2 month Checkup

Well, we have confirmed it, our little angel is a CHUNKER! Yesterday, we saw her doctor, Dr. Harrison--who coincidentally was my pediatrician when I was a baby. There are 8 doctors in the practice, and we were just randomnly placed with him for our first visit. She was in the 97th+ percentile for weight, weighing in at 13lbs 14oz. Guess she is getting plenty to eat through breast feeding. She was 23.5 inches long in the 90th percentile. They couldnt believe how well she could hold herself up--could be because we let her sleep on her stomach--OOPS! We decided that is how we slept and she should be able to sleep how she is most comfortable. She is just so comfortable that way and sleeps best that way. Otherwise her flailing arms wake her up. The doctor said she looked great. He couldnt believe she is sleeping 9 hour nights already. Lets hope it continues, as he said no reason it shouldnt. Everything looked great, and she did OK with her shots. Was a little cranky at night, and had an hour where my heart just hurt for her. She looked up with big tears like "why am i hurting mommy."

Daddy, Rylie and I went to the Tavern for lunch to celebrate, then came home and packed. Brendan left for his trip tonight to Reno, and I will be meeting him in South Beach. Rylie will be staying home with my mom for 3 days--I am starting to get nervous!

The picture above is of her last week in Destin (her first trip to the beach).

Apple Picking

Today was Rylies 2 month old birthday---time FLIES! We went apple picking in Warrenton Virginia at High Hill Farm. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. Here are a few pictures of our day. She is just the light of our life and we are loving her more everyday. It is amazing how involved Brendan is---they are soo adorable together. Daddy loves to show his little girl off everywhere we go!!

Rylies First Clemson Game

Today we took Rylie Kate (2 weeks and 4 days) to Bryant and Jenny Stones house for the first Clemson football game of the season. Dave cooked on the grill, and we had a great time. I blinged out her hat that Dave and Val gave her, and she cheered on the Tigers. We won!! Go Tigers!

BEST DADDY in the WORLD!

This is a picture of Rylie Kate and Daddy. She is 2 weeks and 2 days old. He is soo amazing with her. he can even change her dirty diapers---no gagging yet! :) He gets up in the middle of the night and changes her diapers. LOVES to give her baths, and she loves taking baths and reads to her every night!

Chip and Kellys Wedding

On August 23rd, Rylie attended her first wedding. Dad was officiating, so we wanted to go to the ceremony. The doctor said this was fine and to just keep her away from people, noone tried to touch her and everyone was respectful! The cermony was great, so Brendan wanted to continue to the cocktail hour, we did and she was perfect, so on to the reception we went. She was an ABSOLUTE ANGEL! She didnt make a peep and slept through all the introductions and everything. Then my exhaustion and hormones kicked in, and we had to go, Rylie would have made it all night! It was great to get out and socialize! Look how tiny she is! She loves to sit indian style, and has the longest little legs!

Welcome Rylie Kathryn!

She's here! She came on August 17th at 4:49 am, which yes... that means she's 2 weeks old! She was a little baby (at least for our family) at 7lbs 11 oz. She was 20.5 inches long, and she is just perfect. We are loving every moment, and yes, I am wondering what in the world I did with all my free time before, and how in the world I can survive off such little sleep! Noone can prepare you for that. Brendan was an AMAZING coach, and mom was our backup. She supported my head and kept the ice on the forehead. Lindsay and Julie were also in the room, and Dad and Betty behind the curtains in the room. It really wasnt that bad, and the video, still gets me! Nothing prepares you for that moment when they hand you your baby and your whole world changes. I am loving motherhood and we feel so blessed to have Rylie Kate in our life, some mornings I'll spend the whole morning just snuggling up with her in bed thinking how did I get so lucky to have this little angel in my life.



At 5 days old we got these photos taken by Andrea Hallett Photography. Andrea is AMAZING! She even caught her smiling. Rylie smiles all the time in her sleep and this week she has started belly laughing, I LOVE it and wish I could catch it on video!It's amazing how much she has changed in the past 2 weeks, I'll make sure to post more photos later. Here is the link to the slideshow: http://www.andreahallettphotography.net/ryliekate/

The best for last.....

Happy 3rd Birthday Holden!

Today we went to the farm to celebrate our godson Holdens 3rd Birthday! He turned 3 on August 13th, but we celebrated today with a moonbounce and cake. Rylie Kate enjoyed her first visit to the farm.

