the baby nook

*Fair warning- this is a long post!*

On Wednesday, February 15 I posted this photo on Facebook: 

And here is the 40 week “bump pic”

So I’m FINALLY getting around to posting the birth story. Steve wrote it from his perspective (because, admittedly many of the details are fuzzy to me!) and did so as a letter to Charlie. There may be a bit of TMI here & there but I promise it’s not overly descriptive!  My commentary is in italics! 

I’ll do a separate post of pictures but, for now, here’s his story!

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Charlie, you entered this world with a flair for drama.  At around 11:45pm, the evening of Wednesday February 15, your mom began experiencing contractions.  They started slow and steady at first.  One at a time every 15 to 20 minutes for roughly a minute at a time.  We called the doctor and notified them that you were beginning to make your way towards joining us.  They asked that we wait until the contractions were closer together.  So we did.  Not long after that phone call, the contractions became constant and very strong.  Strong enough that your mom was unable to get from our condo to the car. 

This was very frustrating and concerning for me as I knew we could not deliver you ourselves, in this little space.  After some disjointed conversation and plenty of howling in pain, your mom said she “could not” get to the car.  I decided to call 911 and have the ambulance come. {No, this was not for dramatic effect. My labor went from normal to ridiculously intense…and fairly scary within about 30 minutes.}

Less than 5 minutes go by and the paramedics arrive.  And thank goodness as I was pacing and losing what little cool I had left.  No less than 7 people entered our little 700 sqft condo, riling up your buddies Norm and Avett.  They were able to bring a gurney and move your mom from the bed.  At this point she was in a great deal of pain, and not opening her eyes.

They left and headed for the hospital which fortunately for all of us was only a mile away.  I followed in our car, loaded for what we thought would be a long labor.  We were wrong.

I beat the ambulance to the hospital and waited patiently at the nurses station in the delivery section of the hospital.  They were half asleep as it was after 1am and they had little action up until then. {As the daughter of a nurse who worked 3rd shift for years, I assure you that this is a bit of an exaggeration. But I do vaguely remember hearing one of them mention that she wouldn’t be needing her caffeine once she met me!}

Here comes your mom on the gurney, waking up the hospital, making all kinds of noise in agony.  The nurses were awake now and sprung to action.  We were in the delivery room. Keep in mind at this point that your mom knew she would not be able to tolerate the pain without some assistance from drugs.  She wanted an epidural. {No, I NEEDED an epidural. I responded to the pain of labor exactly like I thought I would- I panicked. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t focus, just. wanted. drugs. Like now.}

Mom was officially in active labor.  Initially she was not very cooperative as she was in enough pain to lack concentration.  She continued to ask for drugs and say that she “can’t do this.”  Unfortunately for her (and me) it was too late for an epidural.  She was dehydrated, you wanted to come out and if they gave her anything that strong, it would go directly to you, which we certainly didn’t want.

Dr. Schneider was in the room now putting the team of nurses in the right places and talking to your mom as much as she would listen.  He said, “Erica, Charlie’s blood pressure has dropped and you need to focus and push him out.”  If not, they would have to do an emergency C-section which is not optimal at this point in the delivery for you or mom.  She did as he asked and began to push up to 3 times with every contraction.  You were stubborn and had a big Stawick head so it was no easy task to get you out.  Dr. Schneider used the vacuum and then forceps to help bring you into the world. {My eyes were still closed. I don’t think I opened them from the time Steve called 911 until I saw the doctor show Charlie to me once he was out. But I also don’t think I actually cried- which was weird- and I distinctly remember being very conscious not to swear. Again, a bit weird for me, but for some reason I was pretty intent on not filling the delivery room with F bombs. Not sure anybody would’ve noticed at that point though.}

You were out.  At that time we discovered that you were so busy that the umbilical cord was wrapped 3 times around your neck.  This most certainly was the reason for your blood pressure drop.  We didn’t get a lot of time with you initially.  You were a bit pale and cold and the nurses took you straight to the nursery to get warmed up and receive some care.  I was a bit concerned but they assured me that you were just fine, but needed some attention.

Thank god for Dr. Schneider and the team of nurses at Presbyterian.  Many of them in their early 20’s.  Mom connected with Dr. Schneider early on in the pregnancy.  Their personalities clicked.  And the fact that he was on call at the time of your birth was what we hoped for.  He did a great job being firm but encouraging with your mom.  And the nurses helped calm her down, focus and get the job done. {This was the ONLY part of my “birth plan” that came to fruition. The doctor I liked the most & was the most comfortable with was on call & delivered Charlie. Given how things turned out this was amazingly comforting to me during what was basically a nightmare labor/delivery for me.}

You were born at 2:58am on Thursday, February 16^th, 2012.  We were so happy to finally meet you.  But also relieved that you and your mom were healthy. 

