3 Months & Back to Work

So last Friday was my first day back at work. It went pretty good...partially because I knew I just had one day and then the long weekend...and partially because Grandma (my Mother-in-law) came to watch Autumn instead of having to take her to daycare for the first time. Autumn did great as always and had a great time with Grandma & Grandpa.

And then Tuesday was the first day of daycare...it was tough for sure. Jacob and I both decided to take her that morning...to make sure we remembered to tell her teacher every possible thing we needed to to ensure she had a good day :o) Her teacher Miss Anita is very nice and I know she gives Autumn a whole lot of attention...probably because she is the only baby in the room right now...haha!! I sure hope it stays this way for awhile because with Autumn being such a good baby I would worry about her being neglected a little if other babies are more demanding. So for her sake hopefully she'll get a month or two more of the one on one! It was great too...when I went to pick her up the first day Autumn greeted me with a great big smile and was super cuddly! She even did her first art project and put her hot pink handprint on a letter telling us how much she loves us and what a great time she's having at daycare...too cute! She hardly slept at all that day at daycare...I think she just wasn't used to the environment so was likely busy checking everything out. So that night when we got home she slept ALL evening and ALL night! She was worn out for sure. Even the next day at day care she slept half the day. I think having this new environment every day combined with a growth spurt it is really making her sleepy!

Being back at work is going well too. I am officially going part time on a permanent basis...meaning I can't just go back to full time if I wanted to...which is fine with me. And it worked out great for Boeing too...as they were having to do some budget cuts...and with myself and another girl both coming back from maternity leave part time, we saved them one full time head...so they don't have to worry about reducing headcount else where...so we may have saved someones job. I love it when it's a win-win.

Autumn is doing wonderful. She is getting so close to rolling over...is experimenting a lot with her voice (still hasn't quite figured out how to talk consistently though), drools like a fountain, and just lights up our lives! Jacob and I fight over our snuggle time with her...especially on nights when we've both worked all day! We are loving the new cooler weather and are trying to take advantage of taking those walks we've been waiting to do all summer! Life is just wonderful!

We also sent a note to Dr. Ahlering to ask his opinion about when he would recommend us doing our first frozen embryo transfer. Not that we're in a huge hurry...we're really trying to enjoy being a family of three, but just trying to plan a little and figure out what will work best for Autumn and our family. He, true to form, didn't exactly answer the question...just said whenever I stop "nursing" and have a regular cycle again. I was hoping he would advise us on if there is a certain amount of time we should wait...i.e. is there more success if you wait a year...or is it the same if it's only six months. I may try and probe him a little more to see if I can't get a more firm recommendation...so more to come! Not that we can totally plan it because as it was the first time, it's totally out of our hands, but I'm thinking getting pregnant next January or February would be wonderful because that would be a fall baby and would put them about 18 months apart. I want to have our kids close together so they will hopefully be best friends growing up...especially if we have another girl.

Here's another couple pictures of the two of us at Autumn's cousin Sophie's birthday party!

2 amazing months!!

Autumn is officially two months old today!! It's hard to believe two months have passed already...time certainly does fly when you're having fun!! Autumn is such a blessing and it's such a joy to watch her grow and learn new things every day. Like just now...I'm sitting outside her room after putting her down in her crib for her first nap in the "big girl bed"...up until now she's been sleeping and napping in the bassinet in our room. I've been considering moving her up to her crib for awhile, but kept putting it off because I just love having her down close to us (we have a 1 and 1/2 story house...so our room is on the first floor and her nursery is on the second. But as she is quickly out growing the bassinet it is time to start transitioning her to her crib. And so far so good. Maybe we'll start putting her to bed up here too...she's been sleeping about 8-9 hours a night so coming up here to do her 4:30 or 5 AM feeding would be an easy switch. I'll just miss having her right next to me as we sleep :o( Since I've last updated you she's grown 2 pounds and was 11 pounds 9 ounces at her two month appointment!! She's great at lifting her head and looking around and can even support her own weight on her legs when we pull her up!! Jacob is convinced she's going to be walking way early...we will have to wait and see though.


Her eyes have started to turn a lighter shade of blue that look gorgeous with her long eye lashes. I'm really hoping this means that she's going to have her dad's pretty blue eyes!!



Autumn is such a happy baby...give her a pacifier and a pair of arms to cuddle in to and she is just as happy as can be! I don't think we could have asked for an easier little girl to help ease us into the role of parenting!! We are so very lucky! She's learned to laugh and coo and even sing along with mommy occasionally...there's nothing like it in the world!! It definitely makes everything we went through to get here so worthwhile!!




The feeding issue never really improved...she never was quite able to latch properly so we've basically decided to just pump and bottle feed. It's not ideal, but thankfully we're doing well with it...and pumping so much extra we even invested in a deep freeze. My goal is to pump until atleast six months and hopefully have another three months frozen to give her.

We also had an issue with our daycare...they didn't hold a spot for Autumn and when I went back to register her they were full!! I was really upset, but it has worked out for the best. We found another day care close by that I actually think I like better...so God was looking out for us once again.

I'll try and keep the blog updated more frequently with how she's doing, but no promises. We're trying to get in to more of a routine, but she still pretty much drives our schedule everday so getting online for any amount of time becomes a bit of a challenge. I'll do my best though :o)

Nursing Woes

It's funny...since I got pregnant I was adament..."I am going to nurse Autumn for the first year." It's what is recommended by the American Pediatric Association and I just felt like it would be best for both of us. Since Autumn has arrived though we've struggled our way through the challenges of breastfeeding. I had heard many times before becoming pregnant that breastfeeding is a learned skill...and although it's natural, it's far from easy and many people struggle. I never thought it would be as difficult as it has been for us though. The first weekend we were home we were doing ok, I was having a lot of pain while nursing, but we were managing our way through it (probably partially because I was still on pain meds from the surgery). When we went to our first pediatrician appointment on Monday though everything changed. I told them about Autumn getting kinda frantic while eating...and not staying latched on. When they weighed her and she was only 8 pounds 6 ounces the tears started coming. She wasn't getting enough food. She'd lost more than 10% of her body weight...so the pediatrician immediately said we have to supplement with formula until my milk supply could keep up. As he examined her though he said this really doesn't make sense. She doesn't look like a baby that's gone from 9 pounds 9 ounces down to 8.6. So he did some investigating and found in the hospital records that they likely weighed her wrong in the OR and she really only weighed 9 pounds 5 ounces at birth. We can't be sure, but because she left the hospital at 8 pounds 6 ounces they were pretty positive 9.5 was her actual weight. As another aside, there was confusion at the hospital about her length. We were told she was 21.5 inches long at one point and 20.5 at another. Since she was only 20.5 at the doctor and we're assuming she's not getting shorter, we're going to go with 20.5. What a mess!! Based on the new information he said we are ok for now, to just keep feeding her and we'll check back in a week.

