Our Baby Shower

On April 9th a lovely couple from the church we go to threw Mike and I a baby shower. We had such a great time, Mike's dad was there and a lot of people from the church were able to make it as well. It was truly such a beautiful experience and gift. Then on April 16th my good friend Erika and her husband Eli threw Mike and I a shower as well. My Mom came all the way from Chicago to be there, and a lot of Mike's family was there as well as some of our friends. We had such a great time, we played games and opened gifts, and Erika and Eli made a really great lunch and desert for everyone to enjoy! Mike and I feel so blessed to have so many people in our lives that love and support us! It's really so touching to me how many people already love Chloe and how everyone is so excited to meet her in June!

Our Maternity Photoshoot

Life is Busy

-- Chloe's car-seat has arrived! --

-- Look at these adorable pink converse shoes, oh I love them! --

April has been one busy month for my husband and I. It's been full of appointments, child birth classes, birthdays, holidays, baby showers, and family. It's been a really fun month but next month we are planning on taking it easy. It's starting to really hit me lately that next month is the last month that it's just going to be my husband and I, our lives are going to be forever changed when our little girl arrives. I've been really emotional lately, normally I am a really emotional, sensitive person, I have been like that my whole life, but with this pregnancy I haven't been very emotional at all. I guess it's all hitting me now. Yesterday evening Mike and I rented the movie Tangled and while we were watching it we kept talking about how we can picture our daughter liking the movie when she is a little bit older. Then Mike said something about how he can picture Chloe dancing around the house singing one of the songs from the beginning of the movie and immediately after he said that I wanted to burst into tears, I didn't though I held it in, but just the thought of our daughter being here with us made me so happy and filled with joy.

Whats New

I realized I have been really lacking lately with my blog. So much has been going on in my life that I haven't even mentioned in any of my recent posts. I thought this would be a good time to share whats new and to talk about all the preparations being made for the arrival of my sweet little girl.

A few weeks ago Mike and I decided to hire a doula to be with us during the birth of our daughter. A doula is a woman you can hire who gives you continuous physical, emotional and informational support during labor and birth. There are many benefits to having a doula both for the expectant Mother and Father, especially if you are having a natural birth. We interviewed three different woman and the last woman we interviewed we decided to hire. She is very organized and professional and both Mike and I connected really well with her and felt really comfortable around her. We are really happy with our decision to hire a doula, and I feel much more confident about going through labor without any pain medication. The more support I have the better!

On Sunday I finished working on our birth plan. It feels really good to have that done with. I have to admit I was really dreading working on it but once I sat down and typed it out it was easy to figure out what things were really important for Mike and I to include in our plan. 

This Saturday we have our first baby shower! A woman at the church we go to decided she really wanted to throw us a shower. It's so incredibly sweet of her to think of us and we are really looking forward to going! Then on the 16th of this month my really good friend Erika is throwing Mike and I a baby shower as well. I cant wait, it's going to be so much fun, and it really makes me feel so special and loved that these woman would want to throw Mike and I a baby shower! We are very blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives that love and support us.

Oh and the most exciting news of all is that my Mom is coming to visit for the weekend! She is arriving  on the 15th and staying till the 17th. It's a short visit but she will be able to be at our baby shower and I am just so grateful to be able to spend some time with her!

Last Wednesday Mike and I attended our first childbirth class. The class is every Wednesday from 7-9:45 pm and goes for 6 weeks. We had a lot of fun and I can already tell we are going to be learning so much from this class. I really want to be as prepared as I possibly can for the birth of my daughter. I know things might not go exactly as planned and labor can be filled with many unexpected obstacles and events, but for me at least the more information I have the more confident I feel and the better I can make a decision.

Getting Uncomfortable

This past week has been a bit rough for me, I just feel so uncomfortable. My back has really been hurting and I cant seem to be able to get a good night sleep anymore. I have been having heartburn a lot more often now as well, and overall I just feel crappy lately. Oh well, I knew this day was going to come and I know it's only going to get worse from here. All of these pregnancy symptoms are worth it in the end though, to be able to hold my beautiful baby girl! I just feel like complaining right now lol.

