It's Santa!!

Charlotte got a very special visitor today - Santa Claus! He even brought her presents! What a wonderful, fun surprise. Thank you so much Uncle Sid!!!

Letters to Charlotte: 3 months!

Dear Charlotte,

Three months old? Say it isn't so!! This month has been so fun and filled with so many new things! You are so smiley and laugh a lot. It's so contagious, your smile get so BIG! You are truly such a happy little girl, it just warms my heart and makes my day when you give me that big toothless grin.

The very day of your two month check up you rolled over from your stomach to your back for the doctor! You only did that for me once prior to that, and you did it so quickly. I tried to get you to do it again so your Daddy could see, but you would just get frustrated and cry anytime we tried to show him. It took a few weeks but then you rolled over for him too! Last week you rolled from your back to your stomach for the first time with your Granny! She captured it on video and sent it to me at work - I can't believe you're getting so big! Now that you have that first time out of the way, you roll allllll the time. Just yesterday you were on your activity mat playing while I wrapped presents next to you, and you rolled in a circle. It's no wonder you're always facing a different direction when we go to get you out of your crib! You pull those legs into the air and throw them to the side almost every time we lay you down on your back. It makes changing your diaper interesting, that's for sure!

You took your first road trip this month to your Grandaddy and Mamaw's house. With just your Daddy and I, it would normally take us 5 hours and 15 minutes or so, because we don't like to stop much. With you and the puppy, it only added 15 minutes! You were SO good, you woke up once halfway there and we fed you, burped you, changed you, and then you were good to go again. Back to sleep in the car seat.

Mommy went back to work this month, which was really hard. A lot harder than expected. Luckily we love your day care. You are definitely one of the favorites there (of course!) - all the teachers and staff know who you are. One of the directors told me that they all like to go in and just hold you. Ms. Roxy is your main teacher, and she just loves you. She sends home little comments on your baby gram, and she loves your smile almost as much as Mommy does! The first few days we had a few hiccups. Day 1 they sent you home in someone else's diapers! They were the same brand, but a different type. I told them as long as they didn't send you home in Huggies I wouldn't be upset. We tried Huggies and they gave you a little rash almost immediately! Day 2 you didn't have enough changes of clothes, and they sent you home in someone else's socks. After that it's been smooth sailing! They swaddle you there, which I think you like as long as your arms are free. You tend to sleep with your arms above your head. Being away from you all day long has been really hard for me, but we're finally settling into a good routine. I definitely prefer the days you don't have to go into day care!

You've been growing so much this month, I can't keep up. We bought you some socks a few weeks back, and they're already too small! You're wearing mostly 0-3 month clothes now, and we officially retired ALL of your newborn clothes! You wore newborn clothes and diapers until around the week you turned 2 months old. There were still a few newborn outfits you wore into the month of November, but everything is officially retired now. You're up to drinking close to 5 ounces now too - still both formula and breastmilk.

You also sleep in your crib now. We moved you over right around 7 or 8 weeks. You transitioned really well, it was no big deal to you. In fact, the first night we put you in there you slept almost 8 hours straight! I think that was reinforcement that you were ready to sleep in your own room. It helps us sleep better too, and it's kind of nice to be able to actually use your room now. We started out keeping you covered with a couple of blankets that we tucked into the edge of the crib. No more though, you move too much! We can put you down on one end, and by the time you wake up you're on the other end turned the opposite direction. Your little hands get so cold too, so you wear socks on your hands at night to keep them warm. We picked up a few sleep sacks on Babysteals.com these past couple of weeks - and it's a great solution for you. They zip up over your pj's and take the place of blankets in the crib. Now you can roll all over the place and you'll stay warm. I think you like them, so far every night you've worn them you sleep at least 6 hours straight. I never thought I'd be so happy to get 6 straight hours of sleep!

You love to play now too! We bought you a little activity mat and you just love it. You stare up at the monkeys and laugh, and you'll bat at the toys that hang down too. It's so entertaining to watch you play and figure things out. Once you lock in your gaze on something, you stare for a while! Recently you play with your octopus and bumblebee by Mama's and Papa's all the time. They have lots of little things for you to pull and chew and stare at. You are the happiest little baby, you just love to play. Even the teachers at school commented on how chill you are, you are perfectly content and often entertain yourself!

You like to try to stand up a lot. Your head control has really improved, and this week you've been trying to sit up. Pretty soon you're going to be going all over the place! We're definitely going to have our hands full because you are one very curious little girl!

