I can't believe it has been 5 years since Ryan and I got married. We have accomplished so much as individuals (with the support of one another) and as a married couple in the last 5 years and I truly love what we have become together as a family. I still remember all the details of our wedding day like it was yesterday!
Do I need to start paying him for this?? There must be some sort of child labor law that says I do, but hey, it keeps him happy for about 10 minutes so who am I to argue ;)
Charlotte is doing really well still, eating like a champ and only waking up a few times in the night to eat. She's a fast eater too, so I'm back to sleep within an hour which is really nice. I haven't had that "I'm so exhausted I'm going to vomit" or "I can barely keep my eyes open and have no business driving a car" feeling like I had with Hudson during those first few weeks. Hudson is still trying to figure it all out and is getting his eye teeth in the meantime so we've had a few struggles here and there with him. It's only been a few weeks though and I need to remember to be patient. He's only acting out towards Ryan and I, not Charlie which I guess is good. He is doing better when people come over to visit too, he was screaming "No mine" at anyone who came in the house. Ryan has been a HUGE help and I'm NOT looking forward to him heading back to work next week, ugh!! Charlie's hair is starting to lighten up on the sides and back, so maybe she'll be a blondie after all. She's looking more like me I think than Ryan, which is what I originally thought when she was born. Who really knows though, they change so much everyday it's hard to tell!
5 days old
5 days old
1 week old
First Hawks game...8 days old!
9 days old
Snuggle time with Mom, 9 days old
Snuggle time with Dad, 13 days old
Bright eyed, 2 weeks old
Love from Big Brother, 18 days old
Charlie wasn't too thrilled with her first bath at home! The rest of her umbilical cord has since fallen off though making bath time much better now that she can be in more water. She was 4 days old in these pictures, notice the rolls on her legs already!!
After Charlie was born, my sister and her girls stayed with us for a few days to help out. My sister was amazing, taking care of her girls plus Hudson, doing our laundry, and cooking all of our meals. Needless to say, I cried when they left. Ryan, being the best brother in law ever, even arranged for Jennifer to have a massage on her last day with us to let her know how much we appreciated everything she had done for us. Hudson had so much fun with his cousins, as usual, and even helped Jennifer with some of the laundry.
CHARLOTTE JONES STOREY
Charlie was born on Saturday, September 6 at 3:27pm. She entered the world weighing 8 lbs, was 20.47 inches long, with a head full of dark hair and eyelashes that would make most woman jealous.
The Saturday Charlie was born started out normal enough, Ryan headed out to golf and my sister decided we should go to the U-Pick farm with the kids. No more than 10 minutes after Ryan left the house my mucus plug came out. I called Ryan to give him a heads up, but told him to still golf as it could mean nothing. Just in case though, I finished packing our bag for the hospital and made sure to get in a shower before heading out to the farm. We picked a farm close to the hospital and close to the golf course. This was Hudson's first time to the U-Pick farm and he loved it.
Enormous tomatoes
Hudson and Alexie looking for tomatoes
Alexie, Hudson, Jennifer, and my mom picking blackberries
Official berry tester
We got to the farm around 11:00am. I started having contractions shortly after, but nothing consistent and nothing that I couldn't manage. I have a stop watch on my stroller and was trying to keep track, but wasn't paying too close attention to them as they ranged from 20 minutes apart to 7 minutes back to 20 minutes and were lasting about 30 seconds. We headed to dig potatoes right around noon and this was when I decided it was time to head home so I could get Hudson down for his nap and figure out what was going on with my contractions. This was also around the time my sister starting yelling at me to start squatting and pick potatoes, haha! My mom and sister got the kids in the car while I paid for our veggies and blackberries, half of which we left at the farm as I was starting to have fairly decent contractions. I guess that's what happens when you leave a woman in labor to pay! My dad went back for the berries later that day ;) (By the way, if you've never picked potatoes before, I HIGHLY recommend it, it was really fun!!)
We got home around 12:30pm and my mom went to get Hudson down for his nap. I went in behind her though as it started to occur to me that this would probably be the last time I put him down for his nap before becoming a mom to 2! After I got him down, having contractions mind you, the guilt set in and I went into the kitchen and cried to my mom and sister. There wasn't much time to feel guilty though, I grabbed a watch and headed to my room to sit on our ab ball. My contractions at this point were 5 to 6 minutes apart and lasting about a minute. I finally called Ryan to get him home. This story wouldn't be complete without the response of "I'm 2 holes away from the best golf game of my life". He asked me if I was serious probably 3 times, funny as this was the phone call he had been waiting for from me all week!! Rest assured, he made it home in record time, called the hospital to tell them we were on our way and gave them a heads up that this would be a quick delivery. We arrived at the hospital by 1:30pm, I was 4 cm dilated when we got there.
By 3:00pm I was 6 cm dilated and honestly I was a bit concerned that things weren't going to go as quickly as I had thought or as quickly as they had with Hudson. My contractions at this point were extremely intense and I had to stay positive that I could do this again without an epidural. Charlie must have heard me talking to myself because she had plans of her own for being super speedy. My water broke, gushed actually, and I knew it was go time. I looked at the nurse and told her I needed to push. She took one peek and immediately jumped to the phone and paged the doctor, grabbed his tool tray, and the baby warmer. Apparently warning everyone that it would be quick didn't help much as they weren't ready at all. The doctor came running in and I yelled at him that I was crowning. Confirming that I wasn't a crazy woman, he said Charlie's head was almost out and one push would probably do it! I started to push on the next contraction and he asked me to wait if I could. Ryan gestured to me that the cord was around her neck. The doctor quickly snipped the cord and said it was fine to push. One more push and Charlie was out, 2 minutes of pushing total and no stitches, yay!! They put Charlie on my chest, but didn't face her to me. I asked for them to turn her around and before I knew it they had scooped her up and had her on the warmer. I asked Ryan what was going on and he just said "hang on Babe". He wouldn't tell me until much later that night that Charlotte wasn't breathing. He still won't tell me what was going through his head at that moment and I don't think he ever will. 
Our blue beauty, giving us quite a scare
Love at first sight
Already wrapped around her finger
Hudson meets his sister 
So curious about Charlie
Our new family of FOUR!
Grandpa gave Charlotte her first bath at the hospital with help from Auntie Jennifer and cousin Ellie
She found her thumb right away
Hudson is adjusting fine, not as well as I had thought, but doing great for the most part. He isn't acting out towards Charlie though, loves to give her kisses and always wants to know where she is. I'm trying to keep him busy with activities, we have even been back to the U-Pick Farm! Charlie is letting us get some sleep which is nice! Her last feeding for the day is usually around 9:30pm and she'll go a 5 hour stretch before needing to eat again. She was down to 7 lbs 6 oz at our follow up appointment 2 days after leaving the hospital (we were able to go home exactly 24 hours after she was born). At her 9 day check up this past Monday, she was already up to 8 lbs 10 oz and 21.25 inches!! I apparently have cream instead of milk again, I hope she's a chunkster like her brother!! We are all happy and healthy and I'm looking forward to posting Charlie stories on the blog :)
My cousin Tami gave us Hudson's plaque before he was born and I was so hoping she would again for Baby Girl. She didn't disappoint and brought over her plaque earlier this week. It's so neat to see them side by side on their doors and I think it's so neat that they look a little different with Hudson's being more masculine and Baby Girl's being more feminine. Thank you Tami...Ryan and I LOVE both the kids plaques, they truly complete their rooms and make us smile just looking at them!!
