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Saturday, March 27, 2010

Ultrasound Progression Pics

Even though I have all of these ultrasound photos posted on my blog now anyway, they're all in separate posts and I know I have fun lining them up in front of me and seeing the progression. Since I had an ultrasound almost every week from 6 to 12 weeks, it has been really amazing to watch our little Monkey grow!

2/4/10 Baby measured 6w6d, 8.5mm, hb 73 bpm
2/11/10 Baby measured 8w1d, 15.7mm, hb 169 bpm

2/16/10 Baby measured 8w6d, 20.5mm, hb 178 bpm
2/25/10 Baby measured 10w1d, ~31mm, hb 180 bpm

3/10/10 Baby measured 12w0d, ~5cm, hb 164 bpm

We love you Monkey!!!

Friday, March 26, 2010

No Facebook Please!!

So obviously I have decided to post all of the baby-related entries I've been hiding for the past couple months. :-) But if you're also a friend of mine on Facebook please do not say ANYTHING on there yet!! I'm not ready, and I don't know when I will be...perhaps tonight, maybe next week...maybe not for a few weeks. But until you see something on Facebook from me please keep it quiet!

Thanks. :-)

~Abigail~

Pluggin' along...

Today marks 14weeks and 5days. I can't believe it! I had another Dr's appt yesterday, and everything looks perfect. I'm up ~5 lbs total, and have a cute little baby bump. :-) I don't know if anyone besides me and Scott can tell at this point, but it's definitely baby now and not bloat...my Dr said my uterus is about half way up to my belly button. Twenty-seven days until we find out if Monkey is a boy or girl!!! The heartrate is still pretty high, yesterday was 167bpm on the office doppler, and it's never been below 160 on my home doppler or on any of my 5 ultrasounds exluding the first one (see previous posts). So I'm still thinking girl because of that, but I really don't have any sort of "mother's intuition"...and the heartrate thing is just an old wives tale (boy = hr <140, girl = hr>140), so we'll just have to see what happens on April 22nd!! I sure hope Monkey cooperates that day and gives us the money shot!!

Here's a picture from 14w3d.
HA! I just realized there is a toothpaste stripe on the mirror, LOL! Oh well.

Oh, and I got the best news at my appt yesterday: my Dr. isn't going to make me stop the heparin at 20wks as previously discussed!! The fertility specialist I saw up until 8 weeks wanted me to stop at ~16 weeks, because as I've mentioned before he put me on it for my history of miscarriage NOT because of the MTHFR mutations I have--which is the reason I wanted to be on the heparin. My OB refilled my Rx enough to get me to 22 weeks, but said we'd talk about it "later" whether or not to continue past that point. Well, yesterday she said if I insisted on continuing she would let me (barring any unforseen medical problems), even though she does not think it is medically necessary. I love her!!!! It's not that I don't trust her, I don't trust my body. Which may sound terrible, but it has failed me before and I want to do *everything* within my power this time to ensure that this baby has the best chance of making into our arms alive and healthy. Which brings me to another thought...

My mother in law posted a quote on Facebook the other day along the lines of "Worry is our way of insulting God". Ouch, so true. I can totally understand that. But isn't it human to worry? I know that no matter how hard I try not to, I still worry about things. I think there is a fine line though between trust and action. We can't just sit back and say "Oh God will take care of everything" and not do anything about whatever it is we're praying for/worried about. For example, we know I have a couple of medical issues that can and have caused problems with having children. Are we supposed to sit back and say "If God wants us to have a child, he'll fix me." Perhaps some extremists would take this stance. But I don't think I could do that...especially with medical science available to help. I believe we need to do everything we can, and trust God to help us make the right decisions along the way. Besides, it ultimately doesn't matter what we do, if this baby is not supposed to live it won't. Still, I do need to constantly watch myself to be sure I'm not letting worry overtake me. Because it IS insulting to God, I'm sure. The more I think my faith and trust are growing, the more I realized my faith is still soooo small. If faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain, mine must be the size of a molecule...or worse, a single atom!! *Sigh*

I'm so glad my Dr understands me. I still haven't told my co-workers I'm pregnant yet (except for a very few who have known since that first week we found out), and I honestly don't know what I'm waiting for...but my Dr totally "gets it". It's because of my history. I also think it's because IF something were to happen to this baby (here I go again...UGH I hate this thinking!!), going back to work would just absolutely kill me. I know I would need some time off, and even then it would be pure torture to go back to working with moms and healthy newborns 36 hours a week. After the first and second miscarriages it was hard...and both were by 8 weeks. I'm now almost 15 weeks...I cannot imagine losing this baby now. I think by not telling my coworkers I somehow think I'm protecting myself in that area should something go wrong. I'm not going to be able to keep it a secret much longer though...and I really don't want to...it's just harder than I thought to let it out at work...and I get asked about once a week (not because it's obvious yet, but because several of them knew we were trying). Most of our family and close friends know now...well...hang on...my Dad's side of the family doesn't know yet, but I was waiting for the twice-annual family get together on April 11th to tell them. I think showing up with a cute little 17 week baby bump should do the trick. :-D I hope no one will be offended by us waiting that long, but I honestly think that will be the most fun way to tell them!! I can't wait!

