And then my water broke...or, Weston's birth story

(Yes, I realize its been two years.  No, this isn't necessarily a return to blogging.  I just want to record Weston's birth story, and this seems like a good place to do it.  Maybe I'll blog more...we'll see.)

I was nearing full term in a ridiculously complicated high risk pregnancy.  35 weeks and 5 days, I had my routine OB appointment, the first of the every week appointments.  Everything was normal, and Charlie and I headed to Costco.  Two days before Thanksgiving...brilliant.

We got the few things we needed, ran into a friend, and got into the check out line.   When I was getting ready to pay, the Costco guy told me that something was leaking in my purse. I went to check and discovered my water bottle had opened and was pouring everywhere.  I closed the bottle, apologized, and turned to go back to the counter...and slipped in the water.  Naturally, I grabbed the first thing I saw, a little old lady.  Of course.  Amazingly she managed not to fall with me (thank goodness,) and I was suddenly surrounded by very concerned people.  I'd landed on my knee, my stomach spared all impact, so I assured everyone I was fine, apologized profusely and tried to make myself invisible as I paid.  I heard a Costco employee in the next line ask, "Um, what is that?" and realized it probably looked like my water had broken. "Ha ha," I thought, "Scheduled C-section, my water's not going to break."
 
We went home, put away the items we'd picked up for Thanksgiving, had lunch, and I considered packing a hospital bag.  This was quickly dismissed.  Maybe do laundry...nah.  The day proceeded normally, nap time, dinner, TV, bed.  For some reason, I decided to put a towel on the bed, just in case the impossible happened, but as soon as I laid down I realized it was uncomfortable, and threw it on the floor.

About an hour later, it happened.  An intense amount of water was pouring out of me.  I was immediately awake, and without thinking sunk to the floor where I knew the towel was and started yelling for Tim to wake up.  Eventually, he found me ( I was invisible from where he was, since I was huddled on the floor,) and we tried to figure out what needed to be done so we could leave.  He got my dad and set him up to take care of Charlie, I pulled dirty yoga pants from the hamper (why didn't I do laundry? why didn't I pack a bag?) then sat on the bed shaking for awhile.  The shock was overwhelming me, and I was terrified for the baby.  It hadn't occurred to me that he wouldn't follow Charlie's footsteps and go straight to 39 weeks without so much as a contraction.  We headed for the hospital around 11:30.

We entered the hospital through the ER - and no one was there. It was a ghost town.  I had to call the baby center to find out where to go.  We checked in, and went to triage, where the told me they had to confirm that the torrent of water still coming from me wasn't just pee.  In the meantime I was strapped to all sorts of monitors, an ultrasound was done to confirm the baby was still breach, and we were introduced to the doctor on call.  Now, let me just say, I'm sure this doctor is great.  I'm sure she's super experienced, and can do a c-section in her sleep.  But, we were tired, stressed, and scared.  So, Tim asked if my doctor could be called.  Well, this offended the doctor who was there so completely that I thought there was going to be a brawl.  She lectured, scolded, yelled...and finally agreed to call my doctor and see if she could do the surgery.  When she was unsuccessful and getting through to my doctor, it was clear she had washed her hands of us, so she told us we could just wait until the morning and try again.  We confirmed that there was no risk to the baby, and agreed.

We spent a long night monitoring the baby, my temperature, and waiting.  Around 9 am, a different doctor came in, and told us that my doctor wouldn't be able to be here until Friday, and would we like to wait?  It was Wednesday morning.  Obviously, waiting two days was not the best solution, so we told her we'd be happy to have her do the C-section.  We weren't trying to be unreasonable, we simply wanted to know if Dr. Brown could do it, and if not, get the party started.  We were going to have the baby that afternoon.  It was settled.  I was nervous, but we were happy with the situation.

A little bit later, my phone rang.  It was my doctor!  She'd rearranged her whole schedule, and would be there at noon to do my C-section.  Amazing!  We were more than thrilled, she'd done my C-section with Charlie, been there for most of my delivery with Isaiah, and I'd been seeing her for 4 years.  It meant a lot that she would do it.

We kept getting pushed back as emergency C-sections kept cropping up, but eventually we made it into the OR.  I was very anxious, remembering the last time I'd had this done.  Thankfully, this time around, I didn't react to the spinal block like I did before, and I didn't feel all the pressure and pulling that I did with Charlie.  And, at 1:41, on November 27th, Weston Peter was born.  A NICU doctor took him to the corner of the room to examine him, and Tim went with them, but it was positioned so that I could see him.  I stared, crying, and the tiny baby while they put me back together.  For some reason, I couldn't stop sobbing.  I was so relieved to hear him cry, see him wiggle, see that he was, indeed, a boy (something that had been up for debate at my later ultrasounds).

Weston tipped the scales at 4 pounds, 15 ounces, and they measured him at 17 inches, though we later found out it was closer to 19.  He had a lot of brown hair, dark blue-grey eyes, and the longest fingers you ever did see.