Brendans Mom (Betty hickeys) 65th birthday

Happy Birthday to Betty!
Yesterday we went to Cafe Deluxe with Lindsay, Tyler, Betty, Brendan and me. We had a great brunch. Hope you had a great Birthday Betty!

NERVES, ANXIETY and Hormones Take Over.....

I should have bit my tongue in the last post about loving being pregnant. I still love it, BUT i am freaking, nervous and definitely nesting. I had the past three days where hormones got the best of me. I just couldnt stop crying about anything and everything. How do women deal with this for 9 months of emotional roller coasters---I am sorry! I am nervous about giving birth, nervous about being a good mommy and just worried as I have no idea what to expect. on top of that rates are at a historical low and work is crazy, if she came now, I am soo not ready to leave, as I plan on working up until she comes. I think I am going to work on getting organized at work first, then deal with the house. I feel like there is SOO much left to do and we will never finish it all!

Rest In Peace Beautiful Monty

Today the world lost a very special lady---Kathleen Hickey Montague "Monty". Brendans 96 year old grandmother passed away peacefully in her sleep at 230pm today. She didnt suffer at all, saw all the family, and just went to sleep. It all happened soo quickly. Thank God we went up and got to see her 3 weekends ago. She looked great, spirits were amazing, and we got to tell her all about Baby Hickey and her name. She was still cracking jokes, and couldnt wait to meet our little one on the way. We sure never thought she would be gone this quickly, and were planning on taking our little princess to meet her soon after her birth. At least now we have an angel watching over us. We love you and will miss you Monty! Our Loss is Heavenes Gain.

Brendan, Marty and Monty:



Me, with baby girl hickey in my belly 32 weks along, Marty and Monty:

I just LOVE being PREGNANT!

Sometimes, I feel like I could jsut stand on our roof and scream this. I feel amazing, I workout more than ever, and I am happier than ever. This has just been one of the greatest experiences for me, and I feel terrible for people who are miserable for 9 months. I just cant imagine! I have been eating great, working out and just detoxing basically. :) I am in no rush as everyone says I will be to get her out, but we do have 4 weeks left. of course I have had 2-3 times of emotional days, but that is nothing like when you have the once a month friend visiting :)

Baby Shower Part 2

I had another baby shower this week! My co-workers threw a shower at the office. We all piled into the conference room and ate yummy food and red-velvet cake, and they all brought me really nice gifts. The whole office threw in and got a high chair, bumbo seat and lamb swing. It was a lot more low-key than my other shower, and understandably so. But it was lots of fun nonetheless and we are so over-supplied with baby stuff. I swear this kid won't have to wear the same outfit twice for months! of course mom came again, and brought a gift--well about 10 new outfits!

I used to think that pregnant women who waddled were over-exaggerating - like they'd watched too many TV shows of pregnant women waddling around and leaning back like they're doing the limbo just to sit down. Well, I have to admit that I have officially started waddling, and I can't do a thing about it. People at work commented on it today.

Another recent development is Baby Girl Hickeys increasingly visible movements. Her kicks and pokes are so strong and there's so little room in there, I feel like she is going to bust out of my skin sometimes. It's a little uncomfortable for my tummy, and I am sure it is just because it is a new movement.

We have started talking about the hospital bag, but havent packed it yet...soon!

Learning the Art of Labor

Brendan and I started our childbirth class this weekend. It's a two day long class at Reston hospital. At the first class we learned about the different signs of labor, when we should head to the hospital or call our midwife, and a general overview of the different stages of labor and delivery. We also saw two videos - one of a vaginal birth and the other of a c-section. Yikes. If those videos don't make an expectant mother cringe, she's got a cervix of steel. Although the end result got us all teary and made the previous scenes seem somehow not so bad. It's hard to imagine that will us in just seven weeks.

I hadn't really thought too much about the actual birth process until now. I mean, I've thought about my birth plan, if I want an epidural or not, who I want to be in the room with me, and what kind of pain management technique I want to use; but I hadn't really thought about what it would FEEL like. Well, after that first class, I've thought of little else all week. I'm starting to get really nervous and scared. I have always wanted to have a really natural labor and delivery, with as few drugs as possible, and I think I'm a pretty tough girl, but now that I'm getting closer to the big day, I'm starting to wimp out! What if I can't handle the pain?

