Two of a Kind

As I was downloading pictures off my camera, I noticed one of my mom holding Charlotte that reminded me very much of a picture that I have of my mom holding me. There are differences, but they are both so cute, and similar that I couldn't pass up sharing them!!



Charlotte's favorite visitor really is my mom!! My mom wasn't feeling very well today (probably due to that stupid nurse!) and so I just wanted to give a little thanks for all that she does! She is the most selfless person I know, and I think that she is the best example of what Heavenly Mother must be like that I can imagine. Maybe that is why all the little babies love her so much!! She feels so familiar to them!! :) Thanks Mom for always being there for us, and loving our little ones so much!! We love you too. Feel Better!!!!!

No More Lights!!

The day we got back from the hospital we were given these bili-lights for Charlotte's case of Hyperbilirubinemia. She DID NOT like being the suitcase, and really struggled the first couple days. But we persevered!! Today we received word from the Doctor that her levels had improved so much that Charlotte is out of any danger zone. So she is off the lights!!! Hooray! We get to send those stinkin' lights back :) So this post is to commemorate Charlotte's first bed, and hopefully the last time she'll ever use it! (It probably is the most expensive first bed ever!)


The dreaded suitcase. She had to be in here any time we weren't feeding her or changing her. It made for some long nights, and sad cries!


This is her little get-up that she had to wear. She had a light strapped to her back. That is what the yellow straps are, I promise we did NOT put her in a tube top, cause you know if I had it wouldn't have been a yellow one!! jk :)


We also had to have a hat on her to keep her warm in the suitcase, and to cover her eyes so they didn't get hurt from all the bright lights. You can kind of see the light on her back glowing. It makes her look like a toy I had growing up. It was called a Glow Worm. Anyone remember those?
So we wish the suitcase a less than fond farewell and hope to never have to endure it's presence again!

YESSSS!!!!!

I GOT LOTS OF GOOD SLEEP!! (Thank you Mel and Mom!) Enough said!! Enjoy the photos :)

(I know it's blurry, but look at that smile!!!)

To Pink or not to Pink, that is the question

Having a girl has brought up a vital question, "to Pink or not to Pink" If you really know me well, you will have noticed, I never wear pink. I only own one pink sweater (that was given to me) that I will wear on Valentines Day, and that is it!! I do not like Pink, Sam I am. Not in a boat, not with a goat. Not with my hair, not with a flair. Not here, not there, not anywhere!! Having this aversion, I have been asked many times, "Can Charlotte wear pink?" and here is my public response......MOST DEFINITELY YES!! I want to actually be a good parent, and I can't start off with pushing my likes and dislikes onto her. If she wants pink, she can wear it...eat it...sleep it... live it!!!...for all I care. I also hate mushrooms...she will get to have those too. I seriously dislike most any kind of meat...she'll will NOT be a vegetarian. As you will see with these pictures, she is darn cute in pink (thanks to Sherry's cute outfit!!) and she will continue to be cute in it until she decides to follow in her impeccable mother's footsteps, or her mother caves and becomes a horrible mom. :)

Here in this clip you will see that Charlotte has an addiction, HICCUPS!! We're still working on step one, admitting that she has no power over these horrible hiccups. They hit at the most inopportune times, and last as long as they want. She had these a lot while she was still in my stomach, and they have followed her here. I think they will follow her to the ends of the earth. :)


More Drama but I'm too lazy to do more than just list them:
-Charlotte's bilirubin levels are out of the danger zone, yet we STILL have to keep her under the lights for an undetermined amount of time.
-That means that every morning early, we still have to go to UVRMC and get Charlotte's heel pricked and the blood MILKED out of her. It is very traumatizing.
-My husband, and sister, and mom were given the wrong flu shot by a totally incompetent nurse, and ended up getting a double shot of the regular flu shot instead of the swine flu shot!! Making it so that now they can't get the swine flu shot for a while. But luckily, she corrected her idiocy by the time I got my swine flu shot.
-I fell asleep sitting straight up, and burping Charlotte (yes, that means that I was actually in movement and still fell asleep!!)
-Today was my actual due date!! :)

Must....stay.....awake.......zzzzzzzz

We took Charlotte into the outpatient lab to check her bilirubin levels this morning, and nothing much had changed so we are still living in the land of lights here at my house. Charlotte is getting more used to being in the suitcase, but still fights it with every stubborn redhead recessive gene that she has!! We finally figured out that those super cool goggles are what she truly hates, and if we just stick a hat far enough over her eyes she is much more compliant when she needs to be put back in the suitcase. My mom came over tonight to help and Bryan, my mom and I were making fun of how this suitcase has written all over it, "specially designed by physicians" and how STUPID most of the designs are!! (It is also a suitcase straight out of the 60's era!! Powder Blue and ALL!!) We have a long list that is constantly growing of things we would change or improvements that could be made to this suitcase to make this a more baby-friendly situation. Physicians really aren't that smart I guess, it takes a teacher, a student, and a wonder-mom to come up with the world's really good ideas!! So we can't leave Charlotte in the suitcase unattended, so we are having to take shifts and stay up all night sitting next to her, making sure all is well. That would be why I am blogging in the middle of the night...I need some distraction to keep me awake until the next feeding!!! Speaking of feeding, and dozing off, I thought I would share my funny happening for today. Charlotte can be lethargic at times because of her high bilirubin levels, and she is always falling asleep while she is nursing. I am constantly having to keep her awake and going so she will eat. I will jiggle her, or move her around, or poker her cheek, whatever to annoy her and keep her awake. Well, really early this morning, I was feeding her and she was wide awake (as most babies are at 4:30 in the morning, which makes no sense to me AT ALL!!) and eating like a champ, while I was struggling to keep my eyes open. My eyes were opening and closing, feeling like sheets of steel that I just could not keep from slamming shut, when I completely dozed off. The next thing I know, Charlotte gave a particularly hard tug that sent a shot of pain throughout my entire body and woke me with a startle. I looked down at her and she was looking back at me as bright eyed as ever with, I swear, a smug little look of, "now were even!!" :) Gotta love bein' a mom!!

I love this picture, with the lights and such it is so ethereal. It is like she is saying, "Blessed World, I hail from above with a very important mission. I have come to be a part of the lives of Bryan and Danielle Kennedy, for they needed the most help." :) I love my little girl!!