Well, it's almost time! We are to arrive at the hospital tonight at 9pm to start the induction. We hope to have an announcement to make by sometime tomorrow! Please pray our little boy is healthy.
Blessing to you all!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Final Thoughts ...
I imagine if I asked all the mom's out there what their final thoughts were before the baby arrived I would get a variety of responses. And I've had a variety of thoughts. In part I am trying to prepare myself for the physical challenge ahead but also the mental and emotional one. I am so excited to see my son and hold him. It feels like I've dreamed and waited my entire life for this moment and I suppose in some ways I have. And in other ways the last 9 months seem a lifetime long. Today my thoughts were of my dad and his last moments with my son before his earthly debut. I can see my dad holding my son and savoring those last moments in his arms before he is in mine. I won't have the opportunity to see in person the love and joy in his eyes but in my mind I am able to see it clearly and it gives me peace.
A friend of mine recently shared this in his thought for the day:
"You knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Psalm 139:13, NIV “Knitted together” is how the psalmist described the process of God making man. Not manufactured or mass-produced, but knitted. Each thread of personality tenderly intertwined. Each string of temperament deliberately selected . . .The Creator, the master weaver, threading together the soul. Each one different. No two alike. None identical.
Lucado
When I think that my dad was there with my Heavenly Father as my son's soul was threaded together I am deeply moved. I look forward to seeing little strands of my dad in him with each passing day and pray for a glimpse of him in my son's eyes from the moment they meet mine.
Finally, I have belly pictures to share! I'm not sure Steve is done editing but I thought I would share anyway. And all I ask is that you be kind when you tell me just how enormous my belly is. :)
God bless!
A friend of mine recently shared this in his thought for the day:
"You knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Psalm 139:13, NIV “Knitted together” is how the psalmist described the process of God making man. Not manufactured or mass-produced, but knitted. Each thread of personality tenderly intertwined. Each string of temperament deliberately selected . . .The Creator, the master weaver, threading together the soul. Each one different. No two alike. None identical.
Lucado
When I think that my dad was there with my Heavenly Father as my son's soul was threaded together I am deeply moved. I look forward to seeing little strands of my dad in him with each passing day and pray for a glimpse of him in my son's eyes from the moment they meet mine.
Finally, I have belly pictures to share! I'm not sure Steve is done editing but I thought I would share anyway. And all I ask is that you be kind when you tell me just how enormous my belly is. :)
God bless!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
My Miracle
I still remember waking up on Christmas Day feeling sick at my stomach and just icky. I had taken probably 3 or 4 pregnancy tests in the weeks before that hoping to see the magical word, "pregnant" but each time it said "not pregnant". I took one on Christmas Eve hoping to be able to give my husband that gift for Christmas. Instead he got some other gifts he liked and was happy to have them.
The next day I still felt pretty rotten and again the next day and by that time I was starting to recognize that feeling in my stomach. We had a snow storm on the way and not a pregnancy test in the house. My wonderful husband took me out on some really nasty roads that night to buy a pregnancy test. I came home and took it and finally it said,"pregnant" and in record time! Having suffered the loss of our first baby I am not sure what I felt first, excitement or fear. I do remember getting on my knees to pray for him. I walked out to the couch silently and just held it up for Steve to see. I'm not sure which feeling he had first that night either. I know we both felt such a deep fear of what was to come and fought the urge to be too excited too soon.
The weeks that followed brought several scares for us. One of the hardest was spotting at the same time we lost our first baby. One of the other hardest was my birthday, another very long and frightening day until we saw his little heart beating on the ultrasound. That was the beginning of a long line of ultrasounds and doctor appointments. I don't even remember now when the spotting stopped but I remember making it through the first trimester and with each passing milestone taking a small breath in and exhaling just as small a breath. My doctor told me the only way I would ever really not be so scared was to have this little boy and I have found that although the fear has changed with each milestone, he is right and until he is in my arms there is always a little fear there.
In the months that followed that snowy night in December we lost our sweet Brandy girl, our yellow labrador, my Aunt Marian, and my dad - so much sooner than anyone ever anticipated we would. We found out Steve and I both are carriers for Cystic Fibrosis, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, exposed to H1N1 and MRSA twice, and have been through two serious and frightening illnesses with mom.
