She's done it again!!

The wonderful Shanna of S. Russel Photography has captured some memorable moments for our family. Please follow the link for a preview : )

s.russell photography

Thanks Shanna! We LOVE them!!!

Quality Time

Quality Time.JPG
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

Two of Tim's favorite things...his daughter and a book about Winston Churchill : )

This Little Piggie

Piggies
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

O man playing with his little sister on one of her first days home. He's been a GREAT big brother so far. Here's hoping that it lasts!!

Home Sweet Home

Today has been a great day. Our June holiday at Addenbrooks ended around noon today and we were SO happy to bring Charlotte home.

The bright side of a nine day hospital stay is that I'm very well recovered from bringing our little angel into the world. Not cooking or cleaning and sleeping whenever you feel the need is a great way to heal! Now that we're home, I'm ready to conquer the world. Its also nice to have my Mom here until early August and my husband home for the next week.

Not only were we able to bring Charlotte home, my cousin Miranda was able to visit us today. She's in London visiting a very good friend, and Miranda, Amy, and her husband Julio drove up to Bury to enjoy some barbecue and a walk in the Gardens. There's nothing like a visit from family : )

We've had lots of wordy posts, so I'll end this one with some pictures. Today held a lot of firsts for little Charlotte. First ride in the stroller, first walk to the park ... its been a TON of fun so far.

My little Anne Gedes baby enjoying the Bebe sling. Thanks Tracy!!

Ollie has been an amazing big brother to Charlotte. She's crying in the pic because he hugged her just a little too tightly in the face. Poor girl...she'll be a tough cookie in no time : )

We're not the only ones smitten with the little girl. Risby seems to really like her.

Risby guarding Charlotte soon after arriving home.

Charlotte's first bath at the hospital. Mostly she enjoyed the warm water and it was nice that her cord fell off.

We were SO excited to visit with my cousin Miranda. Thanks for making the trip up here!!

And Tomorrow

Looks like its a Father's Day Homecoming for Charlotte. Different doctors make different plans and today's doc wants to observe her overnight. The most important thing is, of course, Charlotte's health, but man I miss my two year old!

Charlotte will have her IV removed this evening, so that's good news. Looks like her umbilical cord is about to fall off and I'm more than happy to leave that here at the hospital.

I'm off to forget my sadness in a triple Chocolate muffin. Thank you Costa!

Hope you're all well,

Dori

Tomorrow

Charlotte's final dose of antibiotics will be administered tonight at midnight, which means that we can take our baby girl HOME!!!  The very kind hospital staff offered to arrange her final dose a few hours early so that we could go home tonight, but we opted for a daytime discharge so that O man can greet his sister when she arrives home.  We are thrilled, as you might imagine, and I'm already envisioning our family together.  One child is a blessing, but two children ae better than I could have hoped.

Charlotte has had a very good day today.  Sleepy, but good.  Her daddy makes a tight swaddle, so she's snug as a bug in a rug.  She had some alert time between feedings during the night...I hope that she sorts out night and day before too much longer.

The hospital staff has been absolutely wonderful.  Not only were the doctors world class, the nurses and midwives have excellent bedside manner.  Instead of turning all of the lights on to get your vital signs every four hours, the midwives quietly knock to see if they can give Charlotte her meds and check her vitals by lamplight.  While we would have, of course, preferred to have a normal, healthy delivery, but I must say that a week in a British hospital has left me rested, relaxed, and ready to be the mother of two.  Knowing that my mom will be here for the next six weeks doesn't hurt either : )  

Fear can be a debilitating emotion, and I would be lying if I didn't say that it held a small place in our thoughts during the first few days.  What kept us hopeful and optimistic was honestly the feeling that we didn't have to face this trial alone.  Many of our friends were able to physically help us: caring for Ollie, keeping Risby, driving me to Addenbrooks because Tim had no business behind the wheel after 3 hours of sleep in two days, and visiting us here at the hospital (thanks also to Kate and Emily...I forgot to mention your visit on Thursday's post) to help us remember that the world was still turning.  We will always remember their kindness and assistance when we needed it the most.  What also made a huge difference were the endless stream of comments, e-mails, and facebook comments.  I was a believer in the power of prayer, but this week has been a firm example to Tim and I.  We never felt despair and we never felt alone.  Honestly, we cannot say enough to thank you all.

We look forward to posting pictures of our darling angel as we bring her home.  Hopefully, our life will be much less dramatic in the weeks to come!!

With Love,

Dori

Thursday, part II

No feeding tube!

Closer up -- check out the sweet 'glove' on the hand though. It is covering up the last of the hardware.

And a smile...only its really not a smile, its a grimace from gas. Whatever. I think it counts for a smile.

Other updates from the Drs: No news is good news on the 36 hour blood cultures: if all continues well, then Charlotte will finish her 7 days of antibiotics on Friday night. This means we'll be able to skip the transfer to Lakenheath and will be able to move out of Addenbrooke's and be back home sometime on Saturday...just in time for Father's Day!

