how bogies make moms

Becoming a mom isn't an overnight process. Well, I guess it literally is an "overnight" process but feeling like a mom takes a little longer. 

Emmy woke up two nights ago choking on snot. I spent the rest of the night hovering over her, changing her position and sucking the snot out with the bulb. It was terrifying and I felt so bad for her. We took her to the doctor first thing in the morning. The doc said she was fighting a little viral infection, which she caught from me (I thought it was just allergies) but since I had been breast feeding, she should get over it soon. All we had to do was put saline drops in her nose and suck out the snot until it passed. Easy enough.

Night 2: Joe was up till 1:30 repeating night 1. He has to go to work so he woke me up and I took over until dawn. It's not just that she can't breathe well, it's that she is trying to sleep but she can't so I'm doing everything I can to make her comfortable so she can sleep longer than 10 minutes at a time. We let her sleep in the bed with us. Don't judge me, how else can I watch her every move and listen for every breathe?  Joe and I slept in one tiny corner on the other side. One hand rubbing her back, the other gripping the bulb at the ready - yes, I can sleep like that (apparently). 

Strangely enough, I feel more like a mom taking care of my sick baby than I ever have. I fight her for her snot. We get it loose and I'm in there, bulb, wipes, and fingers trying to get her bogies out before she can suck them back in. Is it grossing you out? It's not grossing me out. I think that's how I just became a mom. 

minute with emmy...

2.28.2012

Meet the Hensons

greeting in the vineyards
Ozan Winery, Calera, AL

To start off, you should know a few things about me and my husband, Joe (you know, just to make things less awkward when I assume you are reading this because you know me but, of course, this is the internet and you don't):

1. We met at Birmingham-Southern College, moved in together after 4 years of dating, bought a house together and got married 2 years after that. We really like each other and have the same sense of nerdy, awkward humor. I can't imagine being more myself with anyone else.

one of our first dates- at a karaoke bar!

2. We (I) planned a budget DIY wedding and got married in a southern vineyard with 100 of our closet friends and family. The parts I am most proud of were the location (which was beautiful and breezy for a typically HOT Alabama summer day), the awesome Scottish Bagpiper, the wedding cake my friend's mom made, and our friend Matt DJ'ing and playing the best songs so I danced the WHOLE time. Literally, I felt bad at the end because I couldn't remember anything after the vows except the dancing.

3. Our honeymoon was honestly my dream. Joe had never left the country so I knew we had to go somewhere fairly far away so we spent nearly 2 weeks touring London, Oxford, and Edinburgh and all sorts of places in between. I probably should have started the blog then, we were pretty interesting people and I learned a lot about traveling as a young adult. Also, I should say: I'm an anglophile: completely obsessed with British history and culture.

walking along the thames
seriously guys, this was the LAST picture i took before i got pregnant

4. We brought more than the Queen's teacups back as a souvenir: on father's day we found out that I was pregnant. We weren't completely surprised- we knew the night, we knew what we had done. Our baby was conceived on the last night we were in London so she got the nickname "Baby London".

emmy, one week old
(taken by my sister who happens to be an excellent photographer)

5. We have AMAZING friends and family. I will probably talk about them a lot. Joe and I are really happy and I attribute much of that to how we feel when we are together and with our friends and the support they give us.

Now you're caught up. I will eventually go back and elaborate on these events and such but for now, you know us.