Hmmm, what else. Haven't felt any movement yet, but it's still quite early for that and will probably be a few more weeks before I feel anything...and even longer before anyone will be able to feel the baby move on the outside.

Prayer request for this week, if anyone is reading this...I stopped taking my progesterone cream this past Monday (as directed), so I've been rather nervous about that. The placenta is supposed to take over production of progesterone between 10 and 12 weeks, but my Dr kept me on it a little longer just to make sure. I also take an oral progesterone supplement once a day, which I haven't stopped yet...I was scared to stop them both at the same time. So I will be stopping that probably this coming Sunday or Monday. Then the following week I'll be stopping the Metformin (which I was taking for PCOS...see posts from last year). So I'm nervous about all of this. Please pray the placenta will function as it's supposed to and that my body will take over as these medications are discontinued. The upside: three less pills to swallow every day!!

I think that is all for now!

~Abigail...and Monkey too!~

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Grow, Baby, Grow!!

Your ultrasound yesterday went perfectly!! You are so stinkin' cute, Baby!! You were moving all over the place and kicking and waving at us! :-) You measured 12w0d yesterday, which is exactly 13 days of growth since your last ultrasound 13 days before, so you are growing absolutely perfect!! You're now about 3 inches long (2 inches from "crown to rump", then add legs, hehe) and your heartrate was 164. If the Old Wive's Tale is true that a high heartrate means girl, then you're a she! We'll find out for sure on April 22nd!!! Mommy and Daddy can't wait!!



Here you are!




We've told a few of your aunts and uncles now, and I told my good friend Bonnie last night. Everyone is so excited about you! I can't wait for the rest of our friends and family to know. I think I'm ready...you deserve to be celebrated! I think your mommy is going to be worried about you your entire life. I just have to get used to that feeling and not be scared of it! Ha! :-P


My next OB appt is two weeks from today, then 4 weeks after that is your BIG ultrasound...the anatomy and gender scan!!! AAAAAHHHHH!!!


Love you always, Monkey!!
~Mommy~

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

So many things to say!!

I don't know where to start!! Baby, I can't believe you're over 12 weeks old today! Daddy and I have recently been listening to your heartbeat almost every night before bed, and it's the most amazing sound in the world! I also let your Grandma Lundy hear you awhile back and she loved that! She's coming with me to the next ultrasound tomorrow. I can't wait to see you again!! I want to see your little arms and legs kicking around and see your little heart beating again. It's kinda sad though because this will be the last time I get to see you for several more weeks...until either the end of April or beginning of May. I've loved seeing you every week or two up until this point!! I'm so thankful we have the doppler so I can "peek in" on you whenever I want. I love you little one!!

So after tomorrow's ultrasound we're going to start telling more people about you. I'm kind of scared. We've always said we'd wait until 12 weeks. Well, now that we're 12 weeks I'm not sure what to do with myself!! It feels "safer" to keep you as our little secret. And yet I'm bursting to share our excitement with people! I think I'm just always going to be nervous. You're in the best Hands possible, and I trust you're going to be just fine. I don't know why I'm nervous. Maybe I do...it's because we love you SO so much and unfortunately we know what it's like have that torn away from us.

Speaking of which...your brother or sister was due last week. I was struggling with whether to be sad that we lost him or her, or to be happy and thankful we have you. Honestly, I'm both. I would love to be holding our precious little March baby in our arms right now and my heart aches that we are not. But if that baby had lived, we wouldn't have you. God must have a really special plan in mind for you, little one.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart..." Jeremiah 1:5

"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

One of the nurses I work with reminded me last week that God should be glorified for the continued success of this pregnancy, not the multiple medications I'm on, not the heparin. She is one of the 3 people I've told at work. And she's totally right. It's something I've thought of before, but hadn't put into words. I know God is in control, I know He's the one responsible for the lack of complications thus far, and I pray that continues. Yes the medications may be helping, yes the heparin could be just what I needed. But God doesn't need the medications to fulfill His plans. He should still receive all the glory!!

"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." Ephesians 3:20

I'm excited to start telling people. We'll slowly tell the rest of our family and then all our close friends over the next couple weeks. Then after my next appt on March 25th I'll post your ultrasound pictures on Facebook. I can't wait to show off your progress, Monkey!! It's actually good we're going to start telling, because I don't know how much longer we'd be able to keep you a secret. Right now it looks like I've just eaten a few too many Girl Scout cookies...but that little bump is looking more and more real every day. I know it's mostly just Daddy and me who can tell the difference right now. But soon it will be more obvious! And I can't wait! I've gained a couple pounds. I never was very sick with you...you mostly just gave me food aversions...and made me throw up once (you must not have appreciated me eating those DOTS for breakfast a few weeks ago...). Even though it's just a couple pounds, it looks like more to me, lol! But my jeans still fit just fine. That hasn't stopped me from buying a few maternity clothes though. It's just so much fun!

