Charlie's Newborn Pictures.

Our good friends Amanda and Cameron gifted us with newborn pictures for Charlie and we were so excited! Amanda always raves about what an awesome photographer Becky is and she was right. Becky made us feel so comfortable and she was amazing and patient with Charlie. even when we got Charlie naked and she pooped and peed on her blanket :) newborns are fun!
click here to check out Becky Robinson's Photography Facebook page and here to see her website if your interested in using her as your photographer in the future. again she did an amazing job! now enjoy my babies newborn pictures :) I know I am!

 

Baby Charlie is 1 month old!

I can't believe my baby girl is already one month old. I knew that time would go by so fast when she got here. Charlie has been such a beautiful addition to our family and i can't imagine our family without her. But at the same time I can't believe I'm a mom of TWO!

Bella has been absolutely great with Charlie. She loves kissing her head and hugging her. We have to remind her to be gentle. It's funny because she doesn't ask to hold her a lot but when she does and decides she's done she says "alright in done." and tries to put her to the side too quickly. Good thing I'm always sitting next to her. 

A funny thing Bella said was the day after we got home from the hospital Bella woke up and asked when Charlie was going back because she kept her up all night crying. It made me laugh. You wouldn't know it from her comment but when Bella herd Charlie cry that night she came out if her room and we told her she needed to go back to sleep and she said "I can't, she's crying she needs me!" She wanted to soothe her and was worried about her crying baby sister. It was sweet. 

I'll admit that first week was tough. Trying to adjust to two kiddos. I was exhausted from waking up and nursing Charlie and Doug wanted to help but he really couldn't do much since he didn't have the right equipment. During the day it was nice because he helped a lot around the house but the biggest help was entertaining Bella. He played with her constantly and it helped me not feel so guilty about tending to Charlie so much. That dang mom guilt gets you. My baby needed me but I didn't want to hurt my 1st babies feelings in the process. I honestly think Charlie had a hard time being outside of the womb. Bella came out ready for the world but Charlie came out ready to go back in. She loves to be snuggled tight. loves movement (Doug bounces on our yoga ball while holding her to calm her.) mostly she needs her sleep! if she her naps get interrupted too much during the day she ends up needing extra soothing at night from being overtired (cant blame her.)
Speaking of sleep though we are super lucky parents! again the first week was tough. she wanted to nurse every two hours on the dot so I was awake a lot! like most newborns her nights and days were mixed up too so she would be wide awake from 1-3am so we were extremely tired! Doug really is amazing though because he would wake up with me and try to help but id usually tell him to go back to sleep because there was no reason to have two exhausted parents. I would need a break sometimes and he would of course help. since he couldn't nurse her he was on diaper duty at night for the most part.  after that first week of learning how to soothe my little baby, learning to nurse, and trying to catch up on sleep we finally got her days and nights back in order. one month in and she is only waking up twice at the most at night! the last two nights she has only woken up once!!! she goes to sleep by 10pm (before it was midnight, I've been trying to get her to sleep earlier and she's going to sleep 2 hours earlier than before) and wakes up at 4. I nurse her and back to sleep until 8am! seriously its amazing. she goes back to sleep after 8am too and I usually get ready for the day while she sleeps and Doug gets Bella breakfast and starts her day.
I really am starting to get the hang of having two kiddos and mostly I feel like I am able to enjoy both of them which is so nice. i am able to clean a little everyday and get ready too which really helps me feel better. I know I had some baby blues for the first two weeks, nothing terrible but I really think showering and getting ready helped me. It sounds vain but i have to get ready everyday or else i feel like garbage.
Charlie had her 1 month checkup today and she is a healthy 10 pounds and 5 ounces! I love my little chubby girl! she is in the 70th percentile too. id tell you her height but I forgot...I think she was 23 inches long...my brain hasn't completely come back yet. in fact when we checked in and they asked me what her birthday was it took me a minute to remember. at least im remembering to feed both girls :)
   

Love my growing girl! She has already started smiling at us. Starting around two weeks she'd smile a little when I talked to her and at 4 weeks she had been REALLY responding to people it's adorable! She also loves takings baths, which I love since giving a little baby a bath can be a little scary. 

