Wow, how life has changed since we found out we were pregnant with twins. We've had multiple ultrasounds to follow the growth and development of the boys; our insurance through the Navy expired and we switched to Medicaid until Matt is able to include us on insurance through work; Matt started a new job with a government contracted company, hoping to get his foot in the door to a federal job to finish out his time in so he can receive his pension later. We are in the process of trying to find a different living arrangement, since my mom's house is already full to the brim, and adding two more babies to the mix just complicates things further.
As for the actual pregnancy, by my original due date of April 14, I'm 38 weeks pregnant, but my due date was changed by my original doctor at the midwife office to April 22, since the babies were consistently measuring about a week behind my dates. Since my OB appointment a week and a half ago, I've been dilated two centimeters and both boys are head down. Our ultrasound two days ago showed Caleb to be weighing around 5 lbs 9 oz and Christian to be weighing around 5 lbs 4 oz. I'm so stoked that they're both over 5 lbs, because at our last ultrasound a month ago they were both right at 4 lbs each.
In regards to delivery, I am planning on a vaginal delivery of both babies unless an emergency arises. I do plan on having an epidural in the event that the doc needs to help reposition Christian (baby B) after Caleb (baby A) is delivered. He's informed me (as I've heard from others) that this process is NOT comfortable and an epidural would be ideal. As well, it would be good to have the epidural in place in case for some reason an emergency cesarean becomes necessary. Considering my adjusted due date of the 22nd, I would be 38 weeks pregnant (full term for twins) on Easter Sunday (April 8th), thus, my OB has suggested that we induce on Tuesday, April 10, if nothing has happened by then. That way, no matter what due date we go by, I'd be at least 38 weeks along.
How have I been doing? Well, ask any pregnant lady who's near the end of her pregnancy and she'll tell you there's a point where you just say, "I'm done." I'm past that point. Overall, I've had a wonderfully smooth and healthy pregnancy, especially considering I'm having twins, but I'm at that point where I'm READY to have these boys and meet them face to face. I've been incredibly blessed to have avoided edema (swelling) most of this pregnancy, but it recently decided to move into my lower legs, feet and hands (though my hands have been swollen in the mornings for a while). I feel like my whole pelvis is bruised, so it hurts to walk. My lower back pain has worsened and I get bouts of moderate cramping in my lower abdomen. I still get Braxton-Hicks contractions, and some quite long and strong, but nothing that's regular. Physically, I'm done. I'm so ready to have these boys and get back to being able to move like a normal person. Emotionally? I'm still so shocked that we're having twins and that I'm going to be a mom of FOUR children. And not only FOUR children, but TWO of those boys! I always thought I'd be blessed to have even ONE boy, but two NEVER entered my mind. God has definitely surprised us!
I have to say...it has been a lesson in faith to witness and experience this blessing God's bestowed upon us. God has shared with us the miracle of His good and perfect timing by giving us these children when Matt was without a job for so long, while we've been living with my mom and adjusting to civilian life. He has shared with us His amazing creativity giving us not only two babies, but two boys with this pregnancy. He is sharing with us a huge responsibility by giving us TWO MORE children to care for, expressing to us how much He expects us to rely on Him in raising these children. He has shared with us His unbelievable provision by providing us everything we need in this time when we have needed quite a bit. He has provided us a place to live, food to eat, transportation, the love of family and friends, financial assistance, emotional healing, and through all this, an opportunity for Matt and me to grow in our relationship. I have grown so much in my Christian life lately as well. I am still struggling with many areas of my life, but going through all the changes that have occurred lately and seeing God's hand working so meticulously in my life ALL the time, I am immensely baffled by His works. God has continuously provided for us not only through the many things He's given us, but MANY times through the things He's taken away from us. I'll spare you the detail, but even when something we thought we needed was no longer there, God was using its absence to provide something else for us. It is complicated, but trust me in this...God knows what He is doing and we are dumb to think that we have ANY inkling of what is best for us.
