a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week

I think Shel Silvertien said it best in his beloved poem called "A terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day" where a little boy has everything go wrong for him in one day. For me, it's lasted an entire week. It really all started New Years Eve. Matt and I had tickets to see the Avett Brothers in Asheville for the night (excellent show btw) and on the way to drop Amelia off at Grandma's house I witnessed two cars wrecks. Strike one. So that shook me up a little, but I calmed down. The evening was fabulous, the band was great, but by morning Matt's naggy headache turned into a migraine. Strike two.

Here's where it gets crazy. I was a bridesmaid in a wedding on New Years Day (a rare and fun opportunity for yours truly) and since Matt had the migraine, I had to take Amelia to the wedding. My mom was out of town and all my other babysitters and grandparents were going to be at the wedding. Anyway, the evening went great with many people to help with Amelia and she was a perfect little angel. However, things turned quickly south when at the reception the bar tender asked, "OH HOW MANY WEEKS ARE YOU?!" I could have died right there! I looked at her in utter disgust and said, "I HAD A BABY 11 WEEKS AGO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!". Need I say more?? Strike three.
So now that you're getting the point if you've read this far, here is the list of the other things that went crazy wrong.

1. Our heat downstairs has been out since last Wednesday and the part to fix it is ordered, but not here.
2. My car window was smashed tonight at the gym and my purse was stolen. They totally missed the $150 pair of sunglasses in the seat and the $5 bill in the cup holder. Go figure.
3 The one thing they did get that breaks my heart is my engagement ring. I'm super sad about this. Big tears over this one have been shed.
4. Oh and tonight when I got home our dishwasher decided to crap out on us so now it doesn't work.

Don't get me wrong, I know things could be worse and I am very grateful my family is healthy and happy. However, for the past week I believe it has just been my turn to have everything go crazy wrong. I always think that maybe I should be more personal on here, well I guess this is definitely in that direction. I suspect I won't be this way all the time, but you know how when crap happens you just want to blurt it out and then you feel much better? I guess this was my chance to have the violins playing.

Now, so as not to end this post as being an overall downer, I'd like to some recent pics of my sweet little baby girl whom I love and adore with all my heart. Her daddy ain't bad either. I really do have the best husband a girl can find.

At the End...

Well, here we are...at the end. Thank God! Matt and I go to the hospital monday night to be induced and I just cannot wait. I'm so ready to meet her and I know my family and friends feel the same way. Let's get on with the show, for real.

I believe I'm crazy to be posting these images. I am so huge! When I uploaded them, I litereally laughed out loud at the size of my stomach. What can you do though? In the first shot I had asked Matt to go stand in the spot I wanted my picture taken so I could get the correct camera settings for him. He thought it would be cute to pretend to be pregnant. As if he had any clue. Poor fella...or lucky fella rather.

Last night we had our last date night as a childless couple. Unfortunately, by 9pm I was ready to go to bed. I'm just so tired right now and I'm sure it's about to get that much worse. Oh boy!

I would like to take a moment and truly thank everyone for your prayers throughout this pregnancy. It has not been easy, but it has been a true blessing. I sincerely apologize to everyone that has had to deal with my over emotional rantings and super freaked out new mommy concerns. I always said I would never be that way, but there I go. God has taught me many lessons in this pregnancy, but He has also shown me that those that truely love Matt and I are always there to love us and accept us no matter what. Our heart's desire is to put Christ first, then our marriage, and then our baby. It's an incredible journey and we will fail many times, but at least there is wonderful Grace. :)

Love to all...

37 weeks

Well, I believe it's definitely time for an update. We had our last ultrasound on Monday and she is looking great. She's measuring 6.12lbs, which is perfect and the doc said the ultrasound is usually over by close to a lb so most likely she'll be right around 7lbs at birth...possibly. This is great news since my specialist wanted me to have a smaller baby due to my fibroid.

Anyway, we also found out the plan for her birth. The doc wants to have a controlled labor because of the fibroid. That being said, we're scheduled to be induced on Oct 13th in the morning. If I have not dilated any by 2 or 3 in the afternoon, they will do a C-section. The doc believes it's fine to try for a natural birth so I'm willing to go for it even if it is only for a short time. :) We're very excited to have a plan in place. Of course she could come early, but that is doubtful because the doc doesn't think I can go into labor on my own.

Right now, all I can think about is meeting her and squeezing her and kissing her. I'll be honest in the fact that I didn't feel a true attachment to her until about the third trimester. Some women may scoff at this revelation, but for me it was somewhat of a defense I believe. I was too scared to bond with her because the fibroid scared me so much and I thought if I let myself go to that place in my heart and mind that I would be hurt so deeply if we lost her. These days I feel much more confident b/c she is holding so strong and I feel her constantly. She's a very active baby! Regardless, every mother has a different experience in pregnancy and that is why I am able to share mine. :)

So that you know, we'll be delivering at St Francis Women's Hospital at the eastside campus and on the 4th floor. Everything is about to change and for the better. :)

Here are some ultrasound pics from sept 8th when I believe I was 34 weeks. You can definitely see some detail on these. I just think she is darling. :) The darkness over her eyes in the bottom 2 images is the shadow from her hand.

32 weeks

Ok, I realize these images are creepy looking...at least that is what I think when I see other people's 3D baby images. However, when it's your own child you have a different feeling about it. To me she totally looks like Matt and has his nose and mouth, but that could all change once I finally see her. :) Let me know what you all think? These images were actually taken at my 27 week visit, but I had lost the CD temporarily.

