In Her Own Words...

We are long overdue for an update, the lack of which directly corresponds with the beginning of my graduate school education at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, where I plan to earn my Master of Public Affairs sometime before 2020 (maybe even by 2015). I'm enjoying the program very much, but it is a tricky balance with a full-time job and a little one. I'm taking two classes per semester during the 2011-12 year, but anticipate dropping down to one per semester beginning in the fall of 2012. One of the reasons for that is that after an amazing 7.5 years, I'm leaving College Possible (formerly Admission Possible) to become the Director of Growth Strategy and Development at Teach for America Twin Cities. Am I crazy? I just might be. But I'm thrilled to be given such an amazing leadership opportunity for an organization that is doing very important work to build a coalition of support that will help end the achievement gap in our country and in the world. I am so grateful for the many ways that my experiences at College Possible have prepared me for this new role, and I will miss the organization, its staff and students tremendously.

But enough about me...

Charlotte is now entirely mobile. While she has (still) never crawled, she started walking around while holding on to someone's hands at about 10 months, and took her first steps alone just about a week after her first birthday. She's been picking up speed and confidence ever since. She is now practicing getting up from sitting by herself, which is pretty much the only reason she'd sit in the first place. Mostly, she's on the move.

At her 15 month appointment she weighed 22 lbs and was 32" tall (which is 85th percentile for height). We also received official medical confirmation (though we had suspected all along) that she is a genius. She has an incredible vocabulary, particularly in terms of the number of words she understands. Officially, her first word was "Dada," but it was closely followed by "who'sthat?" and "what'sthat?" and she's been collecting the answers to those questions ever since. Other words she's saying: "num num" (for food, or anything she is about to put in her mouth); "mama" for me and also for grandma right now (but she's working on it); "boppa" for grandpa; "uck" (for things that aren't so good to put in her mouth); "wawa" (water); "up" or "bup" to be picked up (or lifted even higher); "ball" and "bowl" (which sound almost the same, but she's working on it); "moon" (she looks for the moon in all her books, in the sky and on her ceiling when her nightlight is on); and new today: "book". She makes a whole host of animal noises, including: cow, dog, cat (remarkably realistic thanks to her aunt Joanna), turkey, sheep, owl (which makes the same noise as "towel," of course), monkey, lion, tiger, chicken, pig, horse, bunny ("bop bop"), and Santa Claus. She knows the names and locations of many body parts, and she likes to tickle belly buttons and toes. She's starting to recognize letters of the alphabet, and will point them out if you ask her. She loves reading and books and has favorite pages and favorite responses to those pages. We are so in awe of her and so proud of her.

More soon...

Charlotte Lorraine - Month 11 (August 6 - September 5)

Wow! This was a big month. When I went in for my 9-month doctor's appointment, they were a little bit worried that I wasn't moving around. If they could just see me now! I can't balance myself yet, but I LOVE to walk and even run if someone will just hold my hands or torso. In fact, unless we're out of the house somewhere, you can bet you'll find me walking around the house or yard. If I'm sitting, I can scoot around on my butt really good to turn in a circle and move toward things, and I pull up to standing if someone gives me a hand to grab onto. I can also sit straight up from laying down. Other firsts this month: first trip to the MN Zoo, Mommy's first birthday as my Mommy at Como Zoo, first time at the playground with Grandma Jan (I loved playing in the sand and the swings, but NOT the slide), first time swimming in a lake (Lake Harriet) and first trip to the Minnesota State Fair (I had a cheese stick from the Dairy Building, an apple cider freeze pop and some little bits of Mommy and Daddy's treats). I also went to my 2nd Twins game and lasted a whole six innings this time! Mommy says I'm a very tactile baby - I love playing with different textures and feeling things with my hands.  I loved the sand at the playground and the lake, love picking up my own food and playing with that, and have figured out how all the buttons work on my toys to turn them on and off and make them do different things. My favorite toy is Daddy's laptop - I can make it do all kinds of interesting things that Daddy sometimes has a hard time fixing. Whoops. I'm also very vocal, babbling and singing all the time. Right now I'm saying things that sound a lot like Daddy (and Dada), woof (what a dog says), moo (what a cow says), who's that? and what's that?  I point at lots of stuff all the time, including airplanes when they fly overhead - whether I'm outside and can see them or inside and just hear them! I also LOVE books. I like when Mommy and Daddy read to me but if they are busy I just pick up my books and read to myself.

