A Baby Story - Charlotte Elisabeth

Okay.. Girls are in bed and I finally have a second to sit down and remember Charlotte's Birthday! Let's see how many details I can remember from that day.. (insert flashback music here)

 My last post on Wednesday, October 12th, I put that my "official" due date would be that following Monday, the 17th. Reason for that was I had talked to the appointment secretary that morning and that was the first spot they had available for an induction. I was really okay with that because I knew, knew I would go into labor before then. I really did not want to be induced if possible, I really wanted to go into labor on my own and now I had time for my body to do that. Well a few hours after that conversation, I received another phone call. This time from one of the midwives, Freida. She was on call at the hospital and was talking to the other midwife (Carolyn, who would be on call the 17th) and said that there was actually an opening for tomorrow morning at 6 am with her. Did I want to go ahead and be induced then? My heart literally skipped a beat and I did not know what to say. I think I was at peace with waiting and now I was being told you have ~15 hours to go into labor on your own! EEEKKK!!! I felt really nervous about deciding so I was honest with Freida and said "I really think I need someone to make this decision for me." I really liked her response - "You are 8 days late.. I think it's time you had that baby. Let's do it tomorrow."


I want to just back up and say that I had a few certain requests that I prayed to God about Charlotte's delivery. First request was that I really wanted Freida to be my midwife. I just felt the most comfortable with her and knew she would give me the support I needed. I loved how God answered that prayer with her being on call that day and also being the one to reassure me with going ahead with an induction. The second request that I had was that I would have a certain nurse, Michelle O. and even though she was not originally scheduled to work that day, God worked it out to where she had rearranged her schedule to be there and I was blessed to have her as my nurse for most of the day! 


William took notes on our iPad, so here is a break down of the day (I copied and pasted so forgive any spelling errors!)

Came in at 6 am
Had M davenport.  Talked about last time and picture on wall.
Dr. Gay came in and talked with us.
M's came in and Frank prayed for us.
7:15 MOverby started the  petosin.
Called and checked on Cora at 7:40 doing well.
Frieda came in and checked, 75% effaced and a loose cm.
8:30 Frieda placed the EASY cath.
9:45 FaceTime with zach.
9:50-10:00  MO gave a tug, social visit from Frank. More petosin.
10:10 Frieda came and checked maybe 2 cm.  Contractions 4-5 min
10:30 rocking chair & apple juice yay midwives
11:30 EASY cath came out
11:40 Frieda checking and breaking water, 3 cm, 80%, -1, clear fluid no meconium
moved to side A room 7 !!!
12:20 face time with Casey
12:40 Joni stopped by for some encouraging words. And see pics of Cora.
12:50 called and updated dad in-between contractions.
Contractions 2-3 min apart
12:55 lip exfoliation ;)
2:20 check -4-5 cm 90%
2:30 IV med for pain
3:30 epidural.
3:55 feeling pressure.
4:00 10 cm +1 started pushing
4:16 Charlotte born






I loved having Michelle and Frieda!  My favorite memory from that day was sitting with the 2 of them, just having normal conversations about families, shoes, and babies, etc and they would help me through each contraction.  William had left to go eat some lunch so it was just girl time.  There we were, Michelle sitting on the bed, Freida sitting in front of me and me just relaxing in the rocking chair. As soon as a contraction would start, my eyes would close and they would just tell me how great I was doing and how to keep going and just breathe.  Soon it was over and our conversation picked up where we left off until the next contraction came along.  When the rocking chair became uncomfortable, Michelle got me a ball to sit on and just rubbed my back and helped me find comfort wherever possible!  It was just a sweet time, being cared for that way.