Showing posts with label Baby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baby. Show all posts
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Friday, November 25, 2011
Seeing Double: Our Unforgettable Trip to the Midwife
So, there I was, lying on my back in the dark little room, warm gel on my naked tummy, the ultrasound wand skimming across my pale skin. Matt had run out to the car to grab a disc we'd forgotten so the sonogram tech could record some of the images she catches on the disc for us to take home. She runs the wand in a quick swipe across my belly before placing it back in it's holder on the machine. Standing up she says she needs to check something on her computer. In that quick swipe, I thought I saw something odd, but didn't think more of it assuming the oddity was caused by the way the imaged blurred across the screen. It'd only been a few minutes since Matt left the room and we'd barely begun the half-hour ultrasound to check on baby's growth. At 19 weeks, this was our first ultrasound of this pregnancy--different from our first two pregnancies during which we got ultrasounds between eight and ten weeks along.
Matt reentered the room and our technician told him he'd better sit down. I thought that strange until she followed up with, "it may take us a while to get through all of this". He handed her the disc and cleared my stuff off a chair by the bed. Just as the technician was about to put the wand back on my belly, she held up two fingers. My eyes grew big. Matt said, "What?" I echoed Matt, "Wait, what? What?!" He put his head in his hand saying he was going to faint--he'd previously said if it was a girl he'd faint. "You faint? I'm going to faint!" It seems that my initial glimpse was true. I thought I'd seen two spines. "Yeah," said the technician, "there's two babies in there and I believe they're both boys!" Matt looked up from his hand and with a deep, disturbed-sounding voice said, "What?" Pause. "Two?" Matt had misinterpreted the technician's signal to mean "V" for, well...a girl. It was funny for me to catch on, begin to freak out, and then see Matt's reaction when he caught on to the fact that she was telling us that we have TWO babies, not just one.
In the days, no weeks, leading up to our appointment, I grew more and more nervous. I had NO clue what we were going to find out and I had no clue if we were having a boy or girl. I kept thinking that we were going to find out something wasn't right with the baby, like that it was missing a leg or something. As we sat waiting to be called back that afternoon, I was incredibly nervous, as prepared as possible for the unknown. Or so I thought.
The technician had stepped over to her computer to buy some time until Matt returned because she didn't want to continue until we both were aware of the surprise. As the news kept repeating in my head, I kept saying, "What? No way! What?" And yes, I confess, a number of "holy crap"s found their way into my speech that day, but mostly, "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" Over and over, "Oh my gosh!" The wand danced about my belly, now pushing the cooling gel all about. Our eyes glued to the screen, we were now anxious to see the proof of the latter part of her announcement. Boys?! As the gray tone images became clear upon each little baby's "area", the truth of it all was black and white. There indeed ARE two babies and they ARE indeed both boys! Stunned doesn't even begin to explain what we felt. My choice word is "floored". By now, my whole body was shaking uncontrollably, not violently, just noticeably. "I'm shaking! Oh my gosh! Twins?!" The technician said that was my adrenaline working. No kidding?! The shaking continued, then I began to laugh. I couldn't look at Matt without laughing, so I tried not to look at him throughout the rest of the ultrasound. It was difficult.
Our periodic looks were like no other look we'd given each other before. He and I had never been shocked like this before. We were seriously floored. From a moment after the real news hit Matt to the end of the ultrasound, he'd held my hand. I'm so grateful for that. It helped me feel a little more tied to someone, connected. The stunning news had confirmed a reason for my nerves and lifted me to a place beyond explanation. Having his hand in mine was a type of anchor, something I could hold onto in the midst of the chaos that I was feeling.
We finished up the ultrasound, thanked the technician, and headed for the lobby with our little roll of photos and disc of images in hand. Sitting on the sofa in the waiting room before my midwife appointment, Matt and I just laughed, stared at each other and shared our shock. We left there feeling so floored, so thrown off, so completely caught off guard, it was like no other time we'd experienced.
