I Go Winter

I have to admit that Isabelle didn't go out in the snow last year. We didn't bother to buy boots because she was just learning to walk. This year we were excited to let her try it out. The best thing about the snow is that it totally slows her down, so you can actually do a task outside or just be with her without having to run full speed down the street after her!

Isabelle thought that her riding toys would still be great in the winter. Maybe we'll look for a sled.

Toys

Charlotte has been quite interested in toys already. She is a very textbook baby - eats, plays/hangs out for about 30-45 minutes then squeaks (rarely crying) to say "I'm done - may I go to sleep now?". Then we swaddle her, give her a paci and put her in the car seat. She usually falls asleep without any assistance other than a few paci reinsertions.

Quite the change from all that car seat swinging! Anyone remember? Ben does.

Early Days

Big Sister

One of the most frequently asked questions in the last few weeks has been "How's Isabelle doing?"

She pretty much ignored Charlotte for the first two weeks, except for asking "I go baby's car seat" or "I go baby's bed" in a whiny voice once or twice a day. She also has gotten in the swing a few times, and it only lasts about 5 minutes or so and she then realizes she's too big. For the most part, she has not shown any jealousy at all. She has played well in the room with me while I've been nursing. We often read books during that time with her up on the couch with me.

Whenever she hears Charlotte cry she says "Baby Charlotte's hungry." She was also very watchful of Charlotte's paci in the first few weeks, because Isabelle is only allowed hers at bedtime and I fully expected her to grab it at the first chance and run off.

A few days ago when Ben asked Isabelle to say "Good morning" to Charlotte, Isabelle replied with "What's going on, baby Charlotte?" I think she got that from me saying "I need to see what's going on with Baby Charlotte." :)

She has not yet held Charlotte - not interested and runs away. One day when I was taking Charlotte's picture, Isabelle said she wanted to be in the picture too, so that's how these shots came to be. It looks kind of like she's reading to her....


Last night we went to the mall to let me out of the house (it had been a few days!) and Isabelle was playing in the indoor playground. Ben and I were standing on the edge with Charlotte in the stroller and in between romps Isabelle ran up and said "Mummy!Daddy! Isabelle! Baby Charlotte!". It was like she was saying, "Yeah, she's one of us now. And I love our family!". :)

More Reinforcements

The following weekend the second shift arrived. Auntie Jo came for her annual visit - which we had scheduled months ago, not knowing that she'd get to be the first Gresik to meet Charlotte. Jo did what she is best at: cheer us up, clean our house and help me buy some clothes. I wish we'd had the mind to give Jo a name that means "sunshine" because that's really what she is. Pure sunshine. Jo had to leave on Sunday evening to get back to school.

My mom came on the Sunday and stayed for a week. She enjoyed baby Charlotte time in the evenings and had Isabelle time in the mornings. As usual, we enjoyed her company immensely, although we were missing my dad. Mom took Isabelle on several excursions, including a dinner out to Schuler Books and Music. Mom was kind of a trooper about it, considering Isabelle ran away on her twice while Mom was ordering the food. She sent Ben, Charlotte and I out on a "date" and we chose to have dinner at Tokyo Grill, where we had our first dinner out with Isabelle two years ago. Mom knew we would be short on date nights in the coming months, and it was a great idea.

We had a hilarious time trying to get a picture of Mom with the girls. Isabelle was crazy and wouldn't look at the camera, until Charlotte kind of slumped over and Isabelle started laughing and saying, "Baby fell over!". Hence, the small smile you see.

Thanks, Mom and Jo for all you did and for spending the time with us. And thanks Dad for giving up Mom for a week!

Back on the Home Front

Meanwhile, back at home Christy was taking awesome care of Isabelle and reinforcements (aka Oma and Opa) arrived late that evening that Charlotte was born. Oma and Opa stayed until Saturday and gave Isabelle a wonderful time!


Isabelle helped Opa rake leaves and do dishes. She helped Oma bake birthday cupcakes for Charlotte and made beautiful cards with "colors" (markers). Isabelle also had a nasty cold during this time, which made it extra nice that she had such wonderful playmates and caregivers! She got lots of TLC.

Talking to Mummy on the phone in the hospital

Visit to the Hospital - Tuesday 13th Noon

Another Life Changing Day

In the hopes of not missing any of the wonderful and monumental events of the last month, I'm going to go back to November 12th and bring everyone up to speed slowly. Look for more posts this week.

On November 12th I was scheduled to start my maternity leave. On the 11th, I played piano for the morning service and then led worship for the youth that evening. Before going to bed I remember crying as I was processing all the events of the day and how things were going to be changing. I was exhausted.

At 12:30am I awoke with stronger contractions than I had been having during the previous two weeks. After a few hours we called Christy to come stay with Isabelle. I was a little more eager to get to the hospital this time because it was now a 30 minute drive, instead of 1 minute for our last birth, and I wanted to make sure that someone was here for Isabelle.

We arrived at the hospital around 4am, but I was not admitted until 8am. I wasn't as far along as I thought, and they also did an ultrasound to make sure baby was doing okay. She wasn't very active, and one solid memory I have is of the ultrasound tech poking my belly very hard with the wand, trying to get the baby to move - meanwhile, I'm having a wicked contraction and the poking is NOT helping.

The hospital was brand new and when they ushered us into the birthing room we were not disappointed. It was large and spacious, with space for the baby's bath and examination all in the room with us. Last time Isabelle was sent to the nursery for that stuff and it seemed to take so long. Anyways.....the day progressed, but I didn't. It was long and slow, ending with the worst four hours of pain of my life. Ben got me through it.

And as soon as she came out at 8:21pm, it was the greatest feeling. No more pain! No more pregnancy symptoms! No more belly....well, not nearly as big anyways! It was all worth it.

In the hours and days that I spent at the hospital, I really felt like I already knew this lovely creature, Charlotte Beth. We had been through a lot - a tough pregnancy, a hot summer and a long hard labor together. We had some great bonding time at the hospital. I felt like I was on vacation - food made to order, a 37" plasma in my room and a cute baby to cuddle with. It was instantly apparent that she was calm and easy to soothe.

Charlotte was named for two very special people. Charlotte Gammon Saunders was my mother's paternal grandmother. She was an amazing lady who lived into her 90's, still baking bread and washing the kitchen floor. She faced a great deal of adversity in her life and lived with grace and kindness. She passed away in my first year of university so I was blessed to know her well as a great-grandma.

Beth is my middle name, but I too was named for a special great Aunt Beth, my mother's sister. Beth was my surrogate grandma, having lost mine too young when I was 12. She was a painter, a music lover, a great cook, an outdoor enthusiast and the kind of person who always remembered your birthday or anniversary.

Even though the pregnancy and labor were very difficult, the after part was much easier and smoother than last time. Stay tuned.