Around 2:30, Frieda came in to check me.  At this point, I hadn't had any pain medicine yet and it was starting to get really tough.  Contractions were coming every 3 mins or so and I was getting pretty exhausted. When she told me I was 4-5 cm, I was so discouraged as I knew I couldn't do it anymore without some pain relief.  After all that time and pain, I just thought I would have progressed further so I was really disappointed.  Plus, Michelle had to leave!  She was really only scheduled to work until 11 but since she was helping me, she stayed as long as she could but had to leave by then for a family obligation.  So I was so sad that she did all that work to help me and yet I still hadn't had the baby yet.  So Freida recommended I get some pain meds to help me rest and relax a little. First it came through the IV and relief was immediate.  It was wonderful.  But pretty soon, I started to feel each contraction again and they started coupling, like I was having 2 contractions back to back with no break in between.  It felt like an eternity waiting for the epidural.  Once the anesthesiologist got there, they had some issues with the bed, getting it level.  They ended up making me sit indian style on the bed while he gave the epidural.  Once that got put in, I finally was able to rest and I was looking forward to that.  In my mind, I was thinking okay take a nap for a few hours and then I'll be ready to push.  But pretty soon after I got the epidural, I started feeling pressure.  No pain, just pressure like I was ready to push.  So after a quick check, I was ready to go. 10 cm!  Couldn't believe it!  I guess I just needed some relief in order to help my body relax to get to 10. 




So at 4pm, the pushing began.  With Cora, I pushed over 2 hours so when Freida kept saying I would have this baby soon, I didn't believe her.  I really enjoyed having an epidural as I felt no pain.  It was a great experience to actually enjoy having a baby.  After ~ 15 mins of pushing, Charlotte was born!



I had these doubts all through the day that I wouldn't love her as much as I loved Cora.  I expressed these concerns to Freida and I remember her saying that once I saw Charlotte those thoughts would disappear and somehow my heart would expand to love them both. She was right!  As soon as I saw her and held her, I fell in love with my sweet daughter.







Pretty soon after William cut the cord, he came down with a stomach virus!  Since Cora had tested positive for strep a few days earlier, we weren't sure what he had so the nurses thought it best if he left to go to the doctor since he wouldn't be safe to be around Charlotte.  Talk about God's perfect timing.  Not that I wanted him to get sick but if he had to, God allowed it to happen after she was born and not when I needed him most.  So thankfully, it wasn't strep, just a 24 hour bug and he was able to come the next day with Cora.










I was so happy to see Cora when she came to visit!  It had only been 24 hours but she seemed so much bigger!  I missed her so much! She did great meeting Charlotte. She was interested in her and wanted to hold her for a little while. I think she was very excited about eating her "Dora" cookie that her MeMa had got for her.  They also brought some cupcakes and we sang "Happy Birthday" to Charlotte. 





Our first new family picture!

We actually headed home the day after she was born, on the 14th.  I wasn't sure if I would want to go home so early but I was ready to be back with Cora and I felt a lot more comfortable in my own bed. 









If you can believe it, I actually left out SOOO many details!  But I figured this post was long enough as it was and you get the basic idea.  Charlotte's baby story was just full of examples of how God perfectly worked everything out.  We are so thankful it all went so easily that day.  I also want to say a special thanks to our families! William's mom came and took care of Cora while we were at the hospital so I did not have to worry about her.  My sister took William to urgent care once he became sick and sat with him for those long hours.  And William's sister stayed with me at the hospital despite not having ANY overnight necessities.  I could go on and on..I think I'll stop there. 



Frieda with Charlotte at 6 weeks.


We invited Michelle and her husband over for dinner to celebrate!

Since things got a little crazy at the hospital with William getting sick, we forgot to get a picture of Charlotte with Freida and Michelle so I snapped them when I saw them again!

41 week update

Pregnancy Highlights:




How far along: 41 weeks. Actually I'm 8 days passed my due date. I really have nothing more to say on that matter.


