Welcome to the world Charlotte Angela Maxson



39 weeks and 4 days pregnant, the day before I had Charlotte.

Her birth story



I started having contractions on Friday September 30th at 5:30pm, they were not bad at this point and they did not last long. That night Amelia was staying with her grandparents which was a good thing because I got little to no sleep that night. In the morning I knew that I was in labor for sure and that our little girl would either be there that day or shortly after midnight. Since my contractions were not really bad at this point I decided to get Amelia and spend a little time with her and go to my nephews birthday party. By the end of the birthday party about 4pm the contractions were starting to get longer and more painful so I knew it was time to go home and have Amelia go back to her grandparents house. By about 5pm Amelia was picked up and my contractions had gotten to a point where I had to stop what I was doing and focus on getting through them. They were about 3 to 5 minutes apart and lasting any where from 45 seconds to a minute. I didn't think this was quite time to leave for the hospital so mom and I walked up and down their street for about 45 minutes to an hour. At that point mom called my doula to let her know we were going to head to the hospital and that she could go ahead and make her way there, she lived an hour away so she needed to know a little ahead of time if I thought things were going to start happening. My contractions hadn't really changed in length of time or frequency but they were much more intense that if we didn't leave then I don't think I would have been able to handle a car ride. When we got to the hospital I was sure they would say I was at least 4 to 5cm but I was not I was only 3cm, I couldn't believe it since my contractions were so intense. They put me on monitors for about 30 minutes even though the monitors were not picking up my contractions they could tell I was definitely contracting so they kept me, I was admitted at about 6:30ish. My blood pressure was pretty low so they put me on an IV drip and started my antibiotics for my GBS but I was not hooked up to monitors for the baby or me. I didn't want them so they only monitored the baby every 20 minutes, I did this so I was free to move around as I need to cope with the contractions since I was striving to have a drug free labor and delivery. Although my contractions were so intense the entire time I was there I kept telling mom I didn't think I could do it and an epidural was sounding very good. I was seriously considering getting the nubane to help take the edge off but the nurse told me I should wait to get it as long as I could since the first dose you get is the best and the other doses don't work as well or at all. So by the time I would let them check me again(I was reluctant to let them because I was afraid I wasn't progressing very quickly and I didn't want to hear that) I was 7cm dilated and by then I was feeling lots of pressure in my bottom. That was at about 9:30pm, I was ready to get the nubane but my nurse came in and told me I could not get it because I was past the point of being able to. If they gave it to me at that point it could put the baby to sleep and they didn't want that. I was not a happy person but I had a feeling I was going to go quickly at that point so I just focused on getting through the rest of my labor. Oh and did I mention that I was once again having back labor and even doing everything I could to try to get the baby to turn or move so it would relieve my back labor it didn't work. I was also feeling my contractions in my abdomen as well, so there were little to no positions to help me get through each contraction. So about 10 to 15 minutes after they checked me I started felling like I had to push so there were getting things ready and telling me to breath through the contractions and the pushing urges because I wasn't fully dilated and the doctor was not at the hospital yet. So I was a bit worried that the doctor would not make it on time because I was hardly able to breath through the urges to push. To my relief the doctor was finally there and checked me again I was about 8cm and so he broke my water and I was at this time not really able to not push. The doctor kept telling me not to push because I still had cervix there and if I kept pushing I was going to swell up really bad. So he kept massaging my cervix to help push it out of the way quicker because I couldn't not push, even breathing through them my body was still pushing and I could not control it no matter what I did. So finally he told me I could push with the next contraction I was so relieved since I wasn't doing a good job not pushing. After about 2 to 3 pushes he told me he had to cut me to help her get out, I instantly said no. Although he explained that because of all the scar tissue I had from the 4th degree tare I had with Amelia I would not stretch anymore and I could tare worse if he just let me tare. So I gave in and let him cut me after another push or two her head was out and only one more push after one more push so was she! She was born at 10:17pm on October 1st, she weighed in at 7lbs 1.5oz and 19in long, I expected her to be bigger then that. She was put right on my chest and cleaned off, then they put her skin to skin on me. She stayed there for 2 hours other then when they weighed her and measured her quickly and put a diaper on her because she kept pooping on me.  She latched on and nursed after only an hour and she was very good at it right away. I loved having this time with her right away since I did not get this with Amelia is was a very special time for me and feeling. My little fighter that had me so scared in the beginning was finally here and I could hardly believe it. Even now after 10 days of having her in my life I can hardly believe she is with us and I'm a mother of two now. We got so lucky because about 2 and 1/2 hours after Charlotte was born her daddy was on skype and ready to see his new little girl. He was speechless for a little bit and I'm sure a sad that he wasn't there with us holding her. I feel very blessed to have had all the support and love from my family and friends through out this pregnancy and labor and delivery, I could not have gotten through with out it.

