Two weeks old

For those of you coming to our blog for the first time via Natalie's blog, welcome! I'm not nearly as entertaining or witty as she is, but I promise I'll do my best to continue to post pictures of Anna Claire, although I'm finding I'm not having as much time to browse on the internet as I used to!!

Hard to believe only 2 weeks ago our sweet Anna Claire was just coming into the world. The time is already flying by. We went yesterday for her 2 week check-up. She was just about up to her birth weight, at birth she was 6lbs. 9oz. and yesterday she weighed 6lbs. 8oz. She measured at 20.5 inches which is quite a leap from the 19.25 she was at birth. The doctor's nurse who normally does the measuring was out sick, so he said he might not have been quite right, but regardless, our little peanut has streched out over these last few weeks. She's in the 75th percentile for height, which for me it just funny, I don't think I was ever above the 50th percentile!

Overall we are doing well, I feel much better after my C-Section and almost feel back to my old self, there are a couple of areas that aren't quite where they used to be, but I hope over the next 6 weeks or so they'll find their way back to the pre-pregnancy home :) I'm getting the hang of motherhood, which at this point is just feeding and changing diapers it doesn't seem like there is time for much else. Once she puts on more weight and isn't eating as frequently then I'll have more "time"....yeah right.

Here are a few pictures from her second week:

One week old

It's hard to believe our sweet little Anna Claire is already a week old! This time last week we had gone to the hospital, I'd had my C-Section and we were at the hospital receiving our first visitors and showing them proudly our new daughter. It's been a wild week, in some ways because I did have surgery, parts of it are fuzzy for me, but all in all the details are there and it was a great week. God has given us a sweet, good baby. She eats well and sleeps at night, not for long stretches, but she sleeps, so for that we are thankful. And of course, Mimi's (my mom) assessment is that she is completely advanced for her age, she would know, she's taught preschool for 30 years, Thad and I completely agree :)

Here are some pictures from the past week.

The last picture of us before Anna Claire's arrival.




First family photo:

At Home

We are home! We were released from the hospital on Sunday afternoon, originally we thought we would be there until Monday, but I was doing well enough that my OB said I could head home. I was very relieved! It was so good to bring Anna Claire home.

Our first night was a challenge. Anyone ever seen that show on TLC called "Bringing Home Baby" where it shows the two parents up in the middle of the night with a screaming baby, they are both exhausted, they've tried the swing, they've tried the bouncing seat, they've rocked, they've fed, they've changed the diaper, and the baby is still screaming?? Uh yeah, that was us on Sunday night. At last we found the only thing that would console her was mom, specifically she had to be laying on my chest with the pacifer in her mouth, it was a long, long night.

Night number two was a little bit better, but it was still all mama, although it wasn't quite an all nighter. I was able to get her fed and quiet and then Thad took over about 4:30 so I could get some sleep. He's been an awesome daddy, I love to watch him love on her, change her diaper, or just hold her, it's the best.

Mom and Nat are here helping, they have been life savers. They cook, do laundry, help me get off the couch, and help with Anna Claire, etc. Thad and I agreed today we have no idea what we would be doing without them. Nat has to leave on Friday and mom will be here all next week since I still won't be able to drive. They've had fun trying out new recipes and taking a couple of trips downtown for shopping.

Anna Claire is great. We took her back to the doctor today for a weight check and she had only lost one ounce since leaving the hospital on Sunday, so she's at 5lbs. 15oz and will only grow from here now that my milk is in and she's getting a full belly on a regular basis. It helps make her a calmer baby and one that rests better, during the day anyway. Here are a few pics of precious girl.

Guest blogger...

Hey y'all! It's Nat, Meredith's sister. I am going to be blogging all day as we await the arrival of Baby Girl Tuten. But, to keep things easy, I will be posting on my blog. For those who would like to follow the journey, please visit www.nickandnat.blogspot.com.

We have a date!

Friday, February 13th, not my first choice of birthdays for our new little one, poor thing will have to always explain to all boyfriends and her future husband that Valentine's Day and a birthday are two separate days and cannot be combined into the same gift!