I was transferred to a hospital bed and wheeled back to my room.  I passed my pastor and his wife in the hall...since our C-section kept getting pushed back, they arrived before it was done, and as a result were sent away since I had yet to meet Weston, and the nurses were eager for me to start recovering.  Then my tiny boy was placed on my chest, we had our first feeding time, and he was whisked away to be evaluated.  His blood sugar was extremely low, so they started giving him formula, without my consent, which bummed me out, but I assumed it had to happen.  The rest of the hospital stay, I struggled to get him to latch, only succeeding about 4 times in three days, so I pumped and pumped and pumped, and we supplemented with formula as needed.

Charlie came to meet her brother, and received a special gift from him, and enormous Lambie doll from Doc McStuffins.  She got to hold him, and spend time with Tim and me, and was happy as a clam.

We left the hospital the day after Thanksgiving, despite Weston's low weight, and thankfully, as soon as we got home, Weston started latching again.

He's been here for about 5 weeks now, slowly putting on weight, slowly kicking jaundice, quickly stealing all our hearts.  We love our tiny tiny boy, and can't imagine life without him.

 Now, off the put the toddler down for a nap and feed the wee one again.

Eighteen Months

Somehow my little girl has been here eighteen months already.  It boggles my mind to look at the toddler that my baby has become. 

To celebrate this big day, Charlie has been marching around on her tip toes and singing.

As she gets older, her personality is coming out in spades.  She has her own opinions, and will share them with you (loudly).  Her current favorite things include: cell phones, or anything that can be used as a cell phone, remote controls, dancing, kissing, baby dolls, shape sorting toys, putting on all manners of clothes and accessories (my hair ties are great bracelets.), taking things out of, and putting them back in various boxes, and "helping" me do laundry.  If anything is missing, the first place to look is the washing machine.  She's enjoying milk, yogurt, chocolate, nachos, pumpkin and banana puree, pizza, and veggie straws, as well as anything she can sneak off my plate. 

Whenever she sees the camera, or my phone pointed at her, she makes this face:

She's decided walking is old news, and taken to sprinting or dancing everywhere.



 She is going to be a theme park fan.  She is rarely happier than when someone is flipping her, spinning her, tossing her up, wrestling with her, or running around with her at top speeds.

She's super friendly to strangers, talking to them excitedly - unless they get too close.

She's got a handful of signs that she uses to tell us what she wants: milk, eat, please, thank you, more, and all done.  We're really working on getting her to say Please as opposed to whining when she wants something.

As far as talking goes, she's got the basics (with comprehension)- Hi, Bye, Mommy, Daddy, Papa, Nana (pronounced Nanoo), Wow, Oh no, Uh oh, Ow, Baby, Puppy, and lately, No and Mine have entered the mix.  Whenever she eats something new she says "Mmmmm!"  She'll imitate most anything you say, but doesn't connect what it is most of the time.

She's very snuggly and sweet, and growing into a little spunky person.  I still can't get enough of her, and I'm so blessed to be able to spend all my days with this amazing girl.

The Snow Beast

"Snowpocalypse 2012" is upon us, resulting in something like 6 inches of snow piling up around our home.  It'd been probably about 6 years since I'd really played in the snow, so while Charlie was napping I indulged my inner elementary schooler and made a snow man just her size.

 After she woke up, had some snuggles and a diaper change, I took her out back to meet her new friend.

 It went well.  (Sarcasm, p.s.)  She freaked if I put her down, so these are my attempts at pictures.

 From above, while she clings for dear life to my leg.

 The horror. 

Sigh...maybe next year.  For now we'll hunker down inside, eating mashed potatos and listening to Wicked...not a bad alternative, really :)

One.

Happy Birthday Charlotte Ellenor!

From my bitty 6lb 9 oz baby...

...to my beautiful 19lb girl.

Dear Charlie,

Your Daddy and I are so blessed to have you. This year has sped by in a blur of firsts (smile, laugh, roll, sleep through the night, solid food, tooth, the list goes on). Our love for you has grown with each day, and we can't believe what a sweet girl you are turning into.

You love to give hugs and kisses, wave at everyone, grin and giggle, and most of all, move. You are everywhere, getting into anything you can reach. I just found you with wasabi crisps in your hand...making me grateful that you don't put much in your mouth. You are adventurous - as long as I'm by your side - curious, and fearless, which often results in bumps and bruises.

You are always watching, always learning, and always wanting to know more. You love your family, love to shop (naturally), and love to read.

You don't like to crawl, instead you kind of swim across the floor, pushing with your toes and grabbing the floor ahead with your fingers.

You are starting to stand unsupported, for about 20 seconds at a time. You'll be walking within a month, I'm sure of it.

You're a bundle of energy, and keep me on my toes, but you always come back to my arms to snuggle. I love you, my Charlie. Happy first birthday!

There are gentle winds blowing

and stars all above you.

Night-night, little Pookie.

I love you and love you.

And love you and love you.

And love you and love you.*

*Taken from Night-Night, Little Pookie by Sandra Boynton

Charlie's Birdie Birthday

We had a relatively small celebration of Charlie's first year last Sunday. The guest list was limited to immediate family and closest friends, and everyone (but my brothers - one sick and one hours away) was able to make it.