Telling our families was unreal in its own sort of way, too. They all reacted with a similar sort of shock as we did, screams, stares of disbelief, and lots of, "What?"s. So now, here we are, midway through our third pregnancy, preparing for TWIN BOYS of all things! We've picked out names: Caleb Donald (Donald after my dad), and Christian Matthew (after Matt). Caleb and Christian. Our boys. Our boys. Our precious baby boys. Yup, I'm still working on getting used to it. I can now imagine two little baby boys in car seats in the back of the van, but it is still so hard to believe that I've got two little boys sharing a space in my belly. Matt's not even to the imagining part yet. I don't expect him to be until delivery day. Our wonderful technician that day said they appear to be identical twins, too, so we're curious as to how deep the "identical" part will show through when we finally get to meet them face-to-face. This might add a whole new dimension to our new challenge of being parents of not only two girls, but also twin boys. We are SO excited though, and cannot wait to do whatever we can to bring these boys as close to full-term as possible and deliver healthy babies into this world. We are also scared yet flattered that God would entrust us with the responsibility of caring for two infants at once while continuing to raise our four-year-old and one-year-old. What an honor, a privilege and a challenge. Thank You Lord! We're up for it!
Matt reentered the room and our technician told him he'd better sit down. I thought that strange until she followed up with, "it may take us a while to get through all of this". He handed her the disc and cleared my stuff off a chair by the bed. Just as the technician was about to put the wand back on my belly, she held up two fingers. My eyes grew big. Matt said, "What?" I echoed Matt, "Wait, what? What?!" He put his head in his hand saying he was going to faint--he'd previously said if it was a girl he'd faint. "You faint? I'm going to faint!" It seems that my initial glimpse was true. I thought I'd seen two spines. "Yeah," said the technician, "there's two babies in there and I believe they're both boys!" Matt looked up from his hand and with a deep, disturbed-sounding voice said, "What?" Pause. "Two?" Matt had misinterpreted the technician's signal to mean "V" for, well...a girl. It was funny for me to catch on, begin to freak out, and then see Matt's reaction when he caught on to the fact that she was telling us that we have TWO babies, not just one.
Our TWINS!
In the days, no weeks, leading up to our appointment, I grew more and more nervous. I had NO clue what we were going to find out and I had no clue if we were having a boy or girl. I kept thinking that we were going to find out something wasn't right with the baby, like that it was missing a leg or something. As we sat waiting to be called back that afternoon, I was incredibly nervous, as prepared as possible for the unknown. Or so I thought.
The technician had stepped over to her computer to buy some time until Matt returned because she didn't want to continue until we both were aware of the surprise. As the news kept repeating in my head, I kept saying, "What? No way! What?" And yes, I confess, a number of "holy crap"s found their way into my speech that day, but mostly, "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" Over and over, "Oh my gosh!" The wand danced about my belly, now pushing the cooling gel all about. Our eyes glued to the screen, we were now anxious to see the proof of the latter part of her announcement. Boys?! As the gray tone images became clear upon each little baby's "area", the truth of it all was black and white. There indeed ARE two babies and they ARE indeed both boys! Stunned doesn't even begin to explain what we felt. My choice word is "floored". By now, my whole body was shaking uncontrollably, not violently, just noticeably. "I'm shaking! Oh my gosh! Twins?!" The technician said that was my adrenaline working. No kidding?! The shaking continued, then I began to laugh. I couldn't look at Matt without laughing, so I tried not to look at him throughout the rest of the ultrasound. It was difficult.
Baby A is Caleb and Baby B is Christian.
We finished up the ultrasound, thanked the technician, and headed for the lobby with our little roll of photos and disc of images in hand. Sitting on the sofa in the waiting room before my midwife appointment, Matt and I just laughed, stared at each other and shared our shock. We left there feeling so floored, so thrown off, so completely caught off guard, it was like no other time we'd experienced.