HAPPY FATHERS DAY

We had a great Fathers day, we finished la Maze class, went to our last 3D/4D to see our little princess and then Brendan and I cooked flank steak, tomatoes and mozarella and spinach per Dads request, for fathers day.

It was a nice day and we enjoyed the pool and being around family.

We also found out baby girl Hickey turned and is no longer breeched, for now. she even opened her eyes during the ultrasound. She was curled in her favorite position, with toes in her mouth, until the doctor got her moving. We then got some great shots. What a great Fathers day!

My First Baby Shower

Yesterday Kathy Shea, Colleen, Christina and Kellie threw me a baby shower at Kathy and Kevins house, it was so much fun! About 20 friends and family came, there was tons of yummy food, and I got a bunch of great gifts. A pregnant woman's dream come true! I can not thank them enough for the time and effort they put into it, they truly outdid themselves.


Baby Girl Hickey is going to be one spoiled child with all the cool gifts I got at the shower - bath, car seat, pack and play, pink video monitor, adorable outfits, hats, stuffed animals, etc.

I want to thank everyone that came and brought a gift for our little princess.

One of my favorites, was the Juicy MacLaren stroller from Kathy, Kevin and Colleen---it is soo adorable, words dont describe.


Mom showed up with a box full of outfits she either smocked or saved from when I was a baby---29 years ago....it was soo sweet. They are all still soo adorable and definitely back in style. Of course they were all ironed and hung!

Brendans 96 year old Grandmother, Monty croqueted us a blanket, see below. This might be one of the last thigns we get from her and it is soo beautiful!

I also want to thank Kellie who wrote down all the gifts, and "hurried" this process along, as I know it is the most boring.

Here is the DELICIOUS cake that Kathy got and how creative...here is to a flat belly!

AMAZING 3D/4D sonogram Today

I am posting this video, with no blog entry so everyone can see it. It was absolutely amazing! Baby girl Hickey is in a posterior breach position now(meaning feet are down, and her spine is against my stomach, so she is facing my back and cuddled right in there). She had her feet in her mouth and on her head most of the video!

Three Trimesters....and You're Out!

I'm officially in my third trimester and 27 weeks! I can't believe how the time has flown! Thirteen more weeks (give or take) and our little Baby H will be in our arms. It's so exciting to think that she can hear and react to things going on around me and her eyes are now open. It somehow makes her seem so much more real to me.

I think I'm really going to miss being pregnant, though, and I'm already sad that this will be over in a few short months - it's such a unique and amazing experience. Not to get all goopy and sentimental, (oh what the hell, I'll just blame it on the hormones!) but I really love having a baby inside me, especially right now when I'm still relatively comfortable, Baby H is moving a lot, and she is still safe and secure in my belly. I'm still nervous about being a mom - there just seems to be so much that I don't know. I have these dreams about her every night, and the birthing process, those get quite interesting. Even though my life has definitely changed since I got pregnant, they are all minor changes such as what food I can eat, what clothes I can wear, and in what position I can sleep. But all in all, it has been the best detox and healthiest I have lived since before college for sure! A little human who is more-or-less constantly latched onto me is a whole other story full of midnight feedings, mountains of diapers, and a million things that can go wrong. I'm just starting to get used to this pregnancy thing and I don't know if I'm ready for the next phase!

This has been the first week where going to the gym isnt a walk in the park, she is starting to move rather than sleep while Im at the gym, and she is sitting so slow. Sometime it feels like I have a foot dangling out of me.

This past weekend we went to the Columbia Island Dock party and that was a blast, great to see all my old friends, hang out with the family, and watch everyone get drunk. Really enjoyed watching dad dive in the Potomac at the marina for Vals Sunglasses he knocked off.

Other than that, no new news, other than....are you ready........Alexandra is in love!!!! She has found "the one" This is it, and she swears they will be engaged by the end of the year---we cant wait! Never thought this day would come. Maybe she will give Baby H a cousin to play with sooner than I ever dreamed of!

25 weeks

I havent been very good at posting on here, but wanted everyone to be filled in on my recent doctors appointment and what has been going on. Everything looks great, and I still feel amazing! I have gained 3 lbs since the last Doctors appointment, 4 weeks ago. I have gained 9 lbs total. My blood pressure was lower than I ever remember it 102/68--wow, how nice, and they say it will continue to get lower. The baby is growing perfectly. She is kicking like crazy and very busy inthe morning and evening. Throughout the day it is more flutters. Such a surreal feeling. She is breached, but plenty of time for that to change!

