Charlotte's Second Week and her first Christmas!

I cannot believe that our little girl is already two weeks old! The past two weeks have flown by so fast! It seems like we have had her forever. Dan and I don't know what we did with all of our free time before. Now we are constantly doing laundry and taking care of Charlotte and so far she's an easy baby. The past few days she has started to wake up a little and not sleep 95% of the time. I read that newborns sleep around 16 hours a day and no way Charlotte slept that little. She would wake to eat and that's about it. She has had her eyes open for a few hours the past couple of days. She just looks around makes her little noises. This week she even had two nights where she slept for over five hours. Dan and I woke up in a panic thinking that something was wrong and she was just sound asleep. Right now she is sleeping in our room in a pack and play at the end of our bed. We swaddle her tight and she goes sound to sleep. Thank goodness for a good swaddle blanket!

We have had lots of visitors since Charlotte's birth day. Dan's parents came in from Colorado the day after she was born and stayed for a few days. My mom lives here and has been over about every other day just to get her Charlotte fix. My brother came in from California last week and my Dad and Kim came up the day after Christmas. It has been really nice seeing all of our family this holiday. We have had a lot of friends come by and meet Charlotte and many of them have been so kind to bring us dinner. We are getting spoiled! We are so thankful to have so many people around us that love us and love our daughter.

Christmas day was so fun and we can't wait until next year when Charlotte will be older and maybe actually awake!

Charlotte's Birth Story

I have been wanting to sit down and write down the day of Charlotte's birth because I know that eventually it won't be fresh on my mind and I will forget things. December 15 was one of the most exciting, amazing, emotional days of my life next to the day I married Dan. Going into labor was nothing like I thought it would be and not nearly as scary as I thought it was going to be.

Monday morning I woke up and told Dan that I didn't think that Charlotte was going to arrive that week. I was only 37 weeks and I knew that it was wishful thinking that she would come that early. So I started my work day and didn't think anymore about it. I knew that baby girl would get here when she was ready and the longer she stayed in me the better it would be for her. I could wait until she was ready. As I have mentioned before, pregnancy was teaching me patience which is something I need to work on.

Throughout the day Monday I got several calls and text messages from people I don't normally talk to saying that they were thinking of me this week. When I told Dan he said that he had gotten the same messages from people. Kind of strange. At my doctor's appointment that afternoon I went in with no expectations. My doctor was great but never gave me any idea of when I would go into labor. When I had my exam that day she perked up and said, "You guys might have a baby this week!" I was 3 cm and 70%. Dan and I were kind of shocked but so ready. I was also measuring at 40 weeks. That week I had started retaining so much fluid I could hardly wear my shoes and forget even trying to put on my wedding band. We left our appointment excited and not sure what to do while we waited. That week we walked the entire mall one night, walked Target, ate spicy food...did anything to help progress me. I continued to work so that it would keep my mind off of thinking my water could break any second.

My poor feet!

Dan worked from home towards the end of the week which was nice to spend some extra time together. Thursday I started having contractions. I had been having a lot of contractions throughout my pregnancy and I would time them. These felt like my normal contractions but were about 2-3 minutes apart. They didn't hurt at all so I just ignored them. After about 2-1/2 hours I decided that I should probably call my doctor. I still didn't know if I was in labor because I didn't hurt. My doctor said that I should go to the hospital to get checked out. Dan and I packed our car with our bags that had been packed for weeks and drove to the hospital. It was very surreal thinking that this could be it, Charlotte's birth day. We decided not to call anyone because it could just be a false alarm.

Last bump picture before heading to the hospital!

We get to the hospital, get checked in and I tell the nurse as we are walking to the room that I'm not sure if I was in labor because my contractions didn't hurt and her response was "yeah, you probably aren't." Her comment totally burst my bubble but whatever, we were there and it wasn't her call if I was in labor or not. She checked me and I was at 4-1/2 cm and 90%. She told me that my doctor would probably send me home because my contractions had slowed down at that point. Dan and I were bummed but knew that Charlotte would come when she was ready. A few minutes later my doctor walked in a checked me and I was at 5 cm. She told me that while she was there she could break my water or we could wait but it would probably break that night or the next day on it's own. Dan and I looked at each other and decided to just go for it. We were ready to meet our Charlotte!

