33 week update

Well, we have made good progress since the last blog update.  The doctors have been pleased with everything and had a meeting yesterday morning and made the decision to let me go home about 3:00 after my last hour of monitoring.  I hadn't had any bleeding in 3 days and all of the times of monitoring showed no concerns with the baby or my contractions.  So very thankful to sleep in my own bed!  Poor Mitch has been sleeping on a fold out chair next to my bed since last Tuesday when we were admitted. What a good daddy and husband to want to stay close even when it's uncomfortable.  Our family has been great about taking turns spending time with me in the hospital so that Mitch could keep working.  I will be on bedrest at home with permission to leave the house for Drs appts.  At least I will be at home where I can boss people around and still get the nursery ready :) The doctors don't want me to return to work, which is difficult for me to wrap my mind around.  I have been at Huerter Ortho for almost 17 years and had planned to work up until the baby arrived, then quit to stay home with him.  But, it seems that I'm going to be done even sooner.  I had pictured my last day at work, after so many years, being different than the way it was!  It will be an adjustment for sure!

We are so grateful for the care we received while at the hospital and thanks again for all of the texts, emails, visits, prayers  and food from friends and family.  It encouraged us so much!  Here are a few pictures from our last week at OPR.  So thankful to have made it to 33 weeks with this little guy content to still be inside!!

I had planned on having lunch with my mom and sisters last Friday to celebrate Mother's Day.  So, they decided to bring lunch to me so we could still have our celebration.  They picked up Fazoli's and we ate and exchanged presents.  Mother's Day has gotten harder for me each year of our infertility.  It was so wonderful to be able to really celebrate it this year!

 On Mother's Day the nurses and doctors were all very sweet to wish me a Happy Mother's Day.  My parents had taken Mary Lu to lunch and stopped by for a quick visit after lunch.  Mitch went to church and then had lunch with his mom at Panera.

For dinner Mitch let me pick a restaurant and I called in an order to Bo Ling's.  He came back with dinner, a flameless candle and a card that of course made me cry!  It was a special time for me and a nice treat to have a candle lit dinner.

I'm already so thankful to be this little guy's mommy!

This is a picture of our last dinner at the hospital.  We knew the doctors were planning to make a plan Wednesday morning and Mitch was allowed 1 complimentary meal during our stay.  We decided tonight was the night.  We both ordered the KC Strip dinner and it was a really good steak, considering it came from a hospital cafeteria :)

 This is the progress I've made on the baby blanket since my crochet lesson on Friday.

 Here's a picture of monitor that I've been hooked up to during my stay.  We were able to watch his heart rate in the blue section and the yellow line was tracking any contractions.  He didn't like the monitors being hooked up.  He doesn't like sharing his space.  So, he spent alot of the time kicking the monitors which got his heart rate going for sure!

32 week update

Well, we had some unexpected things  come up this week, which is why my 32 week belly picture was taken from my hospital bed yesterday. Tuesday as my work day was coming to an end, I started bleeding quite a bit.  I called the doctor's office, knowing this was not a good sign.  They suggested I go right to the ER at Overland Park Regional.  I called Mitch and he came to pick me up and we headed to the ER to find out what was going on.  They sent us up to the baby unit and took us to triage where they hooked me up to a monitor and we heard the baby's heartbeat!  Huge relief just hearing that sound!  They called in the specialists and our OB.  We got moved to a room in the antepartum department of the Labor & Delivery floor.  The perinatologist that we see on a regular basis came in to do internal and external sonograms because the monitor was showing I was having contractions every 2-3 minutes. There was a flurry of activity as they got me hooked up to the IV and started figuring out our situation.  The sono showed that there was a slight abruption where the placenta had pulled away from the uterus. The uterus was contracting to get rid of the blood the abruption caused.  So, the contractions were not causing the cervix to change.  This made everyone feel better that I was not trying to go into preterm labor.  They decided to monitor me over the coming days to see what happened.  I started taking antibiotics, magnesium sulphate and steroid injections.  All of this was in case I would go into labor early. They wanted the baby to be as prepared as possible.  Wednesday, I continued to bleed less and they were pleased with the progress.  I continued to be on all the same drugs and had visits with a great team of doctors and specialists.  Everyone at OPR has been wonderful!  I had very few side affects from the medication which the medical team kept mentioning. I told them I had alot of people praying for me!  We had the opportunity to share our story with with several of the doctors and nurses.  As they would read our chart, they would see part of the infertility story and several asked to hear more.  It was fun to share our miraculous story.  It also built confidence in us to tell the story because it was a great reminder that in these days of the unknown, we could be at peace because from Day 1 He has orchestrated this baby's life and would continue to do so. Thursday was a calm day as well.  We hit the 32 week mark today.  I was able to be taken off of the magnesium and got to take a shower! It's the little things that get you excited when you're on bed rest!  They had to watch me pretty closely while on the magnesium, which meant a 20 minute routine every 2 hours night and day.  At 5 that morning I was laying in bed, unable to sleep and realized that in the midst of everything that was happening to me and my body I was grinning from ear to ear, because I was laying there listening to the beautiful sound of the baby's heart beat on the monitor next to me.  It was strong and steady and has quickly become my favorite sound.  The baby continues to respond wonderfully and for that we are so grateful.  Today was a little harder because after 15 hours of no bleeding,  it started up again and they aren't sure why.  I didn't have to restart any medications, they are just keeping me on the monitors constantly and observing me.  So, I will be staying at the hospital for now. 