Unfortunately the stress and anxiety of the whole situation was really weighing on me and that started affecting our feeding times too. Almost every feeding I was crying, Autumn was crying...it was going down hill quick! By Wednesday I felt like I needed help. I tried to contact my primary care physician, but the office was closed. I finally ended up calling the pediatricians office again asking if someone there could help or if they could recommend a lactation consultant. They said to bring her in, the doctor will check her out and one of the nurses can try and help with the feeding issues. I later determined this was a huge mistake and another derailer in our feeding journey, but there was nothing I could do now. Her doctor is not there on Wednesday's so we saw another jerk doctor that said we absolutely had to supplement at this point...she was down another 2 ounces. I attempted nursing in front of one of the nurses to get help and of course Autumn latched on, stayed on and did great. We left the office feeling worse than before...and things continued to be a struggle. After going to the pediatrician one last time on Friday for another weight check I was at the end of my rope. I cried all the time, was extremely frustrated, was in pain, and most importantly was worried about Autumn.

Finally we made the decision that the pediatrician was not working out. So far all they had done was freak me out and derail us time and time again. I called my primary cares office to see if she sees newborns. When I found out she did I was ecstatic!! I made an appointment for Autumn that day! At this point I was exclusively pumping and bottle feeding Autumn. When we got to the office Dr. Grawey immediately got to work on fixing us (I just love her!) She told us to stop using a pacifier, to stop using a bottle and to try nursing Autumn as much as possible. She said to get ahold of a lactation consultant and gave us a prescription for thrush (a yeast infection that is likely one of the main causes of the pain). She said to get support...to go to la leche league meetings, to go to a breastfeeding support group, anything and everything possible! I left her office feeling so much better! I called the lactation consultant she recommended and she said she was right by our house now and could be there in a half an hour! I was excited! We were going to get through this!

I know this story is getting long so I'll try to wrap it up...Barb, the lactation consultant, worked with us for about an hour and a half on Monday. Unfortunately though the outcome was not great. It turns out that there really is a problem preventing us from successfully nursing. With out getting too detailed...our anatomy just does not match up right now. Autumn is unable to properly extract a sufficient amount of milk at this time. We've been trying to purchase a supplemental nursing system (a tube taped to my breast that will deliver milk I've pumped out). This way Autumn continues to "nurse" and gets the milk she needs. Another bump in the road though...nobody in town has one in stock right now. So as of right now, I am pumping and we are feeding Autumn through a bottle.

I hope and pray that some day Autumn will be able to nurse normally...hopefully some day sooner than later, but for now we're doing the best we can!! And we'll take any and all prayers you want to send our way :o)

Autumn's Birth Story

So having gone through IVF to conceive Autumn we figured our due date was pretty spot on...and when my water broke just 3 hours and 40 minutes after her due date had passed, that assumption proved to be quite true! It was 3:40 AM Sunday, June 6th...I have gotten up to go to the bathroom and before I got back in bed felt a small rush of fluid run down my leg. I returned to the bathroom to find some blood dripping in to the toilet. It was not a lot of blood, but between that and the small fluid trickle I figured something was happening. I immediately woke up Jacob and we paced around the bedroom deciding what to do. My OB had stressed time and time again, four things that immediately send you to the hospital (1) blood, (2) a gush of fluid, (3) pain in the belly that won't go away, and (4) baby stops moving. Since I had two of these, albeit in small amounts, I was a little unsure of what to do. I called my sister (she is a nurse so is lucky enough to get all my medical questions...and my 4 AM phone calls *grin*). She said to put a pad on and see how it looks in a half an hour. As soon as I hung up the phone though I had another small gush and more blood. So the decision was made...time to go to the hospital! My eyes filled up with tears with the excitement and anticipation of finally meeting our little miracle!

When we got to the hospital they took us to the assessment room to determine if we would be admitted or not. It took about an hour and lots of paper work (their computers were down so so much for pre-registering), but they did finally determine that my water had in fact been broken and I was dilated a whopping finger tip...yep, not even a centimeter! We were admitted and taken to the room where we would spend the next 5+ days! It was really happening...so exciting!!

Over the next few hours the got me started on IV and pitocin. Since my water had broken they want to ensure you deliver within 24 hours to decrease the risk of infection. Since I wasn't having contractions on my own yet, they were hoping the pitocin would speed things along. The contractions started coming and I was feeling pretty good...at about 1 PM I felt sure that we were making progress as the contractions got stronger and stronger, so asked that they check me again. You can imagine my disappointment to find out after several hours of laboring now that I was still only a finger tip dilated! You have got to be kidding! The nurse at this point said she would talk to the doctor and see what she thought, but that there is a chance she would recommend a c-section soon because I was not progressing quickly and time was slowly trickling away. And I have to back up here...so one thing I forgot to mention...I know I told you in a previous post that my doctor was going to be out of town this week...well when I mentioned that his back-up doctor would be the one working with us they informed us that he doesn't start as his back-up until Monday!! WHAT!?! That might have been good information to know...not that there is anything we can do at this point...so we are on to what we lovingly named our "3rd string doctor"...which probably wasn't a fair name as Dr. McDaniel turned out to be a very nice doctor and she safely delivered our little one so I can not say one bad thing about her. I am very confident though that the experience would have been much easier had it been my doctor we were working with.

As the hours continued to tick on, the contractions got stronger. They put an internal monitor on me to ensure they were in fact strong enough...and needing to be above 50 on the "contraction scale" we quickly learned they were, as most of mine were in the 60's and 70's...an occasional one even creeping up in to the 80's! So we were about maxed out on the pitocin level...my contractions were painful...and I still wasn't progressing! At about 6 PM they checked again and I had finally reached a 1!! By 8 I was at a 3...things were starting to look up a little. I got an epidural at this point...which dulled the pain on the right side of my body. It was enough to take the edge off and I got small amounts of sleep. I should mention, Autumn was doing amazing through all of this. Her heart rate stayed very steady the entire time...our little fighter was doing great! Dr. McDaniel decided to give me an antibiotic...continue upping the pitocin (passed the top level allowed) and see what happens! The night dragged on...with occassional checks...I was creeping along again...maybe a 4, maybe a 5...the nurse was fudging a bit I think to make it seem better than it was. Finally around 4:30 AM, they came to give me a second epidural to try and get my left side numb. At 5 they checked me one last time. I might be a 5 at this point, but that is stretching it a little. So the decision is made...it is going to be a c-section...at 6 AM!