Thanks to Grandma, Tim was able to spend the day with Dori and Charlotte, and were delighted to see Kerri, Laura, Carter and Grant this evening -- thanks for stopping by!

One more thank you to everyone who has sent their thoughts and prayer our way, and who have taken time out of their busy schedules to lend a hand. We are deeply in your debt.

A thought to close on: today we received a nice note and birth announcement for Emma Caroline Sophia Gretzky, the first daughter of our good German friends Lukas and Friederike. In the card they included this saying from Martin Luther:

"Immer wenn ein Kind geboren wird, ertappst Du Gott auf frischer Tat."

I can't vouch for the perfect accuracy of the translation, but it is something like:

"Whenever you see a child born, you catch God, the creator, in the act."

Thursday Morning

Charlotte seems to improve everyday, and yesterday was no exception.  She's begun to eat often and well.  She's done so well that the her feeding tube was removed last night.  One more step in the right direction!

Grandma arrived safely yesterday afternoon, and Ollie is SO excited to have her here (and so are we!).  There is something so comforting about having your mother around...even when you're 30.

We were very lucky to have the Brazelton NBAS (Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale) administered to Charlotte yesterday afternoon.   The  evaluation tool is used to "assess not only the physical and neurological responses of newborns but also their emotional well-being and individual differences."  The end result was that Charlotte shows no signs of her early "detour," and we should have every hope that she will develop into a healthy, happy little girl.  It was music to our ears, as you might imagine.  

I would like to thank everyone again for your thoughts and prayers.  I have no doubt that the extra prayers have helped put everything into place for our family.  This may sound like a broken record, but your support has made all the difference for our family.  I am not sure how we would have made it through this difficult time without it.

The next step is a transfer back to Lakenheath.  Charlotte needs a few more days of IV drugs, which they can easily administer at the hospital on base.  Addenbrooks could use the bed space and we look forward to being a little closer to home.  I believe that we should be able to go home sometime this weekend, as long as everything continues to go well.  We'll keep you posted!

Thanks again for everything and we look forward to saying thank you in person to many of you very soon.

Love,

the Spauldings

Tuesday Afternoon

Dori and Charlotte are now happily establish in the Sara Ward, just down the hall from the NICU. I guess I've never been in an equivalent place in an American hospital, but I can't imagine how it could compare to the level of care provided by the midwives and nurses on the ward at Addenbrooke's. Their knowledge, professionalism, and real interest in Charlotte's progress are awe-inspiring -- I feel like everybody is walking around with halos above their heads. There is also something comforting about the British attitude toward adversity and trouble--bad things are a simply a 'bit' or a 'spot' of trouble, and if anything goes well, it is always 'quite lovely.'

Charlotte has been slowly gaining strength today - she definitely knows how to feed, she's just slowly building up the stamina to give it a long enough effort to get some good nutrition. In the meantime we are 'topping her up' with a little milk through the feeding tube, as required. I told her that she can keep the tube in as long as she likes (though I think she'll want it out before the prom, at any rate).

Cultures for meningitis and other illnesses are negative at the 48 hour point -- a good indication (along with her recovery) that her body is beating back whatever infection might have been there. With infants, however, blood cultures are unreliable (if you took enough blood to get a really good culture, it might defeat the whole purpose!) so we might never have a really solid answer about what illness was initially there. At any rate, we're happy to hear negative results so far.

Charlotte was able to greet some visitors this afternoon -- thank you to April, Julie, and Janell for stopping by (and to Emily for making it possible). It was very nice to be able to sit and chat.

After spending the morning in day care, where he showed off his pictures of Charlotte and mommy, Oliver was able to stop by and see his sister. He was proud that he was able to give her a kiss and make her feel better when she was crying. He did his best to behave on the ward, but the giant red 'emergency' button was irresistible. Fortunately for us it was a 'pull' instead of a 'push!'

Thanks again for the thoughts and prayers. We're excited to be able to greet Grandma tomorrow!

Here are some photos.

love,

tim

A new week, a new start...

Here are some more pictures from today. I'm happy to report that Charlotte earned her ticket out of the NICU this evening! After being able to breast feed a little bit, and digest a bellyful of milk, Dori and Charlotte moved down the hall to the 'special baby care' ward, where she no longer needs to be monitored! The NICU staff was amazing, and we are grateful for their care, but we hope not to have to utilize their expertise again.

Charlotte was able to have some good 'active' time this evening, and opened her eyes for a bit to check out mom and dad.

Thanks to everyone for all your thoughts, prayers, and support.

love,

tim and dori

Monday updates

Good news on this monday morning:  Charlotte is doing well today:  she was able to breast feed for the first time! She's still pretty weak, so she's getting a little bit extra through a feeding tube, but she gave it a really good effort and was able to get some good nutrition!  We're hopeful that throughout the day she'll be able to keep feeding.

