Random

Charlie the King: 27 days old.



Princess Nora: Three Years.



She spent a whole hour playing in the baby carseat. Um, regression?



Homage to the "Anna pose." Hailey says Be Cool.



Nora loves little bro.



Hailey loves matching her clothes to little bro.



THE Barbie Cake. Thi really deserves its own separate blog post.



Enjoying the last little bits of warm weather.



Proof that I'm still around.

Short on words? Why, yes. I am. Just typed this whole thing one-handed.

3

Happy Birthday Nora!

Charlie feeds the Ducks

Well, okay. Technically, at five days old, baby Charles is not yet able to "feed the ducks," but he did sleep peacefully in his car seat while big sisters had a wonderful FHE with Grandma.

Details

btw, he IS this cute in real life.

Demeanor of baby: Good. Doesn't cry much. Takes over-handling from toddlers very well.

C-section?: Yes. Long story short, after talking to several doctors we determined that the nerve damage I received in my leg when I had Nora could have happened from the pressure from labor instead of the epidural. We will never know for sure, but erred on the side of caution. I don't like c-sections, but I dislike not walking even more.

Walking? Legs working this time?: Yes and yes. All is fine with my legs. It's nice to not have a cane or brace this time.

Girls handling it okay?: Yes, BUT they have had Grandmas giving them constant attention up until yesterday, so we'll still have to see. . . Nora found a baby bottle from Charles shower presents, filled it up with water, and took it to bed with her. Really cool object or large step in regression? Only time will tell.

Complications?: Not really, but has anyone heard of referred shoulder pain from an agitated diaphragm or gas being caught in the abdominal cavity and traveling? I don't know what it ended up being diagnosed as, except as the worst hour and most intense pain of my life. But all is well.

Is having a son all John thought it would be?: and more. Stoked totally sums it up for him.

Charles? Really?: Oh yeah! After a week he's starting to grow in to the name. The kid was nameless for a day and a half and was "Henry" for about an hour. Didn't fit. I would still like to call him "Charlie" but the girls are resistant to any nick-names. So we'll see if we can slide that in later on. But you may also refer to him as "The King" because, as my sister pointed out, all the first and middle names we were considering were English royalty.

So, Hail to The King!

Coming home

the day home from the hospital:

After being tackled by two very excited big sisters (ouch, a little softer please!), eating a wonderful non-hospital food dinner cooked by John's mom, catching up on four days of stories and thoughts from Hailey, reading books, getting unpacked, and kissing everyone goodnight, I put little Charles down on the cushion of the couch next to me and was about to change his diaper and move on with my night, but I watched him instead.

He was awake, and pinwheeling his arms towards his face, trying desperately to get his fingers into his open mouth. First one arm, then the other. He'd reach his hand behind his ear, and slide it down his cheek, and then his hand would fly by his lips, and his head would turn, following the sailing fingers with his open mouth trying to catch them. He looked (and probably was) like someone trying for the first time to operate a crane or some complicated piece of machinery, and the exercise seemed to take every ounce of his concentration. After about five patient minutes of his systematic effort, he was rewarded by catching his index finger and thumb by his gums and sucking on them furiously. He looked satisfied.

And then he stopped sucking, and his attention was completely fixed on the back cushion of the red couch with a bright yellow blanket draped over it. His eyes darted from the cushion to the blanket. Cushion to blanket. red. yellow. red. yellow. He was completely motionless while observing, and it dawned on me that he was noticing contrast for the first time. What was he thinking? I have no idea, but he was learning something, and I watched him do it.

The Lightbulb of Understanding went off in my adult brain, and I had a new appreciation of raising a baby and being able to witness all of the "firsts." Every day a hundred little testimonies to the miracle of our bodies and spirits.

And also I can officially say

I'm In Love.

Actually, we all are.



Even Nora.

He's Here