I thought I'd also share my top 11 favorites for this month, And in no particular order:)

 

1. These adorable little baby booties! Not only are they adorable but they stay on ALL day and keep Charlie's little feet nice and warm. 

2. My nursing cover. Doug's aunt actually made me one and I LOVE it! I can't leave the house without it. I love having the freedom of nursing in public while still staying modest. 

3. I honest don't even know how many times I've said "I love my boppy." To Doug. Seriously makes nursing so comfortable for both Charlie and I. Also I can sit her back in it and look around. She even takes naps on it while I do laundry or clean up the kitchen or living room. Seriously I love my boppy!

4. Carters swaddling blankets. My aunt gave us these and I had no idea how much Doug and I would love them. Yes they are adorable but they seriously keep Charlie nice and snug! Doug and I loved them so much we decides two wasn't enough since we were constantly washing them and got another set. 

5. Lansinoh cream. Okay nursing is hard! I thought as long as baby had a good latch we'd be good to go but it really takes a good amount if effort especially that first week: thank goodness my sister told me to get some before Charlie was here so I was prepared. This stuff saved me! And yes I carried this with me 24/7 for the first week and a half. 

6. My WTE app. I use it to track how long Charlie nurses for and from which side. Being a bit sleep deprived this really helped me keep track of Charlie's eating habits and helped me learn her eating habits/routine. 

7. Carters burp rags. Adorable and handy! I love how thick they are. My little lady no matter how long I burp her she still spits up quite a bit so we go threw these a lot too. 

8. Mommy's bliss gripe water. These bad boys help with gas, colic, & teething. Again Charlie gets lots if air bubbles and even after burping her constantly I could tell she still has air bubbles in her tummy and almost immediately after giving her these she'd burp or toot. Or both lol. 

9. My medela double electric breast pump. I'm not a fan of pumping but I'm glad I have this and only have to pump for 5 min instead if 15-20 min. I also love building a stash in my freezer for when I need a break or just so other people can feed her too. Also if Doug and I want to go in a date I don't have to worry about Charlie starving :)

10. Wipe warmer. I think this is Charlie's favorite. When we came home from the hospital she would seriously scream when we wiped her cute little booty. I turned on our wipe warmer and she didn't mind anymore. It's also nice having warm wipes to clean her neck every morning or her face. Makes it easier on both of us :)

11. I already have a post about these but Charles newborn pictures! I will seriously treasure these forever! 

All of these items seriously made life easier on me and would recommend every new mom to have these handy! 

Baby Charlie's birthday

The night before my induction day I was a ball of nerves. You would think that since I've had a baby before I wouldn't be so nervous but because I've had a baby before and I knew how painful it could be I was pretty nervous. I kept thinking "I can do hard things" and reminding myself that Heavenly Father wouldn't give me anything I couldn't handle. Doug helped me finish packing our hospital bag, we dropped of the dog at my sisters house and then went and had dinner at my parents house. Bella was going to stay the night there since we had to be at the hospital at 7am and it's a 45 min drive from our house. As we were saying goodnight to her I held on to her a little longer and normally she'd pull away but she let me hold her a little longer. Doug told her it was his turn and she said "dad were not ready yet." Bella is a crazy ball of energy but she has always been very empathetic and I love that about her. She knew I needed to hold her a little longer :)

I tried sleeping but I was too excited and anxious that I woke up around 3:30 and cleaned up a bit. Doug woke up at 5 and we both started getting ready. He was trying to be calm but I could tell how nervous he was. I was surprisingly calm and As I was getting ready he sat On our bed and just stared at me like I was going to break. I told him to go eat some breakfast and he said "I feel like I should be doing something for you, what do you want me to do?" I told him I wanted him to eat breakfast lol. 

