little sketches of us…

Hi. My name is Emory Nellia Icleanu, and I’m a good baby. I would like to introduce myself to you. I was recently born at Saint Joseph East hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. My Daddy did the delivering, even though he is not a doctor or even a nurse. But he delivered me because he loves me.

The way it happened was like this: I’d just about run out of space in my Mommy’s tummy, and I decided it was time to see the world. Mommy started having contractions at church on Sunday, but they were soft so she knew I was not ready to come yet. That evening, Daddy made her a delicious steak dinner, and Mommy cleaned the house to get ready for the arrival of Grandma and Grandpa Widmer by airplane from Idaho. They had bought tickets for my due date (Monday), and it was a good thing because Mommy doesn’t seem to be able to settle into labor until Grandma is nearby to take care of things. The random contractions continued through the night, and Mommy texted Tracy (our neighbor) to see if she would like to have a sleepover at our house with Merayla and Oliver. Tracy arrived around 4 am, and Mommy and Daddy went to the hospital.

The day at the hospital, however, just seemed to keep stretching out. I was not in a hurry. Mommy and Daddy walked the halls of the hospital, checked out the newborns on the 3^rd floor, took pictures of the giant pickles in the hospital gift shop, etc. Everyone kept wondering what was taking so long. Oliver went to the Wallace’s house when Tracy went to work, and Merayla went to the Cullen’s after school. Mommy started to get tired, hungry, and just a little sad because she really wanted to see me. Daddy snuck her some peanuts, and she ate two packages and drank two water bottles. Finally, at 5 o’clock in the evening, the midwife asked if they wanted to break Mommy’s water. Since Mommy is all about natural birth, she was hesitant, but the suggestion and the midwife checking her must have been enough motivation because all of a sudden, we were really birthing! Hurray!

Daddy is Mommy’s birth companion, and he did an excellent job. He helped her with all sorts of birthing positions and counter pressure. There was beautiful, relaxation music that I could hear. Mommy labored well, and the midwife even told her she was a beautiful natural-birther. I felt very welcomed, and I decided to stick my head out and what I saw was Daddy, and nobody else in the room. Daddy looked at me confused; I don’t think he knew what he was doing. He tried to pull me out for a second, but then he ran out the door. After he shouted at the nurses, they all rushed in and helped me finish coming out. Then Mommy hugged me and held me and cried. She was really warm, and I drank lots of milk right away.

Daddy and Mommy thought I was perfect. They also thought I was very strong because they decided to name me after Mommy’s great-grandma Nellie. She lived on the farm in Idaho and was very faithful, strong, and independent. She lived to 96 years old. Mommy has many good memories of Grandma Nellie, and I hope I can be like her.

Mommy and I spent a few days at the hospital. Oliver, Merayla, Grandma, and Grandpa came to see me. They were all very excited to hold me and talk to me and smile at me. They love me very much. Oliver was very happy to learn that I had arms (because when he first saw me I was all wrapped up and he wasn’t sure), and Merayla keeps saying, “Emory is cuter than anything. I just love her so much.”

I am sure you really want to see how cute I am as well, so check out the pictures from my time at the hospital. There will be more to come as well…

Love,
Baby Emory

The Birth Story VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL