2 Months Old

Charlotte Ann is 2 months old!!!  I cannot believe how much she has changed in the past month... it's unbelievable!  She is really filling out.  During her 2 week well visit, she was in the 30th percentile for weight.  Well... she now weighs in at 8lbs, 13oz which is in the 95th percentile!!!  She is clearly getting plenty to eat!  She is 21.5" long (50th percentile), and her head circumference is in the 25th percentile.  She is still nursing every 3 hours during the day, and typically goes 4-6 hours between feedings during the night.  We stopped swaddling her around 4 weeks, but realized it was keeping her awake, so we are swaddling her again for naps and sleeping.  It has made a huge difference in the past few days!  Thank goodness!!!  She was super fussy during her 2 month well baby, so Dr. Halsell suggested coming back for her round of immunizations.  I hope she calms down soon!  It's so sad when she's upset and we can't figure out what is wrong... I think she is just over tired from not sleeping well, but the swaddling seems to be fixing things.

She is so alert and sweet.  She is still super snugly, and is all smiles when she sleeps.  She has started taking a pacifier before she goes to bed for the night, either her Duckie wubbanub or her Nuk.  She loves taking baths in her blue baby tub, but gets a little upset when we wash her hair.  She loves to suck on her hands, especially when she is tired.  She follows objects from side to side very well, and loves tummy time.  She bats at objects in her play gym, and Hattie the owl is her favorite to watch.  She smiles when we play with her Whoozit, and likes for Daddy to carry her around in the Baby Bjorn.  She started cooing, likes to "Superman" while on her tummy and makes little spit bubbles.  She is now in size 1 diapers, and wears size 0-3 months.  She is ticklish on her thighs, likes to hold our fingers when we feed her a bottle, and loves to nestle her head into our chest.  Thankfully, she sleeps really well in the car!  We had a Mamaroo for her, but she wasn't a huge fan.  We exchanged it for a Snuggabunny, and she LOVES it!  It is so nice to have a swing that she likes!

Here are several highlights from the past month:

Batting at her friends in her play gym

Walks with Daddy

Two of her favorites: Daddy and Duckie

Still sleeps at the bottom!

Mothers' Day

Happy Mothers' Day!!!  I still don't think it has set in that I am a Mom!  This time last year, Michael and I were hoping to be pregnant, and it is amazing that we now have a precious baby girl. 

Michael woke up early with Charlotte so I could sleep in.  He made breakfast, and then surprised me with a beautiful aquamarine necklace, Charlotte's birthstone. 

After that, we got dressed to meet Michael's family at Whiskey Cake for brunch.  I've still been a major homebody, so it was nice to wear nice clothes (ie: not sweat pants and pajamas) and get out of the house to see everyone for lunch.  This was the first time I've worn heels in a long while.  Charlotte slept through lunch, but woke up just long enough to be passed around to Nana, Big Pop, Aunt Camie and Uncle Brent.  Rowan and Kai were so sweet to her... I can't wait until she is old enough to play with them.

Nap time




After lunch, we came home for a quick rest, and then met everyone at our church for a special symphony concert.  We weren't sure how Charlotte would do, but we hoped she would sleep through everything.  I think our expectations were a little too high.  She was perfect for the first 5 minutes.  After that, she was done!  Michael and I took turns taking her outside to try and calm her down.  It wasn't as relaxing as we hoped, but the parts we heard were lovely!

With my girl on my first Mothers Day!

Charlotte, I am so proud to be your Mommy.  You are the light of my life, and you amaze me each and every day.  Michael, you are the greatest husband I could every wish for!  Thank you for making this such a special day for me.  I love you both!

Mommy, I hope you have had a fantastic Mother's Day!  Drew and I wish we could have spent this special day with you, but we hope you now that you have been the best Mother in the whole wide world!  We love you!!!

One Month Old!

I cannot believe that our precious baby Charlotte is already one month old!  It's strange... in some ways, I feel like she was just born, and in others, I feel like she's been here forever.  It's difficult to remember what life was like before she got arrived.  I definitely remember more getting a lot more sleep! 

