the miracle of life

It's always amazing to me how teeny tiny cells can turn into a human life. How a baby can go from being the size of your pinky finger to an 7+ pound bundle of joy.

Having gone through IVF I got to experience life right from the beginning. I'm thankful for this experience because I got to see several weeks of the beginnings of life that I didn't get to see with my other 2 kids. By the time I saw them on an ultrasound they were already about 8-9 weeks along with a tiny little heartbeat.

But this last little one...I got to see right from the beginning. As just a group of cells, growing & dividing.

I always wonder which one was Addie :) Was she #1 that my 

dr thought was the 'best' embryo out of the bunch??

Then as just a little sac. 

5 weeks 5 days

And then a tiny flicker of a heartbeat.

6 weeks 5 days

The beginnings of arms & legs, hands & feet. A tiny, tiny baby.

10 weeks 5 days

More defined arms, legs, fingers, toes. Movement. A tiny baby growing bigger & bigger.

 

11 weeks 6 days

 20 weeks 6 days

Growing bigger and bigger by the weeks. 

29 weeks 2 days

Until the day that you get to hold that precious baby in your arms for the first time. 

2 days old

 1 month old

How can you not say this is a miracle?? It's just amazing to me and I'm so thankful I got to experience it just one more time.

38 weeks

* Feeling pretty big. And I must look it because I've gotten many comments over the past couple weeks asking when I'm due. Best comment was in Costco a week or 2 ago...an older gentleman said to me 'Looks like you're gonna be losing some weight real soon!' hehe That was cute :)

* Most people All people assume I know what I'm having because they always ask 'are you having a boy or girl?' and not 'do you know what you're having?' My response is always 'it's one of those!' Best surprise in the world...wouldn't give that up for anything!

* I had no idea how much swelling would hurt. My feet/ankles/legs have begun to swell at an astonishing rate. As a kid did you ever have someone grab your arm with both hands & twist in either direction to give you a 'burn'?? That's what my skin feels like whenever I move. And it itches from stretching. I feel like my whole body is swollen. My hands ache, my legs feel big, not fun.

* I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions for a while now but some of them have gotten pretty intense. 

* As of a couple weeks ago the baby was head down, butt on the upper right & the backbone along the left side of my belly. So I feel a lot of kicks & movement on the right side of my belly where all of his/her arms, hands, legs & feet are.

* I always think it's funny when the baby gets the hiccups about 10 min after I get done eating!

* Sleeping has become nearly impossible. This has been going on for the last month. My back aches soooo bad & the acid reflux hits me at night thanks to the baby sitting all up in my ribs. I'm lucky if I can sleep past 3-4am. Lately I get up & go downstairs to lay on the couch or I'll just sleep on the couch right from the get go. My 10 yr old couch is so comfy when I'm pregnant!

* Had 2 nurses ask me when I was in the hospital last week if this baby had the same dad as my other 2 since my kids are so much older. Why do people assume that?? Sign of the times maybe?? I was a little insulted. I know other people have thought that, too. Not my fault this baby is 3 1/2 yrs in the making. My husband was shocked that someone would actually ask me that.


* Feeling a bit alone at times with this pregnancy. It's been so long since I've had a baby that it's like having a first baby but without anyone celebrating with you. It's hard to explain. When I first went through IVF people were bugging me on a daily basis whether or not I was pregnant not realizing how stressful that process is. So different from just waiting for 'that time of the month'. When you go through IVF you know there's embryos in there, it's just a matter of if they will hang on or not. So being in the last couple weeks of pregnancy I'm trying not to get down about things.


* Starting to panic a little about the c-section. I just keep reminding myself that I've gotten through it before & I can do it again. That's the hard part & then I get a baby to hold & snuggle!!

* Always trying to remember to not be one of those 'I can't wait for this pregnancy to be over' people. As uncomfortable & sometimes painful this is, I have to remember what this is all for. I prayed for this. We wanted this. A part of me is sad that I will never again know what it's like to feel a little one kick inside of me. But very soon this little one will be here :)

37 weeks

In the home stretch! I am 37 weeks and 2 days today. Hard to believe only 2 more weeks to go. And this is how I spent Wednesday...

