Friday, July 15, 2011

Being busy in these last few months is an understatement!! There have been a lot of new changes in this pregnancy! I have still have up and down blood pressure, MAJOR swelling and with in the last few weeks, I am one of the lucky few that got the PUPP rash! Yay... Besides the gross looking rash on my belly, arms, legs, feet and hands, I have had UNBEARABLE itching!!! Unfortunately, the only thing that can make it go away is giving birth... 

Another exciting change that happened: We moved to Richmond, VA!! Rossi started a new job with Hoffman & Hoffman. Even though moving in my last trimester was definitely a challenge, it was all worth it. Not only are we in a great apartment in an amazing city, we are just a few short minutes from my mom and dad. Being in Tennessee was great, but we did not have any family support there for Haley if she were born there. Leaving our amazing doctor in the last few weeks of our pregnancy was a huge leap of faith. Luckily, everything went smoothly and my mom was able to come help me pack! I love the support family offers :)

I've had a few doctors appointments since we've moved here. Each time, my blood pressure has been high and when the Dr. has checked me, there has been absolutely NO progress (no effacement, no dilation, no ripeness etc). That is definitely frustrating when you are in your last 2 weeks of pregnancy. Well, when we went in last, Dr. Reutinger asked me the most amazing question: "When would you like to have your baby?" I chuckled...."How about right now??" I have been absolutely miserable in this heat with the swelling and the itchiness that I was ready to have her a month ago! When he said "How about Friday?" My heart stopped!! It was all coming into focus. I looked at Rossi and he looked about as shocked as I was! That's when all the nerves, excitement and fear set in. Of course, we agreed! But, since there's still no progress, we have to go in Thursday night so he can administer Cervidil and see if that helps thin my cervix so I can go into labor on my own. After a certain amount of time, if there is still no progress and all of our efforts are exhausted, then there will be a c-section. Either way, I'm fine with it as long as Miss Haley is healthy and happy :) Either way, WE WILL HAVE OUR BABY THIS WEEKEND!!!! It has FINALLY sunk in. Picking our daughters birth date was something I thought I'd never be able to do. The way things were looking, she was going to be pretty late (go figure!!). 

God has a funny way of doing things! I never thought that we'd be able to hold our daughter this early. All I pray for is a healthy happy baby girl and I know she is in the best hands! As I go in Thursday night, I ask for your thoughts and prayers, not just for Haley, but for the doctors and nurses bringing our sweet pea into this world! 

Thank you everyone for your support! Rossi and I really appreciate everything everyone has done for us! It's been an interesting pregnancy with ups and downs and I know that it will all be worth it!! Just a few more days :)

"Of course I'm going to worry, I'm a mom now."

Over the past month, I've started the oh-so-wonderful swelling in my legs and feet. And it has gotten progressively worse. It got to the point where I was at the cabin over Easter with my parents and I swelled up to me knee caps! Talk about ridiculous. Well, I've been calling my doctor's nurse and she keeps telling me "Oh, hun, this is very normal....etc..." Okay. So, I KNOW that barely being able to walk when my feet are like that is NOT normal. I know that because it's MY feet, dangit. She never told me to come in just to make sure. I just wanted her to take my blood pressure and check my urine for protein (all symptoms of preeclampsia). I've already had a few of the signs...severe edema lasting longer than 48 hours and one leg swelling up more than the other. So, of course, I just wanted to get checked out to just make sure it was "normal".

Well, I just gave up on that nurse and decided to wait it out. I had made my appointment for the ultrasound DVD anyway and it was only a few days away.