When we got to the hospital I was still calm and ready and I think by that time Doug was too. I couldn't believe it we were going to have our baby today! We checked in, met our nurse and she immediately hooked me up to an IV with penicillin I believe because I tested positive for Group B. It's very common for pregnant ladies to have it and it wouldn't harm me but when Charlie came out of the birth canal she could get the infection. The penicillin had to be in my body for 4 hours before Charlie was born for it to work so my doctor wanted me to get it right away since Bella came so fast. She also gave me a small dose if pitocin and upped the dose about every half hour. My doctor came and told me instead of breaking my water she was going to wait the four hours which is smart and I'm so grateful she did but man did those four hours go by slow! I had some contractions and they got worse as they upped my pitocin but not anything I couldn't handle. I basically just napped and talked to Doug. Watched a little Netflix. Finally at 1 my doctor came back and said we were in the safe zone so she broke my water and they were having a hard time monitoring Charlie's heartbeat because she kept moving so she decided to monitor it from the inside by putting something on Charlie's head and that part wasn't fun at all. Also I had to get penicillin every four hours and I had been getting it in my iv in my arm slowly the entire time but for some reason they had it turned up so all of it went in really fast for about 15 min and that was probably the most painful part of my labor. It hurt so bad and it felt like my arm was going to burn off. But it was only 15 min of burning pain so I guess I can't complain too bad. After that I decided I wouldn't mind getting my epiderul now. My contractions weren't unbearable but I knew they were going to start becoming pretty intense and I didn't feel like feeling any pain. Can you blame me? 

Doug was cute while I was getting my epidural. When you get it it's like 5 different kinda of pain and uncomfortableness. Again not terrible or unbearable by any means but during one part I started shaking pretty bad and he got really worried. He asked the guy if I was suppose to be shaking and the guy said it was very common. Poor guy I told him I was okay but I could still see the worry in his eyes. The only thing I was worried about was if the epidural would work or not since for some reason it didn't at all with Bella. It did! When my legs started going numb I was soooo excited! I kept telling Doug it was working  because I really was just excited that it did. Especially before the real pain started. I knew I could handle it if I had to but I didn't have to and that made me happy. 

My nurse was suppose to start cranking up my pitocin after that and she actually had to turn it down because my body started contracting on it's own and my doctor wanted me to wait till 5 because she had a surgery before. She kept coming in and turning it lower and lower and the whole time Doug would look at the monitor and say "oh that was a big one! Did you feel it?" And of course I did not. It was wonderful. 

While we waited my sister and niece came by and visited for a while. It was nice to be able to spend sometime with my niece since it was her birthday too. She was so sweet and I could tell she was a bit nervous when she first saw me. It was nice that I wasn't in pain though because I could talk to both of them calmly and have a good time. 

After they left I took another nap and apparently my blood pressure became low and that's why I became tired so they gave me medicine for that and almost immediately my energy went back up. After my nurse came in and told me I was going to start pushing at 5:10 with her instead of 5 because my doctor was running late. Funny how they could plan all of this. It was weird though because my body had been contracting/laboring on it's own but then when we were about to start pushing they got pretty light so my nurse turned my pitocin up again. 

I was pretty calm the entire time. The room was calm, Doug was calm, even my four year old niece was calm when she came but when my nurse came in so I could start pushing I started freaking out. I got really lightheaded and I was afraid since I was so numb I wouldn't be able to push. I was also worried because she was sunny side up that morning and my nurse said that the doctor might try to turn her or that it would be harder to push her out. Also I was about to have a baby! So all these thoughts came in my head at once and My nurse and Doug had to tell me to take deep breaths. Doug really helped me here and I was able to calm down enough to push. Unfortunately my nurse wasn't great. I hate saying that because my nurse with Bella was amazing! Charlie was coming down as good or as fast as my nurse had hoped apparently so she seemed annoyed that it was taking so long. I got pretty discouraged but luckily my doctor came in just in time. And she reminded me exactly why I wanted her to be my doctor again. She came in and brought in an amazing vibe. I was discouraged and she had enough energy for the both of us. I felt like a different person and I was able to reality push. For each contraction I was suppose to push three times and every time I started getting tired she would start encouraging me and i was able to push harder. About 20-30 min later I could feel Charlie's head and I knew she was about to come out and I got this overwhelming feeling of joy. I was about to meet my daughter! After waiting over 2 years to meet her she was finally coming. I started crying. And then she came. I had an oxygen mask and my doctor put her on my chest I ripped it off so I could see her and again I started crying because I couldn't believe she was here! The first thing I said was "she's so big!" My doctor couldn't believe it either. She delivered Bella so she knew she was 6lbs 7 ounces and she knew I was worried about how big Charlie would be. My doctor even waited because she was so curious to see how much she weighed. And she was a whopping 8lbs and 14 ounces! I couldn't believe it. I still can't believe I had an almost 9 pound baby. The fact that I can carry and deliver such a big baby amazes me. What's crazy too is that I tared with Bella but with Charlie who was over 2 lbs. bigger I didn't tear at all. 

