Wonder Woman

While checking the news this morning, I came across this incredible birth story. An Iowa woman has given birth to a 13 pound 12 ounce baby boy. He was just over 23 inches long.

What makes her wonder woman? She delivered him naturally!

This may not seem interesting to some, but for this pregnant lady it's something to read about!

Click HERE to read the story and see the news clip.

Etsy Love

Oh Etsy.... who doesn't love you?

I am drooling over these two gorgeous Amy Butler fabric diaper bags from Etsy.

Love them!

Updates

First I want to thank all the prayer warriors who have been sending up prayers on our behalf!

On Monday I was scheduled to retake the glucose test. This time it was a three hour test. I did not pass the first hour, but I did pass the second and third hours which was enough to keep me from being diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Praise the Lord! My doctor has instructed me to keep an eye on my diet.

After the glucose test we had an appointment with our doctor. They did an unstrasound to check out sweet Mary Grace. She is still cute as a button and is doing great. She is no longer laying across my belly putting pressure on my kidney, which is a great thing! She's moved into a head down position. The ultrasound tech and the doctor both checked my cervix again and this time it had thinned even more to 2.1 mm.  Very scary! At that point Bobby and I were trying to mentally prepare ourselves in case we ended up having our baby before the 34 week goal. I was put on even stricter bedrest. I know what you're thinking- isn't bedrest strict enough? Well, I just thought I had it tough before, but was now told to lay flat pretty much at all times. Only get up to use the restroom and only sit up to eat.

Monday and Tuesday were very hard days- not just physically, but emotionally.

On Wednesday we had our appointment with Dr. Naef, a specialist in Jackson, MS. Can I just tell you how much we loved him! He is such an awesome doctor! They did an extensive ultrasound on my kidneys. While there was still some fluid on my right kidney, it looked much better than it did during the last check. This is due in part to MG shifting off of it and the medications I've been on to treat the issue. Mary Grace looked great, as always! They even looked for things like cleft lip, etc.. Everything looks great! She's a little porker in that she is measuring a week bigger than we actually are. This is a good thing since they are thinking she may be born early. We were told by the specialist that she would not be an April baby, and instead would more than likely come in March. March 1st is our 34 week goal, so anytime after that is good. He has estimated that even if she comes early in March, she will probably weigh around 7 lbs. 8 oz. How he came up with that weight, I have no idea. He was so thorough and answered all our questions and them some. He assured me that this kidney issue will go away after delivery and it will not end up being something that I will have to deal with for the rest of my life.

But I still haven't shared the best news of all. On Wednesday my cervix had improved a little and had thickened up to 2.9 mm. Dr. Neaf said that the medications I'm on for contractions will often help with cervix issues. I'm giving God the glory for this miracle, not the meds. Can we say answered prayers! I am still on bedrest, but am not required to lay flat 24/7. I can get up and move around, but I cannot be on my feet more than 10 minutes at a time. I can even get out of the house from time to time as long as I take it easy and am not on my feet long. Words cannot express how relieved we are. Not having the fear of going into labor any minute and having our baby born so early has been a huge relief!

We will go back to the specialist at 31 weeks and again at 34 weeks. At the 34 week mark, we will not see him anymore because as he said "If she's born, she's born and she'll be okay." Meanwhile we will continue to see our regular doctor weekly.

Again, thank you to everyone who has called, sent cards and flowers, brought food and gifts, and just stopped by to ease my cabin fever. We have been overwhelmed by such an outpouring of love from our family, church family, and friends! Mary Grace is one lucky little girl to have so many people who love her already!

26.5 weeks

27.6 weeks

She had her hand over her eyes.

This Road

On Tuesday, I woke up with lower tummy pains once again. We went to the doctor's office and were told the following:
An ultrasound showed there is fluid built up on my right kidney, and to make it worse, sweet MG is laying in a way that's putting pressure on the tube that drains my kindey into my bladder.
My cervix has started to thin. The minimum is 3 cm thick, mine was 2.4 cm. Thus, I'm on bedrest and taking meds every 4 hours to prevent any more contractions. Our new goal is to make it to at least 34 weeks gestation, which is March 1st. We are praying that my cervix will not continue to thin and that we can at least make it another 7 weeks. Bob and I keep joking that we will make it past our due date and end up being induced.