I do have some exciting news though, tonight Mike and I have our first childbirth class to go to! The class is 6 weeks long and starts at 7 and goes until 9:45. It's a long class but we are both really excited and looking forward to going. We have heard so many great things about this class, and it's very hands on which I'm really looking forward to!

Tomorrow we have our big growth ultrasound to go to. I'm really looking forward to that because it's always so much fun to see Chloe and to see how much she is growing! We will also find out how much she weighs, I know she is over 3 lbs now but it will be exciting to find out the exact number. She might even be 4 lbs already! At my last growth ultrasound which was around 11 weeks ago Chloe weighed 12 ounces. It's so exciting to see how much she has grown since then!

Great News

On Friday I will be 30 weeks! Seriously, I cant believe I am already this far along. This pregnancy has gone by so fast, way faster then I imagined it was going to go by. It's strange, I am at this stage in my pregnancy were it almost feels bitter sweet that it's nearing the end. On one hand I absolutely cant wait for the day my daughter is born, when I can finally hold her in my arms and look into her eyes and just stare in amazement that God himself would give my husband and I this incredible gift! Then on the other hand I have really loved being pregnant, and selfishly I feel sad that it's coming to an end. I know that I will never forget these 9 months, it's really been a life changing journey for me, and for the first time in my life I have so much appreciation and respect for my body.

Ok on to the good news lol. Today I had an appointment with my midwife. She told me that the results for the glucose test came back negative and that I don't have gestational diabetes! I cant tell you how good it felt to hear her say that. We talked about preparing more for the birth and my postpartum care and the tests that they will run after my daughter is born. She also suggested that this would be a good time to start researching pediatricians in our area and to choose the one we like for our daughter. I guess they need to know by 37 weeks the name of the doctor we have picked for our baby. The rest of the appointment went great, my blood pressure was perfect, she felt for the baby's positioning, and we got to hear our little girls heartbeat. My midwife measured me, which she started doing once I hit 24 weeks, today I measured at 31. I have consistently been measuring a little bit bigger but they figure that's due to the extra fluid I have so there not at all worried about it.

So thats my wonderful news, It's been a busy day, but a great day!

28 Weeks

Picture taken right before my big fall.

Its been to long since I have written a post, I was going to write one last weekend but I ended up spending the weekend in the hospital so writing wasn't really on my mind. As most people know last Saturday evening I fell outside and landed right on my belly. Both Mike and I were really shaken up about the whole thing and rushed to the hospital to make sure our daughter was ok. We stayed there overnight on Saturday, and Sunday evening at 9 we got to go home. They wanted to keep my there for 24 hrs just to be safe which was honestly such a huge relief for Mike and I. We would much rather be overly cautious about the whole thing.

Chloe is doing great, she seemed to be completely unaffected by the whole ordeal! The whole time I was in the hospital they checked on Chloe often with a doppler for 20 minutes at a time, her heartbeat was perfect and strong and she was just busy playing away. While I was there I was also hooked up to a monitor that recorded any contractions I was having. Turns out I was having contractions, they were just mild ones and I didn't even know I was having them most of the time. The doctor wasn't to worried about it and said that it's normal to have contractions when you experience a trauma like that. They did give me a pill to take that was supposed to relax my uterus and stop the contractions. The pill seemed to work well because by the end of my stay I had much fewer contractions then when I came in.

As of right now, 4 days out of the hospital I feel pretty good. I was extremely tired Monday and Tuesday and slept most of the day. On Monday my body felt really sore and I had a difficult time lifting my right arm. The soreness has gone away and now the only thing that is really bothering me is my right hand. I scraped it up pretty bad in a couple different spots so it's difficult to use my hand right now, and it hurts, and it's pretty gross to look at lol. I'm not having any contractions at least not that I know of. I have to go in for a non-stress test on Tuesday and a ultrasound so I will know more then.

My husband and I are so incredibly grateful that everything is ok with our baby girl, and we just thank God so much for protecting her when I fell. Thank you all for keeping us in your prayers, it meant so much to us!