After my doctor congratulated Doug and I she left and I got to hold Charlie on my chest skin to skin for about an hour. I was able to nurse her a bit and Doug took pictures, texted everyone and even posted Them on Facebook which is funny to me because he hardly ever post pictures on there but he was just so happy. That hour of just us three was amazing. 

Charlie's birth was long. It had a lot of waiting but I loved how calm and peaceful Doug and I were before. I love how loved I felt by Doug. He really was amazing. I love how my doctor really helped encourage me when I needed her.  And I love how it was just Doug and I during the delivery. He told me he has never loved me more. And I loved seeing him hold her for the first time and hearing him say over and over again how much he loved her. December 27th was a great day. 

39 weeks!

 

How far along: 39 weeks and 4 days

Baby Is the size a: watermelon (19-22 inches, 6-9 lbs)

Total weight gain/loss: 19lbs

The Bump: huge and heavy! I have to prop this sucker up on a pillow when i lay on my side or else it starts hurting. My doctor measured me and said "wow, you really are running out of room aren't you?" 

Symptoms: my right foot is numb. My feet are swollen and hands. Lots of cramping, tired, and getting grumpy easier...but I really try not to let it show lol. 

Food Cravings: not really lately...

Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: nope. Still get nauseous from time to time but nothing triggers it.  

Sleep: this week not great. But I was too excited about Christmas Eve, then Christmas, and now having the baby tomorrow so I'm not surprised :) 

What I miss: my feet fitting into my shoes. This was never a problem with Bella. And since there's snow I can't really wear flip flops so I wear slippers everywhere pretty much....

Weddings Rings On or Off: off

Any Names Picked Out Yet: Charlie Janae Simpson :)

Gender: Girl, Girl, Girl!

Movement: I'm going to miss her dancing in my belly! Her moves are sooo big and strong.  

Maternity Clothes: Always. I'm pretty over wearing the same outfits all the time but I'm happy I had enough to last me till the end:) 

Labor Signs: in one week I went from 1 1/2 cm dialated and 25% effaced to 4cm dialated and 70% effaced. Today when my doctor checked me she said I was still a good 4 cm dialated and she was surprised I hadn't gone into labor on my own already. I was too but it was a blessing in discise. I'm happy we got to celebrate the holidays with just bella one last time. And I'm happy I didn't have to worry about missing our family events of taking a brand new baby to them. 

Best Moment of the Week: there's two. Yesterday right before we went to bed Doug walked into Charlie's room and just stared at everything. It's really hitting him that she's coming and he's so excited! Makes my heart happy. I married a great man. The second was when we dropped Bella off with my parents tonight. She let me hug her for a long time before we left. I needed it. And when Doug said "okay it's my turn now." She said "no, we're not ready yet." She really understands what's going on and she knew her mom needed a really good hug from her favorite little girl:) 

What I’m excited about/looking forward to: everything! I can't wait for labor to be over. I can't wait to see her face. I can't wait to see Doug's face when he holds her for the first time. I can't wait for Bella to meet her sister. I can't wait to bring her home. 

Full term!

Woah belly! 

 

How far along: 37 weeks and 2 days

Baby Is the size of a: watermelon (19-22 inches 6.5 lbs) 

Total weight gain/loss: honestly I have no idea lol, I ment to ask my doctor today but I forgot...I imagine 15 or more lol 

The Bump: large and in charge! Lol I notice when I go anywhere people stare and smile at me. Everyone has been asking me how much longer I have too. This belly is BIG! And yes still running into EVERYTHING lol. I don't realize how big I am. 

Symptoms: mostly just super tired lately. A little lightheaded from time to time. 

Food Cravings: hot chocolate, yumm! 

Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: I still get nauseous sometimes but nothing really triggers it.

Sleep: I love sleeping! My pregnancy pillow is amazing. 

What I miss: my wedding ring still. And my shoes fitting comfortably lol. 

Weddings Rings On or Off: off

Any Names Picked Out Yet: Charlie Janae Simpson :)

Gender: Girl, Girl, Girl!

Movement: I love watching her move. They are sharp and strong movements too. 

Maternity Clothes: I found some pants that I forgot I had that fit great! I'm so excited they still fit since they aren't maternity pants. 

Labor Signs: I'm 1 1/2cm dialated and 25% effaced! It's not much and I could stay like this forever but I love that my body is getting ready! Also I've been getting stronger Braxton hicks, and pretty crampy. She could really come anytime :) 

Best Moment of the Week: I asked my doctor if the hospital encouraged breast feeding within the first hour of baby being born and she said yes and they also encourage skin to skin as soon as she's out and that made me sooooo happy! I've read that nursing within the first hour really helps both mom and baby  with long term breast feeding. 

What I’m excited about/looking forward to: still meeting Charlie! I cannot wait! I'm nervous of going into labor on my own because we live 45 min away from the hospital and it started snowing. So hopefully I'll go into labor while Doug is home and I make it on time to the hospital or I hold her in 40 weeks and then I get induced so we can calmly make it to the hospital. 

35 weeks!

 

 

How far along: 35 weeks and 2 days

Baby Is the size of a: Large Cantaloupe (19 to 22 in, 6 lbs)

Total weight gain/loss: 15lbs

The Bump: woah baby! Seriously this belly runs into everything. She's feeling super heavy too and I'm getting some stretch marks on the bottom of my belly that I can only see if I look in the mirror but really not terrible. I saw a video of a baby who was born 15 weeks early and growing baby Charlie in my belly this long makes getting stretch marks more than worth it.  

Symptoms: I've been having a hard time breathing. I get lightheaded sometimes and just feeling super tired. Baby must be growing.  

Food Cravings: pizza :) I could eat it all day everyday. but I don't :)

Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: nothing imp articular. just nauseous random days.  

Sleep: my pregnancy pillow is amazing! without it I know I wouldn't be sleeping so well.

What I miss: wearing my wedding ring. I tried wearing it on our date night and it fit fine when I put it on but in the middle of our date I had to take it off because my fingers started swelling :/  

Weddings Rings On or Off: off

Any Names Picked Out Yet: Charlie Janae Simpson :)

Gender: Girl, Girl, Girl!

Movement: BIG strong movements! they hurt sometimes but are still soooo fun to watch! every time my doctor checks her heartbeat she feels and sees her move its fun:) She's head down too and we can def. make out her little feet and its soooo sweet! those little feet are the kicks that hurt the most but I love that I can make them out when we feel them.  

Maternity Clothes: Finding clothes to wear is starting to get harder every morning. My belly has really started growing in the last few weeks and my regular shirts are just not fitting right (obviously) so I've been wearing a lot of the same clothes over and over again.

Labor Signs: We had a little scare last week at my 34 week check up. My blood pressure was suddenly high so my doctor told me to keep checking it and if it was high to go into labor and delivery. well it was high again the next day and so I had to go in. they checked me for preeclampsia which came out negative. but I had a little panic attack about it because I apparently cant handle anything these days. but in the end baby is fine and so am I and she's going to stay in my belly longer so her lungs can fully develop and so she can fatten up:)

Best Moment of the Week: Doug has been awesome. my best moment this week was when I cried about my blood pressure because she said I might have to have her early and it worried me. I felt like I wasn't able to protect Charlie and I knew being upset about it didn't help at all but Doug was definitely my rock when I needed him to be and that means the world to me.  

What I’m excited about/looking forward to: meeting my little lady:) I met my new nephew today and It made me soo excited to hold my little girl. only 33 days until my due date!

My Top Ten Favorites.