As they begin prepping me, my blood pressure dropped quite a bit...I felt quite sick...that last dose of medicine was too much. They also discover my blood platelette levels are low...nothing to worry about, but something they need to be aware of for the surgery. They wheel me to the OR and I start panicking. I don't feel well, I'm scared, and I just want Autumn to arrive safely in to the world! I tell the nurse I'm going to throw up...so here I am, moments from meeting my daughter and I'm throwing up into a pan on the side of my bed. Geez!! They bring Jacob in and begin going to work. A c-section is the strangest feeling in the world...I don't feel pain, but it kinda feels like someone is punching around inside my stomach. It's a lot of tugging and pulling...and it's weird! I keep asking if they're almost done...until finally I hear her...the sweetest cry in the world!! Autumn is here!!! I want to laugh and cry and everything all at once! It is such an overwhelming feeling. I can see her off in the distance as they begin weighing her and checking her out. And she's perfect!! The inform us that she weighs a whopping 9 pounds 9 ounces and is 21.5 inches long! Wow, no wonder she wouldn't come out...haha! At this point I just want to be off this table and to hold my little girl! But they are working on putting me back together. I tell the anestesiologist that I don't feel well...that my feet hurt...weird I know, but they did. He tells me he's going to give me a quick 10 minute nap and when I wake up, I'll feel much better...and I did!! And as I did, they handed me Autumn and wheeled us both back to our room! How perfect!!

We spent the next 5 days in the hospital. They monitored my platelettes and iron levels (I became anemic during this whole thing) until they returned to normal. And finally on Friday, June 11th we got to go home!!

Autumn is so wonderful. She already has been smiling and giggling at us (ok, not at us, but as she falls asleep...it is the cutest thing ever)! We feel so blessed to finally have our little miracle in our arms and can't wait to see all the amazing things God has in store for the three of us!

Our Miracle has arrived!

Autumn Grace Henson arrived on Monday, June 7th at 6:31 AM via caesarean section. She is absolutely perfect! She was atleast 9.5 pounds and atleast 20.5 inches long at birth...haha...it's a bit of a long story that I will tell in another post, but for now I just wanted to welcome baby Autumn into our world! We love her more than I ever thought possible! Tears come to my eyes just thinking about it. We've waited so very long for this moment and are so blessed to have this sweet angel in our lives.

Awesome…NOT!!

So the doctors appointment yesterday did not go as I had hoped. First I have not changed at all...I am still only 50% thinned out and my cervix is still completely closed! Boo! And then second, he springs on us the news that he is going to be out of town all next week! You could tell he was leery to tell us this...I think he was just hoping she would come early and it wouldn't be an issue, but here we are...3 days out from my due date and he's getting ready to leave town...it's not looking good! And assuming everything goes smoothly with the birth, it really isn't THAT big of a deal who actually delivers her, but it is a little nerve wracking that if I need a c-section or an episiotomy...or any of these interventions that I've discussed with him that this new person is just going to step in and do them. Someone who I have never met...someone I know nothing about...someone that I don't even remember his name at this point! Ugh...needless to say, I'm a little stressed. He assured me that his replacement is a great doctor and he would trust his own wife with him, but still...I'm not happy with the situation. And it's not helping that I was already beginning to stress out about the idea of having to be induced, but now I really feel like it's a race to the finish line...and this little girl REALLY needs to make her appearance in the next 3 days! No pressure! I'm trying to remain positive...and think happy thoughts...about my water breaking tonight...or about contractions starting early tomorrow...anything, but it's hard! I did contact Christine at WellBody to see if she thought some acupuncture might help and she said it can't hurt...so I'm going in tomorrow afternoon. If nothing else, it will likely relax me some, so that's always a good thing.

So the game plan for now is just to pray that Autumn does decide she's ready in the next few days and we're able to deliver with our OB and without medical intervention. If not she'll have all next week to come on her own...and be greeted by some strange man neither one of us have met. And if she still hasn't arrived, it looks like we'll have a planned induction on Sunday, June 13th when our doctor comes back from his trip...which would likely put her birthday on the 14th. So please pray she decides she's ready and comes soon...

Countdown to due date: 3 days!!!!

Sorry, we're closed....

And so is my cervix! I've been checked at the OB the past two weeks and both times he informed me that my cervix is currently closed. He said that is pretty normal for a first time Mom. Today though he did say I was about 50% effaced, or thinned out, so atleast something is happening down there :o) I'm really trying not to get too hung up on it because I'm not sure how telling it really is...I mean, I think I could still ultimately go in to labor tonight even...it's all pretty unpredictable at this point. And I didn't really expect much because other than some braxton hicks contractions and some additional pressure down there from time to time...I've been feeling pretty much the same. My doctor and I have had discussions the past couple weeks about what my Dr. calls the "golden child syndrome"...he says often times women who have conceived via IVF...and worked so hard emotionally, physically, and even monetarily (if that's a word) to get to this point...often want to do anything they can to get the baby safely out of their body and in to their arms as soon as possible! He said he is more lenient in these instances and that as long as it's safe for both of us he would be willing to induce me early or do a c-section if that is what I feel like I need. I told him that really I just want to be "normal"...and that a c-section and induction are two things I've been hoping to avoid this whole time...and even though we're in the home stretch, my mind has not changed. So at this point I am really just hoping that Autumn is able to come on her own terms in the next week and a half or so...and that we don't even have to consider any type of medical intervention. So please say your prayers that this is the case!

In other news...I feel like we are ready at this point!! Everything is set in the nursery, all the swings, strollers, etc. are put together, the hospital bag is packed, the car seats are installed, all the baby clothes are washed...and this weekend I even made some homemade meals that I froze for us to eat a few of the nights those first couple weeks! It totally wore me out cooking all day yesterday...that and the fact that I re-mulched the landscaping and did some hedge trimming...so much so that today my back is killing me. I look like a little old lady because it's almost difficult to walk in the upright position. Guess I'll have to take it more easy from here on out!! So the plan for the next week and a half is to go see a movie or two, get a pedicure, do some reading, watch TV, and hang out with the hubby!! Anything and everything relaxing that I can think of! I think that's the perfect way to spend the last few days before our lives change for the better!! Eek!! I can't believe we're so close! I'll try to keep you all posted! And I figured since I started out this whole process with all my countdowns, I might as well end with one too!!

Countdown to due date: 12 days!!!!!!

Ready and Waiting

Yesterday we got to get another sneak peak at our little one before she makes her debut here in a few short weeks!! It was amazing to see how much she's changed since the last time we saw her!! The ultrasound started off by checking to make sure she had assumed "the position" for her entry into the world and sure enough, the first thing we saw was her head!! It's funny because her body used to fit inside the u/s screen, but now the top of her head takes up the entire thing!! So item one, check...she is in the head down position and although it is possible for her to turn in the next few weeks, it is unlikely. Next we went on to measure her belly...checked her heartbeat (140 bpm) and even got to see her breathing!! The u/s tech called it practice breathing, but whatever it's called it was amazing!! I informed the tech that she's been practicing all right...and even catches the hiccups quite frequently during her "practice sessions." I wonder if she'll get those pesky hiccups as frequently outside the womb? Guess we'll find out soon enough!! Then they measured her leg, her arm, etc...and the ultrasound machine puts all the measurements together to give an estimate of how much she currently weighs. And the results are in...currently she appears to be a healthy 6 pounds 12 ounces!! The doctor said this could be about a half pound off either way as ultrasounds were not really made to measure weight, but it's still a nice guess-timate for them to use! It's hard to say how much more she'll gain too...he said up to a half a pound each week...so potentially, she could be pushing 9 pounds!! I'm hoping though that she's somewhere in the middle 7's when she arrives...that sounds like the perfect weight...not too big, but not too tiny either!

He said everything else looked great! Next week they will begin checking to see if I'm dilated or effaced yet. At this point I would guess not, or atleast not much. I've definitely been having what they call braxton hicks, or practice, contractions. Which although slightly uncomfortable aren't too bad, but I don't think these practice ones have much effect on my progress. He also did my strep B culture yesterday and it was um, a little uncomfortable...all I'll say is they stick a swab in a place I was not expecting...yikes! We'll get the results of that next week...and if it's positive (which 1 in 5 are) that just means they'll have to give me some medicine during labor to make sure nothing gets transferred to Autumn during the delivery. In other good news he said there is no reason for me to have to have my wedding rings off...even if they have to do a c-section it is not an issue. He said I can continue to try and ease them off if I have a less "puffy day" but really, it's nothing to worry about and my hands should return to normal again sometime after delivery.

All in all it was a great appointment and I'm excited for next Monday when we find out if we're progressing...stay tuned...June 5th is quickly approaching!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo

May 5th...just one month to go!! Crazy!! I'm still feeling pretty good. It's getting harder to pick things up off the ground, get in and out of bed (several times a night), and slip into anything other than flip flops, but overall I am still doing really well!

Last weekend I had an awesome shower thrown by my two wonderful sisters...who went all out with a "shower" theme...we had umbrellas and rain boots and flowers...it was really cute! And what made it even more fun was all the friends who were able to make it...many from quite a distance. It was a blast...and we got all sorts of awesome things for Autumn...we're getting close to having all the essentials! And with a shower tomorrow at Jacob's work and one at my work on Friday I'm sure we'll be even closer. I can't believe how amazingly generous everyone is being...and literally showering us with love. As of May 15th we will have had FIVE baby showers!! Can you believe that?!? I can't! People are so thoughtful and we are just so blessed to have so many people who care about us!! Autumn is definitely going to be surrounded by friends and family who love her...what an awesome gift!

Other highlights of the week...my wedding rings are stuck!! I had decided I was going to take them off Sunday for the rest of the pregnancy because my hands were looking a little swollen and I didn't want to risk not being able to get them off. Well apparently my hands were more swollen then I realized and therefore getting the rings off has been, well...quite a challenge. On Sunday...after my initial trial to get them off with my usual soap and cold water routine didn't work, I decided to google "how to remove a ring from a swollen finger." Several recommendations came back including soap, soaking in ice water, reducing sodium intake, drinking more water, dental floss, windex, preparation H, and on and on. Jacob and I tried a few things that day...namely just the ice water and he tried binding my finger with dental floss...both which were unsuccessful and pretty painful, but nothing compared to what I attempted to do Monday night. On my way home from work I had decided I was determined to get atleast one of these rings off TONIGHT! So I turned the air in the car down to a chilly 60 degrees and turned it on full blast! I held my hand up to the vent the whole way home to try and reduce the swelling. As soon as I got home I started with the windex. It was spray windex, twist-twist-twist, more windex, twist-twist-twist. And it appeared to be working. I had moved it further up then I had been able to before. I quickly decided I needed to lower my body temperature, so decided to get in a cool bath. At this point it had probably been about 20-30 minutes of windex and twisting...and the ring was just under my knuckle. It seemed to be stuck again...and my finger was feeling pretty numb and had turned a lovely shade of blueish-purple! I asked Jacob to run up to walgreens to get some preparation H...I had read this helped to reduce the swelling and also acts as a lubricant. He agreed and headed out....but didn't return for probably 20 minutes (and Walgreens is right around the corner). Come to find out his car broke down at walgreens and he had to walk home...preparation H in hand!! OMG...what a night! By the time he got home my finger was looking really bad...we decided I needed to use the preparation H to try and get the ring back down my finger...which is what I did. The part between the two rings was pretty swollen by this point so every twist of the ring literally felt like a knife digging in! But finally it was back to it's original starting point. The attempt was a failure and my poor finger was a mangled mess! The rest of the night we debated about going to the fire dept to have the rings cut off as the numbness and lovely shade of purple didn't go away. But slowly it did start to look a little better...so we decided to hold out. As of today...the finger is still more swollen than any of my other fingers, but it is back to its normal shade which is good. We've decided for now the rings are staying on...we are going to talk to my OB on Monday and find out if they absolutely have to come off before we head to the hospital...if they do we are hoping our jeweler will cut them off so they can make a clean cut and easily melt them back to their original form! So we should know more on Monday...which is also the day we get an ultrasound to find out approximately how big Autumn is and if she is head down! I'm excited to see her again and also to find out more about what to expect in these last few weeks!! It's going to fly by I'm sure!!

