Baby Charlotte Meets Her Family

Hunter and James were SO excited to finally meet their baby sister.

 I could not believe how proud Hunter was!

 The first thing he wanted to do was hold her. It surprised me because he showed no interest in even talking about the baby before she was born.

 The boys were also excited to see their mommy again too!

 James took a while to warm up to her. Initally he didn't want to hold her, but reluctantly did before they left. After about a minute it was "Get it off of me!"

 Here's our first family picture as a family of 5. Holy cow! 5 of us already!

 Had to have some pictures of their tooties!

 While I was away in surgery, the boys stopped by to visit again, and it looks like Hunter made himself pretty comfortable in my bed...little stinker!

 And Daddy was able to catch up on his snuggle time with his new daughter, since Mommy was being a baby hog! Who can blame me!?

JP giving his sister a kiss good-bye.

 Grandma and Grandpa Dustin stopped by late Monday night to meet their first granddaughter.

 As timing has it, Aunt Mary was in town as well as was able to meet the new addition before leaving in the morning.

 As soon as the Dustin's left, Nanny and Papa stopped in briefly to meet their first granddaughter as well. A very quick trip for them as Aunt Bobby called saying their was a fire in the guest room and Hunter locked himself inside. Apparently he had tried to turn on the lamp and the socket had a short in it, causing a fire to break out in the bulb? The smoke detectors in the house were all going off. Luckily he unlocked the door right away and no severe damage was done! Hunter called me later and was very shook about the whole thing. All he could say was "My finger is brown" and "There was fire." Poor guy!

 After calming down, Aunt Bobby came to visit in the morning.

And she held Charli as the boys kissed her good-bye!

 

 

My Labor Story

It looks like I spoke too soon Sunday night. My sisters, Robin and Kim, took me for a nice long walk that evening after having dinner at my parent's second home. We went uphill and downhill for about 2 miles. By the time I arrived home, I was exhausted, and sad that I wasn't having any contractions.

 

I woke up around 3 am to roll over and instead had my water break. I woke Perry up to let him know - he was SO excited! So excited he couldn't go back to sleep, so I sent him in to work instead for a while. After showering, I was able to get a little nap in. Hunter joined me, and then JP soon after.

 

The morning progressed with no contractions so I had Robin come over to help me take the boys to daycare. Then I went home to gather up a few miscellaneous things before Perry arrived home to take me to Labor & Delivery.

 

As soon as we checked in, I had Perry take one final pregnancy photo of me.

Here I am, 38 weeks and 1 day pregnant. 13 days left on May 13, 2013. I hope she doesn't have too much bad luck!

 

After testing me to make sure my water broke, they admitted me to Labor & Delivery and began hooking me up to monitors. Because it was now 9 am and I still wasn't having contractions, they started me on Pitocin to get my contractions started. Two hours later, my doctor came in to check my progress. In doing so, she felt a bag and asked if my bladder was full. I went to the bathroom before I left home, so I told her it didn't feel like it, but it could be. And that was that.

 

She came back in around 1pm and thought I was looking a little too comfortable so she had the nurse up my dose of Pitocin a bit more. Perry and I both sleep through the afternoon. He was a trooper, especially since he had been up since 3am. Aside from napping, we were both extremely bored. We even walked around for a bit.

 

My doctor was on call all weekend and had been at the hospital since Friday afternoon, so she was set to leave at 3p on Monday. (I don't blame her!) I was passed to the new doctor on call, another female. Super nice! I liked her too! She checked my progress when she arrived. She also noticed the bag and determined that it wasn't my bladder, but my water. (Which was why I had been in such good spirits!) I had what they call a high membrane leak, where my water broke at the top instead of the bottom. I warned them before they broke the bag that with my last two, I was told I had a ton of water. Clearly they weren't listening because both the nurse and doctor were shocked at the amount of towels they needed.

 

Once they ruptured my water, I could immediately feel contractions. I went from a 1 on the pain scale to a 6 in about 5 minutes. My goal was to have the baby without medication, but because of how quickly the pain hit, my body couldn't handle it. I have a pretty low tolerance for pain as it is, but I became super hot and nauseous. After an hour, I gave in had an epidural. Once it kicked in, I went from a 9 to a 5 on the pain scale. With the boys I couldn't feel anything. I could still feel with this one, and I liked it a lot better. It helped with pushing because I could actually feel pressure.

 

I had the epidural in for about ten minutes before I was fully dilated and ready to push. She was out in one contraction. And it happened slow enough that I was able to watch  her be born. With the boys, the cord was wrapped around their neck and they just needed to get out. Overall the experience was a ton better than with the boys, despite sitting around in labor for 8 hours before anything constructive happened.