Charlotte is such a joy!  She is sleeping and eating well, and really only cries if she's wet or hungry.  During the day, she eats every 3 hours, and she usually makes it 4 hours between feedings at night.  While she is nursing well, we have had a few speed bumps: She still seems to have her days and nights confused.  During the day, she is extra sleepy, and usually looses clothing privileges so we can wake her up.  During the night, she seems to completely forget how to nurse... it's pretty funny!  We are sleepy, but waking up to her sweet little face makes midnight feedings a lot easier. 

Charlotte is snugly, squeaky, and is still in newborn diapers and mostly 0-3 month clothing (a couple of her preemie outfits still fit).  She is still sleeping in our room in the bassinet part of her stroller.  She loves baths in the Puj tub.  She tolerates tummy time for a few minutes, and likes to watch the animals move in her play gum.  She likes to fall asleep on our chest, keeps her hands by her face, and is not a fan of her pacifiers.  Her best friend is her left hand, and she relaxes when given an owl lovie that has Michael's scent on it.  She still has lots of dark brown hair, a beautiful complexion and very dark blue eyes. Her startle reflex is still very strong, and she constantly wakes herself up if she is unswaddled.  She likes to squish herself down to the bottom of her bassinet, and still has lots of downy hair on her body... I think from being so early.  She weighs 7lbs 2 oz, and 20" long.  She is growing so well, and we love her so very much!!!

Here are a few sweet pics from Charlotte's first month:

She loves her owl lovie! 



Snuggling with Marmee



Cuddling with Daddy

April 16th, her original due date

Our little duckling

Baby's first bottle

First bath at home

Nap time!

First walk through the neighborhood

Happy Easter!

We have celebrated our first holiday as a family of 3: Easter Sunday!  Michael's Aunt Jackie and Uncle Robert invited the family over to their house for lunch after church.  Since Charlotte is so young, we did not make it to Easter services, but we were excited to see everyone to celebrate this special day.  Charlotte was due April 16th, and I didn't think she would need an Easter dress.  I wasn't sure if she would even be here yet!  Fortunately, Jackie gave Charlotte a beautiful pink dress at her baby shower, and it was perfect for her first Easter.  She looked precious!

Michael and I were excited to get out of the house for a few hours.  I felt like a bag woman!  We were only gone for about 2 hours, but I brought everything we might possibly need.  She had her stroller with bassinet, toys she can't play with yet, enough diapers for the next month, multiple pacifiers that she won't even take, loads of burp cloths and bibs, and several clothing options in case we had an accident.  I like to have options!  I'm not sure why I bothered with her bassinet... she was held by family the entire time!

Lunch was wonderful, and we were so excited to spend time with family. 

When we got home, Charlotte was exhausted, and she needed a little nap!  We had a great day!

I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful Easter surrounded by family and loved ones!



Charlotte's Newborn Photos

Today, Charlotte had her newborn photos taken by Summer Photography.  Summer came to our house for the morning, and did such a great job!  We had lots of fun, and several messes to clean up.  Let's just say that a 6-day-old baby girl diaperless on a white duvet equals a nice little mess!  By the end of the session, there were several casualties:  the white duvet, my poor mother's pants, the oriental rug in our living room, countless blankets, etc.  Fortunately, we had a new bottle of Resolve and lots of bleach!  Crisis averted!

I had no idea what to expect... Would she be fussy?  Would she sleep the whole time?  How would the photos turn out?  Charlotte did so well!  She slept almost the entire session, and was very easy to put into those hilarious little poses.  Three days later, Summer came back to take several family photos.  Unfortunately, Charlotte was a little fussy, but everything turned out great!

Here are a few of our favorites:

Introducing Charlotte Ann

Our little girl is finally here!  And she surprised us all!  If she is trying to teach us anything about her little personality, it is that when she's ready to do something, she's going to do it... and fast!