Sitting in the hospital on IV fluids thanks to one nasty tummy bug that left me severely dehydrated. It was the weirdest thing ever. On Tuesday I was fine, had a dr appt & everything looked good. By Tuesday evening I started feeling nauseated & it just all went way downhill from there.

Thankfully I was not in labor (because I was contracting about every 3-5 min) and after about 7 hours I was released & didn't have to stay the night at the hospital. 

Kinda freaked me out. I didn't have a bag packed, nothing washed for the baby, so not ready for a c-section just yet!

Still feeling a bit run down & nauseated but certainly much better than I was. I don't think I've ever felt that nauseated in my entire life! Now all I feel like doing is sleeping!

Oh, and I finally have internet! Woo hoo!!! The phone guy showed up today unexpectedly & interrupted my nap but I didn't care. I now have internet & phone at my house so I don't have to head over to McD's anymore :) So hopefully you'll be 'seeing' much more of me here on the 'ol blogeroo!

I'm gonna go take a nap & hope that the swelling in my feet goes down. I'm starting to miss my ankles :) TGIF!!

35w2d

We're in the home stretch! I'm 35 weeks & 2 days and boy do I feel it!

I really hate posting without pics but I don't have any to share today. I wanted to get one on Wednesday when I was 35 weeks but my daughter had a field trip at school & I was utterly exhausted after.

Sleeping has become super uncomfortable. Most nights I wake up several times with severe lower back pain.

My feet, hands, legs are swollen. It's probably not as obvious looking as it feels but my joints in my fingers just ache from being swollen. I only had mild swelling with my first so this is new for me.

This baby is very active. Not all day long, but sometimes I won't feel anything or just mild movements & then all of a sudden my stomach looks like there's an alien trying to get out! hehe Sometimes it's just plain hilarious to watch how my belly jumps around. I get a kick at my son & his reactions when he puts his hand on my belly & feels how much the baby moves. The look he gives me just cracks me up! Olivia loves to feel the baby have hiccups...which coincidentally happens usually after I've eaten something.

Speaking of eating, that's becoming uncomfortable since this baby is all up in my ribs. I usually can't eat much & find that my heart races & I can't breathe very well for sometimes an hour or 2 after I eat. Even my new dr made a comment when he was measuring me, 'Boy, that baby is right up in your ribs, isn't it?? But I don't need to tell you that!' He's great, I'm just super happy with my new dr here. Just what I was looking for.

Some days I feel like I have a ton of energy & other days all I feel like doing is sleeping. I'm ready to meet this little one but in a way I can't believe it's almost time! He/she needs to make sure to hold out for a just a little bit longer cause I haven't unpacked the baby stuff yet! hehe I know where the boxes are but I had to unbury them from the other stuff the movers had put in front of them. In fact, that's my goal today...unpack baby stuff & figure out what I still need. I also wanted to make some burp cloths & the baby quilt so I'm hoping to get started on that this weekend...in between enjoying the beautiful weather we're having here!

TGIF!!

glimpses of you

There's a new stamping challenge over at the Noel Mignon challenge blog. You can head over here & check out the details. Funny enough, without even knowing it almost all of us on the DT chose the Jenni Bowlin stamp from the Jump & Jive kit! Guess we all really liked that one :)

I decided to use some of the pics from the baby's ultrasound for this layout. I used the Pencil Lines sketch #231 along with the Jump & Jive kit (still a few left!)

I stamped the Jenni Bowlin stamp with a glue pad & then sprinkled some of that pretty, pretty turquoise Maya Road glitter that came in the kit.

And that's it folks :)

30 weeks (and 1 day)

Holy cow, really?? I meant to post this yesterday but house stuff got in the way. Like - going back & forth with a buyer on our house because apparently going down on our asking price by $8K wasn't enough. Ugh... 

Anyway, on to better stuff :) In some ways it seems like I've been pregnant forever and in other ways it is hard to believe that the end is in sight & I will soon see this little baby :)

Still such a miracle that this (or should I say, one of these)...

could turn into this...

