Friday, October 31, 2008

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.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

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.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

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!

Monday, October 27, 2008

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......

Friday, October 24, 2008

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!!