More pictures to come soon!
Love,
Mommy

She's rolling!!

Letters to Charlotte: 2 months!

Dear Charlotte,

Oh how I enjoyed your second month. I tried to soak up every minute, knowing I'd have to go back to work soon. It was definitely a month of ups and downs though! Everything I read said that around 6 weeks or so breastfeeding gets easier. Like clockwork (literally the DAY you were 6 weeks) it's like everything clicked. Nursing has been a breeze ever since. You try to pick your head up a lot, and love tummy time. You are actually pretty strong for how little you are! You were still in newborn clothes and diapers though. Still a tiny little thing!

You went to your first A&M tailgate - for the LSU football game in College Station. You did so great, you're such a chill baby. You don't mind having several different people hold you - loud noises still don't even phase you. You're definitely more aware of what's going on around you though. We took a few family walks - you really enjoy moving. Whether it's while you're being held, in the car seat, stroller, car, whatever. As long as you're moving around you're a happy camper. I guess we should have been prepared for that, given you've been squirmy as long as I've known you.

You're still very gassy. Nothing I do seems to really help, so we're just hoping it gets better.. You love to eat, whether it's nursing or taking a bottle you are so enthusiastic! It's really the only time you fuss is when you're hungry. You went through your 6 week growth spurt, those were a fun 2 days. You didn't sleep much at all and you were hungry about every 1.5 - 2 hours! Then things went back to business as usual. You naturally fell into a pretty good routine - so I just follow your cues and go with the flow.

We finally found you a day care too! It's pretty close to our house, which is nice for dropping you off. Everyone seems really nice, and they have 2 different infant rooms. Overall the school is smaller, so hopefully you'll still get lots of love and attention. I have a lot of anxiety over having to leave you, I want to be able to stay with you all day every day! But, I also want to work too - so hopefully I'll adjust after a few weeks. I know you'll be just fine. You just love everyone you meet - and everyone comments on what a great baby you are - so I think they'll love you! Let's just hope you wait until you're a few months older to get sick....

I was a little behind on taking your "official" 2 month pictures - and I haven't uploaded them yet. I'll get that done soon!

Love,
Mommy

Quick few photos

I promise more soon - I've been trying to just enjoy my last few weeks at home with her. Back to work on Monday and I'll get back into a normal routine!

Enjoy ;)

Letters to Charlotte: 1 month old!

*I'm a month behind, but I'm going to do the best I can on posting what I remember from the first month!

Dear Charlotte,

One month old! Oh my goodness, how fast that first month went. I'd say it was primarily spent with both of us trying to figure each other out. Your Daddy was home with us the first week, so you were able to get lots of QT (quality time) with each of us. We had a few jaundice issues, so you were pricked on the foot several times to check your levels. Luckily you got over it after a few weeks. You were SO tiny! You dropped to 5 lbs 14 oz the first week, but by your 2 week check-up you were back up to 6 lbs 5 oz. Mommy was so relieved, you crossed over your birth weight (barely!). You also grew in length a little bit. One quirky thing about you is that you do not have a BM very often. We actually were pretty concerned, because you went as long as 2 weeks without one! The doctor has assured us you were perfectly normal and they don't get concerned until it's been longer than 3 weeks. You were (and continue to be) extremely gassy. You can clear a room with some of your gas - it's pretty bad!

We spent a lot of time with doctors your first month. Between checking you for jaundice and checking me for blood pressure, we were going to doctors every single week! It at least gave us a chance to get used to taking you places. You travel so well, once we get you into the car seat you usually go right to sleep. It's the buckling you in part that you are not crazy about.

You sleep really well - and I count my blessings every day because of it. I know how rare it is - but you've pretty much slept at least 4 hours each night since the beginning. At 2 weeks old you slept 6.5 hrs one night! I woke up panicked because I hadn't heard you and you hadn't woken up yet, but you were just fine. It was so nice, you've been really good to me in that area. Some nights are better than others - but overall you understand when it's night time and you sleep for longer periods of time.

You love your puppy. He doesn't bother you in the least. One day while Daddy was watching you, you began to cry and wouldn't stop. Crew came up and barked in your face, and it worked! You stopped crying, Crew stopped barking - it was like you were speaking the same language. He's so protective of you. He stayed pretty close to us as soon as Daddy would leave for work. He also often peeks his head in to look at you when we have you laying down somewhere. He likes to lick you (and your pacifier!) as much as he can, he just loves you so much. I can't wait until you can play with him - he's a little too strong for you right now. He doesn't know how to play easy, so we have to keep a very close eye on the two of you together. I just love that no matter what he does, it doesn't bother you in the least.

