Tupelo Honey

life in delaware. a (modified) birth story & an update.

i love blogging. i love the people i’ve met through blogging. i love the way my life has changed due to all that i’ve learned from my blogger-turned-IRL friends… but for a while now i’ve accepted that this blog isn’t going anywhere. it will never be anything other than (poor grammar) ramblings, lots of exclamation points & picture-posting while talking about myself and my loved ones, occasionally sharing something cool i see or read about… you know the drill. 

i’ve thought about shutting this blog down a hundred times over the last few months. whenever i mention these thoughts to andy, he reminds me of why i began blogging in the first place. tupelo honey was created to document the every day of my life. our life. the little things that add up to big things that make the every day really, really beautiful… a photographic journal. and at the risk of sounding self-absorbed, most of my friends and family read this little blog and enjoy having a sneak-peek into our daily routine. i also can’t tell you how many times i’ve run into someone i haven’t seen in years and they mention that they read tupelo honey and were inspired by something i said, or the emails i get on facebook from high school friends (hi!) asking about something i’ve recently posted or offering advice when i have questions. SO, SO AWESOME y’all. 

i miss putting words to pictures. i miss telling our story. and if i don’t start blogging again and documenting the every day of our days, i will regret it. 

so here i am, blogging again ::wipes dust off keyboard:: and i’m excited about it! i’m also excited to catch you up on all that i’ve been up to while i was away. for those of you that follow me on twitter & facebook, you’ve probably seen most of these photos, sorry about that.

ok, so here we go, catching up with the carmines//life in de these days

first thing’s first- charlie’s here! i’ve written his birth story and someday i might share that with you, but until then, here are the highlights-

10.13.11 i was in labor for almost 3 days before charlie’s birth day. i was finally admitted to the hospital when we realized that i was almost 6 cm dilated and not feeling contractions. crazy, right?? our hospital is in a different city than the one we live in, so it was important for me to be at the hospital should i continue to progress and not know it- no home birth self deliveries on my watch! i was allowed 3 support people with me, so i asked andy, my mom, and stephanie (one of my oldest friends/maid of honor) to be in the room when charlie arrived. 

after months of discussion and research and pouring over birthing books, andy and i agreed that the safest place (for me) to deliver charlie would be in a hospital. it was a very personal decision for us, one we didn’t take lightly. we respect a woman’s choice to birth wherever she’s most comfortable- for us, that place is a hospital. ((i’ve heard people say that hospitals are for sick people, but i see it as a place where miracles happen)) i was determined to have the birth experience that i wanted and i was willing to do whatever it took (including letting go of the stuff that didn’t really matter) to have a healthy, happy delivery. mission accomplished. 

i delivered both of my babies in a teaching hospital. if it weren’t for teaching hospitals, i wouldn’t be the nurse that i am today. when the L&D nurses asked me if i would mind sharing charlie’s birth with some of the student nurses and residents, i told them to bring it on… teach, learn!!!! the amount of people in attendance was comical- 12 total and 9 (myself included) were medical professionals. it was a straight up parrrr-taaaay in the delivery room, and rightfully so- we had a birthday to celebrate! we were laughing and joking around, music was pouring out of the speakers we brought with us, charlie’s birth was so fun. ((the morning nurses and student nurses even stuck around after their shift was over to support us and meet charlie. i love that kind of commitment!)) i can’t say enough about the love and support and pampering we received and the resources that were available to us during our hospital stay- ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. i had complete control over the birth, i was able to make the best decisions for my family without pressure from staff and with minimal intervention (i did get an epidural that worked on my left side only from 8-9cm, then wore off before i started pushing). it was a far cry from my first delivery and everything i wanted (epidural included) out of a birthing experience. I AM PROOF THAT SOMETIMES, A WELL EXECUTED BIRTH PLAN CAN WORK. I AM PROOF THAT YOU CAN HAVE A WONDERFUL BIRTHING EXPERIENCE IN A HOSPITAL. 

charlie arrived just shy of 6 hrs after we arrived, weighing in at 7 lbs, 8 oz. it took about 35 minutes to push him out, with everyone coaching and cheering me on every step of the way. at one point my OB looked at me and told me to focus while pushing- i was busy socializing! haha but seriously, it was surreal. euphoric. i still can’t wrap my head around the perfection of it all. 

it goes without saying that madeline absolutely adores charlie. 

my boys <3

charlie is the spitting image of andy as a baby, but there are days when i see myself in him, as well as my brother (charlie’s namesake). 

there was a professional photographer that went around and took pictures of all the newbies the day after they were born. charlie had JUST been circumcised (that’s a topic for another day) so he was uncomfortable but a few pictures from the session turned out ok:

48 hrs after we arrived, we left the hospital with our newest addition… our little charlie bucket. our missing piece. 

since then, i’ve been spending my days… 

playing with my family.

sleeping with my little buddy.

having deep, intellectual conversations while sister naps.

getting to know my son.

playing dress-up (halloween) and making art.

getting buff at the gym.

playing in the backyard.

relaxing with my boos.

splashing around during tub time. 

taking family walks with our new double stroller that is OMG all kinds of awesome. 

remembering all that i have to be thankful for. 

hosting very exclusive tea parties. 

wearing my babes. 

cutting down christmas trees. 

chasing after this little nugget. 

teaching my sous chef how to bake my my super secret ingredient sugar cookies. 

hanging ornaments on a gorgeous 12.5 ft tree that committed suicide 2 weeks later.

torturing charlie for personal enjoyment (christmas cards).

getting tacky farrah faucet hairdos for andy’s firm’s holiday party. 

laughing at our sad attempt to document our trip to see santa. 

hanging out with my best friend cori. 

introducing charlie to my extended family in NC over christmas…

including charlie’s godmother katie. <3 

handing out free kisses. 

celebrating the engagement of my brother and his gf stephanie… welcome to the crazy, steph!  

playing with madeline and her new bitty baby doll on christmas (this is one of the only pictures we took that day. mommy FAIL.)

celebrating our 4 year anniversary with the kiddos in philadelphia on new year’s eve, taking them to rittenhouse square and our old neighborhoods, having lunch at one of our favorite stephen starr restaurants. 

((we spent a lot of time that day reliving some of our favorite moments from our years in philly, daydreaming about moving back into center city and talking about what it would be like to raise two kids there. it will never happen but it was fun to think about!))

experiencing santa through a child’s eyes again.

((we woke up at my parents house in NC on christmas morning, then drove to delaware to spend christmas night with andy’s family, so there was no time to “do santa” at our house. with all the presents and chaos, andy and i decided to wait until our anniversary/NYE to set up the kiddos teepee and place all of the treasures we had purchased for them inside. we rang in the new year drinking a bottle of fancy champagne out of plastic cups, celebrating our good fortune & playing on the floor with our children.))

so that about sums up the end of 2011 for us. what a year! since then, i’ve gone back to work 2 days a week and madeline started preschool! i’m happy to be with my patients and coworkers again, and madeline is having a blast with all of her new buddies. charlie is hanging out with grandma while i’m gone and andy is busy as usual with work and projects around the house. 

my goal is to post here once or twice a week, sometimes more, sometimes less depending on what’s going on. i’m hoping i can keep up with this goal- we’ll see. i hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! i truly enjoyed reading everyone’s accounts of christmas and new years celebrations. 

speaking of birthdays and celebrations, madeline turns 2 on february 5th- super bowl sunday! i guess that means i have a birthday party to plan… where to begin?! 

xo

lindsay