A Little Scare

We had a little scare today, but everything is okay and sweet Mary Grace is just fine.

Yesterday afternoon I started hurting in my lower right abdomen. It started getting pretty painful, and last night blood was showing up in my urine. I immediately started forcing down lots of fluids and tried laying on my left side for a bit. A few hours later the situation was still about the same. I called the doctor's office at about 11:30, and the answering service transferred me to the on call doctor. He said I needed to come in to Labor and Delivery to get things checked out. We ended up at L&D this morning and we were reassured when Mary Grace was doing fine on the monitors. A little while later we started having some light contractions. I was already scared to death, but when the nurse came in and started talking about the contractions, I just lost it. I was terrified! Ultimately, the contractions were being brought on by a severe UTI. The infection was the reason for the blood showing up in my urine, the pain in my abdomen, and was even causing some light contractions.

After being monitored for a while, things started settling down. We were assured over and over that everything was okay and that we would be just fine. We were later sent home with some meds to help clear up the infection and orders to take it easy and stay well hydrated.

And while the nurses and staff were wonderful, I do not want to see them again until April!

So, Mary Grace and I have been hanging out on the couch taking it easy this evening. We made it back home around 4:00 this evening and other than the same tenderness in my lower abdomen, everything is okay. It's uncomfortable, but other than that I feel fine!

If a pesky little infection is all we have to worry about, then we can handle it! I know there are far worse things we could be facing! We are praising God for being with us and letting it be something minor! A special thanks to our prayer warriors and everyone who has called to check on us!

2011 Year In Review

January
The new year started off on a sad note- my brother was deployed to Afghanistan on the 2nd.
I turned 25. I remember thinking "I'm halfway through my 20's, and halfway to 50!"
We started our master bathroom overhaul- click HERE to see the  post on this adventure.

February
We spent a wonderful weekend in Birmingham enjoying good worship, music, food, and time together.


March
March was a laid back month. We spend most of it working around our yard and enjoying the early Spring days.

April
We celebrated my husband's 33rd birthday.

May
This was a month of answered prayers. We had a bit of a health scare. Bob had surgery and our prayers were answered. Another answered prayer was my job- I was told I would be able to teach at SW again in the Fall. We were a bit concerned due to all the budget cuts, etc...

June
I spent most of June soaking up the sun. I stayed with my grandparents a good bit and enjoyed just spending time with them.

July
We celebrated 6 years of wedded bliss on the 22nd. Little did we know that an anniversary gift would be arriving 9 months later!

August
We found out we were expecting on August 5th and we were just in awe of what God had done for us. We saw our sweet baby for the first time on August 31st at our first doctor's appointment.

September
We finally announced our pregnancy to our family on September 3rd. This was also a special day because my brother surprised us all by coming home on leave for a few days!

On September 4th, I was blessed to witness my husband's baptism. This was an answered prayer many years in the making.
I had been asked to take over our young adult Sunday school class back in the Spring. As the new quarter rolled in, Bob and I began this mission together.

October
October was a slow month. We enjoyed the cooler weather and spent most of the month in 'negotiations' as to whether or not to find our the gender of our baby.

November
On November 10th we found out we were expecting a sweet baby GIRL! My brother was finally able to come home for good from Afghanistan. I was sick with a sinus infection over the Thanksgiving holidays, but we still enjoyed seeing our family and friends. On Thanksgiving day we were officially half-way through our pregnancy.

December 
December was spent gearing up for the holidays (of which I was just not in the Christmas spirit). We also spent most weekends working in the nursery and finishing up a few last little projects around the house.


And there you have it- our year in review. 2011 was definitely a year of answered prayers- Bobby's health, my job, my brother returning safely from Afghanistan. Our biggest answered prayer was in God blessing us with a child. We had waited nearly 2 1/2 years for that answered prayer.

As wonderful as 2011 was, we are even more excited to see what the Lord has in store for us in 2012! This is the year our first child will be born! We are blessed beyond anything we deserve or could have ever imagined, and we give all the thanks and glory to our sweet Jesus!

"....for God has been gracious to me and I have all that I need."

Genesis 33:11

Baby Bump on Christmas Day

Here is our baby bump at 24 weeks and 3 days along.

Can you tell how exhausted I am in this picture? This was Christmas night after we had finally made it back home from visiting our family. We had a fantastic Christmas and Mary Grace received so many great gifts! It was a bit surreal though, knowing that this was our last Christmas as just the two of us. 

I'm still able to wear most of my pre-preggers pants with the help of a Belly Band (I bought mine at the Motherhood store and it has been a life saver!). Shirts are a different story as most of my pre-pregnancy shirts are getting too short for my belly. These days I'm pretty much in maternity shirts, and I do have a few pairs of maternity pants.

I've been stretch mark free so far, but I know the day is soon coming when that will all change. Everyone says that no matter how much coco butter you use, you will still get them. I'll have to learn that lesson the hard way, because I use it religiously (and as a result I walk around smelling like a giant chocolate bar).

23 weeks, 6 days - Checkup

On Wednesday, December 21st, we had another great checkup! This time MG was very active! She ended up kicking the exact spot where the doppler wand was positioned on my tummy. It was too funny! Then she continued to roll around in my tummy, something my husband could see from where he was sitting and thought was very funny.

Mary Grace had  a heart rate of 154 bpm, which is the highest it's been in a few months. I think it was because she was so busy practicing her ballet moves (or, as the nurse probably thought, her kickboxing moves).