The cankles have returned

Haha...I was hoping the days after our flights to and from Florida was really the only time I would have to deal with the lovely combined calf-ankle experience, but they have definnitely returned. I first noticed yesterday morning that my feet were looking a little puffy, but when I tried to put on my sandals (yes, I said sandals...you know, fairly open style shoes....which you would think would allow from some expansion) they were quite tight…almost to the point of not being able to squish my foot in! And not very comfortable. I think this happened because typically when I'm at my desk working I have my feet propped up on a chair, but I've been in the classroom 3 days this week and thus no foot propping...so I think that caused the swelling. So I am hopeful that they will return to normal once I get a few good days of feet proppage again. I'm considering going for a pedicure this weekend too...which probably won't help, but definitley can't hurt right :o)

So as of tomorrow I will be 34 weeks...only 6 short weeks to go! The nursery is about complete, I have started buying a few necessities for the hospital bag, and am planning on investing in some diapers this weekend. We visited a day care last week that just opened right around the corner from our house...and feel pretty confident that that is where we will be sending Autumn when it's time for me to return to work...hopefully it survives the small business start up phase though so we don't have to start over at square one! So, I'm definitley feeling a little better about everything as we head in to the home stretch. I'm sure you can never be totally prepared...and even when you are stuff always comes up...but the more I can check off the list early the better I feel!! Next on the list...the very important task of creating a birthing playlist for my i-pod...haha! Jacob and I had talked about doing this a while back...just because I love music and it really does have a calming effect on me...so I figured it would be nice to have some of our favorite songs playing while we're in the hospital. Well, last night we were watching the show Accidentally on Purpose and Billy "the pregnant one" was looking for her i-pod to pack in her hospital bag when she found out Zack "the father" had accidentally smashed it. She got all upset and exclaimed that she was really looking forward to the song "Push it" by Salt N Pepa playing during the pushing phase...haha...Jacob and I both agreed we need to download that and add it to our list :o)

Other than that, back to the doctor on Monday...and then two weeks after that, at 36 weeks, the weekly appointments start and they do an ultrasound to check her weight, see if she is head down, etc. I believe that is when they begin doing cervix checks too so they know when I begin dilating, etc. Exciting weeks ahead!!! Oh my!

Let the countdown begin!!

8 weeks...can you believe it...only 8 short weeks till Autumn is scheduled to make her arrival into our world. I feel so ready and so not ready all at the same time...haha!! I can't wait to meet her and become a family...and to see Jacob with her...and find out if she got my hair color or his tiny ears *grin* I can't wait to hold her and kiss her and just fall head over heels in love with her!! I can't even imagine the emotions that will come along with welcoming her into our lives...we've been waiting so long for this, I know it's going to be amazing!! At the same time there's also the anxiety of the labor and delivery, the unfamiliarity of taking care of something so important and so dependent on me...it's scary...I just want to be a good Mom...it's the most important job I've ever had...and as the time gets closer I just pray that I can be the Mom she deserves to have!

So 32 weeks...the past few weeks have flown by...we had my first shower on March 27th and it was awesome! My cousins went all out...they made a cake that looked like a stroller, had cute little socks and clothes hanging from a clothes line, they even made a flower bouquet out of a bib, onsie, and socks...they are so creative! It was great...the best shower I ever could have expected!! And the best part was just having all my family around celebrating Autumn's life with me. It's crazy to think how far we've come! Last year this time we were still struggling through the minefields of infertily...uncertain really if we would ever make it to the place we are now. Unsure if we were ever going to be able to hold our biological child in our arms...or pass along my creative gene and Jacob's athletisism. Praying that God had a plan for us that was beyond what we could hope or imagine...and looking back I think it's these scars that make this moment and the next few weeks all the more exciting!!

I'm going to leave you with some of the awesome pictures Donna Harris captured during our maternity session last week. Jacob was such a great sport...neither one of us are fans of having our pictures taken, but he played along really well...and maybe even enjoyed himself a little! Donna was great too...she had lots of creative ideas...and I think she did an awesome job capturing some memories of this amazing time in our lives. And she's going to be taking Autumn's newborn pictures too...so I can't wait to see how those turn out!!

Babymoon

Jacob and I just returned from our lovely "Babymoon" (that's the honeymoon before the baby :o) in case you were wondering) in Clearwater Beach Florida. It was so nice to be able to just get away for a few days and RELAX...and that is exactly what we did. We had little planned and spent most of our time lounging by the pool, laying on the beach, reading, sleeping in...it was fantastic!! Some nasty weather a few of the days made it even easier to just lay around and let the stress melt away!! The only downside is Jacob was actually sick a few of the days and traveling at 29 weeks pregnant is not the most enjoyable experience ever...my feet and legs swelled up like balloons and I got my first experience with cankles, but luckily the retaining water went away and I officially am back to having separate calves and ankles...haha! Atleast for now! Other than that the babymoon was a success and we both really enjoyed one last little trip before little Autumn joins us in just over 2 months!!

I've been contemplating with the idea of having a maternity photo session done. It's strange because before I was pregnant I was like, I'll never do that...who wants to see pictures of me feeling bloated and huge, but the more I thought about it, the more the idea really grew on me. Mostly because I think it would be fun to put some of the pictures in her baby book for her to look back on. And the fact that it took us so long to get to this place, it might be a nice momentum of the journey and a reminder of just how blessed we are now. So Jacob and I tried to do our own "photo shoot" in Florida...I figured the background would be so beautiful that we could fake the rest. Jacob was a great sport and did a great job at getting some shots...of course this meant he wasn't in any of them either :o( but I think even with the lovely pictures we have (see below) we've still decided to hire a photographer to capture the three of us *grin* during the last month of our pregnancy. We had a recommendation from a coworker to go with Donna Harris and have already contracted with her to do the newborn session with Autumn. So we have decided to ask her to do a maternity session as well. Her next available date is May 18th...so I'll be pushing 38 weeks at that point. Hopefully I won't feel to much like large marge and can capture some great memories of this amazing time!





