We Are HOME: The First 48(ish) at Home Report

So we have been home for over 48 hours now, so I figured it was time to post an update. We got home from the hospital Wednesday afternoon and Charli loved the car ride home- I guess most infants do. We brought her inside in her car seat to let Izzie get accustomed to her and Izzie ran un to her and rubbed her cold nose all over her face :-). We had our first bath Wednesday night and Charli hated it! Well I think it was a combination of her being hungry already and also being cold, but she was really happy when we dried her off! I then braced myself for our first evening alone, but to my surprise she did amazing! She slept 4 hours in between both middle of the night feedings, and actually would have gone longer if I hadn't woke her up to make her eat. Then she went back down in her pack 'n' play and laid there quietly until she fell back asleep. I was the proudest (and probably best rested on night #1) mamma ever!

Thursday was a quiet day filled with cat naps and baby watching. Michael and I have quickly found that we could stare at Charli, whether sleeping or awake, for hours on end. From day 1 at the hospital we have found that she is pretty gassy and needs quite a bit of help moving the air bubbles around, and evening 2 was mostly remembered by a pretty fussy baby. Poor little girl could not get comfortable, and Michael and I wanted nothing more than to make it go away :( Its so sad when you can not do anything to ease their cries. Needless to say the night went about the same and mom was up most of the night just trying to calm her down.

Friday was a fun and entertaining day as it was our first family trip out of the house. We had Charli's first Dr. Appointment. Michael and I really like the pediatrician, he keeps things simple and obviously loves baby's. He gave Michael and I quite a few tips that we both have found very useful. Daddy set Charli on the scale to see her weight, and as soon as diaper came off, the peeing started, all over daddy's shorts and shirt. :-) Good day! Of course it didn't phase her at all. Unfortunately she still has a little yellow coloring so we had to redo her jaundice test which meant wandering over to the hospital and waiting for 30 minutes and then her getting her heel pricked again- like we said before, she's definitely got some good lungs on her! We got her home and during her after-lunch nap, daddy got peed on again :-) Obviously I'm enjoying this! We gave her bath #2 which consisted of the same cold cries, and ended with mommy getting pooped on- I guess I deserved it after all the laughs a daddy. Again, Charli didn't seem too concerned where the poop landed. Daddy got some good bonding time with 2 evening bottle feedings, while I went to bed early so we both were able to get some good sleep! We are very blessed that Charli loves to sleep!

We couldn't be happier to be home and feel so blessed with what God has given us. We definitely think she is the cutest little girl that there has ever been and just can't seem to love on her enough! Here are some lessons learned in these first few days (hope you get some good laughs) as well as some snap shots of the Little Lady! Enjoy!

Lesson 1: When you hear the poop, go ahead and wait another ~15 minutes before changing- or you might end up with poop everywhere!
Lesson 2: Not only does baby need more than one outfit when we leave the house, but best to bring a change for mommy and daddy too.
Lesson 3: Never assume a closed diaper is a good diaper :-)
Lesson 4: Spit up comes fast

Lesson 5: It is not only boys that pee while being changed

Charli Looks Like....

   It was an inevitable question, i guess. My thought has always been that newborns don't resemble there parents anymore than they resemble the baby next to them! However, apparently I am in the minority! As soon as Charli Came out, many of our guest began sizing up her facial features in comparison (Cough, Grandma Joan, cough) to her parents. So The question is simple, Who does Charli resemble?

Below is a picture of each of our newborn pictures.  I have created a poll on the side.
Feel free to weigh-in!

48hr Recap

   Following the "decision" post, we talked to friends family, doctors and of course prayed. Our decision was to induce labor on Monday August 1, 2011.

The check In

   Michelle and I arrived and checked into Methodist Hospital Katy @ 9:00 PM Sunday July 31, 2011. Our nurse checked us in immediately and we all began prepping for the days ahead. I immediately set up camp, Michelle attempted relax and read, and the nurse did... well..... the things Nurses do to set up for an upcoming induction.
Guest in attendance: Just one, and they may or may not have stayed until 1 A.M.

The Big Day

   After a decent nights sleep (conditionally speaking) Michelle woke up ready to take on the world :). Dr. Schmidt came in at approximately 9 A.M. At that point we discussed the itinerary and she broke Michelle's water. At  9:45 they began the medicine to induce. Michelle progressed rather quickly, with no hang up's at any particular dilation. Before I knew it, it was 5:20 and we were asked to clear all of our guest from the room. With just the nurse and I remaining, Michelle began pushing with every contraction! Charli crowned around 5:50 pm. At that point we decided to wait for Dr Schmidt to come in from a previously  scheduled C-Section . With Charli ready to arrive Dr. Schmidt entered the room, and WALAH Charli was born @ 6:05 PM. The staff, Michelle and I stayed in there a little while as the baby was weighed and the room was cleaned up. After a little bit of quiet time, I rolled out Lil' Charli to meet her extremely loving friends and family in attendance. Around 8 PM the room was open to all as Charli greeted many. The nursery soon took Charli and bathed and warmed her before her return to the room. 