My doctor broke my water and I couldn't stop laughing. Thank God it didn't happen at the mall or Target during our walks. It would have been a hazard to everyone around! There must have been gallons of water that came out of me. No wonder my feet had been so swollen! Dan and I called our parents and told them that it was go time. When I called my mom and dad I started crying because it hit me that my life would never be the same after this day. All of the anticipation building up to this moment and it was finally here. The nurse gave me pitocin to speed up the contractions and about an hour later I got an epidural. The contractions were pretty intense but compared to the pain I had been in those last few weeks of pregnancy, it wasn't too bad. My epidural immediately took effect to my right size but not my left. They had to put me in all sorts of positions to get it to take to my left side. I expected with an epidural to not feel anything and I could definitely still feel the pressure and the contractions. It wasn't intense pain but a lot of pressure that was very uncomfortable.

I progressed very quickly and within a couple of hours I was at 10 cm. It was around 8 pm at this point. I pictured labor like the movies and it was not like that at all. There was time in between contractions where my nurse and I talked about her kids or pinterest. My nurse, Jennifer was incredible. She was so cool and kept us calm. It was such an exciting moment thinking that we were within hours of meeting Charlotte. Dan was an awesome coach. He helped me through each contraction and was so encouraging. He kept his calm and when I was tired he would give me the energy to keep going.

At 10:06 pm on December 15 we met our daughter. They pulled her out and laid her on my chest and I lost it. It was an incredible moment and I couldn't stop crying. I couldn't believe that I had delivered this little baby and that she was ours to keep. She let out a loud cry and I held her in my arms. When my doctor pulled her out she said "this is a big baby!" We all wanted to know what Charlotte weighed. When they told me her weight of 7 lbs 15 oz I said "That's it?!" and she said that if I had gone full term she would have been close to 10 pounds. Thank goodness she was right under 8 lbs and perfectly healthy.

Proud Daddy!

Our first family picture

Dan and I are so proud of our little girl. Our life seems normal now with her in it we can't remember what we did with all of our time before. When we are tired and we see her little face cooing and looking at us it makes everything so worth it.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our little family to yours.


Love,
Dan, Emily and Charlotte

Charlotte's First Week

I cannot believe that it has already been a week since our little girl was born. She has stolen our hearts and we feel so blessed that she is here with us. It is amazing that in just a week we can already see her little personality coming out. I don't want to jinx it, but we have an awesome baby. She sleeps great, eats great, loves to be held but is also independent and doesn't mind laying by herself. It is definitely an adjustment having a little one at our house but we can't imagine life any other way.

This past week has been a whirlwind. The days pass by so fast which make me sad at times because I know that life is just going to continue to speed past us. We have lots of friends and family that have stopped by to visit which we have loved. Today is the first day we have had to ourselves as our little family and it's been nice to feel normal again. We are in a routine and Dan and I have our systems down for feedings and diaper changes. We have even ventured out to get out of the house to run to Walgreen's or CVS. We try to not get too crazy! Dan and I left Charlotte with the grandma's the other day and went to lunch by ourselves and finished up some last minute Christmas shopping and then had to rush home to hold our little girl because we missed her so much. She sleeps 90% of the time but she is still so entertaining.

I know that everyone says this, but I never imagined how much I could love this little girl. Immediately after she was born I knew our lives had changed in such an amazing way. I can't believe that we get to keep her forever! She is a great sleeper but it was Dan and I that had a hard time sleeping the first couple of nights. We both kept getting up to makes sure she wasn't too cold or hot and that she was still breathing. One night I finally just picked her up and put her on my chest to sleep so that I could feel her breathing. Now we are all sleeping great and we actually feel rested.

Dan is off of work for a couple of weeks which is amazing. I love him being here and us figuring out all of this together. He is such a natural with Charlotte. He just picks her up, changes her, puts her in the cute outfits we have and has become a pro swaddler. I feel like I definitely hit the jackpot with him.

I am so in love with our daughter and even more in love with my husband. We have begun this new chapter in our lives and I can't wait to see what happens next. I have lots of pictures that I need to post and Charlotte's birth story, but now I have to go feed our little one.