Best moment: Had an appointment yesterday and they checked Charlotte out to make sure she was healthy and also her environment was safe. First was the non-stress test where they place 2 different monitors on my belly - to measure contractions and her heartbeat. I had 2 contractions during the 20 minutes and Charlotte's heartbeat did great! She handled them very well. The tester commented how Charlotte was the best baby she tested that day so I'm a little proud, ha ha. Next we had an ultrasound done. The woman who performed that informed us she was looking for 4 different things: Sufficient amniotic fluid, movements, muscle tone, and breathing (I think those are right). The fluid was great! Charlotte was quite the active baby and was moving ALL around during this part. She actually kept putting her hands up to her face so we couldn't get a good picture of her, as you will see below. During this time, she measured her femur bone and also her belly to get an estimated weight. She estimated 8 lbs. Not surprising as her sister, being 9 days late, was 8 lbs 5 oz so I'm thinking Charlotte will be pretty similar. As for muscle tone, she also commented seeing several fat rolls, ha ha. Same thing, right? And then all of a sudden she went still and our tester commented how she had fallen fast asleep. So that is when she looked for breathing. It took her a little while, but they finally saw her taking some breaths. Which sounds kind of scary but we were told that it is very normal for babies not to breath since their oxygen supply comes from the mom so it wouldn't have been a big deal if she hadn't breathed but regardless, I was thankful she passed all the tests and they didn't see a need to rush to induce.




How I'm feeling: I'm not feeling too good right now. Today has been a rough day. Cora has been sick and I'm starting to feel a little sick myself - just cold like symptoms. Since Cora is not feeling well, she has been very hard to handle. My patience has definitely been tested today! Thank goodness God's mercies are new every morning because I'm in need of it today!! Also, I'm just tired of being asked "When are you going to have that baby?" I so appreciate the prayers that have been given on our behalf and I have felt them. I've really been fine with her not being here yet and I know it's not because I've been gifted with this super spiritual patience.. It's because people are praying for us and God is giving me assurance that Charlotte's birthday is in His perfect timing! I guess when I get asked that question, it just tempts me to want to think of this as in my control or my fault, etc. And it's not. I rest in God's timing.




So when am I going to have that baby (ha ha): Okay my "official" due date as of this morning is Monday, October 17th. If I do not go into labor before then, I will go to the hospital Sunday evening for them to get things going for an induction Monday. Sure my hope is that I do not have to wait that long but if I do, I do.


Alright, how about some pictures of Charlotte! Cool points for those who can tell what they are looking at, because I have no clue. Even with the woman telling me what it was - I was lost.



Maybe a face?  with hands in front it of?


An ear? hmmm.... 


Okay this is a dead giveaway - her ribs, where they measured her heartbeat!

Belly Shot - 40 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:




How far along: 40 weeks. That's right! I'm full term and Charlotte is already taking after her big sister by being late!






Best moment: Seeing some CRAZY movements. I mean, I'm seeing feet and legs kicking out.






Weight: 154.4, from my last doctor appointment, which was 9/29/11.






How I'm feeling: I'm feeling pretty nervous about what life is going to look like with having a newborn again. I've gotten really comfortable with how life looks now and it's about be completely different! I feel as if I haven't really accepted reality and that I'm still making plans like we won't have a newborn any day now, it's kind of funny! I have heard that you bounce back a lot quicker with #2 so I hope this is the case. I'm actually okay with not having her yet - It feels like a few more days of freedom so I'm enjoying what I can. Of course, I'm pretty uncomfortable. The worst is getting up to use the restroom at night. I'm really sore and achy and I have trouble walking a little. Plus, I've been having shooting pains down my legs. Oh, I'm ready for that to be over with! But I guess I can't have it both ways.




Things I miss: Being in control, ha ha. Not that I'm ever in control - God is. But it was nice knowing what each day was going to look like. Now, I'm just playing the waiting game! So thankful to know that God already has her birthday all planned out.




When will Charlotte be born: Well my last prediction was correct - I did not think she would be born before her due date. So I am curious to how late she will be. I honestly have this gut feeling like she is going to come this weekend. Either eviction by induction or hopefully I'll go into labor on my own. I guess I'll find out more info when I go back to the doctor on Thursday!

Belly Shot - 38 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:




How far along: 38 weeks. Where is the time going? It is going super fast now!!




Best moment: By far - getting to take Cora to the hospital to take a tour!




Weight: 154.6, from my last doctor appointment, which was today, 9/21/11.