Thanks so much to all our friends and family for the visits, texts, emails, food, flowers and prayers most of all.  All these things have been such an encouragement to us.  

 32 week belly shot

Here's a picture of the finished crib project.  We did this a couple weekends ago.  So, the nursery is starting to come together. 

30 week update

30 weeks!!  Wow, that's hard to believe.  We are in the third trimester with only a couple months to go!  We are half way through our childbirth classes and have learned alot so far.  Our goal is to deliver naturally, with no pain medications, so these classes are helping to prepare us for that.  We've been busy the last month, so here are some pictures to keep you up to date.

28 week belly shot

We had our first baby shower on April 4th.  It was given by my mom and sisters.  We are so blessed by our friends and family!  It's so sweet for so many people to help us celebrate this gift God has given us!

Aunt Shannon & Aunt Megan

 The Grandmas

Coworker Friends from the Past

 Millsaps-Family friends for more than 30 years

 Bible Study Girls and my neighbor/friend, Amanda

The creative spread my mom and sisters prepared.  The theme was bow ties!  So, there was cheese and crackers with the cheese cut into bow tie shapes, mini bow tie sugar cookies, chicken salad sandwiches, veggie pizza, bow tie pasta, make your own bow tie fruit pizzas, along with homeade peanut butter cups!

Fruit infused teas in mason jars, with bow ties around each one

Then on April 5th, my coworker friends took me to lunch at the Webster House and showered us with more blessings!  It was such a nice lunch, with fun games and of course, cake!

Last week we went on a "babymoon" to Breckenridge, CO.  We flew to Denver last Wednesday and finally got there after sitting at KCI for 7 hours & boarding and deboarding the plane 4 different times due to security problems and weather delays in Denver.  They got a late snowstorm and weren't accepting any incoming flights. After we arrived, we got our rental car and attempted to drive to Breckenridge.  Because of the delay, we were driving through Denver at rush hour and it was snowing.  The roads were getting worse and worse after we'd been in the car for a couple of hours.  We finally decided we should give up and stop for the night.  The roads were getting very slick, curvy and steep as we drove around the mountains.  So, we stopped in Evergreen, CO for the night and ordered in a pizza.  The next morning we completed our drive and once we saw how curvy and steep the rest of the trip was, we knew we'd made the right decision to not attempt that the night before.  Thursday morning the sun was shining and the roads were much better.  We had a relaxing several days where we didn't do a whole lot!  It was great just to enjoy the snow, mountains and each other. They did reopen some of the slopes because of the late snow.  We took a gondola ride up to watch the skiers and snowboards one day.  Other than that we just did alot of eating :)  We came home on Sunday night.  Our crib did arrive, but we picked it up a couple days before we went out of town.  So, we haven't been able to put it together yet, so you'll have to wait until the next post for pictures of the nursery.

Today we went for our monthly growth scan at the perinatologist.  We also had our first biophysical scan at the same time.  Because of my blood clotting disorder we have to have that scan done weekly from here on out.  So, I'll be spending alot of time at the Drs offices!  Everything looked great on the scans today.  He is growing and developing just like he should.  The sono projected his weight at 3lbs and 5oz, which puts him in the 48%, right where they want him.  We always love to see his sweet little face. 

