Tuesday, August 16, 2011

at the hospital with charlotte

here are some of my favorite photos from the couple of days we spent in the hospital following charlotte's birth:

*my sister, jennifer, aka - auntie diva {or "deba" as greer affectionately calls her} meeting little miss charley.

*ryan's brother, uncle zachary, loving on charlotte and meeting her too.

*my dad, aka - pawpaw hanging with charlotte.

*charlotte's first photo shoot. {no, we didn't purchase any of the ridiculously expensive hospital pictures so we just took our own!} the adorable quilt she's laying on was made for her by my mom.

*ryan's parents, mimi and poppy, gazing at our girl.

*the grandmas checking out charley.

*greer's first time meeting charlotte and our first moments as a family of 4!!!


*i was so happy to be with my favorite little boy again and for him to finally meet his little sister he had heard so much about.


*daddy with his 2 kiddos finally!

i actually really enjoyed our stay at the hospital. the nurses were amazing and it was such a blessing to know that charlotte was in great hands for a few hours in the night so we could catch up on much needed sleep. since i had charlotte at 8:49 pm, we didn't actually get settled into a room until around 11:00 pm following her delivery. i was starving after not having anything to eat since dinner the night before so i enjoyed a delicious meal of frosted flakes and then we settled in for the night. i had the best and deepest sleep i can remember ever having, even with getting up every couple of hours to feed charlotte.

although it's been 12 weeks already since she was first born, i can still so vividly remember every time the nurses brought her into the room. despite being exhausted, i mainly remember being beyond excited to see her and kept feeling like i could not get a good enough look at her! after 9 months of her baking in my oven, i just wanted to take in every last detail of her...her petite little hands, her long toes, and all that wild hair!! i was overwhelmed once again by how much i could love another person i just met, but i'm confident that only God could design such a deep and overwhelming love.

when we were released from the hospital that monday morning i was somewhat terrified to go home. despite fostering R and P, and taking care of greer, neither ryan or i had ever been that hands on with a such a tiny little person!! it seemed like her carseat completely swallowed her, and i was nervous every time we hit a tiny bump that something bad would happen to her. everyone kept telling us not to worry too much because she wasn't that fragile but it took some time for that to actually sink in :)

we are so thankful for all our sweet friends and family who came to the hospital to meet charlotte and to encourage us while we were there. it made those couple days truly special and ones we will cherish for a long time!

0 comments: