Belly Bean Revisited

January 25 was Charlie's first birthday. Instead of writing a post about all the remarkable accomplishments of her first year, I decided to go back even further, to when she was just a little "Belly Bean" in Mommy's tummy...

These pictures ran simultaneously in my mind and on facebook. In case you missed an installment, here they all are again:


August 23, 2009 -- Belly Bean at almost four months. (Note: Scale may not be accurate.)



August 26 -- Belly Bean gets a new blanket from Grammakate.



August 27 -- Belly Bean dreams of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.



August 28 -- Belly Bean dreams of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles singing Nickelback songs. (Mommy loathes Nickelback.)



Still August 28 -- Belly Bean has arms and legs now -- and hair -- and is starting to look a lot like Daddy!



August 29 -- Although still very tiny, Belly Bean has already developed a passion for reading...very small books!



August 31 -- Belly Bean is feeling French Today...Bon jour, Bebe Legume!



September 1 -- Belly Bean is a girl -- a little beanette!



September 2 -- Belly Bean strikes up an imaginary friendship with a couple of peanuts.



September 9 -- Belly Bean loves sharing a bucket of popcorn with Grammakate! (Obvioiusly, this was while Grammakate was still coloring her hair.)



September 10 -- Shhhh...Belly Bean is having a siesta after celebrating Grandpa Greg's birthday at Monterrey last night (The restaurant, not the city).



September 14 -- Belly Bean hopes that Uncle Dj will invite her over sometime to have a nap in his papasan chair.



September 16 -- Belly Bean logs on [to a very tiny internet] to read Grammakate's blog.



September 24 -- Belly Bean shares a special moment with Grammakate.



October 12 -- Belly Bean is practicing her gymnastics!



October 31 -- Daddy can feel Belly Bean moving now!



December 8 -- Belly Bean loves being swaddled in the bunting that Grammakate made for her...



December 9 -- ...and when she wakes up, it can be her super cape!



December 22 -- Belly Bean is celebrating Mommy's birthday!



December 31 -- Belly Bean tries out different positions in her new "expanded" room.



January 7, 2010 -- Belly Bean loves her new carrier! (And check out Mommy's six-pack!)



January 14 -- Belly Bean assumes the position!




January 16 -- Belly Bean demonstrates now NOT to get born, proving that children actually can learn from their parents' mistakes!



January 24 -- Belly Bean consults her calendar and decides that sometime this week would be good for her.



January 25, 2010 -- Charlotte Rose, a/k/a Belly Bean arrives between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m., weighing in at 6 lbs., 13 oz., 19 inches long!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHARLIE ROSE!

Sleep, Baby...Sleep

Grammakate at her happiest, holding sleeping Charlie (December 2010)


The world is full of troubles.

People suffer unbearble hardships.

Sometimes it's difficult to sleep, thinking of those who have no beds.

It's hard to stay happy, when there are so many who don't even know (or can't remember) what happiness feels like.

There are more things to worry about than there are hours in a day. That's why I lie awake at night to do it.

But occasionally I am blessed with perfect moments.

I had one today, when Charlie fell asleep in my arms

I sat holding her for an hour, feeling her little tummy rise and fall against mine, trying to make my breaths fit hers. I placed my finger in her hand, and felt her fingers curl instinctively around mine. I felt her weight against my chest, felt her downy hair on my cheek and smelled that indescribable smell that is Charlie...animal crackers and cotton candy, with maybe a hint of cinnamon?

And just for a moment, I knew bliss.

(Thank you.)

Charlie's Thanksgiving Blog

Charlie Crawls -- Get Ready, World! (November 2010, Joe Kopp)

Last year I didn't post my Bowl of Chairies Thanksgiving blog until January 24, 2010 -- the day before Charlie was born. That day I wrote about about how my favorite part of Thanksgiving 2009 had been sitting with Meagan on the couch while the rest of the gang played games at the kitchen table. Together, we looked through the journals I had kept for Meagan when I was pregnant and, sporadically, as she grew.

I recently opened one of those little books so I could compare my Meagan to Charlie when she was the same age -- Ten months old Thanksgiving Day!