Here is a little background info:  Tuesday morning, I had my 36 week check-up / sonogram with Dr. Umholtz.  Before my appointment, I went into work for a few minutes to check my email and voice mails.  I left around 8:30 expecting to be back before lunch.  Michael and I were extra excited/anxious about the sonogram because I was hospitalized for pre-term labor in February, and I had been having small irregular contractions for several weeks.  On top of that, my blood pressure had been getting higher and higher over the past few weeks, and I had been trying to take it easy.  Dr. Umholtz let us know that we would probably be a couple of weeks early, so we wanted to see that Charlotte's lungs were well developed, and her weight was looking good. 

Michael met me for the sono, and everything looked great!  That was such a relief!  Michael left, and I waited for my doctor feeling SO relaxed!  My nurse took my blood pressure, and I was just sure it had gone back to normal levels.  Well... not so much!  It was 148/110.  Dr. Umholtz came in, took my blood pressure again, and told me to go straight over to the hospital to be admitted.  She wanted me on full bed rest at the hospital until I delivered.  Hmmm... I guess I wasn't going back to the office... ever.  I was so upset!  Poor Michael... I called him immediately and asked him to come back to the hospital.  He cancelled his entire day, went to the house to pack our bags, and came to take care of me.  He is the greatest!

They monitored my blood pressure all Tuesday and Wednesday morning, and decided I could go home for bed rest.  We came home Wednesday night, and I spent Thursday relaxing!  The only thing I had planned for the day was our final pediatrician interview.  I'm glad we liked her because...

I went into labor Friday morning!  Right around 7:45am, Michael kissed me goodbye for the day, and walked out of our bedroom door just like he days every other day.  As soon as the door closed, my water broke!  Our conversation went like this:

Katie: "MICHAEL!!!  MY WATER JUST BROKE!!!"
Michael: "Are you sure you didn't wet the bed???"

Wow... how romantic!!!  I assured him that my water had actually broken, and we went into panic mode.  I'm sure you are thinking that we must have been prepared since a) if you are 36.5 weeks pregnant, you should have your hospital bags packed and b) we were in the hospital 2 days before so we should still be fully packed.  Sadly, that was not the case!  As soon as we came home from the hospital on Wednesday, I unpacked all of our things.  Who does that!?!?!?  ME!  We were running around like chickens with our heads cut off. 

Michael had an appointment close to the house, so I begged him to go.  After all, labor with your first child is supposed to last forever!  After I convinced him to leave, my contractions came on full force.  Why did I ask him to go?  I must have been crazy!  Luckily, he turned around and came home... he said he couldn't concentrate.  While he was gone, I called my doctor, and she said she wouldn't be able to come in because she was hosting a dinner party at her home that night.  Really???  Yes!  She said her partner would meet us there.

Michael waked in the door, changed, and finished packing our things.  I was REALLY uncomfortable by this point! 

Leaving for the hospital!

 As we were driving to the hospital, I was crying with each teeny tiny bump we drove over.  I've always thought I had a pretty high pain tolerance, but I was starting to think that labor pains were just too much for me.  I knew they couldn't give me an epidural until I hit 4cm, and I was terrified I would have to wait.  Thank goodness that was not the case!  As soon as we arrived, the nurse checked me, called for the anesthesiologist, and a whirl of people came into the room getting my IV going, preliminary pain meds going, etc.  Michael asked how far along I was, and she said she didn't want to scare us, so she would tell us as soon as my epidural was in.  Of course, that scared us!  Dr. Larry, my new best friend, came in to put my epidural in.  The nurse told him not to put too much in, because I wouldn't need it for very long.  That wasn't what I was expecting!  Everyone I've talked to tells you about getting their epidural, taking a nap, watching movies, etc.  We asked again how far along we were, and our nurse said that when we arrived, I was 8cm dilated, but now I was at 10cm.  It was time to push!  It was about 10:00am, so things were moving quickly.  We didn't really have time to get nervous/anxious/scared.  It all happened so fast!  I pushed much longer than they expected... we later found out that she was sunny side up, and was stuck.  That's okay!  She's finally here!!!

We are in love! 

Charlotte Ann Belvin
Born Friday 3/25/2011 at 12:51pm
6lbs, 9oz & 19.75" long

All bundled up with her Baylor Bear