Charlotte unleashed! (almost)

The proud parents

Charlotte's Birthday present to her Dad...I don't think he wanted anything else!! Happy 30th Tim!

Here's a couple of more pictures ... we were both able to hold her a little bit, and she is happy to be a little closer to mom and dad. She is breathing without any extra oxygen now, and if all goes well today she'll be able to nurse for the first time! She's still taking a lot of antibiotics as the doctors try to sort out exactly what infection she is trying to fight off.

Ollie was a really good boy when he came to see Charlotte here at the NICU yesterday. When we put her back in her cot, Ollie said "I want to be the baby now" and climbed up into Dori's lap. As soon as he got up there he looked around and said "Mommy, I don't want to sleep in that bed though!"

A big thanks to Anna Estes for staying with him today as he is much happier with a little space to run around and be loud in.

Another big thanks for all of the words of support and prayers. They are much more helpful than you could imagine.

We'll send more as we have it.
love,
tim and dori

pictures...

Just a couple from the hospital. Ollie was pleased to meet Charlotte even though "my sister doesn't talk."

He gave her a nice hug and a kiss.

tim

Charlotte Joan Spaulding

We are very pleased to announce that Charlotte Joan Spaulding joined us on the 12th of June at 8:51 in the evening at RAF Lakenheath's hospital. I was just over 37 weeks pregnant, so she was considered full term. We had a repeat C-section after I began early labor on Friday afternoon. We are so very grateful that she is here, but she is unfortunately not as healthy as we would like.

Charlotte had a very hard time breathing when she arrived and was transferred to the NICU at Addenbrooks hospital in Cambridge. At first we thought that her lungs were just a little less mature than they needed to be and that she might be able to go home very shortly. Unfortunately, a spinal tap showed too many white blood cells, which indicates an infection. They are currently gowing the cultures, so we do not have a difinitive diagnosis yet, but the doctors are treating her as if she has meningitis. The culture may come back with a firm diagnosis, but because she was put on antibiotics immediately after birth, she may still have the condition without a positive diagnosis. I was aware that I was positive for Group B strep, but they do not treat this if you have a planned C-section. Its very rare, so the Spauldings represent the 1%!! The doctor reassured me that it was nothing that we did, so that's always comforting to hear.

Her growth and development will be closely monitered for quite a long time, so it will be years before we know the full effects of the infection. For now, she is doing well. The tube that helped her breath has been removed. Charlotte is still rather tired because of the sedatives they gave her when they intibated her and transferred to the larger hospital. We look forward to holding her for the first time this afternoon and hope that she will be able to nurse tomorrow. We're taking each day as it comes, so I do not have a good picture of what the next few weeks will look like.

Ollie is on his was to meet his new little sister. Her name isn't Charlotte, its sister, he said. (Forgive my poor use of quotations, but I'm using a UK keyboard and its slightly different). He's enjoying the books that Charlotte gave him and he's excited to recieve the present that Charlotte ordered through the mail : )

Tim and I are SO incredibly grateful for all of the prayers and support that everyone has given us. Our Bolar family has been amazing...truly this would be unbearable without the great support of our military family.

We are also grateful that my mother will join us here in the UK on Wednesday and she will be here for about 6 weeks. American Airlines waved the change fee for her ticket (she was already planning to visit us in July). Ollie is VERY excited to see his Alabama grandma. Since Casa de Spaulding is rather tiny, we are unable to accept Grandma Spaulding's visit quite yet.

Addenbrooks has an amazing staff of nurses, doctors, and support staff. During the week we plan to utilize their chaplain, counselor, and sibling support. Apparently, a specialist is available to help Ollie have a smooth transition to being a big brother. We also have a small, but private room for Tim and I to rest and keep our belongings. The staff here is truly amazing and caring.

Tim and I continue to keep a positive outlook on the situation. Like I said, the effects will play out over time. We pray and hope for the best possible outcomes : ) Honestly, its nice to have some of the puzzle pieces instead of a blank slate of possibilities. I know that we will be a stronger family because of this and most certainly we will continue to be grateful for the blessings that have been bestowed upon us.

We would love any prayers and thoughts that you can send our way. I plan to keep the blog updated as we find out more information. Thank you to everyone.

Love,
the Spauldings

PS Tim will post some pictures tonight when he takes Ollie home to bed. Thanks to the support of the Hudsons and the Estes, Tim has been able to stay close to Charlotte for a majority of the time and he will be able to spend the night here with both of us.

Belly Shots

We're very lucky to have another extremely talented photographer as a friend. Shaana Russel, of S.Russell Photography took some great shots of the belly and our family the other day. The big Mac has some issues with cds, so we've uploaded them onto the laptop. I'll transfer them soon and post some of the great pics for your viewing pleasure. Until then, check out:

s.russell photography for a preview : )