The Bird Nest: Charlee Sue Smith is here!

So I feel awful that I haven't posted anything in so long but we have been going non-stop this entire month! August was loaded with major events in the Bird family including the birth of my precious niece, Charlee Sue Smith! My sister Adriane was so awesome throughout her whole labor and I am still amazed by her. She allowed our mother and me in the delivery room along with Adam and we got to witness the most amazing miracle! I had a C-section so I never got to experience a normal birth. I labored for three hours though so I like to think that I tried my hardest.

The only time Adriane complained at all was right before she got her epidural. After that it was smooth sailing. In between pushes she was making jokes and being her normal self. I was in shock because my labor was soooo not like that. She deserved a good labor considering the hell she went through during pregnancy!

For those of you who are not aware, Charlee was born with a double cleft lip and palate. We knew about it from about 18 weeks along and were able to prepare as much as possible. She will have to go through a few surgeries to correct the palate and the lip with the first one being at four months old. There is no doubt in my mind that this precious angel will handle it very well because she is very strong. Eating was the biggest concern for her right away but she showed us all how strong she is by nursing within minutes of birth! She gets more milk through a special bottle though and doesn't have to try as hard so Adriane is pumping and feeding her through the bottle. She is truly a precious gift from God and we are all so thrilled for their little family. And check out her HAIR!! There's TONS of it! We were very shocked to see all that hair because we don't have babies with hair usually. It was awesome. She's perfect!