35 Weeks 5 Days Appointment

Okay so I know I have been a bad mamma and haven't posted about all my appointments during my pregnancy, or even any major mile stones, BUT this particular appointment was monumental in my book. My last appointment was BAD. No doubt about it, bad! My blood pressure had sky rocketed, I was sweating my booty off. I spilled some proteins (bad in pregnancy lingo). I was swelling...EVERYWHERE. And I was sent off to the hospital with the comment of, "I just want you to get to 36 weeks if possible."

This isn't the best picture but it is obvious that this is the prettiest little girl God ever created!

...Well this appointment I was 35 weeks and 5 days. I was nervous since they had contemplated induction. I knew my blood pressure had been bouncing around the high points. BUT (I like but's in this case) this time my blood pressure "wasn't too bad, it is a little border line but an improvement from the last visit" My doctor told me she was on the fence about induction this week. I wasn't quite 36 weeks, which is where she wanted me to be for induction. My blood pressure had improved. She had decided that she was going to do an ultrasound and if anything was abnormal with my ultrasound she would induce, but if it looked good she would push on! My little girl scored an A+ on her first official test EVER. So being that she is so amazing...Dr. Mann is going to push on for another week. If all is well next week we may even push on for another week. We are just week to week right now, but either way we are going to have a baby soon. We will no longer be a family of four, we will be a family of five. (oh yes, the boys definately count as five)

12 days...

Today we had our 34 week check up.
Previsit Info:
At my last appointment my doctor was a little concerned with the fact that my blood pressure had been creeping up over the last couple of visits. I just knew I was done for when I showed up for this appointment. I had been super stressed over the last two weeks trying to train a new person as well as tie up all loose ends that I have going on. I have been stressing about this. And the cherry on top was the fact that both Luke and Cooter had been diagnosed with a bacterial infection and was pottying blood in the house!! (plus it was going to take a couple of days to clear up - think a really bad UTI) All of this plus just the normal stressors of becoming a mom for the first time. Yeah my blood pressure was up. WAY UP!

I got to the doctor and was slammed with some of the office's "new policies" and signing a stack of forms, Again! As soon as I sit down I have to get right back up because the nurse calls me back to do my pre-visit work up. I get on the scale (yuck). Then the good 'ole pee in a cup, which for those of you women who know is a trick in its self trying to manage the big belly, the cup, and the pee. For some reason the air conditioning is broke and the office is like 90degrees, which I am good with 65 degrees right now. I am pouring down in sweat. Then comes the blood pressure. The nurse makes a face. I ask how bad. She says we will take it again in 15 minutes. I sit in the room waiting on the doctor. The heat light is on from the previous person that had to get undressed so they could be comfortable ya know. I am sweating. She checks it again. Worse face. Doctor comes in with admitting orders to the hospital for observation and explains my new diagnosis of pregnancy induced hypertension.

Off to the hospital we go. Me and Isabella. Matthew joins us after he leaves work. My blood pressure comes down with some rest. The blood work looks good. I get more paperwork and we are now back at home. I get some orders for rest and relaxation. HAHAHA! (Did I mention that my mom and grandma are coming this weekend and that my MIL is throwing me a baby shower tomorrow.) The main info that we found out today, is that she will be inducing me at 26 weeks gestation. If she sticks with this plan that will be March 30th. OMG that is 12 days away!! OMG I have so much stuff to do! Oh wait I am supposed to be resting and relaxing... No wonder pregnant women's blood pressure gets elevated!

On a interesting note: At my baby shower in IL my BFF Lisa picked March 30th for my due date on the baby pool. How interesting. At the time it seemed so out of reach, but now maybe not so much.

