one whole month.

**all photographs in this post are by summer photography**

{and these aren't even the cutest - we're keeping those a surprise for christmas presents!}

on saturday, our lil' miss turned ONE month old. uhhhh... what? 

if you've ever had a newborn, you know that as fast as the time goes, it also can go SO slow. that's how i feel. looking back, it seems so fast and yet it still feels like a HUGE blur! i can't remember what i did an hour ago - yet it feels like just yesterday we were in the hospital!

i realized also that i haven't even told about when charlotte was born.... so.... for MY sake here's a quick recap:

since i had a c-section with brady {he was laying straight across} we went with our dr's recommendation to have another c-section with the second. we scheduled it for the 11th. woo-hoo, a planned trip to the hospital. so much easier with a toddler at home! we were so excited and sooooo ready. 

we got to the hospital at 10 a.m. and i felt like we didn't have to wait at ALL to get into our room. {last time i felt like we were in the waiting room for at least an hour}. they got me hooked up and started with the millions of questions, tests, etc. soon enough, they asked me if i was in any pain. i told them i was really uncomfortable but i wouldn't say 'pain'. i knew i was having BH contractions but apparently..... they were VERY regular and pretty 'intense' to be BH. so..... i apparently was actually in labor even though i was never dialated or effaced. {i just have to put that in there!}

an hour after we were scheduled, they wheeled me into the OR. i hadn't really thought about it at all - but as soon as i was in there - without my dear husband - i got EXTREMELY anxious. i mean, i'm not really an anxious person and i.was.shaking. {it's cold in there too - but they put what seemed like 10 hot blankets on me and i was still shaking}. they were concerned as they were giving me the epidural/spinal tap because i was so stiff... i could.not.relax.

finally, jeff came in there and they got started right away. at 1:11 our little charlotte was born. {not to her liking though... the doctor had to literally get up on the table & put her knee on my chest to push her down & out...}. and in case you didn't notice - she was born on 11/11 at 1:11. {yup - the nurses asked dr. wells if he could do it - and he said he didn't think so - but apparently he did!!} p.s. i remember them saying the first cut was at 1:05. it was that quick.

charlotte came out screaming. much different than her brother, but much more like her personality, i'm coming to realize. i was so grateful - with brady i panicked because he didn't make any noise, but charlotte was making noise as SOON as she could!

brady did great at the hospital. much better than i could have ever hoped for or expected. it was a true answer to prayer. the first week at home was hard for brady {and me} - although he didn't associate the differences with charlotte. he was mad at me and didn't want to have anything to do with me at certain points... which, of course, would hurt any momma's feelings. but now that we're in somewhat of a routine, he's pretty great.... not to mention, GREAT with her. 

so the first month with charlotte was......... blessed, rough, wonderful & a blur all in one. there's a reason that GOD makes you forget what it's like having a newborn - or you'd never have another one. now that we're adjusted to the 'lack' of sleep it's not too bad. you just go with it. but let me just say this: she is NOT a sleeper. brady always was. with a little 'training' from momma, he slept great during the day {still does} and at night he was a champ. i don't remember ever really letting him cry this young - but with her - man, she just likes to be up.... BUT we're working on it and maybe making a little progress??? i dare say that because last night we actually got 4 hours of sleep in a row after an extremely rough week at nightime. hmmm....

she has beautiful gray eyes. they kind of deepen in their 'gray-ness' with every day. i wonder what color they'll end up as - but i love the gray and would LOVE for them to stay that way. i have dark brown eyes - like brady's - and jeff's are greenish brown with yellow specks... so if they end up gray i have no idea where that comes from.

she is staying 'awake' remotely after every feeding the last few days. hopefully this will help with the nights, right??

she has an adorable 'button' nose. again, we have NO idea where this comes from. 

she doesn't seem to really like to be in her carseat. too bad, since she's in it A LOT. 

recovery for me has been waaaaay better emotionally than with brady. enough said on that. 

physically - i've had a lot more 'weird' things going on - but all normal. the good news was that my blood pressure/pulse issue has not surfaced AT ALL since i gave birth. no shortness of breath, no racing pulse or lightheadness. praise the lord. i'm so thankful.