I haven't really had any cravings this pregnancy except I really like having this fruit combo in the morning but prefer it with cheese instead of almonds. It has been a hectic few weeks so it has been nice getting back into a routine. I am starting to not fit my regular shirts anymore so it's time to get out the full maternity wardrobe and update my closet.
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I knew with this baby that I wanted to be the one to be surprised when finding out the gender. With Olivia and Asher, we found out the gender at the doctor's and then had a party or surprised everyone else. This is our last so I wanted the surprise. I have been feeling all along that it was a girl so I really wasn't in that big of a hurry to find out. I think everyone around me was probably more excited than I was.
It's been a rough couple weeks with my grandmother falling, going to say goodbye and then her passing away. The results from the test came in during all of this so maybe if this wasn't going on the excitement would've been a little higher. We ended up having a cake at our Annual Chili Cook Off for our foundation, Asher James Foundation. My best friend Melanie picked up the results from the doctors office and had a cake made. I'm really not sure how she kept it a secret. JD was the only other person who knew because he didn't want to be surprised. Oh except for Maddy, who is 3. I'm not sure how she kept it a secret either. She sent me a cute video the morning of the reveal letting me know it was a secret. I was so busy prepping for the event that by the time the party started, I was exhausted. My friend is always late to things and this was no exception. Everyone kept asking where the cake was, thinking we would be cutting into it as soon as it came through the door. As soon as that cake came through the door, I got super excited and was ready to cut into it. So an hour after the event started, it was finally time to find out what the gender was. I cut into the cake and went to cut again and realized the knife had pink frosting on it. I knew in my heart that it was a girl and was still surprised, excited and completely happy. Having someone else surprise me this way in front of family and friends was the most amazing way to find out and I am so thankful for my friend for helping to make this happen. So before all this happened, people have been asking me what I thought it was but I would never tell them my guess. Most people guessed a girl and only a few actually thought it was a boy. Ever since we lost Asher I have been having dreams about giving birth and having a baby girl being put into my arms. I have had this same dream for 3 years. I saw a physic medium a couple years ago and she told me Olivia was bringing me a dream of my future. So when I got pregnant, I knew it had to be a girl. These past couple weeks have been busy and exhausting. My grandmother died a week ago and we drove to Michigan to say goodbye to her and then came back home. She passed the next morning after we got home so then we drove back for the funeral. I'm not that far along and have so many more weeks to go but the back pain has started and getting comfortable sleeping. I'm hoping it's just because of everything that has been going on. Other than that I have started getting my energy back.
This week we got to see the baby during an ultrasound and we took the blood test to check for chromosome issues such as down syndrome and Trisomy. The blood test will also reveal if we are having a boy or a girl. That will take about 10 days to come back. I had a gender reveal lunch planned for this Sunday but since the results won't be back..... Now we are just doing a cake at our upcoming fundraiser. Since this is our last one, I wanted to be surprised instead of surprising everyone else.
This week I can feel my energy slowly coming back. I don't feel as tired as I have been. I might actually get some things done now. Baby's room has been a storage room lately for all things Mended Little Hearts and Asher James Foundation. There are just two more things coming up and then that room might actually be cleaned out. Although I don't want to decorate the room until after 27 weeks. We lost Olivia at 27 weeks and found out about Asher's heart at 26 weeks so I just don't want to get carried away. It would be nice to start organizing it though. It's been a very busy exhausting two weeks. I went to Washington D.C. during the 10 week period for the CHD Legislative Conference to advocate for more funding and data collection (I'll blog more on this trip on the home page). It was a very fun, motivating trip but I couldn't sleep comfortably so I was completely exhausted when I got home. The tiredness is not letting up at all. I wake up so tired. The morning sickness comes and goes. I am so ready for the 2nd trimester just to have some energy back. I am a very outgoing person that can get a lot done and never sits still but this first trimester has kicked my butt and it has taken everything I have to get anything done.
9 weeks....only about 31 worried weeks to go. This past week has been a very exhausting one. I have had absolutely no energy whatsoever. Over the weekend I had a list of things I wanted to accomplish, not a long list either but I couldn't peel myself off of the couch. I just have no energy and I wake up completely tired. I know I will probably never feel rested again in my life or at least until I have a teen that sleeps all day. I had a lot more morning sickness this week than usual. With Olivia and Asher it was always set times in the day. Olivia was always at dinner and Asher was always late morning. This one is all over the place - morning, late morning, afternoon, evening, night - whenever it pleases. Sometimes preggo pops help and sometimes they don't. I'm not a puker though so that is good. This past Monday I had my 9 week ultrasound. Up till this point they were letting me do ultrasounds every 2 weeks. Baby looks great. So far so good. I was a nervous wreck the whole time. My next appointment is in 3 weeks where we will do the chromosome blood test that also tells us the gender and do another ultrasound. After that we will start seeing the high risk doctor for ultrasounds.
