1 Month Old

 The babes are getting older! I just can't believe how much they are growing and changing all of the time. Their faces are getting chubbier and they've outgrown their preemie diapers already.

Taylor is our chill baby. She is usually really relaxed and she's a great sleeper. She is constantly puckering her big lips and stretching her arms above her head. She looks like she's posing for a picture at all times. She has gorgeous blue eyes and adorable chubby cheeks. She dribbles milk down her chin and soaks a burp rag almost every feed.

Carder is growing so much and doesn't look like a premature baby anymore. He grunts and makes billy goat noises all of the time. It's actually really funny, but also really embarrassing when you're in church. He has a very dramatic cough that makes his parents laugh every time. He's very alert and cuddly.

Cruz is our mover. He likes to kick himself out of his chair, wiggle his way under the couch, and stand on your stomach when you're trying to burp him. He's got the cutest (well along with his siblings) blue eyes and baby sweet face. He loves having something soft up against his face and screams beyond loud when he's hungry. He gets so excited when he eats that he forgets to breath.

These kids are so funny and we are loving being able to be with them and watch them grow. They are eating every 3-4 hours and so it feels like we are feeding them all of the time. Luckily they are sleeping a lot during the day so we're able to get some breaks.

Medical School Completed

On Friday Peter completed medical school! Can you believe it?! He has worked so hard over the last four years and I can't believe the end is already here. He has the week off this week, then has to go in for meetings and stuff for a week or so, then graduation is on the 19th of May. It's pretty exciting around here for the Bell family. So many changes and lots of great things happening soon.

Official Hospital Photo

Changes

Things at the Bell household have changed a great deal recently. The babies came home from the hospital just over a week ago. Our days are now filled with feeding, burping, cuddling, changing outfits, doing load after load of laundry, adoring our children, and cleaning up spit up. We are absolutely loving it! We cannot get over how cute these babies are and feel so lucky they are ours. They are all about a pound over their birth weight now and growing more and more.

Lots of changes are happening to Mom too. I can now see my toes and ankles, I constantly smell like milk, my shirts almost always have spit up on them, and my belly button has returned to it's former "innie" state. Emotions are still high as I enjoy the overwhelming love and gratitude I'm feeling each day for my family. Life is good!

My Kids

Aren't they the cutest?! They are still doing so well. They are eating and growing more and more.

They have Arrived!

I can't believe I'm writing this post. To be honest, I don't really even know what to write. I'll try to briefly describe the recent events in our family, but you should know that there is no way that I can adequately express to you all that Peter and I have been feeling.

On Tuesday, March 20th I was admitted to the hospital after a routine visit with my doctor. As I spent the week in the hospital I was so slowly getting worse and on Sunday, March 25th the doctors were concerned about my health and decided they needed to get the babies out that day. At 5:41pm on Sunday we were a family of 2 and at 5:44pm we were a family of 5.

Taylor Kay Bell was born at 5:42pm weighing in at 4 lbs. 11 ounces
Carder Thomas Bell was born at 5:43pm weighing in at 3lbs. 15 ounces and is 17.2 inches long
Cruz William Bell was born at 5:44pm weighing in at 4lbs. 2 ounces and is 16 inches long

The babies are all healthy and doing well. They are in the NICU since they are premature and need some assistance to get things functioning. The day after they were born they were doing so well breathing that they were able to start breathing on their own without any assistance. They are now regulating their own temperature as well. They still receive nutrition through a tube through their nose, but they have started feeding through bottles as well every three hours. It's a really small amount but they are taking more and more. They will probably have to remain there for another week or two until they are strong enough to come home and are eating and growing enough.

Taylor Kay

 Cruz William

 Carder Thomas

I got home from the hospital on Friday and am doing my best to recover so that I can get ready to take care of these babies soon. I feel beat up, but I'm so grateful that the babies are doing well. I'm getting better, it's just taking a little while. The next few weeks we'll be visiting the NICU a lot to spend time with the babies!

Happenings!

Most of what's been going on around here has been focused on the babies. My pregnancy has officially turned into a daily glamorous affair. Zits are covering my entire face, my feet look like a baby elephant's, and I no longer  can go to the grocery store without using the motorized carts.

We recently purchased some more baby carriers and Peter's been practicing how to make it so that he can carry two at one time.

A few weekends ago we went up to Massanutten Resort for a night getaway with the Hawks. It was so nice to get out of town, break in the van, and spend time with friends. I even got to spend some time in a pool and it felt great. It's beautiful up there and we wish we could go back more often.