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"

I don't have a 12 month pic yet but this is my favorite one from her bday sesh!

I hope you enjoyed hearing my Charleys birth story, I love it and would do it all over again! 

she is amazing, part of me, I am OBSESSED with her!

Thank you Lord for my girls

4 more days til shes  O N E ! 

-Holly

My very own THREE year old

so, I totally have my very own three year old.
and let me tell you... its fun but tough. 

what the doctors fail to tell you about three year old toddlers are things like, their ears start to fail, im serious, for some reason they can no longer hear anything! Then they are 1,000x more emotional, tears come like 10 times per day ( 7 if your lucky ) and they become very forgetful, so get ready to repeat yourself OVER and OVER. 

 

other than that, they say HILARIOUS things, become rather cleaver, and they get to go to preschool!!!!

   

SIDE NOTE: we got her preschool supply list in and the first thing on it was playdough, I got so excited! I mean DUH why wouldn't that be on the list? and I became rather picky when it came time to choose 4 colors to buy... O em G! so cute!

I just can't believe that my little 6lb 15oz perfect sweet beautiful darling is three! CRAZY! is this even legal???!!! well it shouldn't be! they should HAVE to stay little forever!!!

Lucy is so funny, creative, and outgoing! We were at the play area in the mall and she found a friend in a 4 year old boy, sweet little thing, super well behaved! when we went back 2 weeks later, he was there again! She ran up to me ( who was just as excited he was there by the way ) and squealed, " mommy my best friend is here, im so excited! " moments like that remind me im doing a good job with her. some other things she says are

" I love hanging out with my family " 

" I missed you berry munch "
" hey hey Charley Charley "
" its a pretty sunny day "

 
she comes running into my room in the morning, " mommy wake up, its a pretty sunny day " :)  makes my heart smile!

I have defiantly struggled the most with her at this age, almost like we are re-teaching her all of the morals and values all over again
*hmpth*
yep!

no matter what, she is perfect in my eyes. my sweet little sassy girl!

she is developing her very own relationship with Jesus, he is her best friend, when she prays, she never says the same thing twice. I love that! she already knows how to pray and is comfortable enough to talk to Jesus! 

thank you thank you thank you LORD!

one last pic, most recent one, her with her puppy friend Hope ;)

 

...being silly of course!  

Grandparents are suppose to live forever, right?

on my drive home from North Carolina, both kids passed out in the backseat,

I was thinking about when I was a little girl

one of my favorite places to go was to my grandparents house

there is NOTHING like a grandparent.

ok do this. think of how many things you got away with while under their supervision.

see what i mean?

and at the same time remember how many hugs, kisses, sweet treats, lap sits, special gifts and memories made there were?

GRANDparents.

im very serious when i say this.

I thought they would NEVER die.

the mere thought never crossed my mind.

I mean my pa-paw was most likely made of steel, he lived through so many things a person probably shouldn't live through.

then Jan 2000 I was told his kidneys were failing. I was 11.

I cried.

My mom wasnt doing well either and that was hard on me, internally.

I went to the hospital for my last visit with my Pa-Paw

MY pa-paw

Im sure at 11 I didnt realize how crazy that visit really was.

...the last time

really?

He was in and out of comas, not eating, not talking, nothing.

but that night

he was most like himself.

sitting up, eating, he got a bath.

I swear I remember that night like it JUST happened

I ran into his room on the left at the end of the hall.

there were people standing around, everyone was happy.

MY Pa-paw was sitting up in his hospital bed, he smiled and I ran into his arms

I remember his smell.

one of my most favorite smells.

and guess who got to sit on his lap?

oh yea, ME!

that was our thing!

He looked at me in my eyes and said

" Pa-paw loves you very much "

" I know Pa-paw "

" I love you too "

That was the last time I saw him.

My Memaw was NEVER the same. That was her man. her handsome man.

she sold the house, moved into a condo and slowly became less and less like herself.

she did have her ups through out the years

and defiantly her downs.

There was always some kind of hurt or pain or sickness she was dealing with

but like I said there were ups too!

She did her best once she was in an assisted living home. She needed to be needed.

The others that lived there "needed" her she would say.

im sure they did

2011 Memaw got sick, and I use that term VERY lightly

CANCER

it was there and she didnt want to fight it

and so, I had the "last" visit again

this time i was 22 years old

and 36 weeks pregnant

Memaw was in SO much pain that the hospice nurse gave her

A LOT of pain meds

so MUCH that she was barely responsive

I watched not really knowing what role I played

in a room of her sons and daughters

I felt 11

I was scared

sad

I just wanted EVERYONE OUT of the room so I can hold her hand

I really wanted to lay with her and close my eyes and pretend this wasnt really happening

it was me and heathers turn to talk to her

she was awake and not in pain

AS SOON as she saw us she SMILED

I cried.

I put her hand on my belly and told her the doctors said Charley would be here soon

she SMILED again

she told us " I love you girls "

" we love you too memaw "

she smiled

I cried

that was pretty much the last thing she said to me

I sat and held her hand for a while

but then it was time to go

and I KNEW it was the last time id ever see her

HOW IN THE WORLD do you walk away?

a dear dear friend was there for that moment, she sat with me, waited and walked me out to my car.

super tough.