My pregnancy has been pretty smooth. Nothing too hard or painful but they're has been a few things that have made it easier. So I thought I'd share my Top 10 list of my pregnancy favorites so far and in no particular order :)

 

#1. Doug deserves credit for this but he got me my Camelbak water bottle when we first got to Idaho and I have LOVED it! you hear all the time how important water is but pre-pregnancy I really started trying to drink half my weight in ounces a day and I noticed such a difference so obviously I wanted to continue this during my pregnancy. I refill my Camelbak a billion times a day and the only downside is waking up at night and having to pee 2-3 times. oh well :) definitely worth staying hydrated.

#2. Yes this pregnancy has been pretty easy however not completely pain free.  This was completely new to me. I don't think I ever had to take Tylenol when I was pregnant with Bella. I sometimes get terrible headaches and my first terrible headache I thought maybe I just didn't drink enough water but finally gave in that evening after a full day of my head feeling like it was going to explode and it worked like a charm. Not only do I get headaches with Charlie but she is very low and heavy and at the end of some days my body feels like its turning against me. I really try not to take Tylenol to often but it does help me function some days.

#3. Leggings! oh do I love my comfy leggings. I put on a dress over them add some boots and not only am I comfy but I feel cute :)

#4. I'm not sure if its pregnancy or moving back to Idaho but my lips have been needing some extra moisture so I bought some EOS blueberry acai chap stick and I LOVE it! not only do I love it but it last forever. I loved it so much that I gave some to my mom and sister in their "thank you" bag for throwing my baby shower. My mom loves it too! Here's a tip though, if you decide to purchase buy them from Costco. I bought mine at target and then went back later to buy my mom and sisters (about $4 each) and then saw that they were $10 for FIVE at Costco! so buy yours at Costco!

#5. I got so lucky with my pregnancy pillow. My sister gave it to me and I am super grateful! It seriously takes all the weight of my belly off my back. I sleep amazing when I use this sucker. even Doug uses it sometimes :)

#6. A well fitted bra. Again I never had this problem with Bella and I almost didn't post this because I'm a little embarrassed but I got sized at motherhood maternity because my bra's were getting uncomfortable and I don't like spending a lot of money on myself (at once) but I am determined to nurse so I gave in and got some new nursing bras and wow! Having a bra that fits like its suppose it is great! Of course I did do my share of research on who had the best deals or the lease expensive nursing bras and I was pleasantly surprised that motherhood maternity had the lowest in cost. I looked at Sears, Macy's, Target, and Kohl's. Not only did they have the lowest price but they had a sale of buy 3 get the 4th free!

#7. I love my chalkboard! I love documenting my pregnancy and I think the chalkboard has made it a little extra fun. Some people think its lame but I don't care:) Also its a fun little moment with just Doug and I and we usually spend half the time laughing or making crazy faces at each other. By the way if you are in the market for a chalkboard here's some good news they aren't expensive ($6). I got mine at hobby lobby and they ALWAYS have a 40% of coupon code online that you can print or if you have a smart phone you can download the app and they can scan. happy chalk boarding :)

#8. Again Doug got me my Ultimate Sherpa Throw from my favorite store Costco! Seriously the softest most cozy blanket in the world. I'm taking mine to the hospital with me:)

#9. More pills. I was so proud at the beginning of my pregnancy because my iron was FINALLY at a healthy level. its usually always low but unfortunately it didn't last. I had to start taking iron twice a day and I was bummed at first but after a few days I noticed how much more energy I had and I felt like I could think more clearly. I haven't been as hormonal aka crazy lol. Mostly I feel more like myself so I am so grateful for my iron supplements. They have definitely made pregnancy easier.

#10. Last but not least Mio. Again I am a huge believer in water. Makes you feel more energized, helps manage weight, the list goes on. At the beginning of my pregnancy it was sometimes hard to drink water (morning sickness) but for some reason adding a little Mio seemed to help. And to be honest drinking water can get boring sometimes so again I add a little bit of Mio and it helps me make sure that I am drinking enough for the day. Even Bella loves Mio and it helps her drink more water which I love as a mom!

I hope this blog post wasn't super boring and if you are pregnant or have been pregnant please let me know what you loved/what made being pregnant easier. I'd love to know :) or if you are newly pregnant I hope my favorites can become your favorites:)