We've been primarily breastfeeding you, but also supplement with a little formula. Sometimes you just don't seem to get your fill from breastfeeding so we give you a little formula and then you're satisfied. You also developed breastmilk jaundice, so we were forced to give you only formula for a full 24 hours. Luckily you didn't seem to mind at all - and you adjusted to taking a bottle pretty well. At first you would drink so fast you'd spit everything up. We had to feed you 1 oz at a time, but then you caught on. Nursing has been a challenge because you have had trouble latching on. I'm hanging in there though - determined that we'll get the hang of it eventually!

I take at least one picture of you every day - but it's usually more than that. I just don't want to miss anything! One day I'll be able to put them in a book for you - I'm so glad that I have an iPhone so that it's easy for me to snap a shot of you!

I absolutely love that I'm able to spend all my time with you right now. You're so sweet and cuddly - I can't get enough! You love cuddling with your Daddy, he's so warm you just sink right into him. It's pretty sweet. I can already tell you're going to be Daddy's little princess!

Charlotte's arrival!

Charlotte decided to surprise us all and arrive 3 weeks early! I'm including details below of the last week of pregnancy, partially for my benefit so that I don't forget anything from when she was born!

For most of the pregnancy I had border line high blood pressure. Enough that there was concern, but not enough that it was considered high. At our normal check up on August 30th, I'd mentioned that she had been a little less active in her movements the past 24 hours or so. They ordered an ultrasound immediately, so I came back at the end of the day for another ultrasound. I feel pretty lucky, we were able to see her quite a bit throughout this pregnancy, I lost count of how many ultrasounds we had! They never got old either, I loved watching her. At this ultrasound they discovered that the amniotic fluid level was low, so she sent me directly to the hospital. That was definitely scary! At this point of the pregnancy we were 36 weeks and 5 days along, so she was 'technically' considered pre-term. They did check her lung development and it looked great, so in the event we had to deliver the doctor was pretty confident she would do great and likely not have to have an extended hospital stay.

They admitted us to the hospital and hooked me up to the IV to start getting fluids into me. The hope was that by giving me IV fluids it would replenish the amniotic fluid and we'd be able to go home the next day. I was hooked up to monitors as well, monitored for one full hour every four hours that night. It was very reassuring for me because I could hear her heartbeat and knew she was still doing okay. If by the next day the fluid levels had not increased, the plan was to induce. Luckily that didn't happen! Everything looked great and the fluid levels improved enough that we were sent home that Friday evening. On bed rest, but that was way better than being in the hospital!

So I settled in at home and started trying to adjust to bed rest. I had a follow up appointment with the Dr. on the following Tuesday, just to check in and make sure all was well. To make things more interesting, at the start of that appointment my BP was high. I talked with the Dr and she said she wanted to check it again before I left, and then go from there. I went ahead with my normal appointment, and then they checked it again, and sure enough, still high. Back in to talk with the Dr, and guess what - back to the hospital for Karyn! This time it was to do a full 24hr test to check for Pre-Eclampsia. It didn't mean that I had to be on IV, but I was monitored closely. At the end of the 24hrs, we found out that I did, in fact, have Pre-Eclampsia. This meant that it was time to have a baby!

They started my IV and said that the plan was to start the induction process during that night. They didn't move me over to L&D until around 5:30 AM on Thursday, Sept. 6th. At this point I'd been in the hospital since Tuesday afternoon. As part of the Pre-e, I was required to have Magnesium given to me through the IV to help prevent seizures. They told me it would give me flu like symptoms - and boy they weren't kidding. It was flu-like symptoms times 10! The dr's were pretty good at preparing me for that, but it was pretty miserable. They started the other medicine around the same time as the Mag. Chris went down to grab some breakfast and take a few things to the car around 9. About a minute or two after he left the Dr came in and said it was time to break my water! So, Chris missed that part, lucky him - haha. Around 10 the Dr. came back to check on me and suggested that if I wanted the epidural, I might as well go ahead and get it early. She said there was no point waiting if I knew I wanted to get it, and with the Mag I was already miserable. So they came in around 10:30 or so to give me the epidural. I felt so much better afterwards, but was extremely drowsy and out of it due to the Mag. It also made me really hot. I believe the room was around 65 degrees and I was still hot! I don't remember much about the day, other than fading in and out of sleep. Chris  was wonderful and took complete control of the phones and communications. I was in no shape to talk to anyone! Around 4:45/5 the Dr came in to check my progress and said that I was ready to go! She asked me to do a test push, and so I did, and then she said, well okay it looks like this baby is going to get here fast! Charlotte gave me a break and I pushed for about 20 minutes and then she arrived! I consider myself very lucky for that! It's very vague after that, the mag made me very out of it. It had some weird effect on my vision that made me feel very disoriented.

