She is here! 

 CHARLOTTE KAYE ANDERSON

7/17/09

1:12pm

8lbs 15oz

20 inches

OK!  So we are a little over a week in and it has been an adjustment to say the least.  Weston is having a hard time with all the attention that baby Charlotte is getting.  He isn’t sleeping well at night (and so neither are Mom or Dad)  and the fits during the day have increased.  He is very good with the baby and doesn’t really connect that she is the reason but he knows something has rocked his world and isn’t pleased about it.  Hopefully he will begin adjusting better as we get into a more normal routine. 

The girls (especially Serra)  are over the moon about the baby.  It’s like a war over who gets to hold her and how long and who has already had enough time.  Serra proclaimed yesterday while we were at the Andersons that it was time to go home so she could hold the baby.  Everyone there was hogging her. 

I am recovering nicely.  My insides (as Julie puts it) don’t feel quite right yet, but over all I feel really good.  It is so nice to have 30 lbs less to pack around and to be able to bend over. 

Baby Charlotte is (so-far) a really good baby.  She hardly fusses at all…usually when she is hungary or wants to be held at night.  Even though I am up a lot at night I still feel like I am getting enough sleep…especially if I can squeeze in a short snooze during the day when both cabooses are sleeping.  She is by far my floppiest baby and seems smaller than the others, even Serra.  But she has great alert moments and doesn’t seem bothered by all the commotion around her.  She loves having her hair washed.  She closes her eyes and doesn’t fuss or struggle as I run warm water through it. 

So let me back up a bit. Thursday the 16th at 8:15 I went to the Center for Maternal Fetal Medicine which is the specialist I have to see because of my “advanced maternal age” as well as other issues I have.  There we did an amnio to check for lung maturity.  Having done this procedure once before I wasn’t overly nervous but I was blessed with the stomach flu that day, so along with the cramps that come from the amnio I had stomach cramps from the flu.  Adriane was very kind and took Wes and Rosie for the day and Brian took care of shuttling them around later.  I spent the day sleeping and trying to save energy for the next day.  I was much better the next morning and with the positive results from the day before we headed to Southern Hills Hospital for a 6am induction.  Mom arrived late the night before and stayed home with the kids for the morning until we called her later as things progressed.  Adriane took the kids again (thanks! big time). 

So with our arrival I had to start the antibiotics because I test positive for Beta Strep.  With that comes the dreaded IV and monitors.  Surprisingly I was at 3cm when I got there.  I guess the cramps from the day before actually did some work for me.  After about 2 hours I started the pitocin drip and things started moving.  I got the epidural not long after that.  It took the anesthesiologist 30 minutes at least and he struggled the whole time and was not gentle I might add.  (I was left with a baseball size bruise on my back) Finally he got it in with a lot of discomfort and I settled in for a few more hours.  My water was broken for me and then things started happening.  Unfortunately, something went wrong with the epidural just as they maxed out the pitocin and I got to go through about 20-30 minutes (it felt longer) of transition without anything.  The anesthesiologist came back in and redid the epidural and got it right but gave me triple the medication I needed.  I was so numb I could no longer feel the pressure I was feeling before.  I started getting nervous because I need to be able to feel the pressure in order to effectively push.  The nurse came in to check me and hollered to get Dr. Martin in immediately as the baby was on it’s was out.  SAY WHAT!  I wasn’t doing anything and the kid was crowning.  Dr. Martin came in and the nurses started putting my feet up.  My doctor told them to put my legs back down he wasn’t ready yet.  As soon as he was dressed and ready (maybe a minute more) they put my legs back up and by then Charlottes head was already out.  He told me to give a little push.  I grunted halfheartedly since I couldn’t feel anything and out she came.  I think I should get a discount since my doctor didn’t have to do anything.  No tears or episiotomy.  So he didn’t even have to stick around for stitches. 

One of my favorite life moments is when they put my new babies up on my chest immediately after delivery.  I love the look on those little faces.  This time was no different.  It was a dejavu moment for me as she looked so much like Serra did.  Brown eyes and eyebrows and all that nearly black hair.  Her face was all scrunched up with displeasure at this new rude world.  She is my first baby to have the vernix all over her.  She has very petite fingers and long toes.  She had no cone head since she spent nearly no time at all in the birth canal.  She let out a few lusty cries and then quieted down when they put her under the heat lamps.  This was also my first experience at a hospital where they don’t have a nursery so they do all the “processing” and cleaning up in the room.  It’s the first time I have been able to watch.  I was over taken by a pretty serious case of the shakes right after and being able to watch her helped take my mind off it.  It took hours for the epidural to wear off.  It’s a strange feeling to not be able to control ones limbs, and when I sat up I felt like I was sitting in a bowl full of jello.  That doesn’t say good things about my bum.  I enjoyed my stay at the hospital.  I actually got some good rest and enjoyed visitors each day. 

