6 Day Old Photos

Eliza's ruffle bottom

Eliza sucking her finger

Charlie's First Smile (or gas)

Pretty Eliza

Handsome Charlie

We took some pictures of Charlie when he was 6 days old and we want to document Eliza's photos on the very same day. It's cute to see their differences and similarities. Charlie was 8 lbs and 5 oz (almost 2 lbs bigger than his little, daintier sister). He was 3/4 of an inch longer too (appropriate for the big strong brother). Here are some pics of the two of them.

Heading Home

We brought our family home together on September 12, 2010 (Eliza's due date).

Family of Four

Here are some of our first family pictures. Please keep in mind that Mommy has had no sleep, no hair dryer, and is on some pretty good pain medications! :) Not my best work but I do find these photos precious regardless of my appearance! I love seeing our babies together. Charlie is adjusting to being a big brother. Everyday, he gets more comfortable with his new role. Eliza is fitting into the family perfectly.

Eliza Rose Howland is Born!

Eliza Rose Howland was born at 11:18 pm on September 8, 2010. She was 6 lbs and 7.8 oz and she was a long 20 and 3/4 inches long. My first thought when she was born was that she was so beautiful and how I loved her! Her head had been turned at a 90 degree angle and she had her umbillical cord wrapped around her neck twice so we made the right decision to go ahead with the c-section. She had a lot of fluid in her lungs and spent her first 5 hours in the NICU. She was then released with a perfect bill of health! Daddy fed Eliza her very first meal and I got to bond with her shortly thereafter. We are so blessed by the arrival of our baby girl.

The Big Day

We went to the hospital the morning of 9/8/10 to begin our induction for baby #2. Labor progressed very smoothly and we were over 1/2 way there by 3:00pm. However, around that time labor stopped progressing. The baby's heartbeat was decreasing dramatically with every contraction and the baby was not descending. At 9:30 pm, the Dr. advised us that a C-section was probably the best course of action because there was something causing labor to not proceed and it wasn't in the baby's best interest to keep trying. John and I prayed about it and decided that we would proceed with a C-section.

Here a couple of pics from that day. Mommy with baby arriving to the L&D room. This would be our last picture of baby in belly! The other pic is John dressed up for the surgery. :) So cute!

My Big Boy's Last Days as an Only Child

I wanted to get some pictures of Charlie before his sister arrives. We're not doing anything special in the pics, just lounging in our PJs. Charlie is usually contained to the back of the house but I let him loose on the front and you can see him exploring and getting into everything. :)

He is almost 17 months old in these pictures. He is such an amazing little guy. He is slow to talk (just said "Bye Bye" for the first time) but we call him our "little engineer" because he figures out everything. His problem solving skills and ability to get into things is amazing. He outsmarts the most popular child proofing gadgets. I think he takes after John. John always sits back and contemplates a situation before talking or taking action. On the other hand, he gets a few things from me too. Charlie hates to be isolated from us and has to be the center of the social action. He doesn't like to be alone--a lot like his mommy in that way.

We have been so blessed with our little boy and even though we are adding another sweet baby to the family, Charlie will always be my baby too! I love you Choo Choo Charlie Bones!

Baby's Nursery

We are 11 days from the baby's due date and I'm in full nesting mode! It's driving me crazy. I'm driven nuts by dirt and mess and that is a problem in a house with two big dogs and a toddler. I clean up a room and it's messy 15 minutes later. I don't know if I can keep up with this considering that I'm in a full waddle now.

The nursery is pretty much done and I'm excited to share pictures of it. I have to give props to my mom, she quilted the beautiful blanket on the chair and she made the stuffed birds and pillow on the shelf.

I can't wait to share news of her arrival. We are so blessed and excited!