And so she was here! 6 lbs, 4 oz and 19in long. So tiny and precious. Very healthy, just a perfect little baby girl! We ended up staying in L&D overnight because they didn't have any recovery rooms available that could take me. Apparently if you are on Mag only certain nurses are equipped to monitor you, and I had to stay on it for a full 24 hours. L&D just didn't have enough nurses that night to help us with Charlotte either, so later that night we ended up letting the nursery take care of her. I was in no shape to take care of her, and Chris was exhausted at that point. We were finally transferred to a recovery room on Friday around 9 AM. We had her brought down as soon as we were settled! I felt a thousand times better after they took me off the mag. I am not looking forward to that for any future children! :)

It was quite a week, but we were so blessed that she arrived safe and healthy and perfect - and that my condition didn't get worse.

Charlotte, born September 6, 2012

Charlotte has arrived!

Born September 6, 2012 at 5:19 PM. More details to come, but I wanted to go ahead and get some pictures up!

Baby Update

Things have been a little overwhelming lately - so I apologize for the delay in posts! I'll get you caught up quickly though. :) I'll do a baby update and a Crew update, so look for both posts.

Bump: (I need a haircut, it's getting SO LONG!)

 

 

 

Charlotte: She's growing! Measuring right on track at 33 weeks as of my appointment last week. She's still moving all the time, but is definitely starting to wear me out. She still really enjoys stretching her arms and legs out as much as possible, and now it's a lot easier to see/feel! She moves a little in the mornings, but she's definitely an afternoon/night owl. She kicks and turns around as much as she can right now. We see the doctor every week now, and our last ultrasound is on August 22nd.

Shower: We were so blessed to have our sweet friends and family throw us a shower on July 28th. I was definitely starting to feel nervous and extremely unprepared, but felt SO much better afterwards. I don't have any pictures, but I need to get some from Mom and I'll add them here later.

Crew's recent happenings

It's been a busy month for Crew. I'll summarize via pictures and captions. Prepare for photo overload - he's just so cute! We've officially had him for over a year now! We adopted him on July 7, 2011. Crazy to compare a picture of him then, to him now!

July 2011

August 2012

Crew wanted to be sure Chris knew he wanted a bite. 

Every morning he sits and stares out our bedroom window while we get ready. He loves watching the people walk by, but especially loves getting a glimpse of a squirrel. They're his new favorite thing!

My sweet boys! 

Chris surprised me with "just because" flowers after a long week!

Poor crew. He was playing with my Dad's dog and pushed his limits a little too far. Didn't move out of the way fast enough and she barely caught him on the ear. However, it did provide about a 1/4 inch split in his ear that would not stop bleeding! Apparently that's one of the worst places for a dog to get injured, simply because it bleeds and bleeds and bleeds. It did not phase him in the slightest. The duct tape was a temporary solution because nothing else would make the bleeding stop. We were finally able to fashion a bandage with gauze wrapped within duct tape. It did the trick, and was just out of his reach so he couldn't bite or mess with it. 

He'd had a rough night. 

He really, really wanted a bite of the bread. Bread is his favorite (totally my fault). He has a  finicky digestive system, so I typically give him a little bread to help with it. As a result, he totally locks in on any bread product. 

As Charlotte and I grow, he is becoming more and more attached. He lays his head on my stomach at least once a day, it's really sweet. 

Here's a close-up of his ear post duct tape bandage. The duct tape stuck to some of his hair up top, but the wound scabbed over pretty well and didn't bleed anymore. 

Another of him laying on me

See, he lays on Chris too. I liked this one because his paws were gripping Chris' feet. He likes to go back and forth between us. 

Chris was out of town this past weekend, and Crew stayed by my side the whole time! 

It's July!