Oh, how it all began coming back to me...I wrote to Meagan about how she would climb to the top of the stairs with nary a thought about the consequences, should she miss a step. Charlie hasn't made it to the top stair yet -- at least not on my watch -- but I have saved her from injury a time or two, catching her as she sits on thin air halfway up!

I wrote about how Meagan would climb up and stand on the coffee table. Charlie hasn't done that, but then neither is she walking yet -- Something Meagan started doing when she was nine months old. Charlie seems to prefer crawling, and no one is rushing her!

I wrote about how I would be exhausted from trying to keep up with Meagan all day, as she tore from one "project" to another. I remember making sure that everything in our lower cupboards and on reachable shelves was safe for her to play with. And watching helplessly as she emptied every one of them, thinking I'll clean it up later -- At least she's having fun! Now I sit helplessly and watch Charlie de-book the shelves she can reach, and I think, At least she's not trying to lick the bottoms of someone's shoes or eat the cats' food! For now.

(Did I say I was exhausted then? I was only 26 years old! I didn't even know what exhaustion was!)

I also wrote about how, even though I was exhausted, there were moments in every single day when I was filled with such contentment, I felt like my life was perfect.

Charlie does that to me, too.

Now, as I finish this post, we have celebrated Charlie's first Thanksgiving. There was turkey and stuffing, potatoes and pie. And Charlie's Grandma Vickie and Grandpa Joe were here from Nebraska. Uncle Dj was here, still trying to win Charlie's heart. (I know that someday they're going to be such good friends, we won't believe that she ever cried when he wanted to hold her. But that day isn't here yet.) Our dear friends Jason and his Wendy were also here, and Great Aunt Dawn and Cousin Ali came a little later. And Charlie was wonderful. Even when she got tired and cried.

So this Thanksgiving was special, and I am thankful...

Is There Anything Sweeter...?

Charlie, photographed by her mommy in the late afternoon sun, July 2010



Is there anything sweeter than a child freshly woken?

Is there anything warmer than her weight in your arms?

Is there anything softer than the touch of her hand upon your skin?

Is there anything more delightful than her chubby fingers and toes?

Is there anything brighter than her smile when she recognizes your love?

Is there anything more thrilling than the sound of her laugh bubbling up from deep inside?

Is there anything more wonderful than knowing she's anticipating your next move (as in Gramma's going to pick me up now)?

Is there?

Not for me.

More Charlie Faces

Another pictorial blog featuring Charlie's pudgy little mug...


One of our favorite places to park Charlie these days is in her "Mega Saucer" -- a truly genius invention...





Charlie, getting ready to lift off (June 2010)


She'll entertain herself -- and us -- for up to a half-hour at a time. (Pretty remarkable, given that, even though she's now five months old, she still has the attention span of an infant!)

Often, as I watch her reaching around for its various colorful (and noisy) accouterments, attempting with varying degrees of success to bring everything to her mouth, I'll reach for my camera, thinking That would be a great shot!

Alas, as soon as Charlie sees a camera, she goes into stunned mode, making it difficult (if not impossible) to capture anything other than a deer-in-the-headlights expression on her face. (See above.)

However, I was recently inspired...I set my Little Red Digital Camera on its sport setting, which allowed me to snap a succession of shots in a row, without removing the camera from my face to set up the next shot. I'm not sure what results I was hoping for, but I kinda like what I got...





Twppppppppppht.





Why, I oughta...!





What?!! I wasn't doing anything!





"There's an animal in trouble somewhere!" (From Charlie's favorite show, Wonder Pets.)





You're trying to get me to laugh, aren't you?

Charlie's Faces

In no particular order, here are some of Charlie's faces...




Phew! I hope I'm still Dreaming

or

Cannonball! (Meagan Kopp)




Yeah, I can wait a little while on dinner...I still have some fingers left. (Joe Kopp)




This is my mommy. Sometimes I laugh at her because it makes her feel good. (Joe Kopp)




My mommy loves me sooooo much. I don't even try to understand it -- I just know it. (Joe Kopp)



Hey -- There's only five on this foot...I swear there were six yesterday! (Catey Moore)

Madeja Laugh!

