Happy Birthday Daddy!

Charlotte helps Mike blow out his candle.

Happy Birthday USA!

Despite the recent oppressive heat wave, Mike was brave enough to turn on the oven to make meat loaf and bake a cake.  I don't know who loves Mike's schedule more - me or him.  Having a house husband for the summer is pretty kick ass.  I am one lucky lady.  But, I digress - back to the birthday cake.  My favorite kind of cake is class yellow cake with chocolate frosting.  Mike has been looking for a good recipe.  For the Fourth of July he made the best birthday cake from Smitten Kitchen.

Smitten Kitchen cake

Mike's cake is below.  It looks just like the one on the cooking blog!   I frosted the cake, it is one of my surprising talents.  The cake was really good.  The frosting was a chocolate sour cream frosting, which I really liked because it wasn't overly sweet.

Mike's cake

Charlotte staying cool

After a day in the hot sun, who wants to go home and cook?  So, we went to Galactic Pizza with the Garvins, and Nance and Brian.  Six adults and 5 kids crowded around a four-top.  It was busy at Galactic Pizza, apparently the rest of Minneapolis didn't want to go home to their hot kitchens either.

Cozy

Happiness

Missing My Peeps

Saying bye bye

I'm in Seattle for a work trip and I miss Mike and Char Bear.  Mike has been texting me updates of what they are up to.  Looks like they are having fun.

Classic snail trail

Waking up on the right side of the bed

Enjoying a snack

Dinner

Cleaning up after dinner

Don't forget the pets

Good morning!

Charlotte's First Science Book

An inquisitive looking Charlotte.

Yesterday we went to Big Brain Comics for a book signing.  Our friends Zander Cannon and Kevin Cannon (no relation) have illustrated a new book about Evolution in graphic novel form.  The target audience is junior high, but Charlotte is very advanced.

Getting her book inked by the artists.

Kevin, Zander, Charlotte, and Mike.

Run, Daddy, Run!

Frozen Half Marathon, 2009

This is a really cool picture of Mike running the Frozen Half Marathon a couple years ago.  That year it was so cold that they shortened the race to a 1/4 marathon.  I like how his frozen breath is swirling around his head.   He is running it again tomorrow, but it will be in the 20's.  That's practically shorts weather!

Um, Why is This Pillow Wearing a T Shirt?

Yesterday I was making the bed and I noticed something strange.

Mike said that after getting Charlotte to sleep, when he got in bed he was so tired he must have thought it was the pillow case.  He also thought that I must have bought new sheets since this "pillow case" felt different.

O Christmas Tree

Mike giving Charlotte a closer look at all the shiny objects.   She was underwhelmed.

Mike and I always give each other ornaments.  Here he is showing Charlotte one of my favorites.

Drumroll Please!

 As if it was so hard.  Once I had all the baby pictures lined up, they didn't exactly look like clones of each other.

Mike

Emily

Charlotte

Charlotte sporting the outfit that I wore home from the hospital when I was born.

Guess Who?

 

When Charlotte was born, the doctor said, "she has dad's eyes and mom's face shape."  We thought Charlotte looked a lot Mike, especially the eyes and mouth.  My mom kept insisting she looked like me, but  we figured she was not being objective.  Then she brought over some of my baby pictures and some of them could have been pictures of Charlotte.  So, I wanted to line up baby pictures of me, Mike, and Charlotte.  For fun, I dressed Charlotte in the outfit that I wore home from the hospital so that everyone is wearing clothes from the 70's.  Can you tell who's who?

Look But Don't Touch

Ben came over to visit Charlotte before he went to work.  Charlotte's immune system needs a little time before she can be handled by anyone besides me and Emily.  We take Charlotte to her first pediatrician's appointment tomorrow and will get some more clarity about how social Charlotte can be.  All early answers point to a reclusive winter for the three of us.

So it was nice to see Ben.  He brought us some honeycrisps and his camera.  Here are the fruits of his labor.

Charlotte is now strong enough that we probably don't need to hold her up with one hand anymore, but it's hard not to.

Charlotte's present feeding pattern is to sleep for three hours, and then eat and nap on and off for two hours.  Ben showed up during a 20 minute power nap during one of her feeding times.  She comes by it honestly: no one has a bigger reputation for taking longer to eat than her father.

 

 

Family Portrait #3

Charlotte is two weeks old as of yesterday.  Actually, she's negative four weeks according to something called gestational age.  This leads to some confusing situations.

Last night Emily and I came in from a date night at Culver's after visiting hours.  This means we have to go past security to get back to our room.  Actually, the security guard was the first to be confused.  I explained to the security guard that our daughter was a patient in Labor and Delivery and we were taking care of her.  And he said, "Oh did your daughter deliver a girl or a boy?"  Fine, I get it.  We are old to be parents to a newborn, but we're not THAT old.

So after finally sorting that mess out, he wanted to know how old Charlotte was.  And there was this long pause and I could sense that Emily was trying to figure out how to explain to this guy gestational age vs. chronological age.  So I just jumped in and said "She's two weeks old," which satisfied his quest for knowledge.

