For Unto Us a Child is Born...

Charlotte Jane Brown

8 lbs 11 oz

19 1/2 in

As you know I was scheduled to be induced on Friday morning. Thursday afternoon the hospital called and said we were set to go. I should expect a call around 9am to come in. Well Friday morning came and no phone call. I called around 10. They told me it had been a crazy morning and to expect at least 2 more hours. So at noon I called them again. Again they told me it was even crazier than it was before and to expect to wait another 2-3 hours. So I patiently waited. It was hard. By this time it was 4pm. My baby was supposed to be in my arms by this time. No luck. By 6 o'clock they told me they would have a room in an hour. I was too tired and didn't feel like having a baby in the middle of the night. So we decided to wait till Saturday. I was first on the list for the following morning. The kids went to spend the night at my mom's house. Adam and I went on our last date. It was wonderful.

Saturday morning I woke up and found that my water had slightly ruptured and I had started having contractions. Finally my body was on my side! Today was the day!!! So the hospital called at 7:30am and we headed over a little after 8am.

Just minutes after her arrival...

By 9 O'clock I was hooked up with the IV. They had started me on Pitocin and given me an antibiotic for the group B Strep. About 45 minutes later the Doctor came and broke my water. Really shortly after that my contractions started to get really intense and really close together. I was scared I wasn't going to have time to get the epidural. I'm not gonna lie. It was scary. Luckily the Anesthesiologist got there in time and I was able to have the almighty epidural. Bless you women that have natural birth. I am not one of them. And I am okay with that. After I had the epidural, my body went numb and I entered euphoria at its best. I laid in my bed completely comfortable and peaceful for the first time in months. My body felt no pain. It was heaven. Absolute heaven.

About an hour and a half later the doctor came to check one me. I was shocked when he told me I was "complete. Let's have this baby!" I wasn't ready. I was not finished enjoying my peaceful break! No really I still had like 30 minutes before the antibiotic had been in my body long enough to ensure the baby wouldn't be affected. So we sat there and listened to the Dr. and Nurses talk about hospital politics as the minutes ticked away. At exactly 1:00pm I started to push. Charlotte was born at 1:07.

My first thoughts were, "She is so big!" She sure was! I am so grateful that she has a little extra chub on her for this winter season. We can use all the help we can get!!

The kids came a few hours later to meet their sister. It was absolutely precious. They were so excited . It was a priceless moment.

I have to say that even though I have been through this child birthing thing 2x before, it is never short of a miracle. I am so humbled. I am so grateful to my heavenly father for allowing me to experience one of the most beautiful days of my life. This little baby is an absolute joy and blessing from heaven. She is the perfect Christmas gift and will forever remind me of the true meaning of Christmas. Over this past weekend I couldn't help but think about Mary and Joseph. I thought about how there was "no room in the inn". In a weird way I related to Mary just a little bit. I am in awe as I look at her little angelic face. I can see the love of my Heavenly Father. I can see joy, peace, and hope. Joy in the present. I love my life. I love my little family. I will always try to find joy in the present journey of life. Hope and Peace in the future. Sometimes I think the future is a scary thing. The world seems to become more and more wicked by the day. Sometimes I will find myself wondering how I can let my children go out into this world. It scares me. But when I look at the face of this little angel, I am assured that Heavenly Father has a plan. My little children have a part in that plan. As much as I want to protect my little ones; they have so much to give, so much to offer. I know it. They will be successful. I am sure of it. Heavenly Father has a plan for them.

What a beautiful gift it is...to be a Mother.

For unto us a daughter is given!

Christmas countdown

Okay...this is the last "project" that I will share. I realize that was a lot but remember this is months and months worth of work. I had to keep myself busy all of those nights when my body wouldn't allow me to sleep!

Things have definitely slowed down at my house. I am scheduled to be induced on Friday morning...only 2 more days. I am so incredibly excited to 1) meet this sweet little child and 2) to not be pregnant any more. Any way....thank you for all of your sweet comments. You are all so kind!

That being said here is the last of the "To Do List"...

I love the Holidays. Even more than the Holidays I love tradition. Ever since I started my own family I have been on the look out for fun traditions I think my family would enjoy. This year I hope to start one that will last years to come. This is a Christmas Count down. I didn't exactly find this "idea" any where. I found a few things that were similar but I just made it conducive to my little family.

Each little card has a front and a back. The front of the card has a picture of an activity that we will do together as a family. There are all sorts of things. Some are really simple activities. Some will require some planning. Therefore there are no numbers on the back of the cards. {maintain a little bit of control when planning the month}

Some of the activity ideas are: Sledding, singing Christmas songs, watching family videos, writing Santa a letter, watching a Christmas movie, making sugar cookies, going to temple square to see the lights. Basically it is all of the "activities" we would do during the month of December but this way the kids have a little bit if extra excitement and may remember that their parents did "fun" things with them!

Christmas Advent Calendar

When I was a little girl {and still to this day} I had a favorite Christmas decoration. It was a count down to christmas. I loved it. We would fight over who got to put up which ornament on the tree. I wanted to make one for my own family to create memories of excitement and anticipation for Christmas.

The only problem...mine turned out hUGE! Oh well. Someday we'll get a bigger house...

To Do List cont. Little Fabric House

When I was a little girl, my mom made a little house for me. I loved it. I played with it for hours. She still has that little house and now Anna loves to play with it. My mom still has the 1985 McCall's pattern for this little house. I decided to make one for Anna. I think she will be excited!

Side view

Looking in. The little roof pulls open via velcro.

Back of House.

the sides unzip and fold down for maximum playing capacities!

I think I may have been more in love with the furniture than the house.

A little sitting chair.

The couch

And the Bed.

A perfect little home...

to house these cute little critters.

To Do List Cont. Bibs and Burp Rags

All of my old burp rags are gross and stained so I figured it was time for some new ones.

So simple to make. Just a basic rectangle with a little half circle cut out for your neck.

These are all lined with a padding as well as backed with a terry cloth fabric.

My kids are droolers. Like major droolers. Like I think some where along the line they missed the gene that allows them to learn to swallow for at least the first year of their life. They get it eventually but just not for a while. When Anna was little I would strap on as many bibs as her chubby neck would allow. With Quinn I obviously didn't try quite as hard. However with this baby I have done a little homework!

I have poured over websites and etsy stores for the "perfect" design. One time a long time ago I found a bib that looked something like the ones I made. I never found that site again. So I was left with the vague image in my brain for a pattern. I liked the unique idea of a little clip. I may be kicking myself some day when I am actually using them...we'll see.

I am so interested to see how this bib is going to work. It is lined with a special fabric found in the huge domestic fabrics. It is the stuff they use to make the linings you put on your kids' bed (for when the wet the bed). I told the ladies at JoAnn's my dilemma with my "special" drooling problems. This was the fabric they recommended. Apparently extremely absorbent.

I went to JoAnn's and picked out all of my favorite fabrics. (so fun) The fabric was all on sale this particular weekend and I got 1/4 yd of each. Out of that 1/4 yd I was able to make 2 bibs and a burp rag. I think it ended up costing like $.20 a piece. Not bad!!

I just made one clip to to match each set of bibs. All of the clips can work interchangeably.

Let's cross our fingers this little one stays dry!!