To keep Charlie chipper through the whole thing, I pushed all the "activities" to the start of the party, so if she crashed we wouldn't miss out on cake or presents or anything she is essential to.

After some time for eating we jumped into presents.

She loved the tissue...presents were less interesting.

Until she opened shoes, that is.

Then Pooh Bear...

And a book - she shook it to make sure it held up.

Matching aprons! Score!

More tissue. (PS - I made that headband, I forgot to put it in the decor post. Feathers, heavy paper and glue. Add in a touch of patience, and you have yourself a headband).

Following present time was cake time...Charlie was not so sure about this business. I opted for vegan cupcakes to protect us from discovering a food allergy during the party.

It's not often you see this face after presenting someone with a delicious treat.

She responded better when I fed it to her.

Kinda.

Enough already!

Ryan, Meghan and Laura hanging out in the post present mayhem.

After cake and presents we had no agenda, so football, games and food ruled the rest of the afternoon. Here, Papa and Mitsuki are wrestling a bit while Auntie Chie and Tim show Charlie how to hammer.

Snuggle time with Meghan - always one of Charlie's favorite activities.

And here is the girl herself, 4 hours after the party started, happily showing off her newest tooth.

Charlie did absolutely amazing, and seemed to love every minute. I love my big, happy girl.

(For those who care, her dress is Cherokee, $15, I got it on sale for $10.)

Made By Me Monday - a DIY Birthday Party

Charlie's first birthday is coming up, and we had a small party for her on Sunday with family and closest friends.  We were trying to keep the entire thing under $100, so that meant endless DIY projects for me.  (And some commissioning...thanks Meg for cupcaking, Dad for pizza and super glue provisions, Chie for Jordan Almonding).

I'll share party pictures later, but here are the decor shots (mostly taken after the fact, cause I was too busy leading up to the party to care about documentation.)

The theme was either "Birdie Birthday" or "Put a Bird on it", depending on whether or not you're a Portlandia fan :)

Here goes.  The front room.

I made endless amounts of paper pennants, using scrapbook paper I already had, relating to either birthdays or birds; yarn; and a paper cutter.  Simple, yes.  Time consuming, yes.  With the excess paper from the solid colored pennants I cut out little abstract bird shapes and perched them on every ledge I could find.  These items were through out every room , tying it all together. 

I put up a folding table and wrestled a giant disposable tablecloth onto it, strategically taping to keep the size under control.  This table held had table scatter (reusing the holes I punched out of the pennant garland paper); a rubber ducky; and a Jellybeans free download of two birds in a tree.  So far, I spent $3 for the table cloth.  Everything else I already had.
Streamers were placed here and there, since nothing says party like a little crepe paper, and bird toys that Charlie had were placed on every surface.

The entry way door and front window with pennants and bird. There was also streamers, a photo from Charlie's birth and 6 month photos, stuffed birds, and polka dot rubber duckys.

 

I hung paper lanterns leftover from a bridal shower from our chandelier, and to make it over the top, hung birdie stroller toys between them.

Chie had given me a book of beautiful postcards before Charlie was born, and I was able to find a bunch of bird ones to hang from our (overcrowded) bookcase.  I also added various pictures of Charlie, blocks spelling her name, and stacking blocks with bird images.  All stuff I already had, so our running total is still $3.

The table:

Here you can see the banner (held up by two birds, Disney style), artwork and duck.

I made some sugar cookies from a mix ($3, plus $2.50 for sprinkles - $5.50 total), but I forgot to take pictures before they started disappearing.  Most were birds, but I made "One" for a change of pace.

Chie brought me meringue cookies the week before and those were added to the mix, and Meghan made vegan cupcakes with strawberry jam frosting (yum).  I didn't want to introduce Charlie to new foods at her party, just in case, so vegan was a good route to go.  I made the cupcake toppers with a free download, though I did buy the circles, for about $5, bringing us up to $10.50.

Not pictured - we also served pizza and nachos, care of Papa, Mike's Hard Lemonade ($20), pretzel sticks ($2) with Jordan almonds (from Chie) on top (to look like eggs in a nest), pasta salad ($6), Caesar salad, ($10), lemonade and cucumber water ($4), plates and napkins ($7) bringing us to $59.50.
The family room:

 This room was done simply, with pennants and birdies on the fireplace and a banned I made for Tim's birthday over the window.  Little bird books and toys were here and there.

The kitchen and dining room:
I took these pictures the next day, so picture heaps of food, and pink polka dot table cloth and Settlers of Catan laid out of the table.

So, there were streamers that I already had, pink and green lanterns left over from a baby shower, the table cloth from the same baby shower, bunting and birds.

The high chair was in the living room for the party, but regardless:

It already had a bird on it, so I added tiny bunting to make it festive.

When everything was said and done, the entire party, including gifts, was at $100.  If you have questions on anything you see, let me know.  Also, sorry for the weird lay out, I haven't gotten used to the new blogger format yet.