Charlie Marchant Ritchey

It happened on its own. And it was a beautiful, beautiful moment. Charlie Marchant Ritchey joined the world on July 1, 2010 at 5:41 a.m. weighing 7 pounds, 8 ounces and 20 inches long. I wept. John wept. Secretly, it was "Charlie" we were hoping for... and it was Charlie that arrived. It was a moment we will never forget. A memory forever engraved so brilliantly in our minds. And the result... a beautiful, healthy baby boy! He is just perfect.... a furrowed brow just like his big brother had, unusually long fingers, an entire head of silky dark brown hair and a his Mama's nose and feet (sorry Charlie:-). He is just perfection.

I was scheduled to be induced on July 1st anyway, but I began to go into labor at home, naturally, before we could go in for induction. Wednesday night about 11:00 my "water broke" but I wasn't sure if that's what happened or not. With Adrey it was a huge gush of fluid that was unmistakable... this time it was just a little bit... certainly not a gush. Just after midnight I felt my first contraction. I left the bedroom so as not to wake up John and Adrey (yes, I had to have Adrey sleep with us his last night as an "only child") and went to the family room, grabbed the iPad and started checking blogs to pass the time, all the while keeping a watchful eye on the clock and counting contractions. I was having them every 5 minutes almost on the dot. At 1:30 I woke up John and told him we needed to go to the hospital. His reaction you ask? I believe as he was rolling over trying to get comfortable after being woken up it was something like... "Can't it wait until 6:00 that's when we were supposed to go to the hospital anyway, right?" LOL! I didn't even respond and it only took him another minute before he was out of bed and packing his bag! I quick called Jen and Mike and told them it was "showtime" and that we'd be there shortly with Adrey, as they were going to watch him for us (so that Sarah and my parents could come to the hospital). As we were driving to the hospital, my contractions became only 3 minutes apart and I didn't think I should go with John to drop Adrey off... so John dropped me off at the hospital, curbside! LOL!! A security guard came and got me with a wheelchair and John drove off and returned to the hospital about 30 minutes later!

By the time I got in the room it was about 2:30 a.m. and they got me all hooked up. The contractions continually getting stronger and more painful each time. I was 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced at that point. About 3:45 (times approximate... I was in labor not totally sure of the timing!) I was given the epidural and was 7.5 cm dilated. About 4:00 I had the official "gush" of my water breaking and by 4:45 I was fully dilated! It was CRAZY how quickly it all transpired!! The doctor was called about 5:15. The nurse asked me if I wanted to push a couple times so she could get a feeling how quickly the baby would move through the birth canal. I pushed twice and she quickly told me to "STOP" because she could see the baby's head! She said I'd have the baby in no time once the doctor arrived. Dr. Brothers arrived less then 10 minutes later. She suited up and at about 5:35 I started pushing. Two pushes into it, the baby's head was out, the respiratory team swooped in to remove any fluid from the baby's mouth (based on the color of my water when it broke she said the baby had had a bowel movement in the womb which can be toxic if swallowed). And two more pushes later our sweet Charlie was with us! I learned from John it was a boy. And I cried. I cried hard. And I hugged and kissed John and told him how much I loved him. I witnessed John crying hard too. It was a beautiful moment. I could see Charlie being poked, prodded, measured, weighed, etc. and at first glance, from across the room, I could see ADREY in him! It was so special. I couldn't wait to get my hands on him. It seemed like an eternity before I got to hold him. But it was the sweetest moment when he was finally handed to Mama. Oh, the tears continued to flow. I keep reliving the moment and hope that it stays this clear and with this much emotion for the rest of my life. There is NOTHING more beautiful than becoming a mother. And it's no less beautiful the second, third, fourth time around. Charlie was so quiet and alert the first couple hours after birth (but has barely woken up since... LOL!), kind of just taking it all in. Just precious.

I had to get pictures of Dr. Brothers, whom we love so much. She's an amazing doctor and has such a way with people. So comforting.

The three of us. And when we get home, the four of us.

