Carly's First Day

The news from the Carly Camp over at Plantation General is that Carly is already a genious. Not only has she passed her hearing exam (Jen is already insisting she get good grades by asking the nurse whether she got an "A"), but she is learning to nurse and has filled 5 times as many diapers as the other babies. She's apparently robustly healthy...

Jen is feeling great, thanks to the fantastic pain management system in place at PGH. When I called today I was shocked to hear such a chipper "Hello, Anita!" especially only one day after surgery...Jen did say there's discomfort when she has to get up and walk, which the nurses have made her do 2 times, but it's manageable, even if the walking around part is not exactly Jen's favorite part of the day.

Grandma Jody has snapped a couple more shots...one of Carly (where Jennifer swears you can see she has Daddy Storm's ears!) and one of the giant stork that is now sitting on the front lawn at Jen's place to welcome them home!

I'll be dropping by tomorrow to bring Jen a decent lunch and generally walk around holding Carly and talking silly baby talk to her! I'll take more pics then...

More news tomorrow -- Anita

Carly Makes Her First Photo Appearance

For those of you keeping up, heeeeeeeeere's Carly!

Welcome to the World!

Please welcome Baby Carly...as of this posting, only 5 and a half hours old.

Carly was born at 12:50pm at Plantation General Hospital and weighed 6 lbs, 3 oz. She was 19 inches long! Grandma Jody says she has a nice little fuzz of light brown hair and beautiful pink cheeks...

Mom and baby are doing great and looking forward to coming home in a couple of days...

Pictures coming soon!

CarlyWatch-March 28: Start Your Engines...

Hi CarlyWatchers....the big news is coming our way today! Jen called this morning and it looks like the fluid levels never went up any further, and in fact, started to go back down, so the doctor says it's time to go get Carly!

It didn't happen at 7AM as expected but the c-section WILL happen today...Dr. C has appointments for c-sections every two hours on Fridays, so all that needs to happen is to slip Jen into one of those time slots, and approximately 30 minutes later, we'll have a baby...

Jen really appreciates all of your well-wishes...please keep her in your thoughts today as she prepares to bring her daughter into the world!

More news as it happens -- Anita

CarlyWatch-March 27, Part 2

Hello CarlyWatchers...more news from Plantation General this evening!

Looks like Jen is being prepped for a 7AM c-section...the doctor will perform the tests to determine if the fluid has increased significantly...if not, Jen will be whisked right into delivery on the assumption that the fluid levels are not going to get much higher. He thinks this is likely to be the case.

But Jen's ready! Her friend Vivian has already been over to the hospital and helped Jen wash her hair, paint her nails clear and generally get cleaned up in preparation for the fact that she's probably not going to feel much like primping after surgery. Check out this pic of the pretty mommy-to-be!

I'll have more in the morning...Fingers crossed, everyone! -- Anita

CarlyWatch-March 27

Hello friends of Jen -- Anita here, again...the IV fluids have increased Jen's amniotic fluid from a 3 to a 4. Since there was a slight improvement, there was no c-section planned yet.

All of the tests will be repeated tomorrow...if the fluids continue to increase then we can sit and wait a few more days. It's possible Jen will remain in the hospital during this time, but we have to wait and hear more tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Jen's in good spirits, if not getting a bit bored....at my last call she was contemplating a new manicure and pedicure since the hospital requires you only have clear or light nail polish on before a c-section. So it's goodbye, for now, to Jennifer's favorite red toe polish!

Here's a new picture of Carly, face-forward...you can see the nose, an eye and the lips and cheek! Hi Carly!

That's today's report...stay tuned!

Hello from the Hospital...This Might Be IT!

Hello everyone! Jen's friend Anita here...Jen entered the hospital today, so this is being dictated by Jen to me, her official "Birthing Communications Coordinator." I'm proud to be a small cog in Jen's Pregnancy Posse and Birthing Entourage. I'll be blogging, emailing and phoning all the news as it happens over the next few exciting days...

Here's the story...
Went to Dr. R for a checkup today to specifically check on my amniotic fluid level. Normal range for the amniotic fluid is 10-20. Two weeks ago I was a 7 and today I was 3. Yikes...where is the fluid going? It certainly doesn't seem to be streaming down my leg!

So Dr. R, for the second time, took me in to the special "We've got to talk"room in his offices and told me we had to check into Plantation General as soon as possible for monitoring and IV fluids in the hopes we can get the fluid levels back up to normal. It was big news, but as I left his office we were actually smiling at the fact that we have a 35-week-old, 6 lb 2 oz baby on our hands. The last time we were in this room, we didn't know if we would make it this far.

Mom and I went home and grabbed my bag 'o stuff and went to this hospital. I'll be here at least overnight with an IV and fetal monitoring. Tomorrow morning at 8AM'ish they'll do a sonogram to check fluid levels. If they have gone up I'll be discharged and if not, I'll be having a c-section on Thursday or Friday because Baby Carly is breech. Doc says it's a 70% change I'll be having myself a baby in the next 48 hours.

What a perfect time for this to happen -- no Baby Daddy (he's in Philly on business) and no Birthing Coach (she's in Atlanta on business). But that's OK because today is also full of great news...

I've officially hired a nanny!
Nanny Charity "signed on" today and has just left the hospital after a little visit with me this evening. I'm very excited about her being Baby Carly's nanny...she has lots of great experience and we really clicked. She actually has some Doula experience, so she might just join me in the delivery room if she can.

And finally...meet the Entourage!
Speaking of the delivery room, I've finalized my Birthing Entourage and I just want to share it with you. The Birthing Entourage is the group of friends who have gathered together to help me through this special time...

Silvia -- Birthing Coach and Official Baby Protector
It's Silvia's job to be with me in the delivery room and help me keep focused. She will also be dispatched to follow Baby Carly once she is born, to be printed, weighed and cleaned up after we have spent our first few minutes together. The hospital requires this to make sure there are no switcheroos!
Vivian--Official Photographer/Videographer
Vivian is working the digital and video cameras in the delivery room with Scorsese-like skill to ensure we record all the best moments! Note to Vivian from Anita -- stay away from recording Jen's "Lady Business" -- no one needs to see that.
Grandma and Grandpa Barr -- The Welcome Wagon
The Barr grandparents will act as the welcoming committee for those who visit me. They get to tell people when to go home if I'm tired!!
Storm -- Baby Daddy-to-Be
His job is to work on making it home to see his daughter.
Anita -- Communications Coordinator
It's Anita's job to make sure you all know what is going on! She writes all the news that's fit to print!
Jill -- Stork Committee and Keeper of the Cat
Jill is having an 8-ft stork put in the front yard so that when I come home, everyone will know Baby Carly's in the house!! And of course, her most important role is that she is the official Mandy-sitter. Mandy needs love during this stressful time -- plus she can't sleep without her Milk-Treat!

OK -- that's all from me! I'm tired....Good night!

From Anita: as they say in the news biz, "More news as it happens!" Talk to you tomorrow with a Jen update.