30 week belly shot

26 week update

24 week belly shot

We went for our monthly sonogram at the perinatologist on the 22nd.  The sono shows the baby weighing 1 pound and 14 oz.  Everything continues to look great and he's growing just like he should. 

He's in the 63rd % for weight at this point.  We have a 3D sonogram scheduled for the beginning of May and are excited about that.

 Our family's first NCAA game.  We got tickets to go watch KU play at the Sprint Center!  Looks like I brought my own basketball with me :)  It was fun to cheer the Jayhawks on to a win, in person!

 26 week belly shot

Well, we are coming to the end of our 2nd trimester.  It's so exciting and unbelievable! We are looking foward to our first 2 showers which are next week.  Then, our 6 week childbirth classes will begin next Saturday.  Hoping to post some pictures of the progress we're making in the nursery in next blog update.  The crib is on order and should be here in the next week or two. 

Happy Easter to you!  We hope that you enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend as we celebrate the reason that we have hope, our Risen Saviour!

23 week update

20 week belly shot

We went for another sonogram at the perinatologist at 21 weeks and everything is still looking great.  We sure do love getting to see him!  Here's one of the many pictures we got this time.  What a sweet little face!  Now if we could just decide on a name....

I love getting to feel him move around all of the time now.  Mitch has been getting to feel him move lately and we've been able to watch him from the outside. 

The baby's first snowman :)

22 week belly shot

I went to see Dr Holly yesterday and we were attempting to record the baby's heartbeat to the recordable frame my cousin Cassie gave us.  The baby was being a stinker and kept running around so that Dr. Holly was having to basically chase him to get a good recording.  It was funny!  We are grateful for another good report.  We'll continue to see the perinatologist every 4 weeks. 

Well, the registering has begun!  Mom, Shannon and I went to check out a consignment sale last Friday then did some registering at Buy Buy Baby.  Yesterday my mother-in-law spent 3 hours with me scanning items at Target and today Mitch and I spent 3 hours at Babies R Us choosing the baby's furniture and getting registered.  There are lots of showers being planned for the next several months so we're getting prepared. 

19 weeks

Well, we are almost at the half-way point.  Time is just flying by.  I am loving the 2nd trimester :)  I feel great most of the time and I have decided feeling him move inside of me is one of the most amazing things I've ever experienced.  I also love knowing he's a BOY!  I will never get tired of hearing Mitch pray before dinner and thank God for our son!  It makes my heart so happy.  I went to see Dr Holly yesterday and we got a good report.  So thankful each time I hear that heart beating so strong.  It was 152 bpm yesterday.  She thought everything was looking great.  We will go back to the perinatologist in 2 weeks since we get to see them every 4 weeks throughout the pregnancy.  I'm excited to see how much he's grown in that time.

We made our first trip to Babies R Us last weekend and have been doing lots of research online since there are so many options.  Thanks to the girls in Sunday School and my sister for sharing their wealth of knowledge and giving us tips.

Here are a few pictures.  I'd forgotten to load the 16 week picture, so it's out of order :)  Thank you for rejoicing with us and for continuing to pray for our little family!

16 weeks

Fun pics we took at our Gender Reveal Party, Blue or Pink?

There goes the Pink!

All Blue!

18 weeks

The Big Reveal!

Today we went for our appointment with the perinatologist.  He did our sonogram and confirmed that everything looked great!  We were very thankful to hear this!  It was so fun to see his/her little fingers and toes.  We told the Dr. that we wanted him to find out the gender, but not tell us.  Instead, we wanted him to seal the results in an envelope.  So, at certain times, he would have us close our eyes, to keep it a surprise.  The baby weighs 7oz and the heartrate was 155 beats per minute.  It's so amazing to think that all of that is going on inside of me. 

After we left the appointment, we took the envelope to the bakery and ordered a cake.  They baked us a layered cake and put either blue or pink filling inside.  Then all of our family came over at 7 and we were also able to Skype with Lesley in Minnesota.  We cut into the cake, and found out together what we're having...

This is the group that voted GIRL!

And this group voted BOY!

Pink and Blue Snacks & Drinks

The Reveal Cake

IT'S A BOY!

"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart"

Jeremiah 1:5