Our beautiful new little addition to our family.

Mommy and Charlotte getting ready to go home.

Big sister Amelia loves giving her little sister kisses.

2 1/2 months down and 2 1/2 months to go

Roland has been gone on his deployment to Afghanistan for 2 1/2 months now, and each day he is gone just gets harder. The only thing that makes it a little better is knowing we are just that much closer to having him home with us. I have been praying that after this deployment he is home with us for a while before he gets deployed again. I understand that we live the military life and deployments are a common thing but I do pray we could have at least a year together before he has to leave again. I think it would be good for Amelia and Charlotte to get to know their daddy a little bit better before he has to leave. I know that Amelia is missing her daddy a lot this time because every time she talks to him on the phone or gets to see him on skype she is very cranky after. She just walks around the house saying "dada dada" a lot and she'll come over to me and say it and hit me. I know she is missing him and it's so hard at the age she is because I can't really explain it to her to help her understand why daddy is gone or where his. I just tell her all the time that daddy loves her and that he is working hard to keep her safe. 

Oh how the time is flying with this pregnancy, I only have 2 1/2 months to go before I'll be holding and kissing our little Charlotte. This pregnancy is much different then my last, Charlotte is moving around all the time all over the place. Amelia never made me uncomfortable or kicked me where it made me jump but Charlotte does both of these things all the time. I have an odd feeling that she is going to be bigger then Amelia was but I figure if she doesn't make a grand entrance like Amelia did it can't be to bad. I also have to say that I'm very proud of myself because I have made it 30 weeks into this pregnancy and have managed not to gain any weight, I am working at continuing this and not gaining any the rest of this pregnancy. Then I will only have to work off what I gained when I was pregnant with Amelia, that I still have not lost 17 months later. Well I do believe this is all the updates I have at the moment, Amelia and I don't have very exciting lives so not to much to say, lol. 

Update on Roland

I thought I would take a moment to update everyone on Roland. He is safely in Afghan and has been now for about 3 weeks. He is doing well there not really much to tell anyone about that, because I don't really know anything. I only get to talk to him about 2 times a week on the phone and via email any other time. If people would like to contact him that would be great the best way would be to write him via his yahoo email account, rolandmaxson@yahoo.com. He is not able to get onto facebook very often at all and when he does he isn't on for very long.

Here is his address over there:

Sgt Maxson, Roland A 

Charlie Company, 7th ESB

Unit 42210

FPO AP 96427-2210

Anyone is welcome to send him letters or care packages. He is always in need of the basic personal hygiene items and he likes to get random things as well. An example is he recently asked me if I could find him a couple of foam swords to send to him. He is also alway asking for deer jerky, he likes books that are about dragons or fantasy or games for his DS. As I know more about what is going on with him I will let people know. He doesn't really tell me to much about what's going on over there or what he is doing so there isn't usually anything to say or tell.

I ask that everyone continue to keep him in your prayers and his unit, along with all the other military men and women over there. 

A Marine Wife's Prayer

A Marine Wife's Prayer

Give me greatness of heart to see,
The difference between duty and his love for me.

Give me understanding so that I may know,
When duty calls him, he must go.

Give me a task to do each day,
To fill the time when he's away.

When he's in a foreign land,
Keep him safe in your loving hand.

And Lord, when duty is in the field,
Please protect him and be his shield.

And Lord, when deployment is so long,
Please stay with me and keep me strong.