It is so wonderful to be on this side of delivery though and home and getting back into the swing of things.  These pictures are all from the first week with a photo shoot on day 6 so we could compare her to Serra’s day 6 photos. 

Let’s get this show on the road!

Put me back in!

How can you just not love that face. 

first moments. 

Brian making the phone calls and holding the newest addition. 

The troops meet her for the first time.  Wes wasn’t impressed that day at all.  He took a look at her but wouldn’t touch her.  He also didn’t want me to hold him much…he clung to his dad alot. 

Day two…still at hospital.

I think all my baby swings are going to bite the dust since I can’t keep this giant toddler out of them. 

Taken a few days before…Wes and Jill hanging out in the cupboard at Grandma Andersons.

Thems some blue eyes.

The girls with cousin Jill shortly before she moved to Ohio. 

Wes likes his baby sister but he is dangerous as he likes to throw things about and sometimes forgets to be gentle.  The only safe place for the baby is in the crib. 

Rosie and Grandma Arnell messing around with the camera.  Mom Arnell came and helped out for a few days and she was invalueble.  We are still enjoying the food she prepared and brought and we have been able to maintain the house pretty well. 

Day 2 and 3

Day 6 photo shoot. 

Ok…I know her feet look like monkey feet here…I swear it’s just the angle…they really aren’t THAT big. 

So here is for comparison…the first pictures here are of Serra and the second is Charlotte. 

So this will be my last post before the baby comes.  I have my daily lists made out with a few things to do everyday in preparation.  Yes, I am a list maker, a planner.  That is not why we have scheduled an induction on the 17th (one week from today) but it certainly doesn’t hurt my need to plan. 

Typically we find ourselves in Park City at the Anderson family cabin for a family reunion on the 4th of July.  But due to my increasing size and state we felt it better to stay put.  We spent the 4th of July with Brian’s high school buddies here in Vegas.  The kids played all afternoon in an awesome pool/slide contraption and we had plenty of fireworks and sparklers in the evening to make it just perfect.  It was warm so it was nice that I was able to stay inside for most of the day and eat berries and sip cold drinks.  The kids didn’t seem to notice the heat much and wore themselves out.  While Serra was playing outside in the pool she got hit in the face and her front tooth got knocked out.  All the kids searched and were able to find the missing tooth.  It was already slightly loose so no harm done.  She lost her other one a few weeks ago and now has a gaping hole in her face. 

As of today I am slightly past the 36 week mark.  I am HUGE!  No surprise there.  There was an evening last week when I had contractions 6 minutes apart for 3-4 hours.  I was starting to wish I had already preregistered at the hospital when things calmed down and baby decided to wait a few more weeks.  I feel really good except for the moving around part.  It is getting increasingly more difficult to move this belly around.  Brian has stepped up and is helping out more than usual.  He even made the final Costco run today and took the kids. 

We did a casual photo shoot this morning with the baby cousins, Jill, Violet, and Weston.  We were able to get a few cute ones of them together one last time before Jill takes off to the other side of the country for her daddy’s schooling. 

So here we are and next post we will be 6.

I was looking for a picture of something on the internet and came across this painting.  Weirded me out.  Looks like my sister Serra with a fro. 

4th of July…giganto slide fun!

Rosie only wanted to go down the slide when the water was turned off and no kids were around.  That didn’t occur very often.

But it’s always fun shooting water at your sister.

Weston was not nearly as amused as Serra.

Wes LOVED the water gun.  He had pretty good aim too.

Gotta have sparklers.

Rosie’s first experience with sparklers.  Thanks Jeff and Maren (yeah we finally used the ones you brought over like 2 years ago.)

A dad and his boy enjoying fireworks.

Toothless and slightly richer. 

35 weeks and counting…I probably should have at least put on some makeup.  After baths it’s cuddle time with Dad.  Look!  I see room for one more. 

Three babies…Jillian 18 months, Weston 18 months, and Violet 15 months.  They are good buddies. 

Loves

Jillian…always ready with a smile. 

Violet with her pretty curls…and Weston, THE MAN.