just wait...

I haven't had time yet, but be prepared...there is a very exciting post coming soon. Let me give you a little hint. Last night I spent a little time hanging tough with the 5 boys from bean town and about 15,000 screaming women who were WAY too old to be behaving the way they were.
p.s. there are pictures...

here comes the crazy...

Ever since losing William I have jokingly stated that during my next pregnancy I would need to move into the hospital and be hooked up to a fetal monitor 24/7 for peace of mind. I really haven't been that bad, I may have a constant hum of anxiety running through my body but I think I've done a pretty good job of keeping the crazy to myself. That is I was doing a good job, until Tuesday. Let me explain. Up until last week I wasn't feeling too much movement from the baby which my doctor told me was to be expected because the placenta is on the front side of my uterus. But then, starting last week, I started feeling her more and more and then this past weekend she was kicking like crazy all day and especially when I would lay in bed at night. Then Monday came and it started happening less and less. Then Tuesday came and I wasn't feeling anything. Cue the crazies. I started having all sorts of scary thoughts because this is what happened with William. Flashbacks of that horrible day this summer flooded my brain and I was in a panic. There was this panicking part of me, but arguing with that part was the I-don't-want-to-be-overly-paranoid-and-make-the-doctors-think-I-am-nuts part. Guess which part won? That's right, the nuts part. So long story short we went in, heard the heartbeat and got another ultrasound. The doctors couldn't have been nicer and more understanding. In fact, the nurse told me to come in everyday if I need to (I don't think she realized the can of worms she was potentially opening). Anyway they explained that the baby is still small enough that she can move around to different areas of my belly so sometimes I can feel her a lot and sometimes I won't feel anything, but that is normal. In fact when we had the ultrasound she was moving like crazy and I couldn't feel a thing. They told me that it would be around 27-28 weeks when I should be feeling really consistent movement. So with that reassurance, the crazy has been soothed and locked away until a future date when something else freaks me out.

So here is a cute new picture from Tuesday's ultrasound. We can't tell if she is about to suck her thumb or if she is using her fist as a microphone, something her mother has been known to do. Isn't she gorgeous?

elusive little sucker!

We had an appointment with Dr. Bedia today and everything looks good. As usual it took forever to find the heartbeat, but this time I wasn't nervous because I could feel my darling daughter moving around like crazy. I reassured Mike since he can't feel it because it really was taking forever. The nurse would get it and then in an instant it was gone and I'd feel her swimming away. Dr. Bedia said that some babies don't like the sound that the dopplar makes and so they are constantly trying to move away from it. I'm just glad I can feel the movement now so I'm not freaking out. We are headed to Chicago this weekend to visit Mike's sister Jessica and her family and also to see our good friends the McClintocks. Talk to you all soon!

stupid blogger!

Well my updates posted backwards so my nice timeline of events is now wrong. So start reading the last few posts at These Are the Days of Our Lives and work your way up.

A visit from the in-laws

This past weekend, Mike's parents Mac and Nancy came to visit for a night. I am very lucky in terms of the in-laws I wound up with and truly enjoy spending time with them. And no, I am not just saying that to suck up because I know they sometimes read this blog. I really do like them! So I decided that this year I would bake Mike a pie, his all-time favorite dessert, for our anniversary. I have never attempted this before, mostly because the women in his family are award-winning pie bakers (seriously, I've seen the ribbons). Knowing that Nancy would be in town I waited until she got here so that she could walk me through it. So here it is, my first attempt at a pie. I don't really like pie so I am not a good judge of the quality, but Mike and his parents assured me it was good, despite it looking like someone chewed around the edges. Hopefully practice will make a little more perfect.

So that's it in terms of the recent days of our lives. We are taking a trip to Chicago next weekend to visit Mike's sister Jessica and her family so stay tuned for next weeks edition.

St. Patrick's Day, an ER visit and our 3rd anniversary

So typically St. Patrick's day is celebrated in our family by a few green beers, you know to pay homage to my Irish ancestors. The last two years have been pretty tame however because I have been pregnant. So this year I thought I would really spice things up with a visit to the hospital. We had a pretty quiet night at home until around 9:30 when I was putting a heavy skillet away under several other heavy skillets. I think I was bent into a funny position or something and I felt a little muscle pull in my upper abdomen. It wasn't really that painful and no big deal at the time. About an hour later I think that pesky little muscle started spasming because I was convinced I was near death. My pain level was sky high and I was pretty sure the baby had burst out of my uterus and was trying to claw her way out via my sternum. Not that I was dramatic about it or anything! Anyway, after about an hour of this Mike decided it would be best to get things checked out so to the ER we went. Now, if you are ever bored on a St. Patrick's Day night around midnight, I would really recommend a visit to your local ER. We saw several poor souls dressed mostly in green suffering from various ailments ranging from bleeding faces as a result of bar fights to too-much-green beer-itis. Thankfully, the nice unit clerk wanted to save us from having to sit in the waiting room with these lovely people and had us shipped up to the labor and delivery floor. I was pretty confident throughout this whole process that everything was fine with the baby, but it was scary to be rushed back to that floor. To make a long winded story a bit briefer, I got hooked up to the monitor and everything was fine with baby. All of my blood work was fine and it turned out to be nothing more than a muscle spasm. The nurse said it was a good thing we came in though because the symptoms I was experiencing were the same as what is present with preeclampsyia. Anyway, we got to spend the first 3 hours of our 3rd wedding anniversary in the hospital, but were on our way home by 3:00am. By the next day, I felt a little sore, but overall was fine.



Speaking of our wedding anniversary, I would just like to take a moment to say I am really glad I married Mike. I have always known he is the one for me, but this past year has really made me realize how lucky I am to have him in my life as my husband and my best friend. I don't mean to be cheesy, well actually yes I do. Deal with it! Love you Mikey!

Wichita, part deux

While in Wichita we also got to spend some time with my brother, Charlie and his wife Amanda. They are expesting their first baby May 13. Amanda is one of those gorgeous pregnant people who most of us hate, you know she looks like she swallowed a basketball? Anyway it's a good thing she's a really nice person! :-) Here is a picture of Charlie and Amanda with their two dogs Riddick and Otley. It was great to see them, but really made us wish we were closer.



Finally while in Wichita, Mom and Annie and I did a little bit of shopping. Annie seems to be having some trouble controlling her impulses when it comes to buying baby girl clothes ever since we learned we are having a girl. This is a picture of a dance costume that she purchased. Now granted, it won't fit the baby until she is probably a year old, but it sure is cute. Annie promised to still love her niece if she turns out to be a tomboy who hates all things frilly. Oh, and she also bought two pairs of baby leg warmers.