HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLIE!
5/23/2016
How are you 4?! It feels like just yesterday we were announcing that I was pregnant with you, and here you are.. a spunky, loving, amazing FOUR. YEAR. OLD!
Let’s rewind and go back through your birth story..
Surprise! Baby #4 was arriving in June 2016.. we found out that I was pregnant about 2 weeks after Sam left for a 9 month deployment to Kuwait. I was nervous that I would struggle with Postpartum Depression/Anxiety with having 3 young kids (Daryl was only 6 months old)… but with the support of my parents and my husband on FaceTime, we made it through! It wasn’t all happy days, but overall, I was excited to welcome a new baby! We were so excited to find out if we were having a boy or a girl to add to our bunch..
It was a girl! Sam was excited to help announce her name! Charlie Faye Last!
Let’s fast forward to 34 weeks..
I had very high blood pressure with Daryl Drake and it never went down after I had him.. I was medicated for it but I was experiencing every tell tale sign of pre-eclampsia but my numbers never proved it.. Charlie looked “good” so I was always sent home saying “sorry you are blacking out and seeing spots, but the baby looks happy and healthy”
At my 34 week appointment is when I turned in a 24 hour urine and it was finally confirmed that I had Pre-Eclampsia. I was struggling with headaches that were SO severe I literally thought I was dying. The next morning I went to the L&D triage and fought for a second opinion with my high risk doctor who was 2 hours away. I was told to have my mom drive me there and as soon as I got there they admitted me, seeing that my case had become severe and started the induction to start labor.
My mom was with me, my in-laws made the trip from Iowa to Kansas City, KS and I had my husband on FaceTime..and I was scared to death as the NICU team came in and explained how everything would go. Over the course of the day my labor progressed but as I was given the epidural.. my blood pressure crashed. I have no memories of what happened except that I remember feeling like I was having an anxiety attack. My numbers crashed and I had to be resuscitated twice..and when I woke up I had about 20 medical professionals surrounding me saying it was time to get the baby out. It all happened so fast and was so scary but in the end it was worth it. Sam was on FaceTime watching and Charlie came into this world healthy and crying. I was able to hold her on my chest for about 30 second before they took her.
Because I had been given Magnesium to prevent a stroke, I had to lay in bed for 24 hours after they took me off of it.. but thankfully I had a nurse who understood my state of mind and how badly I just needed to touch my baby for my mental health. She helped get me into a wheel chair (magnesium + laying in bed for so long takes all muscle control away basically) and wheeled me down to the NICU to let me see Charlie for a few minutes.
It was so hard seeing my baby covered in wires, but her team was amazing and her room was a sleep in room so I was able to be in there with her at all times once I was released. Over the next few days, thanks to a Red Cross message.. Sam was able to come home and be with us (when she was 3 days old). He flew into Wichita, Kansas from Kuwait with tornados touching down.. no joke.
After 14 days, Charlie was released and we were able to go home to our 3 other babes! .. but before Sam came home, Gramps brought Andrew, Genevieve and Daryl to come meet their new sister!
Fast forward..
Somehow..it has been 4 years that feel like they have gone by in a blink of an eye. You were the baby that we never knew we needed in our lives. I can’t imagine life without you Charlie Faye.. you complete our family. You love your baby dolls, you say you want to be a mommy when you grow up and you are the sweetest girl with the biggest sass I’ve ever seen! Your facial expressions are hilarious and you are let everyone know how much they are loved! Happy 4th Birthday baby girl, thank you for being you!
Happy 4th Birthday Charlie ♥️♥️🎂