This post wouldn't be complete without sharing more about our Cystic Fibrosis testing. This will be our only natural child now that we know we are both carriers. Although there is only a 25% chance our son will have it, it's not a chance we can knowingly take again. They did our testing at 10 weeks. We lost our first baby a week before that testing would have taken place so we had no idea. If that test had taken place just a week later, our son wouldn't be on the way right now.
I sit here today and we are coming up on week 38 and our son is now considered full term. We've had ultrasound after ultrasound and there are no signs of CF visible on them. This isn't full-proof so we have a plan in place if he tests positive for CF. He will be tested at birth and again at one month old to be sure. My little boy has survived more in the womb than some adults do in their whole lives. It's hard to believe sometimes all that we have been through during my pregnancy and I marvel at how well he has continued to grow and develop despite the stress and heartache going on all around him. He truly is my miracle from God.
The time is fast approaching to meet my little miracle. If he doesn't come on his own (we are hoping he will!) they will likely induce on August 31st. We have an ultrasound on the 30th to check his weight and we will make decisions then regarding induction and whether or not I can deliver him naturally at his weight.
My son has been blanketed in prayer by so many since he was created. Someday I will share with him how loved he was even before he was born. My heart overflows with gratitude and praise. I hope soon to be able to share him with you!
I finally let Steve take some belly pictures of me today. Once they are touched up and cropped I will share what a wonderful photographer he is with you.
Blessings.
The next day I still felt pretty rotten and again the next day and by that time I was starting to recognize that feeling in my stomach. We had a snow storm on the way and not a pregnancy test in the house. My wonderful husband took me out on some really nasty roads that night to buy a pregnancy test. I came home and took it and finally it said,"pregnant" and in record time! Having suffered the loss of our first baby I am not sure what I felt first, excitement or fear. I do remember getting on my knees to pray for him. I walked out to the couch silently and just held it up for Steve to see. I'm not sure which feeling he had first that night either. I know we both felt such a deep fear of what was to come and fought the urge to be too excited too soon.
The weeks that followed brought several scares for us. One of the hardest was spotting at the same time we lost our first baby. One of the other hardest was my birthday, another very long and frightening day until we saw his little heart beating on the ultrasound. That was the beginning of a long line of ultrasounds and doctor appointments. I don't even remember now when the spotting stopped but I remember making it through the first trimester and with each passing milestone taking a small breath in and exhaling just as small a breath. My doctor told me the only way I would ever really not be so scared was to have this little boy and I have found that although the fear has changed with each milestone, he is right and until he is in my arms there is always a little fear there.
In the months that followed that snowy night in December we lost our sweet Brandy girl, our yellow labrador, my Aunt Marian, and my dad - so much sooner than anyone ever anticipated we would. We found out Steve and I both are carriers for Cystic Fibrosis, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, exposed to H1N1 and MRSA twice, and have been through two serious and frightening illnesses with mom.
This post wouldn't be complete without sharing more about our Cystic Fibrosis testing. This will be our only natural child now that we know we are both carriers. Although there is only a 25% chance our son will have it, it's not a chance we can knowingly take again. They did our testing at 10 weeks. We lost our first baby a week before that testing would have taken place so we had no idea. If that test had taken place just a week later, our son wouldn't be on the way right now.
I sit here today and we are coming up on week 38 and our son is now considered full term. We've had ultrasound after ultrasound and there are no signs of CF visible on them. This isn't full-proof so we have a plan in place if he tests positive for CF. He will be tested at birth and again at one month old to be sure. My little boy has survived more in the womb than some adults do in their whole lives. It's hard to believe sometimes all that we have been through during my pregnancy and I marvel at how well he has continued to grow and develop despite the stress and heartache going on all around him. He truly is my miracle from God.
The time is fast approaching to meet my little miracle. If he doesn't come on his own (we are hoping he will!) they will likely induce on August 31st. We have an ultrasound on the 30th to check his weight and we will make decisions then regarding induction and whether or not I can deliver him naturally at his weight.
My son has been blanketed in prayer by so many since he was created. Someday I will share with him how loved he was even before he was born. My heart overflows with gratitude and praise. I hope soon to be able to share him with you!
