Well, it has been 5 weeks since Charles Jackson Fisher was born, and things have certainly been chaotic. Thankfully, we are finally starting to get into a routine, and I am able to sit down to write this blog post.
Let me go back to April 19th. Mee-maw and Grandpa came up to Fairfax, and together with Grumpa, Grammy, Lauren, and Chad, we continued our waiting game for Charlie. I was getting a little nervous because we were scheduled to have a c-section the morning of the 21st. Due to Lauren's big size, my doctors were concerned that I would have another big baby and they did not want to go too far beyond my due date. I wanted to at least attempt a VBAC, but we were getting closer and closer to the 21st without any steady contractions.
On the 20th, which was Easter Sunday, I became desperate and began to jog, hop around with Lauren and even jumped rope for a bit. The Bear got to play with all of the goodies she received from the Easter Bunny and we even had a fun little Easter Egg hunt (hopefully an Easter blog post will be coming soon). And that evening we sat down to a delicious Easter dinner, mostly prepared by Mee-maw and Aunt B. In a last ditch attempt to induce labor, I piled a VERY spicy German mustard all over my ham.
By 4:30 am, the contractions were over a minute in length and a minute and a half apart. And they were getting stronger and stronger. I woke up Chad and we headed to the hospital. At that point I was 3 cm dilated, so they decided to admit me. So far, this was very similar to my labor experience with Lauren. I had stalled at 7 cm with her, and I was worried that might happen again.
The doctor examined me again, once I was settled upstairs in Labor & Delivery, and I had dilated to 6 cm. Things seemed to be moving fast. A few minutes later, I was at 7 cm and they decided to break my water. The contractions were extremely intense and coming very fast, so I requested an epidural. About two hours later I was fully dilated and given the go ahead to begin pushing. I was thrilled because I had already gotten further than my labor with Lauren. But after pushing for a while, Charlie's head got stuck in my pelvis and he was turned in a way that the doctors were unable to use forceps or any other method to assist with delivery. It was clear that he was not coming out, so we ended up opting for another c-section.
Charles Jackson Fisher was born at 2:15 pm, on Monday, April 21, 2014!! I was shocked when they announced that he weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs 3 oz and was 23 inches long. He was a full pound heavier and an inch longer than Lauren. Definitely a big boy, but he was healthy and loud.
Once again, the family was there to welcome Charlie into the world. After getting settled into our room, Grumpa, Grammy, Grandpa, Mee-Maw, Aunt B, and Lauren came to visit us. Lauren brought a blue teddy bear she had previously picked out for her baby brother and I was glad that there was such a welcoming committee for Charlie!
We spent a few days recovering in the hospital and headed home on Thursday, April 24th. I was very excited to be discharged, Lauren was thrilled to bring her baby brother home, and Wrigley took up his role as the protective dog. He now has two kiddos to worry about.
- Walking around while bouncing him over our shoulder
- Swaddling him (although sometimes he gets more angry with this attempt)
- Driving him around in the car (usually I do this late at night, and I drive around the beltway because he wakes up and cries as soon as the car comes to a stop)
- Giving him a warm bath
- And just in the last few days, he has started to accept a pacifier
Thankfully, Lauren has been an amazing big sister. She loves Charlie very much and is always anxious to help in any way that she can. It is wonderful to watch her give Charlie a pacifier or distract him with toys whenever he starts to cry. She has also been very good at getting diapers, wipes or blankets whenever I ask. I can't imagine how much more stressful these past 5 weeks would have been if she had been jealous or unwilling to jump in and help. We have been very lucky!!
As for Chad and I, we have been trying to get back into a routine so that everything is business as usual. Chad has a harder time with all of the crying, so he has really been helping out in other areas. Once he gets home from work, he takes care of Lauren (playing with her, making her dinner, handling bath time, and putting her to bed), cooks our dinner, does the grocery shopping, and handles all of the laundry. With his help, I am able to focus my time on Charlie, which is good because his most fussy time is in the evening.
And, another positive thing...I have managed to lose most of my pregnancy weight due to all of the walking and moving I have done since I got home. Carrying around a 10 pound baby hasn't hurt either.
We have been truly blessed with a healthy baby boy! All of the crying does get a little tiresome at times, but I keep reminding myself that it won't last forever and he is only a little baby once. Every day I have made it a point to stop and find extreme enjoyment in the quiet moments. The tiny hand that grips my finger while he eats. The slight smile as he drifts off to sleep. The adorable raise of his eyebrows when he stretches. And the body curled into a ball as he cuddles into my neck.
Yes, we love our little guy and look forward to watching him grow!!
