Emily went on her very first trip--she went to NJ and NY. We drove up (we are gluttons for punishment). I have to say, it wasn't too bad. There was one hour of pure meltdown for both girls at once on the way up, but one hour out of 12 isn't too bad. It was just late and Ashley wouldn't sleep and was overtired.
I was nervous about the trip back because Emily and I had started off from NY that morning, and was driving more than 15 hours in one day, but it actually went even better than the ride up...although it was LONG.
We just packed lots of toys and movies, stopped at restaurants/pit stops that had play areas for Ashley to stretch and play in while I fed Emily, and I tried my best to stay on top of Emily's feedings and diapers.
We went to NJ and visited with grandmom and grandpop for a couple of days. The girls had lots of fun. Grandmom always does fun activities--she and Ashley made a birdfeeder, hand made puppets, and played with water and "helped" wash dishes (Ashley's favorite new thing). It also snowed while we were up there. It was Ashley's first time seeing snow. She technically saw it one time before but she was a newborn so that doesn't count. I had bought a snowsuit just in case. I'm glad I did. She got to play in the snow, go sledding, catch snowflakes in her mouth, etc. She loved it. I personally hate the cold and the snow, but it did make it fun seeing her enjoy it so much.
Emily had a fun time too. She is too young to do too much, but she enjoyed lots of attention from her grandparents.
Part of the reason we chose to go up around this time was because Cheryl's baby, Alyssa, was due on the 25th of January. So I had assumed that she'd have the baby by the time we made it up there (Feb 2nd to NY). Our doctors only let you go a week past your due date before they induce, but apparently Cheryl's let her go 10 days. I was really bummed because it really wasn't looking like she was going to have the baby anytime soon. At her last doctor visit the day before, she was only a fingertip dilated and Cheryl wasn't having any signs of having the baby so they picked an induction date of Monday, Feb 4th.
I had planned to surprise Cheryl--I figured that if it worked out, she'd be surprised and excited to see me, and if it didn't, she wouldn't be disappointed that I couldn't be there since she didn't know I was planning to. So since it was looking like she wasn't going to have the baby after all, I initially decided not to drive up to NY. It just added 6 hours to the trip, and it was already a LONG ride and we were very hectic and busy while up there.
So the other part of the plan was to see dad, and have him meet Emily while we were up in NY. Since we changed our plans and opted not to do NY, dad ended up coming to us in NJ to visit and to meet Emily and to see Ashley. It was a nice time. He came for dinner and we had a nice time visiting. He was so excited and thrilled to meet her, and had lots of fun seeing Ashley. He couldn't get over how much she had grown.
Well the day we planned to leave, I get a text from mom at 5:30 saying that Cheryl's water had broken. So I called and spoke to Cheryl to see how she was doing since she hadn't gone to the hospital yet (by this point she knew everything with us). She wasn't really progressing and seemed like it'd be a slow labor, so I still debated...wasn't sure if I should drive 6 hours and have to turn right around and still possibly miss seeing the baby. But I decided to chance it, and make the trip anyway. I figured I was all the way up there, and I'd love to see Cheryl regardless, so why not. Then it turned out that they decided early on that there was a 75% chance that she'd need a c-section because the baby may be too big to fit down the birth canal. They tried for a few hours, but she had dilated to only a 1 and the baby wasn't coming down, so they opted to do a c-section afterall.
It worked out great (for me at least). By the time I packed up our stuff, fed Emily, and drove up, Cheryl had already had the baby and was recovering. I only brought Emily with me, and Matt and Ashley stayed in NJ...it was just too much and I didn't want Ashley having a hard time on the car ride back. It's good I did too because it turned out children under 12 weren't allowed in the hospital. So Aunt Nancy watched Emily for me. It was great...she is always posting on my FB page and saying that she'd love to meet Emily, so she was thrilled to watch her. It also gave me a chance to see her and catch up with her and Aunt Arlene who also come by. Aunt June also popped over to the hospital while I was there, then to Aunt Nancy's to meet Emily.
Anyway, after the short visit I headed to Glens Falls Hospital. Cheryl was out of recovery, so I got to see her and sweet little Alyssa. Although I guess I shouldn't call her little. She was already as big as Emily!!! Haha. She was 10 lbs, 4 oz., 21 3/4" and born at 1:26 p.m. She was so adorable. I am so excited to be an aunt, I've been wanting to be one for years. Lol.
I stayed for a few hours along with mom, dad, and Aunt June popped in. Even though it was only a few hours, it was worth the extra drive and I'm glad I could be there.
Here are some pics of Alyssa.
Couple other things...
Not sure if I already mentioned this, but the day that Emily turned 2 months old she slept through the night for the first time! Yay! Since then she's slept through the night 2 other times...and most other nights it's at least a nice long stretch before she wakes up. Then she'll eat and go right back to bed. I am so thankful that my children are good sleepers.
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