I had my first bi-weekly appointment at the OB yesterday and the fantastic news is that I passed my gestational diabetes test with flying colors! Yeah! I received a 98 and anything below 140 is considered normal, so that is wonderful! The bad news is I gained 6 pounds in the past 3 weeks! Yikes!! Considering I'd only gained 15 pounds the entire time before that, 6 seemed like a huge number. I'm going to attribute most of it to retaining water from the trip, eating out every meal for the past week while in Florida, and the fact that my co-workers took me out to lunch yesterday for my birthday and we went to Qdoba AND cold stone creamery...so it was not a health food day by any means. Hopefully the next visit that will even out some, but I'm not going to worry too much about it. He also mentioned that my iron levels were a little low. And that he wasn't concerned, but recommended I add some iron rich foods like spinach, beans, iron rich meats, or iron fortified cereals to my diet. He think that will correct the problem completely and that I don't need to take an iron supplement or anything...so that's good. And I had a good laugh during the visit...as he was using the doppler on my belly trying to get a listen to Autumn's heart she gave the wand a good swift kick that I think startled him a little...haha! He was like "oh my, you've got an active one in there" hehe He's got that right...it cracks me up to just watch my belly shake and jiggle as she moves all around in there. She was very active on the plane rides to and from Florida. I'm glad to see she's enjoying herself and stretching her legs a bit. I might change my story in a few weeks as she gets more compressed and I get more and more swift kicks to the gut, but for now it just makes me giggle :o)

You've earned a free ultrasound

Yesterday was my last monthly OB appointment...we are now moving on to the bi-weekly schedule as we enter the third trimester on Saturday!! Woohoo!! I can't believe we're 2/3 the way there and Autumn will be here in just 3 short months! It still feels forever away, but I know the time is going to fly by so I'm just trying to enjoy every little awesome moment of it that I can...rubbing my expanding belly, feeling the little kicks...and the big ones...haha...all the congratulations and friendly questions from friends and strangers about the little one growing inside of me! I love it! Oh and the sleeping in on Saturday mornings...hehe...how could I forget that...sleep is going to be a distant memory as our life is forever going to change in just three short months...it still feels surreal...and I can't wait!

So anyway, yesterday as I'm waiting paitently in my OB's waiting room the door opens and the ultrasound technician calls me in. I'm confused, but figure they're just short of help that day and she's going to take me back to the examination room. As we're walking back though she goes "our last ultrasound we didn't really get a good look at everything, did we?" I of course said no, hoping for a chance to get an unexpected peek at little Autumn. So she says, "well, I better sneak you back there then and just do a quick scan." Yeah!! My wish was coming true! :o) So we went back and did an ultrasound where we got to confirm once again that Autumn is in fact going to be an Autumn...which is probably good since Jacob informed me that morning that he had a very realistic dream that we are actually having a boy! And we also got some pictures of her sucking her thumb, looking directly at us, and of one of her little feet! The ultrasound tech informs me that she thinks she's going to be cute...haha!! It you've ever seen an ultrasound picture...where it's sometimes hard to make out the face from the rear-end...you would find this funny, but I'll totally take the compliment :o) It was great fun though and a welcome surprise for what I thought was just going to be another routine visit! Dr. Chen says everything else looks great! He also gives me my paperwork to go get my gestetional diabetes test done this week...ugh...I really hope that comes back negative! And I mention to him we're going to Florida next week and he said besides staying hydrated and watching my seafood intake that shouldn't be a problem! So I'd say my last OB appointment of the second trimester was a success!

After that I headed over to the acupuncture office. I'd mentioned a few weeks ago that I was considering doing acupuncture again to hopefully help cope with the heart palpitations. I'm still having several an hour...so definitely enough to be annoying, but not sure it's enough to warrant finding the time to go get the treatments...or to pay $60 a pop for them!! But I went yesterday anyway. The new place I'm going is called the Wellness Connection and is a chiropractic office in O'Fallon. Yesterday I was getting my acu-scan done which basically measures different pulse points on your hands and feet and is supposed to tell you where you have imbalances in your body. My scan came back saying I had an imbalance in my lung region which can cause anxiety, stress, and palpitations. So that is what she wants to treat. I give in and end up having a session done, but she can only needles 6 points total (3 on each side)...as there are many point in acupuncture used to induce labor...so obviously at this point we are staying as FAR away from those as possible. So she takes me back to a private room...thank goodness! (if you read my drinking and acupuncture story from last year you know why I'm grateful) and puts a needle in each wrislt, one in the top of my middle fingers, and one in each pinky finger...just by my nail bed. Now, if you've done acupuncture you know it doesn't normally hurt...maybe a little tiny prick, but not bad, well the finger ones are a different story! She said they call them the "sting" points because they definitely carry quite the punch!! The pain fades pretty quickly though and by the end of my 18 minute session both my hands actually feel kind of numb...not sure why, but I guess that means it's doing something. I'm supposed to go back again on Thursday and I'm still kind of teetering with whether to go or not. I mean, I'm managing ok with the palpitations, so again...just trying to decide if it's worth the money and the effort. We shall see!

Other than that everything is going quite well! I have my first baby shower coming in less than three weeks and am ecstatic…I can't wait to just soak up all of it!! It's going to be a blast!!

Nursery & bump pictures

As promised, here is a shot of my belly at 26 weeks...



And the beautiful nursery that my wonderful husband painted this weekend!! He did an awesome job!!






And a close up of the knobs I painted...



Still more to do, but it's come along wonderfully!!

Third Trimester here we come!

I've been slacking on the blog lately I know...I've been crazy busy at work and just tired in the evenings...plus last week I had a pulled muscle in my shoulder that was so painful...I couldn't even take a deep breath. I know...I have the strangest ailments...I think yoga was to blame for this one. I ended up going to the doctor after it was so bad that between the breathing issue and not getting any sleep...I was sleeping on the couch in a sitting up position...I couldn't take anymore. She said my oxygen level was only 96% (it's supposed to be 100%) and that it kinda sounded like I had a blood clot in my lungs...um, yikes!!! Luckily the more we talked she decided it was more likely just my shoulder and gave me three options...either go to a chiropractor, a massage therapist, or a physical therapist. I opted for the physical therapist and after 3 sessions with a heated neck wrap, little electrical pulses to exhaust the muscles, and deep tissue massage it is feeling much better. I have yoga again tomorrow so hopefully I'll make it through without incident! I also was lucky enough to catch that nasty stomach bug that is going around...I won't go in to the details because it is DISGUSTING, but thankfully that seems to be on it's way out now too. Phew! I can't wait for spring and some warm weather so I can hopefully enjoy this pregnancy without all these crazy external things interfering!

So last week we had our fast track childbirth program at the hospital. It was a long day, but overall pretty informative. It was a lot of videos...and pretty graphic ones at that. It definitely made me a little nervous about what to expect...these women looked like they were in serious pain...but it also made me pretty excited about the thought of being in labor...and knowing that we're so close to meeting little Autumn! I'm sure as the time gets closer I'll get more anxious about the actual laboring and all that it entails, but for now I'm just plain excited! The highlight of the day was when a pediatrician came to talk to us and instead of lecturing decided to play a game of jeopardy to provide us all the info. With eight couples in the room, Jacob and I ended up on the disadvantaged team with only two couples, but ended up leading the game before going in to double jeopardy! We waged our full 1800 points on double jeopardy and even got the answer mostly right, but still came in second place (she didn't believe it taking away points). The question was what percentage of weight is it safe for the baby to lose the first few weeks home from the hospital. We guessed 10-15%...with the correct answer being 10%. Another team guessed 10% exactly so she gave them the win! We didn't find out till it was over that there were prizes at stake...we might have been a little more serious...haha! We did end up getting a bottle of johnson & johnson's baby shampoo...I still think we should have won first place though...which was a nice big book on taking care of baby.