This was the first time I inquired about my weight and measurements. I've deliberately not looked at the scales nor asked about my weight gain since our first appointment. But this time around I couldn't resist. So far I've gained 12 pounds. My belly measurement is 24 cm- which is right on the button since we will be 24 weeks tomorrow.

I love appointments where the only thing I'm required to do is give a urine sample and sit contently and listen to our baby's heartbeat. I've been forewarned that our next appointment will not be so pleasant.

We're scheduled to see the doctor again on January 16th. This will be the gross glucose screening and lovely lab workup. Yuck!

One bit of good news, we will soon get to have our 4D ultrasound! Since we have so much lab work schedule for next time, the ultrasound will probably be sometime in early February. We're excited and cannot to see our sweet Mary Grace!

Ready For A Stroll- or perhaps a Jog

Look what UPS Santa brought tonight! We knew we wanted a jogging stroller and there are hundreds out there to choose from, but finding a jogging stroller travel system is nearly impossible. I finally found a jogger that is also a travel system, so I'll be able to use it fairly soon after MG makes her debut (that is, if I'm she's feeling up to it).

While there are some super cute, girly strollers and carseats out there, I wanted something neutral. I figured that a good jogging stroller is something we can keep for our future babies use, so I didn't want to order one in pink and have a little baby boy riding in it someday.

I insisted that my husband put it together tonight, and I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I've been pushing it around the house all evening. After all, we do need to get acquainted with how it and the car seat works!

Here's the stroller we ended up getting- it's the Baby Trend Expedition Jogger and the color is called green tea, but it's really all black with barely a hit of green piping along the carseat. Love it!

20 Weeks, 6 Days - Checkup

On Wednesday, Nov. 30th we had another great doctor's appointment. We were 20 weeks 6 days along and everything looked good! Mary Grace's heart rate was 146 bpm. I love listening to her heartbeat. I'd lie there all day listening to it if they'd let me!

Our next appointment is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 21st.

20 Weeks

We are now halfway through our pregnancy and our baby is now the size of a cantaloupe (according to thebump.com). Thanksgiving Day is the perfect day to reach this milestone. This year we are most thankful for this life that our precious Lord is creating. It seems like just yesterday we were praying for a child, and now we are halfway to meeting our sweet Mary Grace. This first half has flown by, and before we know it we will be holding our little girl.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Getting Started

Saturday we officially decided on nursery furniture/decor and we bought Mary Grace's baby bedding! The hardest part was going through fabric swatches- I bet I looked at 100 before deciding on what I wanted for the chair/ottoman. I'm starting to get the nursery 'fever'. Things are starting to come together in my head of what I want the nursery to be. I'm ready to dig and start decorating!

My husband moved out our guest room furniture from the nursery. Now all I have to do is empty out one of her closets. My mom is coming to help steam clean the carpets. The room is pretty much a clean slate- now time to start filling it up with sweet baby girl things!

For the nursery, we had already painted the walls a nice mellow gray after we moved in. I love the gray and we didn't want to change the wall colors. I'm not really into loads of pink- I know that pink sort of comes with the territory when you're having a girl. Here are some nursery ideas we've found.

Below is the baby bedding we bought. It's the Grace collection from Bananafish. I love that the detailing is very girly, but without the usual pink colors.

19 Weeks

 

Our baby is now the size of a mango! I felt her moving around more today than ever. Everything is going great and the 'bump' is getting bigger and bigger. I've been pretty sick since last Friday and my doctor ended up putting me on antibiotics for a sinus infection. I stayed in bed all weekend (thank goodness it was a three day weekend). I ventured to work on Monday only to come back home by noon. I was home sick Tuesday and slept much of the day. I'm still not 100%. Being sick is never any fun, but being sick and pregnant is the pits!

Here's to hoping I will be fully recovered by the end of the weekend. I want to enjoy my week off for Thanksgiving!

Oh another note, my brother came home today from Afghanistan! I took him out to dinner tonight. Words just cannot describe how I feel knowing he is safe and sound here at home! Thank you to everyone who has prayed for him and our family over the past 11 months!

And she shall be called.....

 

My husband is the one who named her, and yes it is a good ole' southern double name! Both of our grandmothers are named Mary, and of course we had to have Grace. Grace is from my name, but mostly we chose it for my great-grandmother whom I was named after. Gracie always meant so much to me, and I'd give anything to share our special news with her! It think it's kind of neat- I was named after my two great grandmothers, and our daughter is too!

 We cannot wait to meet our sweet Mary Grace!

Other names we considered: Audrey, Ava, and Caroline. If we have a second daughter, she will most likely  be an Audrey.

Sugar and Spice

We are thrilled to announce we are expecting a sweet baby GIRL! Words cannot express how excited we are! I wanted to have a surprise- and I definitely received one! I kept feeling like our baby was a boy, but turns out my husband was right! We cannot stop smiling and our hearts are just filled with awe and thankfulness at what our Sweet Jesus is doing for us!

Our sweet baby girl looks great! She's actually measuring above average on several growth areas. Her heart beat was a healthy 146 bpm. The anatomy scan looked great and we cannot wait to meet our sweet girl in April!

When we first started the ultrasound, she was sucking her little thumb. So sweet! She quickly started bouncing around and, as usual, she was giving the poor technician such a hard time! My husband thinks we may have a little spitfire on our hands. It took quite a bit of trying and maneuvering to see 'the goods', but we were able to get two clear shots. I just hope she's t

hat modest during her teenage years! 

Baby Bump and The Big Day

We're 18 weeks today! The belly is definitely starting to show!

Also, today is the big day- we find out if we're having a Little Lady or a Little Man!