Student Debt Paid Off!

Well, I just thought I'd share our exciting news for the day. I am very excited to share that we've paid off the remainder of my school debt TODAY! Wahoo! We have been working on this for a couple years now and definitely making progress. This will be even nicer since Hannah is coming soon.

We still have more school debt to go for Daniel, but it's nice to peel layers of debt off your shoulders.

That's all for now! Have a nice day!

31 Weeks

We are now down to appointments every two weeks and well, today was a little discouraging.

Everything with Hannah is great and her heart rate was 140 BPM, not very active, the nurse said she was probably sleeping

I, however; gained 7 lbs. coming to a grand total of 24 lbs. to this point and my doctor is not pleased. She said that at this point I can still control how much more I gain and so I need to avoid empty calorie foods and walk 30-60 minutes every day. I thought I was doing very well. Many people gain gobbs and gobbs of lbs. and the nurse even said I was right on target...but then the doctor said different. I am also borderline Anemic, so the doctor said I should be taking iron supplements each day as well.

Sigh...I am ready to be done with pregnancy. I have had a great pregnancy and really should not complain, but now I am just ready to be done. I'm getting more uncomfortable, which is expected, but is not pleasant. And, with the weight brought to my attention, that just makes me depressed.

We have gotten almost everything we need for our sweet Hannah. The only thing we are still in need of is a Travelsystem and a crib mattress, they'll come in time. I've started to wash the basic clothes...left tags on the cutesy stuff in case she doesn't' get to wear it. (Most of it is 0-3 summer outfits) I'm glad things are starting to fall into place but there is still a lot of organizing to be done. That's going to be a project for these last few weeks. I'll post pictures of the nursery as we get it more organized and put together.

So, here we are at 31 weeks... (I apologize for my Rudolph nose, I'm recovering for a "stress induced" cold sore.

Emergency Room Scare...turned out fine...

So, today was an unusual day...scary things can happen...

We (Dan and I, his parents and sister and heir foreign exchange student) traveled to Dallas last night and then on to Abilene, Texas today for a family wedding.

We left at 7:45 this morning from Dallas, to drive 3 1/2 hrs to Abilene and at about 8:00 I started having some issues. I felt fine when we left, but at 8:00, I began to pass out, with cold sweat, nausea, pale, stars were seen and my hearing began to fade. I asked Dan to pull over since I knew something was not right. I got out and got some fresh air, used the restroom, drank some Dr. Pepper...thinking that my blood sugar was low. And we continued on. Not 2 minutes down the highway...again I began to have another black out spell. So, we stopped again.

I decided to at that point, call my OB and let them know what was going on. Let me tell you, it is a scary place to be when you are NOT in your home city, 30 weeks pregnant and feeling ill without your doctor ad hospital close by. For some reason, the OB's office was busy....and I could not get through. So, I called a church member whose husband is in the same practice as my OB. I explained the situation to her and she said that I needed to go to the nearest ER and get checked out--vital signs and to be monitored.

Sigh...so, I told Daniel what was going on...and with everyone in the car...we decided to stop at the ER. Just to make sure that I was fine and the baby was well...it was worth it. Dan's grandparents came to the hospital...in another car and got in the van with the rest of the family while I was in the ER with Daniel. They left us another car...and they continued on.

In the ER, I was admitted right away:

They checked my vital signs--

• blood pressure(at rest laying down, sitting up and standing)= all normal
• EKG=all normal
• Glucose Level=all normal (98)
• Ultrasound=all normal...Hannah was moving around A LOT while I was laying in the bed and her heartrate was normal, in he 150's. We got to see her again :-) and I was reassured that she was head down. For some reason, I kept thinking that she was either transverse OR breached, but to my relief, she is head down.

So, they diagnosed me with Near-Syncope (Fainting Spells)...told me to take it easy, rest and keep an eye if it continues to happen again. The nurse said that sometimes the baby may be sitting in a position during travel that increases your motion sensors so to speak...and can cause nausea and symptoms of passing out. Dan's aunt Terry said that she had that happen often while pregnant and the nurse said that happened to her when she played video games.

We ended up getting to the wedding 15 minutes before it started...we ALL made it safely. The wedding was beautiful.

We are traveling from Abilene to Houston tomorrow (9 hrs) but more since we will be stopping more often for me to go to the bathroom and to stretch. Please pray for good health and safe travel for us all tomorrow as we go home.

No worries, all is well, we just felt that we needed to go and be safe since it continued to occur and we were not home. Thanks Sharon for your advice to go to the hospital!

Love to you all!

Here's a picture from the wedding...I am 30 weeks.

Happy Valentines Day!!

Valentines Day is not a huge event in our home...there is so much publicity and it's a money maker holiday. But, we don't think of it that way. There is nothing wrong with spending quality time together and being appreciative of one another and showing love.

Dan got me a small rose bush which is now sitting on the window sill, very cute and the buds are about to bloom. I was really trying to find something to do that would cater to Daniel's love language. So, I decided to make us a Valentines Breakfast. Yes, today is Sunday, but we decided to just relax and have a peaceful, relaxing morning and have breakfast together. We are still going to church...just missed class :-)

Here is our breakfast:

• Heart Shaped Chocolate Chip Pancakes (Daddy,Mommy and Baby) with Home Made Maple Syrup from Grandpa and Grandma Battles
  
• Heart Shaped breakfast Sausage Patties (Dan's favorite)
• Scrambled Eggs with cream cheese and dill
• Home Made Shredded Hash Browns
• Home Made Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice ( We were out and have about 6 large oranges...Dan has A LOT of fun squeezing them with my hand juicer) It actually made one full glass for each of us, just perfect!