-- Author unknown

As Roland and I prepare to say our, 'see you soons' to one another I can't help but feel sad. Sad that for the next 7 or so months my other half, my soul mate, my lover and my best friend will be half way around the world from me. Sad that in these months he is going to miss seeing our beautiful toddler become even more of an individual with what I know will be a bigger then life personality. Sad that he is going to miss, once again, greeting our new little girl into this world and see her take her first breath and listen to that first cry. I try so hard to just push this all to the back of my mind and stay strong for my husband and our daughter but at times this 'job' of marine wife is overwhelming. I am so proud that up to now I have not cried in front of my husband even when we talk about what might happen, something we had to talk about because we had will's made out. I have only been strong and supportive to him, he is having such a hard time this time around, knowing that not only is he leaving a wife but he is leaving his daughter. He loves her so much and he's so afraid that when he gets back she isn't going to know him or want anything to do with him. I sure this is a fear of many men and women who leave their families to serve our country, but to see the pain in his eyes and the frustration on his face is heartbreaking. I ask that everyone please keep my husband in your prayers, give him strength to get through this deployment and peace of mind to know we will be fine while he is gone. That we will be here waiting with open arms for his safe return to us and that his little girl will know him and be so excited to see him when he does return.

Trying to cope

Well it is finally starting to hit me that my husband will be leaving on another deployment in a very short time. I can be completely fine and not even thinking about him leaving or being gone for 7 long months and all of the sudden, it's like driving into a brick wall, it all hits me. I have done so good not to cry in front of him or to hold back my tears so he doesn't see me cry. Yesterday we bought Amelia and the baby 2 recordable books that Roland is going to record himself reading for them, I think that really made me realize this is actually happening and very soon.  I want to be strong for him and for our daughter and baby on the way. I see him playing with Amelia and how happy they both are and I can't help but think of all the things he is going to miss seeing her do. She is going to be a completely different little person when he gets home and it breaks my heart that he won't have been able to see her become that little person.

So my goal for this deployment is to take pictures every single day, lots and lots of them. To take as many video as I can possibly take of her so her daddy can see what an amazing little girl she is daily. I will email him every night about all the things Amelia is doing and twice a day if she does something new I can't wait to tell him. Even though he will not be here with Amelia and I, I don't want him at any moment to feel like he is missing out on all the things she is doing. I hope I can keep this all up for him and that he feels as close to us as is possible with so much distance between us.

Ohio here we come...

Well after my husband got home from his training we sat down and talked about a lot of things happening in our lives. Mostly of his upcoming deployment, my pregnancy and Amelia. He was very concerned about leaving me here in CA alone when we haven't been here that long and we really don't know anyone except our neighbors, whom are very nice people. Roland didn't like the idea of me being here during this pregnancy because we have already had so much happen and scare us and if something were to happen then we would have no one to help with Amelia. Yes we have friends and family that I'm sure would come if needed to help out but none of which really have the money to fly out here or drive for that matter seeing as they all live on the east coast. So after talking about it for a week or so and doing some more praying Roland decided he would feel more comfortable about leaving Amelia and I if we went back to OH and stayed with my parents.

So at the beginning of May after Roland leaves my dad is coming down and helping me drive back to OH so Amelia and I can stay with him and my mom. So we have started packing up all our things again, and making list of what we need for his deployment and the drive. Making list of what is staying here in CA and what is going with Amelia and I to OH. I have to say it is all a bit stressful to do in the last few weeks that my husband will be home with Amelia and I but if this will help him sleep easier while he is gone then I'm happy to do it.

Also here is a little update on our Little Fighter. We had a doctor's appt on Tuesday, the Doctor did a quick ultrasound instead of using the doppler for us to hear his heart beat. He has a nice strong heart beat and looks healthy, Roland loved that she did that so he was able to see him in there moving all over the place. At one moment it even looked like he was waving at us, it was so cute. On May 2 we are going to get our 3D ultrasound done to find out what we are having and to get some nice pictures and a video for Roland to take with him. Then the following day we will be going to the hospital to have the anatomy scan of the baby done(basically an ultrasound where they measure everything to be sure baby is growing and developing right). Roland and I are pretty sure our little fighter is going to be a boy but until the ultrasound there is no guarantee of course. 