Charlie, With a Little Help From Her Dad, May 2010 (Meagan Kopp)




...I made Charlie laugh, that is.

Charlie's actually been Laughing Out Loud for about a month now, but only for her mom. Apparently, Mommy is hilarious. All she has to do is say "Roar like a dinosaur!" or "Little Charlie Fartsplat!" and Charlie is out of control.

Up until today, other hopeful comedians (i.e., Daddy and Grammakate) could say exactly the same thing, bobbling their heads in Charlie's little face exactly same way, and get only a cocked eyebrow and an unwavering stare that said, "I know you're trying to be funny, but please!"

Ah, but today...

First, I had to remove my glasses. (I learn quickly...Charlie had only tried removing them twice before took the hint.) Therefore, I was able to get my time-worn face in very close contact with her soft, sweet, drool-soaked one. (Pure bliss!) I commenced rubbing my face all over hers as I made gobbling sounds in her spit.

It cracked Charlie up, which cracked me up in turn.

And because of all the laughing, it wasn't nearly as gross as it sounds!

Note to Daddy: Feel free to try this...But take your glasses off first!

Charlie's Shoes

Okay, so now I'm just showing off!



First, I made these for Charlie, from a pattern her mom ordered from Etsy. (If you don't know about Etsy, check it out. I believe it's as simple as etsy.com.)


Thought they were cute, but the yarn was a little heavy.



So then, I made these:


Much cuter, I thought. (All color schemes were chosen by my creative daughter, Meagan.)



Time for a different pattern...(Same designer, same Etsy.)


These were my personal favorites!



And we were actually able to get Charlie to model a pair!


Of course with legs like that, any footwear is fabulous!!

Charlie and Lary (with one R)

Charlie has a best friend...He's a turquoise octopus, and his name is Lary.




(With one R, because there is only one of each letter in her linking alphabet set.)

It's easy to see why she likes him so much:



Here they are together...




And here.





Charlie tells Lary everything in their secret language, and he keeps all her secrets.

Everyone should have a turquoise octopus for a friend...They're the best!

Charlie's Bottle

Charlie's Bottle and Little Nutbrown Hare, 4-21-10


I think I'm a pretty good Grammakate. At least I'm a consistent and dependable Grammakate, if the fact that I show up at Charlie's house every morning between 7 and 7:30, ready to love her, counts for anything.

However, I have not been a consistent blogger -- at least not since those days when blogging was my newest obsession. I still love blogging, and I've spent many bloggable moments with Charlie in the last few weeks. I just haven't had time to blog. Or, on one particular subject, the inclination...

I remember hearing somewhere that if you don't have something nice to say, you shouldn't say anything at all. I've always liked the way that sounded, and if I'm not all caught up in the heat of some "moment," I try to follow it. So on the subject of giving Charlie the milk that her mother so lovingly pumps for her every day -- a true act of motherly love -- from a bottle, I haven't been able to say -- make that write -- much.

I have taken care of other people's babies while they worked, and I will say that giving those babies their bottles has always been one of my favorite parts of "borrowing" babies. Holding a child in my arms, its tiny hands clutching my fingers as it blissfully fills its tummy...That feeling of being able to provide exactly what that child needs at that moment is one of the best feelings in ther world to me!

But with our own little Charlie, it's been a completely different experience. We all knew that Charlie could take a bottle...We'd seen her do it. On more than one occassion. But the day Charlie's mommy returned to work was the day that Charlie simply decided that she would no longer be using one of those things to supply her nourishment. She told me so the very first time I tried to give her one...

(First, of course, she told me she was hungry. But even if she hadn't begun licking and sucking her hands eagerly, I would have known -- It had been at least three hours since Mommy had left, from all appearances, completely confident that everything was going to be fine.)

Of course, I was there for little Charlie, with a grandmother's love in my heart and a delicious bottle of Mommy's breastmilk in my hand. I cooed lovingly as I cuddled her close and placed the bottle in between her lips. Uh-uh. She moved her head from side to side, trying to push the thing out of her mouth as she made little "eh-eh-eh" noises. So I tried a different position. Still, the "Eh-eh-eh," a little louder this time.

