Charlotte's Birth Story.
I know it's been ages since I've written here but I wanted to write down Charlie's birth story so I could remember it.
Her whole pregnancy was so different from Hannah's and Deveroux's. With Hannah and Dev we got pregnant so quick and easy that we for sure thought it'd bet the same way when we decided it was time for another baby. Low and behold that wasn't the case at all. It took us 9 months to get little Charlie. I know to some people that isn't long and people wait months and even years to get pregnant if at all, but to us 9 months was a long time. It was hard for me when the first few months came by and nothing happened. I'd cry and Sean would console me. We'd try again and again to no avail. Then on November 18 2015 mid day I decided to take a pregnancy test. I'd been having heart burn and was super tired and wondered if those were any signs. I took the pregnancy test and low and behold there was the faintest little line that I was pregnant. At first I didn't believe it because it was such a faint line. I told Sean to look at it and he immediately saw that line. I started crying. I was SO excited and couldn't believe it. The next morning I took another pregnancy test and sure enough there was a good solid pink line. Of course just to be sure, I took 4 more tests and they all came up positive. We were having another baby!
The morning sickness set in and I was sick as a dog during Christmas break and well into my second trimester. Finally around 22 weeks I started feeling much better. We learned we were having another girl and I was thrilled. I would've been thrilled with another boy, but I was happy that we were having another girl so we wouldn't have to buy any more clothes. Hannah was born in September and this baby was due August 4th so it was perfect since Dev was born in March and the seasons didn't match up.
Summer crept around the corner and I was miserable. It was the hottest summer I could remember. I would walk outside and immediately feel like I was suffocating and would start to sweat profusely. Mid July came around and I was so big and hot and miserable. At my 36 week appointment I was dilated to a 2 and 50% effaced. Then a week later I was dilated to a 3+ and 80% effaced so my body was progressing. My mom wouldn't be coming up due to health reasons. I was really nervous this baby would come Pioneer weekend because my mother in law was heading down to cedar city for the Shakespearian Festival. I'd also been having braxton hicks for months. Some were so strong they would take my breath away. Sean and I joked that this baby was ready so make her way here early and that she better stay put till after pioneer day. I even joked with him one night when I'd had a really hard braxton hicks contraction that she'd come on the 20th of July.
Monday the 18th I was feeling horrible. My friend Amy and I had gone on walks everyday morning since she'd had her baby in May. We'd finished our walk and told her I felt miserable and was going to take it easy for the rest of the day if at all possible. That night I started having contractions every 8 minutes on the dot. I was so uncomfortable and miserable that Sean told me to go to the hospital and get checked to see if I was in labor. So at midnight there I was at the hospital being monitored. My contractions were still consistent and every 7-8 minutes but I hadn't dilated any further so they sent me home. I tried to sleep but couldn't. Finally around 5 am I got some sleep. The next day we to the kids swimming and I was still having contractions. I was miserable to say the least. Then Tuesday night at 2am I woke Sean up and asked him to give me a blessing of peace since I couldn't get any and I was so unhappy and uncomfortable. When his blessing was finished, we went to bed and I actually slept a good 4 hours and the contractions had stopped completely. At 6 am I rolled over and felt a gush of water leak out. I hurry and jumped up thinking I'd peed my pants but it was clear. I washed my face, put some clothes on, brushed my teeth and felt another trickle of water. I told Sean I think my water broke and was headed to the hospital.
I got to the hospital at 6:30 and they checked to see if my water had broke and sure enough it had. They got my checked in and we had to wait for a labor and delivery room. Apparently there was a full moon and had a busy night/morning (there were 14 births that day). When they got me to my room which was the same room I delivered Hannah in, they set me up and checked me. I was dilated to a 6+ and fully effaced. They got my IV in after a few attempts and got the ball rolling. I was strep B+ again with this baby so they had to give me antibiotics. I asked for ampicillin since it's nicer than penicillin. After 4 hours ( I had to wait at least 4 hours to make sure the meds were in my system) they added another dose of meds and checked me. By now it was 12pm and I was dilated to a 9+. Sean ran home to check on the kids and had to hurry back so he wouldn't miss the birth.
By 1pm I was fully dilated and ready to push. Dr. Thomas was the on call Dr, since my Dr. was out fo town. He was great and I really liked him. He was sewing up a C-section and my nurse Cherie was so worried she'd have to deliver my baby. Luckily Dr. Thomas came in just in time. He dressed, I positioned myself ready to push and 6 pushes later our sweet tiny little Charlotte Shauna Bowman was born. She was born at 1:12 pm weighing 7 pounds 11 ounces and 19 and a half inches long. She was absolutely beautiful. I cried the minute I saw her. I'd waited so long for her and she was finally here. She came on July 20th too! Sean and I had a good laugh at that.
Hannah and Dev came to see her and fell in love with her the minute they saw her. We are all just smitten by this perfect little bundle of joy. I could not be happier and more blessed to have this little girl here on earth with us and to be a mother to Hannah, Dev, and Charlotte.
Charlotte's name was a last minute name change as well. We were going to name her Jenni after Sean's great grandma but it just didn't feel right. Shauna (Sean's mom) mentioned the name Charlotte and Sean and I liked it. We wanted her name to have meaning and then I realized that Charlotte is the female name for Charles. Charles is my Grandpa Call's name. I've never met him. He passed away long before I was born but I loved hearing stories about him when I was little. I even have a picture of him on my mantle. I've always felt so close to him even though we've never met. So we named Charlotte after her great grandpa Call. He went by Charlie and so will she. Her middle name is after her grandpa Bowman (Sean's Mom). We wanted her to have a good strong name and name she could live up to. I believe she will. We just love her so so much.
