The boy is 6 months old today. No way is that possible! It really seems like just yesterday that he was born. Parents always say time goes by so fast with your children and now I know why.
Charlie's an amazing person already. He laughs all the time even though he can be a bit moody. He smiles whenever Paul or I walk into the room but often cries huge crocodile tears when the checkout lady smiles at him.
He can't roll over yet, still working on that one, but he can suck on his toes all day long. He's in the 99th percentile for his length (71.5 cm) which means he's a tall boy. If you can describe someone who can't yet stand up as "tall". He's outgrown lots of his 6-9 month clothes and wears onesies for 12 month olds!
He has one dimple on his left cheek, in the exact same place as Paul. When he gets excited about anything he throws his hands out, then back in, clasping his hands together under his chin. It's so cute and so very coy.
He loves to play hide-n-seek! But not your average game of hide-n-seek where you just hide behind your hands. He loves it when you stand behind a wall and then jump out.
Whenever we pass a mirror he likes to stop and flirt unabashedly with himself. When we nurse he prods my nostrils and tugs at my lip.
He's interested in anything we're eating or drinking and will eat anything I put on a spoon. The other day he had pureed zucchini, he wasn't too sure about it and even gagged a few times but then he ate it all up. He's learning how to use his pink sippy cup, he never really did the whole bottle thing.
He still loves being outside and giggles when he sees any other babies or kids. Next month we can start "Tots Club". It's a Mom and baby playgroup just down the road at one of the old churches. It's only two quid in, but tea will cost you 60p and toast will set you back 25p.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Picture Post
Legwarmers aren't just for ladies!
Charlie has just started weaning and he loves eating new food
And by new food, I mean my face
Charlie having a particularly good mohawk day
If Charlie had a myspace page this would be his profile picture!Here is my beautiful new niece Kayla, born July 14th -7lbs 6oz
Congratulations to my sister Rose!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Summer Has Begun!
We took Charlie to his first summer "fete" (a posh English word for fair) at St Anne's Church, just a few blocks from our house. They had a raffle, cream tea and lots of stalls selling brick-a-brack. We were checking out some ceramic cooking pots when a man came up to me and said "Those are a bargain at just five pounds and they're quite heavy." I picked one up and said "Oh GOD! It is heavy, you could really kill a man with that!"Then I realized I was talking to the vicar. Nice one, Sher.
The good weather has finally reached Great Britain! We spend all day out in the backyard taking advantage of it while it's here.
Check the new hairdo!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
4 Months Old
I can't believe it's only been 4 months since Charlie was born. It feels like he's been a part of our family forever. He's grown so much in just these few months. Its amazing to watch him change, grow and learn.
He wakes up smiling every single morning. He'll happily kick and coo on the bed with us all morning long. Then we go downstairs and he sits in the nursing chair, watching as I make tea and breakfast.
He's mesmerized by our dog Beanie. He watches her no matter what she's doing and laughs. He recognizes his sister Maria and laughs when he sees her.
Charlie and I take a bath together every night before bed. He loves to stomp his feet and grab the washcloth. He practices his floating but isn't so keen on it. He loves nothing more than having a bit of naked time. Even if he's in a bad mood, if you take off all his clothes he will laugh and kick with delight.
He can stand on his own (with me being his balance) for ages. Which makes it easier to put his trousers on. He drools...a lot. He blows spit bubbles like a champ. He makes the cutest noises when he talks to us and hearing them makes me want to cry.
He's still rocking a mohawk but also has lovely soft hair coming in. His eyes are an amazing shade of green. His fingernails are shaped just like mine and my Dad's.
He's really starting to get good at grasping whatever he fancies, usually this is my hair. He loves to ride in the Baby Bjorn and almost always falls asleep. When the weather gets nice I lie him on a blanket outside and he spends all day looking at the sky and trees. If he's crying Paul takes him out front and walks him up and down the street, and he'll calm right down. He sleeps through most of the night, most of the time. When he wakes up (around 4:00am or 5:00am) each night I bring him into our bed to nurse and sleep with us for another few hours. This is when I am happiest.
He wakes up smiling every single morning. He'll happily kick and coo on the bed with us all morning long. Then we go downstairs and he sits in the nursing chair, watching as I make tea and breakfast.
He's mesmerized by our dog Beanie. He watches her no matter what she's doing and laughs. He recognizes his sister Maria and laughs when he sees her.
Charlie and I take a bath together every night before bed. He loves to stomp his feet and grab the washcloth. He practices his floating but isn't so keen on it. He loves nothing more than having a bit of naked time. Even if he's in a bad mood, if you take off all his clothes he will laugh and kick with delight.
He can stand on his own (with me being his balance) for ages. Which makes it easier to put his trousers on. He drools...a lot. He blows spit bubbles like a champ. He makes the cutest noises when he talks to us and hearing them makes me want to cry.
He's still rocking a mohawk but also has lovely soft hair coming in. His eyes are an amazing shade of green. His fingernails are shaped just like mine and my Dad's.