9 Month Photos

Check out new adorable photos of Charlotte taken by the talented Shari Villagante!  Charlotte was a champ on an extremely hot and humid day.

Charlotte Lorraine - Month 10 (July 6 - August 5)

I started month 10 still on vacation in Grand Marais with Mommy, Daddy, Aunt Joanna and Uncle Adam.  Mommy and Aunt Joanna took me all the way up to the Canadian border where we looked at the High Falls and saw Canada across the Pigeon River! When we got back I had my nine month check-up at the doctor and weighed 18 lbs 11 oz and was 28 inches tall. A few days later I was very sick with my first high fever, so I had to miss my best friend Hazel's first birthday pool party. I got better after a few days (Mommy is convinced I caught the virus at the doctor's office).  Other firsts this month: first sleepover at Grandma Z's and first visit to the Anoka County Fair where I saw all kinds of farm animals up close. My favorites were the ponies and the cows. I got a seventh tooth, too.

Charlotte Lorraine - Month 9 (June 6 - July 5)

Greetings from beautiful Grand Marais, Minnesota!  Mommy and Daddy and I are on our first trip together to the North Shore!  It was an exciting trip in our new minivan and my new big girl carseat. So far we've been out to visit the Grand Marais lighthouse and went to the Lake Superior Trading Post where I got my very first stuffed moose as a souvenir! Tomorrow Mommy and Aunt Joanny and I are going to see the biggest waterfall in Minnesota and look at Canada from across the Pidgeon River. I slept through the 4th of July fireworks last night, but I guess the mosquitos were just terrible.

This month I've started to wave bye-bye, although I really do not like it when Mommy or Daddy leave the room. I have not two, not three but SIX teeth - they just kept coming after that first one broke through! I've been eating tons of new foods, but I still like milk the best. I love musical instrument toys - bells, drums, tambourines, xylophones, the works!  I also like to sing. Still no crawling yet, but Mommy and Daddy aren't too sad about that. I can roll from back to front and like to sleep on my side. I rode in the front of a shopping cart for the first time this month - it was so much better than having to lay down in my carseat the whole time. I also went to my very first Twins game! We saw the Twins play the Texas Rangers on Saturday, June 11 in the afternoon.  I lasted for about half the game before getting super tired and hungry, but I really loved watching all the people and clapping for the Twins.

Charlotte Lorraine - Month 8 (May 6 - June 5)

I've got a front tooth!  It's on the left side...but more are coming soon, I can just feel it.  I'm doing lots of going from sitting to tummy and kicking my legs around and twisting from side to side to pick things up - lots of my baby friends can crawl, so I'm watching them when we play to try to figure it out.  I can shake my head and clap my hands, which is apparently hilarious, and I still love music and dancing (see video evidence). I can use both hands to pick things up. I went on my first fundraising walk for Cystic Fybrosis where I finally got to play in the grass now that it's getting warm outside. Daddy and I took Mommy out for a delicious brunch at Pizza Luce downtown, and I got her a very nice spa gift certificate (Daddy says she needs it, but I don't know why). I met my Great Uncle Bob and Great Aunt Carol for the first time this month, and Grandpa Jim and Grandma Jan and Aunt Christine came to visit too!  Aunt Christine stayed overnight with me while Mommy and Daddy stayed away for the first night since I was born!  I've been to a couple of different farmer's markets and to the Como Park Conservatory and to the dog park and on lots of walks with Sophie. I'm trying lots of new foods all the time, and mixing foods together (like pears/blueberries/oats, apples/sweet potatoes, spinach/carrots/peas) - but I still like vegetables the best.  I'm doing some finger foods now too - my first one was avocado, which is delicious! I like chasing my food down with a drink from my sippy cup, which I figured out how to use this month, or through the straw on Mommy's water bottle.  Oh!  And I almost forgot!  The PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES sent me a welcome to the world letter!  (I don't know where HE'S been - I got here eight months ago!)