Telling our families was unreal in its own sort of way, too. They all reacted with a similar sort of shock as we did, screams, stares of disbelief, and lots of, "What?"s. So now, here we are, midway through our third pregnancy, preparing for TWIN BOYS of all things! We've picked out names: Caleb Donald (Donald after my dad), and Christian Matthew (after Matt). Caleb and Christian. Our boys. Our boys. Our precious baby boys. Yup, I'm still working on getting used to it. I can now imagine two little baby boys in car seats in the back of the van, but it is still so hard to believe that I've got two little boys sharing a space in my belly. Matt's not even to the imagining part yet. I don't expect him to be until delivery day. Our wonderful technician that day said they appear to be identical twins, too, so we're curious as to how deep the "identical" part will show through when we finally get to meet them face-to-face. This might add a whole new dimension to our new challenge of being parents of not only two girls, but also twin boys. We are SO excited though, and cannot wait to do whatever we can to bring these boys as close to full-term as possible and deliver healthy babies into this world. We are also scared yet flattered that God would entrust us with the responsibility of caring for two infants at once while continuing to raise our four-year-old and one-year-old. What an honor, a privilege and a challenge. Thank You Lord! We're up for it!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
What a Wonderful World...
Life is very different now. This year has brought on such a dramatic change in my life and my families life, it is overwhelming to think of all the ways our world has shifted. I am still very much grieving my father's passing, and I'm not sure if I'll ever not grieve for him, but I am still comforted by the truth of his faith and devotion to our Father and Savior, and thus his warm acceptance into a place of peace and health. Since my return to Colorado in April (after my dad's March 27th passing) has taken on a whole new appearance. In June, we celebrated Abbigail's fourth birthday, and (back in Missouri) my mom's 60th birthday. In late July, packers came and boxed up our household goods in preparation for our move back to Missouri. Matt officially separated from the U.S. Navy on August 1, 2011. That same day we drove back to Missouri with my sister, Mindy and her husband, Bryan--our helpers in the move. A week or so prior to our move, my brother, David and a family friend, Chuck also visited us in Colorado to pick up a few items we would need immediately in MO.
After our return to Missouri, Matt started his new job with his step-dad, Bryan, working as an assistant in Bryan's Snap-On franchise. He enjoys the job, though we are looking for something a little more permanent that can utilize the skills and abilities he acquired in the Navy. On August 25th, we celebrated Madison's first birthday. She's such a wonderful little girl. Petite she may be, but she is so smart and entertaining. The most exciting and unexpected recent event actually happened the weekend before Madison's birthday. On Sunday, August 21, I found out I am pregnant with our third child. That same morning, my sister, Mindy confirmed that she is also pregnant (with her first child). Matt was out of town at the time of the discovery, but due to be back that evening. He was so excited when I told him over the phone that morning. That afternoon, Mindy and I decided we'd both tell my mom at lunch. We'd planned to go to the Olive Garden with a couple family friends, Chuck and his mom, Louise.
How we told her:
I had Abby come over so I could tell her something. Whispering in her ear, I told her, "I want you to tell Grandma something, but you have to go over and tell it to her in her ear." I said this because it was noisy and I wanted to make sure mom heard what Abby was saying. "Go over there and tell Grandma in her ear that mommy's got a baby in her tummy." Abby immediately pulled away and looked at me then at my tummy with big eyes. "You do?" "Yeah, now go over there and tell Grandma in her ear that mommy has a baby in her tummy." Abby did as I said and my mom paused after hearing the message then said, "No she doesn't." Then turning to me, "do you?" "Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I took a test and it said I was." Her eyes got real big. "You are?!" Then a few moments later after the shock began to settle, I said, "And you know that other thing about how I'm always pregnant with a sister....?" She just looked at me. There was a big pause. (When I was pregnant with Abby, my oldest sister, Teresa was pregnant with her twins. They and Abby are exactly 6 weeks apart. When I was pregnant with Madison, Matt's sister was pregnant with her little boy, Eli. He and Madison are exactly 3 weeks apart.) Mindy chimed in here after giving mom a moment to think about what I was saying. "I'm pregnant, too," Mindy said. Mom turned her head toward Mindy who was sitting to her left. "You are?! What? Are you kidding me? Is this a joke? (extending her arm) Somebody pinch me!" My mom was SO shocked. Laughter and shock was shared by everyone. It was truly an amazing experience.