How I'm feeling: A little unprepared. The hospital tour that we did was really great! I remember when we took a tour when we were pregnant with Cora, I left feeling so excited about having a baby and I was ready to experience it all. Well, I left this time feeling pretty overwhelmed! I guess I've been focusing so much on cleaning, and fixing up Cora's room and getting things ready for Charlotte that I feel like I haven't been really preparing Cora for what it'll be like. I know I can't really be too hard on my myself as she is only 2 and there is only so much I can do but I really want to spend some time with her, talking with her and showing her pictures of babies and talking about Charlotte.


Things I miss: Being able to make plans! There is so much fun events happening and I'm having a hard time remembering that we will have a newborn so I won't be as flexible and free coming up soon!


Do I think Charlotte will be born before her due date: I'm going to say No. Mostly because we still need to get some things done so it would be nice to complete it all this weekend and then have time to just rest and relax. So I'm hoping for that. I'm NOT, repeat NOT, wanting her to be late! Punctual will be nice! Just not too early. We still need to put her car seat in the car so once we do that, I'll feel better prepared!

Big Sister Tour

To help Cora get ready to be a "big sister", we took a tour of the hospital! It was also pretty helpful for William and I too - it's amazing how much can change in 2 years. Parking is different, the entrance was different, some of the rooms were different. So it was a good refresher for us as well.


There were 3 "big sisters" in the class, with Cora being the youngest. She may have been too young to get the most out of the tour but I still wanted her to see where baby Charlotte was going to be born and also where she would come to visit mommy. Cora really enjoyed seeing the rooms and playing with the baby dolls. One of my favorite moments was seeing a newborn!  They had one baby in the nursery so we were able to show the girls a real baby.  The baby was so cute!  We think it was a boy and he opened his eyes and just looked at everyone.  The girls really liked that.  Cora was interested at the beginning but soon was distracted with running down the hall. 


Putting her name tag on!


Seeing the rooms!  She really enjoyed the big light!





She also enjoyed working the pedals for the sink!


She LOVED running around the bathrooms.


After the tour, we went to a classroom where baby dolls were set up and the girls could practice holding, swaddling, and changing the baby.  The other two girls did great!  Cora on the other hand was a little rough with the baby doll!  She kept banging it on the table and poking it's eyes and mouth.  The instructor said we may need to watch Cora with her baby sister. 



Not quite how you hold a newborn...



Looking better.. Just need to support the head.



Getting some help from mommy.



She did pretty well changing the diaper and wiping the baby.


At the end of that, the girls got "Big Sister" stickers to wear when they come to visit the hospital and also a little story book about becoming a big sister. 



Cora with her book.  She has really enjoyed reading it.


The tour ended with that - but we were pretty lucky and ran into a sweet friend, Michelle, who is a nurse and was working that afternoon.  Michelle is actually one of the nurses that helped me when I had Cora so that made it even more special!  She took us on a little behind the scenes tour - we got to play in the rooms some more.  The most interesting part to me was showing Cora the room she was born in.  Luckily the room was free as they did not have many patients that day.



Here we are!  This is the room Cora was born in!



Cora trying out the stethoscope.

The long walk back to the car.  Cora (and mommy) was ready to go home at this point!

Belly shot - 36 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:




How far along: 36 weeks. 1 more week and I'll be considered "full term". This scares me a little as we have some things left to do! I kind of doubt she'll come early, as Cora was pretty late but you never know!




Best moment: Cora has started to talk about being a big sister and saying "baby Charlotte"! She even patted my tummy one day when asked where baby Charlotte was!




Weight: 153.2, from my last doctor appointment, which was 9/7/11. I'm going to the doctor every week now so that is pretty exciting!






How I'm feeling: The nesting instinct has kicked in big time! I'm really hoping we can get Cora's big girl room finished soon so we can get the nursery ready for Miss Charlotte. We aren't really doing anything different in there but it will be nice to have the changing table set up with newborn items and also have all her clothes ready. Oh and I should probably get my bag packed.




Things I miss: This pregnancy has definitely been a lot more uncomfortable so I'm going to say I miss being able to get up out of bed without assistance. I'm actually really sore in the morning and I feel like it's getting harder to walk around and move with a toddler.