1st Mother's Day: Mommy's Favorite Moments So Far...

-When Charlotte first started nursing, her eyebrows used to raise up and down (pretty fast) as she swallowed.
-Pretty often, she just watches her hands. When she was born, they were closed tight into fists. Over time she's figuring them out, and is maybe as amazed by them as I am.
-When she gets really tired, she sucks on the thumb of one hand, then the forefinger of the other hand, back and forth for several minutes before she picks one and falls asleep.
-When she gets really tired, she nuzzles into my cheek or neck and rubs her eyes.
-She laughs when you change her clothes or her diaper.  She laughs at pat-a-cake and peekaboo. She laughs and laughs sometimes for no discernable reason.  Her laugh is the best sound in the world.
-She makes faces that are just like faces Dan makes. She makes faces that are just like faces I make. She makes faces that are all her own.
-Her skin is so soft. So new.
-I love her smell.  I can conjur it even when she's not with me, and it makes me ache for her.
-Sometimes she talks herself to sleep...sometimes she talks herself awake...and it's fantastic.
-She smiles when I start to sing her to sleep.
-The faces she makes when she tries a new food are absolutely hilarious.
-Sometimes when she nurses she just stops and smiles at me for a few seconds, or giggles, or grabs my hand or my finger, and I love her so much it brings tears to my eyes.  Daily, I love her so much it brings tears to my eyes.
-I love, love, love listening to Dan read to her.
-I love, love, love watching her learn.

Motherhood is the hardest, most amazing, most rewarding thing I've ever done. This amazing little person is nothing short of a miracle, transforming me and my life in all sorts of ways. I can't wait to see what's next, and at the same time in some of these moments I just want to freeze time and live in them forever.

Charlotte Lorraine - Month 7 (April 6 - May 5)

I had my six month pediatric appointment on my half birthday (thanks a lot, Mommy), and weighed 18 pounds - almost exactly twice my birth weight, and 50th percentile, which is the lowest since I was born.  I am 75th percentile for height according to the doctor - almost 27 inches long. Lots of exciting firsts this month: I can definitely sit up all by myself and like to reach for toys and play sitting up. I haven't rolled from back to front yet but I do go from sitting to tummy, working on those crawling muscles. I also got my first two teeth this month (bottom front) - yowch! In addition to rice cereal, I've tried banana, peas, prunes, applesauce, sweet potato and peaches - so far peas and sweet potato are my favorite. I like it when Mommy and Daddy give me the spoon so I can feed myself - I'm pretty good at it!  I can also pass things from one hand to another. I had fun on my first Easter and at my first birthday party for my friend Rainer!

Patty Cake! Patty Cake!

You saw it here first!  Charlotte laughing caught on video for the first time!

Happy half birthday to our beautiful baby girl!

Charlotte Lorraine - Month 6 (March 6 - April 5)

Mommy and Daddy have suspected it all along, but I LOVE the camera. This month, pretty much every time they pointed one at me, I cracked a BIG smile. (Results above and below.) I also *finally* understand what that peek-a-boo business is all about - HILARIOUS! Also hilarious: petting Sophie, playing Patty Cake, being zipped up in jammies, having my clothes changed and more! In general, smiles and laughs are much easier to come by these days. I got to go to Iowa again to visit Grandpa Jim and Grandma Jan. Other firsts this month: first trip to the zoo, found my feet, ate some rice cereal (don't see what all the fuss about solid food is about), and can move my fingers independently and pick stuff up with my thumb and forefinger.  Sometimes I can sit up all by myself! With some more practice, I bet I'll be a pro by next month.

 

In Non-Baby News...

Treehouse Records is celebrating its 10 year anniversary in April - an important milestone for the store and a testament to Dan's hard work and dedication!  Treehouse's owner, Mark, did an interview with the City Pages that was published today.