3 weeks from tomorrow we have Cameron Slaughter and Candice Kyzers wedding to attend in Charleston, SC. I am in it, should be interesting, hopefully I wont be too much bigger. We cant wait!

4 weeks from tomorrow, we will be on our babymoon/2nd anniversary trip/last trip before the baby comes to the beautiful island of St. Thomas.

And.....5 weeks from tomorrow we will be at the Ritz Carlton in South Beach, for my cousin Amys wedding.

Then I have my first baby shower the following weekend, at the Sheas house, put on by Kathy, Colleen, Christina and Kellie. The invitations were gorgeous ladies.

20 WEEKS---Half Baked :)

Our Little Girl is half baked! I'm halfway there and I can't believe it. I feel my belly is about to permanently pop, it comes out at night or after tons of water.

It's odd, I feel like the time has flown so quickly, and yet, at the same time I feel like I've been pregnant forever. I love feeling her move more and more every day. I'm learning to tell the difference between our little peanuts squirming and my stomach's rumbling. My belly is starting to itch like crazy and a couple people have told me that I've got that "pregnant glow." I can't see anything different in my face, but who knows - maybe it's just because I'm happy!

Since I am still not 100% convinced Its a Girl, I was looking on the internet at old wives' tales that will supposedly tell me if I'm having a boy or a girl. It was entertaining, but some of them were really off-the-wall. According to the book, if I crave a lot of fresh fruit, I'm evidently having a girl. That was all I ate the 1st Trimester. If my left breast is bigger than the right during pregnancy, I'm having a girl; if the right is bigger, it'll be a boy. If they are the same size, I'm in for a surprise! If my age at conception and the year of conception are both even or both odd, the baby is a girl. If one is even and one is odd, the baby is a boy. I was even age and odd year. :) Every time we applied one of the tales to me, we got a different result…so much for ancient wisdom!

Brendan and I started talking names again. It's funny how kids we knew as children taint us forever. We've also ruled out several names that were ex-boyfriends or girlfriends.

We get confirmation that it is a girl in one week...I just need to hear it one more time to believe it and start the nursery!

Our First Puppy went to His New Home today....

It was a tough day and I sobbed, I thought I was ready, and ready to have my house back, but wow was it hard! It is like giving up a puppy you have had for 11 weeks, for no reason. He went to a good home, Candi and Cam---soon to be the Mr. and Mrs. Slaughter. I cant wait to continue getting updates and see pictures.

Spreading The News

I finally told everyone at work that I am pregnant. Well i told a few people before mom and I hopped on a plane to St. Thomas and now that I am back everyone knows. Im not showing, so I felt there was no reason to start telling everyone. Now that we found out the sex, I figured I could start telling people. I just wanted to avoid exactly what has happeend so far:
EVERYDAY:
"how are you feeling?"
"Is your belly there?"
"Do you have Morning Sickness"
"Shouldnt you be popping"
"You need to accept it and get maternity clothes"

I feel great, still, my belly is not here yet, Im not popping and when I do you will see, and yes, I have accepted it but dont need any damn maternity clothes yet~!!! :)

Motherhood Bonds

I think I felt Bun move! I'm not totally sure, but it wasn't quite the same as indigestion or gas or anything else I can think of. It was just…a little tickle; I guess that's how I'd describe it. Or a butterfly in my stomach. I felt it a couple times this week, that's all. I was so excited, I called Brendan as soon as I felt her but then I felt kind of dumb - what if I'm imagining things? But I was so sure…I guess time will tell.

Mom and I bought a ticket to St. Thomas and packed our bags and left 24 hours later for a spur of the moment trip. My mom and I have had the best time this week in St. Thomas so far. Besides finding an adorable Gucci diaper bag, we shopped for ourselves, relaxed and just bonded.

Brendan and I have been discussing names for the baby. It seems like we have a new short list every week, but there are a few that keep popping up. I'm still haunted by my dream that Bun is a boy, so it's hard for me to think seriously of girl names; but I've always loved Isabella, Riley and Madison.

ITS A.......