I had called your Grandma Barb and Grandpa Ted on our way into the hospital.  They were scheduled to fly down on Friday and the timing couldn’t have been better.  You did your job and got here in time to meet them.

I also called your Papa and Mimi on our way.  They hopped in the car and drove in from Shelby.  Much like us, they expected to hang out and have a long wait through labor and delivery.  Instead, by the time Papa text me that they were parking at the hospital, you had already arrived.

Unfortunately your Aunt Alexis was unable to join us during delivery as was the initial plan.  However, she did come in after you were born and talk to and console your mom as she had to be stitched up. Your Aunt Lindsay also did not make it in time to photograph the delivery.  You were just so eager to get out that there was no time.  Fortunately she came by the next day and took some great pictures of you. {I was definitely disappointed that Alexis & Lindsay weren’t able to be in the room when he was born. Obviously I planned on my labor & delivery going much differently but I’m sure this was just the first of many events involving motherhood that won’t go quite as planned!}

The next 3 days in the hospital were ok.  We rested and visited with family.  We got to know you and watch how you got cuter by the day.  Mom worked with various nurses on learning how to care for you.

On Saturday February 18^th we were sprung!  We brought you home to introduce you to your new surroundings in a fantastic 715 square foot condo in Dilworth and the “nook” that you would live in for the first few months.

Welcome home kid!

We love you.

As you all know, since we are living the “city life” in a 715 square foot, one bedroom condo, Baby Charlie doesn’t have his own room or nursery. So we converted the “nook” in our bedroom {that was once my “office”} into his sleeping quarters and then added a changing table, wall shelf, and bench with boxes to complete his little world within our world.

So here it is…the nook!

Before {as my office} and After {where he will sleep- hopefully!}

And here’s the changing table, shelf & bench that occupies the wall between the two windows in our room. The green & white chevron bins and boxes are from Target and hold much of the baby supplies, blankets, sleepers, diapers, clothes, etc. that we will use for the first couple months.

And here are a few pics of the little details in the decor!
 

It’s here. February. Charlie’s birth month. And I can hardly believe it. We’re as ready as we’re going to be for his arrival & can’t wait to meet him!

Here I am at 38 weeks pregnant. I suppose it’s appropriate that it’s possibly my least favorite bump picture, but here it is nonetheless….

{1 Feb 2012}

Week 38 kicked off with Steve’s 31st birthday, which he spent at Lake Lure with my dad and our brother-in-law, Kevin. Here’s a picture Dad sent me that weekend- hard at work de-constructing one of the docks at our lake house :)

Later that week I caught up with three of my best friends from college over dinner, which is always a good time, had lunch with my girlfriend Jess & her little man Jackson, celebrated Steve’s birthday with dinner at Dolce a few days late, had brunch with my friend Heide {who gave us some SUPER adorable puggy themed baby gifts- she has a pug, too!} and even managed a couple of meetings with clients & vendors as well as my weekly Dr. appointment.

And in an effort to curb at least some of the insane amount of shedding that goes on around here before the baby arrives, Norm spent a day at the dog spa…and got a buzz cut :) Obviously he was thrilled with the results.

I probably waited a week or 2 too long to have these photos taken, but I’m SO glad we did them anyway! My lovely, talented friend Lindsay shot these for us in Davidson a couple of weeks ago and I think they turned out really well {considering I felt rather “huge” when these were taken!}

Enjoy! And THANKS again to Lindsay for her patience with my crazy ideas! xo

So here I am at 36 weeks. Hard to believe our little buddy will be here in a month or so! Started seeing the Dr. once a week and this week he checked & Baby Charlie’s head is down which is good news. His butt, however, still likes to stick up and make my belly look lopsided most of the time.  Steve & our friend Zach painted the living room and I managed to get some “nesting” done between meetings and cake tastings (which are EXTRA awesome when you’re 9 months pregnant I’ve decided) 

{25 January 2012}

Happy New Year! Steve + I rang in 2012 with our favorite band, The Avett Brothers, in Greenville, SC. This is the third year we’ve done this and our 10th Avett show (I think…) This was the scene right as the clock struck 12!

We spent the rest of the long weekend relaxing + watching football at Lake Lure with my parents, nieces & brother-in-law.

Here’s the 34 week bump photo {seriously, he’s starting to run out of room at this point}

The following Saturday we had our day long “Childbirth Prep Class” at the hospital. It was very helpful + informative and Steve got the chance to perfect his swaddling skills!