Since then, I found out my due date is April 14, and Mindy found out her due date is May 2--two weeks and five days apart. Ridiculous and amazing. I am truly in awe of God's timing and blessings! Matt and I want more children, but we didn't expect it to happen this quickly after Madison.
We are in such a strange place right now. Matt's out of the Navy, working a new job, different than anything he's ever done before, hoping to start school in the Spring. Abby is now four years old, attending pre-kindergarten here in Lee's Summit, and now enjoying children's church on Sunday mornings instead of playing in the nursery. Madison is now a year old and walking (when she wants), and learning so very much. I am STILL only five classes shy of my bachelor degree in English, hoping to get back to working on my memoir real soon, and praying for an interested publisher. And now I'm pregnant...again. We are truly excited. We are, however, still living with my mom until we can get everything in order to purchase a home. It can be difficult to do this when Matt's got such a new job, and, despite having a reliable job, to be honest, his income is remarkably less than his allowances and income were in the Navy.
Life is very different for us. Amid all these physical changes, there are plenty of emotional and spiritual changes taking place as well. For me, these changes are an affect of my dad's life. My dad left such an inspiring legacy. His life was God-centered and uplifting, despite his circumstances with cancer. Cancer didn't define my dad. His faith did. This truth cuts me to the core with grief and love. I miss him dearly, but I am SO VERY happy that he was my father, my dad, an important role model in my spiritual life. I am SO grateful for him.
I LOVE the words of What a Wonderful World sung through the raspy, gruff voice of Louis Armstrong (as referenced in the title to this entry). And truly, what a wonderful world this is. Our Creator definitely knows what He is doing. He gives us exactly what He knows we need when we need it. This world is so crazy and amazing and beautiful. Pain and love, death and life. God is good, isn't He? What a TRULY wonderful world, it is!
After our return to Missouri, Matt started his new job with his step-dad, Bryan, working as an assistant in Bryan's Snap-On franchise. He enjoys the job, though we are looking for something a little more permanent that can utilize the skills and abilities he acquired in the Navy. On August 25th, we celebrated Madison's first birthday. She's such a wonderful little girl. Petite she may be, but she is so smart and entertaining. The most exciting and unexpected recent event actually happened the weekend before Madison's birthday. On Sunday, August 21, I found out I am pregnant with our third child. That same morning, my sister, Mindy confirmed that she is also pregnant (with her first child). Matt was out of town at the time of the discovery, but due to be back that evening. He was so excited when I told him over the phone that morning. That afternoon, Mindy and I decided we'd both tell my mom at lunch. We'd planned to go to the Olive Garden with a couple family friends, Chuck and his mom, Louise.
