Happy Halloween!

Daytime outfit, "my first halloween"

Evening outfit for trick or treaters....jack o'lantern



All tuckered out....

Time for bed!


Officially, Charlotte was a jack o'lantern today, however she also played the part of diva with THREE costume changes! Thank you to Melissa, Bett, and Grandma McCratic for supplying all of our adorable outfits!

Charlotte update

Our trip to Scottish Rite was not as scary as I thought it would be. I pray that we will never have to go there in an emergency, but it was good for us to see the layout of the hospital and learn where to park, etc. The staff there was incredibly sweet. Charlotte only fussed for a little bit during the exam, she stayed asleep for the most part.

I heard back from our Pediatrician this morning, Charlotte does NOT have a dislocated hip, but she does have an "immature socket". The dr. said to imagine a cup that should have a stick that hits the bottom of the cup, right now Charlotte's bone (the stick) is only halfway in the socket (the cup). If it was dislocated, the stick would be completely out of the cup. She said there is no "treatment", only to pray that she will continue to grow and we will have another ultrasound done in five weeks. She also assured me that Charlotte is not in any pain. If the socket and hip bone are still not right on the next ultrasound, she will refer us to an orthopedic surgeon. I really have faith that everything will be ok, it is just scary. After all we went through with Baxter this past summer, I can only imagine how stressful and heart wrenching this will be if we go through the same thing with Charlotte.

Thank you to everyone who remembered her appointment and called, and thank you for all your prayers.

Today is a big day for the Fulcher Family

At around 3 weeks, Charlotte had a weight check at the Pediatricians office, and the Dr. told us that Charlotte's hips might have been displaced during birth. I wasn't going to blog about it, because I didn't want to worry anyone (and if you are bored, just google hip dysplasia and see what we are facing, it is very scary!)....but now I am getting worried so I am asking for your prayers. We are heading down to Scottish Rite this afternoon to have an ultrasound done, please keep us in your thoughts and pray for a normal, healthy baby with us.

Life can make many changes in the blink of an eye, you can be married one month and divorced the next. You can be pregnant one minute, and a mother the next. I pray that today we will have a healthy baby ALL day, every minute of today. No matter what changes come to our whole family, I know that God is watching over us, leading us every step of the way.

I pray that I shall wait on you, Lord, and that I shall renew my strength. I pray that I shall mount up with wings like EAGLES, that I shall run and not be weary, and that I shall walk and not faint.

I pray that I will be confident that You, God, who have begun good work in me, will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Things that no one tells you....

1. If you buy the "sensitive" diapers by Pampers, there is a line that goes down the front of it. When the diaper is dry, the line is yellow; when the diaper is wet, the line turns blue. (This saves you from a couple of blind finger checks).
2. If you buy the "sensitive" wipes by Pampers, they are not very wet. You will think the box has just dried out, but that's the way they are made. Huggies wipes are much more moist than Pampers.
3. Buy one type of every kind of pacifier. There are people who say their kids never "took" a pacifier, I say you just didn't find the right kind. Charlotte prefers the Gerber "Nuk". (This is where I also say that Charlotte usually only gets a pacifier at night, and that she WILL NOT have one for long!)
4. You will need nightlights, lots and lots of nightlights.
5. There is a huge difference between newborn and 0-3 months. And the tags lie, they say 5-8 pounds but Charlotte is almost ten and still wearing newborn, while the 0-3 tags say 8-12 pounds and absolutely swallow her.
6. Babies get gas, and it is very painful (and loud). Buy the Mylicon drops now, you can start using them right away. (P.S.-the mylicon drops can be found in the baby section, or in the adult section....however the ones in the adult section are "dye free"....you want those, the ones with dye in it stain.)

Can I get a "What, What"?!

Bryce absolutely loves this picture....he wanted me to call it "8 Mile", it reminds him of his Norcross days. Charlotte definitely has some spunk in her!

6 week check in

I have officially been home with Charlotte for 30 work days, which means that today should have been my first day back to work. All morning I have been thinking about how devastated I would be if I HAD to go back to work today, and how thankful I am that Bryce and I decided the money wasn't worth it. Legally, I have to go back in 30 more work days (12 weeks total) but I think it is absolutely crazy that any politician or government official thinks that a six week old should go without it's mother during the day.