Guest in attendance- Relatives: Grandma Joan, Grandpa Robert, Uncle David, Granny Jackie, Aunt Melissa, Aunt Wendy, Uncle Jeff, and cousins Jacob, Jeffery, Brooke, & Megan. Friends: Christi, TJ, Megan, Angela, Kristen, Debbie, Jimmy, Roy, Sharon, Travis, Ashli, Kirby, Victoria, Kaylin, Josh, Jonna, Zoe, Dave, Craig, Linse, & Eli

The 1st Full Day with Charli!

   It was a long first night! (primarily for Michelle) Charli was pretty fussy and seems to be dealing with a lot of gas. We soon realized she had her momma's lungs! :) Michelle awoke to feed and sooth Charli quite often. I attempted to sooth Charli in the morning to allow for Michelle's first real rest in a while. With the constant evaluations it was hard for her to sleep long. However, Charli was happy! She was very peaceful and happy almost all of day 1. We again had many guest to come visit her and love on her, from 8 months to 90+ years. A pretty incredible day! She did extremely well and was only fussy for a stint during a photo session and the 10 o'clock post feeding (gas issues again). We are going home TOMORROW!!!!!

Guest in attendance: Family: Grandma Joan, Granny Jackie, Great Granny Moon, Great Uncle Merle, Great Aunt JoCarol, Uncle David. Friends: Christi, Avery, Trey, Donna, Jimmy, Lisa, Jeremy, Kristin, Brooklyn, Edna, Jonna, Josh, Jacob, Travis, Ashli, Kirby, Victoria, Rob, Ashton, Tara, Linse, Lucas, Kristen, Angela, Pat, Toni, & Debbie

Here are some snap shots from the "48"  

Charli has arrived!

Charli Nicole Westermeyer:

• Born- August 1, 2011
• Time- 6:05 PM
• Loc- Houston, TX (Methodist Hospital Katy)
• Weight- 7lb. 9 oz.
• Length- 20.5 "

Both Mom and Baby are healthy! Charli is more beautiful then we could have ever imagined!

This is Charli's first ever Photograph, it was taken just minutes after birth!

The Tough Decision

So some of you may have heard already, but Michael and I have decided to induce labor on Monday August 1st. Nothing is wrong, just a decision made between Michael, myself and Dr. We will go up to the hospital Sunday evening to get set up and they will begin the pitocin around 5am Monday morning, so hopefully we'll have little miss Charli here by evening! :-) We will be at the new Methodist hospital in Katy at Barker Cypress and I-10. We are so excited I can't even explain it with words! So I guess this will probably be my last post before she comes, so keep looking on Monday for an update with pictures. I won't be adding it, but Michael is planning on bringing the video camera as well as the compute so he will probably post some pictures of her as soon as he can.

Since the due date guessing is now invalid, check out the new poll I created- how should I spend my last few days of childlessness :-)...

With Love,
Michelle

The Waiting Game

Well, Michael has now informed me about the site, so no secrets anymore :-) and I guess it will be my responsibility to keep the blog up-to-date. That shouldn't be too difficult since I will be at home for 6 weeks once she gets here, and I'm sure we will be taking way too many pictures and videos for everybody to see them all. Hopefully this site will help all our family and friends, including those that are not on facebook, to keep up with us and everything that is going on and be able to watch little Charli grow! So at this point all we do is wait....Seriously! The single hardest thing of the entire pregnancy! We have the room completely put together, the hospital bags packed, the car seats in the cars, the pack n play, swing and bouncers put together and silently awaiting her arrival, and even my first of many nursing books read....So as I said before, all we can do is WAIT, which I think is just making Michael and I even more anxious. :-) While we wait, I guess I can say a huge "Thank You" to everyone for all the gifts, assistance and love you have given us over the past 9 months. We could not have done any of this without everyone's help and we know that Charli will be extremely well loved by everyone. And another big "Thank You" to Michael as you have been wonderful to me through all my complaining and outbursts and for creating this adorable site! There isn't much on here yet, but take a peek at some of the room pictures we put up, vote on when Charli will make her grand appearance into the world, and we will try to put some maternity pictures up soon as well!

With Love,
Michelle

The Evolution of a Baby Room

The room is all but complete, just missing one thing now!