Baby's First Modeling Job

Check it out!  Charlotte and I (and 9 of our family friends!) are the new faces of Park Nicollet's Centering Pregnancy program.  This is a poster that will be hanging at the OB/GYN clinics.  We're happy to help advertise such a great resource to families expecting babies!  We learned so much in our Centering Group and are so grateful for the lifetime friendships we made there.

Charlotte's First Autograph

Check out this beautiful post about Charlotte's first autograph on Dan's through-the-mail autograph blog, Signed DC.

Charlotte Lorraine - Month 5 (February 6 - March 5)

I had my 4-month well-child appointment on February 7. I got more shots (boo) and weighed in at 15 lbs. 10 oz. and 25" tall! No teeth yet...still lots of drooling, chatting and spit bubbles. This month I started consistently sleeping between 9 and 12 hours per night, which makes Mommy in particular VERY happy! I have also been rolling to my side (mostly my left side) and planting my feet and lifting my butt up to move around. Sometimes Mommy comes to get me from my crib and I've turned 90 or 180 degrees! Smiles and laughs are easier to come by these days - especially when I see the baby in the mirror! Sophie gave me a kiss for the first time this month while I was playing in my new favorite toy - my Jump n Jive! I love jumping, dancing and listening to all kinds of music.

Charlotte Lorraine - Month 4 (January 6 - February 5)

Some of this months firsts were not very fun. I had my first overnight hospital stay because Mommy and I fell on the basement stairs and I had a nasty head bump. The doctors and nurses at Amplatz Children's Hospital were all fantastic and let me go earlier than expected because I was doing so well! Everything is just fine - don't worry about me! I also had to give up cloth diapers this month because they were giving me a nasty rash. We still really recommend All Things Diapers! They did everything they could to help but I just had some dermititis that wouldn't clear up. Mommy also went back to work this month - Mommy and Daddy are both working from home one day a week, so at least for now one of them is home with me six days a week, and on the seventh day Aunt Joanna or Grandma Z takes care of me. I kept chattering this month, making new noises (including blowing lots of raspberries!) and laughing a lot whenever Mommy and Daddy undress me on the changing table! The drooling really picked up this month - everybody says that means teeth are not far away!

Charlotte Lorraine - Month 3 (December 6 - January 5)

This month was full of lots of firsts! First time sleeping in my crib, first time rolling over (front to back), first time finding my thumb consistently. Mommy and Daddy hired a professional photographer to take some pictures of us (mostly me) and finally sent my birth announcements out. I also started chattering away - I really found my voice and I like to use it! I also had my first Christmas! Mommy says she took me to meet Santa Claus but I slept through the whole thing! He must have talked to Mommy about presents because I got a TON of them...including my new play gym, which I love. Mommy graduated from New Mama class, and I got my picture taken in another circle of new baby friends! I also had a big road trip to go to Great Grandma's funeral in Tuscola, Illinois - I'm SO happy I had the chance to meet her at Thanksgiving, and in Tuscola I got to meet my Great Aunts Cindy and Rhonda and Great Uncles Terry and Mike. 

Charlotte Lorraine - Month 2 (November 6 - December 5)

This month, Aunt Christine was in town getting to know me and helping Mommy and Daddy out a ton! (She also did a very cool photography series called Baby's Eye View.) I went to the Walker Art Museum and Minneapolis Sculpture Garden on my one-month "birthday." (I mostly slept through that.) Other firsts this month: first road trip to Iowa for Thanksgiving to meet Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Harbaugh, first smile and first full night of sleep! I had to go back to the doctor for my first shots, too - I did NOT like that. Dr. Williams did all my measurements and I had gained almost three pounds since birth - I weighed 11 lbs. 15 oz. and was 23.5" long! Mommy joined a New Mamas group - I made tons of friends there and Mommy and I went lots of new and interesting places with them - restaurants, malls, an indoor park, Midtown Global Market and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, just to name a few.  We also had a reunion with all the couples and new babies from our Centering group - it was so fun to meet everyone!

