Birth of Our Son is so Close!

I am 38 weeks and 1 day pregnant as I sit in our living room typing this blog listening to worship music and reflecting on my journey to this day.  I have a doctor appointment this afternoon where we will schedule the induction for I hope no later than next Tuesday.  Our hospital bag is packed just in case he says today is the day.  :-)  At last weeks appointment he said this week he would schedule my induction date due to my high blood pressure.  My blood pressure really has done remarkably well but I have had a few weeks where it has been high and its just not something to  mess with.  My blood work has been awesome as well but later in pregnancy is when the risks for chronic hypertension can get more serious.  I am very thankful my OB/GYN has been very cautious and monitored both Christian and I closely.  I am so ready to meet our son! To hold him in my arms, to look into his eyes, to hear his first cries, to count his fingers and toes and see him in his daddy's arms!

This morning I heard the song Praise You in this Storm by Casting Crowns and it reminded me of our journey with infertility.  I have PCOS and don't ovulate on a regular basis without the assistance of medication.  It took us 5 years to conceive our daughter LeAnne and a year to conceive Christian.   Those years, were filled with heartache, frustration, and enough tears to fill the ocean.  There was a time I didn't think I would ever have my own biological children but praise God here I am today the blessed mama of a 5 year old daughter and a son to be born any day now!!!

Comparing my two pregnancies I would say my second pregnancy has been tougher.  I had a scare with bleeding 6 weeks into my first pregnancy, bad morning sickness along with many food aversions during the first & second trimesters of my first pregnancy and was on bed rest due to high blood pressure for 4 weeks during my first pregnancy.  All that being said the morning sickness was horrid with this pregnancy, on top of getting a few colds and the flu during my first trimester, most food has been just nasty most of my pregnancy, and that just got a teeny bit better during the last month of my pregnancy.  Still some days food is gross so I drink a ton of water to fill my stomach so I don't feel the hunger pains.  I think I've lost 20 pounds and my nurse is always asking me how the pregnancy weight loss program is going. LOL!!  I have had a ton more aches and pains.  My blood pressure has been pretty well maintained with medication during this pregnancy so I was never put on bed rest which was tough.  It's been rough keeping up with LeAnne and all that it takes to work full time and run a house. There has been many a days I wish the doctor would put me on bed rest.  I finally gave in this last week of my pregnancy and took off of work.  It is just too hard to work full time without being in excruciating pain. Sleeping has been interesting due to back pain.  I start off in bed but end up most  nights sleeping in my chair.  The last few weeks the back pain after sitting down at all is bad. The first few steps are so painful.  One really awesome part of this pregnancy has been how much I've felt Christian move around.  He is very active and loves it when I sit down in my recliner in the evening. Let play time begin!! He also gets the hiccups a lot.  At first LeAnne didn't want anything to do with feeling him move, then she started to think it was cool to boop him (poke my stomach) and during this last month she has started playing with my belly button, blowing raspberries on my stomach and pushing on my stomach to feel him move.  She has started kissing my belly and rubbing her brother's back.  Just yesterday she laid her head on my stomach while he had the hiccups and thought it was a cool feeling.  Don't let my whining fool you I am so thankful for my pregnancies and it's worth all the aches, pains, heart ache and procedures it took to get here.  I love being a mother and I love our family!

Being a mother is definitely one of the hardest yet most rewarding jobs!  Not just a mother but parenthood in general. I am so thankful for the amazing father my children have!!  God truly blessed my life when He brought us together!  I could not ask for better husband and father to our children!  His support and encouragement means so much to me!  His honesty, his leadership, his guidance, his tender loving care and sense of humor are just a few of his amazing qualities I love!!  He's a man of great courage and honor.  He's a man who's willing to admit his wrongs and work to mend his ways.  He is so helpful around the house and easy to get a long with.  It's been a pleasure to watch him with his daughters and now I am equally excited to see him raising his son!

I could babble on and on but I must get ready to go run some errands, pick up LeAnne from school and head to the doctor.  Time to find out when I will be induced.  It's time to serve Christian with his eviction notice.  Come join our family little man!

UPDATE:  Our last OB apt was awesome!  My blood pressure and his Non Stress Test looked great! I am holding steady at a 12 pound weight loss throughout my pregnancy. Dr. V checked me and I am 1-2 cm dilated and 50% effaced.  He said he would feel comfortable inducing me at 39 weeks and 1 day which is next Wednesday April 17th.  As for me I hope Christian decides to come sooner on his own but I am THRILLED we will meet our son for sure in a week. :=) Praise God!!

Easter 2013 & LeAnne's First Fishing Trip

The Saturday before Easter we attended the Easter Egg hunt in our city park.  LeAnne was in the mixed age group 5,6 and 7 year old kid so it was quite competitive.  She found a few eggs.  Then on Easter Sunday morning as LeAnne was snuggling with me I said "Gusse who visited you last night"? She said "No one came in my room last night". LOL!! Then I told her to look on table and she was excited to see her Easter basket. While Eating breakfast she wrote a thank-you note to the Easter bunny and put it on our front door.  Then we enjoyed watching her have an Easter egg hunt in our front yard.  Next Easter we will be getting our family to church. 