Yesterday I had a vision that left me in tears. If you're not a believer of the spirtual world and the signs they send us, then this post probably isn't for you. I was driving to deliver some memory boxes to Lurie Children's Hospital for Mended Little Hearts of Chicago and I was all into this song I was listening to and all of a sudden I got this vision, a day dream. My parents showed up at the hospital while I was in labor and when they asked where my room was, the nurse asked them to wait in the waiting room. She told them that I had just delivered a healthy baby and that we were spending our time with it. (I'm saying it because I don't want to give away what I think he or she is) I just started crying and thought this one really does get to stay. I had seen this picture at Hobby Lobby a few months ago, before I ever knew I was pregnant and loved it so over the weekend while it was half off, I decided to go buy it. It completely terrified me that I had bought this. I never got to decorate Olivia's room and Asher never made it home to his room. I want to use a lot of what I already have but make the room completely different from what it was for Asher. I know they both will be incooperated into the room somehow. I just think after being so scared after buying this that Olivia and Asher knew I needed a sign, a vision that this baby will be staying.
So last night we told family and today we announced to everyone else. I was very nervous about telling everyone but it was pretty amazing. People had me in tears from their responses. It really made me happy and made my day. I already knew I had a lot of support but it makes me so happy to know that people are truly happy for us and are supporting, praying and there for us through this journey. So many said I made their day. They made my day!
Last month I attended this candle lighting ceremony and they had a crafting session before it started. I got there late and didn't have time to do the craft so they let me pick out some things to bring home. They had these unfinished wood boxes that I decided to take. I wasn't sure what I was going to make with it so it sat on my craft table for a couple weeks. Then I found out I was pregnant and so I started thinking of ideas of using the box as an announcement. These boxes are at Michaels for a little under $6. I went each day until I had enough and used a 50% off coupon. I decided to mix white and grey paint to make it look white washed. It didn't turn out exactly like that but I still love them. I made one for myself to keep baby's things in. When the boxes were dry, I hot glued flowers that I already had on the top outside of the box. For my box, I added this quote on the inside. It just seemed fitting. I printed it and modpodged it to the inside. The boxes for the family did not have the quote added. I started working on all the details. We were planning to wait till Valentine's to announce so I wanted to do a heart theme and especially because the heart is a big deal to us. I printed these notes and then used 3M tape to put on gold scrapbook paper. I added a little heart sticker too. I found this crinkle paper on accident at World Market. I was glad Valentine stuff came out early because it meant I could start looking for chocolate hearts. I couldn't find any small enough so I ended up getting marshmallow hearts. I added the message and the ultrasound. Just as an extra touch, I tied red heart balloons around them. We left them on the porch for each family member and mailed them to my family. My husband decided to announce a week sooner than I thought so I told my family through text but am still sending the boxes to them because I think it is a nice keepsake.
Supplies for this project: - unfinished wooden box - paint - mod podge - hot glue - flowers - crinkle paper - items you want to add inside (note, ultrasound pic, chocolate heart) On Monday, I had an ultrasound to measure our little rainbow to see exactly when my due date is. Baby was measuring 7 weeks 4 days putting me due on August 25th instead of the 21st. So according to the ultrasound, I am 8 weeks today.
It has been 4 years since I was last pregnant and let me tell you, you forget what it's like to be pregnant. But I am happy to be pregnant and have this last chance at being a mother to a living child. My husband and I have been arguing on when to tell everyone. Yes, I am not that far along but growing belly says otherwise. I've never been one to wear big baggy clothes so I don't own a lot of them so I'm running out of oversized sweaters that'll hide my bump. Luckily I just sit at a desk all day and don't do much walking around. I wear lots of black most of the time. I've been pretty lucky for the most part - minimal morning sickness. I'm just really tired. I could probably sleep all day if I could. When I go home from work, I have no energy to do anything. I'll be happy when this part passes. |
About MeI have experienced two separate losses to stillbirth and infant loss to CHD and blood clots. This is my online journal with my 3rd pregnancy, my rainbow. Archives
July 2017
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