Whelp...it's official...the Bells are becoming a family of four in June 2016...and we couldn't be happier about it! Here's the story thus far...
Michael and I had always talked about having our kids fairly close together in age. My younger sister and I are only 15 months apart, and while that caused some challenges growing up (i.e. competitiveness), I definitely appreciate how close we are now - and that is something that I want for my kids. Plus, we are already in the newborn/infant/toddler routine with Adalee...might as well power through...right?!?
Once I stopped breastfeeding Adalee last July, we knew it would take some time for my cycle to restart, then we would be able to begin trying to get pregnant again. It end up taking a few months for my cycle to finally comeback, and once it did, it was all over the place - I couldn't even keep track of it! However, something must have worked out right, because we found out we were pregnant with Baby Bell 2 on Sunday, October 4th. It was a bit of a shock, mostly because I had convinced myself that I was not pregnant. I had previously gotten two negative tests on September 26th (2 days late) and September 29th (5 days late). However, I was leaving to go to Las Vegas that morning for a work conference, so I thought what the heck, I will just take one more test to confirm that I am not pregnant...but sure enough...two pink lines!
I remember being in the bathroom and shouting downstairs to Michael, who was playing in the living room with Adalee. I just kept saying "oh my god...oh my god...it actually happened...oh my god..." It was such a great morning and I couldn't stop smiling (still can't stop smiling actually...). We told Adalee she was going to be a big sister, and while I am sure she had no clue what we were talking about, she just gave us the biggest smile! It was a little bittersweet though, because about an hour after we found out, I had to leave to head to the airport - cutting our celebration a bit short. But we did have time for a quick family selfie... :)
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| The whole family is excited! |
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Miss Adalee can't wait to be a
BIG SISTER! |
The first couple weeks of the pregnancy were a little rough. After I got back from Las Vegas, we had plans to head to Manhattan the following weekend to visit my parents, as well as see my sister who was driving in from Colorado. As we were getting ready to leave Kansas City that Friday afternoon (October 9th), I ended up having some bleeding. Of course, I immediately panicked and began thinking the worst, but Michael eventually got me to calm down and call the doctor. We ended up heading to the doctor's office for a sonogram, just to check on the baby and make sure everything was okay.
At this point, Michael and I thought we were about six weeks along, but the sonographer measured the baby closer to five weeks. Our first sonogram with Adalee wasn't until we were almost 14 weeks along, and the difference was incredible. This baby was just a little hole on the screen. You could hardly see him/her, but she was able to find a faint heartbeat, which was great to hear so early on. Ultimately, while the sonographer did see some bleeding around the sac holding the baby, she was hopeful that it would resolve and heal itself, as long as I took it easy and rested. We scheduled a follow up for two weeks later (October 23rd), and by then almost all of the bleeding had resolved. At this second appointment, the sonographer also confirmed our due date of June 13th! It was such a relief for both Michael and I to hear the heartbeat again and know that everything was okay...what a scary way to start a pregnancy!
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| First Sonogram - Almost 5 Weeks |
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| Second Sonogram - Almost 7 Weeks |
