Hello folks! My apologies for the lack of posting. Like I said before, we are just adjusting to life with baby Charlotte. Also, we had a bit of a computer issue where it would shut down every five minutes. But thanks to the Internet and YouTube, I was able to identify the issue and solve it. Who needs the Geek Squad? Not this guy. OK, well we have been trying to get control of things ever since the drama of Charlotte's birth. I have gone back to work, and Laura's mother is now back home in Sly Town. So right now it is just us three together. Laura doing an amazing job with her scheduling and her overall mommy skills. After everything that went on, I am so thankful to have her back to her normal self. She also looks great! She is just a few lbs. away from her pre-pregancy weight. Amazing, I know.



This next week is an exciting one for us. Charlotte will be four weeks old, and she will be going on her first road trip. I'm taking two days off so we can take her to my mom's house in Toccoa, and to my dad's mountain house for a family gathering. This will be the first time Charlotte gets to meet her aunt Courtney, and her new cousins Bates and Jack. So, we have a big week in store, and ,oh yeah, college football starts! Go Dawgs! This video is a recent one of Charlotte, and let me tell you, she is growing so freaking fast! Enjoy!

Grant

Play Time

Just a quick update. Laura and Charlotte are doing great. Right now we are just trying to adjust to life with a baby. Life is good, and we are all enjoying our time together.




Grant

Charlotte's Arrival

Charlotte Grace Wood was born Tuesday morning weighing in at 5lbs & 5ozs and 18 & ½ inches long. As many of you may have heard it was quite an eventful morning. It is hard for me to write this entry only because I do not have memory of many of the events that took place that day. I am sure the story would be much better coming from Grant but he has said that there is no way that he could write this entry. I am going to try and give the details that I have collected from talking with Grant and my family. I would like to first of all say that God is Great! I am a walking miracle. The day after the birth of our beautiful baby girl I had people from all over the hospital coming to see me because they could not believe that I had made it through the many events that took place the day before.

To start, my c-section was scheduled for Tuesday August 3 at 6:45am. Grant and I were woken and moved to the labor and delivery operating prep room. I received my epidural and was prepareded for surgery there. This part I remember very well! It all happened so fast. We were moved to the OR and about ten minutes later I could hear the voice of our beautiful baby girl! Grant and I were so excited! I was crying; Grant was jumping up and down. It was amazing! As soon as they put Charlotte on my chest I knew things were not what they should be. I was losing blood and I was losing it fast. I remember saying, "I don't feel well" and the nurse saying "Ok daddy, it's time to leave". After that, it was lights out for me. Apparently, the Accreta that the doctors thought I had was worse than what they thought. When they tried to separate the placenta from the uterine wall I began to bleed and I lost a great amount of blood before they could stop the bleeding. By the time that they got the bleeding under control I had coded. The doctors called a code blue and I eventually ended up receiving 23 units of blood. Of course I do not remember any of this but I think this is a moment in time that Grant and my family will never forget. Grant was taken along with Charlotte to a transition room where he had to wait to hear what was happening to me. My dad said the worst part of the day was when the Chaplin of the hospital came into the waiting room and asked for the family to follow her to a separate waiting area. Eventually everyone received word that I was stable and being moved to the radiology operating room to have a procedure done that could hopefully save my uterus. Unfortunately, this procedure did not work. I was then moved to the main hospital operating room for a hysterectomy. Once my third and final surgery of the day was finished I ended up in ICU. So to recap time, the baby was born around 7:10 am and I ended up in ICU around 3:00 pm. I received 23 units of blood, had three surgeries and my family had to wait while all of this was going on. At one point I had 8 IVs with one in a major artery. This IV had five connecting units. It stayed in until the day that I left. The next memory I have after seeing my baby girl for the first time is waking up in ICU on a ventilator. I spent the rest of the day and most of the day after in ICU. On Wednesday, I was finally taken off of the ventilator and moved back to HRP (high risk pregnancy). The next several days are a major blur. All I remember is the pain. My nurses were great. They helped me every step of the way. Each day I improved more and more and finally I was released to come home on Saturday August 7. My doctors and nurses were very proud that I had made such a quick recovery. My motivation was Charlotte. I did not want her coming home without me. I worked very hard each day to make sure that we would all come home as a family.




