Charlie's Arrival

Just a quick post as my sweet little angel is sleeping...Charles Michael Kleffman made his entrance into the world on Tuesday January 17, 2006 after about 8 hours of labor. He was 10 pounds, 23 1/4 inches, a record for the hospital we delivered at (the previous record holder was Colin, my nephew). I cannot BELIEVE how big his is! I don't know where I was keeping him, but now I know why my pelvis and hips hurt so much those last two weeks. Present during delivery were my parents, my sister, and Christi Koch (an awesome friend), and of course my fantastic husband Jeff. I made it to 7 cm without an epidural, but after that they started to loose Charlie's heartbeat on the monitor because he was so low in my pelvis, so they had me lie down in the bed. At that point, I couldn't stand the pain because it really intensified when I laid down. Jeff kept me so focused and helped me stay in control, especially while they were putting the epidural in. I couldn't have done it without him. It was so amazing to have my family and Christi there too, because I felt so much love and support. My dad took pictures, and everyone else helped to rub my back, and keep me standing. Somehow I was able to push Charlie out in only around 12 pushes, which was great, since his cord was wrapped around his neck, and he was a bit blue when he came out. The nurse took him right away to get his circulation moving, and I had to wait a bit to hold him, which was hard. All is well now though, depsite a little jaundice. More later when it doesn't hurt to sit so much!! We are so blessed to have Charlie with us.