Baby Shower for Charlotte!

Today we got to celebrate Charlotte's soon arrival with Williams co-workers!  They were very sweet and offered to take us to lunch and have a little shower for us.  I was so touched by this as you really don't see too many showers happen for baby #2, especially if you are having the same gender and such.  It was sweet to see that they wanted to celebrate our family on becoming a family of four!


Too bad William is not in it - here we are at Olive Garden in Wilson.


They were very sweet and had a gift for Cora also - a book about a "new baby".


Opening some super cute clothes for baby Charlotte!




She will be ready for the fall with her cute pumpkin shirt!

Belly Shot - 32 and 34 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:




Yep.  I did it.  I combined my last 2 belly shots into 1 post!  I think with our room project and also just being a little tired, I've gotten behind on my blogging. But never fear!  We did not forget to take a week 32 photo.




How far along: 34 weeks. 6 more weeks remaining!  OH MY!!






Best moment: At my last Dr. appt (8/15) I saw Freida, who we really like.  She is super sweet and nice.  She tried to figure out how Charlotte was positioned and she seemed to think she was head down with her back on my left side and her feet positioned over to my right side.  Makes a lot of sense since I've been feeling feet and such.  I was so excited to hear this as I was fearful she was not head down.  I know she can move and she probably has with the type of movements I've felt lately but we'll see at my next Dr. appt, which is 8/30.






Weight: 150.8, from my last doctor appointment, which was 8/15/11.








How I'm feeling: Pretty sore.  Thankfully, we've moved our TV into the living room recently so I no longer have to sit on the floor at night to watch TV with William!  That was getting pretty uncomfortable.  I definitely feel like she is getting a lot bigger, and the pictures really show it!  I think I'm starting to feel some anxiety about having a newborn again. I'm hoping I can balance it all.  I worry about neglecting Cora or being impatient with her as I know I'll be tired and preoccupied with taking care of Charlotte.  I worry that Cora will be upset that we have another "baby".  I know these are silly and that Charlotte will only add to the joy so my hope is that with writing these down, I can look back and see how God answered these prayers and be relieved. 






Things I miss: Not having stretch marks.  :(






Week 32



Week 34

Belly Shot - 30 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:








How far along: 30 weeks. Only 10 weeks left!






Best moment: I got to hear Charlotte's heart beat today! I had my usual check up appointment and Lisa, one of my midwives, said she was sounding happy and healthy! Lisa also felt around and tried to determine her position and she thinks she felt her head on my right side and said she seemed to be positioned like she was laying in a hammock across my belly! She also commented on how low she was.








Food Cravings: Desserts! I have such a sweet tooth, which I had this before I got pregnant so this is not a new thing! (nor can I blame this on being pregnant!)






Weight: 146.6, from my last doctor appointment, which was today.








How I'm feeling: Still a little uncomfortable! I only expect this to get worse as Charlotte continues to grow. My back is pretty sore and I have some trouble finding a comfortable position to sit in or lay down in. I have to use the restroom a lot! She is really low!








Things I miss: Cooler weather, feeling cute. I do not feel cute at all! I feel like a shape and that shape is ROUND!

Belly Shot - 28 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:






How far along: 28 weeks. 12 weeks left!  We have finally started to prepare for Charlotte's arrival.  We've pulled down all the baby stuff and gone through it and we are working on getting our bonus room upstairs finished so we can make our 3rd bedroom into Cora's room and have Cora's room stay a baby nursery.  It's starting to become real in my mind that we are growing our family! 




Best moment: Feeling her movements!  Since I'm sure she is running out of room, I've definitely noticed lots of movements.  Sometimes I can just push in on my stomach and I can just feel her random body parts.  I wish I knew how she was positioned to know what I was feeling.  She moves mostly in the evenings.  Hope this doesn't mean she will be a night owl! 


Food Cravings: Fruit, Blueberry Cobbler (we've been eating a lot of that lately!)