My Memaw was suppose to be in the room when Charley was born

which was only 10 days after she died :(

TEN DAYS

that messes me up

She never got to see my Charley June

well tonight I went to visit my Nanny

my dads mom

She has Cancer too

I dont want to watch my dad go through this

and I DEFIANTLY dont want to watch my Nanny go through it

She is in good spirits and seems to want to fight this.

I have a lot of good memories with her but a lot of regrets as well

I wish I would have visited her MORE

she only lives an hour away

now she is sick

( sick used lightly )

and now I show up

Im happy im "here"

but sad its now

She met Charley tonight

Charley looks like my dad did when he was a baby

She loved that.

even though today was a good day, It obviously brought back a lot of memories

Good ones

and sad ones

but whatever they are, they are mine

they make me ME

I hate to break the news to you

if you didn't already know

Grandparents DON'T live forever

they aren't made of steel

PLEASE love on them, spend time with them, visit them

I can tell you one thing, THEY LOVE THE MESS OUT OF YOU

the love FROM a Grandparent is like no other

all they want to do is see you

that is enough for them

their love is so pure

please visit your Grandparent if and while you still have them

I dont know why I wrote this, I know I want to share it

for whatever reason

I MISS my Memaw and Pa-paw

A LOT A LOT

things just aren't the same

<3

I thought Grandparents lived forever.

couldn't have asked for any more...

Lucy will be 2 tomorrow!

2!!!!

I know right!? where has time gone?

I seriously couldn't have asked for any more than what God gave Jon and I when he gave us Lucy Monroe.



She is such an amazing little girl. Super smart, sweet, considerate, funny and loving to say the least.
She is a sponge, we never know when she will do or say something that she picked up from us

for instance...

the other day she was on her changing table and she purposely kicked her wipes off the edge and after I picked them up told her not to do that she did it again, so i hit her foot and said "you're a turd!" and she looked at me and said "mommy we don't hit!" and of course she was right, she does an amazing job at not hitting and if she ever does she ALWAYS says sorry and means it. I just laughed inside b/c she is growing up so much.
( be in mind she has yet to receive a spanking, praise God! )

Tomorrow is the big day! 2 years old!
just like this time last year, I have a game plan

wake her up by singing happy birthday to her

make her some yummy breakfast
( pancakes, strawberries & bananas , and yogurt of course )

Go to her 2 year check up at the doctors office

get some lunch at Sonic
( she got a gift card in the mail from her Tita Mary )

take her to get her toes painted with hot pink and zebra print
( to match her party , duh! )

take her to the toy store to pick out her birthday present
( guess its a tradition now )

and head home to nap

then once daddy gets home we will go have dinner as a family
celebrate with ice cream or something sweet

and come home to snuggle!

sounds good to me!!
I will be honest, this year its not as emotional as the 1st birthday, im so proud of her as a big girl, she is seriously amazing, it BLOWS my mind sometimes.
God is so good, I have NO complaints!


Happy Birthday sweet Lucy
your amazing!

<3 your mommy!

drum roll please...

Lucy peed.


in the potty.


8:20pm.


I am SO excited.


WOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!

I want to nest.

Nesting : to build or occupy a nest : settle in or as if in a nest


with that said, I want to.
the problem is... I can't

darn.

as I'm awaiting a decent time to have my baby shower, and yes I'm having one bob flab-it!, I'm already in the mood to "nest". I want to build things ( or stand and direct Jon as he proceeds to do all the work ) paint things, sort and fold things, scrub things with an old toothbrush, yah know typical i'm a crazy pregnant woman get out of my way kind of things.

The problem is, I have nothing to build, paint, sort and fold ( lots to scrub lol but why start there? ) so, I guess I will wait for my shower and hopefully *wink wink* I will get a crib, items to sort and new clothes to fold, maybe even a dresser to put in it. Then I think I will be ready and able to "nest" properly ;)


so... if I have a shower a little earlier than usual, this is why.

nuff said.
;)

there is more than just a baby in my belly ;)

Cravings Cravings Cravings!

lately I have really been seeking out certain foods, not as random as the "usual" pregnant woman, but still they feel pretty random to me!

right this VERY second, I need some sweet and salty Chex Mix.
THIS IS DIRE.
I had a bag just yesterday, ate my favorite pieces out of it and Jon ate the rest, so here I am craving it again. " Jon, you-uh, going anywhere anytime soon? " hahaha he knows the drill. and YES folks my sweet and so very loving husband ( yet not fast enough ) is going to get me some! I'm thinking 2 bags this time ;)


Other foods that Charley told me she wanted this pregnancy consist of

peaches
chocolate milk ( only Horizon Organic kind though )
strawberries
brownies
home baked cookies
orange juice
Coke ( no not the drug lol )
Chic-fil-a
twizzler pull-n-peel
and Mexican food!

This kid is hilarious, defiantly already has TONS of
personality
I can't wait to meet her!

only 13 weeks left ...

eeeep