Later than afternoon we headed down to my sisters place to have Easter lunch, an Easter egg hunt and a little bit of fishing.  This was LeAnne's first fishing trip. Daddy said she absolutely loved it!  

City Park Easter Egg hunt

Bunny LeAnne's teacher gave her for Easter

Easter egg hunt at our house

Print Charming Fluffy the second

Note from Easter Bunny

Thank-you note to Easter bunny

Baby Shower & Misc Pix

My sister & niece had a baby shower for me on March 16,2013.  It was a lot of fun! The Car's decor was very cool! My sister and niece did an amazing job and I appreciate all their hard work so much!  It so appreciate all the gifts for Christian, LeAnne & I !!  :-)  It was lot of fun to see my family and friends! A very nice celebration to welcome our boy!!  LeAnne had lots of fun being mama's helper and is enjoying all her big sister gifts!  

My doctor is monitoring baby and I closely.  We've already made two trips to Labor and Delivery at Saint Mary's Hospital.  The end result of both visit to L&D was good.  This week I had a great doctor appointment; my blood pressure and Non-Stress test went very well!!  It looks like I have 3 or 4 weeks left! I can't wait to meet Christian!!  

LeAnne's ready for the baby shower!

LeAnne and I at the baby shower

Big Sister to a lil mister

Christian's Officer Onesie

Ramblings from Mama Bear

It's almost 4 A.M., I've been up since 2 A.M. not long after one adorable 5 year old girl came up to our bedroom saying she had a bad dream and daddy invited her to sleep with us which is something he's never done but just goes to show how much he cares for his family.  I can only imagine he was thinking he didn't want me to have to get up with her or her to be scared. He's a big softy for his girls.  I can't wait to see him with his son.  

I am now 34 weeks and 3 days pregnant.  This pregnancy has been the polar opposite of my pregnancy with LeAnne in many ways.  I had morning sickness and food aversions with LeAnne but with Christian the food aversions have lasted throughout my pregnancy and change frequently. My nurse asked me this week how my pregnancy weight loss plan was going. LOL!!  At one point she told me I had lost 17 pounds but I haven't asked lately what my total weight loss is.  It's not fun being hungry but then no food sounds good and makes me nauseous but I have to say its nice not having food control me.  My hope is after Christian is born I can work on eating healthy, take little man for daily walks to get some exercise and I can continue to lose weight.   Another way this pregnancy is different is I am feeling everything a lot sooner and feeling more.  Christian is very active!  I love feeling him rolling, pushing, jabbing and kicking!  Sometimes it does take my breath away.  I've had a lot more aches and pains which the doctor says is just because my body is relaxing sooner since this is my second pregnancy.  I have had a lot more sleepless nights due to insomnia and being uncomfortable.  On a good note my blood pressure has been controlled very well and I am thankful to be on medication.  I believe with LeAnne it was 34 weeks when I went on bed rest.  At my weekly appointment this Wednesday my Non Stress Test went well. Christian behaved by being on the monitor and being reactive but my body on the other hand decided to act up.  My blood pressure in the office was 180/100 so my doctor sent me over to the hospital Labor and Delivery for 30 minutes of monitoring.  While resting my blood pressure did go down to numbers my Dr was okay with so he didn't increase my dose and asked me to take it easy and come see him on Friday.   As boring as bed rest was with LeAnne I have kinda set in my mind that at some point in this pregnancy I would be on bed rest and now that isn't happening I am kinda bummed just because I am ready to focus just on taking care of Christian and my family.  I am ready to take a break from my work responsibilities and I am exhausted.   

I still can't believe I am going to have a son.  I am really looking forward to seeing how parenting a little boy is different than parenting a little girl.  I can't wait to see what Christian looks like.  I can't wait to see him in his daddy's arms.  I pray that he and LeAnne form a close bond like my brother and I did.  When I got married I knew I wanted to marry a man who was a combination or my dad and my  brother.  I wonder if it will be the same for LeAnne.  LeAnne is getting pretty excited to meet her brother.  She boops my belly daily and today she kissed my belly for the first time.  I am really looking forward to my baby shower this Saturday.  I've told LeAnne she is my important helper and look forward to honoring her as a big sister. :-)  

I pray that my labor and delivery goes as well as it did with LeAnne.  Though I am expecting it will be different since this pregnancy has been so different. I pray I am able to manage the pain through using my hypnosis for birth techniques.  I pray Christian is born without complications for either of us.  I pray that nursing goes much smoother this time around, that he isn't a scream and sleeps well.  I pray that I learned to balance life with two children and that I will continue to be the best mama to my kids that I can be.  I pray that as Christian gets older I will learn how to instill a love for learning and caring for others.  I so look forward to seeing  the people each of our kids turn out to be.  I pray that God will guide us through all the years of our lives as parents!  