An Anniversary I Would Only Remember

Yep I have an anniversary today. It isn't an anniversary most people remember, but I am told that I am not like most people anyways. Three years ago today I packed up and moved on. I moved away from my comfortable lifestyle into the unknown. I was happily employed, a new home owner, and a recent college grad. I had a great circle of friends, knew many people in the area, and wasn't but a hop-skip-and jump away from home (well my mom's home). But I gave all of these wonderful things up. I packed up and moved far away. I rested faith not only in Him but also in him:

Little did he know that so much pressure was on him for everything to be perfect. I had never done anything so impulsive. I was leaving something that was so comfortable for me at the time for something that was so unknown. We had no commitments to each other. I didn't have a job. I had some family in the area, but really I was just stepping out into the biggest risk I had ever taken in my life. But I felt at the time that it was a bigger risk to our relationship for me to stay where I was (6.5 hours away). Three years ago TODAY I put all my things in the back of a 17ft moving truck and moved to Tennessee.

Little did I know where we would be today. Today we have been together for about three and a half years. We have been happily married for two and a half of those years. Our first real child will join us in a few weeks. Who knew that such a big risk would turn out to be the biggest joy of my life!

I know today that I made the right choice. I have known this since the day I said "I do." Matthew is my best friend. He is my strength when I am weak. He is my laughter when I am sad, and well anytime. Many times I take him for granted and for that I should be ashamed because without him I would never be the same person. Each prayer I pray always asks the Lord to bring us closer than the day before. Our relationship is beautiful. Who other than the Lord above could have created such a beautiful thing such as us.

Matthew,
Thank you for being such an amazing husband. You are my super hero! I love that you are my best friend. I love that I can run to you with all my news. Good, bad, happy, sad - you are there! I am excited to start this next chapter of our lives. I couldn't imagine turning this page with anyone else. Happy three year anniversary of one of the first hurdles of the rest of our lives together. I love you.

People said it would never work out

Living our dreams has shattered all doubts

It feels good to prove 'em wrong

Living our love song

Pregnancy. The Good, the Bad, and the Down Right Ugly!

DISCLOSURE: I am very happy to be pregnant. It is a blessing. I find a new joy everyday in being pregnant. However, this is just a few things that all women should be aware of if they ever consider becoming pregnant.

Matthew and I tried to conceive for almost two years before we were successful. I would read so many wonderful blogs about how great being pregnant was and how it was the best experience of their lives. Well...don't get me wrong, I love being pregnant. Isabella is such a blessing. I love feeling her practice her gymnastics in my belly. Watching my belly grow (and grow). And each and every little experience in between. It is just how all those lovely blogs explained it, but they really left out all the extremely wonderful details. So, just let me just enlighten you on all of those wonderful (ehhmm) miracles of pregnancy.

10.  Ahh, so you have finally gotten done with work, dinner, and had your down time for the night. You get all snuggled up in bed. Everything is perfect around you, except as soon as you lay down to sleep it hits you. Yeah thats right, someone is ripping crochet hooks through your shins and every muscle of your leg. Nothing soothes the pain. And I am still waiting for that miracle cure. Oh and don't try to Google it. I have already done that, tried those. FAIL

9.  What bra comes after DD? And where do you find one? And once you do find one, why can't you find one that looks half way decent? I'm only 7 months in and 2 sizes up. Who knows what I am going to have to do once all my milk comes in. I will probobly have to buy a couple tarps to go under the moo-moo's that I will have to wear just to keep these knockers under wraps.

8. I have tried every deoderant in the aisle at Wal-Mart. Spray, gel, solid. But honestly nothing really covers up the funny odor that you aquire being pregnant. And just get used to the pools of sweat that puddle under your arms. Arm pit stains are your new fashion statement.

7. Speaking of fashion statements, don't plan on making any great strides in this area because maternity clothes (that don't cost an arm and a leg) just are not flattering. Not to mention you can buy them to fit one day, but then a few inches later they will be tight or the elastic that holds them up is all stretched out. My plan after baby...find a kick butt diet so I can go back to normal clothes ASAP.

6. You will absolutely love when you start to show. And you will love it even more when you feel the baby start kicking. But what you will not love is so many people touching your belly. I mean it is like a magnet for old ladies to just start rubbing all up on. Scenario: We were at a social gathering. I was sitting down eating. Old lady comes over to talk to and rub on my belly. Okay fine lady. I smile and be polite. But the way I am sitting makes my belly lay really close to my female parts. Okay lady you are getting really close to touching my female parts. Lady touches top of female parts. Yeah it happened. What do you do, really?