Nothing short of a miracle.

Still feeling pretty good. Getting more tired, feeling big. Some days (a lot of days) I feel like I'm out of breath for most of the day. If I do too much activity I have more contractions. Even walking the kids into school in the mornings I have several.

Funny how now I can actually feel little tiny baby parts poking me from the inside out. This baby is very active. Cool & weird all at the same time! hehe

Some nausea & heartburn is starting to creep back but thankfully so far it's not too bad. Let's hope it stays that way!

I'm looking forward to getting moved so I can pull out the baby stuff & start washing it & getting it all ready...and figuring out what I still need. That's when you know a baby is coming soon! We started buying some things for the baby...one of each :) The kids have fun picking out things...it's so cute!

I'm {hoping} at my next dr appt after we move we will be able to set the date of the baby's birthday :)

baby pics - 29 weeks

Hey everyone! I'm back from our trip to WA...the trip was great, we bought a house, {loved} the area. I have lots to share about that but before I do I wanted to share some baby pics :)

Since our 20 week ultrasound didn't go very well I wanted to go get a 4D ultrasound because I never really felt like I got to see the baby. 

We were so thrilled to see little peanut today. What's funny is that seeing this ultrasound makes not knowing the gender even more of a mystery! (No, we did not find out!) Although I think the baby looks more like my son but it's so hard to tell... 

For most of the time the baby had it's foot up by his/her face. At one point it was actually in his/her mouth! hehe

I had to crack up because even at this early stage I could immediately tell that this baby has also inherited the Whitlow feet. Both of my kids have them, my husband (obviously), his 2 brothers, their dad... Those are some strong genes when it comes to their feet!

And a big yawn ;)

The baby weights about 3lbs so he/she still has some growing to do :) Can't wait to see this little sweetie!!

26 weeks

 Photo courtesy of my son Ben :)

13 weeks to go! (I will be having a planned c-section somewhere in the 39th week)

The baby is about 14 inches long and weighs over a pound and a half.

Feeling good, starting to feel big...especially in the last week. And that is reflected in my weight. At my weigh in at my dr appt last week I had still only gained 1 pound total. I had lost 4 & gained back 5. But I just weighed myself yesterday and I've gained about 6lbs in the last week. huh????

This baby has been very active in the last couple weeks. 

I have been feeling pretty good. The heartburn from the first 14 weeks is pretty much gone with the exception of here and there. My sciatic pain is back but it came back around the time I was working on getting the house ready to sell so I have a feeling it has a lot to do with that.

I don't have any weird cravings other than sometimes a certain food sounds really good and I want it right now! I was craving salads a lot in the end of my first trimester/beginning of the second. And like the other 2 pregnancies form some odd reason I am really craving champagne. Like, I could down a glass of it if I could! Weird cause I can count on one hand the number of times I drink alcohol in a year. Maybe it has to do with craving something fruity & bubbly?? Who knows, I'm weird...

Still hard to believe that I will have a little one in about 3 months from now. So excited!

At this point we're planning on moving before the baby is born. Hopefully that will be the end of April/beginning of May. I've already made an appt with an OB in Spokane during our house hunting trip (thanks Theresa!).

Looking forward to getting a 4D ultrasound in a few weeks. Things are moving right along!

sick...

I'm ready for this week to be over. It's been a trying week. A very trying week. And tiring...

It's been a week of 2 chorus performances by the 3rd graders. Both of which my daughter got to read her paper on George Washington and 5 questions she would ask him. In typical Olivia form it was quite comical :)

It was a week with an ultrasound of our little peanut with not a whole lot to show because the tech was, well, not all that great. Not too thrilled with her. And on top of that the baby was facing inward so...no good pics. I'm planning on getting one of those 4D ultrasounds in about 8 wks.

 

It was a week of filling out Valentines & coming home with tons in return.

It was a week filled with a trip to the principal's office after a school worker thought it appropriate to berate my daughter & send her away bawling her eyes out for no good reason. Yeah, this mama doesn't go for that and this lady quickly found that out. Not sure why some people feel the need to do that to kids. Sadly, I don't think she 'gets' it. Unfortunately, she was too busy trying to tell me how she was right.

