It is my complete joy to announce the birth of Emma Grace Hancock. She was born at 10:08 AM Friday morning. As you can see, the journey wore her out. Here she is getting some time under the warmer and snoozing. by the way, the pictures sorta loaded in reverse chronological order, so the pics up front will look cleaner while the later ones are right after birth.
Stretch, Stretch, stretch!
Mama and Emma get some much deserved snuggle time after a long journey. And look at that hair! Joy is thrilled that she isn't a baldy like Aiden. Some of the pics have a red tint, but those are under the warmer. It's not red at all. Just dark black? brown?
After getting cleaned up, I had the pleasure of placing our beautiful daughter on Joy's chest for the first time.
As you can see, Joy is thrilled to finally be holding that baby girl that just didn't want to leave her cozy place inside mama! She finally cooperated. I don't have enough words to properly praise my wife. What a woman! She pushed out Emma in one push!
Emma got bruised up on the way out, but she's still beautiful.
"I'm COLD. Get me warm!"
That's one happy mama. After battling sickness all week, Joy's fever spiked on Thursday and we returned to the hospital again. A few tests determined that she had some sort of virus and that Emma's amniotic fluid had some, too. After that, the decision was made to induce at midnight. The first pill didn't have much of an effect, and thankfully, after a long week for all, joy and I actually got a decent bit of sleep. She received a second pill at 0445 and went back to sleep. After we awoke around 6 am, her contractions started about 0630 and were immediately severe. Joy progressed fairly rapidly. After putting in an epidural at 0830, the doctors and nurses left us alone so she could rest and the good stuff could kick in for her pain. About 0930 Joy said she had some pressure and I got a nurse to come check her. Guess what? The baby was there! They paged the doctor and he sped from his clinic having thought she would be a bit longer. He had not been in the room 30 seconds when she pushed her out! Unreal. We really felt God's prayers answered today and there is one happy baby and happy mama here below to prove it.
What can I say? I love my beautiful girls!
Shoot! 29 years of being a tough guy down the drain like that! I'm done! That's our Doctor, Dr. Stephen Walker on the right. He is a great Christian man who provided expertise, wisdom, and extraordinary calm throughout the pregnancy and delivery. Great man.
A happy family moment.
All the parties involved. We love our doctor. He really made Joy comfortable throughout...except when he almost missed the birth!
Mama and baby bond after birth.
Baby Emma getting cleaned up and finally breathing! She forgot to breathe for a spell when she came out. No worries! She's fine.
A precious moment for Daddy. I finally get to touch my girl.
What's the expression: wrapped around her finger. I'm in trouble.
She's a Hancock. Of course she's big. 9 lbs, 2 oz and 21 inches long. Just a shade under Aiden who was 9 lbs, 10 oz and 22 inches.
It's pure joy. Joy and I are so blessed.
Thanks again for all the prayers and support. A crazy few days for the Hancock family. In the end we have grown by one and everything is fine. Joy is healthy, the baby is healthy, and we are all thrilled. Aiden came by and visited tonight and there was no ackwardness or jealousy whatsoever; he is thrilled. He brought her a present and sang her the ABC song. He loves his little sister. He has done great with Rick and Lori. We are so thankful for their friendship. they have really loved us as if we were their own and Aiden absolutely loves them to death. emma checked out fine with the pediatrician tonight. If joy is cleared tomorrow morning by her doctor and Emma is still doing well we expect to be home sometime tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for your prayers, texts, emails, and call. We love you all! I'm back to the hospital to check on my girls but feel free to call.
For all the Hancocks,
Daniel
P.S. Here are two short videos. Nothing special but a few cries for you to feel the experience.
1 comment:
Welcome Emma! Way to go, Mom and Dad! Emma, you look like your mommy . . . wait, no, your daddy . . . No. It's your mommy, I can tell by the mouth, even when it's opened. :-) But I think you have Daddy's dark hair. And Aiden, what a great brother already! How sweet to bring Emma a cookie ( and how good of her to share back with you!) Emma will know the sound of your voice because of the ABC song you've been singing to her. Now I have two bountiful blessings to love to the moon and back. Hugs and kisses to all of you ~ Nana/mom/eileen
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