How we told her:
I had Abby come over so I could tell her something. Whispering in her ear, I told her, "I want you to tell Grandma something, but you have to go over and tell it to her in her ear." I said this because it was noisy and I wanted to make sure mom heard what Abby was saying. "Go over there and tell Grandma in her ear that mommy's got a baby in her tummy." Abby immediately pulled away and looked at me then at my tummy with big eyes. "You do?" "Yeah, now go over there and tell Grandma in her ear that mommy has a baby in her tummy." Abby did as I said and my mom paused after hearing the message then said, "No she doesn't." Then turning to me, "do you?" "Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I took a test and it said I was." Her eyes got real big. "You are?!" Then a few moments later after the shock began to settle, I said, "And you know that other thing about how I'm always pregnant with a sister....?" She just looked at me. There was a big pause. (When I was pregnant with Abby, my oldest sister, Teresa was pregnant with her twins. They and Abby are exactly 6 weeks apart. When I was pregnant with Madison, Matt's sister was pregnant with her little boy, Eli. He and Madison are exactly 3 weeks apart.) Mindy chimed in here after giving mom a moment to think about what I was saying. "I'm pregnant, too," Mindy said. Mom turned her head toward Mindy who was sitting to her left. "You are?! What? Are you kidding me? Is this a joke? (extending her arm) Somebody pinch me!" My mom was SO shocked. Laughter and shock was shared by everyone. It was truly an amazing experience.
Since then, I found out my due date is April 14, and Mindy found out her due date is May 2--two weeks and five days apart. Ridiculous and amazing. I am truly in awe of God's timing and blessings! Matt and I want more children, but we didn't expect it to happen this quickly after Madison.
We are in such a strange place right now. Matt's out of the Navy, working a new job, different than anything he's ever done before, hoping to start school in the Spring. Abby is now four years old, attending pre-kindergarten here in Lee's Summit, and now enjoying children's church on Sunday mornings instead of playing in the nursery. Madison is now a year old and walking (when she wants), and learning so very much. I am STILL only five classes shy of my bachelor degree in English, hoping to get back to working on my memoir real soon, and praying for an interested publisher. And now I'm pregnant...again. We are truly excited. We are, however, still living with my mom until we can get everything in order to purchase a home. It can be difficult to do this when Matt's got such a new job, and, despite having a reliable job, to be honest, his income is remarkably less than his allowances and income were in the Navy.
Life is very different for us. Amid all these physical changes, there are plenty of emotional and spiritual changes taking place as well. For me, these changes are an affect of my dad's life. My dad left such an inspiring legacy. His life was God-centered and uplifting, despite his circumstances with cancer. Cancer didn't define my dad. His faith did. This truth cuts me to the core with grief and love. I miss him dearly, but I am SO VERY happy that he was my father, my dad, an important role model in my spiritual life. I am SO grateful for him.
I LOVE the words of What a Wonderful World sung through the raspy, gruff voice of Louis Armstrong (as referenced in the title to this entry). And truly, what a wonderful world this is. Our Creator definitely knows what He is doing. He gives us exactly what He knows we need when we need it. This world is so crazy and amazing and beautiful. Pain and love, death and life. God is good, isn't He? What a TRULY wonderful world, it is!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
The Waiting Game Begins Again...
So it's now Tuesday, August 10, 2010, and I am 39 weeks into this pregnancy. I've been having some intense contractions, but they are nowhere near actual labor contractions. I've been taking evening primrose oil for the last two weeks, and I'm hoping when we go to my midwife appointment tomorrow morning they will tell me that I'm effacing and dilating. We'll see.
Madison has been moving around, not huge jabs and such like she used to, but more shifty little scoots. Her bottom and back are still to the right side of my belly and we occasionally feel a foot in that area as well. Many times when her booty pooches up on my right side I feel a hand or something in my lower left belly, near my left hip. She can be so much fun. Matt enjoys playing with her in my belly, but he says he's ready to play with her outside my belly now. She still gets hiccups all the time, some so strong they jar my whole belly. She also has this strange thing she does where it looks like she's breathing IN my belly. I can hold my breathe, but see my belly move up and down like breathing. It's so bizarre.
