We proudly announce the birth of our dear daughter, Charlotte Adeline Phillips. She was born at 7:25pm on Sunday, May 30, 2010 at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London, Connecticut. She weighed exactly seven pounds and was 19 ½ inches long. She aced her new baby physical. We have yet to find a birthmark (Eben suggested adding one with a pen so we could tell her apart from the other babies – I told him I thought the two ID tags she wears are enough!). Her delivery was so swift she didn’t get the typical cone head.
She must be an eager young girl because she couldn’t wait to be born! She was not due to join us until the 12th of June. Never did we think she would arrive in May. All day Sunday I felt some pain and pressure, but thought it was just Braxton-Hicks (practice) contractions. By five at night though it was clear that she was on her way. We arranged for our friend Jamie to come over to watch Edison, but I still felt like we had time to eat dinner with Edison. Furthermore, I had hidden our list of potential baby names to prevent Eben’s brother from seeing them when he came to visit on Thursday. I was frantic to find them before we left for the hospital – but I never did. Luckily we already knew our top choice even though we weren’t set on it yet.
We left for the hospital at 6:30 and arrived at 7:00. I was disappointed to learn that I would not be able to get an epidural shot to manage the pain. The doctor tried to console me by saying that I’d be having the baby in five minutes, because when I was first checked I was already 9 ½ centimeters dilated. My water broke right then and I was quickly wheeled from the triage check-in area to a birthing suite. I pushed five times and there she was, in my arms. How amazing! In retrospect, it was really fantastic to be so alert during and following the birth. I feel like I can appreciate the experience more and I feel like my recovery is already going faster than when Edison was born. After the birth was over, they gave me a Motrin.
She is a blessing and we are so fortunate that she has joined our family! Eben is a little nervous about how to be the right kind of dad for a little girl. I am nervous for the massive amounts of pink plastic toys and the attitude of a teenage girl. But I am so looking forward to having a mother/daughter bond with her. I hope it is as strong as the one I share with my own mother.
As for the significance of her name, we chose Charlotte because it is not too popular of a name, but is still a classic, English name that fits well with Phillips. She might choose to go by a nickname like Charlie at some point, but I think we’ll always call her Charlotte, just as Edison has not developed a nickname. Charlotte means “strong or free woman” which is just what I hope she will be! Charlotte is also the name of several admirable women including: Charlotte Bronte who wrote “Jane Eyre” and Charlotte Perkins Gilman an American feminist and writer of the late 19th century who wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “Herland.”
Adeline is the name of my beloved Grandmother, my mother, Bonnie’s, mother. (Mormor to me, meaning grandmother in Norwegian and Bestemor to Edison & Charlotte.) It is a beautiful name and I am so pleased to be able to honor my grandmother in this way because she is a remarkable and inspirational woman.
Mom is alert thanks to the lack of an epidural or other meds. I am so proud of my daughter's brave entrance into the world!
She seems a lot smaller to us than Edison as a newborn - not as much baby chub on her yet.
Eben is so excited to hold his little girl!
The little peanut... love the polar bear pompom hat.
She's ready for her close up.