We welcomed baby Charlotte (Charli) Gail into the world at 7:25pm on Monday, May 13, 2013. She weighed in at 5 lbs 15.5 oz and measured 19 inches long.

She is such a little angel!

Welcome Baby Charlotte!

We welcomed Charlotte Gail into the world at 7:25p on Monday, May 13, 2013. 

 Little Charli weighed in at 5 lbs 15.5 oz and measured 19 inches long.

 Mommy was very excited to have a little girl!

 And of course, so was daddy!

 Before crashing for the night, we had a very impromptu family photo taken.

 Come morning, I couldn't take my eyes off this sweet girl!

She has been one tired little girl too! Charlotte has to be waken up for nearly every feeding.

We only packed newborn clothes for the hospital, and she swims in the them! We might have to get her a couple preemie outfits!

You can read My Labor Story here

And see photos of her meeting family here

Packing Our Bags - Part 2 My Bag

I finally got around to packing my bag for Labor & Delivery. I figured with two weeks left I better get my act together. After all, I delivered Jim 38 weeks. Baby is just around the corner!

 This is all I'm packing to the hospital. Okay, well maybe my Kindle Fire too... So without further adieu, here is a tour of my hospital bag.  

 We'll start with the boring basic stuff first: Toiletries

I'm packing the basics for my shower - shampoo, conditioner, body wash. With the amount of people coming and going during our stay with Hunter, I was lucky to get a shower. With JP, it was the first thing I wanted to do before we had a bunch of visitors. 

The rest is all the usual stuff I use on a day to day basis - Toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, contact solution, contact case, glasses. I'm packing my hair gel so if I'm not up for fixing my hair, I can let it go curly. Easy-peasy.

 I've packed three shirts for after delivery. One is a tank top and the other two are short sleeved, but should be easy enough to breastfeed in. I've also packed chocolate for mommy and daddy for surviving another delivery. And pads. The hospital provides some, but I like to bring my own. Just in case I'm wearing my hair down when I go into labor, I've packed a hair tie and hair clips to hold my hair back, just in case!

 Again, the hospital provides towels, but I love this one. It has elastic around the top with velcro to hold it up.   I packed two pair of pants. Both have loose waist bands just in case I have a c-section. I'm all about being comfy. Of course I've packed my socks and undies, and a nursing bra as well. This one is a nursing sports bra. Again with the comfy!

 Other things I've packed include slippers for walking around after delivery. I didn't pack a robe with the boys, but I'm bringing one this time to be able to cover up easier when breastfeeding, as well as for strolling the halls. Hospitals always seem to be cold. I've packed my pajamas too! I always forget to bring my pjs whenever I go anywhere! One of my recent sewing projects was reusable nursing pads, so I'm bringing those along too instead of the store bought ones. Lastly, I'm bringing a wet bag. I'll be able to put our dirty clothes in there, whether they are mine or baby's. I hate shuffling through dirty clothes to find clean ones...

I'm packing my flat iron and my hair dryer, but these are probably optional things for most. My hair gets so out of control sometimes that I feel these are a must for me.

And that's it. Other than my Kindle, we'll *obviously* be bringing the camera, and my cell phone and charger to let people know when the little one has arrived. Other than that, that's all I'm packing! Now I"m just waiting on baby... 

38 Weeks

How far along? 38 weeks

Baby is the size of? Weighs about 6 1/2 lbs and is nearly 20inches long
Baby's Heart Rate? 145 bpm

Sleep? With temperatures in the 80s for the last few days, we've been leaving the windows open at night, so there is a lot of "I'm hot, I'm cold, I'm hot, I'm cold" going on. I'm finding sleeping on my left side for whatever reason is very uncomfortable as well.

Movement? Can you say hiccups? 

Labor signs? As of last Wednesday, I was dilated to 2cm and was 70% effaced. Doctor said baby should be coming this weekend, but now the weekend has come and gone, and there is still no baby in my arms. 

Food cravings? I just wanna eat. 

Moment of the week? Celebrated Perry's birthday with cheesecake, finished packing my bag, and Perry set up the baby swing :)

Looking forward to? Going into labor this week?! I hope.

I took a nice 2 mile walk with my younger sister last night, and another brisk walk this evening with her and one of my older sisters, totaling about 2 miles, but it was up and downhill. Still no baby so it looks like I'll be going to work tomorrow after all.