On Wednesday, the doctor's office called and said that I did not pass my glucose test. We are scheduled to retake it again on Monday morning before we see our regular doctor. We also learned that the urologist would not see me since I'm pregnant and now high-risk. We are now scheduled to see specialist who deals with high-risk pregnancy complications on Wednesday, Jan. 18th.

On Friday, the doctor's office called again and said that there was still a moderate amount of blood in my urine. They placed me on more medication to try and deal with that issue until we can figure out what the game plan will be on Wednesday.

Today (Saturday) my husband cut his finger pretty badly and is at this moment in the ER waiting to get stitches/treatment. Please say a prayer for him.

While looking through scriptures and asking the big 'WHY' question, I keep thinking about this song by one of my favorite Christian artists, Ginny Owens...

This Road
A million miles away from anything familiar
A thousand places I would rather be
So I choke back the tears and try to find the bright side
Though I find it hard to see beyond my suffering
In my heart I know Your plan is so much bigger
But this small part is all that I can see
And I believe you haven't left me here to wander
Still I can't help but ponder where You're leading me

Chorus:
And I ask why this road
Why this way and this load
Tell me how far I must go
'Til I see
'Til I know why this road

A million miles away from anythig familliar
What was it like to be so far from home
And though You came in love the world misunderstood You
There must have been some days when You felt so alone
But You endured 'cause there was joy before You
Joy that came because You sacrificed
Since You gave yourself just to spend forever with me
Surely I can trust You'll lead me through my darkest times

When I ask why this road
Why this way and this load
Tell me how far must I go
'Til I see
'Til I know why this road

From here I can not see why You'd choose this path for me
But I don't have to understand to believe that You know why

You know why this road
Why this way and this load
You know how far I must go
'Til I see
'Til I know why this road

This is not how things were supposed to be. This is not the road we were on just two weeks ago. This is not the load we wanted to carry or the path we wanted to travel. We just keep telling each other that although our situation has changed, our God has not.

We want to say a big thank you to everyone who has called, came by to visit, brought us food, and most importantly to those who have been praying. Right now we are specifically praying that I will pass this second glucose test. With everything else going on, gestational diabetes is the absolute last thing we want to deal with. Please continue to lift us up!

Let The Countdown Begin

How Far Along? 25 weeks, 5 days…ONLY 100 DAYS TO GO! {please tell me that sounds like it is quickly approaching and I am not losing my mind}
Size of Sweet Mary Grace? 13.5 inches long and she weighs about 1.5 pounds...some websites say she is the size of a rutabaga, while others point to an eggplant--either way, she is growing like a weed.
Maternity Clothes? I'm still in most of my pre-pregger pants with the help of belly bands, and I have a few maternity pants. Shirts are another story! I may have 4 pre-pregnancy sweaters that I can wear, the rest of my shirts are all maternity.
Weight Gain? Drumroll please--14 pounds as of yesterday! At my last appointment on Dec. 21st, we were measuring right on the button for where we should be.
Stretch Marks? Nope, but my tummy itches quite a bit these days, so I know they're going to make their grand debut anytime now.
Gender? Sugar and spice and everything nice...that is what little girls are made of!
Movement? Sweet Pea is active morning, noon, and night these days. Her movements are strong enough now that my husband can see my belly moving and jumping! He first felt her kick the night before Thanksgiving. Now, he can just look at my tummy and know that she's wiggling around!
Sleep? I haven't been doing so great the past couple of nights, but that's due to this pesky little UTI. Still, I don't sleep as good as I did a few weeks ago.
Food Cravings? Several weeks ago I was craving soy sauce and anything oriental- but it only lasted a couple of days. There was about a month span where I craved original bubble flavored bubble gum. Other than that, I haven't really had cravings, but I do find myself leaning more towards fresh foods such as fruit, salads, etc...
What I Miss? My morning cup of coffee and sleeping on my tummy.
Symptoms? Heartburn and indigestion- YUCK! The old wives tale says that since I'm having those symptoms, she'll have a full head of hair. My money is on her being as bald as a cue ball (like I was). But I would just love her to have a head full of red hair. For those of you who don't already know, I've wanted red-headed babies for as long as I can remember.
Best Moment of the Week? Hearing that our sweet baby girl was just fine and dandy yesterday! Another good moment will be this Saturday when we order her nursery furniture!