Happy Birthday Charlotte Rose!

Welcome to the world Charlotte Rose! Born 12.15.11 at 10:06 pm. 7 lbs 15 oz and 20-1/2 inches. Being over 2 weeks early who knows how big she would have been! Our hearts have exploded with love for this little girl.

Thank you for all the sweet texts, emails and phone calls. We look forward to everyone meeting our little angel.

37 weeks...officially full term!!

Here I am at 37 weeks...I look at these pictures every week and think, no wonder my back hurts! We are fully prepared for Charlotte here in the Tumis household. Bags are packed, the pack & play is set up, classes are done...now we just wait for our baby. I've been having weekly appointments for a while now and I look forward to them every week. This week we were told I'm measuring at 40 weeks! I've been retaining a lot of fluids the past couple of weeks so that could be why. I've been living in my Uggs which leave marks on my calves when I take them off. I can't wait to get back into my cute tall boots! We have a sonogram on Friday to check Charlotte's size, but my doctor thinks she's normal weight right now which is what we are hoping for.

I think one of my favorite things about being pregnant is feeling Charlotte move. She's slowed down some which is probably due to the lack of space she has now. Dan and I can talk to her and wake her up. It's pretty amazing to know that she's sleeping and when we talk to her she starts moving. They say that the babies recognize the mom and dad's voice immediately after birth. I hope she is used to our pups barking too! We might have a problem if she's not. Dylan barks when he hears the doorbell and it is loud. Surely she is used to it by now!

Pregnancy definitely teaches you patience. We know that Charlotte's arrival is out of our control and is in God's hands. That is until the 26th when I evict her from her house :) So until December 26th we are just waiting and trying to stay busy. I'm going to make sure my house is clean and picked up at night just in case we have to go to the hospital. I hate coming home to a messy house. We are enjoying these last moments as just the two of us because we know it might be a little while before we get a date night again. Although, we are determined to get back to date night pretty quickly. Hopefully Charlotte's grandma's will be ok with that :)

36 Weeks...and maternity picture sneak peek!

Here I am at 36 weeks...I don't know how I can get any bigger at this point but I'm sure it is possible :) I think this morning I woke up with pregnant face. At least I only have a few weeks left! 21 days to be exact if Charlotte decides to wait. I have enjoyed my pregnancy so far but I am ready for our daughter to get here. I am hurting pretty bad everyday and I'm trying not walk much. This is really hard for me to do. Thank goodness for my amazing husband who has taken over all of the things we do together like cooking and grocery shopping. We cook together every night and that is now his job. I just have to sit there and watch. I work from home a lot thankfully so sitting at my desk is the perfect place for me to be. Sleeping is getting more difficult and I know that me being up and down every hour or so is keeping Dan from sleeping well too. I know that this is God's way of preparing us for Charlotte's arrival but it will be nice to turn over and not hurt.

A few weeks ago we had maternity pictures taken by a local photographer, Kendra Pryor Photography. She did an awesome job! Anyone local should definitely contact her!

I hope everyone is enjoying this cold weather we are having. It finally feels like Christmas!

Happy Charlotte Month!

This morning I got a sweet text from my friend April that said, "Happy Charlotte Month!". It made my day to see that and then reality set in...I am going to have a baby this month. Here I have been pregnant for what feels like forever and now December is finally here. We will get to meet Charlotte very soon. My doctor scheduled an induction date of December 26 if she is not here before then. I'm hoping she is here before Christmas, but it is up to her. We will be ready for her when she decides she wants to meet us.

From the moment we got our due date I have said that I don't want Charlotte to be born on Christmas. I'm probably wearing everyone out about this and I realize it is completely out of my control but I want her birthday to be special every year. Dan and my mom's birthday is around Thanksgiving every year and they both say they love it because family is around but I feel that Christmas is different. We have talked about celebrating her half birthday during the summer when she gets old enough to understand what a birthday party is.

I'm not scared yet, I'm just really excited. I have no idea what labor will be like but I know that I have an awesome man by my side to help me through it. I can't wait to see him with his daughter.

This month we are taking it easy and staying home a lot. Our families will be here for Christmas and hopefully for Charlotte's birthday. We can't wait!!