Here is a little update on Amelia, our little fireball. She is doing great and we think she is finally big enough to turn her car seat although I haven't decided if we will or not. She has 6 teeth now, the 2 middle on bottom and the 4 middle on top, it looks like the 2 next the her bottom 2 are going to come in very soon. She is just full of energy all the time and unless she is laid down for a nap or at bedtime I think she would just keep going  and going like the energizer bunny, lol. She says about 3 words that you can actually understand, momma, dadda, and hi. She also says words that you can't understand like duck which sounds like duaaa. She knows the sign for all done and we are working on teaching her the signs for more, eat, and drink. She is growing up very fast and surprising us daily with everything she can do. He daddy is already getting sad about all he is going to miss when he is gone, so I'll be taking and unreal amount of pictures on a daily basis and as many video's as I can for him. 

Well that is everything going on in the lives of the Maxson family right now, I'll update again when Roland is gone and we are in OH.  

Change of plans, kind of...

Well after much thought and prayer Roland and I have decided that I will be staying in CA while he is deployed. I know that I would love to be in OH with my friends and family while he is gone but the stress of repacking up our house, putting all our things into storage, and driving back to OH is just to overwhelming. Then I would have repack all the things I would have in OH, drive back to CA, get all our things our of storage, and get our home settled. All while I will have 2 kids to deal with, going to college, and working toward my doula certification. I also don't think it would be fair to Roland to have to worry about packing and putting all our things into storage right before he deploys. We want to have this time before he goes to be focused around us being a family and spending as much quality time together as possible. I have to say I never thought that we would be preparing for another deployment so soon and again while I am pregnant and having another baby without him here to support me. I know that this is just as hard on him as it is on me, just talking about it together is still very hard for us. I don't think anyone but other military families can really understand what it is like to be separated from your other half for months to a year at a time. Our life isn't like that of civilian life and we cherish every moment we have together to the fullest because you just never know how long it will be until the next one or if it could possibly be your last.

Our little fighter

I'm finally beginning to feel good about this pregnancy and baby, until we know what we are having I'm naming this baby our little fighter. I got to see the baby today and it has little arms and legs starting and a nice strong heart beat and it's such a relief to know that things are looking well! Thank you all for the prayers and I ask that everyone continues to pray everything continues to go well with our little fighter. My first official appointment is on March 18 that is when I will have my official ultrasound and get our first pictures of our little fighter. At this point in my pregnancy they estimate that I'm 8 weeks and due around October 4. Roland and I have decided that with him deploying and not having any kind of guarantee that someone would be able to get her to be with Amelia and me when I give birth that I will be moving to Ohio. I never imagined that I would be giving birth to another baby without my husband being here to go through it with me. I do hope that this time things go smoother and that being in my hometown with our families and friends will help the experience a happier one. He leaves for his deployment in May so that is when Amelia and I will be returning to Ohio, we will be staying with my parents unless I can find a furnished apartment to live in.

Amelia Jean Maxson, 1 year old

I went into labor at exactly 12am on February 21, that was Amelia's due date. I was admitted into the hospital around 12am February 22.



After 36 hours of labor and about 45 minutes to 1 hour of pushing I had my beautiful baby girl, born at 10:54am February 22.

She came out dramatically but perfect. She was 7lbs 12oz and 21 inches long.

I was not able to hold or see her until more the 12 hours after having her due to medical issues we were both going through. Finally at about 1am on February 23 she was in my arms.

My precious little angel bug was finally here and I loved her more then words can say.

She was released from the hospital a week after her birth. My mom, Melissa and I were finally ready to leave the hospital with my little bundle of joy.

The first 5 1/2 months of her life it was just the 2 of us because daddy was serving his country on a MEU. She grew like a little weed in those few months and filled my life with more joy and happiness then I could have imagined.

The day finally came that Amelia got to meet her daddy! August 19 was an unforgettable day for both Roland and Me. 

The time with daddy home was great and went by very quickly before we knew it our little girl was 6 months old. She quickly got to know and fell in love with her daddy.