Daddy Plate

Mommy and Baby Plate

Now we are off to church for the rest of our day. It is beautiful outside and we are so blessed beyond measure! Have a great day everyone!

Growing Pains...29 weeks

So, I am really getting uncomfortable. People ask how I am...I say "feeling large", probably not the best answer...I know LARGER is on the way...

• Clothes that fit before, now do not...there are no pajamas that are comfortable, even Large T-shirts...they are too tight over my belly for the most part.
  
• Sleeping positions are a hit or miss...sometimes I sleep well and sometimes I just can't get comfortable...like this morning....up since 4:30 now...I think a nap is needed later.
• My belly is stretching so much that it gives me headaches and I just want to lay down on my left side...but then my right hip begins to hurt.
  
• Hannah is sitting so low that sometimes it's hard to stay seated because my legs get cold (circulation gets cut a little I think) and my right hips hurts.
  

We have 10 1/2 weeks to go...I don't think I will mind if she chooses to come a little early though....of course by "early" I only mean maybe 3 weeks....that'd be 37. My mom was right on time with me, so I suspect that I will go full term to 40 weeks. We'll see about that. Hannah and I may have to have a little chat.

Hannah is moving often...she's not a big kicker though...maybe I will be lucky with a mild personality...I pray we don't have the same haha...oh boy. She seems to be laid back...nice. I feel her move often...mostly her body changing position or turning over I think...and occasional kicks, but nothing major. The only time I get the BIG kicks, is if I am prodding around, trying to get her to move...she does NOT like that...I end up with a jolt in the rib :-) Oh, I just can't wait to see what her personality is like.

Dan and I have been reading the "Bradley method" book in preparation for our natural birth. We are both very excited about it and it's been fun doing my exercises together...hard work too. I am so grateful that he is so supportive, of what I hope to be, a natural child birth. Pacbelle Cannon is on the record for the room as well...

We go back to the doctor for my 30th week appt. next week I think...I am now down to appt.'s every 2 weeks.

Please pray for comfort for me and that I will rest assured that all is well, baby in correct position, that I can sleep with less discomfort and sanity for my sweet husband as I go through all these growing pains.

The first picture is me at 29 weeks...and how I look, is truly how I feel. The second...well anyone can pose right? :-)

28 Weeks (7 Months)

Well, I am very pleased with my pregnancy so far. I am blessed beyond measure and have had nothing short of an almost perfect pregnancy. The Lord has been very good to me :-)

I had my 28 week OB appt. on Tuesday and everything went very well. I am very pleased with my doctor. I was very nervous about how she would approach the labor and delivery but was delighted to find out that her attitude is that, "You are in control of your own labor". She said that she is supportive of whatever we choose to to and she will offer advice, but will not force anything at all. She knows we want to go all natural and we discussed some other things as well, so that was very reassuring.

Here are my stats:

Weight Gain: +4 for a total of 18 lbs. right on track. The doctor says that if I continue to gain as I am, that I may go back to my pre-pregnancy weight fairly quickly, since I am not gaining extra.

Hannah's Heart Rate: A beautiful 152 B.P.M. She even was kicking the Doppler probe--very active indeed. As I write this, she doesn't like when I lean over and take away some of her room...she just kicks me on the left and right at the same time, startling me :-) She is just so sweet and moving around so much. Where you poke, she will poke back...it's a fun gave we like to play.

Measuring 28 cm for 28 weeks....score!!! Right on track. At this point, she is not measuring too small or big but just right.

I took my glucose-gestational diabetes test and had to drink this orange drink. To me, it tasted like an energy drink--I hear it makes some people very nauseous and sick. I have not heard back, so I am guessing that no news is good news....since it was 2 days ago.

My next appt. will be in 3 weeks and I will begin my appt.'s every 2 weeks from there on out...so that is exciting.

I am feeling really great, can't complain at all. I have some trouble sleeping now which is just because I am uncomfortable...and my back aches from time to time. I can't imagine my belly growing any bigger, but I know that it will. I feel the stretching, especially today but,no stretch marks yet! YAY! I hope it stays that way. I am also becoming more tired than usual.

We have begun to get the nursery together. We don't have a mattress yet, but have the furniture and bedding. I am enjoying washing the bedding and starting to get things ready for our sweet Hannah when she arrives.

My church is giving me a baby shower on Sunday, so that will be so much fun, can't wait!!! I am excited to see what my friends have put together for us. I look forward to organizing everything after the shower and getting things in their place.

Saturday, we have our child birth class at the hospital which I am looking forward to. I have questions about the nurses and care in the hospital and am eager to see the birthing suites that we will be in when I am in labor and for when Hannah is delivered.

We are going to be using the Bradley method for child birth and we are very pleased with it. We watched "The Business of Being Born" last night...and that was very informative. natural birth is definitely the way to go. We were created after all, to have children, why not keep the natural aspect of it going? Dan and I are excited about the birthing journey as we will work together through labor to deliver Hannah. Now of course that is, if all goes as planned and smoothly. I am excited for the birth already! Still need to work on those breathing techniques...along with relaxing and focusing.

So, here we are 28 weeks...till next time....please continue to pray for us that all will go smoothly and that the last few weeks will be uneventful, only 12 weeks left. Thanks!

All baby...do you see the basketball shape that I see?