Grant deserves Husband and Father of the century award. He has been through so much and yet accomplished so much. My mother and everyone else says that he is the best swaddler they have ever seen. He rotated between the nursery to feed Charlotte and then back to HRP to be at my bedside. He is the most amazing husband and father. I am so happy to spend the rest of my life with the amazing family we have created. Today is his first day back at work and I know that he is hurting. Last night he told me that he was going to quite his job and stay home with me and Charlotte forever. The only problem is that we would then have to move into a box somewhere due to no income.


My family has also been unbelievable. The first memory I have in ICU is waking up with my daddy sitting next to me holding my hand. I think he continued to do that for the rest of the night and most of the next day. My mother is my rock. She has been cooking and cleaning and helping in every way she can. I don't know what I will do when she has to leave. My sister is also wonderful. She has helped Grant and I so much. She is our go to person for advise and help. Grant's family has also been great. They have cleaned our house, built our basement, and worked to make things as comfortable as possible for our new family. As you can tell, Grant and I are blessed to have an amazing family.





Finally, to the star of the show. Baby Charlotte. She is doing great. I know that people tell you that motherhood is amazing but I am here to tell you that until you feel that first touch, or hear that first cry you will never know this amazing feeling. Charlotte is the most amazing little girl I have ever met. I am blessed to be her mother. Everyone has been asking me if I am tired. I keep telling them that I am happy. My favorite part of the day is at two in the morning when it is just the two of us. We cuddle; she takes a bottle and I feel like the luckiest person in the world.


I thank God that I am here today to experience his amazing miracles. I pray that I continue to heal so that I can only experience his blessings more. Thank you to everyone for your continued prayers. Grant and I hope to share Charlotte Grace with you all very soon.



** When I get some time, I will share my side of Charlotte’s birth story, but for now, I will use the pictures of Charlotte and myself to describe how I felt. If you notice, I am neither smiling or frowning in these pictures. It is kind of a half smile. It was the best I could do at the time. I experienced both the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in a matter of minutes. As I looked into the eyes of my little girl, I was so happy and amazed she was finally here but also distraught that I might have lost Laura. It was an emotional rollercoaster that is hard to describe.

Grant

The Final Countdown!!!

Only two more days! As we get closer, I keep getting more and more excited. Monday we will see Dr. K for the final ultrasound. He wants to get a final guess at her weight and final look at the condition of the placenta. After that, Grant and I are going to come back to our room and rest, rest, rest. The nurses will pick us up at 4:45am and take me to pre-op. Here they will prep me for surgery. The actual surgery will begin at 6:45am.
What an exciting day! Baby Charlotte is a very lucky girl. She will share her birthday with two very important people. The first is her aunt Courtney which we hope and pray that Charlotte will be like in every way! The second is her soon to be very first friend. My friend, Dana is scheduled to delivery on Tuesday as well. As you can imagine when we found out that we would be delivering on the same day we both started screaming in excitement. These girls are destined to be great friends. They will be born on the same day in the same hospital. Unbelievable!

Here a few pictures showing our final preparations for Miss Charlotte’s arrival.

These are the outfits we plan to dress her in while in the hospital....



This is a picture of Charlotte's going home outfit....
I can't wait to see how the hat fits her. Thank you Aunt Haley!!!

Ready or Not, Here She Comes!!!!

It's official! We are scheduled to deliver Charlotte Grace by C-Section Tuesday morning at 6:45. Grant and I are so excited!

The Basement is Done!!!!

5 Years

Grant and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary this past Friday. Sweet Grant did an amazing job putting everything together. Since I couldn't go out to do anything he brought the outside to me. He ordered my favorite meal from my favorite restaurant and he even brought real plates and silverware from home. He finished it all of with a candle. I can think of many places that I would rather be for my five year anniversary besides the hospital but there is no one in the world that I would rather be with. I am one lucky girl!




Well, we have made it to the single digits! 9 days and counting. I am so excited that I can't stand it. I hope that this week will go by quickly and smoothly. I have been having regular contractions at about 15 to 20 minutes apart for about 2 days now. My doctor said that we are going to continue to monitor the contractions and as long as they stay below 4 an hour then we will just ride things out until August 3. If the contractions get any closer together then they are going to discuss delivering me early. They will not, at this point, take any action to slow the contractions. I hope we make it to August 3. I want everything to be planned and clam and easy. Here's hoping :)

I plan to spend the week getting ready for her arrival (mentally). I am going to force Grant to spend the night at home this week so that he can get good rest! We both need to get our sleep. Apparently newborns don't sleep that often. I know that may be shocking to some but I have had like 50 people tell me this lately :)

Keep checking back this week. I will keep everyone updated on the preparations for Charlotte's arrival.