#bedrestproblems: 2/9/16: Charlie Brady FAQ

Thanks to everyone for giving Charlie such a warm welcome to the world! We've been getting a lot of questions about how things are going so I put together a list of most frequently asked questions about our little Charlie and his adventures.

How is Charlie doing? He's amazing! While he was born small in weight (only 3 lbs 13 oz.), he was a good length and head circumference so the doctors aren't concerned about his size. He's breathing completely on his own, digesting breast milk well and starting to gain weight. We're even experimenting with actual breast and bottle feeding and he's getting the hang of it little by little. The doctors are really impressed! I'll take a moment to brag about the fact that the nurses are fighting over who gets to take care of him. They keep telling us we are really lucky to have such a sweet and mellow baby. He definitely gets that from the Brady side of the family.
How long will Charlie be in the NICU? Looks like 1-2 more weeks. In order to go home, he'll need to be taking all of his food by breast or bottle and maintaining a normal body temperature and he's making good progress in both of those areas.
How big is he now? Today Charlie weighed in at 4 lbs 1.5 oz!
What is it like in the NICU? UW has a very state of the art NICU that was recently renovated, so thankfully that means Charlie has his own room- which is very rare for a NICU. The room has a bench that converts into a bed for one person to stay overnight so Aaron and I have been taking turns staying with him. Its very different than when I was in the antepartum unit. Its a very sterile environment so there isn't a ton of personal space and there are a lot of limitations on what we can have in the room. We also use a shared bathroom for all the families. And because I'm not a patient anymore we're on our own for food, which brings me to my next question...
Can you still order milkshakes? Sadly, the milkshake days are over.
What are your days like? Days are a little hectic but we're getting into a groove now- at least until Aaron goes back to work next week. We do a lot of running back and forth to the house (which thankfully is so close) to get things we need, eat or just to get stuff ready for Charlie to come home. He needs to eat every 3 hours and now that he is learning to eat on his own, I want to make sure I'm with him as much as possible.
Is it stressful? A little bit. Thankfully Charlie's progress has been so good that its less stress about him, although of course we're on high alert all the time and every random beep in the room sends my blood pressure through the roof. Its mostly just the challenges of breastfeeding, recovering from the delivery, getting the house ready and dealing with our normal lives that is hard. We're definitely managing but the sleep deprivation is starting to take a toll and is apparent in my new disheveled look. I have been rolling around the NICU in a robe and uggs. Its very Britney Spears. Overall, we know we are really lucky. As much as I wish he was still in my belly right now, we have found so many hidden blessings in this experience. We have the most highly trained babysitters round the clock for him and are learning so much from them. We also are loving every single second with Charlie and aren't taking a bit of it for granted.
Do you miss being on bed rest? Not gonna lie. I could've kept going for several more weeks and have been just fine. Now that Charlie is here though, it feels like ages ago.
Was it so nice to get out of the hospital and go home for the first time? Not at all. About mid-week the hormones really surged and it happened to be when I was experiencing normal things again for the first time. I would have complete meltdowns and start sobbing uncontrollably. I know that was really fun for Aaron. It was such a weird feeling, I just didn't want to be doing normal things because I knew it wasn't normal for my baby to still be in the hospital and for me to not be with him. Driving still triggers it sometimes which is super safe when I haven't driven a car in 6 weeks and I can't see because tears are squirting from my face. As soon as I walked into the house for the first time, it was the most awful feeling. It felt so foreign and I instantly didn't want to be there. Its starting to feel better when I'm there but Charlie's room in the NICU still feels more like home than our house. I don't think it will really be home again until all 3 of us are there. Okay- starting to cry so I need to move on to the next question!
Who does Charlie look like? Not sure. Sometimes he looks like Aaron. Sometimes he looks like my Dad. Most of the time he just looks like a baby.
How did you decide on a name? We started calling him Charlie Brown after our first ultrasound because its exactly what he looked like to me. Then we realized that we actually liked the name Charlie. We also think it suits him pretty well. Now I just need Aaron to stop calling him Jazzy Chazzy and singing show tunes to him. Kiyoon is his Korean name. My parents chose it by taking a syllable from Aaron's Chinese name and my dad's name.
Did the doctors induce you or did the labor just start? It just happened. I thought it was just gas or heartburn (sorry TMI) because I'd had a taco salad for lunch and Kristin came over for dinner so we ordered Papa John's (I know- a very fitting last meal before delivering). But gas pain doesn't typically come and go every 4 minutes so the doctors started monitoring me and as the contractions got more intense I knew I was in labor and off we went to a delivery room.
What was the delivery like? 3 words: natural, fast and intense. For everyone's sake, I'll spare you the details. Anyone who wants the full re-hash can call me anytime =). Aaron was amazing. While I'm sure he probably felt like a helpless bystander, he held my hand the entire time and encouraged me just the right amount and at just the right times. But we really would've been freaking out if it weren't for our doula, Debra. I had read books but I really didn't know what to expect and she assured us that everything happening was totally normal during the entire process. She got both me and Aaron through the craziest experience of our lives.
Did you watch the Super Bowl? Yes, as in it was on while we both passed in and out of consciousness.
Did you ever finish the booties? Yes! But he's got a little growing to do before he can fit into them.
Can we see some more pictures? Careful what you ask for!