5. God did give you one defense mechanism for #6. If at some reason you find yourself in the scenario from #6 just release some of that evil gas that you produce when you are pregnant. If you were ever wondering what killed the dinasours it is the aweful smell that comes from a pregnant humans bottom in the form of a clear, very odor filled, gas. And it only creeps up on you in the worse times, i.e. quiet times in church, while in line at the bank or store, when your OB is getting ready to check your cervix. But unfortunately you can't produce it when your husband is wanting some snuggle, snuggle time. It is the darndest thing.

4. You always hear about your milk coming in after delivery, but NOBODY tells you about your pre-milk. Mine started seeping from my boobies around 5 months. At first I just thought I was waking up sweaty. Please refer to #8 for why I may or may not have thought this. But then I noticed it one day. Of course since I am a first time mom I called my doctors office right away. They laughed at me. I continued on my day. Okay so early "lactation" is normal. But is it normal to wake up to pre-milk dried off your boob in a form similar to an icicle? Just asking.

3. Women are crazy. It is a common saying in our house. (No, Matthew doesn't say it about me. He doesn't have to because I beat him to it) But we as women know that we compare ourselves to each other. I know quite a few of my friends that are pregnant right now and I would occasionally compare my belly to their belly pics. Or I would see if their baby was kicking yet if mine wasn't. You can say you won't or don't do this, but lets just be honest here. But the thing that will drive you nuts is when other women will try an one up your pregnancy milestones. If your baby kicked once, you know for sure that theirs has kicked to the beat of Motzart. And if you are still fitting in your pre-pregnancy jeans, you better believe that they lost a size in jeans.

2. Hold on tight because if you don't you will be changing your panties. That's right peeing in your pants is cool while your pregnant. I didn't have trouble with this until the end of my first trimester. I had a terrible cold and everytime I coughed or sneezed I would dribble a little. It wouldn't matter if I had just gone potty, if I didn't hold on to something, anything left in there was coming out. It hasn't changed much since that stupid cold. Even this past weekend as I walked outside to help Matthew wash my car, I sneezed, I peed, I laughed.

1. If you need to know anything about being pregnant, you should definately know that people develop mouth diarehha when they are around pregnant women. It is like they are all of a sudden experts in obstetrics, pediatrics, nursery decor, and of course how to be a mommy. Yes, don't get me wrong most of them are mommies and they have been there done that. But what they fail to mention is that it was 25 or more years ago. Medicine has greatly changed since then. As well as parenting techniques and nursery decor. I have had a very hard time dealing with this. I am sure it is because I am very hormonal and I take things more personally than I should, but HELLO this is my baby, my nursery, and unless you want to go through #10 - #2 just butt out and respect my darn opinion or belief.

I didn't want to post this to put people in fear of pregnancy, but just keep in mind that all of those fairy tale dream blogs are leaving out some of the most wonderful details. It is crazy what they don't write in pregnancy books either. This is just another example of how much women go through in life. I posted this because my favorite mom blog does such a good job of enlightening me on all the real life dramas of pregnancy and motherhood.

6 Months and Counting...

Okay, this is real now. I am actually starting to show (some days more than others) rather than just looking like the holidays were rough on me. It is a little surreal. Matthew actually said the other day that we needed to actually start doing things to prepare, because it is real now. I guess it just took me getting fat for us to realize that we are actually going to bring a little life into this house. And more importantly the little life that is coming into our house in approximately three months is NOT (in no way shape or form) going to like our relaxed and laid back life style.

Here is a quick 6 month update:

• I finally have a better appetitie. Gone are the days of eating like a bird. I can actually finish a meal. And there are most days that I must have a snack in between meals. I am sure my doctor will be glad to hear this since I am still 5 pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight.
• My current foods are: MILK and tons of it! Oranges, cereal, orange juice, apple juice. And the shocking introduction of pickles into my diet.
• I get hot super easy. So if you see me and it is freezing outside and I don't have a coat on, please understand that I am pregnant and I am hot 95% of the time, unlike our house to quote my wonderful husband.
• I don't sleep well. Mainly because I wake up on my back and freak out because that is in my book of no-no's. I have never been a back sleeper, so why am I now?