Weight: 143.8, from my doctor appointment on the 7th.




How I'm feeling:  I'm starting to get uncomfortable.  I'm carrying Charlotte really low.  Well, it feels low to me and when I compare pictures of this pregnancy and last time, it looks lower to.  I've started noticing my belly getting in the way as I try to bend down or if I'm trying to squeeze behind stuff.  Cora has a hard time climbing in my lap!  It has been hard seeing how big my belly is getting but mostly because I know I have 12 weeks left and I really do not want a bigger baby than Cora!  Hopefully she will weigh at the most the same or a little less would be really nice!




Things I miss: Wearing my comfy T-shirts!  They are starting to pull and be tight around the middle!  Being able to cuddle with Cora with her in my lap.  She pushes and shoves against the belly, probably uncomfortable to her.

Heart Beats and Glucose Tests!

This week marks the beginning of my third trimester! There are only 3 trimesters so I'm at the end - it is very hard to believe! 27 weeks, and only 13 more to go. Charlotte will be here soon so to help Cora become more aware of the reason for my growing belly I wanted to bring her to one of my doctor appointments so she could hear the baby's heart beat. It ended up being a longer appointment because of the glucose test. She did pretty well considering! I think she understood that the "thump thump" she was hearing was Charlotte's heart beat. I'm sure she was just relieved to know that she didn't have to get any shots or be examined by the doctor.


Everything is looking good! Baby looked and sounded great and doctor thought I was doing fine. So I'll go back in 3 weeks for another check up.

Belly Shot - 26 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:





How far along: 26 weeks. The number of days is now less than 100!  It all of a sudden has started to become very real that very soon we will be a family of 4!





Best moment: I've been feeling pretty huge here lately but I had a random stranger tell me I looked really small to be as far a long as I was.  So that made me feel nice, ha ha.  Also I've definitely felt hiccups!  She is starting to be a rather active little bug.


Food Cravings: Ice Cream - preferably the homemade Reese's peanut butter cup ice cream that we made for Father's Day! 



Weight: 141.3, Charlotte is growing!



Exercise: Still trying to walk when it's not to hot or smoky outside. 




Sleep: I've only had 1 more leg cramp so far!  Whew.. Hope there aren't too many more of those!  Also, William has been sick with a cold so my sleep has been a little off. 




Things I miss: My belly button NOT sticking out.  The button has popped! 

Belly shot - 24 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:








How far along: 24 weeks.








Best moment: I've been noticing a lot more kicks and movements lately! Maybe even hiccups? I remember missing this after I had Cora so I'm really trying hard to live in the moment and enjoy this and not just wish the next 16 weeks away.








Food Cravings: From previous posts, we've been into baking lately so I've really been enjoying the "Chocolate Chip Banana Bread" and also making Pizza!










Weight: 140.8, so about 17-18 lbs. I've been trying to eat right and stay active but it has been hard. I find myself thinking "I deserve this!" or "The baby wants this!". So it is definitely tempting to eat to satisfy all cravings when probably most is due to stress, boredom, or dehydration. But all in all, I think I'm doing pretty good!










Exercise: Still walking but it has been hard to do it outside as it has been so hot here lately! Hoping to keep up the goal of 2-3 times a week.










Sleep: Still going okay. Though I did wake up with my first leg cramp, this morning actually. They are so painful! I remember I had them alot during my pregnancy with Cora. Ouch!!










Things I miss: Not having to pee every 5 minutes! Also I'm noticing it's starting to get hard in my bending, squatting movements and picking up Cora is getting difficult! I can still do it, thankfully but I've been making noises and noticing it hurts!!








Doctor appointment notes:
Haven't been since my last update. Next appointment is July 7th and I'll be doing the glucose screening! Yummy orange drink, here I come!

Belly shot - 22 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:




How far along: 22 weeks.




Best moment: I love the fact that I'm not too uncomfortable yet! I can still move around and keep up with Cora. Granted, I'm pretty tired by the end of the day but at least I haven't slowed down too much.




