Welcome Home, Charlie!!!

It's cold out here!

Proud Papa

Look at those ears! We know he's a Shaw.

Does it get any cuter???
A pup and his boy!

We are thrilled to announce the arrival of our son, Charles Harrison Shaw! He arrived on Friday, March 7th at 2:13 pm. Charlie weighs 7 lbs 4oz and is 20 inches long...perfect, of course!

Charlie decided to start making his appearance on his due date, March 6th. I began having contractions in the afternoon, but I wasn't quite sure until around midnight that I was truly in labor. Nick and I began timing the contractions and realized that they were regular and about 6 minutes apart. We called the doctor, who told us to come to the hospital as soon as we felt ready. Nick and I got to Northside at 2:00 am and checked in.

After a quick check up, it was determined that I had not made any progress since my doctor's appointment earlier in the day. My doctor was not convinced that I was in true labor. It was so discouraging to hear that we might be sent home after a night of contractions. I was admitted for observation over night, and they decided to reassess the situation in the morning. Turns out I was in true labor! A check up at 8:00 am revealed that we were in fact going to have a baby that day.

From that point on, things happened so fast. My water was broken, and I was given a drug to help produce strong contractions. That's when I met my new best friend, the anesthesiologist. He kindly gave me an epidural, and from there I did not feel another thing. After 2 hours of pushing and some scary moments with Charlie's heart rate, he was born! Charlie was having trouble breathing right away, and it was what seemed like an eternity before he gave a nice strong cry. Because of this and the fact that I developed a fever during labor, he was taken to a special nursery for observation. I knew that this was the best place for our little boy, but it didn't make it any easier to let him go so soon after meeting him. Luckily, Nick was able to go with him while I remained in the recovery room. About 3 hours later our family was reunited!

Nick and I still can't quite put into words what it was like to see our son for the first time. We both agree that it still hasn't sunk in that he is really ours to keep and love forever. Thank you to everyone for the phone calls, texts, and e-mails. It is so heartwarming to know that we have been in your thoughts. Nick and I promise to get back to everyone as soon as we have the time...which might be in about 3 months according to what I hear! Until then, we hope that this post answers all of your questions about Charlie's arrival. He cannot wait to meet everyone, and his proud parents cannot wait to show him off!!! In the meantime, here are some pictures of the little guy.