Now that I am finally getting sleepy I have to be up in an hour. Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday. Looking forward to a fun weekend.  

Visit to Perinatal Doctor

On February 25th John, LeAnne and I headed to Tri-Cities to see a doctor about one very special little boy still on on the inside.  At my last regular OB appointment my doctor told me he would like to me to see a specialist for an ultrasound.  He said that during my last ultrasound the tech was unable to see the ventricular blood flow in and out of Christian's heart and even though he didn't think it was anything he would feel more comfortable if we could get a better look.  I've been quite nervous and doing all I could do to convince myself it was just because our little man had himself all crunched up in a ball and the tech couldn't get the picture.  The ultrasound tech at the perinatal office was amazing and the equipment was first rate.  The first thing we saw was little man is head down.  We saw him breathing, opening his mouth, and she was able to counter that he has all his fingers and toes. :-)  Part way through the ultrasound she had me lie on my side and walked out for a few minutes.  I later learned she was trying to get him into a better position so she could get the views she needed of his heart and see his fingers that he was lying on.  To my relief she was able to see the blood flow my doctor was concerned about right away.  I was a tad bit nervous when the actual doctor came in and they started talking in code. Once she had all the pictures she needed, she walked us down to the doctors office.  This guy may be good at what he does but he seriously lacks in bedside manner. One of his first statements were well no way to say this but just say it. My heart skipped a few beats and I was like huh, what are you talking about.  He started by asking me if I had had any surgeries or medical conditions. Then asked if either John or I had any family history of birth defections or genetic preconditions. We were like um no. Then he stated due to my age I was probably aware I was at a higher risk of our son having Down Syndrome. I was like yes.  Then he brought up a picture of a heart on his computer screen and went on to tell us that he was able to see the blood flow in and out of the heart that was the concern, he saw the four chambers, a few other things (I don't recall the terms he used) but that their was one thing they couldn't see.  So I am sitting there thinking okay so what's next, another specialist, another ultrasound at a later date? Then John asked if he had concerns.  He said no I am pleased with what we saw and believe everything will be fine and its nearly impossible to see everything on an ultrasound.  I left the office with rather mixed emotions.  I am thankful they saw the blood flow that they were concerned about but don't like the fact that they're is an unknown.  I've been concerned this whole pregnancy about something going wrong or being wrong with our little one but God is on control.  God has a plan for our son and I have faith it's a wonderful plan.  Its comforting to know our son is being wonderfully made inside my womb and the plan for his life is already set by God.  As I type this blog entry little mister is rolling around and kicking me which is so COOL!  I can't wait to listen to his heart beating tomorrow while I have my Non Stress Test.  Tomorrow I begin weekly NST's and doctor appointments.  Oh I forgot to mention the tech told us he is measuring at 4 pounds 4ounces.  I think I read somewhere that he will gain half a pound a week until delivery so if I go to term he could weight 8 pounds or so.  I have this gut feeling he will be born early because LeAnne was born 2 weeks early but nothing about this pregnancy has been like it was with LeAnne so I could be all wrong.  

I am excited his room is now painted, the wall border is up and I've washed what clothes I do have for him.  Invitations for my baby shower went out last Saturday.  John and I will be bringing up baby gear and buying his bedding set and curtains this weekend.  I so look forward to all preparations being completed so all their is left to do is wait for his arrival.

31 weeks in Christian's room ! :-)

Here are some pictures of our little boy on the inside.  31 weeks 6 days gestation  

3D of his face 

3D of his face

LeAnne's First Ski Trip

On February 14, 2013 LeAnne's elementary school went to Bluewood in Dayton, WA to ski for the day. LeAnne was very excited to ski but that excitement soon turned to tears and a major meltdown after she didn't like the helmet and she had a rough time walking in the snow. She refused to participate in the ski lesson and instead cried at Daddy's feet.  We tried to coax her but knowing our girl we knew it would not work until it was her idea.  So we all headed back to the lodge to get something to eat and rest.  A while later her friends came into the lodge from their lesson and LeAnne told daddy she wanted to Ski with her friend Mylie.  :-)  She we all headed back outside and she did it! She was very proud of herself and kept wanting to try.  She would try a few times, then take a break to play in the snow and then try again.  Poor daddy was quite sore from putting skis on and off of her and her friend Mylie.  He was very proud of his little girl though!!  Her school will be going once more this year and she can't wait!

LeAnne's New Room

John & his little helper (LeAnne) did an excellent job painting this weekend!! LeAnne's room turned out AWESOME!! LeAnne was a big help to daddy and had a blast. While painting she told daddy she knew what she was doing because she had,had dreams about painting her room. :-)  John said she really was a big help and it was a lot of fun having company.  He said they would be painting and she would stop to tell him how well he was doing and then say how much fun she was having.  :-)  She is so excited about her new room she is sleeping there tonight.  Her and I will continue to move her things to her new room this week.   I LOVE how it turned out and I am so thankful to my amazing husband for his hard work.