We are one very happy family.

 Amelia's first Thanksgiving was spent in Ohio with our families. She had a great day playing with her cousins and eating lots of turkey.

We spent our first Christmas as a family just the 3 of us together. It was so much fun to watch Amelia open her presents and play with them. We look forward to many many more wonderful memories like this.



She got to meet Santa and sit on his lap, she didn't even cry or fuss. 



Amelia had the greatest best friend her first year of life, she enjoyed playing with Maggie more then any other little person she knew.

This year has gone by quickly but it has been one of the best years of my life. Amelia is nothing but a little ball of energy and full of all kinds of drama already.

When I look back on this year I can't believe we made it. It brought more challenges and emotional ups and downs then ever before but I would not trade it for anything. My little girl is a year old and I am looking forward to watching her grow up into an amazing little lady.



HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY LITTLE PRINCESS! YOUR MOMMY AND DADDY LOVE YOU VERY MUCH.

What to do what to do?!

Roland and I have been talking a lot about what I should do while he is deployed. With me being pregnant and us just moving here we are not sure if I should stay here while he is deployed. Or if we should put all our things into storage and Amelia and I go back to OH to have this baby. If I stay here in CA there is a chance I'll be alone when I have this baby. I am not sure if I will be able to make any friends that I will want that involved in my life by the time I have this baby. If I go to OH I am guaranteed to have the support of all my family and friends there. I just don't know if I want to go through all the stress of packing things up putting them in storage and moving back to Ohio just to 7 months later drive back here to CA and set up our home again. I'm not really sure what we should do so I would love to get some input from people.

Precious gift from God

How do I sum up the last week of my life, I have never been more scared and terrified of loosing something this much. On January 25 Roland and I found out that we are again pregnant, at first I did not want to tell anyone for the fear of something bad happening. Now after 2 trips to the ER and them telling me it's a threatened miscarriage I have changed my mind. I want to let people know what is happening so they can keep me and this precious gift God has given us in their prayers. More then anything I do not want to go through this alone and I would like to have the support of all my family and friends. As of this moment I am about 6 weeks(due October 4) and considered a high risk pregnancy. When we were in the er today we were able to see that the baby is still there and still has a heart rate. I just ask that everyone please keep us in your prayers and this precious gift we have been given.

Just no drive to do anything

Since we have moved to CA a lot has happened in our lives and it has left me with no drive to do anything. I really need to get this house unpacked and organized but I have no drive to do it at all. We found out that Roland will be deploying in May and at the end of February he will be going to mojave viper for about a month or so for training. I knew that moving here would bring it's challenges and changes in our life but I did not expect to get here and have to start preparing for my husband to deploy before we even have a chance to get settled. On top of that my mouth is still causing me a good deal of pain from having my wisdom teeth extrated. I have taken over 100 tylenol since we have left NC to control the pain of it and I have to say I'm getting very tired of taking them. I will be happy when my mouth is feeling normal again and I don't have to think about what I'm eating because it's going to make my mouth hurt more. At this moment in my life I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed and stressed out about all that is happening, it just makes me what to go home to my momma.

The beginning of our lives in Oceanside, California

After 1 week of packing, cleaning, and moving we began our 4 day cross country road trip from Jacksonville, NC to Oceanside, CA. We stopped on the way in Murray, KY to visit with some friends of ours, which was a good thing since our little girl was sick and throwing up and having diarrhea everywhere. As we continued on our way we ended up dropping off of I-40 in TX to I-10 due to the snow/ ice that AZ was getting, which added 2 1/2 to 3 hours onto our trip. When you have a 11 month old in a car seat believe me that is a lot of time to add onto an already very long trip. Well finally after 4 days on the road we have made it to CA and I still can't believe we are going to be living here for the next 3 to 6 years. I still don't know how I feel about being here, it doesn't seem real to me yet. I suppose after we pick up our keys to the new house and get settled in it may feel more real. I do have to admit that I miss Jville more then I thought I would and all my friends that I left behind. So tomorrow officially starts our lives here in Oside and I am looking forward to everything life is going to bring to us while we are here.