Abby is so ready to be a big sister. She came upon me watching some water birth videos online and since then she loves watching babies be born in the water. She sometimes asks about Madison being born in the water. I tell her mommy's going to have Madison in the water at the hospital. About once a day for about the last week Abby's been asking if we're going to go to the hospital for baby Madison. I keep telling her that we want to, but it all depends on baby Madison. I tell her to tell Madison to come out of my belly and she's even gotten up to yelling at my belly, "Madison, you come out of mommy's belly....RIGHT NOW!" It's adorable, but...no matter who says it, this sweet baby of mine just won't listen.
While visiting with our neighbor friends Chris and Carmen last night, we were making some predictions. If ya'll would like to "weigh" in on this, just let us know and I'll add you to the list. Considering that Madison was estimated at 5 lbs 7 oz at my 36 week ultrasound, here's what we all came up with: (I am updating this list of guesses as people post their guess).
Chris M.: 6 lbs 9 oz
Carmen D.: 6 lbs 3 oz
Tamera B.: 7 lbs 2 oz
Deb M.: 6 lbs 9 oz
Pat C.: 7 lbs 10 oz
Nancy O.: 7 lbs 8 oz
Mindy T.: 8 lbs 3 oz
Linda G.: 7 lbs 9 oz
Beth B.: 6 lbs 15 oz
Matt: 6 lbs 13 oz
Me: I think somewhere between 6 1/2 - 7 lbs, but if I had to make a more accurate guess, it'd be...I guess...maybe 6 lbs 14 oz
These numbers may need adjusted if Madison takes her sweet time coming out. Only God knows when she'll make her appearance. Hopefully sooner rather than later! We're kinda hoping it doesn't happen this Friday the 13th, but...if it does, so be it. My brother is a 13th baby (not born ON a Friday, but it falls on it every so many years). All I want is to have my healthy baby girl...via a smooth labor and healthy delivery. That's all I ask.
Madison has been moving around, not huge jabs and such like she used to, but more shifty little scoots. Her bottom and back are still to the right side of my belly and we occasionally feel a foot in that area as well. Many times when her booty pooches up on my right side I feel a hand or something in my lower left belly, near my left hip. She can be so much fun. Matt enjoys playing with her in my belly, but he says he's ready to play with her outside my belly now. She still gets hiccups all the time, some so strong they jar my whole belly. She also has this strange thing she does where it looks like she's breathing IN my belly. I can hold my breathe, but see my belly move up and down like breathing. It's so bizarre.
Abby is so ready to be a big sister. She came upon me watching some water birth videos online and since then she loves watching babies be born in the water. She sometimes asks about Madison being born in the water. I tell her mommy's going to have Madison in the water at the hospital. About once a day for about the last week Abby's been asking if we're going to go to the hospital for baby Madison. I keep telling her that we want to, but it all depends on baby Madison. I tell her to tell Madison to come out of my belly and she's even gotten up to yelling at my belly, "Madison, you come out of mommy's belly....RIGHT NOW!" It's adorable, but...no matter who says it, this sweet baby of mine just won't listen.
While visiting with our neighbor friends Chris and Carmen last night, we were making some predictions. If ya'll would like to "weigh" in on this, just let us know and I'll add you to the list. Considering that Madison was estimated at 5 lbs 7 oz at my 36 week ultrasound, here's what we all came up with: (I am updating this list of guesses as people post their guess).
Chris M.: 6 lbs 9 oz
Carmen D.: 6 lbs 3 oz
Tamera B.: 7 lbs 2 oz
Deb M.: 6 lbs 9 oz
Pat C.: 7 lbs 10 oz
Nancy O.: 7 lbs 8 oz
Mindy T.: 8 lbs 3 oz
Linda G.: 7 lbs 9 oz
Beth B.: 6 lbs 15 oz
Matt: 6 lbs 13 oz
Me: I think somewhere between 6 1/2 - 7 lbs, but if I had to make a more accurate guess, it'd be...I guess...maybe 6 lbs 14 oz
These numbers may need adjusted if Madison takes her sweet time coming out. Only God knows when she'll make her appearance. Hopefully sooner rather than later! We're kinda hoping it doesn't happen this Friday the 13th, but...if it does, so be it. My brother is a 13th baby (not born ON a Friday, but it falls on it every so many years). All I want is to have my healthy baby girl...via a smooth labor and healthy delivery. That's all I ask.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Madison Lucille at 32 weeks
Here are a couple of pictures of our little Madison at 32 weeks. A profile of her face and a face shot. While admiring her profile during the ultrasound, we traced her "hand" (the pancake-looking thing just above her forehead) back to its source and found out it was actually her FOOT! She had her foot stretched all the way up in front of her face! We also noticed when viewing her facial movements from the front that she seems to have some full lips! We'll have to wait and see if this is true, but wow! What a beauty! Enjoy!