And this will be the last picture Kile and I get together. No hugging at this meeting, just belly bumps!

35 Weeks

How far along? 35 weeks

Baby is the size of? A honeydew melon
Baby's Heart Rate? 151 bpm

Sleep? Lots of tossing and turning lately. Mostly because one minute I'm too hot then I'm too cold...

Movement? Pretty sure I'm feeling all of them. Ugh. 

Symptoms? I have my heartburn under control :) And depression is getting better since I started taking Zoloft. And I've been nesting.... a lot!

Food cravings? Maybe ice cream? 

Anything make you queasy or sick? My prenatal pills are making me nauseous again.
Moment of the week? Camping with the in-laws!

Looking forward to? Seeing my good friend Mandy who's visiting from Germany!

Side note...I've wore my glasses for *over* a week straight. I haven't done that since maybe the 7th grade! And Hunter wants to name the baby "Baby Aunt Bobby" despite the fact it would be confusing. :)

Packing Our Bags - Part 1 Baby Bag

Now that I'm registered for Labor & Delivery, I figured I should probably start packing my bag and the baby's bag for the hospital. I didn't pack soon enough with JP. He surprised us and came two weeks early and left me packing for both of us, while tending to Hunter, while breathing through contractions. Not exactly the most fun I've had... 

Needless to say, by baby #3 I know what I need, and what I can leave at home. So if you can stand it, here's a tour of what I'm bringing to the hospital...Hope this helps all you new moms-to-be!

First of all, I'll start with the baby bag itself. Shortly after we had Hunter, Aunt Mary and Uncle Peter gave us this handy bag (that we *still* use all the time). Its the perfect size for over night trips to pack the boys' stuff in, or to carry their toys on car trips, etc. I used this bag when I quickly packed Baby #2's stuff together, and is now also Baby #3's hospital bag.

I'm not sure where they got it, but should you be interested, its made by L.L.Bean. Pockets galore! I just love it!

 Here's what I've packed. Doesn't seem like enough, does it?

 Most of this stuff is pretty self explanatory, but I'l go over it anyways. Hand sanitizer for after diaper changes, and for visitors. No need to give a new born baby all your germs if you can help it! I didn't pack them with the other two, but this time I'm packing nail clippers as well. You'd be surprised as to how long those finger nails can be when they are first born! With all the heartburn I've had, I'm assuming this babe is going to have some hair. The boys ran off with all the baby combs over the last few years, so instead of buying a new one, I'm packing one of mine. And the Vaseline is for babe's bottom. The merconium poop they have the first few days is icky enough, but the Vaseline will help prevent it from sticking too much. Lesson learned!

 I'm not really an undershirt momma, but you never know what the room temperature, or outside temperature will be when you bring baby home. Plus, if they have a blow out at the hospital, I'd rather it get all over their onesie and not their cute little outfit!

 I'm pretty sure the hospital provides wipes, but I like to bring my own regardless. Notice how I'm not packing diapers? They'll give you a pack of them there so no need to bring your own, unless you're in love with a certain kind. At our hospital they give the baby a hat to wear that usually an elderly person made, but I'm also bringing one that the boys wore too.

I'm also packing a couple burp cloths, and yes these are the ones I made. I'm only bringing three outfits, and yes, I know there is only two pictured. Make sure you have one for newborn pictures and one to go home in. In my case, its the same outfit. Neutral since baby might be a boy, or might be a girl! And lastly, I've packed two receiving blankets. One is yellow, the other is the one everything is laying on. Both boys used them, so I plan on using them this time too. 

And that's it! That's all I'm bring to the hospital for the baby. Am I crazy? Do you think I should be packing more? 

 Before I forget... here's where the third outfit was. We were practicing stuff again with "Baby Huffington" who is a monkey that was given to JP by Aunt Emilienne. JP insists we name the baby in my tummy Huffington, so we compromised and named his babies Huffington. He has two. I was super surprised that this monkey fit nicely into newborn clothes! Now I just need to remember to undress and pack this outfit!

Okay...I guess I'm "packing" something else too... two more receiving blankets. But these ones are just for the car seat to keep baby's head up and prevent it from wobbling around...but they are packed in the car seat so it doesn't really count...

Comparison Photos

As my due date approaches, I've had a lot of people comment on my size... bigger, smaller etc. I thought I'd share a few pictures from Hunter's pregnancy, and a couple from JP's (since apparently I only took a couple!) and then some from this go round. So far I'm still, for the most part, following the same weight gain pattern as I did with both boys.

I was SO much smaller with JP than I was with Hunter and am with this little one.