Name Decision: Charlotte Elisabeth Bell




Food Cravings: Ice Cream has tasted really good to me! Probably because it has been a pretty hot few days here lately! Favorites are Cookies and Cream, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Local Yogurt's original flavor with mango and blueberries. Since Local Yogurt is near the hospital, I've told William that I would like a cup of that after Charlotte is born!




Weight gain so far: about 15 lbs. Just seemed right to add this category after the "food" category! I'm pretty sure alot of that weight was added this week, due to stress eating and ice cream!




Sleep: Been sleeping pretty well. Probably because I've been pretty exhausted from the potty training experience as of late and then just keeping up with Cora. I think I have mastered getting up to use the bathroom without being fully awake and going back to sleep pretty much instantly.




Exercise: Still doing the walking at least 2-3 times a week! Hoping this pays off with a great delivery experience!






Things I miss: Cooler weather, Maybe alcohol? I'm not a drinker but this whole potty training business has me pretty stressed so a nice fruity drink would be relaxing! (No alcohol has been or will be consumed during this pregnancy!)




Doctor appointment notes:
Weight = 137.4 lbs


Went to the doctor on June 2nd and had a great visit! Everything is looking great! Need to work on staying hydrated. Funny moment was when the midwife, Lisa, put the Doppler on my tummy to check out Charlotte's heart beat, Charlotte gave a big kick right then! Guess she wanted to be left alone. I have my next appt in 5 weeks.

The Name Game

We have picked a name for our new little girl!  After some debate we have settled on the name....


Charlotte Elisabeth Bell

Belly shot - 20 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:


How far along:  20 weeks. It blows my mind that I am half way through this pregnancy! I mean in 140 more days I'll be close to meeting this new one! Holy Moly!! So much to do! We gotta find a room for the baby! We gotta get Cora potty trained! We gotta sleep while we can!! Maybe one of these things will get accomplished and it'll probably be the sleep one.



Maternity Clothes: - This is a pretty dumb question now. Just look at the photo and you can see that I need maternity clothes! I'll no longer be including this in my updates! I will say I've been living in my stetch pants that come in black and brown!


Best moment: The baby has been more active lately and I've felt more kicks and movements. Plus William got to feel a kick too! Happened at week 18, which was earlier than with Cora.




Gender: It's a girl!! No name decided yet - We like Charlotte or Violet. Still debating.




Food Cravings: Let's just say I haven't had any aversions and leave it at that.




Sleep: If I could stop getting up to go pee, I could probably get some sleep.




Exercise: Yep. I went there. I added a new category and called it "exercise". I joined this fitness group with my church and we meet on Thursday's and have our weigh in and discuss healthy eating and then do a 30 minute walk. I started this last week and I've tried to walk everyday! I've enjoyed it and I'm hoping this will help me stay fit. Oh and while everyone else tracks their weight loss, I'll be tracking my weight gain!




Symptoms: Already I'm feeling big and round! Getting up in the morning is a little difficult. I feel sore all over and I usually have to sit down to rest while making our breakfast and Williams lunch. I feel better after I eat and have more energy the rest of the day.  I go to the bathroom all the time.




Things I miss: Sleeing through the night, Not having to pee every 5 minutes, being able to move comfortably!




Doctor appointment notes: Haven't been since finding out she is a girl! Will return on June 2nd!

Just a kickin'....

So it finally happened!  A real kick!  We were sitting watching TV tonight and I had been feeling little movements and I got William to put his hand on my tummy and he felt our little baby girl kick!  It's kind of hard to get a photo of that but I wanted to blog about it anyway, otherwise I wouldn't remember when it happened! So first real kick (when another person can feel it) happened at 18 weeks.  That is about 2 weeks earlier than Cora as with her, William felt it at 20 weeks.  I remember that distinctly as it happened after I ate some Parker's BBQ, haha.  That was like my main craving with her.  Different this time!! 

It's a Girl!!

Here are the pictures from that ultrasound! Doesn't she have the most adorable nose? Oh I can't wait to meet this sweet bundle of joy!










Still can't believe it's a girl! But I guess here is the picture to prove it!