I do miss teaching and seeing my students learn, and I definitely miss interacting with adults; however there is no way Charlotte nor I are ready to go back yet. Just to give you an idea of my day, this is how we spent the last 24 hours:

• Sunday
• 8:00 am Bryce got up with Charlotte for a feeding
• 10:00 am I got up, Bryce and I had breakfast (biscuits and gravy, yum!)
• 10:30-11:15 am Nursed Charlotte, got her dressed for the day
• 11:45 am-1:00 pm Charlotte napped, I got a shower and got dressed for the day, cleaned the kitchen, started laundry (Bryce was outside doing yardwork)
• 1:15 pm Nursed Charlotte
• 1:45 pm Bryce and I ate lunch
  
• 2:15-3:45 pm Bryce, Charlotte, and I went to the grocery store
• 4:15 pm Nursed Charlotte
• 4:45-5:40 Charlotte napped, Bryce and I started a movie (Forgetting Sarah Marshall)
• 5:35-5:40 attempted to talk on the phone while Bryce went to pick up dinner (Chilis to go, yum!)
• 5:40-7:30 Fussy time. Bryce and I took turns eating dinner, cleaning up after dinner (and feeding the dogs), and attempting to calm Charlotte.
• 7:30-7:45 Getting ready for bathtime/bedtime
• 8:00-8:15 Bathtime for Charlotte-I wash, Bryce dries
  
• 8:15-8:40 Nursed Charlotte
• 8:40-8:45 Rocked Charlotte to sleepy eyes
  
• 8:45-9:45 took one load of laundry out of the dryer and started another, got ready for bed, spent some quality TV time on the couch with Bryce (flipping between my show and football of course!)
  
• 9:45-1030ish pm Laid in bed and thought about how much Charlotte cries, how little time I spend talking with Bryce now, how the laundry didn't get finished, how my dogs are going to get fat because I over-compensate with treats and don't walk them anymore.....all the new mom guilt.
• Monday
  
• 2:12:3:22 am Nursed Charlotte, diaper change, rocked back to sleepy eyes
  
• 3:30-4:00 am started composing the blog in my head, thinking how fast the last six weeks went
  
• 5:20-5:50 am Nursed Charlotte, diaper change, rocked back to sleepy eyes
  
• 5:50-6:00 am let the dogs out, got a drink of water, went back to bed
• 8:30 am Nursed Charlotte, started the process all over again......

I am so IN LOVE!!

We got our picture order from Trina today, Bryce let me spend a little more and get this BEAUTIFUL 16x20 of our BEAUTIFUL Charlotte!!

Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

We are still waking up every 3-4 hours at night, and Charlotte still has her "fussy" times; however I am quite proud of myself today. We were both up, completely dressed (that means hair and make up done, these days "dressed" has only meant clothed!), and fed by 12:00. This is a major accomplishment! Maybe I am missing teaching more than I realized, but I feel the need to share...this book has been a major contributor to our success.

Things I learned about "baby whispering":

1. Until a baby is 12 weeks old, they should work on a three hour schedule. The starting point is feeding (20-30 minutes), followed by activity: diapering, swinging, patty cake, etc. (20-45 minutes), and last is sleep (60-90 minutes depending on how long the activity took).

• The key is to watch for "cues" your baby gives you to know when to move into the next part of the routine. Hunger cues would include sucking on hands, moving head from side to side and smacking lips. Signals to start a new activity are a cry that sounds like a cough, or short "wa" cries. Sleep has the most important cue: most babies will yawn three times to signal they are getting tired. Babies will then stare off into space and have a glazed over look, followed by eyelids that bob up and down. By the third stage (eyelids closing), baby should be laid down in their own bed so they can drift off to sleep by themselves.
• You can and should answer to the baby every time they CRY (all noises are not cries), however you are only present to soothe. Start by laying your hand on the baby and talking in a low gentle voice. If this is not enough, pick the baby up but stay in place. Once the baby has calmed back down you should lay them back down so they can actually fall asleep on their own. Most babies just want to know they have not been left all alone.

I am actually going to re-read parts of the book, but just knowing what to look for has made a huge difference. I'll post more if I find anything else important to pass on!

What's in there?!