Mom, Dad and Sarah all arrived minutes after the baby was born!

Daddy had on his "It's a BOY!" shirt to spill the beans when they arrived. The "It's a GIRL!" shirt is still unworn... as fresh and crisp as can be!

The birth was a piece of cake (birthday cake, to be specific)... and to think I had been worrying about that moment for the last 8 months! Within 5 hours of giving birth I had showered and felt like a new woman and 6 hours later the room was FILLED to the brim with friends and family and it stayed that way for the rest of the day! A constant flow of love just pouring in. I loved every moment of it and loved showing off our new addition to the world. Oh, and the flowers... the blessed, beautiful, sweet smelling flowers... they just kept coming and our room smelled like a flower store. It was wonderful!!

Big Brother Adrey arrived... and initially couldn't have cared less about Little Bro Charlie! He was way more interested in all the attention he was getting from all the people in the room. He was being such a ham. He ESPECIALLY liked the hanging curtain which he was running through at full speed.

Every once in a while stopping to look at Charlie, but he never hung around long!

Until asked to give him a kiss and he saw that ALL EYES IN THE ROOM were on him, so he obliged... ANYTHING for an audience!!

Jen and Mike brought Adrey to the hospital and then Adrey left with Sarah and spent the night at their house. John got this picture of him leaving the hospital with his overnight bag, to include his new teddy bear that Aunt Sarah got him... its shirt reads "Big Brother Adrey". This picture melts my heart. Oh. My. Cuteness. I can't even stand it....

We were released from the hospital Friday about 4:3o p.m.. Again, the speed at which all this happened STILL amazes me!!!

On the way home from the hospital I thought to myself how when we got home from the hospital with Adrey, Sarah had put a sign in the front yard announcing his birth and decorated our home so beautifully. I remember crying I was so happy. I was a little sad knowing we weren't going "home home" and that our home wouldn't be decorated to welcome our newest peanut. It never DAWNED on me (but I should have figured) that my sister and parents would decorate our home-away-from-home. It was so heart-warming coming home to THIS. I love my family and am so blessed.

See what I mean when I say FLOWERS?!?!

And we got Adrey a train set as a gift for becoming a BIG BROTHER, a role I know he will take on gracefully. So far, so good. He hasn't seemed to be affected by it.... yet. We find him peering over Charlie every now and again just trying to figure it all out. He likes to touch the baby. And I make Charlie "talk" to Adrey... I hold Charlie upright and then say things like "Hi Adrey... it's your brother Charlie.... I love you!"... And Adrey thinks it's a riot. I think he's still waiting, though, for Charlie's parents to come get him so that we can get on with our lives!

Adrey LOVES the train set.

John and his boys. A proud papa, for sure.

My beautiful family of FOUR!! Never in my life have I been this happy. I didn't know this amount of joy was possible. It's the best feeling in the world. I love my family more than life itself. I am truly, truly blessed.

And Nana visited us for a second time yesterday... and brought us homemade soup and cookies. Nana, by the way, is healthier than ever. She made a FULL recovery and is doing awesome. Once again, I am so blessed.

Charlie is laying next to me, quietly just looking around, as I write this post. He takes these long sweet breaths and makes these very faint squeeks which is absolutely adorable. Oh, and his yawns... please help me... his yawns are simply the best. I could watch him yawn all day long... his mouth opens and goes slightly crooked. His cheeks are as soft as butter and a stork gently kissed his right eyelid leaving a little red mark. His hiccups are this high-pitched squeek that can be heard from another room... and his wittle sneezes are always 4 or 5 in a row! He really only cries when he's cold... he's not a fan of being changed! He is the most chill baby!!

Charlie Marchant... you are only 3 days old and have brought to us more joy than we ever thought imaginable. You are perfect beyond words. We can't wait to get to know you better. We love you whole-heartedly infinitely.

P.S. The name Charles (Charlie) we just like, but Marchant was my late Grandfather's name. We love and miss you, Grandpa. We know you are looking down on us smiling. We can feel it.