So now that I'm definitely in the third trimester things are way different. First, and most of you know this, I did test positive for whooping cough from my aug 6th nose swab at the doc's office. It's a surreal and scary situation for the health dept to call you just a few hours before your first baby shower and tell you were positive for whooping cough. I freaked out because I thought I would be contagious still. However, the health dept and my doc office assured me that since I took the correct vaccine only a couple weeks into the cough that I was not contagious and that it would not spread to the baby. Thank goodness. I must have asked both places 3 times to repeat everything and to promise I wasn't contagious. Unfortunately there is absolutely nothing you can do for the cough. No medicine or anything will help it. It just has to run it's course. Anyway, this nasty disease caused us to leave our july vacation 2 days early and it has been one of the most miserable experiences of my life. And I have a mild case!! I can't even explain to you the coughing fits and how when you're pregnant it makes you vomit and pee your pants more than you would have if you weren't. It is not fun and I would tell everyone having a baby or who works with children to get vaccinated. I actually believe I'm either half way through with it or nearing the end of it. I'm just praying it's gone by the time the baby arrives. So whooping cough was my introduction into the third trimester. YAY for me! HA!

On to some good news, I do not have gestational diabetes. I had to take the second test, which was totally weird and annoying to sit for 3 hours while they call you in the room to draw blood once every hour. Matt never thought I had it, but I do know my sugar is the first thing to go when I'm hungry. I really didn't fit the profile for it though. It doesn't run in my family and I was not over weight previous to pregnancy.

Some more good news is that Amelia is growing and healthy and as text book average as you can get for her measurements. As far as we know as least. she is a mover and a shaker in my belly. they keep telling me her movement will slow down because she'll run out of room, but I haven't had that yet.

As for me getting around these days...it's a challenge for sure. I'm carrying her super low and she is sooooo heavy. My friend Carrie bought me one of those belts to lift you up and it has helped a lot. Thanks Carrie! Bending over is just about out of the question at this point and I seriously think through going up and down the stairs at home. My hips get major cramps in them every night and I wake up and have to use a heating pad just to get relief. Tylenol is a joke for this kind of pain. The hot tub in our backyard is my new bff. Don't worry, I keep the temp at like 94 degrees. Poor Matt is ready for her to be here I'm sure. He's been great though and he's taken great care of me. He's the best baby daddy ever.

Anyway, I'm sorry this is so long, but there were lots of updates to do. I have another appt this coming monday so I'll try to do another post right after. Oh and if you've ready this far then you deserve to see pics of Amelia's nursery on my photography blog.

Love to all and thanks so much for your prayers. :)

Cajun Shrimp

For Katie and Lyndsay.

27 weeks

It's Official, I'm now in my third trimester. YAY! Things are going well and Amelia is practicing her fancy foot work in my belly on a moment by moment basis. :) No complaints though, I love feeling her in there.

Matt and I went on a date last night and it was great to get out. Before we went I set up the tripod in the backyard and we took these pics. I had to beg Matt to not make silly faces. He's such a goober. My girlfriend, Brooke, sent me this cute top. I just love it. She had her sweet little girl this past December.

I do have a Dr appointment this week so I'll be blogging with updates on that. For now, this is mostly a pic post.

25 weeks

This week begins my 25th week of pregnancy. Wahoo!! Last week, I had my 24 week checkup with the OB and the specialist for my fibroid. Below, I have some really cute ultrasound pics to show you. The update on the fibroid was a good one. It hasn't grown any and I'm not having any real discomfort from it. I know the warning signs to look for so I feel as prepared as I can be if something happens. While the fibroid has stabilized for the time being, my heart is beginning to be an issue. I actually have an appointment to get an EKG done today. It started last week at the gym. I've been working out the whole time and doing aerobics and feeling great about myself. However, on Monday while at the gym my heart started racing so I came out of the class and sat down. It got worse and my vision and hearing went and I broke into a cold sweat. I've never been so scared and not for me, but for the baby. I called over a trainer who took my pulse and it was 190!! Way too high. They called EMS and so the drama began. I finally came out of it and was able to relax. I called the OB and told them what happened. The nurse asked me if Amelia was kicking regularly. I said she was and she also asked if I had any bleeding or cramps and since I didn't she felt I was fine, but that I couldn't do ANYTHING the rest of the day and had to go to bed.

So after telling all this to my specialist, he has referred me to a cardiologist to have my heart checked. They think it could be an arrhythmia. He didn't sound terribly worried so we're not worrying. From what I read, these can be common in pregnancy and something relatively easy to take care of so we'll see what they say.

As for the rest of the pregnancy. Amelia is right on target and weighs 1lb and a 1/2. She is a very active little thing and is constantly kicking. I don't think she sleeps much. :) I'm also going right on target for the pregnancy. So far I've gained 13lbs. I've been trying super hard not to over eat now that I don't want to puke everything.

The nursery is looking fabulous and moving along. Matt and my dad installed the beedboard and mom painted it and the walls. she also refinished some antique furniture that looks way to cute. I'm so excited. Everyone has helped so much and I'm so grateful. Thanks!!! I will have before and after pics very soon so stay tuned.

Matt is cuter than he's ever been and I think I love him more every day. He now introduces Amelia when we meet people. He points to my belly and says, "oh, and here is Amelia". I love it. He has felt her kick a lot and he loves to say, "hey baby, it's daddy". You'd have to hear him. It's real funny. Ok, hugs to all. Liv