Matthew says that other than being hot all the time and wearing different pants I haven't changed a bit. Awe, isn't he sweet. I know in the back of his mind he is really thinking that I am crazy, he just won't admit it. Trust me, I know he has to be thinking I am somewhat crazy because we have been working on the nursery together and well...well...we will just leave it at the fact we have been working on the nursery together. LOL (pics to follow)

Here is a picture from Christmas Day. 22 weeks

Merry Christmas to Us!!

I have held out on this post as long as I possibly could. It has been one long, winding, and tough road but we have finally made it. We are going to be parents to a little baby girl in April!!

Matthew and I have decided to name her Isabella Faye Hughes. Yes, we know Isabella is the #1 girls name in the U.S. right now, but we don't care. We had already decided on that name two years ago when we started trying. And how many Matthew's and Rachel's are there in the world, really?! Yes, we know it is eight letters long and probably fairly difficult to learn to spell. But we are just hoping she will take after her mommy's spelling abilities and not daddy's. And yes, we know people will probably call her "Izzy" or "Bella" but frankly we don't care. We will probably have our own nicknames for her as well, and "Little Monkey" is already starting to stick for good reason. That blog post will have to follow.

Right now I am 21 1/2 weeks along. We both can feel her kick and squirm. She mainly responds to Matthews voice in the evening when he gets home. But I am finding more and more things that make her ill inside me. I am starting to show, but yes I am not as big as most 5 1/2 month pregnant women. The UPS guy commented today that he just thought, "the holidays were getting to me."  I have not had the usual pregnancy side effects like most pregnant women, but the ones I do have are very prominent. I'm just not hungry. I don't have cravings or heartburn. I do have restless leg syndrome and leg cramps at night which cause a little bit of insomnia. Honestly, if I didn't know for sure I was pregnant and I didn't feel her kick, up until now I swear I could be on the show I Didn't Know I was Pregnant.

Yesterday, we had our routine 20 week ultrasound. (I say routine because the 10 that I have had in the past have been due to some minor complications.) I was so very nervous. Matthew seemed to remain calm, but I could tell that he was so very excited. We also took Matthew's Grandmother Faye with us as a sentimental gesture and it worked out great because she had a doctor's appointment in Memphis that morning. I went in wanting a little girl, but in the back of my mind I just knew it was a boy. I just knew I would be walking out a little disappointed. Matthew wanted a little boy. One to pass the family name on to. However, he was the one that was going to be walking out disappointed. It was a beautiful (squirmy) little girl. So neither one of us walked out upset, because Matthew just started beaming and he was so excited he was going to have Daddy's little girl soon.

 
This is my favorite picture. She is all up in a ball with her feet above her head. I drink a ton of milk already, but I think I need to drink some more to build up those long legs she is forming.

She is already so loved. We are so excited about such a wonderful gift from God. No matter what obstacles we have gone through, this miracle is so worth every little bit of it.

Don't Worry I Am Not Holding Out On You

Don't worry I haven't given up blogging, and I haven't been on a hiatus from it. I have just been without a camera for a couple months now. For Christmas 2009 I asked for a new camera. Andrew Hughes decided to help my in-laws out with picking out a camera for me. (which I must say I am glad he did) I loved my camera, but my clumsy self decided to slam my purse in my car door. Not a big deal MOST OF THE TIME, but this one time this happened:

I was crushed that my AWESOME camera was crushed. I tried to use it, but I couldn't tell what I was actually getting and the picture was terribly blurry. The following attempt was me trying to get a picture of my ducks:

Yep, totally missed!

But don't worry I bought my birthday present from Matthew all by myself (with his EBay account, without proper consent, ooops!) Yep, thats right! The exact same, minus the broken part, camera!

See all better. Andy was a good sport by being my test subject. And don't worry I have quite a few posts up my sleeve so you will be hearing from me soon!