GIRL!! We had our 3-D ultrasound today, it sure was amazing! She didnt want to show her face! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! Happy Valentines day to you! :)

Today is my birthday, I woke up to balloons and a few Valentines day gifts, one was a much wanted Louis wallet----wondered if the birthday gift would be a purse to follow and it sure was! :)

We went to church, Brendan, his mom (her first time ever), my parents and sisters and Lindsays boyfriend Tyler. We all then went to brunch at the Clydes in Ashburn, it is gorgeous out there, if you havent been you should check it out! We came home and relaxed and mom cooked an incredible dinner, and set a BEAUTIFUL table as always, what a nice relaxing day.

What A Day...TWINS?!?

Today I had an appointment for 1st trimester screening and genetic disorder testing. Brendan is in London, so Mom and Alexandra came along, thank goodness! We had 30 minutes of counseling about all the different disorders, and how they test and what they look for. We then went in for the sonogram, video below. The nurse told Alexandra absolutely NO PICTURES and to turn off phones, who knows how she pulled this off, but she did a great job, watch in the first minute when the baby jumps! Make sure to keep the volume up for the first minute.


Everything looked great, and the baby looked perfect and healthy. One small thing, there were "visible remains of a vanished twin" my first thought was:
How would I have ever survived?!?
Mom would have to take one?
What would I have done with two?
Then as the day went on I got upset and Hormones kicked in, could be because of Dads fall yesterday, CoCo dying today, and Brendan being out of town. Good news is we have one perfectly healthy baby in there, and obviosuly the other one wasn't perfect and this is Gods way of taking it away. It will just disappear on its own and we dont expect it to cause any problems. WHEW! The doctor came in and continued to do more measurements and look at the baby, so we got to see lots of different angles. Baby H was larger and measuring bigger, the new due date is now August 16th!
What a whirldwind of a day!

2nd Trimester

I'm officially in my second trimester! Not only am I past the most dangerous time for Baby H, but I am starting to feel better on a fairly consistent basis. My appetite is coming back, I'm only slightly nauseous, and finally have some energy. Yay! I feel like a huge weight is off my shoulders and I can start to really enjoy this pregnancy. All in all it truly has been a walk in the park so far.

Count Your Blessings

If you know me, you know I HATE to see the ones I love hurt--it just freaks me out and I want to run! I know, its terrible.

This morning, I was heading home from dropping mom and dad off (they stayed at our house for the night, since we got power back a day before they did). Dad was taking their neighbor gas for her generator, as walking down the hill he fell and knocked himself out. He literally went from his feet to his head. I thought he was making snow angels....go figure. Sure enough he was HURT---I freaked and my heart dropped. He just looked up when he came to and said I cant move, my heart sunk further, and I freaked. Mom got down, and he finally rolled over, but couldnt move his hands or feet. The ambulance came and took him to the ER--he ended up with a concusion, couldnt do the MRI, and came home in a full brace, with numb fingers. He still cant write, and his hands are very sore! He is supposed to see a neruosurgeon tomorrow. Thank god he is so hard headed (literally), but we will see if he actually goes to the follow up.

Thank you God for watching over Dad!!

NO HEAT, NO WATER, NO POWER

I am over this Snowmaggedon----GO AWAY! We spent Friday-Sunday night without heat or power. Saturday Brendan spent all day digging us out, and we ended up with 32 inches of snow. By then it was dark out and he didnt want to head out on the roads, as we had no idea what they were like, as far as we could see and walk, they werent plowed. Saturday we made mac and cheese and boiled water over the fire, in our new calphalon pans (those got ruined)---oh well, we were freezing and hungry! Saturday night we all huddled together, puppies and all next to the fire, when we ran out of wood at 1130pm we came to bed and covered up with 12 blankets. We woke up FROZEN Sunday morning and called Colleen at 6am---thank god, she had power, we were off. We headed there and it took about an hour, roads were crazy! I wish I had a camera as I had never seen anything like it, our main roads were covered and plowed enough for one car to get by.

They are calling for 15-20 more inches of snow on Tuesday/Wednesday--I am fien with this as long as we keep power!! Stay Warm Everyone!

NEVER forget a card again.....

Inside reads: You go ahead and I'll be right behind you. Happy Birthday!

Did you make a resolution to become better at remembering special occasions by sending cards?  Do you ALWAYS forget to send cards on time or even at all?
I stumbled across Jack Cards. Jack Cards is an online calendar and card service. Here's how it works:

- Fill in your calendar with a year's worth of special occasions. Birthdays, anniversaries, etc.

- Browse through the Jack Cards and purchase cards for each occasion.

