carseat. HE LOOKED SO TINY! The nurse escorted us out of the birthing center, downstairs to our car. It was official - we were on our own!

It's been nice being home, creating our new routines as a family of 4. Harper's continued to be a wonderful big sister and is helping out whenever we ask. Mitch is proving his status as Super Dad and Husband of the Year. We've been home one full day and he's already busy doing laundry, feeding and entertaining Harper and just being overall amazing. There's no way I could do this without him and I can't express how thankful I am to have him by my side throughout this crazy ride.

With no plans for the long labor day weekend, I'm looking forward to relaxing at home! Mitch is back to work Tuesday, so we'll be soaking up this special time with him as much as possible.

Hope everyone has a great long weekend!

Until next time…

The Helleen's