Tomorrow we will be painting the nursery...ok, Jacob will be doing most of the painting and I will be trying not to inhale too many fumes. Hopefully by the end of the weekend I'll have some great pictures to post of the nursery, the new window seat, and a couple little craft projects I've been working. It's probably about time for my next photo shoot too...tomorrow marks 26 weeks and my last pictures were done at only 20!! So pictures will be coming soon!

One last thing...our next OB appointment will be March 8th and that will mark our last monthly appointment...from then on we'll be on the bi-weekly schedule up until 36 weeks! Crazy that we're getting so close. The third trimester is only two weeks away!! Yeah!!

24 weeks...almost 6 months!!

They're back! Unfortunately the heart palpitations have returned :o( It was kind of a stressful week at work so I was thinking maybe it was just related to that, but they don't seem to really be going away, so I guess that may not be the whole issue. I'm really trying to avoid going on the beta blockers if possible...I just hate to take medicine if I don't have to...especially while pregnant. So I've been living with them...and they are by no means as bad as they were. I probably have one every few minutes now, but still it's not fun. I think before I call and ask for medicine I might e-mail Christine at Wellbody acupuncture and see if she thinks doing acupuncture again might help. It's worth a shot!! If not and they continue then I will likely go ahead and go on a very low dose of beta blocker. So stay tuned.

I did have my monthly check-up with the OB on Monday and told him about what was going on (since the last time I talked to him I was hysterical) and he said he has several patients on beta blockers and it's no big deal...so that's goodness. The rest of my appointment Monday went well...we heard Autumn's heart on the doppler...at first it was a little muffled and he thought maybe she had her back to us, but then she turned or moved and it was clear. He told me it was time to find a pediatrician and I think we are good on that. I talked to Dr. Robert Hoffman's office (all the patients call him Dr. Bob)...he's literally two minutes from our house and came highly recommended. There are 7 other doctors in his office too so we should never have a problem getting in to see someone! I'm going to meet him on February 26th, but feel pretty confident he's our guy! And I go back for my next appointment on March 8th and do the lovely sugar test...ick! This will be to check and make sure I didn't develop gestational diabetes...so hopefully that comes back well. And after that appointment we will be going to the bi-weekly appointment. Crazy...I guess that means we're getting closer!

Last night we attended our first class at the hospital...this one was on breastfeeding. Jacob wasn't too excited to go, but I assured him if he was the only guy I would let him leave. Turns out everyone brought their husband except one...so he was stuck! The class was good...pretty informative. I learned it's a lot harder then you think it's going to be...you would think it would just be natural (and hopefully it will be), but there is definitely a technique to it...so I'm glad we went. And the lady teaching it was nice, but a little quirky. She just kept offering to go in the locker room with us and check our boobs to make sure we won't have any problems. Haha...no one took her up on it and I think she was kinda upset :o)

And the best part of this week was Jacob finally getting to feel Autumn move! We've been trying for a few weeks now, but every time he would try she would stop...or just not kick as hard and he just wasn't feeling her. But Tuesday night she was really active so I called for him to come over...and sure enough as soon as he put his hand on my stomach she stopped. I decided I was scaring her by yelling at him to come so I said the next time she got going I was just going to motion for him to come over and that was the trick! He came over and got a soft little kick and then a pretty good one...right where his hand was! His whole face lit up...it was great!!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone...I hope it's a great one!

Pictures

As promised here are some baby bump and nursery pictures...




Here is the crib (and Lily testing out the crib for Autumn)...I love the bedding...it's from Pottery Barn kids and the pillows are from Target. The pillows will be moved to the window seat once it's built.




This is a nightlight I found at babies r'us...thought the eiffel tower pictures was appropriate :o)



And the dresser...



And my favorite two pieces so far...a cute little cabinet...it has a drawer and two shelves...so some nice storage. And my eiffel tower painting. It's a lot smaller than I was imagining so I'm going to attempt to paint another one myself to go over the dresser/changing table. We'll see how it goes...:o)



Still LOTS to do, but it's coming along nicely. I'll of course post the final product when it all comes together in a few months!!

Doing well!

Just wanted to give you all a quick update that thanks to my amazing doctor and the magnesium my heart palpitations are virtually gone at this point. I'm back to having one a day at the most! Yeah!!

In other news…the nursery is starting to take shape! The painting and bedding have arrived. I've found a few other pieces that fit perfectly! And we will be hopefully having the window seat built and the paint on the walls soon! I promise to post some belly and nursery pictures this weekend!! :o)

Matters of the heart

So I've been quite freaked out the past couple of days...on Wednesday afternoon around 1 PM I started having heart palpitations. If you do any research on the web or talk to any doctor they will tell you that heart palpitations are a common symptom of pregnancy...I've even had a few from time to time during the past 5 months. Typically I'd have one or two a day for a couple days and then they'd vanish for weeks at a time…only to catch me totally off guard again when another one would surprise me while sitting on the couch or doing something totally uneventful. I think palpitations feel slightly different to everyone, but for me if basically feels like my heart skips a beat and I get the wind knocked out of me for a second. It's a pretty scary feeling, especially because sometimes it almost feels like my heart gets off beat from it for a second and it really takes my breath away. It really reminds you just how crucial the heart is to your survival...something most of us take for granted on a regular basis because we don't have to think about it.

So when I had the first palpitation on Wednesday I thought nothing of it...but then when I had another one shortly after that...and another...and another...and another I started to get a little freaked out! Basically for the rest of the afternoon, heart palpitations were all I could feel and think about! I was having them every few minutes at least! I still tried to shrug it off, but was getting more and more worried...and more exhausted as the day went on. That night it was difficult to eat as it almost felt difficult to catch my breath. I would just recover from having a palpitation when the next one would come. Stressed and worn out I ended up going to bed at 8 o'clock that night…with the hope that I would wake up the next morning and feel totally refreshed! Not so much...I got a good night's sleep, but when I woke up at 4 AM and felt them still going on panic ensued. Having trouble falling back to sleep I decided to get up and go to work. The drive in was horrible...I had probably 50 palpitations and was feeling lightheaded from all the times my breath was robbed from me...not the ideal driving conditions that is for sure! I decided at work to try and count them to understand what I was really dealing with...7 in the first minute...5 in the next! Holy cow...this was not good...and not normal!! I ended up calling the exchange for my OB and when he called back 45 minutes later he told me that I needed to see my primary care doctor or go to the ER...probably going to the ER was the best option he said due to the hysterics I was in...I could not stop crying!