Friday, April 9, 2010
21 weeks 3 days
I'm now 21 weeks and 3 days pregnant. Abby and I got some pictures together again earlier this week. She wanted to show her belly like me. So sweet.
Madison is kicking and moving more and more now. It's so much fun to feel her move. Abby said she felt the kicks this morning, but she didn't seem too excited, so I'm not sure if she really did or not.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
A Glimpse at # 2...
Today we got our first ultrasound of our second child at 13 weeks. It was amazing. Healthy heartbeat (160 bpm), and a very active baby. The baby kept moving all around, so fast, the ultrasound tech had to keep changing position to get the snapshots she needed to check on the baby's health. It was so fun to get to see so much of the baby. We got to see all the little fingers and some quick glances at the tiny feet. I cannot wait to meet the little one, but I'm going to enjoy the remaining 6 months or so of this pregnancy as much as possible, despite the nausea, food aversion and such. I'm just beginning to feel a few tap-like flutters inside on a close to daily basis. What a joy! If only this joy, excitement, happiness and anticipation could be bottled up and given to anyone questioning continuing their pregnancy...many more babies would be given a chance and would, no doubt, be welcomed into this world of our Indescribable-Lord's creation. Oh....what a joy!
A bit of a profile of our little #2.
Baby with a hand fanned out infront of his/her face.
Baby's head, full arm, and feet.
Baby's head and body with an arm in front of his/her face.
A bit of a profile of our little #2.
Baby with a hand fanned out infront of his/her face.
Baby's head, full arm, and feet.
Baby's head and body with an arm in front of his/her face.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
...and God said YES!
Last week in the middle of the night as I dragged myself out of bed to go to the bathroom, Matt stopped me. "You're going pee, right?"
"Yes."
"Will you take that pregnancy test in there?"
"why?"
"just please take it. I've been tossing and turning all night and dreaming that you were pregnant."
I told him it was too early to know, but I took the test anyway so he could get some sleep. As I expected, it was negative. I was not pregnant. It seemed to be enough to calm his mind so we both went back to sleep.
I had a recipe exchange party on Saturday evening and it went well, despite my growing sinus issues. That night, what I'll refer to as "the nastiness" hit Matt And me like a bus. We stayed home from church Sunday, nursing our achy bodies and gunk-coated throats.
This morning when I woke up, I didn't feel any better. Thankfully through all this Abbigail's gotten away with only a little congestion. Sadly, Matt still had to work, even through the headache, 100 degree temp, his horrible cough attacks and him STILL dealing with Bell's Palsy in the right side of his face. It exhausted him, but life goes on and work doesn't always wait for one to get better. Similarly, at home, I tried to work on my homework for the last week of classes. This proved difficult and I didn't get much done before Matt got home from work and we headed out to take care of a few errands.
When we got home, I finally took a pregnancy test so we could put to rest this curiosity of pregnancy. I was about 2-3 days late already and nothing. To my joy and amazement it came up positive! God did hear my prayers. I always knew he did, but for the last year and a half His answer was always "not right now". This time God's answer was "YES!"
God is truly amazing. He cares about us so much. He knows exactly what to do and when. We just have to learn to trust Him.
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