So, yesterday, we had our appointment!! We were pretty pumped! I love being able to see my Haley bug! She was very active. She would give us a few "showing off" faces, but then would turn away, as to say "You snooze, you loose!!". She's not my child at all... :) Nikki kept trying to get good pictures of her little feet...but nope. Yet again, she was busy kicking my ribs. :) But, I love the fact that she moves so much. It really is a blessing because it puts a lot of my worries to rest! She did tell me that I will have my hands full...A word comes to mind that my mom has used several times. "Karma" We are in trouble. :)

After our DVD, she realized that I was scheduled to come back for my glucose test tomorrow. Nikki asked if I wanted to go ahead and do it after our sonogram, that way I won't have to come back. Sure thing!!!  I had to drink syrup textured, crack infused, punch Koolaid. Pretty nasty stuff. Then they stuck my arm after an hour and drew some blood. They said they will call me tomorrow if they need to. No news is good news! First, I had to do the normal, pee in the cup, blood pressure and weight. When they did my blood pressure, I saw a concerned look on her face. I looked over at the numbers. 141 over 89. Hmm....that's not good. My blood pressure has been perfect every time. I eat healthy, drink more than enough water, exercise, and the only excessive weight I've gained is lots and lots of fluid. After a several minutes of worrying, and Rossi trying to get me to calm down, Nikki walked in. She asked me questions about which hospital I wanted for the delivery, asked me if I wanted an epidural (uh...DUH) etc. Then, we talked about the blood pressure. She said since my urine came back normal (no protein) we don't need to worry YET. I hate when people throw that word at the end of a statement. I was told to take it super easy. Rest. Rest. and more Rest. So, hopefully we will see how that works...I trust my doctor and Nikki, so what they say, I do. As far as Dr. Collinson's nurse that I talked to over the phone, not a fan.

I came home and prayed. I was still real worried..because, well, it's not just MY health. It's my baby's health!! Of course I'm going to worry, I'm a mom now! I know God has His own plan for us. I know that for sure. But, worrying about it is not helping my blood pressure. I need to learn to let God take control. Looking at it now, I realize I do NOT have control. I have done my part in staying as healthy as I can and I do what Doctor Collinson and Nikki tell me to do. That is all I can do. Everything else is up to Him. I need to learn to let God take control and fully trust Him.

Now, I go back to the doctor every two weeks to monitor everything. Time is flying by. And soon (but not too soon!) Haley will be here!!!

We love and appreciate everyone who has prayed for us. You guys are amazing and I thank God every day for the people in my life.

Haley's photoshoot (23 weeks and 5 days)

Finally!! Another ultrasound!! This is the appointment where they did all of her measurements to make sure she's on track. They checked her sweet little heart, kidneys, stomach, lungs....all perfect!! :) The ultrasound tech said she weighs 1 pound and 9 ounces!! She has 10 fingers and 10 toes... Momma couldn't be happier!

Then came the serious talk...the Doctor told me that since I have a bicornuate uterus, and a high amount of fluid, I am high risk for pre-term labor. Also, since I have all of that extra fluid, I'm measuring big (which makes me feel better about the weight gain since it's only in my belly! shew). But on the bright side, all of the extra fluid makes for better 3D ultrasound pictures :) I love how my doctor knows when I'm worried and what to say to make me feel better. He made sure to reassure me that if anything does happen, Haley and I would be flown to UT and that if we did have to go to UT, he would be there waiting on us. The last few things he said to me were about how many patients he has had with the same condition and they delivered full term, healthy babies. It's scary to know that something COULD happen...and it's so easy to think about the "what ifs"... Well, I went to Lifeway Christian Book Store last night and bought a new devotional Bible for new moms. As I was reading the first devotional study, the one verse that popped out at me was this..."Be strong and courageous...for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."- Joshua 1:9. Tell me THATwasn't a sign....I know that if anything does happen, it's in God's will and not only are we in the doctor's great hands, we are in GOD'S hands. That makes me feel so much better. People tell me not to worry, but that's never really helped. I needed that extra push. Haley just needs to keep her cute self inside as long as possible, so I ask for you to please keep praying for her. :)

On a brighter note, we got some amazing pictures of our girl! I can not believe how amazing they turned out! My heart melted when I saw her little button nose, cute little mouth, and adorable little toes!! Looking at these pictures made everything else in the world seem obsolete. Haley reminds me every day that I have so much to be thankful for! Life is good :)