It was a week filled with another lost tooth. It's been a while since the tooth fairy visited this house. Very exciting morning this morning!

It's been a week of feeling like crud for the majority of the week. It started on Wednesday with what I thought was allergies. I quickly realized by Thursday that it was more than that. Yesterday was the worst, today is a tad better but not by much. I still feel like I've been hit by a truck about a thousand times. Being pregnant and sick is no fun.

It's been a week of trying to make big decisions for our family including a possible move. It's stressful to try and uproot your family yet again but we're all ready for a change. I'm praying for God's wisdom to make the decision that's best for our family. That decision isn't always the easiest one!

I hope you all have had a good week!

Wednesday & Thursday POTD

{POTD}: picture of the day

It was quite cold outside this morning and when I came out to warm up my van I saw this on my window:

Yes, it does feel good to be told I'm a 'hot momma' while 19 weeks pregnant! hehe

And that brings me to yesterday's POTD:

Lots of shopping. I haven't done a big shopping trip in quite a while, like probably 2 mos. This is just from Target, I still need to do some grocery shopping. I've started stocking up on diapers and since they were on sale and I had coupons and there was a $5 Target gift card offer I bought 5 of them. Still not sure if I'm gonna try cloth diapers or not but I know that if I do I'm still going to use disposables when I'm outside of the house. Not gonna be lugging a poopy diaper home to wash later, that's for sure! But I'm intrigued by the concept of cloth & still trying to learn more. Honestly, if I were a baby I'd rather have cloth ones. Anyone have any tips, suggestions, done it before?? The upfront cost is a little scary but then when you think about how many diapers you go through in a week (esp with a newborn) it seems like it's worth it.

Oh, and that booster seat? It was $7.87! Can't you believe that?! I don't like using high chairs cause they're just an all around pain. I like the chairs that strap to your kitchen chair much better. The shelf said the price but I had to walk it over to one of the scanners cause I didn't believe it. I made sure to open it when I got home to make sure it wasn't a total piece of crap (you never know when a price is too good to be true, ya know?) But it seems decent..and if it only works for 6 mos who cares!

I'm hoping to be back with thrifty thursday. Remember that?? It's been a while, I know. But I managed to pick up some thrifty goodies this week that I want to share and I have am gazillion projects to work on.

does this baby make my butt look big?

My favorite pregnancy shirt. Love it! I bought it right after I found out I was pregnant. Although, sometimes it makes me feel like everyone is staring at my boobs & laughing. Well, I guess in a way they are!! hehe

I wore this shirt while I was in Disney. And there was a young guy that saw it & just started laughing & said 'that shirt is great!'

And when we went to one of our character breakfasts the waitress was laughing as I walked by after reading my shirt...but she was laughing more at my husband who was motioning with his hands at just how big of a butt I had! She just shook her head & said 'that's not right!" hehe When you wear a shirt like this one it just lends itself to jokes! 

Btw, I'm 18 weeks today! Feeling great for the most part. Nausea still rears it's ugly head now & then. And some days I feel like I'm being tickled from the inside ;)
 

17 weeks

I am 17 weeks today!

photo taken at Disney 

(16weeks 3 days)

I got to hear the baby's heartbeat again yesterday and all is well. My next appt in 4 weeks is the ultrasound :) Hard to believe I'm almost halfway there!

I have started feeling the baby move. I started feeling some itty bitty movements around 15 weeks but last week they were more definite. I can't wait til the kids can feel it. They are dying to be able to feel the baby kick! I get such a kick out of their excitement.

My daughter has begun using my belly as a tapping place when she wants to ask me something. 

"Hey mama??" as she taps on my ever growing belly hehe

This pregnancy has been very different than my others. I have had a lot of cravings. Nothing weird, just all of a sudden I want something specific. Salads, red meat, pancakes, seafood cannelloni from Carrabba's... Only had a couple cravings with the others. I'll crave one thing for days, then it'll turn to something else.