I finally let Steve take some belly pictures of me today. Once they are touched up and cropped I will share what a wonderful photographer he is with you.
Blessings.
Home Sweet Temporary Home
Mom is home and doing better. Her progress has been much slower this time and it's been rough for her but she is doing much better now. The final decision from the doctors is the cause was a medication interaction, which caused a condition called serotonin syndrome. She was released from the hospital on Monday and spent the week at John's. She came to our house yesterday to stay for now. As she is feeling better we will resume the search for her a place to live but in the meantime our house is home sweet temporary home for her and Mickey and we are blessed to have them.
She was kept covered in prayer and we appreciate it!
She was kept covered in prayer and we appreciate it!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Deja-vu
Deja-vu ... I've said it so many times today I lost count.
We had a repeat episode today with mom of what took place in late June. This time, however, there were no missing pieces of the puzzle, she was with me every second. She had a migraine a couple days ago and with mom they always come in clusters. When she told me she was having another migraine yesterday and got pretty sick my brothers and I didn't think there was reason to panic. She is staying with us so I was with her through the night and at one point thought she was showing improvement. At my next check her condition had begun to decline and from there it went downhill fast and was clearly no ordinary migraine - and was beginning to look too much like the episode earlier this summer for any of our comfort levels. We called an ambulance this morning and she was in such bad shape it wasn't safe to transport to Miami Valley and they took her to the closest ER in Middletown. Her blood pressure had climbed to 200/100 at that point and she was rapidly becoming less and less responsive. It was a long day and we went through all the same things, with her and the doctors, that we did in June. However, this time we have an answer. Mom has viral meningitis as well as MRSA. She is in ICU and showing little improvement tonight but that is to be expected. They expect to see improvement late tomorrow or Thursday and that would follow along with what we saw last time as well.
Steve and I were both exposed to the meningitis and MRSA in caring for her. The initial conversations with the doctor sound like there is not cause for great concern for the baby and me but John will have the opportunity to talk more with him tomorrow and we will also hear from my OB in the morning. My wonderful sis-in-law and niece were here earlier and disinfected the house for me and wiped down anything mom might have touched.
I am having contractions on and off so rest is the main item on my agenda right now. If mom comes out of this to find she missed her grandson's birth I will be in BIG trouble! LOL So, I am taking it easy and encouraging my son to give Grandma some time to get better before he gets too serious about his arrival.
We are so thankful she was here with us and we have answers tonight. God is good!
Blessings and sweet dreams!
We had a repeat episode today with mom of what took place in late June. This time, however, there were no missing pieces of the puzzle, she was with me every second. She had a migraine a couple days ago and with mom they always come in clusters. When she told me she was having another migraine yesterday and got pretty sick my brothers and I didn't think there was reason to panic. She is staying with us so I was with her through the night and at one point thought she was showing improvement. At my next check her condition had begun to decline and from there it went downhill fast and was clearly no ordinary migraine - and was beginning to look too much like the episode earlier this summer for any of our comfort levels. We called an ambulance this morning and she was in such bad shape it wasn't safe to transport to Miami Valley and they took her to the closest ER in Middletown. Her blood pressure had climbed to 200/100 at that point and she was rapidly becoming less and less responsive. It was a long day and we went through all the same things, with her and the doctors, that we did in June. However, this time we have an answer. Mom has viral meningitis as well as MRSA. She is in ICU and showing little improvement tonight but that is to be expected. They expect to see improvement late tomorrow or Thursday and that would follow along with what we saw last time as well.
Steve and I were both exposed to the meningitis and MRSA in caring for her. The initial conversations with the doctor sound like there is not cause for great concern for the baby and me but John will have the opportunity to talk more with him tomorrow and we will also hear from my OB in the morning. My wonderful sis-in-law and niece were here earlier and disinfected the house for me and wiped down anything mom might have touched.
I am having contractions on and off so rest is the main item on my agenda right now. If mom comes out of this to find she missed her grandson's birth I will be in BIG trouble! LOL So, I am taking it easy and encouraging my son to give Grandma some time to get better before he gets too serious about his arrival.
We are so thankful she was here with us and we have answers tonight. God is good!
Blessings and sweet dreams!
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