Charlie arrived on Friday, October 21, 2011 at 9:35 pm weighing 7 pounds, 12 ounces, 21 inches long with a full head of hair. Here's the story...
My parents arrived at our house on Thursday evening for their planned visit to await Charlie's arrival. We were at the Urgent Care Clinic with Clara when they got here because Clara was on day three of a nasty fever. After two and a half hours with the doctor, they eliminated a urinary tract infection and pneumonia and concluded that Clara "has a fever." After a dose of Tylenol and Ibuprofen, she was feeling much better and we went home.
Thursday night at about 11:30, I woke up feeling contractions about 10 minutes apart. I woke Jared up at about 1 am and we packed our bags. Jared went back to sleep, but I couldn't. At about 4 am, the contractions were about five minutes apart and I called my doctor. She told me to go back to sleep and wait until the contractions were more intense and closer together. At 6 am, I got up, took a shower, and the contractions slowed way down. They were back to ten minutes apart and not very intense. I spent the day at home getting ready for the baby to arrive. I dug out the infant car seat and washed it, did some laundry, and wrapped up some things at work.
Friday afternoon, we realized that we still hadn't picked out a name for the baby so after some internet searching, we agreed on Charlie Eicher Ward. Eicher (EYE-ker) is his Great-Grandma Carlson's maiden name, and he shares the middle initial E with his Grandpa Carlson and Great-Grandpa Carlson. Now that he had a name, we hoped he would feel welcome to arrive.
Contractions were increasing in intensity and becoming closer together, but we decided to seal the deal and went to Margarita's for dinner. It worked with Clara so we gave it a shot. Jared and I drove separately with our hospital bags in the car. After some spicy salsa and enchiladas, Jared and I went to the hospital at about 6:30. We checked in and requested an epidural. I was 4 cm dilated.
We were delighted to see that we had the same night nurse that we had when Clara was born. She remembered us and remembered that Clara came so fast there was no time for pain relief so she tracked down the anesthesiologist right away. I got the epidural and felt more comfortable.
At 9:10, I called my mom to make sure Clara was in bed. At that time, I was 7 cm dilated. The doctor was on her way to a scheduled c-section down the hall and she told me to wait until the c-section was over to have the baby thinking that I had some time. A few minutes later, we called the nurse because I felt that Charlie was on his way. The nurse confirmed that I was fully dilated and called the doctor. I pushed for four minutes through two contractions, Charlie was here, and the doctor was out the door to the c-section. Charlie came out screaming, Jared cut the cord, and we had our little bundle of joy in our arms.
My parents arrived at our house on Thursday evening for their planned visit to await Charlie's arrival. We were at the Urgent Care Clinic with Clara when they got here because Clara was on day three of a nasty fever. After two and a half hours with the doctor, they eliminated a urinary tract infection and pneumonia and concluded that Clara "has a fever." After a dose of Tylenol and Ibuprofen, she was feeling much better and we went home.
Thursday night at about 11:30, I woke up feeling contractions about 10 minutes apart. I woke Jared up at about 1 am and we packed our bags. Jared went back to sleep, but I couldn't. At about 4 am, the contractions were about five minutes apart and I called my doctor. She told me to go back to sleep and wait until the contractions were more intense and closer together. At 6 am, I got up, took a shower, and the contractions slowed way down. They were back to ten minutes apart and not very intense. I spent the day at home getting ready for the baby to arrive. I dug out the infant car seat and washed it, did some laundry, and wrapped up some things at work.
Friday afternoon, we realized that we still hadn't picked out a name for the baby so after some internet searching, we agreed on Charlie Eicher Ward. Eicher (EYE-ker) is his Great-Grandma Carlson's maiden name, and he shares the middle initial E with his Grandpa Carlson and Great-Grandpa Carlson. Now that he had a name, we hoped he would feel welcome to arrive.
Contractions were increasing in intensity and becoming closer together, but we decided to seal the deal and went to Margarita's for dinner. It worked with Clara so we gave it a shot. Jared and I drove separately with our hospital bags in the car. After some spicy salsa and enchiladas, Jared and I went to the hospital at about 6:30. We checked in and requested an epidural. I was 4 cm dilated.
We were delighted to see that we had the same night nurse that we had when Clara was born. She remembered us and remembered that Clara came so fast there was no time for pain relief so she tracked down the anesthesiologist right away. I got the epidural and felt more comfortable.
At 9:10, I called my mom to make sure Clara was in bed. At that time, I was 7 cm dilated. The doctor was on her way to a scheduled c-section down the hall and she told me to wait until the c-section was over to have the baby thinking that I had some time. A few minutes later, we called the nurse because I felt that Charlie was on his way. The nurse confirmed that I was fully dilated and called the doctor. I pushed for four minutes through two contractions, Charlie was here, and the doctor was out the door to the c-section. Charlie came out screaming, Jared cut the cord, and we had our little bundle of joy in our arms.