I've had heartburn for weeks, off and on. I never get heartburn. All of my digestive issues are below the stomach. Sometimes it feels like someone's jabbing a knife through my chest. I was really sick the last night we were in Disney...popping Tums like crazy because that's all I had with me.

Brushing my teeth sometimes makes me vomit. I hate brushing my teeth...

I usually can't eat a ton of food in one sitting. I've always been one to eat little meals all day long but it seems like I fill up super fast now.

I haven't gained any weight yet. In fact, I've lost a couple pounds. But don't let that fact lead you to believe that I'm bragging on how skinny I am. I was 20lbs overweight when I got pregnant and also gained 7-8lbs when my IVF dr put me on all those hormones & made me stop exercising. So I'm gonna count that weight as pregnancy weight...and you can't stop me! hehe

Despite all those little things I feel pretty good. Not super exhausted unless I overdo it. So excited for this journey!

96

Do you know what that number represents?? 

37 of these...

and 59 of that big one on the right...

I had my last injection last night. Woo hoo!!! Now maybe my hips can get back to normal. Cause right now they're all lumpy like cottage cheese. ewwww! hehe It'll be so nice to not hear these words from my husband as he's trying to find a 'good' spot to give my shot "God, this looks terrible. I can't find a spot that doesn't have a lump!"

It's all worth it. All of it. Remind me of that the night before my c-section. Cause I guarantee I'll be freaking out that night... Now maybe we can get to more of the 'normal' stuff of pregnancy :)

I'm hoping to be back later today with the first few pages of my December Daily!

back from FL

Last we spent Thanksgiving in FL with my husband's brother and his wife. My in-laws live down there, too. We had a lot of fun and my kids had even more fun spending time with their 2 cousins. We don't get to see them much since we live in different states but it was nice that they got to spend several days together. 

On our drive down were were happy to see that education is thriving in Valdosta, GA...

Anyone see what's wrong with this picture?? What's even funnier is at least a few people had to see this and think it was ok. 

Thanksgiving was full of lots of yummy food...

Friday I managed to make it out for a little bit of Black Friday sales. I did not, however, go out at midnight or 4am and battle the stores with everyone else. I think I was scarred for life after the Toys R Us fiasco last year. You couldn't PAY me to step foot in that store on Black Friday again. They had no idea what they were doing...

Anyway, I managed to snag up some gifts for the kiddos and a big 'ol George Foreman grill. It was regularly $50 but I got it for $23. I have one of the original ones from over 10 years ago. It still works great but I needed a bigger one and I love that the plates come out of the new ones for washing. Gonna heat up that bad boy tonight!

Saturday we headed down to the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine. My kids loooved it. They even got to hold a baby 'gator...

And trying to get a decent picture with my kids. I usually get 10 of these...

Before getting one of these...

The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out, playing outside, getting pedicures (only for the girls of course) & eating some oh-so-yummy sweets.

What cracked me up the most were their dogs. They have 2 boxers, one is a puppy. Our dog Jesse was *not* thrilled with the puppy. I had to snap a couple pictures of this. It was too funny!

**Disclaimer - no puppies were harmed during these pictures**

Doesn't my dog look like she's about to maul that puppy?? HA!! She never bit her but she wasn't pleased. 

And their other dog...check out what I found the last night we were there...

hehe I love dogs :)

We got back last night and now I'm in the post-vacation exhaustion. Now it's time to get the Christmas decorations up and start getting ready for Christmas, birthdays and our Disney trip!

************************************

Today I had my last ultrasound with my fertility doc. My next appt will be with my regular ob/gyn. It is amazing that at just under 11 weeks you can now see arms & legs.

He/she was sleeping but then I laughed about something and then little peanut started moving all over the place like a little wiggle worm!! Babies are truly God's greatest miracles.

**************************************

One final note - I'm continuing my Black Friday special in my etsy shop. Receive 15% off your entire order using the code SIMPLE10 at checkout. Receive a free key fob (may or may not be one that is currently for sale in the shop) with any order over $50.

Click here to head over to the shop!!