Four or five positions later, including one where I stood on my head and held the damned bottle between my feet (I think), I was exasperated and Charlie was screaming at the top of her lungs. Just screaming. Eventually, as she tired, she actually began mouthing "Wah-wah-wah!" She was so adorable. I kissed her little tear-streaked cheeks as I cried my own tears. (Which, thinking back, probably didn't help much. Sigh.)

This same pattern occurred every day for two weeks. Mommy would call -- sometimes while Charlie was mid-tantrum. I couldn't hear what she was saying then, but I know she heard Charlie. (In fact, she probably heard Charlie all the way from downtown, and that was why she called.) I'd assure her that I could handle things, and that I'd call her back. And she'd sigh, "Ok." And I'd feel an incredible -- and futile -- urge to comfort my Meagan, too.

Thankfully, even the most stubborn baby eventually gets tired. After at least an hour of trying to tell me that she wasn't going to take that stupid bottle, so would I please go get her mommy, Charlie would eventually doze. And when she would begin to awaken, I would be there to stuff a bottle in her mouth. And she would actually manage to gulp down a couple of ounces...Enough to hold her until Mommy got home. (Amazingly, she didn't lose a single ounce of her "fluff" through all this!)

Now that doesn't really sound like Grammakate saying nice things about her Charlie-Bean, does it? But it's okay. I can say good things now...

Like finally, on Monday, when Mommy called for a report, I was able to tell her that I was just getting ready to give Charlie her bottle, and that everything was going to be fine. I told her to think positive thoughts; she told me later that she had told Charlie telepathically to take her bottle. Positive thinking or telepathy...Something worked. I cradled Charlie's head with my hand as she nestled in her "Boppy," and she looked [lovingly?] into my eyes as she sucked a three-ounce bottle dry. Then burped. It was amazing. And she did the same thing a couple of hours later. And then the next day. And the next...

I love giving Charlie her bottle. I love the way she clutches my hand as she draws in all that good nourishment. I love the way she sometimes smiles up at me and lets milk run all over her neck. I even love it when she spits up on me because she got too much too quickly.

Life is good, indeed.

Charlie's Platelets

This is our little Charlie-Bean on January 28, her first full day in the NICU (that's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit).



(See her little baby IV?) We were heartbroken to learn that her platelet count was low, even before we had time to speculate about what that could mean. (A quick scan of my 1973 Better Homes and Gardens Family Medical Guide turned up words like clot, bone marrow, leukemia, pernicious anemia...Some pretty scary stuff -- and a good reason not to do your own medical research!)

Charlie was put on antibiotics and subjected to bloodwork. A few things were ruled out (i.e., bacterial infection), but no one really seemed to know what was causing our baby to have "low platelet count." (At least they weren't saying.)

Charlie's mom, Meagan, also had to have some blood drawn, in order to rule out any condition she may have had which could have crossed over to Charlie. Negative results. Good, I guess, but then what could it be?

On January 31, Charlie was allowed to go home with her mommy and daddy. Other than that pesky low platelet count, she seemed perfectly healthy...no reason to hold her in the NICU.

She did have to visit her pediatrician and have her little heel jabbed with a needle a couple of weeks in a row, just so they could count her platelets. There was only slight improvement between the two visits, but since things seemed to be moving in the right direction -- and since Charlie appeared to be thriving beautifully, gaining a full pound in one week -- she was given a few weeks off before she had to be tested again.

Here's our little girl on February 21...



See what I mean by "thriving?"

And now for the best news of all:

On March 1, Charlie returned to her pediatrician for one more heel jab, which revealed that her platelet count is now up to 190,000 -- absolutely normal! (Oh, and her weight is now up to 9 lbs., 7 oz. That's almost three pounds more than when she was born!)

Best guess as to what caused the alarmingly low count (see picture below)? Meagan must have had some pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure) during Charlie's birth. Apparently that adequately explains things for the medical professionals involved. Guess I'll accept it, too.



More good news:

It looks like Mommy Meagan may not have to return to work after all...I think Grammakate should be able to make enough money drawing pictures for medical books to support the whole family!