Throughout the day while we were in class I noticed I was having some fairly intense cramps that were coming + going. They weren’t regular or consistent but they kept popping up. I asked the instructor about it + she didn’t seem concerned so I figured they were probably gas pains or maybe Braxton Hicks contractions. When they didn’t subside after almost 12 hours, Steve was pretty insistent that I call the doctor. So I did, reluctantly. And an hour later we were on our way to the hospital for what I was still convinced were gas pains. Apparently I was wrong! We spent 2 hours in triage where they confirmed I was having Braxton Hicks contractions but because I was dehydrated I was having too many of them which, if left untreated, could have turned into pre-term labor. So, a big bag of IV fluids and a shot in the arm later I was sent home and instructed to take it easy + drink lots of water for the next two days. Props to Steve for making me call the doctor and thanks to the pugs for keeping me company while I basically hung out in bed watching Lifetime movies for the next two days. It was a very uneventful “trial run” to the hospital :)

Here I am hanging out in triage. And, of course, I asked for part of my print out that showed Baby Charlie’s heartbeat (top) and a good contraction (bottom). You know, for his baby book.

Week 32 was sort of a whirlwind. It started out with a tour of the Women’s Hospital {aka maternity ward} at Presbyterian Hospital where Baby Charlie will eventually be born. I had some nervous excitement about this little tour but Steve kept me calm & paid attention to the super important stuff…like where to park, where to get a wheelchair if I need it, which floor to go to & what to do once we get there. It’s a great facility and I’m sure it will be very comfortable- as far as comfort goes when pushing a watermelon out of ones body.

We also learned that they do still have a staffed nursery so I can get some {hopefully decent} sleep while we’re there as well as a gift shop that I will have to somehow keep my parents & grandmother out of while I’m in labor. Apparently I can have 3 people in the room with me while I’m in active labor, which is good because that was my plan & trying to strategically rotate would’ve been difficult, and confirmed that unfortunately, no pugs are allowed to visit. {which I personally think is lame & ridiculous but then again I’m sure I’m biased}

On 12/21 we set of for our third road trip to Michigan, pugs in tow of course, to spend Christmas with Steve’s family. Again we made it with just two stops {a fact that I’m pretty proud of} and got to spend a full week in Michigan.

Here’s the 32 week bump, complete with Christmas tree backdrop:
 

While we were there we got to enjoy a super yummy dinner at Joe Muer Seafood in Detroit with Steve’s parents & siblings which was really great as it gave us a chance to spend time with everyone outside of the holiday chaos. Here are some pictures from our holiday with the Stawick family…

The one of all of us with the surgical masks was to help Steve’s dad ward off germs during his chemo. We each decorated one for fun & posed for a picture. Unfortunately it didn’t work for long as he ended up being admitted to the hospital the day after Christmas. On the plus side, this hospital DID actually allow pug visitors so, naturally, the boys went to visit Grandpa Ted to cheer him up a bit!

Side note: a lot has happened with Steve’s dad & his battle against Leukemia since the holidays. Good thoughts, well wishes, & prayers are greatly appreciated. You can visit his CaringBridge site for more details & updates.

So here I am at 30 weeks pregnant. Hard to believe this pregnancy is 3/4 of the way over!

This week brought a fun lunch date with Lindsay + Hayden after enduring a 3+ hour fasting glucose test {which thankfully determined that I did not have gestational diabetes. Because that would have sucked seeing as how I’m a carbaholic and we were heading into holidays which meant Christmas cookies + other yummy treats I would have had to avoid!}

On Saturday I had one last baby shower that my sister, Kristi, & Lindsay so graciously hosted! It was fun to spend some time with my Charlotte friends and celebrate Baby Charlie…again :)

Week 29 was filled with fun! Steve’s aunt & uncle were in town so we had a lovely lunch date with them. That Friday I turned 31 (gulp!) I woke up with the cold Steve brought back from Thanksgiving in MI (boo) but we still celebrated with a FABULOUS dinner with Tyler & Lindsay at my favorite restaurant in Charlotte, Soul Gastrolounge. It was so much fun catching up and chatting with one of our favorite couples too. A nice, low key birthday dinner!

Saturday morning we headed to Shelby for my dear friend Amber’s wedding. Amber & I have been friends for 25 years, which is just crazy for me to think about! Her wedding was lovely and it was great to catch up with some of my girlfriends from high school. It was also nice to just be a guest at a wedding…especially at this point in my pregnancy! {Note to self: find group picture from wedding + post here!}

The following day was my baby shower in Shelby with all of my hometown friends & some of their moms. My besties did a GREAT job with all the fun decor and details and Charlie certainly got LOTS of fun gifts! I loved seeing everybody and getting to catch up with them while we celebrated Baby Charlie! He has a fun bunch of “aunts” that’s for sure!

Later that afternoon, Kevin snapped a few pictures for our Christmas card which is always a challenge when you’re trying to get the pugs to cooperate, too. Here are a couple shots that we decided not to use for the card.