But it was somewhat illustrative to how wrapped up in your own little world you can become as a parent.  I easily forget that people I don't know well, or at all, are just happy for me and Emily because it reminds them of their own journey as a parent.  The details of NICUs, CPAPs, negative ages, and car seat tests really are not important and trying to explain it takes too much time.  So it's easier to leave all that out, but hard to remember to do that when you are so wrapped up in the moment.

Anyway, in the two weeks we've been with Charlotte, I noticed there are a lot more pictures of me holding Charlotte than Emily holding her.  That's because I'm not nursing or pumping.  So I made a point to get a few pictures of Emily and Charlotte last night that wouldn't spark the whole "Is it okay to nurse in public?" debate.

Below is our third family portrait and the first since Charlotte graduated to the "Big kids' side of the NICU" as one of the nurses called it.

Mike and Charlotte

In the NICU, preemies are on feeding schedules while they are still getting nutrition primarily from a feeding tube.  Charlotte is on a 1, 4, 7, 10 schedule and Mike is always here for her 7 pm feeding.  We sit together in our little area and enjoy some quiet time as a family every night.

Bottle

We started bottle feeding on Sunday.  Now that I am able to stay a little ahead of Charlotte's needs, she can be fed breast milk in a bottle.  This will be fun for Mike and it means that the nurses can bottle feed her when we can't be there.  So far, she is getting about 1/5 of her nutrition orally, and the rest through her feeding tube but she is getting more consistent.   The more she gets to practice and workout her little jaw muscles the sooner she can ditch the feeding tube and go home.

Charlotte's First Bottle

Baby Burp

Charlotte's Birth Story

On Monday October 4, I had an ultrasound to measure the amniotic fluid and it was low.  My doctor said that she'd repeat the next day and if it was still low we'd deliver.  Well, she said that a bunch of times and it didn't happen so I didn't take her seriously.  I didn't even mention it to Mike that night.  The next morning, my doctor came in at 5am on her rounds and told me again that if the fluid was low this would be the day and she told me not to eat breakfast. Well, we'd been through this before, so I didn't bother to call Mike.  At about 9 am, I had the ultrasound and the fluid was still low.  The nurse said that they could get me in the OR for a c-section at 11:30am.  I was not prepared - I had some loose ends to tie up!  I wasn't completely mentally prepared either. I knew we would be having her early, but not >6 weeks early!  So, I called Mike and hastily emailed a few people at work.  The nurse kept coming in to start prepping me for surgery, and I'd say, "I need ten more minutes!"  Then, Mike called and he was stuck in traffic.  Joe Biden was at Macalester giving a talk and the road was closed for his safety.  He was worried that he wouldn't get there in time, but the nurse said they wouldn't start without him.  I called my sister.  My brother-in-law, Ben, had offered to come take pictures so he was on his way.  The nurse started prepping me for surgery and packing up my stuff since I would be moving from an antepartum (my home the last two weeks) room to a postpartum room. 

Ben got there before Mike since he didn't have to deal with the Joe Biden traffic.  Mike arrived and put on his scrubs.  He looked so cute!  Then the nurse said we would walk down to the OR.  What!?  After 2 weeks being confined to bedrest, I was going to walk down the hall!?!  As we were walking down the hall, I had to ask them to slow down because I couldn't keep up.  Even though the childbirth class instructor came and talked to us for almost 2 hours one night, and we knew what to expect, I was really nervous.  I mean, holy crap!  We were going to have a baby in 20 minutes! 

I went in the OR without them and they gave me the epidural and strapped my arms to the table (did you know they do that?  It's instinct to reach out to grab the baby and that would compromise the sterile field) and the guys came in. It didn't hurt, but I felt lots of pulling and tugging. After <15 minutes the doctor pulled Charlotte out.  I heard her cry and it was the most amazing moment.  She was here!  And she was OK!  Crying meant she was breathing!  My doctor said, "say hi!" and lifted her up to the curtain for a split second and all I saw was the top of her head.  Mike could see everything and he just kept saying, "she's so beautiful, she's so beautiful." 

Because Charlotte was a preemie, I knew that I wouldn't get to hold her right away since the neonatologists would take her away for assessment.  During this part, Ben came over and showed me the pictures on his camera, the first time I got to get a good look at her.  Charlotte was breathing on her own, but then she stopped and was in respiratory distress.  Ben had to leave and Mike was with Charlotte. I don't know what was happening while they finished stitching me up, Mike can tell that part of the story.  While I was in recovery, Mike and Ben were in the Special Care Nursery with Charlotte and took more pictures and came back to show me. 

Having Ben come to take pictures was so wonderful.  The nurse had told Ben that he wasn't allowed in the OR, but he would not take no for an answer and kept asking until she said it was up to the anesthesiologist and he was fine with it.  So, Ben got some scrubs.  It was really cool to share such an important day with him.  It also allowed me to see what was going on throughout the whole thing.

