I’m making myself sit down and write this before I forget too many details, although all I want to do right now is fall asleep with this little mouse on my chest.

Charlotte’s birth story has little to do with the physical aspect of how she was born, although that went extrememly well and was just as amazing the second time around as it was the first. I am so blessed that I’ve had two births that were uncomplicated, not too painful, and quick (I pushed 5 times). Oh, and note to those going for the medicated births like me- this time, I got the epidural before the pitocin, and yeah, huge difference! But really, the labor and delivery part was pretty standard…mild contractions all day Saturday, went to hospital Saturday night when they got closer together, labored all night without much progress, doctor broke my water in the morning, got epidural and pitocin which sped things up considerably, and she was born at 11:30. Bonus: I didn’t puke at all this time like I did with Grayson!

The story of last week has much more to do with the people who helped welcome our little girl into the world. Our little family is so blessed to be so loved and taken care of.

• Ryan, who stayed awake almost all night for me (I know he was scared what I would do if he fell asleep- ha!) and then was so proud to announce “It’s a Girl!” to me and then later, our family. He did say Charlotte had her legs crossed when she came out, so it took him a second to tell what she was- ha! Saturday I had bought him a blue shirt and a pink shirt- one of which to change into to tell our family. When he went to the waiting room wearing his pink shirt he said the excitement and screaming was like The Price is Right.

Proud Daddy in his pink shirt

• My doctor, who I absolutely love, was not on-call last weekend but came in anyway to deliver Charlotte. She came to the hospital at 6 am, talked to me and broke my water, went to church, then came back just in time for delivery (less than 10 minutes after she got back- she walked in the room and I said, “Let’s do this!”). I am so thankful that she was the one to deliver both my kiddos.

After tiny Grayson, I couldn’t believe how big she was!

First bath fun- ha! And this is pretty much how she still feels about baths

• My mom, who drove me to the hospital and stayed with us until 3 am. She went home to get a little sleep and check on Grayson and then was back in time for the birth. She has been SO helpful and my emotional rock the past 2 weeks.

• My great friend J, who was my impromptu doula/birth coach. She stayed with me all night and helped me with reading the monitors, positions to speed things up, and just being a wonderful support. I was so grateful she was there, and we had a lot of fun too!

• Another great friend, K, who gave me the gift of a supplemental newborn screen kit that tests for many more disorders than the standard state test. Although it doesn’t screen for Mito, it will give me great peace of mind to rule out all these other things. We should have the results in a few days.

• Charlotte’s nurse in the hospital, who just happened to be my friend L’s aunt. She saw on my record that I have a son with Leigh’s Disease and said that her great nephew has Leigh’s (L’s son). It was a crazy coincidence that ended up being a huge blessing- she took extra special care of us for two days.

• Rebecca, who flew in for the weekend to love on Grayson and Charlotte and to take newborn pics.

The shirt says it all!

• All the friends and family who came to visit us in the hospital, brought meals and generous gifts, and just generally have loved us and our new daughter these past few weeks. We love you all!

One funny story- a few hours before Charlotte was born, Ryan, J and I all made our predictions about boy/girl, birth time, and weight. Here are our guesses:

Um…so Charlotte’s PARENTS were totally off on everything, but J guessed the gender, and was 1 ounce off on birth weight and 2 minutes off on birth time- ha! Amazing.

Charlotte’s birthday was just wondeful- I woudn’t change anything, and we are just so grateful for our TWO beautiful children. We are so, so blessed!