Charlotte Lorraine - Month 1 (October 6 - November 5)

This month, most importantly, I was finally born at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park! October 6, 2011 at 6:27 a.m. Weight: 8 lbs. 14 oz. Height: 21.5". Grandma Z, Grandpa Jim, Grandma Jan and Aunt Joanna all came to see me in the hospital. The Twins played a playoff game that night and Michael Cuddyer hit the first homerun of my lifetime. Mommy and Daddy took me home mid-afternoon on October 7 - it was a beautiful, warm fall day. Sophie the Pup was a little nervous about me coming home, but very calm and cautious. All month I mostly slept a lot and ate a lot. Thankfully it was warm enough that Mommy and I could go for walks. Daddy was home from work for about 2.5 weeks after I was born. I had my first doctor's visit and my first bath! I met tons of honorary aunts and uncles who were a HUGE help to Mommy and Daddy by bringing food for them to eat. Aunt Joanna helped all month with cooking and cleaning and just general helping out, and Grandma Jan came to help for a week after Daddy went back to work. Look out world! I'm here!

Birth Story

Overall, I had a blessedly uneventful pregnancy. About 4 weeks out from my due date, though, I had had it. I was HUGE and supremely uncomfortable. I had started dilating and was 50% effaced, which offered a glimmer of hope that the baby would arrive soon - but it turns out that doesn't actually mean much. So we waited...and waited...and waited. September 22nd came and went. Other people whose "due dates" were after ours started having their babies. My low point came with a visit to a midwife who was particularly eager to schedule an induction we were hoping to avoid, and having to return to work one Monday to be greeted by the news that my coworker (due the day after me) had had her baby over the weekend. I was obviously happy for her, but nearly burst into tears, and spent most of the day having people stop by my office to pity me.

Dan and I finally let our employers know we were officially going on parental leave as of October 2nd. That alone was an amazing mental relief. Days and days of "you're still here?" and "no baby yet?" is enough to drive anyone insane, particularly if that someone is 41 and a half weeks pregnant.

I spent a couple of hours that Saturday morning cleaning the interior of my car, which is when I felt my first “real” contractions, though they hadn’t established any patterns at that point. On Sunday after dinner, though, they were coming pretty regularly. Dan and I stayed up until about 3:00 a.m. Monday morning timing them – they were coming at about 7 or 8 minutes apart when Dan looked over at me, noticed I was exhausted, and suggested we try and get some sleep. I was doubtful I’d be able to, but after awhile my contractions slowed and I slept until around 9:00 a.m. When I woke up, they had more or less stopped completely.

We had an appointment with our midwife later that afternoon to start the first non-medical induction efforts. When she checked me, I was already fully effaced and 4 cm dilated. She stripped my membranes, which means that she used her finger to separate the bag of water from my cervix. It sounds more painful than it was, given that my cervix was already very thin and stretchy. The jury is sort of out on whether or not stripping membranes is actually an effective induction method, particularly with first time moms, but for whatever reason, around the same time Monday evening my contractions started up again. We popped in Arrested Development on DVD and hit “play all.” Around midnight, I started trying to sleep between contractions that were 7 to 10 minutes apart. When I’d have one, I’d just mutter “Contraction!” at Dan and he’d write it down. About 3:45 a.m. on Tuesday morning, Dan finally fell asleep and I took over writing down contractions. By 4:30 a.m., they’d been 5-6 minutes apart for about an hour, and I woke Dan up and told him I thought it was time to go to the hospital. We called our doula and asked her to meet us there, and checked in just before 5:00. When they checked me in triage, I was 6 cm dilated. Our doula arrived and we spent much of the next couple of hours walking up and down the hallways. After the shift change at 7:00 a.m., they moved us to a delivery room, and the new midwife on call checked me again, finding me at 7 cm. We walked the halls some more, stopping to breathe through contractions, and did some different positioning to help make room for baby, but from 7:00 a.m. on, 7 cm is where I stayed.