A Little Scare

We had a little scare today, but everything is okay and sweet Mary Grace is just fine.

Yesterday afternoon I started hurting in my lower right abdomen. It started getting pretty painful, and last night blood was showing up in my urine. I immediately started forcing down lots of fluids and tried laying on my left side for a bit. A few hours later the situation was still about the same. I called the doctor's office at about 11:30, and the answering service transferred me to the on call doctor. He said I needed to come in to Labor and Delivery to get things checked out. We ended up at L&D this morning and we were reassured when Mary Grace was doing fine on the monitors. A little while later we started having some light contractions. I was already scared to death, but when the nurse came in and started talking about the contractions, I just lost it. I was terrified! Ultimately, the contractions were being brought on by a severe UTI. The infection was the reason for the blood showing up in my urine, the pain in my abdomen, and was even causing some light contractions.

After being monitored for a while, things started settling down. We were assured over and over that everything was okay and that we would be just fine. We were later sent home with some meds to help clear up the infection and orders to take it easy and stay well hydrated.

And while the nurses and staff were wonderful, I do not want to see them again until April!

So, Mary Grace and I have been hanging out on the couch taking it easy this evening. We made it back home around 4:00 this evening and other than the same tenderness in my lower abdomen, everything is okay. It's uncomfortable, but other than that I feel fine!

If a pesky little infection is all we have to worry about, then we can handle it! I know there are far worse things we could be facing! We are praising God for being with us and letting it be something minor! A special thanks to our prayer warriors and everyone who has called to check on us!

2011 Year In Review

January
The new year started off on a sad note- my brother was deployed to Afghanistan on the 2nd.
I turned 25. I remember thinking "I'm halfway through my 20's, and halfway to 50!"
We started our master bathroom overhaul- click HERE to see the  post on this adventure.

February
We spent a wonderful weekend in Birmingham enjoying good worship, music, food, and time together.


March
March was a laid back month. We spend most of it working around our yard and enjoying the early Spring days.

April
We celebrated my husband's 33rd birthday.

May
This was a month of answered prayers. We had a bit of a health scare. Bob had surgery and our prayers were answered. Another answered prayer was my job- I was told I would be able to teach at SW again in the Fall. We were a bit concerned due to all the budget cuts, etc...

June
I spent most of June soaking up the sun. I stayed with my grandparents a good bit and enjoyed just spending time with them.

July
We celebrated 6 years of wedded bliss on the 22nd. Little did we know that an anniversary gift would be arriving 9 months later!

August
We found out we were expecting on August 5th and we were just in awe of what God had done for us. We saw our sweet baby for the first time on August 31st at our first doctor's appointment.

September
We finally announced our pregnancy to our family on September 3rd. This was also a special day because my brother surprised us all by coming home on leave for a few days!

On September 4th, I was blessed to witness my husband's baptism. This was an answered prayer many years in the making.
I had been asked to take over our young adult Sunday school class back in the Spring. As the new quarter rolled in, Bob and I began this mission together.

October
October was a slow month. We enjoyed the cooler weather and spent most of the month in 'negotiations' as to whether or not to find our the gender of our baby.

November
On November 10th we found out we were expecting a sweet baby GIRL! My brother was finally able to come home for good from Afghanistan. I was sick with a sinus infection over the Thanksgiving holidays, but we still enjoyed seeing our family and friends. On Thanksgiving day we were officially half-way through our pregnancy.

December 
December was spent gearing up for the holidays (of which I was just not in the Christmas spirit). We also spent most weekends working in the nursery and finishing up a few last little projects around the house.


And there you have it- our year in review. 2011 was definitely a year of answered prayers- Bobby's health, my job, my brother returning safely from Afghanistan. Our biggest answered prayer was in God blessing us with a child. We had waited nearly 2 1/2 years for that answered prayer.