Yes, our sweet baby girl will be delivered via C-Section on Feb. 13th. Little thing is breech and after an unsuccessful attempt to manually turn her last week, we'll end up with a C-Section. She's not breech in the sense that she is directly vertical, she's laying more horizontal with her head closer to my right side, or sometimes even up under my ribs (I'm sure you can imagine how comfortable this is!) It makes it easy for everyone to know when to arrive in Charleston for the big event and you better believe everyone is super duper excited. Her Aunt Nat will arrive from Chicago on Thursday night and all other grandparents the very next morning, bright and early I'm quite sure.

I'll probably have Nat be the guest blogger, I don't know if the hospital has wireless or not, maybe they will, if not, Nat will make posts from home with pictures. We are pretty much all set for her arrival, her nursery is ready (yes, I'll get some pictures and post) and after this weekend we'll have all final essentials to care for her, but nothing the local drug store doesn't carry.

Please pray for us over this next week as we prepare to become parents, for the C-Section, for the nurses and doctors at the hospital where we will be and for all family and friends traveling for this great event. We absolutely cannot wait to introduce you to her!

Long time, no post....

Sorry for my long absence, I promise, in the last few weeks of my pregnancy to do better about posting, especially pictures as we make progress on the nursery, and other preparations.

I can't post like we haven't been busy or like the end of 2008 ended on a good note. The truth is we've been busy and the end of 2008 didn't end so happy.


Due to the baby's arrival in February, Thad had to rearrange his schedule so that he could be off when she actually gets here. That meant 3 months of grueling months at the hospital and between November, December and January 32 nights of call, that's a month of sleeping at the hospital and not coming home at night, not so fun for me and definitely not fun for him. We are at the tail end though and as of this posting we've got 7 nights of call left and then, while he might not be taking call at the hospital, I have joked with him that he'll take call at his own house. He's more used to staying up all night than me, so he'll take the night shift...yeah right!


On the Monday before Thanksgiving we lost my Nana, suddenly. She had been having some heart problems and spells of dizziness over the summer and was under the care of both her regular internist as well as a cardiologist. She got a stomach bug over a weekend and by Monday morning had passed. Thad consulted with her internist and both agree her heart condition cause her to go into A-Fib (?) due to the electrolytes in her body being out of wack due to the dehydration likely caused by the stomach issues over the weekend. Ultimately, it was her heart condition which put her at high risk for any type of "cardiac event". Needless to say, while Thanksgiving wasn't completely ruined, it wasn't as happy and fun as normal.


So we moved on to December, where we learned my mom's sister and my dear Aunt Martha wasn't doing well after a long battle with cancer. The day after Christmas her battle was over and she went home to be healed forever. Mom, dad, Nat and I all traveled to Williamston, NC to be with our family and to remember and celebrate her life. It was a beautiful service and it was so good to be with my mom's side of the family and to grieve and celebrate with them. We were all broken hearted, it's still hard for me to think about let alone talk about without getting emotional. She was a special, special lady and a wonderful, mother, sister, aunt and grandmother and will be greatly missed by all of us. I could write many more posts about her and her journey, and someday I will, but it's too much for today.

So that's what has been consuming our lives on top of the busy holiday season, normal work, and getting ready for a baby. It's why I never got Christmas cards out, I bought them, but just never had the chance to sit down and get them addressed. I figure next year, we can send one with the baby and make up for this year.

Stay tuned for more pictures and pregnancy updates!

Showered with Love

This past weekend was our first baby shower. It was given by friends here in Charleston, one living in GVL and one living in Raleigh. Mom came and Nat came from Chicago, Thad's mom came too. It was a fun afternoon, women really do like to get together to eat and socialize! Thanks to everyone for coming and to the hostesses for hosting a wonderful shower!

The hostesses!

The cake! It was delicious! Baby carriage theme!

The cutest pink tree decorated the table with little socks, bows and pacifers!

Nat, Mom and I