He's really starting to get good at grasping whatever he fancies, usually this is my hair. He loves to ride in the Baby Bjorn and almost always falls asleep. When the weather gets nice I lie him on a blanket outside and he spends all day looking at the sky and trees. If he's crying Paul takes him out front and walks him up and down the street, and he'll calm right down. He sleeps through most of the night, most of the time. When he wakes up (around 4:00am or 5:00am) each night I bring him into our bed to nurse and sleep with us for another few hours. This is when I am happiest.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Holiday In North Wales
Here's our cottage
And our crazy good view
Naked baby! Check that belly!
Beans loves the beach
Watching some telly with Daddy
Beanie has a bit of lap jealousy going on
BWWWAAHHHHH!!!
Charlie's first train trip, on the Snowdon Mountain Railway
We had a great time in Barmouth! We just took it easy, walking to the beach everyday, flying kites, collecting rocks, playing games and seriously relaxing. It was amazing.
Friday, May 1, 2009
The Saga Continues
I was once again wheeled, bed and all, onto the post natal ward. Ward 3 to be exact. It was about 4:30am on Monday morning. I was in a big room with three other new moms and their babies, each person's area separated by a yucky blue curtain. There are no men allowed on the ward outside of visiting hours, so Paul had to go home. It was just me and Charlie, who was asleep in his aquarium. I quickly learned that sleeping on my back was not going to work and instead fell asleep sitting up.
The next day I was told that women who have had cesareans are to stay in hospital for three days not counting the day you gave birth. So I was due to leave on Thursday. Paul visited me everyday and everyday my blood pressure was still high.
It was so awful on the ward! Sharing a room with three other people sucked! Their babies would cry in the middle of the night and set off the other babies. They had loud visitors. They didn't turn off their lights at night. One gal was only 17 and her baby was going into foster care in a few days while she sorted out some legal issue (I eventually heard the whole story as she shouted down the phone at all hours, something to do with a fist fight over some guy) and she was in tears day after day. I hated every minute of being there and just wanted to go home.
So when Thursday rolled around, at last, I was outta there! Or that's what I thought. But my blood pressure readings were still high and the doctors "strongly recommended" that I not leave. The thing with high blood pressure is that you feel totally fine, there's nothing wrong with you that you can see or feel. It's frustrating. I was in tears. I wanted to start my life with my family, I didn't want to spend one more night without Paul.
But I agreed to spend another night in hospital prison on the condition that no matter what I was leaving by noon the next day. We packed everything up on Friday and got ready to leave. I got my blood pressure checked one more time. It had sky rocketed to a dangerously high level. Even I knew that leaving was out of the question. I had to take some strong medication and lay down for an hour. I knew then that I was in for the long haul. The next day I spoke to one of the midwives about Charlie's umbilical cord, which had not fallen off yet and was looking pretty sore and inflamed.
We were told to go immediately to the pediatrician. Where they drew his blood and inserted a cannula. He was to start antibiotics that day. We had to walk down to the neonatal unit three times a day to receive his medication. He never got sick other than that belly button. He ate like a bear and slept all the time.
One good thing that happened after Charlie got sick was that we finally got our own room. After a week of watching other women come and go with their babies, not sleeping at night, listening to other people's conversations, and whispering my own so as not to be over heard we finally had some privacy. It was great!
A few days later we found out Charlie had MRSA. I didn't really know what that meant at the time, of course now I'm an expert.
When they found out it was MRSA we got a room with our very own bathroom! And all my crappy hospital meals were brought to me! And everyone who came into our new room had to wear a disposable apron and wash their hands! I knew it was worse than they were letting on.
I have been sitting on this blog written to this point for weeks now, unable to finish. I kept telling myself it was because I had no time. But really I think it's because the time spent in the hospital when Charlie was sick was the worst few weeks of my life. It was so painful to watch him go through everything that he did. And I think reliving it all by dragging up the details for my blog is proving to be too hard for me. So I've been putting it off. What I'm going to do, so that I can end this drama and start posting about all the cool new stuff we're doing, is wrap it up in a few sentences. So to make a long story short (too late)...
Charlie was getting his medication in our room now instead of going down to the neonatal unit and it sucked!! They came in at all times during the day and night. 2:00pm, 4:00pm, 6:00pm, 10:00pm, midnight, 2:00am, 6:00am. They put powerful medication into his cannula and it stung him and he cried. They drew loads of his blood every night to check the levels of meds and he cried. They hooked a "syringe driver" to his arm every night which is a machine from hell that slowly (over an hour) drives the medication into his little arm. It had a big battery in it and it weighed a ton. But it kept breaking and it would take more than a hour. The cannulas kept coming out so I would have to get a paediatrician to come and find a different place to insert a new one and he cried. But getting the paediatrician to come in the middle of the night took hours sometimes and then his medication schedule would be off. It was a horrific experience. But he was such a trooper through it all.
I was a wreck. Paul was visiting whenever he could but for the most part we were all on our own. The midwives were wonderful and gave me hugs when it all got to be to much. Eventually he had taken his 10 day course of medication and we had waited the 24 hours under observation afterwards. We were finally discharged after almost three weeks on Ward 3. Going outside was weird but I was so happy to finally be taking Charlie to get his first breath of fresh air and have his first look at the sky.