As wonderful as 2011 was, we are even more excited to see what the Lord has in store for us in 2012! This is the year our first child will be born! We are blessed beyond anything we deserve or could have ever imagined, and we give all the thanks and glory to our sweet Jesus!

"....for God has been gracious to me and I have all that I need."

Genesis 33:11

Baby Bump on Christmas Day

Here is our baby bump at 24 weeks and 3 days along.

Can you tell how exhausted I am in this picture? This was Christmas night after we had finally made it back home from visiting our family. We had a fantastic Christmas and Mary Grace received so many great gifts! It was a bit surreal though, knowing that this was our last Christmas as just the two of us. 

I'm still able to wear most of my pre-preggers pants with the help of a Belly Band (I bought mine at the Motherhood store and it has been a life saver!). Shirts are a different story as most of my pre-pregnancy shirts are getting too short for my belly. These days I'm pretty much in maternity shirts, and I do have a few pairs of maternity pants.

I've been stretch mark free so far, but I know the day is soon coming when that will all change. Everyone says that no matter how much coco butter you use, you will still get them. I'll have to learn that lesson the hard way, because I use it religiously (and as a result I walk around smelling like a giant chocolate bar).

23 weeks, 6 days - Checkup

On Wednesday, December 21st, we had another great checkup! This time MG was very active! She ended up kicking the exact spot where the doppler wand was positioned on my tummy. It was too funny! Then she continued to roll around in my tummy, something my husband could see from where he was sitting and thought was very funny.

Mary Grace had  a heart rate of 154 bpm, which is the highest it's been in a few months. I think it was because she was so busy practicing her ballet moves (or, as the nurse probably thought, her kickboxing moves).

This was the first time I inquired about my weight and measurements. I've deliberately not looked at the scales nor asked about my weight gain since our first appointment. But this time around I couldn't resist. So far I've gained 12 pounds. My belly measurement is 24 cm- which is right on the button since we will be 24 weeks tomorrow.

I love appointments where the only thing I'm required to do is give a urine sample and sit contently and listen to our baby's heartbeat. I've been forewarned that our next appointment will not be so pleasant.

We're scheduled to see the doctor again on January 16th. This will be the gross glucose screening and lovely lab workup. Yuck!

One bit of good news, we will soon get to have our 4D ultrasound! Since we have so much lab work schedule for next time, the ultrasound will probably be sometime in early February. We're excited and cannot to see our sweet Mary Grace!

Ready For A Stroll- or perhaps a Jog

Look what UPS Santa brought tonight! We knew we wanted a jogging stroller and there are hundreds out there to choose from, but finding a jogging stroller travel system is nearly impossible. I finally found a jogger that is also a travel system, so I'll be able to use it fairly soon after MG makes her debut (that is, if I'm she's feeling up to it).

While there are some super cute, girly strollers and carseats out there, I wanted something neutral. I figured that a good jogging stroller is something we can keep for our future babies use, so I didn't want to order one in pink and have a little baby boy riding in it someday.

I insisted that my husband put it together tonight, and I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I've been pushing it around the house all evening. After all, we do need to get acquainted with how it and the car seat works!

Here's the stroller we ended up getting- it's the Baby Trend Expedition Jogger and the color is called green tea, but it's really all black with barely a hit of green piping along the carseat. Love it!

20 Weeks, 6 Days - Checkup

On Wednesday, Nov. 30th we had another great doctor's appointment. We were 20 weeks 6 days along and everything looked good! Mary Grace's heart rate was 146 bpm. I love listening to her heartbeat. I'd lie there all day listening to it if they'd let me!

Our next appointment is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 21st.

20 Weeks

We are now halfway through our pregnancy and our baby is now the size of a cantaloupe (according to thebump.com). Thanksgiving Day is the perfect day to reach this milestone. This year we are most thankful for this life that our precious Lord is creating. It seems like just yesterday we were praying for a child, and now we are halfway to meeting our sweet Mary Grace. This first half has flown by, and before we know it we will be holding our little girl.

Happy Thanksgiving!