Sometime in the late afternoon, our midwife started pushing to get things going by breaking my water and starting Pitocin. My blood pressure had been pretty high, and concern for that coupled with our exhaustion factor made labor augmentation a priority. Our doula immediately started advocating for our birth plan, in which we stated we wanted to avoid interventions. Neither Dan nor I had gotten any significant rest since Saturday night, and we were both exhausted. We asked our midwife to give me something to help us get some rest for an hour or so before we made the decision, so they gave me some fentanyl and we napped for an hour. When we woke up, I said they should give me the Pitocin and break my water and give me an epidural. I was pretty terrified of Pitocin. I’d read a bunch of books and seen a bunch of movies about how it can make contractions longer and stronger, and I was pretty convinced that once they started it, I would lose my composure for managing contractions. Both the midwife and my nurse said they didn’t think I needed an epidural – using Pitocin to start labor versus using it to augment it are apparently two very different experiences, and they said I’d been managing contractions so well that they didn’t think I needed it. So, they started the Pitocin and broke my water. In fact, the Pitocin made my contractions MORE manageable…they were stronger, but shorter, too, so there was more time to rest between them. But a couple of hours later, I was still 7 cm dilated. A while after that, contractions were right on top of each other with no break in between. My midwife checked again, and I was still 7 cm dilated. I almost cried when she said it. At that point, she wanted to insert an internal monitor to measure how strong my contractions were and determine whether or not they would be strong enough to push the baby out. They could increase the Pitocin in conjunction with the monitoring to try to strengthen the contractions. Otherwise, we’d need to “consider other options.” Nobody said Cesarean, but that’s what she meant.

To be honest, at that point, I really didn’t care what happened. I needed to be done. I was exhausted and losing confidence. Our doula quickly resumed her role as birth plan advocate, and repeatedly told us that we could have them turn off all the medications and go home to labor there, and come back when it was time to push the baby out. Neither Dan nor I could imagine leaving the hospital without a baby. We’d been up for three nights in a row. Exhaustion for both of us and discomfort and pain for me were making interventions sound really good. And despite all the warnings from the books and films I’d seen about women being forced into unnatural situations, I didn’t feel pressured at all. We were still involved in decision-making, but I trusted our nurses and midwife. We okayed the internal monitor and I reiterated my desire for an epidural, this time giving Dan our secret word so he knew I meant business. Half an hour later, I was all wired up, painless, and blissfully asleep. When I woke up from the most sleep I’d had in days a couple of hours later – about 24 hours after we checked into the hospital – I was fully dilated, and it was time to push. Without that sleep, I’m not sure what would have happened.

But this is also when the drawbacks of the epidural became evident. I couldn’t change positions, since I couldn’t feel anything below my chest. I also couldn’t feel contractions, so the midwife had to tell me when to push. All the benefits of natural childbirth pay off at this point, and there I was on my back, just like I hoped to avoid. Fortunately, they turned off the epidural after I started pushing, and I started to regain some feeling. My body started to instinctively know when and how to push. I’d asked for a mirror so I could see what was happening, but pushing with your eyes open is like sneezing with your eyes open – impossible. I had a great cheering section, and after awhile the midwife could see the baby’s head. I was getting tired, and pretty sure the baby was never coming. I remember the midwife saying we were past the point of a Cesarean. It was all me. Uh oh.

I pushed as hard as I could with every contraction. Before long, I could hear Dan saying “I see her!” and pushed harder. I felt a strong, burning sensation as the baby’s head came out, and felt the midwife pull the rest of the body out. “She’s here!” Dan exclaimed. We both burst into relieved and happy tears as Charlotte’s first cries filled the room. It was 6:27 a.m. on October 6 – about 36 hours after labor began. Dan cut the (lengthy!) umbilical cord and the nurses placed the baby on my chest. My universe shrunk to a short radius surrounding me, Dan and the baby. I have never felt love like that before, and don’t have words to describe it.

The weeks following have been exhausting and have taught me a wealth of patience I didn’t know I possessed. There’s been a fundamental shift in how my world operates. I look at my amazing daughter and nothing has ever been more worth it.

Ultrasound!

First ultrasound! Maria can already tell that Baby Cote has my nose.

I can not describe the experience of watching the baby during the ultrasound. S/he was very active. I was stunned. Wow. This is real. We made this.

Maria's sister and mother are pretty certain it's a girl. I didn't have much of a gut feeling until today. I think it's a boy. I don't know why... just a gut feeling.

-Dan