- Jack Cards will send you the pre-addressed, pre-STAMPED card to you in time for you to send for the occasion. All you have to do is sign the card and drop it into the mail.

The selection is varied and the prices are comparable to store bought cards. And you don't have to worry about getting stamps. If you have trouble remembering holidays as they come around, this is perfect for you! I think I am going to send this to my brother---this would be GREAT for him :0)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRENDAN!

Today is Brendans 38th birthday---WOW hard to believe!  He sure does look great for 38---huh?  Getting close to 40 though.  We are having a low key night tonight, with his mom, my parents, Alexandra, Lindsay and Tyler.  We are having fondue! :)

I love you Honey and hope you have a great day!

Puppies are TWO weeks Old Today

The Puppies Have opened their eyes, and are slowly trying to start walking!

First Sight

We had our first ultrasound today!—WOW, AMAZING, this is real---these are the words that came to my mind while seeing this. Although it was a little hard to make out anything at first (that blurry blob is my baby?) She then ended up doing the 3D vaginal ultrasound, which showed everything! Usually people show you their pictures afterwards and it looks like a blurb of nothing. Well the one I brought home looks perfect! I am sure it would look like a blurb of nothing to anyone else. We watched baby H shake its arms and legs, and the tech kept saying “it is dancing, it is dancing” You could see the heartbeat, that was amazing and definitely Brendan’s favorite part---WOW! Baby H(have to come up with another name, but this is it for now) measurements look great, the heartbeat was strong at 148bpm. It should be more than 100 and less than 200….perfect! This is all hitting now and is just so real, there really is something camping out in there! It is such a relief to have the first big checkup over and nothing out of the ordinary to report---another hurdle cleared!

The new due date is August 22, 2010(we have lots of August birthdays in the family: Brendans mom, sister, nephew, our godson, my Uncle Bill, and my cousin Casey & Wesley). 
I am still feeling great, have a heightened sense of smell, working out Mon-Fri(WHOA that has gotten tough) and ready for bed at 6pm every night. Get up to pee every 5 minutes, and am just today starting to feel bloated.

Of course, Brendan tells me I’m beautiful and is definitely not complaining about my new curves; specifically my, um…“enhanced bust-line,” shall we call it? The Girls are huge! In fact, all my new curves seem to get his stamp of approval. He has been ao amazing through this whole process.

We are on Cloud Nine in this house!!

8 weeks:

Happy One Week Birthday to Bellas Puppies

Happy THIRD Birthday to Our Princess Bella

Today is Bellas birthday, she is 3 years old, and had a litter of 4 puppies (4 days old today).  This is Bella when she was 3 months old, 2 days after we got her.  Cant wait for the puppies to have this much personality!

This is Bella today, worn out from caring for the puppies, nursing and constantly cleaning them.  She wanted nothing to do with her birthday cake today, but LOVED her vanilla ice cream!

4 Healthy and Beautiful puppies are Here!

I stayed home from work today, because I just had that feeling and knew today was the day.  I was starting to get stir crazy, but loving just lounging around, as I have been super tired this week.  Finally around 3pm, I decided it was time for this birth.  I got Bella out of our bed, took her ouside, walked around, I got in the shower, got out and started to do my make up.  Of course, 2 minutes into it, at 3:32pm her water broke, right there all around me (as you all know, I love to sit on the floor and do my makeup).  It was interesting to say the least, no wonder women dont want to leave the house for fear of this.  I immediately called mom, then Alexandra in a frantic as I got very nervous.  Bella insisted on being in the closet for delivery and for the next hour while she had these crazy contractions.  Her whole body would stiffen, her neck would strectch out and all of her legs and her stomach tighten (just like a contraction). 

By 4:52pm we had our first puppy, thank god for Alexandra(pic below), she had her sterile gloves on and I walked her through everything to do. 

Alexandra ended up cutting all 4 umbilical cords as it was just a lot for Bella,  puppy 2 and 4 came within seconds from 1 and 3.  I am sure she was overwhelmed.  The instinct is AMAZING, as soon as they were out she was cleaning, nursing and being protective.  Not the Bella most of us would expect.  The Second puppy arrived at 5:03pm, the third at 5:43pm and the last puppy at 5:51pm.  We couldnt believe the size of the litter, or how healthy they all were.  Four gorgeous, healthy puppies---Way to Go Bella!!!