Okay, I should probably stop now. Daddy is waiting for dinner and you're starting to make me hungry too! :-) I'll see you tomorrow, Baby!

Love always,
Mommy

Friday, February 26, 2010

September 19th

That is your official due date, Monkey!! Your original due date was September 24th, so it is very exciting to get to move that up a few days! This means we will be 11 weeks on Sunday (instead of 10 weeks today). Daddy and I are soooo excited! You know you're due on your Aunt Susan's birthday? And two days before your Grandma Lundy's birthday? I wonder if you'll share YOUR birthday with one of them or if you'll choose a day all your own? I'm so glad you're doing well, and SO so thankful! We had our first appt with my Dr yesterday and we got a suprise ultrasound. You're getting so big (lol, a whopping 3 centimeters!)...well, you look big compared to the other ultrasounds we've had. :-) Our next chance to see you will be March 10th. I can't wait! I love listening to your little heartbeat. Daddy and I bought a doppler on Amazon.com and we've been able to listen to your heartbeat at home. It takes a few minutes to find you (and Mommy has to fill up her bladder first!) but it's such an amazing sound and feeling!! I can't even begin to tell you how loved and wanted you are. I pray God continues to bless us and keeps you growing strong and healthy.


Here you are at yesterday's ultrasound!


Love,
Mommy

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Hello Morning Sickness!

Goodmorning Monkey! For your information, you just made Mommy puke for the first time. I guess you didn't like those Dots I ate this morning. I'm glad I was at home, though, because I didn't have much warning...it was an "oh crap, gotta puke now" moment and now afterwards I feel fine. It is kind of reassuring, though, in a weird way. I think only someone who's been through a miscarriage and never experienced morning sickness before would say that...

I hope this means you're doing well in there little one! I can't wait for Tuesday to get here so we can see you again!

Love,
Mommy

Friday, February 12, 2010

Baby, Baby!!

You're still in there!! Thank you God for keeping our LO safe! Monkey, you're actually starting to look like a little person! We saw your face and little arms and legs on today's ultrasound, and your heart was beating at an amazing 169bpm! You couldn't have made us happier! :-) AND you've grown so well you're now 2 days ahead! I can't believe that in the past 7 days you've had 9 days worth of growth! The nurse was very happy with everything she saw, and so were we! And we get to see you again next week. Keep growing, baby!!

We love you so much little Monkey!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

This Moment...

...I am pregnant, and I love you, baby. In four hours Daddy and I get to see you again. I am scared. Daddy says he's not, he says you are just fine and tonight is going to be a very happy night. I wish I had his optimism. Is he just saying it for my sake? I love him so much. I don't think I can bare to let him down again. I don't think I can handle losing you, little one. I will break. I pray your Daddy is right and you are fine. I pray we get to see your healthy little heart beating away today, at a much higher rate than last week. I pray you've grown the appropriate amount in the past week. I pray we survive the next thirty two weeks or so and get to bring you home in September.

Lord I know you are in control of this. I know you hold our baby in your hands, and there is no other way I would want it. I know you know my heart...I struggle with trust, but I DO trust you. My fear comes from past experience and the hurt that has caused...I never ever want to have to experience that pain ever again. The past week I have felt a fraction of that pain...just the thought of it has made me cry multiple times. Please carry me. Carry us. Through whatever you bring us to.

I don't know what we will see this afternoon. I know what I HOPE we'll see. I also know what I'm afraid of seeing. Please hold me together, Father?

One thing I know. This moment I am pregnant, and I love our baby. This moment there is life inside me. I don't want this moment to end. I don't want to know if anything is wrong, I want to go to bed tonight as I did last night knowing I am still pregnant. I am not bleeding, I am not cramping, I have no reason other than a slow heart rate at last week's ultrasound to be afraid. No reason at all. Why am I so weak?

Many people have been praying for you little Monkey. Mommy and Daddy pray it's enough.

We love you sweet baby!

~Mommy~

Friday, February 5, 2010

I'm a mess

Baby, your Mama is a mess! I'm falling to pieces even at the thought that we could lose you. I called your grandma last night and told her all about the ultrasound. She said the safest place for you was in God's hands, and that's where we should leave you. I know she's right but it's soo hard! He didn't save our other two babies, why should we keep trusting Him with you? I know we need to and we're trying, but we're only human and I can't help but cry for you.

I hope you're listening to me. I've told you so many times how much we love you and told you to stay with us and to keep growing.

I want a fastforward button to September, to the moment we get to hold you in our arms, alive and healthy. But yet I want to be able to enjoy every single moment that I'm pregnant. Why can't they all be happy, worry-free moments? Because I love you too much. Not that it's possible to love someone TOO much...I just love you too much not to care, not to worry. I am worried. I can't lose you. I just can't.

Love Always,
~Your Mommy~