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.