Newborn Photos Are Ready!!

The very talented Volree Wade worked VERY hard to get these fabulous shots! My sweet baby that I brag on all the time because he sleeps so much and is rarely fussy, decided to stay awake and fuss for the majority of the photo session! Volree worked her magic and got some incredible shots!!

Here is a link to the slideshow:
http://animoto.com/play/ufwR3XWTgxKp2VUFnPtibg

Her website is www.volreephotography.com

Thank you Volree for capturing such great images of our little chunk!

A Few Hiccups Along the Way (literally and figuratively)

It has been quite an adventure so far! I'm over the most painful part (I hope) and we are getting adjusted to eating and sleeping schedules. Charlie gets hiccups after every meal, which he also did in the womb! We've had everything that's to be expected, but I of course freaked out about all of it: spit up,vomit, stuffy nose, gagging, coughing, wierd poo, BABY ACNE, etc. We've been to the pediatrician several times and an after hours urgent care once. I might be a little overprotective. Maybe. Or paranoid. Whatever.

David's mom came to stay a few nights and enjoyed meeting little Charlie. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures with my phone, but I did take some with her camera (Sheila, you'll have to email me your favorite!).

My dad also came to visit. We watched a lot of tennis and a lot of football! He took the poor, neglected dogs to play everyday. We decided to get out and take Charlie and the dogs for a little walk around the neighborhood one day and were joined by all of the neighborhood children, who LOVE Hutch and Reb.
 

 

We packed up Dad's truck with all of the baby gear, my stuff, and the dogs and headed to Birmingham while David does rotations in Richmond, Virginia. It was really hard leaving David, but the sooner he starts, the sooner we get this over with! We're going to try to skype a lot, and we can still talk on the phone several times a day. It's going to be tough, be we can do it!

 

Charlie ADORES his Daddy!

 

 

 

Here are some photos of little man. I will eventually post more from the hospital and from the last 3 weeks, but it seems like everytime I touch the computer, Charlie wakes up. SO... it may take a while, but I'll get them up!

Fun fact... I weighed him today at Grammy's house and at 25 days old, he weighs 12.5 pounds. I weighed myself with and without him twice and got the same result both times. Big baby boy!



He's had enough with the pictures.



Baby Charlie Is Here!!

Don't wait for the last day before induction to get things done! Our plans for Sunday dramatically changed when I woke up at 6 am with contractions. I thought it was so fun and cute that I was having contractions and they were 4 minutes apart, and getting stronger. Based on these contractions, I thought this was going to be a walk in the park! I got in the shower, got dressed, and woke up David and my mom. We headed to the hospital a little after 8am.

We arrived at the hospital and went to the triage area. They hooked me up to the monitors and watched my contractions. David kept watching the contraction monitor and would challenge me to top the last one. We thought that the each time it went up was a measurement on a certain scale, so once a contraction hit 110, David joked that I broke my record and we laughed, knowing that had to be indicative of how soon I'd be admitted. Turns out, those numbers really didn't mean much. I was only dilating 1 cm, but because my blood pressure was high and I was scheduled to be induced that night anyway, they let me stay. They took us to the labor and delivery room and hooked me up! I'm not a big fan of pain, and you would think I'd have a higher tolerance after everything else I've been through, but I DON'T. I hate hand IVs and catheters. Hate them. They hooked up my pitocin and it was game on. Contractions all of a sudden weren't fun and cute anymore. They were AWFUL. They had me on pain medication so I'd fall asleep for like 10 seconds and then wake up for the contraction. Miserable. I FINALLY got to 4cm, so they allowed me to have the epidural. I jumped from 4cm to 8cm pretty quickly, and before I knew it, it was time to push! I had to ask for more medicine in the epidural several times because I could feel the contractions (and my legs). I remembered my friend Megan's birth story. She was induced, felt very little, and pushed 3 times. I was READY! We started pushing at 6:30 and baby boy came at 7:36. I was mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted. Luckily, my eyes were closed the whole time, so I had no idea that baby boy had to be suctioned out. I didn't know that David had to step back to allow room for more nurses to come in and help. Charlie's head was out, but his shoulders were stuck. They got him out and whisked him away to the NICU team that was waiting on the other side of the room. I didn't hear him cry and the doctor assured me that we don't want to hear him yet because they needed to do some things before he gasped for air. I finally heard that sweet little cry and kept trying to see him, but could only see the group of masked nurses around him. The first thing I remember them saying was, "look at the size of those feet!" and I was dying to know how big he was. I knew that I had won the guessing game with my guess of 7 pounds 14 ounces. Nope.  He was 9 pounds 7 ounces, 23 1/2 inches long. What?? How tightly was he curled up in the womb? Where did he come from? I carried him so high and knew that he would be small. I was so wrong. I couldn't hold him because I was being stitched up and they had to take him to the nursery to run some more tests and monitor him. They let David hold him and he brought baby boy over for me to see. I wanted to hold him so badly, but settled for some kisses before he was taken to the nursery. 

 We were moved to the recovery room and waited anxiously to hold and feed baby boy. I was STARVING. I hadn't eaten in 24 + hours, so I DOWNED some saltines, graham crackers, and apple juice.  Mom went back to the house to get some rest and Charlie was finally brought to us at 12:30am. He ate well and then conked out. 

 He slept in the room with us and I was terrified to go to sleep. I watched every breath until I finally drifted off. Every time he would start to cry, David would pick him up, comfort him, re-swaddle, and get him back to sleep. Our days in the hospital were great. I was well taken care of and I felt like Charlie was too. I was so excited to go home though! We packed up everything and got ready to head out. David put little man in the car seat and I eased into the back seat to ride home with him. As soon as we started pulling away, it hit me. I don't have medical back up if something goes wrong. I don't have nurses coming to check on us every hour. I don't like how the car seat rides. I haven't changed a diaper yet. I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING!! I cried the whole way home.

 David made me feel much better. He has been my rock. I go crazy emotional on him and he is so patient and understanding. He loves his baby boy so much and I can't even begin to describe the connection that they have.

 We introduced Charlie to his furry brothers. They were a little hyper and excited that we were home, but they calmed down and were very sweet and gentle when sniffing him.

 It's been a tough adjustment. Definitely not a walk in the park. I'm ready to heal so that I can get around better and do more independently. I'm SO thankful to have had my mom here. She cleaned, cooked (yes, Higgenbothams... she cooked!), and pampered me. She helped ease my mind and bonded with baby Charlie while I slept.

Sleepy baby.

Charlie conked out after a meal while we were watching the Vandy/SC game.

 Here are some car seat pics on the way to the pediatrician. I love his cross-eyed pictures! It's amazing how quickly he's gained control of his eyes, but the left one still drifts a little. :)

 I love his big feet!

 I caught a smile during his nap. He makes the cutest expressions while eating and sleeping.

My game day swaddle.

What kind of call was that??

 TOUCHDOWN AUBURN!