We made it to 6 weeks ....

Hello!
I thought it might be time for a new blog with some Charlie updates. It's funny how I am home all day, yet don't find any time to even get a simple blog completed. I am still learning how to balance a baby on one arm and get something done with the other. This Mom thing is sure harder than I could have imagined, yet so incredibly rewarding.
Charlie is doing really well so far, he is starting to put on some weight and has the CUTEST cheeks you could imagine. Our life consists entirely of eating, changing and sleeping, sounds exciting, right? The doctor told us to limit his exposure to the public until he was at least 6 weeks, so we have been staying mostly indoors. He is growing so fast though, and it's amazing to just look back on the past 6 weeks and see how much he has already changed. In the past few days he has started to really smile and make direct eye contact, and I cry EVERY time he gives me a gummy grin. That smile more than makes up for all the sleepless nights and dirty diapers. It's true that you don't ever know how much you can love another human until you have a child, it's such a different kind of love. We feel so lucky to have him in our lives.
We had a wonderful time with Grandma Joan here, we even went to the "Garden of the Gods" down in Colorado Springs. I am pretty sure Charlie won't remember how much fun we had....but he enjoyed the fresh air. It was such a help to have a knowledgeable and veteran Mom around the house, and we cannot even express how much we appreciated having her here. I cried for a long time when she left us to our own devices :-) Grandma Norine is coming down to visit and help out as of tomorrow, so we are really looking forward to having her here. I might even get a NAP on my own....that is very exciting.
Ben is leaving on his first business trip away from us, and we are all dreading it. Ben is a natural Daddy and it's so much fun to see him with his son. I can tell they are going to be the best of buddies as Charlie grows. It's amazing to see your husband as a father, and I could not ask for a more loving, attentive Dad to our baby boy.
All in all, we are doing pretty well adjusting to life as a family. The furry kids are acting out a bit, but I guess that is to be expected as they have been our babies for so long. Maybe they'll be happy when they realize that I have a human baby to dress up for Halloween this year and they won't be subjected to their usual demeaning pet costumes.
I have added some of our favorite pictures of Mr. Charlie in the past few weeks. We are pretty sure he is the cutest and smartest baby on the planet (wow, we are starting to sound like parents...) but we're pretty sure you'll agree as well.
Love to everyone!!
Ben, Tova and Charlie

Introducing Charles Thomas Daniels

We are so exited to announce Charlie's long awaited arrival on the 11th of September. He weighed in at an impressive 9 lbs and 2 oz and is 22 inches long.
My water broke on September 10th at 2 in the afternoon. We had my 39 week appointment scheduled with the OB at 3, but we immediately headed to the hospital. I started having mild contractions around 4 and got an epidural around 10 pm, unfortunately, it did not work as well as it should have. I am just one of those unlucky people that don't respond well to the medication. I labored for around 20 hours and pushed for 1 extremely long hour. There was always a worry that I wouldn't be able to deliver without a c section, and that was indeed the case. Charlie was just not descending and pushing wasn't working. All of the labor and pain was worth it as we welcomed a healthy baby boy at 1:08 pm on September 11th.
As for his birthday, we welcome the day as a blessing. Of course Charlie's birthday will always be a day of remembrance for those who lost their lives on September 11th, but we choose to celebrate it as a new beginning. The day is especially sentimental to Ben's family as September 11th is the birthday of Ben's uncle Thomas. He died young of a neurological disorder, and Charlie's middle name is in his honor. We feel like it was meant to be....and maybe Uncle Tom had a little something to do with the day of his arrival.
We were lucky enough to have Ben's Mom, Norine, here for Charlie's arrival. She flew down from Seattle the instant she heard my water had broken. It was so nice to have her here, and words can not describe how excited she is to have a grandson!! My Mom arrived from Germany last Wednesday to help out for three weeks, we are incredibly lucky to have such great new grandmas around. Charlie loves both of them so much, we just wish that we all lived closer together. It will be so sad when Grandma Joan has to leave to go back to Germany again.
We are now home and adjusting to life with a newborn, and it is something you can never truly prepare for!! It is amazing how you can just stare at a tiny face for hours on end and not get bored. Every little move or noise he makes seems like a miracle, we are just so happy to have him here. Ben has adjusted to life as a Dad so quickly, he loves his little boy more than I can say. He is an amazing help with everything, his specialty right now is diapering. I am loving being a Mom, it is just indescribable and truly does not feel real yet. I am starting to recover from the c section and feeling a little more like myself again.
Thanks for all of your well wishes throughout our journey so far. We are so excited to start our life as a family.
Love,
Ben, Tova and Charlie

Nursery

We finally got the nursery all together. Ben worked so hard to get it done while I supervised ;) We obviously went with the nautical theme in honor of Ben's passion! We are all ready for you now Charlie......

38 weeks!!

We had our 38 week appointment today and had an additional ultrasound to check on Charlie's growth. Luckily, everything looked great.....he is still just BIG. His current estimated weight is 8 lbs 5 oz and he was measuring in the upper 90th percentile for everything else. The good news is, the doctors want me to go into natural labor and see if I can birth this big boy ;) If I don't progress, or there is any fetal distress, we'll move straight to a c section. Both Ben and I feel really confident and happy with that plan of action, all we care about is a healthy baby and safe delivery. They are predicting he'll be close to 10lbs if we go full term, wow!! Now it is just a waiting game to see when he decides to show up......

I am doing ok, definitely feeling the effects of late pregnancy. Everything is hard to do now, it's so bizarre to not be in control of your own body anymore. All the moms reading this know exactly how that feels.... Ben is doing really well and is SO excited to meet his boy. He attended "Daddy Boot Camp" on Monday and got to change a REAL, LIVE baby!! He felt more confident about his Daddy abilities after leaving class. I am proud of him :-)

Here is something fun to take a look at. Grandma Norine sent us this picture of Ben at about one hour old, and I am posting the 3D ultrasound picture of Charlie. Do they look alike to you???

We'll keep you updated and be on the lookout for an email or phone call when Charlie makes his way into our lives. We cannot WAIT to meet him......

Love to everyone,

Ben and Tova