One Month Old

Baby boy is one month old! Where did the time go? Eating, changing, and sleeping with a little play time--that's where the time went! Little Charles is starting to be more alert during his awake times. He's smiled at us, which melts our hearts. He also finds his voice sometimes and lets out the cutest little noises. He is a rather "grunty" baby and makes all sorts of noises when he is falling asleep. He hates bath time. (I hope he enjoys it one day so it can be part of bedtime routine.) He can hold up his head for a short amount of time--his little neck has always been strong. He is getting so long and filling out quite nicely; in fact, we went to put a pair of newborn PJs on him the other night and found out he was too long for them. The growing up happens so quickly! What will the next month bring? Hopefully more night time sleep. =) Here are some pictures of him that I love.

A little smile early on--pretty sure this one is gas, but it is still cute.



During playtime with Daddy. I love how he looks surprised like, "The alligator is going to eat me!"



Peaceful sleeper. . . when he's being held. ;)



"I am one month old. What do you think about that?!"

Baby Boy's Story

He's here! It seemed so surreal for a few days; now, it seems crazy (in a good way) and real (especially at 2:00 morning feedings). Here is the story.

Tuesday night we finished packing the bags so we'd be ready for the 7:00am induction. We went to bed. At around midnight I woke up with some pretty strong contractions, so I decided to get up and walk around to see if they'd go away (like they always had before). But they didn't go away, so I started timing. 5-6 minutes apart. I woke up Allan, told him, and took a quick shower. After the shower, the contractions were closer together. It was time to go.

We got to the hospital around 1am. They admitted me at 1:15 after checking me out--I was at 5cm. I was dealing with the contractions pretty well. They were about 2 1/2 minutes apart and weren't too painful. The nurse came in and said the anesthesiologist was in an emergency c-section and I'd have to wait for an hour before my epidural. I said, "Okay," mostly because that's all I could say, plus I was dealing with the contractions.

In the progress of that hour, however, the contractions intensified and became longer. I started moaning with the pain (maybe I even screamed once), and the nurse came in. I didn't know it at the time, but the machine had registered I had a contraction that lasted more than one minute, which alerted her. She asked if I wanted to be checked to see how far along I was, and I said, "No, I'm probably just a wuss." She disagreed and checked me.

"You're between an eight and a nine."

"I can't do this without an epidural," I cried. Pretty sure I was crying.

"You're already doing it," she responded, "but I'll check on the anesthesiologist."

And the blessed man came. Oh, that epidural was the greatest thing ever. He gave me a pretty big dose to help bring quick relief, and quick relief it was. God bless that man. I even told him that he worked miracles, and he laughed.

After the epidural, they checked me, and I was at 10cm. They called my doctor; he came and broke my water. Then pushing time. I pushed for about an hour, and then the doctor came back in and I noticed all the nurses dressing and prepping. It then registered that I was close. As I was pushing, they all were saying how great I was doing. I said, "You just say that to everyone." They assured me I was superb. 15 minutes later, little boy was here.

Charles Thomas Stewart was born at 5:16am. He was 8 pounds, 7 ounces and 21.5 inches long.









So, now we're home and adjusting. I can honestly say this is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. But it's also the most amazing thing I've done.