Charleys' Birth Story

and here it is folks, the pre-first birthday blog post!

we were OVERJOYED to find out baby #2 was in the making!

being pregnant and raising a toddler was kind of challenging, but NOTHING compares to once the baby arrives, am i right?

Charleys pregnancy was JUST like Lucys pregnancy down to the weight gain and the cravings, I had low vit.D this time around, had to get IV fluids less, and my job required more work this time, but I had her at 38 weeks just like Lucy!

so here I am 36 weeks pregnant, go to my check up and I was 2 cm dilated! That was new to me, not sure what to do, doctor said take it easy, baby needs to stay in a little longer but if she comes she comes. I didn't tell her that I had two back to back photo shoots RIGHT after the appointment LOL and did I mention it was SUMMER...PHEW talk about a hot sweaty mess!

The day before I was 38 weeks my sister and I went to Landstown Commons to shop a little, and walk a lot, I went to the Carter's store, A C Moore, Buffalo Wild Wings and of course T J Maxx

LOTS of walking...I felt like my hoo-ha was about to fall off ( can I say that? )

here we are shopping, testing the double stroller for the first time :)

that night I called my girlfriends up and asked who wanted to walk around MacArthur mall with me, met them for dinner and a movie, while there I was feeling contractions that weren't necessarily painful but they were less than 5 minutes apart ( I was tracking them during the movie hehehe )

but during the movie they started to slow down, little by little until they were GONE, noooooooo!

so I went to bed, bags already packed, Lucys big sister outfit ready to go, house clean and food in the fridge.

I woke up early with some pain, and CONTRACTIONS!!! :)

( happy dance! )

this was taken first thing in the morning, I knew she was coming today!

I posted this photo to facebook with the caption:

"my face has that little glow/puff to it :) maybe it is time!?"

I had my 38 week appointment that day and figured the pain wasn't that bad so I might as well wait and have my doctor check me out

Lucy and I walked up and down the sidewalk as the pain grew stronger, and finally it was time to go, Heather came over to play with Lucy and Jon and I went to my appointment

I got there and at that point I had to stop talking and walking during contractions but had enough time in between to chit chat, smile and people watch

( I have to say it was pretty cool knowing you are in labor but doing regular things )

My amazing ob doc checked me out, confirmed my labor was real and I was 3cm ( almost 4 ) dilated

she offered some advice to grab lunch and walk around a bit before heading to the hospital, once I get there, they will hook me up and make me stay in bed and laboring in bed IS THE WORST!

so guess where we went?

PANERA!!!!!! duh!

I got the chicken noodle soup in a bread bowl, figured that was light enough to be okay to eat, and I had a water to sip

I wonder if anyone there knew I was on my journey to childbirth?

I could barely eat at that point and just wanted to stay walking and swaying

so I told Jon " we gotta go! " and instead of fulfilling my dream of labor shopping ( haha ) we headed to the hospital

I had Jon drop me off a ways away so I could walk a bit, and I had several people stop and ask me if I needed help

( poor Jon looked like a slack hubby leaving me behind, but I asked for it lol )

walking was the ONLY thing that helped at that point, that and swaying

I finally reached the entrance to the hospital but still wasnt ready to go in so I labored outside, IT WAS BEAUTIFUL out there!!!!!!!

I used to not like this photo because of my back side looking off, but look at my tummy, its so high and hard, I was def contracting here, Jon was so sweet and remembered I asked him to take LOTS of photos, I am so grateful for his quiet and kind heart

well I think the excitement of being in labor brought me to the 3rd floor to get checked in, they admitted me into a smaller room to "make sure" I was in labor

I got to use the ball we brought and that helped, but at that point the contractions were pretty intense, I was already 4 almost 5 cm!

I remember this being in that small room, I was like " I WISH! " lol

My friend Megan came by at that time, and my sister soon to follow

and finally they moved me to my room.

I asked to get into the shower to relieve some pain

( MAMA'S HEAR ME OUT, showers are amazing, pain was tolerable! )

So while im in the shower, doing my thing, my mom, dad and best friend show up, my mom peaks in to say hey and that she loves me and I was so excited to tell her how the shower was helping! I didn't even care I was butt naked LOL!

the nurses soon asked me to come back to bed to be monitored, noooooooooo so I told them ONLY if you get me an epidural, if not i'm staying in the shower!

I might have had 5 contractions in the bed before the AMAZING anesthesiologist came to deliver the goods. I seriously wanted to cuddle with that man after he took the pain away lol! ( true story )

laboring in the bed :( after epidural! :)

I got to rest some after that but the pressure I was feeling kept me up, I seriously felt like I was ... pooping ( can I say THAT? )

my water was broke, I was checked and I was 10cm ready to start pushing!

WOA! I had only been there 5ish hours!

poor Jon was so aware of the situation ( with Lucy we were both out of it ) that he was SICK, had to have his own nurse lol! he picked himself up, probably still feeling faint and in 15 minutes or so I felt she was here

see Jon in the back, poor guy

I FLUNG my arms out reaching so far I even stretched my fingers and held them there for the longest time while the doctor cleared her mouth and nose and the cord was cut

I think those photos speak for themselves

we were so in love, I wanted her in my arms so bad, and just remember saying " shes so cute " " Charley you are so cute " over and over and over

as you can see Jon was feeling better too!

I got to keep her in the room for 2 hours before they took her, once she was born I immediately put her to my skin, she didn't nurse much but we tried

everyone got to love on her a little while we waited to be moved again to our final room at the hospital, her uncle was so silly and brought lots of laughs to celebrate

First video of my sweet girl

her and PaPaw, whom she was named after ( Chuck & Charley )

We got to move and my mom went and picked up Lucy since it wasn't quite bedtime

she came and sat with me and was munching on some ice ( just like her mama! )

the room was surrounded with family, and in rolls this little cart carrying my sweet Charley June, she asked Lucy if she was the "big" sister and Lucy shook her head " yep! " and she was the FIRST to hold her

her first peek at the new baby

her first of many kisses

Hi Baby Charley video

our first family photo!

I was in heaven, my whole world was changed again. Never could I ever imagine loving another little person just as much as I love Lucy. And I did it. She is perfect for us. Fits right in. She is a lot like Jon in many ways, not just her looks ;) shes quiet at first, likes to be serious, people watch and take it all in. but around me shes WILD, silly, and sweet.

here is Charley's first year through mostly cell phone pics

Charley June Hill born Sept 2nd at 5:48pm 7lbs 6oz 19"