The Monday Mess

COVID has made it difficult to figure out how family would meet our little Charlie. With friends, it was easier. We just wouldn't let friends close to or hold him. It wasn't the easiest pill to swallow, but the choice didn't keep us up at night since many are in health care and easily understand the added risks there. But family... family is tough. The idea of keeping family at a distance truly broke our hearts. After he was born, there were many tear filled days as I sat knowing that we would be the only ones that knew him on this day at this time. These are moments that families treasure, all the milestones.  We went into our birth with everyone, including us, not knowing when Charlie would meet family. Our families patiently waited for a sign from us on how this would go. We didn't know. We still don't know if we have the right answers. Are we being too risky? Are we being overly cautious?  What we ended up with: anyone who would hold our baby needed a mask and a...

It's been a while since I sat down to blog. When I closed down the photography and editing business, I also shut down my website and blog permanently. However, as I sat down to write out Charlie's birth story, I kept reverting to my blogging voice! It's comfortable and what I'm used to when sharing our personal life. So here we go again with the Monday Mess!  At 39 weeks pregnant, when they tell you that you are full term, you start to envision going into labor because "it could happen at any moment." This is a blessing and a curse since being ready feels exhilarating, but waiting patiently for the biggest moment of your life is exhausting. Each contraction, each twinge of back pain, each bubble of gas has you wondering, "IS THIS IT??" For us, it was always no, nope, nah, maybe later, HA GOTCHA. At 40 weeks and zero signs of labor, we set up our back up plan with the midwives. They suggested induction between 41 and 42 weeks, if labor didn't star...