It might be awhile before I get a picture of Charlotte and Baxter, however Lola has finally come around to the fact that she is not our only "baby" anymore! Baxter is still a bit wary of Charlotte, and is definitely letting us know that he does not appreciate all the attention she has been getting. I know one day we'll be chasing all three of them around the house!

DADDY=MY HEART

Love at first sight?!

Here are some pictures from last weekend of Charlotte and baby Jace (Mary's baby). They seemed to love on each other for awhile, but when Charlotte started to get upset Jace took it out on her shoulder! I need a website to send funny pictures in to, because this one is hilarious! I know one day when Jace and Charlotte are bigger they will look back at this picture together and laugh with us!

Charlotte is one month old today!

Look what I can do!

Charlotte had her one month check up today....she is growing so fast! She is now 8 pounds 15 ounces (up from 7.7 at birth) and her length is 21 1/2 inches (up from 20). The doctor said she is doing great, and we have been given the go ahead to try breast milk from a bottle. I am so proud of myself, we have made it four weeks without ANY formula and no bottle. I am really looking forward to seeing Bryce try his hand at feeding her, it really is a wonderful experience to see Charlotte looking so content!

In other news, Charlotte loves her tummy time! She is getting so strong, we just had to share. Check out the footage Bryce got of Charlotte today!

Sweet little Charlotte!

Here are some pictures from Charlotte's newborn session. I absolutely LOVE them!! She looks so sweet, she is already our little angel! I am so grateful to Trina for giving us these wonderful memories of Charlotte when she is so small and new to the world. Of all the advice that was given to me when I was pregnant, the one that seems the most true is to treasure every moment because it goes by so fast. These pictures help us capture that moment for eternity!

10 things we could not live without:

Ok, maybe the title should have been "things that make life easier", but I'm telling you these things have been life savers!

1. Information learned in "The Happiest Baby on the Block" (we rented the DVD from Blockbuster). Basically, it teaches the principle that newborn babies miss the comforts of the womb, and recreating that gives them security.

• Receiving blankets for swaddling. Swaddling keeps the baby nice and tightly wrapped, just like they were for the last 40 (or so) weeks.
  
• White noise to play at night. Newborns are used to hearing their mothers heartbeat and noises from outside, so white noise is soothing to them. We downloaded some from itunes!

2. Our Uppababy vista stroller. I pitched a fit when Bryce told me he wanted this stroller, and after all the research he did I should have just listened to him. I am so glad I gave in, even though it was expensive it truly is the most used item we have. It came with a bassinet attachment that Charlotte has been sleeping in, and it is so easy to fold up for travel.

3. Nightlights. Lots of them. This is actually an item that we had to go out and buy after she got here. I never thought about getting up in the middle of the night and not being able to see where I was going!

4. Rockabye Baby. Another itunes buy, Rockabye baby is music from popular artists that has been turned into lullaby sounds. Charlotte loves listening to it, and I enjoy it because it's an artist I would listen to anyway. So far, we have: ColdPlay, U2, and the Beatles.

5. The Boppy- it goes everywhere and can be used for lots of things. A wonderful invention!

6. Aquaphor- it is this amazing cure-all lotion. Charlotte gets such dry skin, and this stuff clears it up immediately.

7. Our baby bath. Little babies are really slippery when wet, and Charlotte really enjoys bath time with such a luxe item supporting her! (I'd also like to add hooded towels here!)

8. Pampers Swaddlers: Believe the commercials people! It is worth the extra money, the off brand are terrible!

9. Water proof protection. In whatever form you can find it. We cut up a mattress pad to lay on her changing table. All babies either pee at unexpected times or spit up at unexpected times, these save the day!

10. Of course, my chair. It has made ALL the difference when it comes to feeding time, soothing time, and sleepy time. That chair has magical qualities for both Charlotte and I, and every night I am so thankful I have it!

Who does Charlotte look like?

The day she was born, there was absolutely no doubt that Charlotte looked exactly like Bryce. I have attempted to show her now with baby pictures of Bryce (#1), Myself (#2), and my Mom (#3). Who do you think she looks like now?

Smaller than a loaf of bread

My Dad took the exact same picture of me (with Wonderbread!) when I was born, I wish I could post them side by side.

Wordless Wednesday