This face already melts Mommy and Daddy's hearts :)

 Sweet little foot

Fist pump!!! haha

23 weeks and 4 days :)

23 weeks and 4 days down and 115 days to go!! What a ride it's been... Everyone has told me that being pregnant is the best feeling in the world, and well, this statement is true for the most part. I was sick for the first several months..not just morning sick...but sick sick! It seemed for a while that I caught everything going around! Not only did I have the WORST hip pain to where I could barely walk, I had a UTI, and had to be put on a thyroid medication because my levels were too high. It has been a rough ride. Now, before you come to the conclusion that I'm not truly thankful for this little baby growing inside of me...let me say this. Haley is truly a miracle and we are very blessed that we get to meet her soon!! The fact that we will be parents to an amazing little girl has made all of the rough times way worth it and feeling her abuse my insides by her kick boxing, makes all of the pain in the beginning worth it! Since I have been in the second trimester, it has been easier. Besides the obvious drawbacks of a big belly (not being able to put on shoes as easy as you used to, not being able to shave, having to roll out of bed etc) I'm so totally in love. It now feels like a pregnancy instead of an alien life form in side of my belly (eventhough she would be a very cute alien).

I remember the first time we went to the doctor to see our baby. We were both so nervous. We didn't know if we would be able to hear the heartbeat or if we were even still pregnant. So much is unknown in the first trimester (especially since you can't feel the baby move) and the unknown is a scary place... As soon as the doctor came in, she found the heart beat almost immediately! I can not tell you how relieved I was to hear that faint pitter patter of our baby's heart! It was really early...we went at 6 weeks...usually they can't find a heartbeat that early!!! Thank God she did! It put a lot of my worries to ease. We made our next appointment for 4 weeks after and they were able to do a 3D picture. Wow!!! It was so hard to believe that in just 4 short weeks, our baby went from a cute little dot on the screen to a little baby!! With these two appointments, I was able to keep my composure and not tear up or cry. Not that I didn't want to...I was just in so much shock and awe that my emotions were the last on my mind :). At our 14 week appointment, we didn't get a sonogram (I was pretty disappointed about that) but we went to go hear the heartbeat and run labs on me. The heartbeat was a strong 173 and sounded so beautiful!! We make our next appointment for another 4 weeks out for the gender scan!! Those 4 weeks seemed to go by the slowest! See, all along, I had a feeling our baby was a girl. Eventhough I have never had a baby before, I just knew...mothers intuition I guess :) I had dreams of holding a baby girl in my arms (and her name was Haley) all the time. All of the old wives tales pointed towards a boy but I still knew. When my mom, mother and father in law, Rossi and I crowded into the small ultrasound room, I started to get real anxious! I was so excited! Well, of course, our baby was being modest and wouldn't show us the "money shot" right away. The doctor had to shake my belly a few times to get the perfect shot so she could be sure. Our baby was definiely busy punching me but kept those small legs crossed... But then....all of a sudden, she said, "Do you see those 3 lines right there? You're having a GIRL!!" Oh! Those tears that I haven't cried yet all came out at once!! Rossi's face was priceless...he was in complete awe. His face is something I will never forget. I looked up at him right after she said that, and said "You are going to have a Daddy's girl!" The ultrasound tech was trying to get her measurements but she was being a wild child (go figure...momma's girl, remember?) and wouldn't hold still. :)We got Trelisha (my sister in law) on the phone and I talked to her for a minute while we were still looking at our sweet baby girl. I don't remember much else from that doctors visit...everything seemed to be in a blur. I know I had to run some more blood work but that is all I remember. We went out to eat after to celebrate...then SHOPPING!!!! :) Our next appointment is tomorrow. At this appointment, we will be able to get better measurements of our sweet girl and get a bunch of fun 3D images. I can't wait to find out what she looks like!

I just want to thank everyone for their support and prayers. It really means a lot to us. I will post more later this week with some pictures of Haley Reneé Bell :)