My best friend Jenn had arrived in Birmingham half way through the ordeal so I only got to spend a week with her. I was gutted. It was so hard to have her here but be stuck in the hospital and unable to do all the things we had planned. And she had to see me at my lowest. But Paul took her to a few fun places and out to a few pubs.
So that's it. That's the whole horrible story. But now I have an incredible, healthy and adorable baby and it was totally worth it!
Whew! Now on to the good stuff. We're going on holiday to Wales on Monday. So lots and lots of pictures to come of the past few weeks and Wales, as soon as I get my laptop fixed.
Love you all!!
The next day I was told that women who have had cesareans are to stay in hospital for three days not counting the day you gave birth. So I was due to leave on Thursday. Paul visited me everyday and everyday my blood pressure was still high.
It was so awful on the ward! Sharing a room with three other people sucked! Their babies would cry in the middle of the night and set off the other babies. They had loud visitors. They didn't turn off their lights at night. One gal was only 17 and her baby was going into foster care in a few days while she sorted out some legal issue (I eventually heard the whole story as she shouted down the phone at all hours, something to do with a fist fight over some guy) and she was in tears day after day. I hated every minute of being there and just wanted to go home.
So when Thursday rolled around, at last, I was outta there! Or that's what I thought. But my blood pressure readings were still high and the doctors "strongly recommended" that I not leave. The thing with high blood pressure is that you feel totally fine, there's nothing wrong with you that you can see or feel. It's frustrating. I was in tears. I wanted to start my life with my family, I didn't want to spend one more night without Paul.
But I agreed to spend another night in hospital prison on the condition that no matter what I was leaving by noon the next day. We packed everything up on Friday and got ready to leave. I got my blood pressure checked one more time. It had sky rocketed to a dangerously high level. Even I knew that leaving was out of the question. I had to take some strong medication and lay down for an hour. I knew then that I was in for the long haul. The next day I spoke to one of the midwives about Charlie's umbilical cord, which had not fallen off yet and was looking pretty sore and inflamed.
We were told to go immediately to the pediatrician. Where they drew his blood and inserted a cannula. He was to start antibiotics that day. We had to walk down to the neonatal unit three times a day to receive his medication. He never got sick other than that belly button. He ate like a bear and slept all the time.
One good thing that happened after Charlie got sick was that we finally got our own room. After a week of watching other women come and go with their babies, not sleeping at night, listening to other people's conversations, and whispering my own so as not to be over heard we finally had some privacy. It was great!
A few days later we found out Charlie had MRSA. I didn't really know what that meant at the time, of course now I'm an expert.
When they found out it was MRSA we got a room with our very own bathroom! And all my crappy hospital meals were brought to me! And everyone who came into our new room had to wear a disposable apron and wash their hands! I knew it was worse than they were letting on.
I have been sitting on this blog written to this point for weeks now, unable to finish. I kept telling myself it was because I had no time. But really I think it's because the time spent in the hospital when Charlie was sick was the worst few weeks of my life. It was so painful to watch him go through everything that he did. And I think reliving it all by dragging up the details for my blog is proving to be too hard for me. So I've been putting it off. What I'm going to do, so that I can end this drama and start posting about all the cool new stuff we're doing, is wrap it up in a few sentences. So to make a long story short (too late)...Charlie was getting his medication in our room now instead of going down to the neonatal unit and it sucked!! They came in at all times during the day and night. 2:00pm, 4:00pm, 6:00pm, 10:00pm, midnight, 2:00am, 6:00am. They put powerful medication into his cannula and it stung him and he cried. They drew loads of his blood every night to check the levels of meds and he cried. They hooked a "syringe driver" to his arm every night which is a machine from hell that slowly (over an hour) drives the medication into his little arm. It had a big battery in it and it weighed a ton. But it kept breaking and it would take more than a hour. The cannulas kept coming out so I would have to get a paediatrician to come and find a different place to insert a new one and he cried. But getting the paediatrician to come in the middle of the night took hours sometimes and then his medication schedule would be off. It was a horrific experience. But he was such a trooper through it all.
I was a wreck. Paul was visiting whenever he could but for the most part we were all on our own. The midwives were wonderful and gave me hugs when it all got to be to much. Eventually he had taken his 10 day course of medication and we had waited the 24 hours under observation afterwards. We were finally discharged after almost three weeks on Ward 3. Going outside was weird but I was so happy to finally be taking Charlie to get his first breath of fresh air and have his first look at the sky.
My best friend Jenn had arrived in Birmingham half way through the ordeal so I only got to spend a week with her. I was gutted. It was so hard to have her here but be stuck in the hospital and unable to do all the things we had planned. And she had to see me at my lowest. But Paul took her to a few fun places and out to a few pubs.
So that's it. That's the whole horrible story. But now I have an incredible, healthy and adorable baby and it was totally worth it!
Whew! Now on to the good stuff. We're going on holiday to Wales on Monday. So lots and lots of pictures to come of the past few weeks and Wales, as soon as I get my laptop fixed.
Love you all!!
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