Little Miss Charlotte Ritchie!

HELLO HELLO HELLO! It feels like its been FOREVER since I last updated...its probably more due to the fact that there has been so much going on! My mother-in-law Mary was kind enough to share her extra laptop with me and I finally got access to the hospital's wireless network, so now I'll be able to keep everyone up to date on whats going on here (when I'm not too busy soaking in every minute of my little lady, that is!)

So, I guess the official news is SHE'S HERE!!

At my appointment last Monday they noiced that my amniotic fluid was "lower" than it had previously been, and decided to have me take it easy at home, keep myself hydrated and to see me again on Friday. Well, when I went back on Friday, they saw that the level had dropped even more and that I was starting to have some irregular contractions. Knowing our plan to deliver in Omaha, Dr. Palmquist made a few phone calls and all parties felt that it would be best for us to head that direction. They gave me a terbutaline injection to lessen my contractions and told me to pack my bags, hit the road and to go straight to Methodist labor and delivery. They got me all checked in, started my IV and started planning for my induction. Little did we know that little miss had other plans. Before we knew it my contractions were at every 2 minutes (though I could only detect about 1/2 of them). The combination of not dilating, low fluid and a few heart decelerations lead to the decision to proceed with a c-section. When I asked when they would do it the response was "no sooner than 20 minutes." HAHA! That seemed pretty soon to me! Anyway, less than than 4 hours after checking in, we got to meet our little girl 3 weeks early!

Charlotte (Charley) Delene Ritchie was born at 10:15 Friday night. She weighed 6lbs 2oz and is 18 and 3/4 inches long. The first thing they said when she was out was "Look at all that hair!" And let me tell you, she has a lot of it! It looks like it might be a little on the curly side, but since we haven't been able to get her a good bath, its hard to tell at this point. What I do know, though, is that she is the most beautiful little peanut I've ever laid my eyes on. Mom and Dad are totally smitten!

Charlotte has been doing really well over all. She is still on the prostaglandin to keep the ducts in her heart open until surgery. One of the side effects of this drug is some interference with the respiratory drive. After a few apnic episodes on Saturday night, they decided to intubate her and give her a chance to rest a little. It was hard to see, but I know that it was best for her. Its hard to see her going through the motions of crying, but not having any sound come out. They think that if surgery isn't going to be until later in the week, they might try to extubate her today, but thats all just talk at this point.

She had her 1st heart cath yesterday afternoon. Matt and I both told her ahead of time that she better cooperate and do whatever the doctors ask her to. From their report, she listened. They didn't find any suprises, so that is always a good thing. She was started on a heparin drip last night just to prevent any sort of clotting in her teeny tiny blood vessles, which is a possibility after caths. Her fetal echo results have all been confirmed, and now we are just waiting to find out when surgery will be.

Thank you all for the thoughts, prayers and well wishes. Matt, Charlotte and myself are all doing well and enjoying every second of our time as a new family. I'll be sure to keep posting as we know more...