Charlotte Josephine Thoeny born October 5th at 2:19PM

Meet Charlie Jo! Our precious girl was born on October 5th at 7 pounds 13 ounces with big blue eyes and dark curly hair. My original due date was October 20th, so she suprised us by arriving two weeks early. Brandon and I have such full hearts and are so in love with our little bundle of joy! We are in heaven enjoying our first weeks as a family of three, and she is perfect in every way. Our home is a beautiful sea of pink and tiny clothes. It's difficult to remember what our life was like before Charlotte joined it, because she is our entire world! (And, we may be a tad sleep deprived!) For months, we've heard stories and advice from other parents, but you truly do not understand the overwhelming love until you become one as well.

On the day Charlotte was born, I woke up around two in the morning and realized my water broke. As prepared as I was, I still felt like there werea million things to do before going to the hospital. To Brandon’s dismay, I took a full shower and my sweet time picking up the house before finally getting in the car. Our bags were already packed, but I am very much the over-prepared bring the entire house just in case type of person. We arrived at the hospital at five where my contractions had already become unbearable. (If we have a second baby, I will definitely go straight to the hospital next time and listen to my hubby!)

After 12 hours of labor and a wonderful epidural, Charlotte made her long-awaited arrival. I chose to have my mom and Brandon by my bedside, and my sister-in-law who doubles as the best photographer, captured the most precious photos of our first moments as a family. I was incredibly fortunate to have a smooth delivery, despite having a very rough pregnancy due to my severe endometriosis.

I’ve shared intermittently about my endometriosis over the years and resulting surgeries. One of my tubes became fully blocked, so we were given a short timeline to have children. While pregnant with Charlotte, I had to work with a physical therapist three days per week to regain mobility after the pregnancy hormones loosened my hip, causing it to go out many times each day. Brandon learned how to gently reset my hip to help me in between therapy appointments and definitely deserves the best husband award.

Since giving birth to Charlotte, my endometriosis returned in two short months causing me to have laparoscopic surgery again. We are blessed to have both sets of grandparents less than 15 minutes from us, so their help has been incredible! They’ve delivered us food and given us relief at all hours of the night when Charlotte just wants held and cuddled. They drove me to PT when I could not drive and have given our sweet girl all of the love in the world.

The newborn stage has its moments of course, but we are finding our rhythm working as a team through all things nursing, naps, bedtime, and much more. Since Charlotte arrived in early October, the holidays have been extra memorable this year.

Thank you for all of the amazing support you've shown our family since welcoming our first baby! Every message, call, and meal have made us feel incredibly loved and bless beyond measure. Our lives have forever changed as we transition into our new roles as mommy and daddy, and I cannot wait to share all of the girl things with you!