Emma Faith Vargas

This was an incredible week in which we got to welcome our 2nd daughter, Emma Faith into the world! So much has happened that I'm sure I'm going to miss something but I'll try to put down everything I can think of. The week started out with a sonogram that estimated that Emma was weighing between 8 lbs 3 ounces and 8 lbs 13 ounces! Toni spent a good part of the week having warm up contractions and on Thursday night we went to the hospital with a false alarm. They sent us home but on Friday around noon, Toni's water broke and we were sure that it wasn't going to be a false alarm! Overall, this delivery was a lot easier for Toni. The labor lasted only 8 hours compared to the 16 for Caitlin and Emma came out so easily that we actually weren't sure she had even come out! Overall, Toni was pushing for about 45 minutes.

Emma came into the world at 7:40pm on Friday, December 10th. She weighed 7 lbs 11 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. A full 1 pound lighter and 1 inch shorter than Caitlin was. Her head measured 14 inches and her chest 14 1/2. Everything checked out good on her health screenings and I spent several hours with her at the nursery until they cleared her to go back to Toni's room. The only problem we had was that she had swallowed a lot of amniotic fluid so she was spitting up quite a bit and didn't want to eat much. The nurses suctioned out a large amount of fluid from her stomach later that night and she was able to start eating without any problem. She definitely has a big appetite and will guzzle down her formula very fast. I have a feeling she's gonna pack on the weight pretty quick. Because of the problem with the fluid in her stomach, they kept Emma and Toni at the hospital until today just to make sure that Emma was eating and that there were no problems. Both Toni and Emma were released today with clean bills of health. It was an interesting feeling driving home with my 2 girls in the back seat and Toni said, we've got a full car now. It kinda hit me at that moment that I now have 2 little girls!

Caitlin is doing pretty well with Emma. She enjoys holding her until she starts crying at least. :) She knows her name and is very concerned whenever Emma cries. There's definitely some jealousy right now but that's to be expected. She is being very clingy toward me whenever I have Emma. We're making sure she feels included and I think she's going to do fine. In the picture that she's crying, I think she thought Emma was in pain or sick when she saw her in the nursery. She even had tears in her eyes. :(

So far, we both would have to say that it's definitely easier the second time around. Thankfully the stress level isn't nearly as high as it was when Caitlin was born and I think that has a lot to do with having already gone through it and knowing what to expect. Emma seems pretty quiet so far and even when she does cry, it's not the ear splitting crying of colic. Hopefully we won't have to re-live that! Tonight will be our first night at home with her and hopefully it will go well. It's an amazing feeling holding Emma and Caitlin in my arms. I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are the 2 things that I am most proud of in my life.

I'd like to thank everyone who followed the last few days either here or on Facebook. We're both thankful to have so many good friends and family and appreciate all of the support during this incredible experience. Toni will be off work the next 6 weeks and I'll be off the next 3 helping take care of Emma. As always, I'll continue chronicling the lives of the Vargas family and hope you'll continue to follow it.