Charlie's Birthday

He's here! He's here! Charlie arrived into the world safe and sound on Thursday, December 23rd at 3:26 p.m. He weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces (after peeing on the nurse) and was 18.5 inches long (but measured 19 inches at the doctor's office). 

Here's the story of our little one's arrival:

The procedure was scheduled for 2:30, which meant Kyle and I weren't needed at the hospital until 1:00 p.m. What a long morning it was for me! I wanted so badly to sleep in but I was way too excited. I couldn't go back to sleep after 5:00 a.m. and I got up and started cleaning the house around 8:00 a.m. Kyle slept until 10:30 a.m. I was so jealous. :)

We got to the hospital right at 1:00 and they took us back immediately to get started. There's a lot of prep work before the c-section - monitors, IV fluids, etc. Father Doug came to visit and said a prayer with us for a safe delivery.

Our doctor was running a little behind so we weren't taken back to the operating room until 2:45.  They took me back first to get the epidural and spinal put in. Due to my prior back surgery, they wanted me to be extra numb. Unfortunately it took several tries to find a good spot for the epidural. It was painful but not as bad you would think. Once I was all numb and ready to go, they brought Kyle in and started the procedure. I couldn't feel anything except some shortness of breath. About 20 minutes into the procedure I threw up and I felt MUCH better after that. From then on, it wasn't bad at all.

Finally it was time for Charlie to make his way into the world!

Charlie didn't cry much, which scared us a little but he is completely healthy.

When Charlie's examination was complete, Kyle was able to hold him next to me until they finished sewing me back up. I couldn't wait to get my hands on the little guy! 

When the c-section was over, they wheeled me into the recovery room where I was able to hold Charlie for a couple of minutes before they had to take him up to the nursery for his more thorough exam and his first bath.

I stayed in the recovery room for about an hour while Charlie was admired by his loving family in the nursery. 

Finally, around 5:30, I was taken to a room in the mother/baby unit of the hospital and Charlie was brought to us about 20 minutes later. That's when I was able to try breastfeeding and we were finally able to stare at our little one to our heart's content. We immediately fell in love with his Elvis sideburns and full head of hair, his smushed nose (which has since poked back out), and his little ears, his LONG fingers and toes and his skinny little legs. He's our perfect, long-awaited miracle and we can't wait to smother him with love every day for the rest of his life.

More posts coming soon with pictures and video of Charlie's first week!!

Sorry for the formatting in this post. What can I say?...I'm a tired new Mommy. :)