Once I was recovered I was wheeled through the nursery to see her for the first time and I put my finger in her hand she grabbed my finger.  She is amazing and beautiful and we are in love.

our first family photo

Our Babymoon

I was thinking about starting a blog to document Charlotte's coming into the world.  In fact, I had planned on doing it the week she was born, as I was not even 34 weeks pregnant and felt I had plenty of time.  Then, on October 5, 2010 at 12:23 pm, she was delivered and it's been busy ever since!  Before I can tell her birth story, some background is in order.

A little background:

Aside from feeling like I was 500 degrees all summer, I was enjoying a rather normal pregnancy until about 27 weeks.  At my appointment that week, my doctor was concerned that the amniotic fluid was so low and ordered me on bedrest.  I wasn't overly worried.  In fact, we had plans to go to a Twins game that night with friends and went anyway because I happen to find baseball very relaxing and that complies with bedrest, right?  So, I was on bedrest at home for a couple weeks.  I worked at home during the day on one couch, and then spent the evening on the other couch with Mike.  Then August 30, I was diagnosed with severe oligohydramnios*  and the fluid was so low that my doctor sent me to the hospital to be admitted and assessed by the perinatologist.  She gave me a shot of steroids to help the baby's lungs develop faster and put her hand on my arm and said, "Emily, I don't know what they are going to say.  You might be admitted, you might have to deliver, or they might send you home."  That was scary!  So, off we went to the hospital, had an assessment with the perinatologist.  Our baby girl wasn't moving very much, which concerned her, but she didn't want me to eat anything to try and wake her up just in case I had to have a c-section that night.  She wasn't born that night, although everyone kept reassuring us that 29 week old babies do fine. After a couple days, I was discharged.   When I asked about bedrest, the perinatologist said he didn't see any benefit. Woo hoo!  I got to go home in time to attend my cousin Cait's wedding, where Mike had the honor of officiating and I was heartbroken that I might have to miss it. 

Mike doing his thing

Mike and the newlyweds, Cait and Zach

I continued to go about my business, but taking it extremely easy.  Then on September 20th, it was the same thing again.  I was wheeled over to the hospital.  We thought we might have a baby that night or the next day.  After a night of being pumped with IV fluids, my fluid went back up to a level my doctor was comfortable with, but she wanted me to stay in the hospital for constant monitoring and IV fluids for as long as possible so that the baby could be more of a "chub head" (her words).  It was balance between the baby being best off in the womb until the situation in the womb became too stressful due to the low fluid.  She couldn't say when exactly this would be, but she wanted it to be past 34 weeks.  After eight days being confined to room 211, the fluid was the highest it had been since this whole low fluid thing started. I was discharged from the hospital, but I didn't tell everyone because I knew that I would be back as soon as I saw my doctor again. Sure enough two days later, September 30, I was back.  Same deal as before. 

Let me tell you, being on bedrest in the hospital is not easy. Being away from Mike for so long sucked. I missed our dog (but not the cats, in fact, I forgot I had cats). I was only allowed to walk as far as the bathroom and my doctor only wanted me to shower once a week, but I negotiated showers on IV changing days (every three days).  I left my room one time, to go on a wheelchair ride with Mike pushing me. It was a beautiful, perfect September day and we did a lap around the hospital.  Mike said, "this is our babymoon" and we laughed.  Mike came every night after work to spend time with me, and sometimes bring me food that was edible.  I had zero appetite from being so sedentary, plus being horizontal all the time just gave me a stomach ache and wicked heartburn.  I had no idea what day it was most of the time. Most people won't understand this, but I actually did not get enough alone time in the hospital and that makes me crabby.  People were always coming in my room so I never had any stretches of peace and quiet to myself.  I continued to work remotely because it made me feel like a normal person and made the days go faster.  The weekend before Charlotte was born was a low point for me.  It was really getting to me and I didn't think I could do it any longer. 

Mike was incredible through it all.  He had to do everything around the house that usually takes two people to do and at the same time take care of me.  We got to spend a lot of time together over the summer, but not as we had envisioned.  No trips to the cottage, or the State Fair, or going out to enjoy our last months of just the two of us. Even though it was really scary, stressful and frustrating at times, I would do it all over again and I wouldn't change a thing because now we have Charlotte. 

And that is the end of the background section.


* Do you really want to know?  Oligohydramnios is a pregnancy condition where there is less amniotic fluid than there should be.  The fluid is measured by ultrasound where they measure the largest pocket of fluid in each quadrant and add them up.  Normal is between about 8-21 centimeters.  Below 5 is considered oligohydramnios and may be an indication for delivery.  My fluid was hovering between 5-7 for a while and was below 5 each time I was sent to the hospital.  Oligohyndramnios can be caused by a number of things:  a baby without kidneys or a bladder will have low fluid because the fluid is basically peed out of the baby; a placental insufficiency issue may not make enough fluid; a tear in the amniotic sac; pre-eclampsia and some other conditions that the mother may have.  My case was idiopathic.  Low amniotic fluid can be a very stressful environment for a baby and can result in immature lungs since the baby uses the fluid to practice breathing and inflating her lungs.  It can also result in restricted growth.  A baby needs room to move her limbs for development of muscles and bones.  It can also result in compression of the umbilical cord, which would mean the baby wouldn't get enough oxygen and nutrients.  So, plenty to worry about.