This year is flying by! The past couple of weeks have been good, I've been feeling better for the most part which means I'm more productive. Always a good thing. Really trying to get the house organized - but I run out of energy pretty quickly. Little by little it's looking better. I'll get some photos up when it looks a little better. ;) 

I passed my glucose tolerance test - yay! I also found out I'm anemic, fun. So I've added an iron supplement to my pills to take every day. We go back to see the ultrasound specialist next week. I don't think she's changed positions, based on where I feel her movements the most - but I'm hoping she'll surprise me! She is very active. I don't know what's normal and what's a lot, but it sure does get distracting for me. I don't think I'll get used to it, every time she moves I look down and want to watch her! 

We ordered a super cute baby book today that will help us keep track of all her milestones and first year or so. Will share that with you when it comes in! 

Here I am at 27 weeks.. I'm 28 now but we'll get a picture of that probably tonight. 

Crew's been keeping us busy as usual. We try to take him swimming at least once a week, and he absolutely loves it. We went to the Bark Park this past weekend - they have a big pond for the dogs which is perfect for Crew. As soon as we got him inside the fence and unhooked his leash, he SPRINTED to the water. We didn't have to throw a toy or anything, he just cannon-balled right on in. 

Begging me for food...

Begging Chris for food..

Just being goofy

Our 4th of July was fun and relaxing. We both had to work the day before and day after, so we didn't travel anywhere. Instead we went over for a BBQ with some friends. Here's a couple of shots of the festive cake I made. I took my go-to chocolate chip bundt cake (thank you Sarah!) - and added some food coloring to make it fit the occasion. It was delicious!! 

This weekend we are taking our baby classes! Saturday is an all day "Fast track childbirth class" and Sunday will be a 2 hour infant CPR. Wish us luck! ;)

26 weeks and growing....

Charlotte is growing! Let me step back and catch you up on our past month. If it's any indication of what we can expect after she's born, we're going to have one very stubborn, independent little girl. 

Last month at our 21 wk appt, we had the anatomy ultrasound. For this, it's important for them to have accurate measurements of all parts of her to track growth. They told us that her head was measuring about 2 weeks behind, but that it likely was nothing to be concerned about - the doctor just wanted to get a better look. So, they sent us to a specialist for a more in depth ultrasound. The specialist was able to give us more information and put our minds at ease a little bit. She's in a breech position, so her head is up towards my ribs. Her position prevented them from being able to get a clear picture of her spine, but he was able to see clear enough to determine that there were no major areas of concern in terms of her development. He closely examined her brain and upper part of the spinal cord, and everything looked normal. Her brain and other parts were all measuring right on track - but the diameter of her head was showing about 19-20 weeks. It could very well be because she's sitting opposite of how she should be - but who knows! He told us he didn't see any reasons for concern, and that he'd like to see us back in a month just to check on her. 

One month later, well - not much changed! She gained about one pound. Still moves ALL the time. Her favorite position seems to be having her feet/legs extended straight above her head. That's been her position just about every time we've had an ultrasound. She kicks some, but mostly she likes moving her legs above her head and back down, and her arms in front of her, above her, and behind her back. She's still breech, still on the same side (my left). She also likes moving her arms around when it's time to measure her heartbeat, so she makes the nurses work a little harder to get a long enough measurement to record her heart rate. At the specialist ultrasound, things were pretty much the same as the visit prior. Everything is measuring on track, except for the diameter of her head. Her movement is great, growth is great - so they don't seem very concerned. I have to say, I don't know that I mind her head being a little smaller than normal... 

The other really fun thing that happened at this month's doctor appointment was the glucose test. They have you drink a very sugary sweet orange drink, and then exactly one hour later draw your blood to test your body's reaction to the glucose. Well, I found out yesterday that I failed that test! I go back tomorrow for a three hour glucose tolerance test. I basically have to fast (no food/drink after midnight the night before) then go into their office very first thing for my first blood test. Then, they'll give me more sugary drinks and test my blood 3 more times! I'm also anemic, so I'll be adding on another pill daily. We're just grateful that she's healthy - even if she is a little uncooperative so far. :)  We'll go back next month to see the specialist again and then have our last monthly check up. After that, we jump to twice a month, and then every week until she's born! 

So, that's been our past month. Chris finally felt (and saw!) her kick a few weeks ago - so that was pretty exciting. Crew is pretty cute too - he'll say hi to her when I prompt him by either licking or nuzzling my tummy. He's also laying his head on my tummy a lot, and will put his paw over me. 

 

He's just so darn cute, I can't NOT include him. :)