Around 9 AM I decided it was time to leave work...I was crying like an idiot and was not in any sort of mental capacity to work. On the way I called my primary care doctors office and explained the situation...they asked if I could come in at 10, to which I quicly responded YES! I drove straight there and got in right away. So let me first say, I love my doctor...she must have a photographic memory because she knows everything about everything! Anyway...when she came in to see me she had a medical student with her that she was "training." She asked if he could practice his interviewing skills on me while she stepped out and then she'd come back in and we'd all figure out the diagnosis together. Not exactly the best day for me to humor a med student, but I agreed anyway. After he debriefed her on what I'd told him they both came back in. She explained that the palpitations were possibly a result of the thyroid medicine I am on. I was put on it to help with the infertility issues, but she thought the dose may be too high now that I am pregnant. Another option was I could be anemic or be defficient in magnesium. She was going to order some blood work and an EKG...luckily both things can be done in their office! Yeah!

So next up the nurse came in to give me an EKG...they put all these sticky pads on you (10 total) then hook wires up to them and record your heart rhythm for approximately 10 seconds. Ugh...10 seconds we'll never catch one of these pesky little things! But luckily we did!!! I guess that's one good thing about them happening so frequently...and the good news is now I don't have to wear the heart rate monitor for a few days because the cardiologist should be able to tell from the EKG if these palpitations are "normal"...whatever that means. So as of this moment I found out that my blood tests all came back normal (so no change in thyroid medicine), I've started taking magnesium supplements, and the EKG is out for review. If the magnesium starts working and the palpitations become less frequent then that is hopefully the end of it. If they continue at this pace (yes, I'm still having them atleast every minute or so) AND my EKG looks ok, then they will start me on a beta blocker that will essentially slow my heart rate some and stop the palpitations. If we have to go with the beta blocker I will also have to monitor my heart rate and blood pressure regularly to make sure it stays in a healthy range. I'm really hoping the magnesium will do the trick, but I do feel better knowing my doctor is treating a patient now that is on the highest dose of beta blocker and should be delivering a healthy baby sometime in the next few weeks! So for now I'm dealing with the uncomfortableness and just hoping relief comes soon!

Half way there!!

We're 20 weeks today...and litlle Autumn is said to be the size of a cantaloupe!! She's growing a lot and so is my belly! haha! I'll try and post some pictures soon so you can see my expanding wasteline...finally I feel like I look pregnant and not just overweight . So the big accomplishments this week include feeling little Autumn moving and deciding on our bedding/nursery theme!! Yeah!!

So I think I've been feeling her for the past 3 weeks, but wasn't really sure...it just felt like a whoosing or something...I don't really know how to explain it, but it wasn't really obvious what it was. But the past week or so the movements are getting a little stronger (still not very frequent, but definitely there) and now I'm positive it is her moving around in there!! The most obvious one was after eating a brownie...haha...I guess that means she likes chocolate...or maybe it means that she doesn't :o) Either way, it made her a little more mobile for a short while!! I'm excited for them to start picking up so I know she's doing ok in there...every movement is like a reminder that she's doing well.

So on to the nursery. I know before I mentioned a hot pink and white themed room, but things changed a little after discovering this website called Etsy. I had never heard of it before, but now I am absolutely in love with it! It is all handmade items...like paintings, quilts, wall decals...pretty much you name it, someone makes it and sells it on etsy!! It's so addictive...I keep finding more and more things I want to order...especially once she arrives...like tutu's, goofy hats, all sorts of cute little girly things that will be so much fun! So back to the nursery...for those who don't know, I love the eiffel tower...I've been obsessed with it since college and finding a beautiful night time picture of it. I have several eiffel tower statues around our house and Jacob even proposed to me in the eiffel tower (ok, it was the replica of the eiffel tower in Las Vegas, but close enough...haha). So when I found this eiffel tower painting on Etsy I knew I had to get this for her room and create the rest of it around this!


I just love the colors and the whimsical nature of it! It is being shipped on Tuesday and I can't wait for it to arrive!! So from there I decided on this bedding from Pottery Barn called coco dot...I think the colors will work perfectly!


And the rest kinda happened from there. Here's a design board of the main elements I want to incorporate.


The wall color is the background color on this slide...basically a tiffany blue (teal) type color. And then we'll have pink and white accents. I can't wait to start pulling it all together!! I think it's going to be adorable!! I'll of course upload pictures of the real thing once it starts coming together! For now I'm going to enjoy the fact that we're halfway there...if the second half goes as quickly as the first...she's going to be here before we know it!!

Sugar & spice & everything nice…

That's what little girls are made of :o) Haha…as you can probably guess the ultrasound yesterday did confirm we are having a little girl. Yeah!! I'm so excited at the thought of having a daughter…dressing her up in girly things, playing with her hair, teaching her about boys…and that she should stay far away from them for as long as possible…hehe…just kidding! Sort of :o) She didn't make it easy for us once again…with her hand between her legs the majority of the time…and she was being shy and wouldn't turn her head so we could get a good profile shot…most of the time she was facing away from us :o( I was really hoping for some good pictures, but that's ok in less than five months I will get to see the real thing which is so much better!

So now the shopping begins!! I've been looking for girl bedding since we found out 3 weeks ago that it was probably a girl. I'm having quite a time though finding anything I like. Everything is so pastel and blah…I want bright, bold bedding…like hot pink and white! I did find a set I love, but wouldn't you know it's no longer available…so the only place I can find it is on e-bay. It's brand new, but pretty expensive and non-returnable so I just don't think it's the best option. Here's a picture of it…isn't it so cute!!

The second choice is some bedding from pottery barn that is white with a hot pink scallop design and trim. I'm thinking of possibly using this and then my mom and I making some curtains out of the fabric below that I found…that would brighten up the room for sure!! So no decisions yet…I'll continue looking…but if anyone has any good ideas or recommendations definitely let me know!! I'm open to anything at this point!



Decorating and shopping aside though I'm just so extremely excited that she looks to be healthy and growing!! It's so amazing when I stop to think about what a miracle it truly is…I get choked up just thinking about it. And as I approach the 20 week mark and realize we're half way there already it's a reminder of just how blessed we are for this to really be happening!!